vonnoosh

Raymond Chandler may have never wanted his work to end up on TV but he died in 1959 when the majority of television was live teleplays and half hour dramas. Not the greatest format for this material then having to add the editing out of material that may offend censors or sponsors. None of that is relevant with this show.

Powers Booth plays the world weary tough guy Philip Marlowe well. The stories have a good set of twists and turns and they are well done because the plots have time to develop. A 40s B movie clocks in 15 to 20 minutes longer than the average episode so there's not too much of a difference. The lighter moments might be a little too light and there might be a lack of regular recurring antagonists that make the stories more complicated but that also may be tedious.

There's not alot of these shows which is a good thing because it didn't hang around long enough to get bad. Makes it recommended in my view.

About 10 to 15 years after this aired, news stories about addiction to prescription medication among pro athletes started making regular headlines.

Back in the 80s the news about drug abuse among athletes was like stories about drug abuse among entertainers. The stories of Lenny Bias, Steve Howe, Dwight Gooden, Lawrence Taylor, and the miserable revelations from the '85 Pittsburgh Drug Trials (still many great players may never enter the Hall of Fame because of it) were all related to off the field activities. It was around the time of Brett Favre admitting his struggles along the lines of the character in this episode that the attention turned toward what was prescribed to keep a player active. North Dallas Forty touched on this as well but it was less about anyone ending up addicted to what they were given.

It's a sad story with a message that ends with a degree of hope which is in keeping with this underrated series. I've been fortunate enough to avoid the pitfalls of substance abuse but entertainment like this reminds me to be grateful having avoided it.

Love this short run series. My introduction to it was Davison mentioning it on the commentary for the Dr Who story, The caves of androzani. He was explaining the moment he broke character and nearly laughed in Robert Glenister's face. Glenister never broke character which was funny too. Anyway. I was prompted to buy the DVD set and watched the episodes through more than a few times.

The story follows Steve And Brian Webber and Brian's girlfriend Sonia as they all show their ineptitude in different ways. The protests all go wrong, the volunteering efforts all go wrong. It's well written and enjoyable. Better than most sitcoms from the early 80s.