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He & She, part 2: Oscar North vs. Ted Baxter
Friday, 26 February 2016 10:27 pmIt's Like Doing A CGI Version Of Animal Farm Without Any Of The Bothersome Fascist Symbolism, Just Because The Animals Are So Cute.*
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I kept trying to compare Oscar North to Ted Baxter, but it was very hard. There are similarities, but they're superficial: they're both cheapskate egoists with TV shows, and neither of them is very bright. There's just not that much to say about that, so I kept coming back to the ways in which they were different. So, let's break this down.
He & She was on the air for one season, 1967-68. The Mary Tyler Moore Show started in 1970. When they went to create the character of Ted Baxter, they based him on Oscar North, and they wanted Jack Cassidy to play him. Unfortunately, he turned down the part and this is what happened.
Ted Knight was cast in the role, and my hypothesis is that the writers altered the character to fit his talents. I'm basing this on what I've seen of Ted Knight's other work, and the fact that the character was altered so drastically. And it happened fast. In the ninth episode of the second season, something very important happened, something that easily delineates the difference between the two characters.
Ted is forced to take a vacation. The reason he has to be forced is that he's afraid that his temporary replacement will become permanent. This could never happen to Oscar. Not that he couldn't be replaced, but he wouldn't believe he could be. If Oscar were a news anchor and he went on vacation, he would just assume there wouldn't be any news while he was gone, or if there was, no-one would care if he weren't there to tell them about it. The idea that someone would replace him at all would never occur to him.
This might not sound like a recommendation, but it is. What I always loathed about Ted was how pathetic he was, and how we were supposed to simultaneously find him funny and feel sorry for him—even though he was unkind and thoughtless, only able to be happy by putting someone else down. It was all supposed to stem from his insecurity which made him pitiful.
But Oscar had no insecurity. He danced and twirled into rooms, he burst into song when he felt threatened. He wasn't generous—he was cheap as hell—but he was never unkind. When Dick and Paula aren't invited to a big party, he says he won't go either. (He does go, of course; he's shallow and self-centered. But he won't enjoy himself! That'll show them! And when he finds out why they weren't invited, he goes to tell them.) Oscar is silly, he's light-hearted. Oscar doesn't want you to feel sorry for him—why would you? He's Oscar North! He's Jetman!
I think what it boils down to is, if Oscar North is the Pirate King, Ted Baxter is Frank Burns; while Oscar North is larger than life, Ted Baxter is actually smaller than life.
*Liz Penn, On Frank Oz's apparent motives in remaking The Stepford Wives
-:- -:- -:- -:-
I kept trying to compare Oscar North to Ted Baxter, but it was very hard. There are similarities, but they're superficial: they're both cheapskate egoists with TV shows, and neither of them is very bright. There's just not that much to say about that, so I kept coming back to the ways in which they were different. So, let's break this down.
He & She was on the air for one season, 1967-68. The Mary Tyler Moore Show started in 1970. When they went to create the character of Ted Baxter, they based him on Oscar North, and they wanted Jack Cassidy to play him. Unfortunately, he turned down the part and this is what happened.
Ted Knight was cast in the role, and my hypothesis is that the writers altered the character to fit his talents. I'm basing this on what I've seen of Ted Knight's other work, and the fact that the character was altered so drastically. And it happened fast. In the ninth episode of the second season, something very important happened, something that easily delineates the difference between the two characters.
Ted is forced to take a vacation. The reason he has to be forced is that he's afraid that his temporary replacement will become permanent. This could never happen to Oscar. Not that he couldn't be replaced, but he wouldn't believe he could be. If Oscar were a news anchor and he went on vacation, he would just assume there wouldn't be any news while he was gone, or if there was, no-one would care if he weren't there to tell them about it. The idea that someone would replace him at all would never occur to him.
This might not sound like a recommendation, but it is. What I always loathed about Ted was how pathetic he was, and how we were supposed to simultaneously find him funny and feel sorry for him—even though he was unkind and thoughtless, only able to be happy by putting someone else down. It was all supposed to stem from his insecurity which made him pitiful.
But Oscar had no insecurity. He danced and twirled into rooms, he burst into song when he felt threatened. He wasn't generous—he was cheap as hell—but he was never unkind. When Dick and Paula aren't invited to a big party, he says he won't go either. (He does go, of course; he's shallow and self-centered. But he won't enjoy himself! That'll show them! And when he finds out why they weren't invited, he goes to tell them.) Oscar is silly, he's light-hearted. Oscar doesn't want you to feel sorry for him—why would you? He's Oscar North! He's Jetman!
I think what it boils down to is, if Oscar North is the Pirate King, Ted Baxter is Frank Burns; while Oscar North is larger than life, Ted Baxter is actually smaller than life.
*Liz Penn, On Frank Oz's apparent motives in remaking The Stepford Wives