The Midnight Special
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Midnight Special |
| Publisher: | |
| Editor(s): | Mary D. Bloemker and Mary Fall |
| Type: | |
| Date(s): | 1986-? |
| Frequency: | monthly |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Shadow Chasers |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Midnight Special is a gen Shadow Chasers discussion/letterzine created by Mary D. Bloemker and Mary Fall.
As of fall 1987, there had been 20 issues published.
Description
Contributors receive a free copy of the issue in which their letter appears (how's that for incentive, buds?) Come join our ongoing and spirited (spirited, get it? Pa-dum-pa!) discussion of our favorite Shadow Chasers, Dr. Jonathan 'Jack' MacKensie, Edgar 'Call Me Benny' Edgar's Just for the Press' Benedek, and last but not least, the inestimable Dr. Julian 'Dragon Lady' Moorhouse. Issues #1-#20 now available, and we're still chugging along!! Come one, come all -- we gotta chase some shadows, Jack! [1]
Statement of Policy
Printed in the first issue:
We're doing this for fun, folks. That means that the minute it stops being fun, we stop. Period. And we're not talking about the mechanical end of production either. In this household, there are two computers with about six different word processing programs as well as four different printers manned by two SC fanatics (average typing speed about 60 wpm) who have enough wild energy between them to keep this thing going until crack of doom if need be. In other words, the actual production of this letterzine is cake. What we're talking about is a curious phenomenon which has plagued letterzines since the dawn of fandom, and which has been the direct cause of the demise of more than a few of them: intolerance.
We fully recognize that each person is entitled to their own opinions. All we ask is that you keep this in mind as regards others, we will not, we repeat, will not allow these pages to become a battleground for divergent personalities and opinions. Editorial discretion will be exercised in the following manner: if both of us (that's a pretty clear majority of two, folks) feel that someone is abusing their privileges in expressing their opinions in excessively belligerent, arrogant or just plain nasty terms, the offending letter will either be edited, or more likely sent back without seeing print. The same holds true if two people persist in arguing a trivial point until we're thoroughly sick of it. In that case, we will decide either to excise the offending portion of the letter, or it will be sent back with the suggestion that the two principals involved continue their hassle between themselves and leave the rest of us in peace. And the moment someone descends into name-calling or even snide comments calling another contributor's intelligence or ancestry into question, the offender will become persona non grata around here so fast it will make your head spin. To sum it all up, guys, watch it. It's only fair to warn you that one of us is a battle-scarred veteran of open-forum letterzines and has writ-in-stone ideas about what she will and/or will not put up with.
And to make it even plainer, this may be a free country and you may feel that our editing policies violate your First Amendment rights, but no one said this letterzine is a democracy, did they? You want freedom of speech, use your own postage.
Issue 1 (March 1986)
This issue contains 9 pages.
Some excerpts:
I'm going to exercise my option as the co-editor of this letterzine; since the idea of putting forward a topic for future discussion as come up, I'm going to risk opening a can of worms here, and ask you to express your opinions on something no one seems to agree on: Benny's (unnamed) girlfriend and the matter of her fatal aircrash. It seems that people have their own opinions concerning Edgar Benedek’s veracity on this point, so I invite you all to express them; clearly, succinctly, but without vitriol (look it up, and forget about the sulfates)...
A Shadow Chasers letterzine; what a great idea. I know there have to be a lot of people out there who loved the show. I keep hearing from folks who do anyway. I was attracted to the premise from the beginning and allowed myself to be tempted away from Magnum to watch the pilot. I didn't go back to my old favorite P.I. until Shadow Chasers had gone. It grabbed me from the beginning.
What attracts me to a show is the characters and their interactions, and this had to be one of the unlikeliest duos on TV in along time. They're coming from opposite directions and winding up in the same place though. I get such a kick out of Jonathan when he gets into his play-acting mode — his musketeer routine for instance. Here's someone who's totally buttoned down on the surface and inside is someone entirely different that he doesn't let out all that often.
And as time went on, 1got more and more intrigued by Edgar Benedek too. Jonathan is a 'hunk', but Benny is more than meets the eye too. He doesn't let people get too close to him — he's got tons of friends, but I wonder how many of them see what's really inside. That story he told Jonathan in the pilot about his girlfriend and the plane crash was a good example. I know some people who aren't sure it is true; I think it is true and that he made his smart remark about the talk show circuit afterwards to distract Jonathan from being sympathetic. It's like he uses his off-the-wall humor to cover up, the way Spock uses logic. It makes me want to get to know him better.
