FSM HOME MESSAGE BOARD FSM CDs FSM ONLINE RESOURCES FUN STUFF ABOUT US  SEARCH FSM

LOG IN Forgot Login? Register General Discussion • Trading Post • Non-Film Score Discussion  Profile • Preferences • Community Rules • Help/Contact • Search Board Search Terms:  Search Within:  topics posts since 2019 2018 posts 2017 posts 2016 posts 2015 posts 2014 posts 2013 posts 2012 posts 2011 posts 2010 posts 2009 posts 2008 posts 2007 posts 2006 posts 2005 posts 2004 posts 2003 posts 2002 posts 2001 posts 2000 posts users  search tips  You must log in or register to post.   Go to page:  1 2 3 4 5      Non-Film Score Discussion: Quincy M.E. season three DVD coming June 2, 2009.    FIRST   PRIOR   1 2 3 4    NEXT   LAST   Last Post   Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 10:55 AM     By:   CindyLover   (Member) I'll be the first to admit that I find an episode like one in which Quincy goes into a rant about handgun ownership to be the worst case of in-your-face preaching, plus it pushes an agenda I have no sympathy for on a political basis. While I can see your point, this was personally speaking one of the less tiresome later episodes, and I still remember the ending (Quincy and chums living it up at Danny's followed by the little boy finding a gun and shooting his sister with it) - a little sledgehammery, but at least it (and others) didn't pretend everything was all right again. Jack Webb was freqently ridiculued for how his Sergeant Friday would so often give one of his "Jesus speeches" at a given moment in many a "Dragnet" episode, but Webb at least managed to give his with a credible sounding voice of authority, whereas if a speech came from Quincy it just came off as Jack Klugman the actor injecting a personal soapbox of his own. I can imagine the groan that came from your mouth on seeing the opening credits for "The Law Is A Fool" ("Story by Jack Klugman").    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 11:06 AM     By:   Jim Phelps   (Member) Jack Webb was freqently ridiculued for how his Sergeant Friday would so often give one of his "Jesus speeches" at a given moment in many a "Dragnet" episode, but Webb at least managed to give his with a credible sounding voice of authority, whereas if a speech came from Quincy it just came off as Jack Klugman the actor injecting a personal soapbox of his own. It always goes down easier if you happen to agree with the message being rammed home, but regardless of whether I agree with a stated position or not, I'd prefer it not take center stage over a well-written story and excellent performances. Season three has mercifully been free of The Klug-Man's rants thus far, but then I'm only on disc two.    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 11:17 AM     By:   Eric Paddon   (Member) It always goes down easier if you happen to agree with the message being rammed home, but regardless of whether I agree with a stated position or not, I'd prefer it not take center stage over a well-written story and excellent performances. No question. I'd note that my pick for the worst episode of the original "Battlestar Galactica" is an episode that has a political speech by Captain Apollo that conforms *exactly* to what my own views of foreign policy and just war doctrine are, but the problem is the episode itself is terrible and painful to watch because of the bad script/acting etc. You can't give bad writing and acting a pass just because there are things you might like about the underlying ideological content. It can admittedly be a little more difficult to rise above ones feelings to recognize good acting and writing if the ideological content is something you don't agree with. I think if I can pick a film with a message I don't agree with but which I think is brilliantly made and which I can watch again and again it would have to be "On The Beach." Terrific poignant performances by Peck and Gardner, plus the fact that since Stanley Kramer wisely did *not* load up the script with a discourse on *how* the war started, we could instead take the film on its own terms as a story about people facing the end and be captivated by the human side of the story.    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 11:52 AM     By:   Jim Phelps   (Member) We'll be treated to an anti-gun episode in Five-O's seventh season, "Diary of a Gun", which will begin the "Speechifying" Era of McGarrett. The episode sounds similar to the Quincy show version. Speaking of that Quincy one, I saw the ep about five years ago and maybe I imagined this, but was every line of Quincy's dialogue an anti-gun diatribe? Every single line? http://www.mjq.net/fiveo/5-0log7.htm#167    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 12:15 PM     By:   Eric Paddon   (Member) Heck, even Jack Webb gave us an anti-gun episode in a S3 "Dragnet" (the year when every episode seemed to be a dull "community affairs" episode PR film for the LAPD instead of telling us a good story). I'm used to seeing that kind of stuff. Somewhere in the 1980s, subtlety just seemed to go out the window altogether.    