Ramblings and Musings of the Insane, Philosophical Ladybug

So on Monday I saw the 10-inch Funrise Scootaloo. All copies had flaws, and I didn't want her enough to get one of the flawed ones, but now I actually have some hope that maybe I'll be able to get the Sunset Shimmer plush after all! Scootaloo was released in the same wave as Sunset. Now I wish I could get to the other nearby Wal-Marts to check their stock.... I want Sunset badly enough that I probably would get a flawed one just to have her, within reason, of course.

And I finally saw a couple of things I meant to get to but pushed aside while watching Carmen episodes: The Fall Guy episode with Richard and the Alias Smith and Jones episode with Joseph. Admittedly, had I really understood what happened in the episodes, I probably would have seen them sooner. I don't always like The Fall Guy or Lee Major's character in it; he is such a grouch sometimes. And I don't like what he did to Richard's character's house. That was just plain immature, no matter his reason. But I did love that even though Richard's character was a little shady, he wasn't responsible for abducting one of Lee's character's friends. And then they had to team up to find out what was going on! And Lee's character even apologized for driving a bulldozer through Richard's character's house! Squee, such fun.

Oddly enough, though, it's the Alias Smith and Jones episode I'm the most thrilled about. Joseph's character in that isn't a bad guy at all. When I discussed the episode with someone who'd seen it, she told me he killed the guy who was killing poker players and she thought it was because he was trying to keep more people from being killed. Which isn't a bad reason, necessarily, but he would probably still be convicted of murder in that case. Actually, he killed the guy because the other murders were to cover up his own murder. He killed in self-defense at the point when he was going to be next.

I still think the premise of the series in general is absolutely ludicrous, but I enjoyed this episode. It was far more serious than the other one I tried, there was plenty of adorable Joseph, there was a happy ending, and there was hurt/comfort! I did enjoy seeing the friendship between the main characters and how worried one was for the other when he was shot.

I don't know if I'll want to try the show any more, as I've heard it's usually lighthearted and silly, probably more like the episode I didn't like. But I loved that episode so much and am so thrilled by the outcome that I feel like getting the disc from Netflix and showing it to Mom. Or we could try watching it on Hulu, like I just did. There weren't even any ads in it, but although it played great for the first half of it, it started screwing up later and it took me a while to get through it all, so I might rather get the disc for that reason alone.

Also, I noticed that I Spy has been taken down. Understandable, but now I'm frustrated wondering when I'll ever get to see the Victor Buono episode. I should have done it before, and I would have, if Hulu worked better for me. I was really surprised that the Smith and Jones episode played so relatively well for me tonight. That is highly unusual for Hulu.

It kind of looks like the only way I could see that I Spy episode at this point is to buy the show. Prices are way down. And I would like uncut copies of the Richard and H.M. episodes. But ... do I really want to buy the show, all things considered? I'll admit I've been extremely disappointed, disillusioned, and disgusted by the revelations about Bill Cosby over the past few months, more than I'd probably be about someone else. He was one of my favorites, probably on the tier right below the actors I actually crush on. I thought he was awesome, hilarious, and I really respected him as a person. Naturally I can never have that respect for him again.

But ... my reasons for getting the show wouldn't have anything to do with him. Still, though, I'd be paying money that I suppose he'd get a part of. Royalties and all. I don't want to give him any money, nor do I want to make it look like I'm still a fan/still loyal/don't care about the horrible things coming out. I'm all for separating actors and characters, but in a situation like this, I don't feel I can apply that viewpoint and fully feel okay about getting the show anyway.

But I want those episodes.... And not digital copies, the physical thing.

Sigh.

So, looking over a recent email from Amazon, I've discovered there is a genre called Magical Realism. I took one look at that and my immediate thought was, "... Magical ... Realism? Isn't that an oxymoron?"

I suppose the idea is that it uses fantasy settings/characters/etc. to teach real-world lessons, but I am still amused by the genre name. It just sounds so nonsensical.