Jonathan too is not Just a one-dimensional type. I like a lot of things about him. He's smart. He knows a lot of stuff about a lot of things. He's interested in his career. He cares about his friends. In several episodes where Benny was hurt, Jonathan was right there, helping out. He practically lived at the hospital in Amazing Grace, and I don't think for a minute it was because he was afraid of a lawsuit, though Dr. Moorhouse mentioned it. Of course he blamed himself for that one. But he didn't have any reason to be guilty in The Middle of Somewhere and he was there for Benny the whole way through, even though he was not going to let Benny convince him that they were dead.
I love the way Trevor Eve can do so many different types in The Many Lives of Jonathan for instance. Also when Jonathan was coming across as the western character in The Middle of - and getting between Benny and a gun to do it. Interesting.
I think what I like best, though, is the way that they find that they can work together. After Jonathan's Initial resistance, once he gets into the spirit of things, they make a marvelous team. They can balance each other and their strengths and weaknesses complement each other.
I wrote to ABC and got a form postcard in reply telling me that they had to please a majority of viewers. That was pretty good, coming from ABC, but the time slot is a killing one. I'd like to think that the show might have done better in a different time slot, perhaps beginning at a time when people expect new shows to arise. People I work with never heard of it. I've written several times more with no response. But I wish that they would show the missing episodes. I make it to be at least three of them from what I've heard in various places. Maybe this summer. In the meantime, thank the Force for VCRs and fan writers.
What I'd like to see in a newsletter in future are comments about the two guys; which do the various fans like better and why? What episodes are favorites and why. Background speculation is always nice too. We got what could be conflicting information on Jonathan's relationship with his father for instance. Benny seems to have a legion of devoted friends but he told Jonathan in The Middle of Somewhere that he didn't have a lot of people lining up to help him out. How about having a subject for discussion presented in an issue with people's answer in the next issue?
My involvement in Shadow Chasers was not helped by the fact that it was scheduled opposite Magnum P.I.. So I pretty much ignored the show till I got a plea from Ann Larimer to tape it for her on Thanksgiving, when MPI was not on, and SC was pre-empted in her area. The episode was Amazing Grace and I thought it was great. I've still only seen three others plus a tape of the pilot. The Many Lives of Jonathan is my favorite; Trevor Eve's tour de force performance was wonderful.
Those who say the show is merely a Ghostbusters rip-off aren't paying close attention. Benny is much more off the wall and crazy than Bill Murray's character Peter Venkman, and Jonathan is more of a true scholar than Dan Ackroyd's Ray Stantz, and not the weird superbrain like Harold Ramis' Egon Spengler. The Shadow Chasers are not in business for themselves (well, Benny does want to sell himself and his books!), they have academic support (when Dr. Moorhouse isn't mad at them) and they investigate much more than ghosts, and their aim is to explain, not capture or destroy. The concept of chasing any or all weird phenomena goes way back (in the shooting script and novel of Ghostbusters, all the previous movies on that theme are mentioned by name, and up until the last days of filming, Ivan Reitman didn't even have final rights to the title Ghostbusters because of the seventies' kidvid show with Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch).
So, Shadow Chasers can stand on its own, except for the lack of network support and understanding, which probably led to the bad scheduling, which definitely led to the show's departure from the airwaves (for now?). But, as in the past, this show won't completely die, because we won't let it!
Well, I'm glad someone else is decrying the horrible instance which removed from our midst a jewel which temporarily rid us of cop shows, sitcoms and other melee and allowed both our funny bone and gray matter to work.
Shadow Chasers was just that. It was what every television series is supposed to be — entertaining and innovative. Each episode was something that teased our senses and brought, for the most part, a welcome relief to a boring evening. From its pilot, I knew the show was too good to last. Series like it seldom, if ever, do. Or if they do, they fall into the clutches of mulled over, revamped and re-revamped story lines. Shadow Chasers did not do this.
My only criticism might be that I thought there were a bit too many instances where Benny was either injured or faced with life-threatening situations. This, however, could be explained simply as an investigative reporter more often than not places his own safety behind a good story and certainly Benny did just that. Still, if Jonathan (I know he was in jeopardy in The Many Lives of Jonathan) had been similarly treated, it would have balanced out things a bit better.
Writing to the networks is about the only way a fan can vent his frustrations and I sincerely hope that someone out there does at least open the envelopes and not pitch them into the mulch machine. I do not condone anyone writing a studio, mind you, and promising them eternal damnation if they don't put a show back on. That solves nothing and only provides them with more reason not to do it.
