My 5 Favorite Hours of Television
Okay, I had another idea for some "light" writing and decided I would take advantage of the sentiment. No hard issues of the day, no life altering epiphanies, just one of thousands of random thoughts that crossed my brain yesterday. Television has played a huge role in our society and certainly boomed in my lifetime. From a black and white picture with 3 channels, to full color, high definition pictures on a thousand channels.
It is almost a mirror of our society, from the small minded, limited views of our world in the 1960s, to the full and rich experience of our global world today; both good and bad. In all the hours of watching TV there have been some major events which certainly will stay with me forever. Some I vividly remember, others not at all.
Neil Armstrong walking on the moon doesn't count for me, I was not even 2. But I do remember seeing the news of the hostages being taken in Iran, seeing Reagan get shot, watching my beloved Phillies win the 1980 World Series, the images of the Gulf War, and certainly the horror of 9/11.
WAIT! I said "light" writing. There have also been some great shows, some great moments, and I simply thought of what my 5 favorite hours (5 episodes) have been to date. No surprise, lots of Science Fiction is on my list. I truly love the genre as it frequently
provides an environment to tell stories which might otherwise cut too close to home or simply give the artist a clean canvas but also a chance to create a whole new world around their canvas. As I made this list, the choices were easy, I could repeat them at nearly any time. Forgive my brief descriptions which will not come close to doing any of these great shows justice. So, without further adieu, here are my 5:
1) "The Visitor" Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Written by Michael Taylor
An amazing story of a son's love for his father and the lengths he will go to, to save his father's life.
The Captain of the USS Defiant, and Commanding Officer of Deep Space Nine is a single father, his wife having been killed during a battle some 10 years ago. His teenage son, an aspiring writer, is accompanying his father to witness an astronomical phenomenon that occurs only once every 50 years, when an accident occurs and his father simply vanishes into thin air before his eyes. As the boy copes with losing his one remaining parent, his father reappears briefly, looking lost and unaware of his condition.
Over time, the father reappears several times, as the son is aging through life, when he is in his 20s, again in his 30s, and eventually the son goes back to school to try and learn what is happening to his father. He devotes the next 30 years to mounting a mission to save his father and bring him home. At the key moment in the mission, he realizes his efforts will fail. He is nearly inconsolable.
As he returns home having failed, takes stock of the situation and data, he finally realizes what is keeping his father trapped in limbo. He determines the only way to save his father is to sacrifice himself at the exact moment his father reappears for the last time. Which he does. By sacrificing himself, the son 'resets' history to the point of the accident and he saves his father.
I left out quite a bit of the detail, but the basic idea of a son willing to give himself up to save his father, is a nice twist on the stories of what a parent will do to save a child, and for me, it especially hit home since my Dad and I spent a few years alone together during my teen years.
2) "The Inner Light" Star Trek: The Next Generation
Written by Morgan Gendel
Similar to The Matrix, what is reality?
Captain Picard is rendered unconscious by a probe's scan and while knocked out, experiences an entire lifetime in the span of 20 minutes. When he awakens to find out it was all a dream, he struggles to cope with reality again. The aliens who built the probe were about to be destroyed when their star went nova, so they built a probe to travel in space until it encountered someone, and then it would knock them out and link their subconscious to the program within the probe, the person assuming the role of a simple member of their society who lives a normal life in their virtual world. The program ends some 50 years later when the captain sees the probe launched in his virtual life and an explanation of why they built it (so they would be remembered by someone, somewhere, sometime).
He struggles to separate the dream from reality once he awakens. All I can say is the ending is very well done, and the episodes musical score remains one of my all-time favorites.
3) "Home From The Sea" Magnum PI
Written by Donald P. Bellisario
Magnum sets out to celebrate the Fourth of July with a nice kayak off the coast of Oahu, but an accident puts his life in jeopardy.
Magnum sets out for a solitary kayak in the ocean and some careless boaters knock him off his kayak at sea. In the simple but powerful currents, he loses his kayak and begins his struggle to survive without a life jacket or any means of saving himself, except to keep afloat. During the course of the day, his friends all have a vibe something is wrong and he needs help. They eventually set out in search of him despite the odds. As Magnum struggles to stay alive, he recalls another key day in his life, when he was a child, working to show his dad he could swim for an hour. On the fateful day he reaches an hour, as his Mom calls out that he made it, a military vehicle pulls up, but instead of his Dad emerging, it is the visit all military families dread, news his father has been killed in action. Just a wonderful done episode again dealing with fathers and sons.
4) "The Exodus, Part II" Battlestar Galactica
Written by Bradley Thompson & David Weddle
The humans launch one final battle to try and escape the captivity of the Cylons (machines).
