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I wasn't going to post more about Greatest American Hero
But I feel ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sovay needs to know that I just hit an episode (2x02: Operation Spoilsport) that gave me epic quantities of feelings about Bill Maxwell.
There's an episode last season in which it hits Ralph on a conscious level that Bill isn't bulletproof and is actually very brave to do the things he does, but this is possibly the point in the show where it hit me the hardest, because Bill's plan in this episode involved intentionally pushing the buttons of the U.S. military until they abduct him and take him to a black ops site in order to find a kidnapped scientist, and there was just something about Bill, alone, facing down a bunch of armed guys who are about to shove him into a black helicopter that really hit hard.
Not to mention Bill, later on, managing to be astonishingly competent backup for Ralph while drugged absolutely out of his mind.
This is also one of the episodes that forces Bill to choose between his moral compass and the government he works for, if a different branch of it (the U.S. military are the baddies here) and also suggests with a surprising amount of nuance that Bill basically compartmentalizes what he knows the U.S. government is and what he wants it to be in order to keep believing in the ideals he believes in. And also that his moral center is set firmly on "do what's right" rather than "follow the rules."
I think this episode just impressed on me a lot how much I like these characters. Ralph is really neat in this one too (though it does suffer from an extreme lack of Pam, whose actress I'm pretty sure is on maternity leave throughout this part of the season - she's seen only in phone calls). The actual plot is gonzo and batshit as usual, but the quality of ordinary-person characters being brave in the face of absolutely overwhelming odds is very on point in this one.
sovay needs to know that I just hit an episode (2x02: Operation Spoilsport) that gave me epic quantities of feelings about Bill Maxwell.There's an episode last season in which it hits Ralph on a conscious level that Bill isn't bulletproof and is actually very brave to do the things he does, but this is possibly the point in the show where it hit me the hardest, because Bill's plan in this episode involved intentionally pushing the buttons of the U.S. military until they abduct him and take him to a black ops site in order to find a kidnapped scientist, and there was just something about Bill, alone, facing down a bunch of armed guys who are about to shove him into a black helicopter that really hit hard.
Not to mention Bill, later on, managing to be astonishingly competent backup for Ralph while drugged absolutely out of his mind.
This is also one of the episodes that forces Bill to choose between his moral compass and the government he works for, if a different branch of it (the U.S. military are the baddies here) and also suggests with a surprising amount of nuance that Bill basically compartmentalizes what he knows the U.S. government is and what he wants it to be in order to keep believing in the ideals he believes in. And also that his moral center is set firmly on "do what's right" rather than "follow the rules."
I think this episode just impressed on me a lot how much I like these characters. Ralph is really neat in this one too (though it does suffer from an extreme lack of Pam, whose actress I'm pretty sure is on maternity leave throughout this part of the season - she's seen only in phone calls). The actual plot is gonzo and batshit as usual, but the quality of ordinary-person characters being brave in the face of absolutely overwhelming odds is very on point in this one.
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I very much appreciate being appraised of this development.
Not to mention Bill, later on, managing to be astonishingly competent backup for Ralph while drugged absolutely out of his mind.
The man really is both sincerely touching and a one-person Whumptober bingo card.
and also suggests with a surprising amount of nuance that Bill basically compartmentalizes what he knows the U.S. government is and what he wants it to be in order to keep believing in the ideals he believes in. And also that his moral center is set firmly on "do what's right" rather than "follow the rules."
That is much more interrogative than I expected from media of the time and I am glad of it. Also I enjoy further confirmation that Bill's description of himself as by-the-book is . . . not precisely accurate.
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I appreciate that anytime the question was asked in the writer's room "Who should we do this terrible thing to," the answer is invariably "Bill Maxwell."
Also I enjoy further confirmation that Bill's description of himself as by-the-book is . . . not precisely accurate.
I can totally believe that Bill thinks of HIMSELF as by-the-book, completely ignoring all evidence to the contrary.
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Agreed. It's another of his hopelessly endearing traits. [edit] As is his ability to deal with a super-suit just fine—sometimes better than Ralph—while being extremely not all right with everything else to do with aliens. And his characteristic snicker, which is so much goofier than the rest of his presentation, it's adorable.