And I finished a fic yesterday for the intriguing 31_days prompt "Between the last remaining headstones." I couldn't pass up a chance to do another cemetery fic. I used the real locale Bayside Cemetery as the setting. Its condition is absolutely, utterly appalling and heartbreaking. I've never heard of such widespread desecration of a modern cemetery. It's better than it was a few years ago, thanks to some people who have really tried to work on it and an official clean-up project, but as far as I know, it's still not ideal and it's still very bad off in the deeper places not visible from the road. I also hear it's haunted. Considering its state, that's no surprise. Coffins were broken into and robbed and the bones scattered all over the ground! Worse, I heard of at least one skull being deliberately broken by some intruder who apparently just wanted to make fun of it. I felt like crying when I read that. The dead must be very furious.

Also, I watched Joseph on Quincy, M.E. in The Final Gift episode. He was wonderful and adorable and the main guest-star and the character was a good guy! And there was a May-December romance going on that was going to be happy and I was thinking "Oh man. Lucky, lucky girl." And totally envying the actress who got to be there with him! I was inwardly squealing with glee.

I love whenever I see a May-December romance turn out happy. In 1960s TV, it generally didn't seem to, but by the 1970s, they were doing some great stories at least sometimes. Other than the Joseph one, I can think of two other awesome ones, both of which had Simon. One was an Ironside episode and Simon's character was a bystander. The other was a Marcus Welby, M.D. episode and Simon was involved in the romance. Squeeeee. Oh, and I just remembered one time 1960s TV did a really sweet one: The Lovers episode of One Step Beyond.

Went to Wal-Mart this past evening due to Dad not feeling well. He still wasn't, but we were so badly in need of stuff that we really couldn't postpone it another day. So he gave me some money and I bought the stuff while he waited and rested in the car (and in Wal-Mart, after it got too cold in the car).

I went looking for the pajama pants and didn't see them, and I saw that the set with both pieces was $14. And in the right size. Starry eyes. I immediately grabbed that. But since I didn't have my refund yet, I had to borrow the money for that from what Dad gave me. I was worried to not get it right then, since it had been selling well; several were gone from last week. Hopefully the refund will come in soon; I've written to ask if the DVDs have got back yet. In any case, since that's something I actually need and I wasn't just being frivolous, maybe Dad won't be too frustrated about that purchase.

I also got season 1 of 1960's Batman (finally!). Used my own money for that one. Hoping to watch a Penguin episode or two now.

Still no Joseph movie. I'll have to get it online (and hope Amazon will have some in stock when my other gift card comes in. It should be any day now....).

So last week on Monday MeTV started their new Fall schedule. First day went fine. Second day, Tuesday, our local affiliate had a really dumb screw-up that caused them to air everything an hour earlier than it was supposed to. We tried to watch CHiPs, but because of the screw-up, we got the TV on at what was then the wrong time.

I was really mad, not just that such a dumb thing had happened, but also that it had happened right after the new schedule went into effect. I'm sure there were lots of people trying to get the new shows and were disappointed.

I complained. On MeTV's Facebook, on their website, on the local affiliate's website, and on their after-hours answering machine. I was civil, especially on the phone, but I made it clear that I was not happy one bit.

The next day the problem was fixed. And I noticed to my chagrin that the local affiliate had actually called back on my cellphone. I didn't catch the call and I don't have voicemail set up, so there was no message, but I immediately worried whether I'd sounded nasty on the message I left on the answering machine. I hope not. I honestly hadn't expected them to call back. Naturally the mess was a stupid accident, but it was aggravating that they weren't paying close enough attention to prevent it from happening. It's not like no one was there and that's how it went wrong; Labor Day was the day when the schedule went correctly. The next day, when people came back to work, is when it messed up.

Also, Naked City is one of the most depressing things I have ever seen. It was created or written or something by the same guy who did Route 66, but it doesn't seem to have that series' charm and hope.

I waited for ages for MeTV to show the Simon episode of Naked City, which was one of the half-hour ones. It was a piece of badly-written junk. There was barely any time to properly advance the plot and it ended in about the lamest way possible, with Simon and the other guy shooting each other dead. I am so glad I didn't try buying the series to get that episode.

