Posted by
Denise Felt on
URL: https://www.shado-forum.com/Fw-SHADO-Various-Questions-tp2392403p2437256.html
Jamie,
I don't know who was harassing you, but it wasn't hard to understand your last post about Straker. You didn't need to clarify for the rest of us. We got it. In fact, I was thrilled with your image of him as the loneliest man on Earth. It was so true, after all. It's always lonely at the top.
That aside, your further explanation is excellent. Bishop's portrayal was absolutely incredible as our tortured hero. I really doubt that there are many actors who could carry that off effectively. (Which may be why the new movie has stalled. Did they even get a Straker yet?)
Thanks for taking the time to explain yourself, even though it was unnecessary. There will always be those who don't get Straker, or even why the rest of us like him so much. It's useless to try to get through to them. Their own life experiences limit their ability to grasp just who he is.
You write very well in defense of the Great Man. Have you written any fanfic of the show?
Yours,
Denise
--- In
[hidden email], "J A" <doctorwholittle@...> wrote:
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>
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> I think I need to clarify my stance on this. I've received e-mails offlist enquiring as to why my take on Straker is what it is.
>
> Understand, I'm NOT calling Straker soulless, friendless or uncaring. In fact, the problem, if you wish to call it such, is that he cares almost TOO much; look at the task he's been charged to carry out. That proves that he's a caring man.
>
> It's apparent to me now that I didn't word my post correctly. The comment I made about Straker being possibly the loneliest man on Earth is the crux of it. He's a human being who has hopes and aspirations with the best of us, but he's chosen to safeguard us as a species, and in order to do that, he has to maintain a certain level of detachment from those under his command. There's every real possibility that each time he scrambles an Interceptor, Sky 1 or a Mobile may well be the time he sends them to their deaths. He has to go against the (human) nature of wanting to befriend the people he works with in order to do his job effectively.
>
> Straker, especially as portrayed by Ed Bishop, conceals the anguish of his position in juxtaposition with his nature with extreme gravitas. He can't afford to be seen as 'weak' in a moment of crisis, as he's got an entire complex under his command, yet his facial expressions betray him constantly (to us, the viewers) as to the agony and gravity of his role as the decision maker.
>
> -- Jamie
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> --- In
[hidden email], An Delendir <andelendir@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Stevan,
> >
> > > I recall the episode and remember Ed trying to persuade
> > > Alec that he should tell Mary of his true nature of work
> > > as it is putting strain on a already fractured marriage;
> > > Alec talks him out of it. It shows Straker as a vulnerable
> > > soul wanting everthing to work; his home life and his
> > > dedication to duty.
> >
> > Very perceptive!
> >
> > Indeed Bishop played the character with a constant, major subtext of this wish and Straker's inner dilemma, rejection and resentment of some of what he has to do and be as SHADO commander.
> >
> > This comes out into the open again in The Long Sleep and is quite in contrast to Ordeal (where Straker is seen only through the eyes of Foster).
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > An
> >
>
Straker, somehow it's always about you.