WARNING - Snarky Comments about ASJ!
You know I loved my Alias Smith and Jones! It was one television show that I watched religiously during my formative pre-teen years. However, as I have matured - especially as a writer - I find that there are aspects of the show that irritate me.
If you cannot bear to hear anything even close to a criticism of ASJ, turn away now! Otherwise ...
1. The Basic Premise
I agree that the idea of amnesty is realistic (remember Missouri tried to offer Jesse James the same deal). However, for the governor to make a vague "stay out of trouble" his only condition seems rather unbelievable to me. I feel that the governor would feel a need for more stringent rules in the case of such famous bandits. There would probably have been a whole list of "Thou Shall Not's" for the boys to follow.
I also think the governor would have blackmailed Heyes and Curry into working for him. I feel that, in order to obtain that amnesty, they would have had to perform various jobs which could only have been done by a pair of (ex)outlaws! The governor would have sent them in when he could not afford to be linked to some situation - on the off chance that our boys failed spectacularly, the governor would "disavow all knowledge of their activities."
That sort of thing would have made for some great episodes! Think "The McCreedy Bust" only with the governor behind it. They might have to retrieve stolen property, which the governor could not afford to admit had been stolen. They might expose some crooked official or uncover a sneaky plot. The governor would have used the talents Heyes and Curry possessed, but to his own advantage.
2. The Names
Yes, I know that the whole joke about Smith and Jones would have been ruined - but dammit, I think Heyes would have gone to Lom Trevors after they left Porterville, and insisted that they use new aliases in the future!
3. The Amnesia
I never understood why two supposedly intelligent men - intelligent enough to plan and execute enough flawless robberies that they were "the two most successful outlaws in the history of the West!" - kept forgetting that people could hear them, and calling each other by their real names in public! Perhaps they had brain damage caused by a fall from a moving train.
4. The Mischief
I would have liked to have seen more episodes showcasing the talents of our boys, those talents which got them into so much trouble in the first place. The writers did use the Kid's fast draw - a lot - but we should have seen more of Curry as partner to Heyes. They robbed those banks and trains together. There were a few shows where they worked together, usually to con somebody who had conned them somehow, and there were the shows where they stole that bust for Burl Ives. It would have been nice to see Heyes scheming and picking locks (or safes), with the Kid backing him up and making sure everything ran smoothly - these could have been some of those "favors for the governor" episodes.
5. The Comedy
I think that the humor in this show came from the good natured banter between Heyes and Curry. The times when a writer tried to deliberately "make comedy" caused our boys to come off as goofy bumblers who could barely walk and chew gum at the same time. There was that scene in The McCreedy Bust when Heyes - the Number One safecracker in the country - knocked a potted plant from a railing, alerting the guards, then fell down while fleeing! There were the numerous times our lads fell for some scam or other - really? The two most successful outlaws in the history of the West, men who made their living by conning and robbing other people? They fell for a scam?!
The show would have been much better if the writers had all stuck to using the smart ass comments to create humor.
6. Don't Get Me Started!
Let's not even think about the whole ridiculous "Kansas Cousins" idea. And don't get me started on Roger Davis. God knows, the poor man had it rough, replacing Pete with no warning and no explanation by the producers. But in the name of God, could they not have found someone who actually resembled the original actor?! I mean, Bewitched switched husbands in midstream - but Dick York and Dick Sargent looked enough alike that they could have been related! Would it have been so horrible to delay one episode - maybe make a tasteful announcement about Pete's death without mentioning the "scandal" of suicide - and taking some time to find an actor who looked like him?!
I must admit, I do think Roger Davis was a talented actor, and I like him in other roles. It was hardly his fault that they shoved him into that role, and he did a pretty good job at it. But part of the appeal of Heyes and Curry was that Curry was the beefy muscle man and Heyes was the wiry trickster. Davis and Murphy have the same body type, and it just looked wrong to see them together as Heyes and Curry.
