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| Me and my bro - I'm on the left |
He was SERIOUS. Yes, I knew the show was scripted! But sometimes from the way I talk, think, write and live my life, you might not know that I know, but I know.
If you dig deep enough (and I think I have), you feel like you know what Mr. Genius, Paul Rhymer was up to, at least partially. I haven't filled in all of the blanks by any means and I'm probably wrong half the time or more. But we've been presented with a very large puzzle - a book, let's say - that's missing several hundred pages. We've been given clues what may be in those missing pages. This resides in our minds, influenced heavily by Rhymer. Some of us choose to flip through those pages and see what may or may not exist, others choose not to.
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| The Genius, Paul Rhymer |
Well, try immersing yourself in the show for 3+ years - and by that I mean to think about the show when you aren't listening to it. An example: wonder about Vic and his love of parades. Do you know anyone who has a LOVE for parades? That's obsessed with parades? That wants to attend every parade? Vic has a parade sickness. Make it real. Imagine someone you know and give them a parade sickness. How would they act?
As goofy as that sounds, I have done this for all the characters, including many of the those who aren't a part of the original series. It probably goes far beyond what is "normal", but I enjoy it!
There are unanswered questions everywhere. Do you not ponder these things? For instance, we are told that the Donahue and Scott families live next door to the Gooks. When the Brainfeebles moved in, we are told they live next door. They can't all three live next door!
Okay, so that's probably not a big deal to you, but it happens to be a big deal to me. Everything in the show is a big deal, because I've made it real.
Am I nuts? Probably... and enjoying the series as much or more than anyone I know.
That's not a picture of you. That's those Hink Brothers. I know them because they're real.
ReplyDeleteFavorite comment ever!
ReplyDeleteThe longer answer is "verisimilitude." If the world of Vic & Sade were merely crazy, it would be farce. But Rhymer built a world that is crazy on a consistent level of craziness, just a notch or so above our daily absurdity, enough to magnify our world in his peculiar funhouse mirror. His writing, coupled with the ensemble acting of the tiny cast, make the goings-on completely believable within their envelope of craziness.
ReplyDelete(There's also a rumor that Vera Similitude was the name of a lady who sent Uncle Fletcher a Christmas card in nineteen-aught-nine, recalling his visit to Boone, Iowa, thereby laying the groundwork for endless vexation.)
After listening for many years I can't quite put my finger on what attracts me to this show. I suspect everyone has their own reasons. For me, it's the feelings of nostalgia. I think a lot of people think the past was better and more wholesome than current times (as do I), but V&S was broadcast in it's own time - and a dark period at that (WWII). So I suspect the millions of listeners in the 30's and 40's would not have found this show nostalgic. I'm puzzled by this. Perhaps nostalgia can be more than a time but a place as well. A simpler place, a slower pace, a fictional world that doesn't have big problems. Why do you like the show?
ReplyDeleteI think I love the show because even the first time I hard it, it seemed "familiar". Somewhere, and I don't know where it comes from, I knew this show before I had heard it.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I ever heard "telephone's ringin'" it clicked: I knew this show! But no, not really. I had never heard this show ever. Yet, I have.
Makes perfect sense, eh?
I guess the way to say it that makes the most sense is: it just fit with me. Like the first time I walked in a Major League Baseball stadium and saw the green grass and smelled the cotton candy and hot dogs: it just fit. Like the first time I sat in Texas Stadium and saw Craig Morton and Roger Staubach and Bob Lilly. Something clicked. Vic and Sade - though I didn't understand everything, just clicked. And that's why I love the show.