What was the last TV show you watched?

[HanauMan]

Well, if I were in some fictional space ship out there I'd rather be treated by Dr. Stephen Franklin, the chief medical officer of Babylon 5. Or Dr. Helena Russell, the moon based doctor in Space 1999.

My mom was a nurse; I never liked how Bones treated nurse Chapel. Guess that was why he came across as an old fogey to me when I was a kid (though, as an adult, I respect his work as an actor).

 

[belfastboy]

Watched the Netflix special.....Dave Chappelle. The first one was pretty good but thought the second one a bit flat and slow on his pacing. Some real moments of brilliance esp his riff on Louis CK.

 

[Zombie_61]

Well, if I were in some fictional space ship out there I'd rather be treated by Dr. Stephen Franklin, the chief medical officer of Babylon 5. Or Dr. Helena Russell, the moon based doctor in Space 1999...

I've never seen Babylon 5 so I have no frame of reference there. As far as Dr. Helena Russell, Barbara Bain was 44 years old when Space: 1999 premiered--only two years younger than DeForest Kelley was in Star Trek--so I think you responded/reacted to their respective characters regardless of age.

...My mom was a nurse; I never liked how Bones treated nurse Chapel. Guess that was why he came across as an old fogey to me when I was a kid (though, as an adult, I respect his work as an actor).

McCoy could be rather gruff, but it was a character trait I liked--part of his "country doctor" persona, and it showed he was passionate about his work. But, yeah, he could have treated her with more respect. But then, given a choice between a doctor I didn't like that knew his/her profession well and a doctor I liked that was incompetent, I'd choose the former every time.

 

[Worf]

We have been enjoying high temperatures in the mid fifties to low sixties.

Bite me....

Worf

 

[HanauMan]

The actor who played Dr. Franklin (Richard Biggs) on Babylon 5 sadly died at the young age of 44 back in the early 2000s.

A fun fact I've just noticed with regards the two Sci Fi shows I'm currently watching, namely the 1960s Lost in Space and the 1990s Babylon 5, is that both starred the actor Bill Mumy.

 

[Fading Fast]

...McCoy could be rather gruff, but it was a character trait I liked--part of his "country doctor" persona, and it showed he was passionate about his work. But, yeah, he could have treated her with more respect. But then, given a choice between a doctor I didn't like that knew his/her profession well and a doctor I liked that was incompetent, I'd choose the former every time.

Since I've learned over the years on FL, not to make sweeping statements, I'll say it this way: my experience growing up with a lot of GE people, McCoy's style - a talented professional who can be gruff/abrupt/rude to those around him - was much more common then than now. Today, there is, IMHO, much more surface politeness. When I started on Wall Street, many (not all) of the senior people would treat "newbies" like me as bad or (much) worse than McCoy treated Chapel - and it was accepted. Today, those same actions would get a senior person fired.

 

[HanauMan]

I've never seen Babylon 5 so I have no frame of reference there. As far as Dr. Helena Russell, Barbara Bain was 44 years old when Space: 1999 premiered--only two years younger than DeForest Kelley was in Star Trek--so I think you responded/reacted to their respective characters regardless of age.

Yes, you're right about the character. I didn't much like Bones because of his character, not because of his age. There are many 'older' characters that I love watching, such as the various Miss Marples (my favorite is Geraldine McEwan) and, of course, Hercule Poirot played by David Suchet. I guessed at the time (I was maybe 12 - 13) that Barbara Bain was in her late 30s or 40s when I saw space 1999, but I did have a crush on her, though less than the crush I had on Sandra Benes!

My favorite fictional doctor has always been Doc Boone in Stagecoach (1939 version).

 

[Edward]

Edwards quoted me:
"The Girl From Little Egypt," a landmark episode of The Fugitive from Christmas Eve 1963. Kimble is knocked down by a young woman in her car, and while delirious mutters out his real name and details of his wife's murder. The girl, Pamela Tiffin, realizes he's innocent -- as she puts it, "People don't usually lie when they're delirious" -- and takes him in to let him recover, and to give herself something to think about other than her affair with a married man (Ed Nelson). The important thing is that we get long flashbacks: showing how Kimble and his wife Helen lost their child in childbirth, how the loss eroded their relationship (she refused to adopt), and more. Neatly done."

and replied:
"I've only seen the Ford film version from 1993(?), but I must track down the original. It sounds like it was much darker - and deeper - in its content than would be much equivalent networked television today."

The 1993 film is pleasant enough, but it wraps the whole thing up in 2 hours, whereas Kimble's epic search for the one-armed man, and run from the law, was a 4-season story arc. Deeper the original was than you'd see on ABC today, certainly, and with a dark edge. Though I suspect that a modern producer would have Lt. Gerard (instead of the honest diligent cop he was shown to be in the Sixties) be in the pay of a mysterious wealthy cabal who want to keep the real story of Helen Kimble's murder secret, etc.