When I first heard about Shadow Chasers, I was intrigued with the idea. I have always been interested in the supernatural. I love ghost stories and have books on ESP, haunted houses, ghosts and unexplained mysteries, naturally I was very interested in seeing this show. I wasn't very impressed with the first show. It didn't grab my attention right off.
The story was average, the effects were fair, and I really wasn't that interested in most of the characters. That is, except for two. I discovered that I really liked Edgar "Benny" Benedek and Dr. Jonathan MacKensie. They kept luring me back, every Thursday night. I had to watch it! I was hooked!! The show had snuck up from behind, and claimed me as a fan (forever), I had to see if Jonathan ever managed to find logical explanations for all their cases and if Benny ever convinced Jonathan that ghosts were real.
As a friend of mine said, with Shadow Chasers gone, the TV Guide just isn't any fun anymore. And TV isn't fun, either. I miss Shadow Chasers and I'll never forget it.
This has made for an exquisitely interesting and thoroughly delightful series. I have sent a letter off to Brandon Stoddard, ABC Entertainment, encouraging the network to give the show one more chance in a different time slot. Let's hope for the best. Other letters are encouraged as well; hey, guys, let 'em know that there is an audience for the show! The address is as follows: Mr. Brandon Stoddard [...] Keep 'em precise, neat, friendly, but above all, business-like.
Lee and I also want to start an official newsletter for the cast of Shadow Chasers, and letters have been sent off to the three leads; hopefully we won't have long to wait and all their answers will be "yes"! Let it be known that this is to be an official newsletter; we've had this idea for about two months now, and have no desire to go into direct competition with our friends, so even though we'll encourage people to write, it will not be a letterzine, per se.
I have been watching a lot of Shadow Chasers lately and have been really impressed with the show. It was a pity that the show was in the wrong time slot and really didn't have a chance to compete. [...] This television show allows you to have a good time and at the same time wonder about the mysteries presented. The one mystery I can't figure out is why this off the wall show was paired up against Magnum P.I. and The Cosby Show.
I got together some notes for a letter to this Shadow Chasers letterzine then realized that the jottings had no direction. This seems to parallel the fate of SC. A series needs at least two years to fully develop its potential and with only the handful of episodes ABC aired, it's tricky to extrapolate in any sort of detail about the characters and premise. I'm discouraged that yet another promising series has been unceremoniously chopped by a major network.
Issue 2 (April 1986)
This issue contains 24 pages.
This issue contains a story by Robin L. Belyea called "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow."
Some excerpts:
Gee, my Thursday nights just ain't the same no more. Sure, I love Cosby and Magnum PI, but what are they against the comedic para-mania of Shadow Chasers? I miss Benny, that wild and crazy guy (what other kind of guy does Dennis Dugan play so well?) and I miss Jonathan, the most scaredy-cat of heroes to come along the pike in years. Trevor Eve was a delight in the role. Now those guys are gone and I miss their bright smiling faces and I WANT THEM BACK!
It's too bad that ABC had the ah, good sense(?) to put Shadow Chasers on Thursdays opposite both Magnum and Bill Cosby. As Bugs Bunny would say..."What a maroon!" These two very popular shows never gave SC a chance.
Decision, decision. It was pushing 6:33 (Central Time—Toy Time), and I was still trying to plan my Thursday night course of action. A new show that looked like it might possibly be interesting was starting on ABC, with pseudo-spooky stuff and good ol' Dennis Dugan. On the other hand, I still held some hope for Simon & Simon at the time, and this new thing was gonna be two hours long. Why spend two hours with something that — we're talking ABC, after all would no doubt suck in a major way? Still, MPI and S&S would be rerun one day, while anything in the Thursday suicide slot had about as much chance of a repeat performance as...well, not much chance. Compromise. I stuck a tape in the VCR downstairs and went upstairs to watch the PI shows in living black and white.
I really liked this show, and hope we haven't seen the last of it. The last time honor and horror were blended so well together was on Kolchak: The Night Stalker, one of my all time favorite TV shows.
Subject matter for the series is virtually unlimited. Let's fact it — there's a lot of weirdness out there. Televisions that talk after the network goes off the air; houses that shift; the occasional werewolf or two; vampires; Jack the Ripper, you name it... I'd like to see some fan fiction on the Shadow Chasers. It'd even fit into the format of one of my zines. (Yes, I admit it. I am shamelessly hinting...!)
