Of sorts.
At recent cultural events I've found myself writing a lot about a US TV Show called; "The Unit." Which aired in the US from 2006 to 2009.
If you can remember when we used to have events. Let alone cultural ones.
The Unit tells the story of a fictional Special Operations Forces (SOF) unit within the US Army. Meaning it is very much in the "Action" genre.
That genre has long being maligned as trashy nonsense. A succession of TV shows and movies featuring lots of gun fights, explosions and car chases. Completely untroubled by the need for a plot to explain why there are gun fights, explosions and car chases.
What makes The Unit so noteworthy is the way that it advanced the genre. From its inception it set out to not only tell the story of the men fighting in the SOF unit. But also the stories of their wives, girlfriends and families.
So each episode would have a main storyline. About the unit's latest mission, with all the gun fights, explosions and car chases that involes. However there would also be a sizeable sub-storyline. Featuring the wives, girlfriends and families.
The result of the interaction between the storylines being much more well rounded, believable, realistic characters. Adding a level of depth and character development not really seen before in the genre.
It is testament to the impact The Unit had. That what seemed to revolutionary when it was being made now seems like the abolute barest minimum expected in a US network TV show.
In recent years The Unit's main Executive Producer, Shawn Ryan, has returned to TV. Making the show; "S.W.A.T." Which is in a similar style to The Unit.
The Unit deals with a team using special weapons and tactics within the US military. While S.W.A.T deals with a unit using special weapons and tactics within the Los Angeles police department.
Bre Blair appears in S.W.A.T as the wife of "Sergeant David, Deacon Kay." Having appeared in The Unit as the eventual wife of "Sergeant Charles Grey."
The difference is that S.W.A.T is a remake of a US TV show from the 1970's. Along with a 2003 movie. This is exactly the type of trashy action show that The Unit was trying to advance the genre from.
So S.W.A.T does have to pay tribute to its trashy roots and fans of the original. For example the characters use the almost catchphrase; "Stay Liquid."
Something inspired by the Bruce Lee Kung Fu movies of the era. Which is why it was also something of a catchphrase for the 2019 Hong Protesters. They were both inadvertantly working from the same source material.
It was this trashiness which attracted me to Season 2 of S.W.A.T. During that extremely intense period at the end of 2019. Exactly the same reason which has got me so attracted to the remake of "MacGyver" at the end of 2020.
Unfortunately is was in Season 2 that S.W.A.T decided to kick things up a gear. Bringing in the magic from The Unit. To flesh out the main characters and through that bring in more substansive social/political issues.
For example Season 2, Episode 11; "School." This features the threat of a High School shooting. Which causes the characters to flashback to a previous High School shooting. Essentially the fire in which the team was forged.
This was a very deliberate reference to the 2018 mass shooting at the Majorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. More specifically it was a protest.
At the way The Unit Season 2, Episode 20; "In Loco Parentis" was used as an unauthorised template for the Parkland shooting. An episode itself which had been inspired by the 2004 Islamist terror attack on the Beslan School in Russia.
To this day I still don't know if regular The Unit cast member Kavita Patil had an uncredited cameo in the School episode of S.W.A.T. Or whether it was another actor. Who just happened to look enough like her.
It think the Parkland Shooting troubles anyone who remembers it. I certainly have very troubling memories of the Beslan attack.
At the time I first watched that episode I was in the process of telling a UK Election story. About how I came to babysit for the, essentially, Home Secretary/Chief Interior Minister. It was a very funny story. Up until the point I finally remembered how it started.
One of the first characters to be fleshed out was that of; "Christina, Chris, Alonso." Played by Lina Esco.
Another character asks her out on a date. At which point its revealed that she's already dating someone. And shock, horror someone else is another woman, for she is a gay!
An unspoken mystery surrounding Michelle Rodriguez's portrayal of the role in the 2003 movie.
The tone of this revelation was very much the show striking a huge, virtue signally blow. For gay rights and against homophobia. Which, I have to say, annoyed me a bit.
Obviously my point-of-view on this sort of thing is not that of your average American. I'm not American for a start.
