TELEVISION: Jacquie Golding-Duffy
SOME people regard Rescue 911, the American show that follows police, paramedics and/or firemen on emergency calls as a “gripping show” where ordinary people are recorded in moments of absolute terror.
The show, say some, offers descriptions of unbelievably scary moments, of stories thatdefy belief and keep viewers glued to their seats; a showcase of the guy next door poised in his finest moment, rescuing some sad ol’ sod.
To me, the programme is self-indulgent, turgid American crap — although I will admit that the scenes involving children often make my hair stand on end. Not because the rescue event is so awesome but because I’ve been tugging at my hair, aghast at the ignorance of American parents who leave huge buckets of water uncovered and unattended causing toddlers to fall in and nearly drown.
Even the host, William Shatner, better known as Captain Kirk, acts his role in Hollywood style. He sets the scene and then prances around like a stuffed Thanksgiving turkey with dressing and all. Take this classical opening line on one of the shows: “As our children grow up, we have to accept that they become independent, but that sometimes means sharing the pain which that love brings.” (Yuch.)
A typical scene shows a spoilt teenage brat who goes on his “wave runner” (jet-ski), rides recklessly with his friend on a river, shows off, crashes into another, and sustains serious head and neck injuries. It can only get better on Rescue 911. This boy called Alex sustained these life threatening injuries because he was not wearing a helmet.
In another scene a father negligently leaves his gun on the lounge dresser before retiring for the night. Of course, in the taped version of Resuce 911, the dad has returned home late at night after sustaining his three jobs. He is a policeman who is normally “responsible” but tonight ( June 3 1991), he is so tired he falls asleep reading the bible (yeah, sure). He then wakes up, filled with the spirit of the Lord and forgets about his revolver.
To cut a long story short, the seven-year-old shoots his three-year-old brother during a tussle for possession of the gun. The kid (Christopher) is fine but, true to form, Rescue 911 salvages another lesson that can be learnt by the American public. Don’t leave guns lying around.
The programme, I think, has local appeal because it preys on the stupidity of American parents and children who, during their negligence and sometimes innocent ignorance, need an entire rescue operation to bail them out.
However, our own local version, In the Line of Duty (Skakel 10111) is for me much more real. Maybe it’s not as riveting, but it certainly does not take itself seriously, so at least it’s real.
For the first time we do not have to feed on the glitzy appeal of American rescue operations but we can see exactly how our own police force has to cope with situations of crime and emergency.
One of the programmes revolved around a police compound where a cop in charge of storing hijacked and/or stolen vehicles really shows his true colours. A victim comes to collect his car and is shrugged off for complaining that some of the wheels of his vehicle have been stolen right in the compound.
The classic response from the sersant in charge is basically: “Why the hell are you bothering me about a couple of wheels, three or four wheels missing, what the hell … at least you’ve got your vehicle back and you’ve got me to thank for that.”
Also, I seem to remember that he told the poor flabbergasted victim (who clearly was not keen on his car any longer) that if people looked after their cars better, they would not be stolen and his workload would not be so high.
It is the broadcasting of several honest scenes such as these, not the pre-recorded pretentious American canned versions, that makes our local version outclass a foreign production.