I started watching Shadow Chasers to look at Trevor Eve. Nothing too unusual about that, right? However, by the time the two hour pilot was over, I was thoroughly, delightfully hooked. The atmosphere was light, the drama interesting and the two main characters were total riots. If for nothing else, I was taken by the scene of Benny trying to get Jonathan to expand his horizons by tasting a new flavor of ice cream - not to mention that when he did so, Jonathan liked the new flavor. This may sound trivial to you, but for about seven years now, my best friend's been trying to get me to eat any other flavor of ice cream but chocolate. That one scene made Shadow Chasers' two heroes more real for me.
Even if ABC decides not to pick SC back up (doubtful now), I still wish they'd show the three episodes we missed. My curiosity was aroused by the snippets of scenes in the opening credits. Ah, well, enough rambling. I'm glad to discuss SC with others. When it was last all the time in the ratings, I used to think I was the only one watching.
For those of you who don't know, there was an unofficial SC get-together at Lunacon — Mary (B.), Mary (F.), and I shared two and a half days of brainstorming. Under the suspicion that at least half of the current writers of SC fan fic were present, we watched tapes, came up with story ideas, and wrote (hey, at last I did!). Let's do it again at Media*West...if my hand doesn't fall off from all the writing you guys are forcing on me.
I guess the rest of my [opinions regarding what-ifs] are pretty much taken up in the stories. Let's hope that the summer brings us the four missing episodes! (And let's refrain from the Susie G. joke, ’kay?)
Which brings us to the broken hearts Jonathan has left along the way. While we'll never know how the dear boy and Back Seat MacDonald parted ways (although he certainly thinks of her with real affection, but that's perfectly understandable), we know of at least one bonafide crush (Randy from the pilot episode—she keeps a framed picture of our favorite anthro prof just above her Macintosh, and is obviously not cool enough to keep Benny from instantly guessing her feelings even over the long-distance telephone lines) and at least one real aggressor (whoever it was that managed to get Jonathan's shirt unfastened to the fourth button before Benny's interruption in Parts Unknown, and who left her shoe behind in her hurried exit), we also note that while he uses just about any excuse to flirt (watch him with Marge in the first scene with Ollie in Let's Make a Deal, or the final party scene in Parts unknown), he only exhibits real discomfort when the woman is the initial aggressor (the secretary in How Green Has My Murder, and the nurse with the sister in Amazing Grace). He is also very strongly attracted to woman of intelligence and poise (in that regard, Stella from the pilot and Gwen from Let's Make a Deal were very similar, and he reacted to them similarly). As for why this man, who seems perfectly aware that many women would fall at his feet given only a glance and a smile, does not seem to be able to form a lasting relationship with a woman...well, maybe the work comes first.
Now, to the subject of Benny’s girl friend and whether his story in the pilot was real or not. I can play devil's advocate here because I can see it both ways. Yes, she could have died the way Benny said. If you pay close attention to the scene, Benny hesitates before adding that bit about the talk show. It's like a shield goes up saying: KEEP OUT. Benny is not going to let this stranger inside his head. Not after so many years of developing a thick, protective shell around the vulnerable side of his nature.
On the other hand, in the pilot, Benny was forever digging at Jonathan, trying to figure him out. If J.J. really believed this paranormal stuff was all nonsense, why did he keep falling for the bait Benedek put out? So, Benny threw in the story to see which way Jonathan would jump. After all, the two men weren't exactly the best of friends. Personally, I'm leaning toward the story being true. Benny had to get started somehow with the supernatural, although I'd love to meet Grandma. Do you suppose she might be a sensitive and Benny inherited something of it from her? And when Benny refers to his family in How Green Was My Murder, was he referring to real people or being facetious? Any ideas?
As to the "can of worms": YES! It was true. The look that Benny gives Jonathan when Jon asks him if it's true says everything. And it showed his trust that Benny told Jonathan. I personally doubt that he has ever used that story on a talk show.
Benny's lady and the plane crash. First I began by claiming no massive insights to Benny's character yet I know a conman when I see one coming. And Benny for all his guff is a conman, however, not a consciousless one. Perhaps not as pretty as Remington Steele, yet our Benny is not without his own unique charm.
One thing I noticed as that Benny as an excellent bootleg psychologist (takes one to know one, I guess) in that he may mess up once with anyone he has to make points with but by the second meeting he is well on his way to winning them over totally to his side. A fine example is Dr. Moorhouse's attitude at the beginning of the series and her attitude by the hiatus. Granted she wouldn't ever claim to be bosom buddies with Benny, yet her attitude had softened considerably.
