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Post by MiltonMaxwell on Apr 12, 2005 16:40:34 GMT -5
Obviously Greatest American Hero was first, and foremost, a campy and fun superhero parody which played it straight. The best episodes were largely humorous shows focusing on the characters and their interaction with one another. However, there were a few science fiction scripts and a few horror scripts. It seems that among our fanbase here, the horror stories draw the most antagonism and/or affection.
Of course, the Beast in the Black was the first, and best, of the horror episodes, but there were others .... most notably, the Shock Will Kill You which had a dark undertone despite the humor and the Resurrection of Carlini. All three of these had the same feel to the episodes. They were all dark, largely absent of humor (save the Shock Will Kill You) but effective in some respects. I liked the Beast in the Black and actually found the Resurrection of Carlini to be one of the better third season episodes. Likewise, although by no means up with the quality second season episodes, I tended to enjoy the Shock Will Kill You moderately well.
I am curious how the fan base here feels in general about these change of pace episodes.
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Stargazer
Counselor
The Greatest NEW THUNDERIAN Hero
Posts: 34
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Post by Stargazer on Apr 17, 2005 23:04:47 GMT -5
Out of the entire run, The Beast in the Black & The Shock Will Kill You are my two favorites. As for which I like more, that's very hard for me to say. The...supernatural...undertone for Beast makes this episode a little creepier for me.
Just as Superman needs Kryptonite and magic to make for more suspense, I thought the...dimensional change neutralizing the suit's powers was a good idea.
Seeing Culp with those blue contact lenses in was a little disturbing.
NEXT!
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Post by billswoman on Aug 15, 2005 13:23:08 GMT -5
I did a search to see if there was a particular thread just for "The Beast in the Black" and found this one to be closest. I just watched it, for I think the very first time (I dont' recall this one from many moons ago, when it first aired.) So, here's my opinion of it....IT WAS AWESOME!! From start to finish I was riveted. I can't even begin to go into it all, but I have to agree with many that said Robert Culp did a FANTASTIC job in this ep! Like I've seen before, the way he changed mannerisms between Bill and Sheila was great. Even when his eyes were brown and he was pleading with Ralph to remove the cuffs, I was yelling, Don't do it, Ralph, "he's" faking it! I'm glad he took my advice, lol. I can also see how the scenes "in the black" could freak a lot of you out, that were just little kids when it first aired. That was pretty creepy for GAH, and seeing Ralph getting literally thrashed by this critter, I was shuddering, knowing his suit wasn't helping him much. And when they showed him in the hospital with all the slices and bite marks on him, I was like, EW! Some memorable scenes for me: Bill dies... OMG, this was a tearjerker for me. Katt did a good job of this, poised over Bill as he was, thinking he was dead. Ralph looked like he was about to lose it, but was holding back cuz of the kids being there. The kids' reactions were heartening too; maybe they realized Maxwell wasn't such a bad joe after all, but I think they were more feeling what Ralph was feeling, knowing Ralph and Bill were best buddies and all. Opening the eyes and seeing them blue: OMG again, that was creepy... I love blue eyes, but man, they just look WRONG on Bill/Culp. The reaction to them from Ralph, esp. in the hospital when "Bill" turns around, is great. He knows right away something's wrong. Bill getting dressed, on camera, from a hospital gown to street clothes: Okay, being a Culp fan, I was drooling over this scene. 'Nuff said. Bill knowing Ralph's at his apartment: I LOVED this! Bill knew Ralph would be there, and says, You're wearing my fishing hat... he and Ralph know one another so well. The finale was good, with Ralph, sans powers on "the other side" having to both fend off Sheila's attacks and get Bill ready to take back. When she and Ralph grappled, I was yelling, Knock the .... out of that .....!! I mean, she's dead already, it's not like hitting a woman after all, is it? I was wondering, though: If SHE could make things fly with her mind, why didn't HE do the same? I know, it was a fast, tense moment and he didn't have time to ponder whether it was something he could do in that dimension as well. I like how the psychic believed everything Ralph had told her, and was actually a boon to him with her advice on what he had to do to save Bill. All-in-all, I think what I mainly loved about this ep was showing more of the Ralph and Bill friendship. Here Ralph had already been sliced and diced by this critter, but he didn't even hesitate to break through the wall again to save Bill. Kinda like how Bill, in "Divorce Venusian Style," as scared as he was of the green guys, didn't hesitate to bring Ralph for beam-up to the ship (although I know that happens AFTER this episode.) Loved this ep, and I'm going to go watch it again. (Oh yeah, in one commentary I saw of this ep, I think on greenguy's site, it mentions Bill 'stealing' from the ER. It wasn't really stealing; those supplies were going to be paid for any way, as are all the disposable supplies used in the ER by a particular patient. That stuff was their's any way.)
