Please Don't Swing The Otter

There are a few moments in one of my favourite episode of 'Due South' - the one called 'The Deal' - where Benton refers to the incident where he got his scar from a bully swinging an otter, and they're interesting because they're subtle despite being silly. Somehow that show could do silly and subtle at the same time once it got into its stride and it was a joy to behold. I've been thinking about it because subtlety doesn't seem to appear so much in television or film any more and it's sad.

Now, I've never been accused of subtlety, as anyone who's read the monumental 'Clompie sweeps Vegas' can attest, and it's not just because of the incident with the donkeys, the Gorgonzola, and the Bishop of Rome. Well, it is mainly because of that incident but who can say whether razing Vegas to the ground and replacing it with a giant plaque dedicated to Doctor Watson is really an influence in the matter?

It's nice to get the wacky back, even if it doesn't last. I was worried it was gone forever, but apparently it was merely stuck down the back of the computer table, stapled to the wall and covered in brown paper. It was very strange. Sometimes you have to wonder where the 'wacky' goes in times of stress. I certainly do. Fortunately a steady diet of 'M*A*S*H', 'Get Smart' and 'The Six Million Dollar Man' is having a restorative influence. Oh, there was such a magnificently silly sequence in the 'Six Million Dollar Man' episode 'Dr Wells Is Missing' that I almost leapt out of my stupor in one go. Oh, it's such an awesome slow motion fight sequence. Everyone should see it and be internally enthused with the silliness! It's like a cocoa of wackiness!

So, subtlety, does it still exist? If it did exist, would be able to spot it or would it be too discreet to see? Is it possible that there is a third option beyond obvious and subtle? A third option of things so subtle that they go completely unnoticed? Now wouldn't that be interesting? Or wouldn't it be simply a subset of what we already refer to as 'subliminal'? Bother, my own argument is destroyed before it launches properly, as sometimes happens.

As this blog meanders back and forth with no real theme, I realise it's time to draw to a close. But there shall be more. The 'Quirky Muffin' shall rise again. I just need to get my writing habit back and some motivation and then... BOOM!

O.