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 12:19 PM     By:   Jim Phelps   (Member) Somewhere in the 1980s, subtlety just seemed to go out the window altogether. Which is why 1985 is pretty much my "cut-off point" in terms of TV shows (and most pop culture; there are exceptions, of course).    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 12:22 PM     By:   Eric Paddon   (Member) And you can also add to that, the fact that the mid to late 80s is when many familiar names and faces that were part of TV all the way back to the late 50s more and more disappeared from the scene. It's so easy to handle the transitions in TV from 50s to 60s to 70s to even early 80s because for the most part, you're always seeing the same group of people you've been comfortable with for decades, and then inevitably they're all just about gone come the late 80s and 90s.    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 12:30 PM     By:   Jim Phelps   (Member) And you can also add to that, the fact that the mid to late 80s is when many familiar names and faces that were part of TV all the way back to the late 50s more and more disappeared from the scene. It's so easy to handle the transitions in TV from 50s to 60s to 70s to even early 80s because for the most part, you're always seeing the same group of people you've been comfortable with for decades, and then inevitably they're all just about gone come the late 80s and 90s. That's true. I liked that Klugman brought actresses like Ina Balin and Carolyn Jones on QME as it was a reminder of seeing them in films dating back to the fifties, and as you mention, plenty of TV shows. It's not just nostalgia when I see these performers, but a tip off that I'll be watching more-than-capable actors--not to mention "Yum" candidates--on any given show of the 1950s-early 80s. Magnum, P.I., my favorite 1980s show, had no shortage of these performers during that program's run. EDIT: Ina Balin died young; only 52 back in 1990.    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 12:45 PM     By:   Eric Paddon   (Member) Exactly. We could respect the talent, ability, and beauty of these people and how in the end their presence makes so many stories that if told the same way in today's shows by actors and actresses we don't feel so comfortable with or respect, would make for less interesting viewing.    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 1:33 PM     By:   suburbanite   (Member) The problem with Quincy's moralizing is that even as fine an actor as Jack Klugman becomes boring when he's hitting the same note time after time after time. For me, the low point was one of several anti-drug eps, in which he demolished Simon Oakland's pharmaceutical shop and isn't even suspended from his job! Of course, it actually makes me laugh because I always was waiting for Oakland to ask Quincy, 'did that idiot Carl Kolchak put you up to this?'    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 1:51 PM     By:   Eric Paddon   (Member) LOL, maybe Quincy was possessed by one of the demons Kolchak kept chasing every week! I think the biggest cheat though that "Quincy" did at the end of its run is that when he married Anita Gillette (who also played his deceased first wife in a flashback episode) they wouldn't even finally reveal his first name in the wedding vows and had the judge/preacher whatever say "Do you, QUINCY take this woman...." That would make the ceremony not legit!    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 1:58 PM     By:   suburbanite   (Member) LOL, maybe Quincy was possessed by one of the demons Kolchak kept chasing every week! I think the biggest cheat though that "Quincy" did at the end of its run is that when he married Anita Gillette (who also played his deceased first wife in a flashback episode) they wouldn't even finally reveal his first name in the wedding vows and had the judge/preacher whatever say "Do you, QUINCY take this woman...." That would make the ceremony not legit! I agree. That was taking the gag a little too far, I thought. When it becomes compulsory not to reveal somebody's first name or whatever, it often becomes annoying, as that did. And come to think of it, Quincy did kinda look possessed in that scene in the head shop. :    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 1:59 PM     By:   Jim Phelps   (Member) LOL, maybe Quincy was possessed by one of the demons Kolchak kept chasing every week! I think the biggest cheat though that "Quincy" did at the end of its run is that when he married Anita Gillette (who also played his deceased first wife in a flashback episode) they wouldn't even finally reveal his first name in the wedding vows and had the judge/preacher whatever say "Do you, QUINCY take this woman...." That would make the ceremony not legit! Quincy actually getting married is a far cry from those S1 episodes, when he and Lee (Lynette Mettey) talk about their "casual" or "open" relationship (I forget exactly what they said), but that first season morality was endemic to the mid-1970s. BTW, I'm pleased with the transfers on the S3 set.    