Dee, who pens the wonderful Little Miss Chatterbox blog, had a post on Sunday that asked: what sitcom character would you be when you grow up? — taken from ABFreedom’s blog.
She offered three: 1) Sydney Bristow from the series Alias. 2) Elaine from Seinfeld. 3) Jackie from That 70s Show.
I thought about that for a moment and came up with my first three. But instead of limiting myself to sitcoms, I cheated and expanded the venue to TV in general (but not movies — that would be a geometrically different level — perhaps to be visited later?).
Here are my three:
1. Captain James Tiberius Kirk from the original Star Trek series:
Low tech, campy, but strikingly original for its time, Star Trek and specifically Captain Kirk embodied, for me, the quintessential Leader Who Didn’t Mind Changing The Game. As was later revealed, Kirk reprogrammed the computer in his academy during the “no-win” Kobayashi Maru scenario so that he could win. That was most certainly “out of the box” thinking. Brash, bold, with pointed sideburns and “normal” musculature — that is to say, no six-pack abs and massive biceps — Kirk always seemed to “get the girl” and extract himself and his ship from any number of perilous predicaments. Physical when necessary, able to make the tough decisions whilst keeping in mind the greater good — Jim Kirk is where I would be first.
2. James T. West from the original Wild, Wild West:
Gosh. Another James T. And Robert Conrad was and is one tough, short cookie. Once again, in the mid-60s, another TV show offered a high-risk/high-gain hero whose brash take on life placed him in frequent danger — which he managed to extract himself from at the last moment. Ross Martin as Artemus Gordon was the perfect sidekick for West. And I shall never forget West’s most perfect foil: Michael Dunn as Dr. Miguelito Loveless! Ah. They simply don’t make series like this anymore. Say what you will, the Wild Wild West movie plainly sucked. Will Smith is a nice guy but he ain’t no James West!
3. Hoss Cartwright from Bonanza:
I identified with Hoss for a few, ahem, reasons. First, I was just a little “chunky” and “large” back when — and I found myself in the role of “second” or “partner” for a few of my friends. Hoss somehow managed to keep his great power in check and mostly remained in the background; he was shy, reticent, gentle, honorable and most importantly, humble. Alas; you pissed him off to your considerable regret.
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Such are my choices.
Yours?
BZ
I’m glad you liked this and shared yours. I love them!! Things like this are always fun to do and fun to read about others.
LMC: They are a BUNCH of fun and I always like sharing these kinds of things!
I really enjoy what OTHERS have to say about their own perceptions!!
BZ
Hmmm… what 3 television characters typifies me?
1) The Prisoner – Immediate identification with Number 6 from the first episode and the themes grew more strongly all the way to the end. In support OF society but refuses to be subjugated BY society. A bit worn here and there, but the themes still ring true even after the Cold War. Some of the best television ever produced, although the final episode leaves much to be desired by some, it does fulfill the continuity of vision for me. And the producer of the program takes pointed aim at his critics in “The Girl Who Was Death”… and remember when watching it, that it IS criticism to those who want ‘a simpler plot and simpler characters’.
2) Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes. For me the best portrayal of the character ever done and I can totally understand how and why Holmes fits into society even as being an iconoclast. Analytical, but with passion and more than some compassion, those do not get in the way of the analysis, although they can help to ameliorate the blow of it. And Watson is a Doctor and retired from the Army, and is played that way: an intelligent everyday man who you would be proud to have as your physician in that era. Together we see just how different Holmes really is and understand him better for that friendship.
3) The Flash – Perhaps the best series destined for failure ever made. The cast was an instant-ensemble, with everyone fitting together in their roles from the word GO. It did its best to see where a man with extraordinary powers would go in his life to do what he felt was right and still keep those he loved safe. The most solid rendition of a comic book character ever done on television for all the shortness of the series. Barry Allen copes with his life, the problems of his powers and trying to keep it all together even as things continue to fall apart around him. And he does so with common sense intelligence, humor and grace… as does the rest of the cast, especially the squabbling policemen. They are a real treat!
Strangely I find those that are strategists and attempting to maintain coherence over a larger scope to be lacking in television as they do not portray well… lacking immediate drama in their lives and only having some level of interpersonal conflict that makes for relatively dull television. Those characters giving transformation and showing personal character through hard times… *those* there are of aplenty… and rarely done with integrity, wit, humor and depth of character. And so you find three of my top five shows for television listed above. Of course Babylon 5 and ST:TOS are the other two, although individual characters do stand out I do not have that level of identification as I do with these three.
