And you tell me over and over and over again, my friend
On the telehealth this afternoon with the nurse practitioner, I had the opportunity to include "comedically loud sneezing" among my repertoire of symptoms. I am being treated for a presumption of bronchitis for a week, after which if I do not improve I have to walk into a building and get X-rayed. Please cross your fingers for Team Bronchitis. In the meantime, have some links.
1. I learned this story originally from the radio astronomy side: "Why You Generally Can't Find TV Stations on Channel 37."
2. I'm not crazy about the headline, but it belongs to an intelligent essay by Emily Mortimer: "How 'Lolita' Escaped Obscenity Laws and Cancel Culture." Also I grew up on her father's books and scripts and I had no idea of the connection.
3. I knew how much Henry Ford had angered American Jews (I wrote him a haiku once!), but I did not know our calendar had in fact come for him.
So both days of this weekend I had recording sessions over Zoom with A Besere Velt, in consequence of which in the evenings I was a puddle of mush with a cat on it and occasionally coughing, in consequence of which I fell face-first into The Greatest American Hero (1981–83), in consequence of which I have now been playing Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" for something over twelve hours:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sholio has the full story. Music licensing for home release is beginning to assume the proportions of a devil. I am enjoying the series immensely. It is one of the shows where the narrative level of the plot is almost always nonsense, but all of the character work is engaging and sound and sometimes criminally endearing—it's not at all serialized, but it has continuity and growth. Robert Culp's Bill Maxwell has been added to my list of favorite characters. I suspect the show of being terrifically idtastic, but most of the time its id is really nice.
1. I learned this story originally from the radio astronomy side: "Why You Generally Can't Find TV Stations on Channel 37."
2. I'm not crazy about the headline, but it belongs to an intelligent essay by Emily Mortimer: "How 'Lolita' Escaped Obscenity Laws and Cancel Culture." Also I grew up on her father's books and scripts and I had no idea of the connection.
3. I knew how much Henry Ford had angered American Jews (I wrote him a haiku once!), but I did not know our calendar had in fact come for him.
So both days of this weekend I had recording sessions over Zoom with A Besere Velt, in consequence of which in the evenings I was a puddle of mush with a cat on it and occasionally coughing, in consequence of which I fell face-first into The Greatest American Hero (1981–83), in consequence of which I have now been playing Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" for something over twelve hours:
sholio has the full story. Music licensing for home release is beginning to assume the proportions of a devil. I am enjoying the series immensely. It is one of the shows where the narrative level of the plot is almost always nonsense, but all of the character work is engaging and sound and sometimes criminally endearing—it's not at all serialized, but it has continuity and growth. Robert Culp's Bill Maxwell has been added to my list of favorite characters. I suspect the show of being terrifically idtastic, but most of the time its id is really nice.
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Ughh, okay, I will pray for bronchitis if it's better than alternatives--I guess the idea is that if it's bronchitis, the meds will clear it up? I hear in the news about how there's very little flu about, because of everyone distancing and wearing masks, and yet somehow people do still end up getting things--you with the presumed bronchitis, and over on Twitter a friend reported coming down with something too (a person who also is very careful about not coming in contact with people). I feel like that must tell us something about the omnipresence of certain infectious agents ... Anyway, be that as it may: here's hoping the medicine clears things up.
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Yes, Bill Maxwell was so often a walking id.
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It really is. The replacement song—which I encountered first—is not bad, but the original is just no contest. I wish the show could get the licensing for DVD. It's the third instance in a month I've encountered of music rights really messing up the home release of a television production.
Yes, Bill Maxwell was so often a walking id.
Look at me looking like I mind, though.
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If asked to describe himself, Bill would probably tell you that he's a hard-headed, no-nonsense, by-the-book federal agent dedicated strictly to his job in defense of America and if he were right he would be completely intolerable, so it's just as well that he has a streak of marshmallow a mile wide where his co-protagonists are concerned and has more or less literally told his government to stuff it when it's a choice between his country or the fate of the world. Sometimes he is a conservative dinosaur and one of the neat things about the show is that it does not endorse him in this mode. More basically, he is brave, cranky, really not stupid even if he has to get out of the way of his own machismo for the audience to see it, and highly breakable—he hasn't finished an episode in traction yet, but it's not for lack of trying. He wears three-piece suits and has a wonderfully goofy snicker, not to mention a sarcasm reflex that's off the Geiger counter. His government-issue cars tend to have short and memorable lives. He is a disaster at admitting to having emotions about things even as said emotions are visible from space and I am desperately fond of him.
Ughh, okay, I will pray for bronchitis if it's better than alternatives--I guess the idea is that if it's bronchitis, the meds will clear it up?
I got two inhalers and a steroid rinse. Pneumonia would require antibiotics, which I would prefer to avoid if possible; so I am going to hope they will not be necessary.