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 2:03 PM     By:   Eric Paddon   (Member) Of course I don't even think they acknowledged Quincy being a widower at all until that flashback episode, which would be another case of cheating by changing things in mid-stream. But yes, the gimmick on not giving the name does wear out after awhile. Columbo can get away with it because we don't see him off-duty at home and we never see his wife (no, don't say we did with Kate Mulgrew!). He's always a figure of some mystery in which we're never quite sure about anything about his background. By contrast, "T.J. Hooker" had one early episode where his first name (Thomas) was revealed.    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 2:58 PM     By:   suburbanite   (Member) But yes, the gimmick on not giving the name does wear out after awhile. Columbo can get away with it because we don't see him off-duty at home and we never see his wife (no, don't say we did with Kate Mulgrew!). He's always a figure of some mystery in which we're never quite sure about anything about his background. Good comparison with Columbo. It does work better in that case. And yeah, I try to pretend Mrs. Columbo never happened!    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 3:03 PM     By:   Eric Paddon   (Member) When MAD Magazine did their parody of "Star Trek: Voyager" they worked in a wonderfully subtle reference to the embarrassing "Mrs. Columbo" series by having a picture of Falk as Columbo behind Captain Janeway with the inscription "Take my wife, please!"    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 10:44 PM     By:   CindyLover   (Member) I try to pretend Mrs. Columbo never happened! Even Universal tried to pretend it never happened...    Posted:   Jun 14, 2009 - 10:59 PM     By:   Eric Paddon   (Member) Not quite, since they had to stick "bonus" episodes of that show on the regular Columbo DVD sets, while not giving us more worthy bonus content.    Posted:   Jun 15, 2009 - 5:57 AM     By:   Lee S   (Member) The problem with Quincy's moralizing is that even as fine an actor as Jack Klugman becomes boring when he's hitting the same note time after time after time. For me, the low point was one of several anti-drug eps, in which he demolished Simon Oakland's pharmaceutical shop and isn't even suspended from his job! "Bitter Pill" was an example I had in mind of the message episodes I did like because of the added layers. I liked the fact that Quincy lost it and tore apart the store, and then liked even more that when Dr. Asten bailed him out of jail for it, he essentially told him he was being a spoiled brat and that if he wanted to accomplish something he should be an adult and a professional. That is to say, the social issue is the catalyst, but the result is a character-oriented story.    Posted:   Jun 15, 2009 - 8:44 PM     By:   suburbanite   (Member) The problem with Quincy's moralizing is that even as fine an actor as Jack Klugman becomes boring when he's hitting the same note time after time after time. For me, the low point was one of several anti-drug eps, in which he demolished Simon Oakland's pharmaceutical shop and isn't even suspended from his job! "Bitter Pill" was an example I had in mind of the message episodes I did like because of the added layers. I liked the fact that Quincy lost it and tore apart the store, and then liked even more that when Dr. Asten bailed him out of jail for it, he essentially told him he was being a spoiled brat and that if he wanted to accomplish something he should be an adult and a professional. That is to say, the social issue is the catalyst, but the result is a character-oriented story. I can understand your critique of the ep itself and the fact that it was giving us some character-oriented stuff, but I do think it's far-fetched that Quincy isn't even suspended for his antics.     Non-Film Score Discussion: Quincy M.E. season three DVD coming June 2, 2009.    << < 1 2 3 4  > >>  Go to page:  1 2 3 4 5   First Post    General Discussion • Trading Post • Non-Film Score Discussion  Profile • Preferences • Community Rules • Help/Contact • Search Board You must log in or register to post.   Go to page:  1 2 3 4 5

© 2024 Film Score Monthly. All Rights Reserved. Website maintained and powered by Veraprise and Matrimont.