Mavericks
I've mused sometimes on the Maverick family. I'm amused that I'm not a big fan of Bart, while my WWW RP partner is not a big fan of Bret. We both like Beau.
I'm not sure what she doesn't like about Bret. I think the reasons I don't always like Bart, though, are #1, Because he often seems more bland in personality than the other two, and #2, Because when one brother is being obnoxious to the other, it usually seems like it's Bart being obnoxious to Bret.
The popular episode Two Beggars on Horseback, which I remember talking about before, has both brothers trying to get to where one of them can get his check cashed. There's only enough money for one, so they're trying to outsmart each other to get there first. But unless something was cut from the version I saw (which is possible; I haven't watched the uncut yet), the worst thing Bret did was to try to sneak out of the hotel ahead of Bart. Meanwhile, Bart pulled pranks to further slow Bret down. I'm not a fan of practical jokes, so that would naturally annoy me. And it kind of irritated me that when he's talking to Patricia Barry's character (at least, I think it was her), he paints a picture of Bret as being the prankster. If Bret did anything in that episode, it was only after Bart provoked him. But as mentioned, I don't recall him doing anything.
(I also remember another episode where Bart tried to get one up on Bret, and succeeded, and was very obnoxious about it. Although maybe someone else wouldn't think he was obnoxious. And maybe that scene is actually one reason why my RP partner likes Bart so much, since he disguised himself and she likes Artemus Gordon and his disguises.)
Bart eventually gets himself into life-threatening trouble and Bret immediately abandons the nonsense of their competition to come help him. He also expresses the opinion that Bart is being silly and they should compromise, which they do when Bret frees him. They decide they'll share one check. (In the end, they both get all their money by tricking a crooked businessman who left Bart to die.)
Of course, I'm sure that if Bret had been the one to get into trouble, Bart would have abandoned the competition too. Bart has had some very good episodes; I'm particularly fond of his first one, where he does indeed have to save Bret, and The Goose-Drownder from season 3, which is basically a huge H.M. Wynant hurt/comfort fest. But I still like the other two guys better.
I was actually surprised to learn that my WWW RP partner likes Beau, though. The main thing that puzzles me about Beau is that it isn't always easy to tell that he and Bart care about each other, while it's always very clear with Bret and Bart. James Garner and Jack Kelly just had amazing chemistry together. Jack Kelly and Roger Moore ... not so much. I think Roger Moore had better chemistry with James Garner, albeit he didn't play Beau in the one episode where they're onscreen together.
In the first Beau episode, he's abducted by a madman and tries to get a message across to Bart for help. Bart comes, of course, but when he receives the initial communications, he really doesn't react like he's upset or worried. If it had been Bret in trouble, he would have reacted. (This could, however, be the product of bad writing, since the writing honestly wasn't as good by the fourth season and that was the main reason why Roger didn't stick around for long.)
Then in another episode, Bart is playing some tricks on current enemies and needs a thousand dollars from Beau. Later, Bart gets in trouble and Beau shows up to help him. When the crooks are caught, Bart exclaims, "You knew I was in trouble and you came for me, didn't you?" Beau says No; he came to get his thousand dollars back. However, it's not as cut-and-dry as that, because Beau really didn't know Bart was in trouble. As far as he knew, Bart was still pulling pranks and hadn't become a victim of the bad guys himself. Beau was probably rather exasperated when he arrived and found that Bart had gotten in over his head.
I do think they care about each other; Bart acts like he's happy to see Beau when he greets him coming back from England in the first episode. And they travel together sometimes and seem to manage alright with that (until a conflict of interest comes along). There's the general shenanigans of trying to beat each other to money or girls or both, but there's that with Bret and Bart, too. It just comes of how the whole family was raised.
But that doesn't change the fact that I just don't feel any chemistry between Bart and Beau. Beau does better solo. Ah, how I wish there had been even one episode with him and Bret together.
I wrote a Maverick story during the summer where Beau is shot trying to protect Bart and Bart can't deal with it. I definitely think he would be distraught if that happened, but on the other hand, it's kind of sad if Beau has to get himself shot for there to be a better indication of caring between them.
