TMP Television Edition: Journalism

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I miss it. It's been so many years since I've heard, in person, the heavy clanking of analog typewriter keys that rarely went down without a fight. When they did, they launched strikers angrily at sheet of paper being held hostage - strapped to a horizontal cylinder by a slim metal bar. Only a ink slathered ribbon buffered their blow, itself being stripped of its only possession. The carriage return dragged the whole violent affair to the left as quickly as the operator's fingers dictated. It even rang when it reached its breaking point summoning the typist to slam it as far back to the right as mechanically possible and subject it to more blunt force trauma. When it gets up to a good speed it sounds like a million factories all in the business of manufacturing your thoughts and packaging them in eight-and-a-half by eleven windows into the writer's soul. 

That's what comes to mind when I think of journalism, or at least the journalist working. Of course, I'm rambling about all of this because this week's topic for Thursday Movie Picks, hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, is journalism. However, this is any regular Thursday. It's the last one of the month which means we're not talking about movies, at all. We're talking about what we 'Muricans used to refer to as the boob tube, or the idiot box, or just plain 'ol TV. Who's up for a trip through my childhood?

The Adventures of Superman

(1952-58)

Mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent (George Reeves) works for a newspaper called The Daily Planet and has the hots for co-worker Lois Lane (first Phyllis Coates, then Noel Neill).  He spends lots of time sitting on the corner of desk, twirling his fedora while trying to hustle her for a date and treating photographer Jimmy Olsen (Jack Larson) like a peon. To impress, he always wears a fresh suit with the jacket always buttoned and keeps his hair slick as a snot covered marble. It's all pretty innocuous except he always does the damndest thing whenever there's trouble. He ducks into the storage closet, changes outfits, and jumps out the window. Hmph.

The Amazing Spider-Man

(1977-79) 

Peter Parker (Nicholas Hammond) is a college kid whose main source of income is freelance photography. He manages to sell a lot of pictures to a newspaper by the name of The Daily Bugle. Eventually, he's not just taking pics, he's tracking down leads and helping cops with their investigations. All in all, things go pretty good. However, when things do go south, Peter gets so beside himself his eyes do this weird thing and he's literally climbing the walls. No, really.

The Incredible Hulk

(1977-1982)

Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) is an intrepid reporter tracking the biggest story of his career. And I mean big. Reports have surfaced that some gigantic dude (Lou Ferrigno), possibly on steroids, shows up in random places and assaults anyone in his vicinity, destroying all sorts of property damage in the process. Whatever he's on, it's serious because it's turned his skin green. His appearance has caused people to label him a monster. Jack aims to get to the bottom of it. He has reason to believe that slight and possibly depressed David Bruce Banner (Bill Bixby), a disgraced, homeless, nomadic doctor, is responsible. Never one to give up, Jack just follows the poor guy all over the country. It's a wonder he's still alive because the guy keeps warning Jack not to make him angry. But that Jack...he just can't take no for an answer.

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