Benny's relationship with Jonathan was just beginning in the pilot but a blind man could see Jonathan was a pushover for a sad story, and Benny's far from blind. Yet I find I can't comfortably shrug and say 'he's taking the gullible fool for a ride so he can retain control and get what he wants — the story.' Easy to say but after seeing all the televised episodes, my opinion of Benny is too high to take the easy way out. He may write for the National Register but his stuff is classy, well researched schlock and he must have an entertaining style as well to be successful. He has a personal courage and foolishness that makes him keep going forward, looking for the truth, when even the trained scientist, Jon-boy, is looking for the exit door.
Speculation is the very garden into which we throw the seeds of our imagination. Okay. Enough philosophy. I have been 'round and 'round wi this particular subject with several friends, some who believe the often unbelievable Mr. Edgar Benedek regarding the fate of his past fiancee once upon a time, and some who don't. My opinion? I think that, for once, he was telling the truth. Many times, before and since, when Benny has 'expanded' the truth (not quite lied, but rather embellished the original equipment with custom parts...), he gets that wild glint in his eye, his gestures become broader, and his voice takes on a dramatic edge, the whole of which serves to turn a simple tale into a micro-miniature stage performance. Not so when he related the incident of the plane crash to Jonathan. (See, I spelled it right this times) This is one of the few times we observe Benny in a serious mood.... There comes a time in every con artist's life when truth surfaces.
On to the current can of worms. Was Benny lying when he told Jonathan about the plane crash? (Yep, Mary, there go the worms now.) In my opinion, no! Yes, he did try to brush off Jonathan's sympathy by semi-cheerfully saying "Yea, and it's great for talk shows', but he didn't do it convincingly. Benny's expression was still too sad and wistful. And he did not answer Jonathan's question of did he make up the story. Benny was saved by the bell, so to speak, when Melody moaned. And, boy, did he jump at the opportunity to change the subject. Benny does not want others to know his weaknesses. He's been hurt badly in the past, I'd say, by the crash and/or other events. "Once burned, fourteen times shy", someone said at Convalescence. Also, at the time of this telling, Benny does not know Jonathan that well. Their friendship is still tentative. But Jonathan is sensitive to others and I think he realized, if not then, then when he knew Benny better, what Benny was doing and why.
The suggested topic of discussion, you sure picked a good one to get us going. When I first watched the pilot, my roommate and I found ourselves distracted from what happened immediately afterwards while we asked each other: "Do you think that was true?" My instinctive (sentimental) reaction was to say it was and that he'd let out more than he'd meant to and was backpedaling furiously. When Benny was telling the story, there sat Jonathan with his mouth hanging open, ready to ooze sympathy, and I have a feeling that Benny doesn't cope well with that. But later when I watched it again after begin exposed to Edgar Benedek for a few weeks longer, I wasn't so sure it was the gospel, or even the gospel according to Benedek. I think there has to be some truth to it, but not the entire thing. It is something that would work well on the talk shows, isn't it? I would think it's partly true and partly embellished and maybe Benny himself doesn't know where the dividing line is. On the other hand, it could lead to some great fan fiction.
Issue 3 (May 1986)
This issue contains 12 pages.
Some excerpts:
The turnout for this third issue was light this time, not wholly unexpected. We're hoping to add new souls to the faith in the wake of MediaWest Con at the end of this month, and we hope that all that may be reading these words for the first time will be stimulated enough to want to jump right in with words of wisdom and/or opinions of your own.
For all those who are planning to be at MediaWest Con at the end of the month, Mary Fall and I will have dealer's tables hawking an assortment of wares, including my DW zines, her new media-zine Prime Time (mucho SC material!) and various and sundry other items, including SC photos and (hopefully) buttons. We are also working out the logistics of a little jello and champagne thing, a get-together for SC fans (menu to include cottage cheese, jelly doughnuts, bologna and potato chips — but no food fights, please!) to be combined with the First Annual Edgar Benedek Dress-Alike contest, so dig out your sartorial best, guys! Details to be had at our dealer's table, so don't be afraid to belly up and state your allegiance — we'll be looking for you!