I'm not sure what she doesn't like about Bret. I think the reasons I don't always like Bart, though, are #1, Because he often seems more bland in personality than the other two, and #2, Because when one brother is being obnoxious to the other, it usually seems like it's Bart being obnoxious to Bret.
The popular episode Two Beggars on Horseback, which I remember talking about before, has both brothers trying to get to where one of them can get his check cashed. There's only enough money for one, so they're trying to outsmart each other to get there first. But unless something was cut from the version I saw (which is possible; I haven't watched the uncut yet), the worst thing Bret did was to try to sneak out of the hotel ahead of Bart. Meanwhile, Bart pulled pranks to further slow Bret down. I'm not a fan of practical jokes, so that would naturally annoy me. And it kind of irritated me that when he's talking to Patricia Barry's character (at least, I think it was her), he paints a picture of Bret as being the prankster. If Bret did anything in that episode, it was only after Bart provoked him. But as mentioned, I don't recall him doing anything.
(I also remember another episode where Bart tried to get one up on Bret, and succeeded, and was very obnoxious about it. Although maybe someone else wouldn't think he was obnoxious. And maybe that scene is actually one reason why my RP partner likes Bart so much, since he disguised himself and she likes Artemus Gordon and his disguises.)
Bart eventually gets himself into life-threatening trouble and Bret immediately abandons the nonsense of their competition to come help him. He also expresses the opinion that Bart is being silly and they should compromise, which they do when Bret frees him. They decide they'll share one check. (In the end, they both get all their money by tricking a crooked businessman who left Bart to die.)
Of course, I'm sure that if Bret had been the one to get into trouble, Bart would have abandoned the competition too. Bart has had some very good episodes; I'm particularly fond of his first one, where he does indeed have to save Bret, and The Goose-Drownder from season 3, which is basically a huge H.M. Wynant hurt/comfort fest. But I still like the other two guys better.
I was actually surprised to learn that my WWW RP partner likes Beau, though. The main thing that puzzles me about Beau is that it isn't always easy to tell that he and Bart care about each other, while it's always very clear with Bret and Bart. James Garner and Jack Kelly just had amazing chemistry together. Jack Kelly and Roger Moore ... not so much. I think Roger Moore had better chemistry with James Garner, albeit he didn't play Beau in the one episode where they're onscreen together.
In the first Beau episode, he's abducted by a madman and tries to get a message across to Bart for help. Bart comes, of course, but when he receives the initial communications, he really doesn't react like he's upset or worried. If it had been Bret in trouble, he would have reacted. (This could, however, be the product of bad writing, since the writing honestly wasn't as good by the fourth season and that was the main reason why Roger didn't stick around for long.)
Then in another episode, Bart is playing some tricks on current enemies and needs a thousand dollars from Beau. Later, Bart gets in trouble and Beau shows up to help him. When the crooks are caught, Bart exclaims, "You knew I was in trouble and you came for me, didn't you?" Beau says No; he came to get his thousand dollars back. However, it's not as cut-and-dry as that, because Beau really didn't know Bart was in trouble. As far as he knew, Bart was still pulling pranks and hadn't become a victim of the bad guys himself. Beau was probably rather exasperated when he arrived and found that Bart had gotten in over his head.
I do think they care about each other; Bart acts like he's happy to see Beau when he greets him coming back from England in the first episode. And they travel together sometimes and seem to manage alright with that (until a conflict of interest comes along). There's the general shenanigans of trying to beat each other to money or girls or both, but there's that with Bret and Bart, too. It just comes of how the whole family was raised.
But that doesn't change the fact that I just don't feel any chemistry between Bart and Beau. Beau does better solo. Ah, how I wish there had been even one episode with him and Bret together.
I wrote a Maverick story during the summer where Beau is shot trying to protect Bart and Bart can't deal with it. I definitely think he would be distraught if that happened, but on the other hand, it's kind of sad if Beau has to get himself shot for there to be a better indication of caring between them.