Bye Bye Breaking Bad...and Ultrarunning

Somehow I missed this "obituary" a couple weeks ago when the Breaking Bad finale aired.  The bride and I have been fans pretty much since the get-go--it was compelling drama.  Mighty big shoes to fill by somebody.

[credit Boing Boing, here, who got it from somewhere else]

 

And of course, what fan can forget the phenomenal and haunting final musical choice, Baby Blue by Badfinger (the music starts at 53 seconds in):

 

Link is here if the embedded video does not play.

Oh, and the link to Ultrarunning?  This song is in my head.  Really in.  My head.  I can't run a step without the soundtrack beginning to play.

Not that that's all bad--I've had plenty of other thoughts and music unbidden in my brain that, for awhile, I could not escape from--so this one is actually a desireable effect.

Have Gun - Will Travel (or, the Antihero)

The bride got me Season 3 of Have Gun--Will Travel for Christmas, and I am LOVING it!  Plus, our cable provider carries the Encore Western channel, which has also begun to show episodes.

Ever learn about the concept of the antihero back in literature class?  Antiheros were BIG back in the 1970s when I was in college but I seldom hear about the concept any more today.  Nevertheless, a quick Google reveals that some univesities still teach such a class--see Dartmouth for one example. 

Anyway, back to the concept of the antihero: think Rambo and you pretty much have it. 

Wikipedia tells us that an antihero is "...generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis."

Well, Richard Boone, playing Paladin in the show, is just a more genteel Rambo but still embodies the antihero concept.  His "normal" persona is that of an educated, suave gentleman, dressed in fine clothes, living in San Francisco.  Paladin seems to spend his days scouring the newspapers for stories of the downtrodden, or someone in distress.  He then sends the needy person his terse, 8-word business card, and the person responds by hiring the gunfighter.  Typically the next shot shows Paladin--this time dressed all in black and riding a black horse--arriving at the place where he is needed for a showdown with the "bad" guy(s).

Not every episode contains a gunfight, although many do, and Paladin is a quick draw.  But frequently he solves the problem without resorting to violence, often by convincing people just to do what is right rather than what is expedient.

Paladin is a man with no first name, a good guy with a dark side.  He is a hired gunfighter who does what's right and helps the downtrodden.  As the lead-in to the show, Paladin always draws his gun and gives a short hard-ass speech as a teaser to what's about to happen.  The show is replete with situational ethics and moral dilemmas, and sometimes is unclear as to who really is the good guy.

Maybe I'm nostalgic for the formative days of my youth, but I love this show and can't get enough of it right now.  Perhaps it's the appeal of ambiguity and the parallels with contemporary life, which seems increasingly fraught with moral dilemmas and ethical conundrums.

No UlraRunning connection here--again, I just love Westerns!

(Photos taken by me from my TV)