For those who asked, there wasn't a topic for discussion in the last issue because a) I couldn't think of one; b) I was sorta hoping someone else would think of one; and c) the issue abruptly ran out of room, leaving just enough space to squeeze in the address and not much else. I still really can't think of one; unless of course you guys are game for a challenge. How about if you rack your brains and come up with idea for future Paranormal Research Unit investigations? Try to stick to the basic idea of the show, that is: on the surface it appears to be bizarre and supernatural, but there is a logical underlying reason behind the phenomena (go ahead, make Jon-boy's day!). Feel free to stick in extraneous unexplained detail, just try to keep the core problem mundanely logical. (For example—the earthquake that saved Benny and Jonny in The Spirit of St. Louis was quite mundane, very explainable—but very coincidental? Jonathan got his brain cells fried in The Many Lives of Jonathan and soaked up his research like a sponge, explaining his multiple flip-outs—but how he know about T.J. the snake?) If you can sink your teeth into this one, try to expand on it with your views on how the boys would approach the situation/problem from their own rather unique angles. After all, if the G.I. campus were suddenly overrun by an infestation of gophers, Jonathan would call in the pest exterminators and Benny would send for the local gopher exorcist, right?
If that one isn't working for you, then tell us, in your own words, why Jonathan not only tolerates Benny, but has also gotten around to liking him as well. Tell us why Benny, who spends most of his time bouncing off the four corners of the earth as well as every wall in sight, now spends most of his time twigging a certain anthro prof (yes, we know he gets a kick out of Jonny falling for his awful puns, but a man of Benny's obvious joie de vivre can't really expect to get the full satisfaction of life out of watching a college professor fight a losing battle with his stomach (The Spirit of St. Louis) or keep doing or saying strange things just to squeeze a reaction out of that same college prof. (Can he?))
I've visited psychic faires, gone on psychic tours, and chatted with mystical types all over NY state and I gotta tell ya, Benny is just cute and cuddly compared to some of the characters I've met.
On a well-remembered trip to England, we stayed in an hotel built over an ancient graveyard. Some Spiritualist ladies wanted to hold a seance, so about half the tour group assembled in a ground-floor bedroom and sat in a circle on the lush carpet. (Pretty comfy compared to the bus that we'd sat in all afternoon!) A tiny spot of light appeared in the midnight gloom, and bobbed up and down on the wall in response to our questions. The spiritualists were having a grand time till one very sensible woman got tired of sitting in a draft and stood up, and the little spot of light, whose name, by the way, was Meredith — he spelled it for us — disappeared.
Then the woman stepped aside and Meredith came back, his true identity revealed as a hole in the Venetian blind.
Sigh.
Jonathan's probably right.
Anyway the show is delightful — hope they bring it back, or at least rerun the ones I missed.
I'd like to meet a fan or fans in my area who have tapes & player and could bring them to show for me and my husband & kids on a mutually agreeable Saturday night in exchange for an all-you-can-eat home-cooked meal. (Menu available on request, guaranteed not to include Ben's famous baked potato flambe.) Especially interested in episodes we missed such as The Many Lives of Jonathan and Amazing Grace. Those two guys are wonderful; they sort of represent or me two sides of my own nature-one side brash and tacky, driven by insatiable curiosity and a need for attention; the other side conservative, responsible, caring — and frequently endangered!
I'm a little late for the Benny's girlfriend discussion, but I'm gonna throw my two cents in anyway. I'm a very gullible person - while Benny was telling his story, I was working up a real sympathy lump in my throat. But then he came back with the snappy 'talk show' line and I, like Jonathan, thought I'd been taken in and was quite annoyed with Benny for so callously tugging my heartstrings. But that pause! And that closed, sad face. By premiere's end, I was sure that Benny's girlfriend had lived, and died, and she was his reason for delving into the paranormal so totally and with such abandon.
It's great to think that a show like Shadow Chasers that wasn't around very long could manage such a devoted following. Makes me wonder why some shows that hang around a little, like SC did, attract a following in fandom and why some shows that have been on for several years don't attract folks like us. The plots? Ghosts, crazed Egyptologist cultists? Killer plants? No, I don't think so. It's got to be the people and their interactions.
Now I'm looking forward to fan fiction. Come on, people. What fun we could all have with Jonathan and Benedek, though I think Benny is very hard to write. Of course Jonathan knows so many things too. Maybe Dr. Leonard made him memorize the encyclopedia when he was a kid — or maybe it was one of those ways he wanted to impress his famous father. Though I suspect that most of Jonathan's need to prove himself good enough was his idea rather than Daddy's, even if the Nobel winner did have high expectations. Jonathan must certainly have seen it as a need to prove himself, at least from what we got in the pilot.