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Post by The J-Man on Aug 15, 2005 13:34:35 GMT -5
I am curious how the fan base here feels in general about these change of pace episodes. The strength of the show, in my opinion, is that it was an outlandish concept set in the real world. That was the absolute brilliance of the series. The real world does not have ghosts, sea monsters, or electricity-feeding aliens who hijack the space shuttle. It was a Super Hero show set in a Rockford Files world. For more information on this topic, see Stephen J. Cannell's interview on the Season One DVD.
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Post by enovak on Aug 15, 2005 15:59:17 GMT -5
I am curious how the fan base here feels in general about these change of pace episodes. The strength of the show, in my opinion, is that it was an outlandish concept set in the real world. That was the absolute brilliance of the series. The real world does not have ghosts, sea monsters, or electricity-feeding aliens who hijack the space shuttle. Well the real world also doesn't have aliens in spaceships giving people suits with superpowers but I see your point. A show works like this because of the 'reality' of it. In other words the ONLY out of the ordinary thing is Ralph's suit and and everything else should be played as real as possible.
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Post by MelMac on Aug 16, 2005 1:00:38 GMT -5
After watching all three, I have to say that all three are a nice change of pace. I do think the character driven stories are the stronger ones, and enjoy them a little bit more. Out of the three, I'd say "The Beast in Black" is my favorite followed by "The Resurrection of Carlini." I like "The Shock Will Kill You" as well, but there are a couple of others that are ahead of it in the list.
One thing I noticed about these three stories in particular is that while they were atypical of the original premise (real world), they did contain human emotions that were brought to the forefront. In "The Beast in Black" and "The Resurrection of Carlini," fear plays a dominate role in this aspect. Ralph is terrified when he gets the holograph of Carlini as a child. Carlini's fractured personality freaks Ralph out and could have hurt him when he did the water torture trick. In the other, Ralph is scared when he sees that Bill is possessed. This shows even in the car scene when Bill tries to get Ralph to untie him. He seems to have this look of fear as to whether or not it was Bill talking and what could happen if he did untie Bill. "The Shock Will Kill You" didn't have fear so much in this regard, but it is probably the funniest of the three.
All three of the stories did have one similarity with the others in regard to a human emotion: All three used friendship and caring for each other. "The Beast In Black" focused on Ralph and Bill's friendship as Ralph decides to face the beast again in order to save Bill. "The Resurrection of Carlini" had Pam worry about Ralph doing the water torture trick and not knowing if the suit protected him. "The Shock Will Kill You" also focused on this as Pam and Bill worry how Ralph will live with being an electromagnet. I guess that's the underlying emotion for the show, and it worked.
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Post by billswoman on Aug 16, 2005 8:45:00 GMT -5
I haven't seen the Carlini ep (yet), but I've seen the other two mentioned. Being a SF fan, the idea of a critter taking over the shuttle and managing to get to Earth isnt' really TOO far-fetched. I saw that ep as more SF than horror.
Now, The Beast in the Black, like I said in another post, I can see why that freaked out a lot of you GAH fans who were little back then. Kinda freaked me out too, knowing Ralph's getting sliced and diced in there, then when he deliberately goes in AGAIN, to save Bill, that was gripping too, knowing he AND Bill were going to get it. I like in one quick shot, what with it all happening so fast, you can see Ralph put himself between the Beast and Bill to protect him.
I think that's one reason I love this ep so much (just watched it four times yesterday): It's purely a Ralph and Bill episode.
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Post by GarbonzoBeans on Aug 16, 2005 14:41:28 GMT -5
I don't remember "..Carlini" but I did see "Beast" and "Shock". I liked "the shock will kill you" better because 1. I found it very funny 2. I liked the continuing idea of 'normal guy' Ralph having to figure out how to do another great feat.