I hoped that maybe the series improved when it went to an hour-long format. I found one of Joseph's three episodes, Memory of a Red Trolley Car or something like that, and watched some of it. Unfortunately, even though it was admittedly better written and developed things more, it still ended in a really discouraging way. This poor guy played by Barry Morse was exposed to some chemical and spent the episode roaming around in a daze. When they finally caught up to him and had him in the hospital, he told his wife something about their kids and she looked stricken. "We don't have any kids," she said. "He never wanted any." And it just ended like that.

The other two of Joseph's episodes are going to air this week, as Naked City is now airing six times a week. Joseph didn't have a big part in the Trolley episode and I'm wondering if he has any better screentime in the other two. They both sound like they're probably the same discouraging way as the others I've seen, so I'm wondering if they're even worth watching or recording at all.

Sometimes I don't mind a tragic episode of something here or there; it's certainly realistic. But I get really annoyed if it seems like that's all a series has. I can do without that. There's so many shows and stories that just have what seems to me to be unnecessary tragedies. Even if I get the point of why they're there, their existence can seriously bug me sometimes. I like to watch things largely to escape from reality, not be presented with it even more. And that's not to say that I think all fiction should be sunshine and rainbows; that would be annoying too. I guess I just want a better balance.

And The Man From U.N.C.L.E. started tonight, with season 1. I was slightly worried whether they'd go straight to the color episodes, but no, it looks like they're going to show it all. I hope the episodes will be uncut, especially since they're the only copies of seasons 1 and 3 I'm likely to have. (I own 4 on DVD.)

I don't know that I'll record much of season 2; there's a few I want, but mostly I found season 2 unmemorable and a drag. I am amused that I feel like that and adore season 3, instead of the other way around.

I am also amused how someone once told me that all the seasons after 1 focus more on Illya. Actually, that's not even true. The other seasons focus more on Napoleon and Illya as a team and try to have equal screentime for them both. There's really very little, if any, focus on Illya as the main man instead of Napoleon, which is the impression this person gave me. There's only even one episode in the entire series that doesn't have Napoleon in it at all, and that's in season 4.

I guess compared to season 1's focus on Napoleon doing missions by himself (note I'm trying to avoid the pun of him doing missions solo **headdesk**), it would look like reduced screentime in the other seasons, but honestly, it's not anywhere as much as I was told. Interesting how two people can look at the same thing and see entirely different things. This person doesn't like Illya, so I suppose any more screentime for him, even if it's equally balanced with Napoleon's, looks like way too much screentime in their eyes!

Also interesting is that normally I would just go for Illya, since he's the serious, aloof one. But I honestly can't choose between him and Napoleon. Illya is gloriously aloof, a softie at heart, and not that interested in romance, but Napoleon always makes me laugh. Some of his comments are just priceless.

I can't even fully say why some characters strike me and others don't. Normally the aloof ones are always my main mans. And then other times, I'll like the funny ones. They have to be a certain, intelligent kind of funny, like how I adore Micky in season 1 of The Monkees but can't stand him at times in season 2.

One type I very rarely go for is the streetwise type, which is probably one reason why, even though I like them and want them present, characters like Joey in YGO or Ponch on CHiPs are not my favorites.

Then it seems like the Jack Webb shows always have one single guy and one married guy. And one of them is generally a little weird. I think I like Jim Reed (the married one) better on Adam-12. (Neither he nor Pete fit into the "weird" category, though. But Jim is usually trying to convince Pete to get married, same as on Dragnet.) Then on Dragnet, I like the serious, single Sergeant Friday better than his strange partners (even though I'm very fond of Harry Morgan in general). But on Emergency!, John Gage (the single one and the oddball) is my favorite instead of the more quiet Roy. Johnny seriously amuses me and I'm just so fond of him in spite of his oddities (and occasionally because of them). I totally related to him in the episode where he kept getting woke up while trying to sleep and then he ended up not being able to sleep because he was worried he'd get woke up again. (And Ponch, although not from a Jack Webb show, definitely qualifies under the "weird" category too. LOL.)

