More Squeeing

[ladybug_archive]

I caught Simon Oakland playing good guys in two early episodes of Gunsmoke, How to Cure a Friend and Overland Express. I am particularly thrilled with the latter. He plays a poor guy wanted for murder who only killed in self-defense. Matt and Chester are chasing him, and after a confrontation they all end up on a stagecoach back to Dodge that's marked for hijacking. And when the trouble comes down, Matt is forced to trust Simon's character, Jim Nation. Jim comes through with flying colors.

I also watched episodes 7 and 8 of Baa Baa Black Sheep. 7 was very intense, but I loved 8 the best of the two. General Moore is again especially awesome in it! He reminds me so much of a more calm Tony Vincenzo, compassionate but stern. He listened to a wild idea of Pappy's for a different way to do a dangerous mission that would be less likely to result in losing some of the men. He said that it was so crazy that only someone like him would be willing to listen to it. And he was risking a lot by agreeing to do it, but he did. I wonder if there's any other episodes that feature him taking a fairly large role in the proceedings.

And I've been loving Riverboat and Captain Grey Holden. Darren McGavin is so wonderful in the role. Grey reminds me a lot of Kolchak in some ways, particularly how he's so frank and calls them as he sees them and refuses to bow to wicked men and has a very strong sense of not allowing innocent people to be harmed.

I think I like the earlier episodes best, from what I've seen. I really love Ben Frazer's (Fraser? Frasier?) interaction with Grey. I want to do a friendship h/c fic with them (and Grey as the one hurt). I'm really quite indifferent to Burt Reynolds in general, but I liked his character Ben the moment I saw him. It felt so right for him to be there. I'd wondered if I'd have trouble liking him, but there was no problem at all.

(In spite of that, I admit I haven't watched The Unwilling yet. I only watched the parts at the beginning and the end where Grey is there. I like Ben, but Grey is the whole reason I'm watching the show. I don't really have close ties to any of the other characters yet, so if Grey isn't around I lose interest quick.)

The Fight Back is my favorite episode so far. Grey is absolutely awesome in it. And it's so intense! I just love the cold open with the burning town. Grey grabbed my attention with his opening speech.

As a general rule, I really haven't cared much for episodes focusing on Grey's love life/him romancing a girl. (I temporarily had to give up on Race to Cincinnati, because both the girl's frustrating brand of flirting and Grey crushing on her was driving me nuts.) But I do really love The Path of the Eagle (with the flashback to Marion and what happened to keep them apart) and The Fight at New Canal (where the married woman keeps making advances on Grey and he keeps to his integrity). There's a lot of hurt/comfort in those episodes, too.

Comments

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

I saw the Route 66 episode now! It was very good. Darren is amazing in whatever role he plays.

I'm not sure I'd say I learned more about his character in that than his characters in some other shows, though. I got just as much out of his character in that Virginian episode The Deadly Past and his Gunsmoke characters.

I really liked Scully, the trainer, in the Route 66 episode too. Such a grouch, and a taunter at first, and yet it looked like from later scenes that he really did care about Darren's character Johnny Copa.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's just my talent at reading between the lines. LOL. I get such a kick out of that.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Eee, I've seen the other two episodes on the disc now: Welcome to Amity and Incident on a Bridge. I got a lot more out of them; they're right up my alley with their dark, intense plots and the questions they raised. I wish there had been a fourth episode on the disc! While I love and adore Darren's performance in The Opponent, I just didn't get as much out of that episode in general (even though I appreciate the depth of Darren's character). Maybe it's because I've never understood the appeal of boxing. But I'm sold on the show now! I added another disc to the queue last night, the one with Simon Oakland's episode (of course).

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Sweet! I am definitely looking forward to seeing more.

I only watch them if there's someone in them I want to see (or if I'm watching a whole series and want to see for completeness). I've seen two for Jimmy and this one for Darren, although I've also seen others over the years. I do like the one in The Monkees. And there was one in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., but I was more lukewarm about it.

I think it's called To Walk With The Serpent, from season 2. I tried to find out what role Simon played, but all I could find out is what role he seems to not play. He wasn't mentioned as one of the crooks, so I wondered if he's one of the FBI guys.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

I'll keep those titles in mind!

I read about Buz's disappearance, and it also seems OOC for his friend to be traveling with the canon explanation of Buz in the hospital, before Buz actually vanished. Wouldn't he want to stay there, with Buz? The only way I can figure that one out would be if Buz encouraged him to keep going and then write him about places.

Frank Sutton, who played Sgt. Carter on Gomer Pyle, is in the episode with Simon Oakland. From what I read, Frank plays one of the bad guys. That will be strange to see. Allan Melvin, who was Carter's nemesis Sgt. Hacker, was in Incident on a Bridge. He played a possessive creep.

Yeah, that sounds right.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Oooh. Okay, I'll have those episodes at the very top of my list.

It really is weird and annoying that Buz didn't get a proper write-out. In some ways, maybe it's not so strange since I read that we don't seem to learn much background information about him and Tod, with the focus being on the guest cast and all. But from what we do see, it's still hard to swallow. I really wonder why they thought it would be IC for Buz to be in the hospital and Tod to just go on traveling instead of staying with him.

Oh, that's what your Route 66 fic is about? I was thinking to myself that I wanted to read it now that I've seen some of the show. I'll be sure to leave a review when I do!

Frank is very good at playing tough guys. Sgt. Carter is one too, albeit one on the right side of the law.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Awesome!

I'll make a note of those, too. I love backstory episodes of shows.

Deaths are sometimes very good ways of explaining characters' fates. Especially in Buz's case, where he actually was reported to be ill.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I remember. I'll check that one out too!

Indeed. It's so frustrating! It happened with Cpl. Boyle on Gomer Pyle, too. Considering the nature of the show, I assume he was just transferred out. But they couldn't even be bothered to say that much.

I don't know whether I'd call it tactless, since if the actor died I wouldn't necessarily consider it tactless for his character to canonically die too, depending on how they handled it. So I kind of consider the actor and the character sharing an illness to be the same principle.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

That's certainly understandable. I prefer them to be seen as separate, too. I don't think that's too much of a problem in general, unless it's a show like The Monkees.

It's not weird at all! I am thoroughly intrigued by these concepts. Poor Tod! And the car, too. I like the idea that Tod views it as a friend. The thought of him being split between the past and the future is so sad. I wonder if, in your canon, he's ever able to move on.

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Yeah, sometimes sequels just don't want to work.

Aww, that would be cute! I'd like to see it.

[rose-of-pollux.livejournal.com]

Hmm. That second Gunsmoke ep is actually interesting. Normally, the whole Western genre doesn't appeal to me--I think the only Western I remotely liked was that Liberty Valance movie Jimmy Stewart was in. But the whole stagecoach thing... ooh...

Yay for Moore being like Tony! X3 And Grey reminding you of Kolchak!

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

I adore Westerns. I think my interest started when I watched High Noon with Dad when I was about five or six. I was captivated by the tense plot. I'm glad you liked the Overland Express episode of Gunsmoke!

[rose-of-pollux.livejournal.com]

Well, it technically was a skim-through since it wasn't my genre, but I liked what I saw of it. X3 And my, wasn't Simon so young and dashing...?

[insaneladybug.livejournal.com]

Yessss. And he looks even younger in the other one, which was two years earlier.