In a country and culture where so many have grown up under the influence of television, it seems that every generation of college students and young post-college adults has films and television programs that it claims as “it’s own”. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Napolean Dynamite, Law & Order, Lost, and The Office are some examples. In my early-1970s college generation, one of those programs and my personal favorite was “The Streets of San Francisco”.
It never really mattered if your films and shows were good, bad, cheesy, or formulaic, they were yours. There was something about “The Streets” that drew us in. Maybe it was the long-hair, wide ties, low-ride slacks, and “hipness” of Michael Douglas contrasted against Karl Malden’s old school, World War II-generation man. Perhaps it was the many views of the city itself, with its Victorian houses, fog, hills, and bay views. Whatever it was, it worked for us.
I was reflecting on these things after I read about the passing of Karl Malden this week at the age of 97. While Michael Douglas (Inspector Keller) was portrayed as TV’s idea of cool – which by our standards, automatically meant that he wasn’t, Karl Malden (Lt. Mike Stone) was the real deal. He was a no nonsense, in your face type of guy whom we were probably drawn to because he embodied characteristics we had seen in our own fathers. They were men tempered by the experiences of the Great Depression and the second world war who often looked upon us, their sons, as privileged and to some extent – pampered. Despite their differences, the mentoring relationship between Stone and Keller – with all its banter and misunderstanding, was something I think many of us longed for.
If you had to, you watched the show alone (better than missing an episode); but the preferred routine was to watch it with friends, complete with running commentary and plenty of unique “Streets” humor – especially about Karl Malden’s nose. We used to discuss the camera angles and lighting used to keep other actors from falling under the shadow of his nose, etc. The show was also great because you knew exactly how it would proceed: four acts of approximately 12 minutes each, commercial breaks of about 2 minutes between each act, and the closing Epilog (why no “E”?).
A local station (KOFY – TV 20) is currently running the entire series – all 119 episodes – at 11 am each weekday. Sometimes I’ll indulge myself in a bit of nostalgia and record an episode on my DVR to watch at lunchtime (I work at home). Some old shows are so outdated that they just don’t “work” in modern times. Other shows, like “The Streets”, live on – providing you take them in measured doses.
Rest in peace, Karl Malden.