Then when it comes to shows like Mannix or The Six Million Dollar Man, even though I love the main characters too, I go for their bosses even more. (And their bosses usually fit the standard pattern of what I typically like in characters.) I relate to them and their concerns and don't feel it's fair when people say those characters aren't as good because they don't just jump in and do what's "right" without question, like how Steve often disobeys his boss and does what he thinks is right. But his boss Oscar, for example, is in charge of a government agency. He has to think of the big picture, even if that's going to clash with what his agent Steve Austin wants to do. He has to worry about red tape and bureaucrats and be concerned about keeping his job. After all, he won't be able to do any good at all if he gets fired. But he tries to always support Steve and Jaime, and if his job ends up clashing with their safety, he puts his job on the line for them. Both he and Steve do what they feel is right; they just have different ideas sometimes on how to go about it. But I think they agree on methods many times when it matters the most.

So yeah. It's pretty much a show-by-show basis and I'm never sure which way I'll go until I'm into the show and watching it. It puzzles me a bit, and yet I think it's probably a good thing that I don't just strictly stick to one type of character for interest. Aloof, serious ones will always be my favorites in general, but it's kind of fun when I have some favorites that break a mold a bit.

I adore this publicity shot that I found on Disc 6 of season 1 of Mannix. I just wish it was in color. So cute and squeeable!

I finished Disc 6 this morning. I am heartbroken that there are no more Lew episodes. But I am looking forward to going back and watching Discs 1 and 2 over again; it's been a while. And I wanna see the Deadfall two-parter again. Sooo intense and heartbreaking and friendshippy.

I wish people would write fanfiction with Lew. There is an old Mannix fanzine that has Lew in it somewhere, so I might try to locate that.

And I ordered season 8 of Mannix from Amazon and it came today. Very bittersweet there, seeing it say "The Final Season" all over it. Once we finish season 8, there's no more Mannix episodes we haven't seen. Of course, with 194 episodes, we can probably easily put the show into rotation and continue enjoying it indefinitely, just like with Perry Mason. (Maybe we can also finally see some of the many Rockford episodes I have stocked up.) Once we see some episodes, it will be a long time since we've seen some others. I wanna see some seasons 2 and 3 episodes again.

I also ordered season 2 of Rockford, so now I have 5/6ths of a series I don't even like that much, which is hilarious. Might as well get season 1 and have the whole set, since they're only $10-ish each. Anyway, I learned that there's a season 2 episode with Joseph as the main guest star. And I already wanted season 2 at some point to have the H.M. episode on DVD. (I have it recorded.) There's also one with William Boyett (albeit he's the bad guy). But overall, quite satisfying. I'm anxious to watch the Joseph episode, which I don't recall ever seeing in full. I think I saw part of it on TV once. Joseph's brother Frank is in it too, and he plays a guy who kidnaps Rockford and Joseph's character. I believe I remember them in the car with him. If there is such a scene in the episode, then I will know I saw part of it before and didn't dream it up.

Another thing I know I saw before is the suspense film Skyway to Death, about people trapped on a tramway car. It was just wonderful! Nobody died, Joseph played a sweet character, people were trying to help each other, and I knew almost everyone else in the cast. Tige Andrews, Ross Martin, John Astin, Nancy Malone, the lady who played Miss Emily on Kolchak.... I specifically remember the climatic scene with Bobby Sherman and Joseph on the roof of the car, trying to bring it down. So either we have it on a cheap Dollar Tree DVD around here somewhere, or more likely, we saw it on TV sometime back. There used to be a channel that played a lot of old TV movies. I saw the Robert Conrad TV movie Coach of the Year on it once, too. I sure wish I could find a copy of Skyway to Death to own, if we don't have it. It was such a good, uplifting, exciting film.

And it means I know Joseph from something else from years before. I already knew I'd seen his Touched by an Angel episode a long time ago.

I have quite a few Mannix story ideas bouncing around in my mind. All would involve Lew and I really want to do all of them as season 1 era stories, except maybe one of them that would be more intense with everyone.

- A series of short stories showing how Joe and Lew became friends. (First I must confirm or deny whether they knew each other before Intertect. I can't imagine Joe going there on his own to get a job. I think Lew must have offered it to him, which would be more likely if they knew each other before. And their interaction is a lot like people who have known each other for many years.)

- An epilogue to the Deadfall two-parter. (This one is almost finished.)