This is part of a long story arc where the last remnants of humanity have been split. Most of the human population had decided to settle down on New Caprica, a new planet where they could start a new life after the Cylons had attacked their home worlds and slaughtered billions of souls. Chased across the galaxy, they grew tired of running and opted to settle. Then the Cylons found them and those few who had not settled in, fled quickly. Those remaining were essentially prisoners on the new world. Several months later, a liberation/rescue is planned and this episode is the climatic battle for freedom. The effects, the action, and the camera work are all among the very best ever done for the small screen. The most gripping scene however involves the leader of the rebellion having to deal with a traitor in his midst, who simply betrayed their cause to save his life. The traitor is his wife. The best episode of the new Battlestar series and great TV.
5) "M.I.A." Quantum Leap
Written by Donald P. Bellisario
Sam has a chance to maybe save his best friend's (Al) marriage in the past, or save a cop's life...and he chooses to save the cop's life.
If you don't know Quantum Leap, it is hard to explain. Basically the main character travels through time (the past, but within his own lifetime) and assumes the identities of random people, "to put right, what once went wrong." In this episode, Sam is sent to save a California cop from an ambush. However, his friend Al's wife is also present (remember this is in the past) and Sam keeps bumping into her as she struggles with her husband being MIA for so long. Problem is, this is where she meets another man and finally gives up on Al ever coming home. Al never really recovered from it and pleads with Sam to stop her from moving on. Eventually, Sam gives Al a chance to say goodbye at least and the episode ends when Al does. But the show eventually came back to this episode in it's final episode, so Sam could put right, one final wrong...and keep Al and Beth together. Just a great episode again, where hard choices have to be made and they are whoppers.
5b*) "Goodbye, Farewell & Amen" M.A.S.H. (Technically this was a 2.5 hour episode)
It is simply the most watched television episode in history. I enjoyed MASH, it had some funny moments and serious moments. Being only a young teen at the time, I did not fully grasp all the social commentary, but I did understand the concept of how terrible a thing war is.
The show does a masterful job of showcasing the beauty of the series, the humor, the commentary, the tragedy of war, and the bonding between people who rely on each other day in and day out to stay alive and go home. The final scenes remain forever etched in my mind.
****
These are just my 5. They could change in a year, or maybe they never will. There were so many series which have been a part of my TV life: Star Trek (the Original Series), M.A.S.H., the Stargate series, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Family Ties, Cheers, and Saturday Night Live (the older years) just to name a few.
As you can see, almost all of them pretty much deal with having to make tough choices, choices with lasting repercussions both good and bad. I guess I am simply drawn to those kind of stories.
Well, there they are. Not exactly my usual topics, but as usual, it is longer than I expected. I guess I need to look for some brevity in the future. ;-)
It is almost a mirror of our society, from the small minded, limited views of our world in the 1960s, to the full and rich experience of our global world today; both good and bad. In all the hours of watching TV there have been some major events which certainly will stay with me forever. Some I vividly remember, others not at all.
Neil Armstrong walking on the moon doesn't count for me, I was not even 2. But I do remember seeing the news of the hostages being taken in Iran, seeing Reagan get shot, watching my beloved Phillies win the 1980 World Series, the images of the Gulf War, and certainly the horror of 9/11.
WAIT! I said "light" writing. There have also been some great shows, some great moments, and I simply thought of what my 5 favorite hours (5 episodes) have been to date. No surprise, lots of Science Fiction is on my list. I truly love the genre as it frequently
provides an environment to tell stories which might otherwise cut too close to home or simply give the artist a clean canvas but also a chance to create a whole new world around their canvas. As I made this list, the choices were easy, I could repeat them at nearly any time. Forgive my brief descriptions which will not come close to doing any of these great shows justice. So, without further adieu, here are my 5:
1) "The Visitor" Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Written by Michael Taylor
An amazing story of a son's love for his father and the lengths he will go to, to save his father's life.
The Captain of the USS Defiant, and Commanding Officer of Deep Space Nine is a single father, his wife having been killed during a battle some 10 years ago. His teenage son, an aspiring writer, is accompanying his father to witness an astronomical phenomenon that occurs only once every 50 years, when an accident occurs and his father simply vanishes into thin air before his eyes. As the boy copes with losing his one remaining parent, his father reappears briefly, looking lost and unaware of his condition.
Over time, the father reappears several times, as the son is aging through life, when he is in his 20s, again in his 30s, and eventually the son goes back to school to try and learn what is happening to his father. He devotes the next 30 years to mounting a mission to save his father and bring him home. At the key moment in the mission, he realizes his efforts will fail. He is nearly inconsolable.
As he returns home having failed, takes stock of the situation and data, he finally realizes what is keeping his father trapped in limbo. He determines the only way to save his father is to sacrifice himself at the exact moment his father reappears for the last time. Which he does. By sacrificing himself, the son 'resets' history to the point of the accident and he saves his father.
