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finabair has given me copies of Stingray. No, not the Gary Anderson puppet show, the drama that was on NBC in 1985.
Never heard of it? Doesn't really surprise me. You could say it ran for two seasons because technically it did, but it only had 25 episodes total. And NBC kept changing the air times and preempting it so, in all likelihood, most viewers didn't know it was even on. Even I, with my undying love for the show, didn't get to see all of them the first time it aired.
I can't say that this is my favorite show of all time, but the character of Ray is, far and away, my favorite character ever to exist. If I could bring one character to life from any media, ever, it would (without a second thought) be Stingray. He is everything I passionately love in a character. He is dark, mysterious and dangerous. He lives and works in a world of moral ambiguity, where being the good guy doesn't guarantee anything. He knows that evil exists, having not only seen it, but actually been part of it. Yet, even though he is more than capable of evil himself, he chooses to work for good. Ray stands out from other anti-heroes, though, in that he's not broody and angsty as some sort of self-flagellating penance over the mere capability of doing evil. The character, despite the darkness, manages to have many light moments. He even has a sense of humor that is allowed to come out. He is actually permitted to be happy at times.
In addition to having the best example of my favorite character archetype, Stingray (as a show) also had great acting, a style that still looks good and excellent writing.
Nick Mancuso played Ray and I can't think of anyone else who could have (or could now) portray the character as well as he did. A major part of Stingray was the fact that no one knew who Ray really was and that he could really be anyone at all. They did such a good job of this that it was possible not to recognize a new character as Ray in the first couple of frames. This was great for the character and the show concept, but it probably made it hell for the casual viewers who want recognizable icons as the series lead.
This was the era of Miami Vice when style and flash would cover a lot of sins. Now I liked Miami Vice and it had a lot of substance with it, but it often sold image over story, even when the story was excellent. Stingray was actually much less into pop culture. It did do the quick stylish cuts and its look is definitely from the 80s but instead of using the current hit song out, music was written especially for each episode – usually by Mike Post or Pete Carpenter. It really adds something to the show that is missing when people just use the current hit. They weren't above putting in a popular tune now and then, but the music was written for the show and that made a difference.
One of the things that, by far, made the entire series excellent was the writing. The scripts are tight and none of them ever fall into the "happy ending for a happy ending sake" trap. In fact, I'd say that everything ends up "happy" in only a fourth of the episodes. However, every single ending is satisfying and, even in the ones (of which there are several) where nothing could have gone more wrong, there would have been no other way to end the episode. None of the main players of any of the episodes are flat or boring, despite how easy it would have been to make them that way. You never walk away from an episode (even the lower-quality ones) with the feeling that it would have been better if it would have ended differently.
Now don't get me wrong. This is a television show – more importantly, it's a television show from the 80's – so there is going to be some clichéd situations and over-the-top plots. Not all the acting is as good as it could be and because most of the acting is so stellar, the bad ones really stick out. The editing on most of the episodes is great, especially in the stylish, music-video type parts. However, there are times when it's obvious that the same attention to detail wasn't spent on editing average scene. Granted, this was a time when the show was going to be shown only twice and repeated re-watching makes gaffs like that evident, but it's still annoying.
Still, little nit-picky complaints aside, it's an excellent show and one that I am thrilled to have a copy of.
I'm sure I'll obsess more here in the future. I mean, I need something to pass the time with until 24 starts in January.
So, you know, be warned.
finabair has given me copies of Stingray. No, not the Gary Anderson puppet show, the drama that was on NBC in 1985.Never heard of it? Doesn't really surprise me. You could say it ran for two seasons because technically it did, but it only had 25 episodes total. And NBC kept changing the air times and preempting it so, in all likelihood, most viewers didn't know it was even on. Even I, with my undying love for the show, didn't get to see all of them the first time it aired.
I can't say that this is my favorite show of all time, but the character of Ray is, far and away, my favorite character ever to exist. If I could bring one character to life from any media, ever, it would (without a second thought) be Stingray. He is everything I passionately love in a character. He is dark, mysterious and dangerous. He lives and works in a world of moral ambiguity, where being the good guy doesn't guarantee anything. He knows that evil exists, having not only seen it, but actually been part of it. Yet, even though he is more than capable of evil himself, he chooses to work for good. Ray stands out from other anti-heroes, though, in that he's not broody and angsty as some sort of self-flagellating penance over the mere capability of doing evil. The character, despite the darkness, manages to have many light moments. He even has a sense of humor that is allowed to come out. He is actually permitted to be happy at times.
In addition to having the best example of my favorite character archetype, Stingray (as a show) also had great acting, a style that still looks good and excellent writing.
Nick Mancuso played Ray and I can't think of anyone else who could have (or could now) portray the character as well as he did. A major part of Stingray was the fact that no one knew who Ray really was and that he could really be anyone at all. They did such a good job of this that it was possible not to recognize a new character as Ray in the first couple of frames. This was great for the character and the show concept, but it probably made it hell for the casual viewers who want recognizable icons as the series lead.
This was the era of Miami Vice when style and flash would cover a lot of sins. Now I liked Miami Vice and it had a lot of substance with it, but it often sold image over story, even when the story was excellent. Stingray was actually much less into pop culture. It did do the quick stylish cuts and its look is definitely from the 80s but instead of using the current hit song out, music was written especially for each episode – usually by Mike Post or Pete Carpenter. It really adds something to the show that is missing when people just use the current hit. They weren't above putting in a popular tune now and then, but the music was written for the show and that made a difference.
One of the things that, by far, made the entire series excellent was the writing. The scripts are tight and none of them ever fall into the "happy ending for a happy ending sake" trap. In fact, I'd say that everything ends up "happy" in only a fourth of the episodes. However, every single ending is satisfying and, even in the ones (of which there are several) where nothing could have gone more wrong, there would have been no other way to end the episode. None of the main players of any of the episodes are flat or boring, despite how easy it would have been to make them that way. You never walk away from an episode (even the lower-quality ones) with the feeling that it would have been better if it would have ended differently.
Now don't get me wrong. This is a television show – more importantly, it's a television show from the 80's – so there is going to be some clichéd situations and over-the-top plots. Not all the acting is as good as it could be and because most of the acting is so stellar, the bad ones really stick out. The editing on most of the episodes is great, especially in the stylish, music-video type parts. However, there are times when it's obvious that the same attention to detail wasn't spent on editing average scene. Granted, this was a time when the show was going to be shown only twice and repeated re-watching makes gaffs like that evident, but it's still annoying.
Still, little nit-picky complaints aside, it's an excellent show and one that I am thrilled to have a copy of.
I'm sure I'll obsess more here in the future. I mean, I need something to pass the time with until 24 starts in January.
So, you know, be warned.