- A story where Lew is the one in the town without pity and while he tries to figure out what's going on and how to get out, Joe is trying to get in to find him.

- A story where Lew gets a report that Joe is dead. Although shaken at first, he quickly becomes suspicious and doesn't believe it, and goes looking for answers and Joe.

- A story like Deadfall in reverse, where Joe is the one acting violent and strange. This is the one that might work best with everyone involved, including Peggy and at least one of Joe's police friends.

I am now full-blown crushing on Joseph Campanella. No regrets.

One awesome thing about crushing on someone who popped up on so many different things: I've discovered several things around the house with him that I'd been unaware of owning! He even appeared in the Route 66 episode with Simon and interacted with him! Squeeeee. I remember I always liked his character in that, too; I thought he was a sweetheart. And a while back I bought a Marcus Welby season 1 "Best of" disc for $1 because I couldn't remember if the Simon episode I wanted was season 1 (it wasn't; season 7, and I picked it up on Cozi recently. It was glorious!). I ended up with the Steve Ihnat episode and the Julie Adams episode, both of which pleased me. And now I find I have Joseph's first episode too. Squeeee! I dug the disc out and am hoping to watch that today.

And I have disc 3 of Mannix season 1 out from Netflix. I am just loving season 1 so, so much. These characters, they just have this amazingly wonderful friendship! The second episode we watched on the disc, Turn Every Stone, started out kind of disjointed and weird and confusing, and I was disappointed that Joe Mannix was on a trip to Washington D.C. for the case. I was afraid Lew would only appear on the telephone. But instead, the client is a friend of his and asks him to help too, so he flies out and there is much interaction and he saves Joe from the Big Bad at the end and it's just so awesome!

Joe is a lone wolf, but he and Lew really work together so well. One of the things I most adore is that Lew really values Joe's feelings and opinions on things. He trusts Joe enough to know that his ideas are often on the right track, so instead of rehashing that annoying "you are crazy for coming up with that idea" thing every single episode, he usually instead is willing to listen and consider Joe's ideas and give him the benefit of a doubt. Even the times when Joe does something so outrageous that Lew is horrified and alarmed, such as hiding a boy and telling his parents he's been kidnapped (because the dad is in danger and so is the boy, and Joe wanted to get the kid out of circulation for a while and have as few people as possible know, for the kid's own safety), Lew will go along with Joe's plans after Joe talks to him about it for a while.

In seasons 2 on, the writers tried to replicate some of the elements of Joe's friendship with Lew by having Joe have policemen friends who similarly listen to his ideas and sometimes come to save him in the climax. But it's still not the same. Even Art Malcolm, the policeman I like the best (I really have a hard time fully warming up to Adam Tobias), does a lot of the "you're crazy for that idea" scoffing.

Joe and Lew just have such a beautiful, unique friendship and I just can't get enough of it. I continue to be heartbroken that Lew is absent after season 1. Joseph Campanella had wanted to come back for guest appearances as Lew, but somehow that never materialized because The Lawyers came along. But since it was part of a wheel show and there weren't really many episodes per season, I still wonder why there wasn't time to fit in a guest spot as Lew. I wonder if the writers really didn't want the character coming back, since when they finally did get Joseph for a guest spot, he played someone else.

It was interesting about that character too, really. He was an arrogant doctor who had a lot of faults, and Joe didn't like him at all at first. But as the episode goes on and they interact, Joe starts to develop a certain respect for the man. At the end, he sees the doctor discouraged and sad over losing a patient and the doctor says he plays tennis a lot to try to deal with his feelings when that happens. They decide to play a game together.

I was afraid they'd have the character be a bad guy or have him and Joe part on unfriendly terms. Having them come to respect and even like each other felt like a callback to old times, even though Joseph was playing someone other than Lew.

My Mannix fic involves their friendship a lot, although I'm not going to say exactly how. There are a lot of twists and turns and confusing things, hopefully appropriate for a Mannix fic. It's flying along and I just love when inspiration hits this hard. I hope it lasts until I can finish it; I really want to tell this story.

I just wish more people knew who Lew is. Since he's only in season 1, and season 1 has been left out of rerun packages, a lot of people don't know or remember him and that's such a shame.