However I think for most people. When you see a woman in a traditionally male job role. Such as SWAT team member. "Gay" isn't a shock. It's more the assumption. Which is obviously a bit annoying for women in such roles who aren't gay.
Another US TV Show I've found myself writing a lot about recently is; "Blindspot."
The lead character, with so many names, is played by Jaimie Alexander. Who is actually a pretty well accomplished martial artist in her own right.
Although nothing's mentioned on her Wikipedia page. I often find myself wondering if Jaimie Alexander actually started out as a stunt performer. Before crossing into acting.
Rather like how Ronda Rousey has crossed into acting from MMA. Including in an episode of Blindspot.
For the role Jaimie Alexander sports a short, rather butch, haircut. Along with all those tattoos.
Obviously I don't know her well, or at all. I just get the impression Jaimie Alexander spends an awful lot of time a parties politely apologizing. For not being gay.
In much the same way as I find myself spending an awful of time at parties politely apologizing. For not having seen any of the Star Wars.
So what was presented in S.W.A.T as a stereotype being heroically being broken down. Actually struck me as a lazy stereotype being reinforced.
There was a Canadian TV show called; "Flashpoint." Which was a contemporary of The Unit. It centred around a Toronto police S.W.A.T team. Which also had a female member.
I seem to remember doing a similar shock reveal. That she was dating a man.
This Chris Alonso character was then developed further though.
It was revealed that although she was dating a woman she was bisexual rather than gay. She then discovered the woman she was dating was also bisexual and was already engaged to a man.
The three then form a relationship together. Calling it a; "Thrupple." Giving a terrible name to not one but two similar relationships I've found myself in in the past.
Now this did shock me. In the sense I started to worry. That Lina Esco was genuinely seeking the benefit of my experience.
As I've said I'm not going to be sharing private details of those relationships online simply to win arguments on the Internet. However if we were to become friends, talking privately. Then that would be a very different proposition.
So in that vein I should point out the first relationship, with the Israeli Jew, barely counted as a relationship. I think I only met her girlfriend on about half a dozen occassions. If that.
The World Famous Thrupple was certainly a lot less civilised and sanitised than what was portaryed in S.W.A.T.
It actually began with me just being really good friends with this lesbian. We used to hang out, laughing at each other's dumb jokes. Boasting about our, erm. "romantic" conquests. Then immediately being teased about it.
It actually took an embarrassingly long time for us to realise. That there was this little something else we had in common.
So I think that's why Lina Esco rather caught the brunt of it last year.
Amid the chaos I did sort of revert back to that relationship. After all she does seem like the sort of slightly pervy lesbian I traditionally actually get on quite well with.
Or at least the person she pretends to be on TV does. If she's doing her job well then I actually know very little about Lina Esco as a person.
One thing of the few things I do know about Lina Esco, the person. Is that she has been involved in the; "Free The Nipple" campaign.
This is a broad and fluid feminist movement. Particularly focused on the way women's bodies are percieved and portrayed. Both in society and in the media.
It is largely inspired by the US Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) absurd; "No Nipples" rule. Which, having been adopted by Social Media companies like Facebook, has become effectively the de facto global rule.
This is a topic I find myself being forced to write about almost endlessly. Every time there's an Oscars. Every time there's a Eurovision Song Contest. Every time there's a Super Bowl.
Which would certainly suggest that we'd have something in common to talk about.
I think Lina Esco's main role in the Free The Nipple campaign was to direct the 2014 movie of that name. A career she is pursuing alongside acting.
So in S.W.A.T they've made her character a sniper. Providing excuse for lots of shots of her staring down the telescopic sights of a rifle. Which is intended to serve as a visual metaphor for the camera viewfinder a director uses.
Which made me think it was perhaps keeping in the spirit of the production. A little bit of friendly teasing.
My main conclusion though is that what an absolutely terrible way it is to go about this sort of thing.
As has become something of a mantra for a year dominated by Zoom meetings;
"Surely this could just be done by email."
22:50 on 28/12/20 (UK date).
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