The Fugitive was a drama with crime elements, not the other way around. And almost always, the fact of Kimble's peculiar shadow status, that he is on the run from the law, is an important factor in each story. The story would not play out the way it does, or he would not be caught up in the situation, if he were just a footloose drifter.

Seems the cop figure was similar to Tommy Lee Jones' take on it, then , too: a good man who was simply mistaken, but doing his job. I think we'll see an element of that swing back as a trope in due course, as indeed often now that would be more of a twist in a drama than the cop being a crook.

There's something about the set-up in the episodic TV show that reminds me of the TV version of The Hulk. I wonder if it was a conscious influence.

 

[Doctor Strange]

There's no question that it was conscious: The Fugitive was a very successful show/formula, and it provided a familiar framework to house the comic book fantasy elements. The Incredible Hulk was pretty much The Fugitive - wrongly accused hero on the run helps people everywhere he goes, then has to keep running - with added Hulk-outs at the 20 and 50 minute marks.

And not for nothing, The Fugitive itself was clearly inspired by Les Miserables (the novel), with its central figures noble ex-prisoner Jean Valjean and obsessed Inspector Javert... Every story builds on older stories.

 

[Benzadmiral]

There's no question that it was conscious: The Fugitive was a very successful show/formula, and it provided a familiar framework to house the comic book fantasy elements. The Incredible Hulk was pretty much The Fugitive - wrongly accused hero on the run helps people everywhere he goes, then has to keep running - with added Hulk-outs at the 20 and 50 minute marks.

And not for nothing, The Fugitive itself was clearly inspired by Les Miserables (the novel), with its central figures noble ex-prisoner Jean Valjean and obsessed Inspector Javert... Every story builds on older stories.

The Fugitive has been called the perfect formula for episodic TV. It was Roy Huggins' smart move to bring the Les Miserables concept to TV, and it's been copied innumerable times since then. (Huggins created or shepherded a lot of our early TV: Maverick, Fugitive, 77 Sunset Strip, and The Rockford Files.)

 

[Benzadmiral]

Well, if I were in some fictional space ship out there I'd rather be treated by Dr. Stephen Franklin, the chief medical officer of Babylon 5. Or Dr. Helena Russell, the moon based doctor in Space 1999.

My mom was a nurse; I never liked how Bones treated nurse Chapel. Guess that was why he came across as an old fogey to me when I was a kid (though, as an adult, I respect his work as an actor).

My mother was an RN as well. She never complained much about various doctors, real or TV (though she found most TV medical shows to be howlingly inaccurate, with the frequent exception of M*A*S*H). But I recall a comic pamphlet she had and loved with pics of cats posed in medical scenarios, the kind of thing we'd call "memes" today. One featured a Siamese cat, mouth open and fangs showing, with a surgical mask around its neck. Caption: "Nurse! Don't give me what I ask for, give me what I need!!!"

 

[LizzieMaine]

Well, you wouldn't want some kid fresh out of medical school operating as Chief Surgeon on a ship that was like a flying small city.

Dr. Bashir, call your office.

 

[Fading Fast]

You don't even need to be a medical professional to recognize how insanely inaccurate TV's portrayal of nurses / doctors / the entire medical profession is. All you need to do is spend a day in a real ER or have a few issues over time that require you to "matriculate" through the system.

While - of course - you will meet some caring, smart and dedicated professionals along the way - it ain't no "ER" "Grey's Anatomy" or "The Good Doctor" out there in the real world of Obamacare coverage and bureaucracy oppression.

 

[Worf]

Dr. Bashir, call your office.

Well to your point... I'd want Julian Bashir to fix what ailed me. I'd want Bones McCoy to drink with me at Quarks and tell me stories of the glory days of Starfleet.

Worf

 

[Touchofevil]

Bite me....

Worf

 

[Touchofevil]

More “Shetland.” An understated and underrated show. Only a few more episodes left until we have to play the waiting game for season four.

 

[Seb Lucas]

American Gods: Season One - Nice idea with some great moments but loses impact as it continues. It's worth checking out although its reliance on CGI effects was noticeable and strained plausibility. It was fun and atmospheric although I'm not sure I could do another season unless I had a lot of time to kill.

 

[Doctor Strange]

The Netflix miniseries Alias Grace, about a proto-psychologist investing a housemaid imprisoned for murder in mid-1800s Canada. Based on a true story and the Margaret Atwood novel derived from it. Very well done, quite fascinating and disturbing. With an excellent lead performance by Sarah Gadon, who has a real knack for period pieces (Belle, A Royal Night Out, Indignation).

 

[scottyrocks]

American Gods: Season One - Nice idea with some great moments but loses impact as it continues. It's worth checking out although its reliance on CGI effects was noticeable and strained plausibility. It was fun and atmospheric although I'm not sure I could do another season unless I had a lot of time to kill.

I had read the book only a few months before the premier of the show. The basic concept is the same, but yes, the CGI was bit of a strain.

 

[Touchofevil]

The last two episodes of Shetland. Nicely done.
Started with the first episode of The Crown. It looks
promising.