Author: [log in to unmask] Date: 12/13/94 3:40 PM [Editor's note: This message was submitted to SCREEN-L by the "Author" noted above, and not by Jeremy Butler ([log in to unmask]).] Some thoughts re: the recent the discussions of HOMICIDE, MY SO-CALLED LIFE and other TV: 1. HOMICIDE raises a number of conflicting feelings for me. First, it's opposite PICKET FENCES, which makes me thankful for my VCR and my son's early bedtime. Both shows are well worth watching, though quite different in many ways. (BTW, the silence on my question about the handling of race in this season's PICKET FENCES has been deafening. I'd still like to hear people's thoughts if they've been following the show.) HOMICIDE falls into the category of My Favorite Fascists, since cop shows have become a dominant genre in our crime-fearing era, but it's extraordinarily well-done. Last week's episode, as Kecken pointed out, went beyond the standard urban/rural cliches *and* illustrated some of the feelings of rage and frustration which, the analysts say, help to explain the recent election results. The woman cop in question marks one of the show's qualities--the deliberate exploration of issues in the lives of these characters. Consider her relationship with her male partner, who is going through a divorce (maybe). She becomes a go-between for wife and partner, but *not* part of a romantice triangle as such. The relationship is a working one, between partners. Similarly, we have a show that has *three* main characters of color, each of whom is distinctly individual. The character of Pembleton, with his Jesuitical intelligence, somewhat arrogant individualism and tortured existential questioning of faith, may be the most complex and fascinating character on a tv series today. Ned Beatty manages to curb his sometimes cuteness and Richard Belzer may have found a perfect outlet for his unique talents. The show's deliberate non-continuity and editing style also make it an interesting departure from the norm, though it probably is offputting for viewers. There's also a reasonable amount of humor, but it is sometimes so edgy that viewers may miss it without a laughtrack. Belzer's aggressive style is very funny--and central to his character. It was delightful to find out a couple of weeks ago that his character's brother is a mortician-- quite appropriate. Aside from NBC's apparent desire to destroy the show by continually cancelling and rescheduling it, then placing it in bad time slots, HOMICIDE's difficulties may be due in part by a reluctance to go for the too obvious and a willingness to explore some of the darker questions without resolution. Compare NYPD BLUE, for example. Although I watch and usually enjoy the show well enough, it seems typical of Bochcoland--a mix of "gritty" urban crime and lowbrow humor (with an obligatory guest appearance by Barbara Bosson-- It's *good* to be married to Bochco). Look at the women characters or Lt. Fancy and how the series has consistently failed to develop them in any meaningful way (another typical Bochco mark--his shows can be counted on to make a few murmurs about race or gender and then back away or rely on cliches). HOMICIDE, on the other hand, doesn't proudly proclaim its "break- through" status in new levels of nakedness or language. It is far more unsettling and far more dangerous. The murderer of a child is caught and has to walk for lack of evidence. A detective who is unsettled by the S&M underground finally begins to acknowledge his own "dark side" (though that thread seems to have been dropped). A cop's suicide has to be acknowledged after the fact. Bochco would usually find some way to resolve these questions--or at least let Franz and his girlfriend lapse into an Arnoldian "Ah, Love, let us be true to one another" reverie. In contrast, MY SO-CALLED LIFE is far more mundane but it is still more complex than recent detractors here allow, and much of that is due to the ways in which the characters slowly change and evolve over the course of weeks. It takes more than a few episodes to see how things will turn out. For example, several people here have disparaged the show in which Rayanne nearly dies from overdosing on alcohol and pills and is "saved" by Angela's mother. Taken by itself, the show can deserve those criticisms. But two weeks later, the very attitudes that that episode seemed to convey were taken to the cleaners. When Rayanne overreaches by trying to sing with an unrehearsed rock band, everyond overreacts in an almost hysterical fashion--only to get their comeuppance from Rayanne's mother, who puts Angela's mom in her place. But then the carpet is yanked out from under us again as Rayanne returns to a bottle at the very end of the show. I don't know *where* her character will from there but I'm curious to find out. The parents are almost too good to be true, but there are tensions there that may erupt again. More important is the disjunction between adult and teen perceptions that several people have pointed out. The adults sometimes understand but more often misinterpret the clues around them. A case in point was the episode in which a gun was fired in the school, leading to all kinds of moralizing and counselling (and bullying) by the adults, while most of the kids shrugged off the event and Angela was far more concerned with the rumors about her sex life (started by the "good" boy next door). If some people find a disjuncture between SO-CALLED LIFE and their reality, so be it. But I grew up with (and perhaps was one of) people like Angela, Rayanne, Brian, Jordan, and Ricky and I see kids like them every year in my classes. In whitebread Minnesota, at least, these types still exist. I'm sorry to have gone on for so long. If you want to respond privately, please do so, but I think this has been an interesting thread. --Don Larsson, Mankato State U., MN [log in to unmask] "Nobody thought it was peculiar anymore, no more than the routine violations of constitutional rights these characters performed week after week, now absorbed into the venacular of American expectations." --Thomas Pynchon, VINELAND