How many of you remember TV shows from the 60s and 70s? It seemed that every television program on every network had one playbook, and it was adhered to more religiously than the Houston Astros were to stolen signs. Here are some of the more thread bare tropes that would sneak into episodes of your favorite TV shows:
A main character gets amnesia. A blow to the head, a pratfall down the stairs, another blow to the head…whatever the cause, the Hero/Heroine finds themselves in an unfamiliar town and doesn’t remember who they are (think College Kegger or your Bachelor/Bachelorette party).
Fortunately, there is always a widder woman (Pardon the vernacular – widow woman – or widderer) with a young son/daughter in tow. The hero/heroine does odd jobs around the house, while the townspeople gather the torches and pitchforks hungry for the hide of the stranger in town. The hero/heroine either regains their memory or a family member rushes in just as they are about to be strung up.
A main character suffers temporary blindness. The hero/heroine is bonked on the head (a popular story arc forty years ago), usually knocked out, only to wake up in a stranger’s bed (a Good Samaritan – keep it clean!), temporarily sightless. As a result, the stranger must help the hero/heroine do something dangerous or else catastrophe will result. Add nitroglycerine, a horse-drawn wagon, and a bumpy country road (or the desert – everything is more dramatic in the desert) and you’ve got an episode!
Framed! No matter whether you are the Demon Barber of Fleet Street or Mother Teresa’s cousin once removed, someone is out to get you. Their revenge of choice? Framing you for murder, embezzlement, or murderous embezzlement. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to break out of jail or home confinement and clear your good name. Preferably before the end of the episode. Nobody likes cliffhangers.
At least one member of the police force believes you and helps you out in small ways, like leaving a cell door unlocked, or letting slip a crucial contact’s name, someone who can blow the case wide open. There will also be at least one other member of the force looking to raise his/her profile before he/she runs for public office and is out to get you no matter the cost.
Jailed in a crooked town. Ain’t that always the way? Mosey into a strange hamlet, just lookin’ for a place to sleep, when blammo! The lonely widow/widower who runs the town motel /sawmill/cattle ranch (with his/her infant son/daughter) is being hassled by corrupt local officials. Chivalrous as always, you try to help, at which time you get free accommodations at the Grey Bar Hotel, courtesy of the aforementioned corrupt officials.
Fortunately for you, an honest judge is about to hit town, arriving in time to prevent evil henchmen (there are always evil henchmen) from shooting you in the back during a staged “jail break.”
Go back and watch your old favorite television shows. Especially the westerns. You will see I am right. Heck, even “Star Trek” did an Amnesia episode. Why not make a party out of it? Socially distanced, of course. Impress your friends. Baffle your family. They will thank you for it.