I think that's about all my Pet Peeves. I just wanted to get it out of my system. Now I can go back over to IMDB and watch some more episodes. Maybe I'll post a Snarkathon sometime, with smart ass comments about every episode.
If you cannot bear to hear anything even close to a criticism of ASJ, turn away now! Otherwise ...
1. The Basic Premise
I agree that the idea of amnesty is realistic (remember Missouri tried to offer Jesse James the same deal). However, for the governor to make a vague "stay out of trouble" his only condition seems rather unbelievable to me. I feel that the governor would feel a need for more stringent rules in the case of such famous bandits. There would probably have been a whole list of "Thou Shall Not's" for the boys to follow.
I also think the governor would have blackmailed Heyes and Curry into working for him. I feel that, in order to obtain that amnesty, they would have had to perform various jobs which could only have been done by a pair of (ex)outlaws! The governor would have sent them in when he could not afford to be linked to some situation - on the off chance that our boys failed spectacularly, the governor would "disavow all knowledge of their activities."
That sort of thing would have made for some great episodes! Think "The McCreedy Bust" only with the governor behind it. They might have to retrieve stolen property, which the governor could not afford to admit had been stolen. They might expose some crooked official or uncover a sneaky plot. The governor would have used the talents Heyes and Curry possessed, but to his own advantage.
2. The Names
Yes, I know that the whole joke about Smith and Jones would have been ruined - but dammit, I think Heyes would have gone to Lom Trevors after they left Porterville, and insisted that they use new aliases in the future!
3. The Amnesia
I never understood why two supposedly intelligent men - intelligent enough to plan and execute enough flawless robberies that they were "the two most successful outlaws in the history of the West!" - kept forgetting that people could hear them, and calling each other by their real names in public! Perhaps they had brain damage caused by a fall from a moving train.
4. The Mischief
I would have liked to have seen more episodes showcasing the talents of our boys, those talents which got them into so much trouble in the first place. The writers did use the Kid's fast draw - a lot - but we should have seen more of Curry as partner to Heyes. They robbed those banks and trains together. There were a few shows where they worked together, usually to con somebody who had conned them somehow, and there were the shows where they stole that bust for Burl Ives. It would have been nice to see Heyes scheming and picking locks (or safes), with the Kid backing him up and making sure everything ran smoothly - these could have been some of those "favors for the governor" episodes.
5. The Comedy
I think that the humor in this show came from the good natured banter between Heyes and Curry. The times when a writer tried to deliberately "make comedy" caused our boys to come off as goofy bumblers who could barely walk and chew gum at the same time. There was that scene in The McCreedy Bust when Heyes - the Number One safecracker in the country - knocked a potted plant from a railing, alerting the guards, then fell down while fleeing! There were the numerous times our lads fell for some scam or other - really? The two most successful outlaws in the history of the West, men who made their living by conning and robbing other people? They fell for a scam?!
The show would have been much better if the writers had all stuck to using the smart ass comments to create humor.
6. Don't Get Me Started!
Let's not even think about the whole ridiculous "Kansas Cousins" idea. And don't get me started on Roger Davis. God knows, the poor man had it rough, replacing Pete with no warning and no explanation by the producers. But in the name of God, could they not have found someone who actually resembled the original actor?! I mean, Bewitched switched husbands in midstream - but Dick York and Dick Sargent looked enough alike that they could have been related! Would it have been so horrible to delay one episode - maybe make a tasteful announcement about Pete's death without mentioning the "scandal" of suicide - and taking some time to find an actor who looked like him?!
I must admit, I do think Roger Davis was a talented actor, and I like him in other roles. It was hardly his fault that they shoved him into that role, and he did a pretty good job at it. But part of the appeal of Heyes and Curry was that Curry was the beefy muscle man and Heyes was the wiry trickster. Davis and Murphy have the same body type, and it just looked wrong to see them together as Heyes and Curry.
I think that's about all my Pet Peeves. I just wanted to get it out of my system. Now I can go back over to IMDB and watch some more episodes. Maybe I'll post a Snarkathon sometime, with smart ass comments about every episode.