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Which carries extra weight having seen the wall-to-wall military and federal service memorabilia decorating Bill's terrible efficiency apartment. The way he bluescreens slightly before he can tell Ralph what they're up against: "It's one of those programs that you sort of heard about and didn't want to believe it could really exist, but you knew it did anyway, 'cause it was just crazy enough to be real in spite of the fact that it shouldn't be, but it is. It really is . . . Our last thirty nukes come sailing over, catch them by surprise, wipe them out, win World War III for the good old U.S. of A. That's Operation Spoilsport." Ralph is just flat-out horrified, but Bill sounds dazed and unsurprised and bitter all at once and he's been such a company man up to that point, it really hits. We've heard him complain about other federal agencies before, but in a competitive, collegial way; he's never just sounded disgusted with the whole show. But he really is in that moment, and it lasts even through his absolutely drugged phase. (He has impressive gun safety for a man who's tripping balls and reminiscing fondly about horse tranquilizers in Korea.)
I realized somewhere between the first-season finale and the first two episodes of the second season that this show does not have a reset button, which strikes me as unusual for the time but produces one of the kinds of long-form narrative I like most, where you just hang out with some people and watch them grow. Bill goes from egregiously dismissing Pam to responding to her kidnapping with "She may be your girlfriend, but she's my counsellor! And nobody messes with her." Ralph spends the entire first season convincing his students that he cares about them as people and at the top of the second season it turns out he's succeeded to the point that they're worried he'll forget all about them now that he's baseball famous. I love the episode where Pam more or less officially becomes part of the team because she doesn't do anything to justify it in terms of coming in unexpectedly handy, as another show might have insisted, she just refuses to be left out and she's obviously right; Bill doesn't even try the third-string man line on her again. The relationship between Bill and the students remains hit-or-miss, but he did get them their hot rod back.
and there was just something about Bill, alone, facing down a bunch of armed guys who are about to shove him into a black helicopter that really hit hard.
Especially since the plan requires him not to be rescued, but Ralph is supposed to be there to track him and the elevator interferes, so there's still that awful sense of not being able to get to someone in time, which just mirrors the ticking clock of the rest of the episode. It's one of the standouts for me so far. I do look forward to Pam returning from San Francisco/maternity leave.
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The way he bluescreens slightly before he can tell Ralph what they're up against [...] Ralph is just flat-out horrified, but Bill sounds dazed and unsurprised and bitter all at once and he's been such a company man up to that point, it really hits. We've heard him complain about other federal agencies before, but in a competitive, collegial way; he's never just sounded disgusted with the whole show.
Yes! I think one of the reasons why that scene hits as hard as it does is because his tired, resigned disgust comes through so well, and interestingly, the show never walks back from it. Even though there's still the standard designed-for-good-feelings ending that is never going to fully engage with the points they raised, they also didn't handwave the whole thing away in the same way as, say, the dirty cops in the previous season, who are rogues operating outside the main power structure. In this case, the US government really DID do that (on purpose, as an official project) and even the general who is trying to start WWIII isn't written as insane or even a particular aberration - he's someone pushing the status quo too far, not someone entirely outside it.
There does seem to be a general theme on the show of the people that Bill looks up to as his law enforcement mentors turning out to be crooked or dirty or obsessed fanatics, and Bill having to walk himself back from whatever they're into and find that he actually does have a fairly strong moral center when he's not aiming it at false guiding lights.
(He has impressive gun safety for a man who's tripping balls and reminiscing fondly about horse tranquilizers in Korea.)
I noticed that!! Specifically, I noticed that as drugged as he is, he never pointed the gun at Ralph, which was a very nice touch.
I realized somewhere between the first-season finale and the first two episodes of the second season that this show does not have a reset button, which strikes me as unusual for the time but produces one of the kinds of long-form narrative I like most, where you just hang out with some people and watch them grow.
I know; this awareness grew on me slowly too, but there is a really impressive amount of character and relationship growth from the first episode of season one to now, which I did not expect. As well as the changes in the way the characters relate to each other, Ralph is also getting notably better at using the suit; the show is actually consistent in having the characters discover new things about the suit and then use them in future episodes as opposed to one-offs. Once Ralph learns he can turn invisible, turning invisible is always on the table, even if he can't do it reliably and sometimes has to be reminded that he can do it at all. (Another thing I like: as the one with most of the field experience, Bill is often the one who points out which power Ralph should be using, or reminds him to use it: "Invisible, Ralph!" It makes perfect sense from a character standpoint, since Ralph isn't used to thinking on his feet under fire, and Bill is. Although Ralph is getting notably better at it.)