Make of them what you will.
I did enjoy the post, Mr. Z and thank you for it!
Of your three choices, BZ, I like Hoss the best for the exact same reason you chose him. He was amazing and always sweet (unless you messed with his family, that is).
I’ve been tagged too, but don’t really know which person I would choose. I’ll figure it out by Friday and post it on my Friday Evening Post.
06 12 06
hahahhaah BZ: I am at the internship but thought I would come by to say hey! Thanks for the kind words:)
1.James T. Kirk
2.Vash
3.Q
4.Captain Sisko
5.Jadzia Dax
What can I say? You started with the Star Trek stuff! hahahahah Have a great rest of week:)
AJ: Wow, The Prisoner! I had completely forgotten about that program! I can recall watching it when I was younger but for the life of me I can’t recall a single plot. I also enjoyed The Avengers but only because I had a crush on Mrs Peel. Also — I totally missed the entire Babylon 5 series as it was on a channel I couldn’t get at the time — and I almost purchased a Babylon 5 boxed set of the first season at Sam’s Club this week. It looks as though there were three seasons and three boxed sets. Two questions: were there only 3 seasons and, second, would you recommend purchasing the box sets?
Gayle: I don’t particularly know why, but Hoss just appeared in my brain when I began to think of my characters. Dan Blocker made Hoss kinda scary and yet warm at the same time. He passed away much too early.
Mahndisa: So, you’re a Trek person too, eh? Good to read it! And Q! I had forgotten about Q!! Hope the internship is working well for you!
BZ
Mr. Z – Counting the move over to TNT, B5 encompasses 5 seasons. The first four were done with the idea that the fifth would not be done and so JMS shrunk a lot into it… thus making it the most intense season of SF ever seen, but you did have to understand it fully to appreciate that. Season 5, then, is so-so and a wrap-up of sorts, although some good finality to storylines that need it. Available at Amazon.
The Prisoner is available at Amazon on DVD. Also VHS I believe, I have it in that soon after it arrived and now, of course, want the DVDs… All I can say is take it slow and digest it. One of those series you can watch for the 5th or 10th time and *still* catch new things and wonderful little continuity ideas…
And who could ever forget Diana Rigg in that latex cat suit? The Avengers was great camp… but with Diana Rigg… mmmmm… saw her on the PBS Mystery series a few years ago introducing it. Wow! Ages with poise and grace… we should all be so lucky!
Of course I grew up right across from Canada and remember the Pertwee Dr. Who and Jo Grant played by Katy Manning… now *she* was a darling… the actress described herself then: “as a right teenybopper.” Adorably cute… and, yes, a teenybopper. And she has aged with grace, too, and still… yes… looks like an older teenybopper! And Caroline John, played by Liz Shaw was much the scientist and looked it, while being extremely attractive. Hard to do in a white lab coat! Wish she had stayed on with the show for a bit longer…
Ahhh… memories…
AJ:
Okay then. My new mission in life is to acquire as many of the Babylon 5 seasons as I can find at either Costco or Sam’s Club. Those I can’t find, I’ll hit Amazon. I am finding myself more interested in series I have missed, instead of movies. I have the first season of Deadwood and just purchased the second season.
The Deadwood series is vile and foul and I would posit suggests the west as it truly was — vile and foul and full of self interest. I REALLY enjoy Deadwood and shall have to wait for next year’s boxed set as I do not have HBO.
BZ
Mr. Z – B5 starts slow and *must* absolutely *must* be watched in its chronological order. Basically, they didn’t know if they would get past season 1… Season 2 rolls and then it just builds and builds… skip the movies, watch the series. This is not standard episodic television where everyone starts the same unless *something major* happens.
In B5 something major is *always* happening from political to personal… from Empires to Emptiness… Heroes become villains and villains heroes and they are all doing so according to their paths… save those that are of Light and Shadow… they remain true to themselves… and even their agents have their moments with the other side…
Take your time and enjoy it… the temptation to skip meals, lose sleep and generally get addicted during mid-season 2 is hard to stop… luckily, I watched it on re-runs over a few months…