I left out quite a bit of the detail, but the basic idea of a son willing to give himself up to save his father, is a nice twist on the stories of what a parent will do to save a child, and for me, it especially hit home since my Dad and I spent a few years alone together during my teen years.
2) "The Inner Light" Star Trek: The Next Generation
Written by Morgan Gendel
Similar to The Matrix, what is reality?
Captain Picard is rendered unconscious by a probe's scan and while knocked out, experiences an entire lifetime in the span of 20 minutes. When he awakens to find out it was all a dream, he struggles to cope with reality again. The aliens who built the probe were about to be destroyed when their star went nova, so they built a probe to travel in space until it encountered someone, and then it would knock them out and link their subconscious to the program within the probe, the person assuming the role of a simple member of their society who lives a normal life in their virtual world. The program ends some 50 years later when the captain sees the probe launched in his virtual life and an explanation of why they built it (so they would be remembered by someone, somewhere, sometime).
He struggles to separate the dream from reality once he awakens. All I can say is the ending is very well done, and the episodes musical score remains one of my all-time favorites.
3) "Home From The Sea" Magnum PI
Written by Donald P. Bellisario
Magnum sets out to celebrate the Fourth of July with a nice kayak off the coast of Oahu, but an accident puts his life in jeopardy.
Magnum sets out for a solitary kayak in the ocean and some careless boaters knock him off his kayak at sea. In the simple but powerful currents, he loses his kayak and begins his struggle to survive without a life jacket or any means of saving himself, except to keep afloat. During the course of the day, his friends all have a vibe something is wrong and he needs help. They eventually set out in search of him despite the odds. As Magnum struggles to stay alive, he recalls another key day in his life, when he was a child, working to show his dad he could swim for an hour. On the fateful day he reaches an hour, as his Mom calls out that he made it, a military vehicle pulls up, but instead of his Dad emerging, it is the visit all military families dread, news his father has been killed in action. Just a wonderful done episode again dealing with fathers and sons.
4) "The Exodus, Part II" Battlestar Galactica
Written by Bradley Thompson & David Weddle
The humans launch one final battle to try and escape the captivity of the Cylons (machines).
This is part of a long story arc where the last remnants of humanity have been split. Most of the human population had decided to settle down on New Caprica, a new planet where they could start a new life after the Cylons had attacked their home worlds and slaughtered billions of souls. Chased across the galaxy, they grew tired of running and opted to settle. Then the Cylons found them and those few who had not settled in, fled quickly. Those remaining were essentially prisoners on the new world. Several months later, a liberation/rescue is planned and this episode is the climatic battle for freedom. The effects, the action, and the camera work are all among the very best ever done for the small screen. The most gripping scene however involves the leader of the rebellion having to deal with a traitor in his midst, who simply betrayed their cause to save his life. The traitor is his wife. The best episode of the new Battlestar series and great TV.
5) "M.I.A." Quantum Leap
Written by Donald P. Bellisario
Sam has a chance to maybe save his best friend's (Al) marriage in the past, or save a cop's life...and he chooses to save the cop's life.
If you don't know Quantum Leap, it is hard to explain. Basically the main character travels through time (the past, but within his own lifetime) and assumes the identities of random people, "to put right, what once went wrong." In this episode, Sam is sent to save a California cop from an ambush. However, his friend Al's wife is also present (remember this is in the past) and Sam keeps bumping into her as she struggles with her husband being MIA for so long. Problem is, this is where she meets another man and finally gives up on Al ever coming home. Al never really recovered from it and pleads with Sam to stop her from moving on. Eventually, Sam gives Al a chance to say goodbye at least and the episode ends when Al does. But the show eventually came back to this episode in it's final episode, so Sam could put right, one final wrong...and keep Al and Beth together. Just a great episode again, where hard choices have to be made and they are whoppers.
5b*) "Goodbye, Farewell & Amen" M.A.S.H. (Technically this was a 2.5 hour episode)
It is simply the most watched television episode in history. I enjoyed MASH, it had some funny moments and serious moments. Being only a young teen at the time, I did not fully grasp all the social commentary, but I did understand the concept of how terrible a thing war is.
The show does a masterful job of showcasing the beauty of the series, the humor, the commentary, the tragedy of war, and the bonding between people who rely on each other day in and day out to stay alive and go home. The final scenes remain forever etched in my mind.
****
These are just my 5. They could change in a year, or maybe they never will. There were so many series which have been a part of my TV life: Star Trek (the Original Series), M.A.S.H., the Stargate series, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Family Ties, Cheers, and Saturday Night Live (the older years) just to name a few.
As you can see, almost all of them pretty much deal with having to make tough choices, choices with lasting repercussions both good and bad. I guess I am simply drawn to those kind of stories.
Well, there they are. Not exactly my usual topics, but as usual, it is longer than I expected. I guess I need to look for some brevity in the future. ;-)
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