Is it good or is it down to the girl?

Motivations are tricky things. As humans we are all subject to the occasional wobble, and if we think about why we do things too much... Well it can get a bit weird. And things can get ruined. Examples, you want examples? Mutter mutter. Fine, some cases in point Oh, the perils of thinking too much about things best left unthought of!

My first example is the first season of 'Lois and Clark', the only season that wasn't network meddled to destruction. It was a lovely, funny, and quirky season of television that deserves to be remembered on its merits and not just because Teri Hatcher was in it at the peak of her attractiveness. However, the two are coincidental and it becomes impossible to separate the two. It doesn't help that she plays the most independent and sparky Lois Lane on screen to date! The problem with being a modern man and hopefully self-aware, is that once you become aware of such clashes of motivations it becomes almost impossible to ever watch the show again. Is it spoilt forever? Is it even a good idea to talk about such things? Is any of this making sense? Is it good enough to not get redrafted ad infinitum?

The second example of two is the legendary 'Addams Family' show from the 1960s. It was a madcap, frenetic and witty comedy based on the more macabre Charles Addams comic strips and illustrations. Amidst the perfect casting and adaptation, and the frivolity of the most perfectly adjusted family on television to date being the kooky Addams clan, they truly hit the jackpot with John Astin and Carolyn Jones as the parents Gomez and Morticia. In fact they hit the jackpot so much with Morticia that the bell ended up in a different state! And so a legend was born, and the confusion arrives. Do I love the Addams Family because of all the other things or is it all down to Morticia shuffling around in 'that dress'? And what does it all mean in the greater and grander scheme of things?

Humans are the luckiest and the unluckiest of the animal species. Unlike all the other species we have developed intelligence and tools, but also the knowledge of our mortality and vices. Other species don't worry about why they do things, but only do them, comfortable in their own spaces and functions in the ecosystem. Only we the humans know to worry and fret about our reasons and the future, all of us from the smallest cog to the biggest wheels and success stories. It is possible and common to think about things a bit too much, and then grind to a halt as analysis paralysis crawls in. Yes, it's important to do things for the right reasons, and so we just have to trust ourselves to know if we ever go wrong. The first season of 'Lois and Clark' is good and we will be doing fan commentaries on Film Bin for it soon. 'The Addams Family' is wonderfully scripted and produced, and far more than Carolyn Jones in her shuffle dress. Similarly, 'Get Smart' is more than just Barbara Feldon as Agent 99, and 'The Avengers' more than Diana Rigg. We live and learn to not beat ourselves up so much.

However, this doesn't mean that any of you now have dispensation to go watch 'Baywatch' on an infinite loop. Be gone with any who would do so! There are limits on my tolerance! Banish the heathens! Go watch 'Knight Rider' and be glad I don't report you to the taste police!

O.