I hear in the news about how there's very little flu about, because of everyone distancing and wearing masks, and yet somehow people do still end up getting things--you with the presumed bronchitis
I've gotten more than one cold this winter and it feels like cheating.
Anyway, be that as it may: here's hoping the medicine clears things up.
Thank you!
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I found him irresistible. I've also realized there's an angle from which he reminds me of Fflewddur, which is the recurring disparity between all the things Bill says about himself and his actions which make him out a liar in ways that are almost always more human and appealing and impressive than if he were just imperviously hard-boiled. Like the exchange I love so much at the end of The Book of Three (1964):
"We held off the war band," Fflewddur said, "until we were sure you were well away. Some them should have occasion to think unkindly of us for a while to come." The bard's face lit up. "There we were," he cried, "fighting like madmen, hopelessly outnumbered. But a Fflam never surrenders! I took on three at once. Slash! Thrust! Another seized me from behind, the wretched coward. But I flung him off. We disengaged them and made for Caer Dathyl, chopping and hacking all the way, beset on all sides . . ."
Taran expected Fflewddur's harp strings to sunder at any moment. To his surprise, they held firm.
"And so," Fflewddur concluded with a carefree shrug, "that was our part. Rather easy, when you come down to it; I had no fear of things going badly, not for an instant."
A string broke with a deep twang.
Fflewddur bent down to Taran. "Terrified," he whispered. "Absolutely green."
I fully believe Bill would save a child from drowning and then try to claim he'd just felt like going for a swim.
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Yes, wonderful--wonderful!
Magnificent gestures, underplayed. I'm remembering in A Wind in the Door when Mr. Jenkins tries to scuff up the new shoes he buys for Calvin, so it won't look like he went out and bought them.
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It enables him to be weird and petty about the small stuff, which is also somehow endearing. This is a man who absentmindedly eats dog biscuits and claims to own a glove compartment of gun magazines for the crosswords, of which the topper is that he actually does the crosswords. I don't think you can find a topic of conversation he can't grouch about. And he always comes through.
I'm remembering in A Wind in the Door when Mr. Jenkins tries to scuff up the new shoes he buys for Calvin, so it won't look like he went out and bought them.
Bill is extremely in the meme of "'Look how much I don't care,' I shouted, while loudly caring."
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I believe it too, especially after the gold mine episode when he very clearly would rather have Ralph think he's a selfish, money-grubbing asshole than admit that he wants the lion's share of the proceeds because he plans to give it all to his semi-destitute former FBI friend.
p.s. Now I'm making gifs.
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I loved that. And I loved that he confesses to Ralph that he was tempted not to go through with his plan, but he does, even when he thinks that all he can offer Harlan is his own small share of the strike. "You taught me to shoot straight. Don't change the rules on me now."
p.s. Now I'm making gifs.
HOORAY.
(Bill actually is a pretty decent liar so long as he's not trying it on his friends—his improvised technobabble, his field-agent fast talk, his various cover stories tend to work. It's just that if Pam or Ralph look hard at him, he is suddenly, inexplicably transparent.)
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Yeah; I agree! It's definitely one of the things I like about him - he's not incompetent, bumbling, or stupid. He's very good at what he does! But he absolutely can't put one over on Ralph and Pam (at least not for very long). They know him too well, they know all his tells, and I also like to think that he finds them difficult to lie to because he's just too damn fond of those kids.
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I was just explaining to
They know him too well, they know all his tells, and I also like to think that he finds them difficult to lie to because he's just too damn fond of those kids.
I really think he does. He doesn't make that stalling sound just a beat too long for anyone else.
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Yes! (Although I missed the seam. What a good detail.) What this show lacks in sane plots, it makes up for in character and detail continuity. I just hit the run of episodes where there's a one-off episode with the characters in the Caribbean ... and then they're still in the Caribbean in the next one, having a different adventure on the same vacation. That's a level of continuity you really don't expect from most early-80s TV, even if it's utterly goofball otherwise.
The show is also full of little touches and callbacks that make the characters feel like real people, as they evolve over time. Bill goes from pointing a gun at Tony in the first episode, to accusing Tony of stealing his hubcaps (which gets another callback a couple of episodes later), to having Tony willingly hand over the keys to HIS beloved car (that Bill helped him get back!) in mid-season-two when Bill needs it for a car chase. And that's not even a major character relationship in the show! Bill's nicknames for Pam (honey, angel, sweetheart, etc) have clearly gone from being condescending in the first couple of episodes to genuine affection - from "You're good troops, Angel" in 1x02, and Pam's eyeroll, to his breathless "Angel? You okay?" in the one I just watched, the (*very deep sigh*) voodoo episode, where it lands very differently.
