Inflection Points

Moments of significant change in a trend, industry, or situation.

Mine, via HiDream I1 Fast.

In the 1970s going into the 1980s television was pretty staid. I don’t want to say that it was cookie-cutter pablum … but it was pretty close.

Then came two episodes that changed everything, at least for me.

The first is pretty well known. It aired in September of 1982, on the series Magnum PI, and involved Magnum confronting an evil man, who had done great harm, and was apparently going to walk away scot-free. In TV up to that point, the audience had come to expect that the hero — through use of guile — would have talked the bad guy into confessing, and as he turned to walk away, cops who had been hiding within earshot would jump out and arrest the bad guy.

The communal gasp that went across the United States when Magnum simply shot him was … awe-inspiring:

I’m not quite sure how to explain the feeling after seeing that gunshot to kids these days, but at the time — holy gods. I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that episode changed a lot of TV.

The second happened later — October of 1985 — and was considerably darker.

Miami Vice was changing things in police procedurals, but in a hip way. It made music one of the characters, brought new sensibilities, and younger, hungry directors who were willing to change style, but — overall — it remained the police procedural everyone had come to expect.

This episode was about an ex-cop, retired due to mental issues, and his pursuit of a criminal who had eluded him. The ending that everyone expected was to find out the ex-cop was correct, and would be vindicated.

That … wasn’t exactly how it ended. The reveal that the ex-cop had murdered the bad guy was a heck of a surprise — cops were good guys and didn’t do that sort of thing — and then a bigger surprise hit. Castillo showed up with the ex-cop’s partner as the body of the felon was discovered.

Crockett: “You knew. You knew he killed Arcaro.”

Lang: “I helped him build the wall. He was my partner, you understand? You understand?”

Crocket: “ … Yeah.”

While not as many people remember the Miami Vice episode¹ as they do the Magnum PI episode² to me the Miami Vice episode was more of a gut-punch. It brought a level of noir to broadcast tv previously only found under ‘R’ ratings in theatres.

It also was a bit more relevant. While some people might dream of getting to shoot a KGB torturer and walk away — that’s still the realm of fantasy. What you would do for your ride-or-die buddy … that’s a whole different kettle of fish. That’s not as far into the realm of fantasy as some folks might wish. Especially for some communities spread across the United States.

The really good entertainment — the kind of entertainment that people remember 40 or 45 years later — has to reach in and touch some part of your soul. Whether that part is the good part, or it’s the parts with the fangs and the claws that whisper softly from dark corners at three in the morning.

Anyhoo, inflection points have been on my mind recently, and apparently this is how my brain squirrels react to them — by digging up old TV episodes and making me rewatch them at two AM.

You’re welcome. At least it gave me something to blog about.

Ian

1. “Out Where The Buses Don’t Run”

2. “Did You See the Sunrise?”