Beast in black I also liked because 1. it was spooky, quite different from most of the rest 2. Had some pretty good stuff, like the interaction and evident bond between Ralph and Bill
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Post by Maxwell - F.B.I. on Aug 16, 2005 15:06:09 GMT -5
What an awesome thread.
Beast In The Black - Awesome - 5 stars and one of my favorite episodes of the entire series - I thought EVERYTHING worked. Bill dying (something I thought they failed miserably in doing in the 'Heaven Is In Your Genes' episode - no good 'emotion' there) was a real shock and the creepy voice and blue eyes... just perfect. A+
The Shock Will Kill You - Great too - Cheezy? Sure, but the 3 leads were incredible, with goofy moments balanced by more serious subjects (like both astronauts were killed!!!). I know they effects sucked, but didn't they always?
The Resurrection Of Carlini - This one never did anything for me - I thought that THIS was the overall cheezy episode and it just fell flat. I didn't think it was really 'scary' at all, more annoying. EXCEPT, of course, for the awesome scenes where Pam and Bill are dressed up - great stuff there, especially the way Connie looked - whoo-hoo!
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Post by MiltonMaxwell on Aug 16, 2005 16:01:25 GMT -5
When I made this thread I had forgotten all about the Voodoo episode, which makes 4 horror episodes. I seem to remember liking it when I was younger but since then I do not find it that good. No real humor and way too dark. I did like the other three episodes though.
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Post by billswoman on Aug 16, 2005 19:18:16 GMT -5
One thing I liked about the voodoo ep is Ralph actually gets genuinely angry, after the dude almost chops off Pam's head. I found this ep pretty gripping all-told. But when Ralph's grabbing the guy, after he's already been subdued, and I believe it's Bill that stops him, Ralph looks like he's about to rip the guy limb from limb.
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Post by culpkatt on Aug 24, 2005 2:48:11 GMT -5
I remember taking a physics course and one day our instructor explained to us what it would be like for a three dimensional being to enter a higher dimension such as the fourth. The Beast In The Black episode does a somewhat accurate job in presenting this. Ralph would never have been able to see the Beast in it's entirety, since the entity was tearing into his smaller three dimensional world and he certainly would never have been able to actually view the "gateway" into the fourth, hence the black background. Some philosophers and physicists believe that the fourth dimension is actually inhabited by ghosts and spirits and that God, if he indeed does exist, resides in infinite-dimensional space. Certain reputable physicists and self-proclaimed psychics believe that the fourth dimension actually exists right in front of us, but that our existence in this world makes it impossible to see. These theories make the Beast episode even more frightening.
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Post by billswoman on Aug 24, 2005 8:53:10 GMT -5
Last I heard, IRL, the fourth dimension is time; we have length, width, depth and time for the four dimensions.
An old chat buddy of mine, a theoretical physicist who used to work with Stephen Hawking in Cambridge, said they were up to proving nine dimensions as real.
I think them refering to this 'in between' place as the fourth dimension was wrong.
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Post by MiltonMaxwell on Aug 24, 2005 13:45:20 GMT -5
Yes, I noticed that too. It should have been the 5th dimension, but 9? Come on, I love science but sometimes there is more science fiction then science floating out there among college professors. Personally, I am not even convinced that time should consitute a dimension. Out of curiousity, does he actually define these 6th, 7th, and 8th dimensions? Actually I think I have heard of an 8th dimension once before, but I think that was a Lost in Space episode!
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Post by culpkatt on Aug 24, 2005 23:40:58 GMT -5
There are quite a few theoretical physicists out there working to prove that there may be as many as ten dimensions in our universe. In fact, scientists today are interested in going beyond Einstein's conception of the fourth dimension. Current scientific interest centers on the fifth dimension (the spatial dimension beyond time and the three dimensions of space) and beyond. Some physicists, to avoid confusion, bow to custom and call the fourth dimension the spatial dimension beyond length, breadth, and width. Most physicists actually refer to this as the fifth dimension, but others follow historical precedent. They call time the fourth temporal dimension. The Kaluza-Klein theory was the first to embrace the concept of a ten dimensional universe. The advantage of ten-dimensional space is that we have enough room in which to accomodate all four of the fundamental forces:electromagnetic, strong nuclear, weak nuclear, and gravitational.
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