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Red Right Hand: NOTHING GETS REWOUND ANYMORE
*He is not a secret agent. Not at all.

 

NOTHING GETS REWOUND ANYMORE

I recently watched the DVD of the aborted second season of Tru Calling. While I wasn't terribly impressed by the first year, there were some good episodes (and a lot of Eliza Dushku) so I finished it out with the final six episodes (only five of which got burned off by Fox late last spring).

The thing that I really dug about this series, that didn't develop until it was really too late, was the unusual relationship between the hero (Tru) and the villain (Jack, as portrayed by Jason Priestly). While Tru had virtually no respect for Jack, Jack did have it for Tru. He just thought she was wrong was all. He was the perfect villain in that he felt that he was the hero. He felt that he was a good guy with a crap job and genuinely tried to be friendly toward Tru from time to time. This relationship, and an arc featuring Jack and his allies, began devloping in the second season and was cut off (prematurely) in a Christmas episode (the final episode) in which Jack and Tru actualy work together on a "case" and she even suspends her hostility enough to have Jack over for a Christmas Eve party (not being aware that two of his allies are also in the party).

The show had snagged some good writers for the second year including Jane Espenson and Richard Hatem. One of those writers was Doris Egan, who on her website, had briefly outlined where the year was to go. It sounded interesting when I first read it, but didn't think much more about it. After watching that final episode, I find myself wanting more.

Never gonna happen.

Some shows just take too long to find their footing.



The relationship between the hero and villain/antagonist and protagonist has always fascinated me. From Holmes/Moriarty to Mulder and Scully/Cigarette Smoking Man it's always been especially interesting when they acknowledge that there are tied together, that there is a relationship at work however...wrong it may be. One of my favorite Buffy/Spike moments came not from their bizarre sexual/romantic relationship but from the end of the second season, when Buffy and Spike found themselves uneasy allies against Drusilla and Angel and she brought him to her house and he met her mom. Right and wrong can be a blurry thing sometimes. There's even something to the relationship between Colonels Hogan and Klink.

I haven't had much opportunity to play with this dynamic. It needs to establish the opposing forces thing before it can work, but ultimately King Vs. Queen is built on this idea. Someday, I'll get the opportunity to use it.
©2025 Michael Patrick Sullivan
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