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I'm pretty sure he mended it himself, too. It's not badly done, it just has that certain air of field surgery.
(There are such good details on this show. I so wish its network hadn't screwed with it.)
That's a level of continuity you really don't expect from most early-80s TV, even if it's utterly goofball otherwise.
I didn't expect it, even after the first Caribbean episode explicitly stated that Bill was flying back to the U.S. while the rest of the cast bounced around the islands for the next few weeks. I figured we'd catch up with them after the end of their vacation. Instead I got to see even more of Bill in shorts. (And occasionally boxers.)
Bill goes from pointing a gun at Tony in the first episode, to accusing Tony of stealing his hubcaps (which gets another callback a couple of episodes later), to having Tony willingly hand over the keys to HIS beloved car (that Bill helped him get back!) in mid-season-two when Bill needs it for a car chase.
Yes! It's especially wonderful because it's such a low-key progression: no one comments on it, flags it for the audience, etc. I've just started the third season and no one comments on the fact that Bill just comes over for dinner these days. He's just there and he has opinions about burgers.
It took me until the second season to realize I recognized Tony from Streets of Fire (1984), where he memorably had a sledgehammer fight with Willem Dafoe. It helped seeing Michael Paré's name in the regular credits.
Bill's nicknames for Pam (honey, angel, sweetheart, etc) have clearly gone from being condescending in the first couple of episodes to genuine affection - from "You're good troops, Angel" in 1x02, and Pam's eyeroll, to his breathless "Angel? You okay?" in the one I just watched, the (*very deep sigh*) voodoo episode, where it lands very differently.
Yes to all of this, including the deep sigh.
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Thank you! I wish your sister the best outcome.
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Oh, good!
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*hugs*
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hugs you warmly
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I was so impressed.
On the Matter of Henry Ford's Passing
Re: On the Matter of Henry Ford's Passing
I'd heard the die-on-a-Jewish-holiday joke for years, but this is the best punchline.
Re: On the Matter of Henry Ford's Passing
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According to family lore, Barry McGuire once came to our house to pick up my oldest sister on a motorcycle.
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Thank you! I will let you know no matter what.
According to family lore, Barry McGuire once came to our house to pick up my oldest sister on a motorcycle.
I really love your family's casual intersections with pop culture and art.
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Aw, well that's good!
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It is honestly really relaxing to spend time with!
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I suspect the show of being terrifically idtastic, but most of the time its id is really nice.
As thoroughly bonkers as the show is, I really appreciate that it has a general feeling of warmth and kindness that's really pleasant to spend time with. You get the feeling that the writers like the characters as much as the audience does.
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The channel 37 link is especially interesting because I used to live very close to Danville (a few towns over, but I know exactly where it is) and I didn't have any idea there was a big radio telescope there!
The radio telescope is the only reason I know anything about Danville! That's neat.
As thoroughly bonkers as the show is, I really appreciate that it has a general feeling of warmth and kindness that's really pleasant to spend time with. You get the feeling that the writers like the characters as much as the audience does.
Yes! And it sees them as people, rather than plot jigsaw. They grow in their own directions. And the show does seem to want them to be happy, within normal limits of whumping Bill.
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The list of terrible things happening to Bill has acquired a few new items from the last few episodes. I love that he's the show's designated damsel in distress, way more than Pam is.
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I just watched him get tossed out of a helicopter!
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I LOVED THAT PART. Especially since the show doesn't immediately brush off the trauma from it (I mean, for the next few minutes, anyway), and his gratitude to Ralph for saving him!
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Bill is so adamantly (if not always convincingly) stoic most of the time, any scene where he actually admits to vulnerability is incredibly effective and the helicopter aftermath is a particularly strong example, as Ralph helps him up out of the scrub they augured into:
"Bill, you all right? What's wrong with your knees?"
"Fear! Or I'm drunk."
"You're not drunk."
"Then I'm alive."
And the way Ralph flicks a beetle out of his hair afterward is really stupid and really sweet, which approximates so much of this show.
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This should not be a rare thing. Yet in mainstream pop culture, it often seems to be so...
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Thanks for the link! As alluded above, I don't think of the phenomenon in terms of being a fan of the characters so much as thinking of them as people, but I agree that you can see a difference between narratives that treat everyone as real and narratives that don't. I am sure I am capable of enjoying the latter kind, but I know I really like the former when I find it.
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I understand, and that's hard.
Prior to The Greatest American Hero, I had a definite emotional attachment to Robert Culp: as far as I can tell, it derived entirely from The Outer Limits' "Demon with a Glass Hand" (1964), which I still consider one of the great pieces of mid-century speculative TV even though its central metaphor of Gilgamesh is one hundred percent wrong. As of The Great American Hero, I think he's amazing. [edit]