Bill goes from egregiously dismissing Pam to responding to her kidnapping with "She may be your girlfriend, but she's my counsellor! And nobody messes with her."
I had SUCH an emotional reaction to that. Also, as much of a clod as he can be towards her early on, it was really interesting to me to notice how he settles VERY quickly into referring to her by her professional name. Quite a contrast from, for example, the way that her parents treat her. He dismisses her at first but also - very nearly from the beginning, even before he starts to recognize that she's a competent, intelligent person and treat her accordingly - he gives her her due as a professional. I appreciate that. And also appreciate that at some point the sexist jokes and her pushback stop being serious and become a game they play, as evidenced when he tries to do it in the season one finale, she reacts with hurt instead, and he's quick to back off as soon as he realizes that she's genuinely upset and he actually hurt her.
I miss Pam a lot in the current season. I'm sure it's because the actress is off for maternity leave - it has every hallmark of that - but I'll be glad when she's back.
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Yes. His spiel about winning World War III—not starting it, because it's already underway—horrifies one of his fellow Joint Chiefs of Staff, but he doesn't get as much protest as one would prefer from the rest; if nuking Russia is a fait accompli, might as well do the job properly. And the idea of a top-secret nuclear dead man's switch designed at the height of the paranoid '50's is so horribly plausible that I would swear there's other science fiction with a similar premise. (Supposedly we never had one in real life, but the Soviets did—built around the time of this episode, if the reported timeline is reliable. What the hell, reality.)
There does seem to be a general theme on the show of the people that Bill looks up to as his law enforcement mentors turning out to be crooked or dirty or obsessed fanatics, and Bill having to walk himself back from whatever they're into and find that he actually does have a fairly strong moral center when he's not aiming it at false guiding lights.
The show's attitude toward law enforcement mostly is what it is for 1981, but I was really interested by the episode where Tony is under suspicion of federal arson and for about half the plot is Ralph is working at cross purposes to Bill to protect his student and even Pam makes a comment that betrays how she automatically thinks of suspects—as Tony says bitterly, guilty until proven innocent. It always returns to the status quo, but it questions a lot more in the meantime than I expected it to. And you're right that the character effects are permanent, whatever the plot is doing.
Once Ralph learns he can turn invisible, turning invisible is always on the table, even if he can't do it reliably and sometimes has to be reminded that he can do it at all.
I like that the show isn't just using the inconsistency for rules of funny, either: Ralph still sucks at flying, but he sucks at flying at a consistently improved level than when he was just starting out. (He can do vertical takeoffs now!) He's pretty much got the psychometry down so long as he has the right object to try it out on and the super-strength always seems to have been reliable. His ability to set things on fire is literally backwards and I'm just as glad they've only tried it once so far.
(Another thing I like: as the one with most of the field experience, Bill is often the one who points out which power Ralph should be using, or reminds him to use it: "Invisible, Ralph!" It makes perfect sense from a character standpoint, since Ralph isn't used to thinking on his feet under fire, and Bill is. Although Ralph is getting notably better at it.)
Yes! And I love that Bill is the one who keeps pushing to expand the suit's capabilities, as far as I can tell on nothing more than an open mind for the paranormal—telekinesis one day, pyrokinesis the next, goodbye third government-issued car this year. I would be completely unsurprised to find out he read a lot more superhero comics as a kid than Ralph did.
I had SUCH an emotional reaction to that.
Legit!
And also appreciate that at some point the sexist jokes and her pushback stop being serious and become a game they play, as evidenced when he tries to do it in the season one finale, she reacts with hurt instead, and he's quick to back off as soon as he realizes that she's genuinely upset and he actually hurt her.
I also had feelings about that.
I'm sure it's because the actress is off for maternity leave - it has every hallmark of that - but I'll be glad when she's back.
I am glad at least that the show is not behaving as though she doesn't exist when not present—she has the cutaway phone scenes, but it almost feels more important that Ralph and Bill talk to one another about how useful it would be to have Pam on this job and when will she finish her big-shot case and come home. The show knows she's part of its core.