eponymous_rose | In the spirit of yesterday's exam:

Theorem: The universe is awesome.

Proof: There exists a zany steampunk Western TV show in which Richard Dean Anderson dons a goofy moustache, John de Lancie dons a goofy accent, and they team up to fight crime.

Yes, really.

It is very silly, but also, somehow, one of the best things ever.

Only twelve episodes, alas, but they're all a ton of fun. The premise of the show is pretty awesome: Ernest Pratt (RDA) is a ne'er-do-well dime-novel writer whose gimmick is writing his best-selling steampunkish adventures in the first person. When his publicist convinces him to put his own face on the front of the books, it's pretty much inevitable that he starts getting mistaken for the clean-living protagonist of his novel, Nicodemus Legend, who saves the day using all manner of wacky machinery. After getting embroiled in a plot where his character has apparently been diverting the course of rivers, Pratt reluctantly joins forces with an extremely idealistic scientist named Bartok (John de Lancie), who provides the scientific know-how and is convinced that bringing the Legend character to life is good for more than just upping sales of Pratt's novels. Together, they have to travel 1870s Colorado and navigate fiendish plots, convoluted mysteries, writer's block, overzealous publicists, technical glitches, and the most daunting foe of all: Pratt's legion of fans.

Basically, it's fun, so I'm gonna picspam a little. It's not out on DVD or anything, but if you're interested in magically acquiring this show, drop me a PM (its quality, as you can tell from the caps, could charitably be called "moderate", but it's definitely watchable).

"I never eat on an empty stomach, thank you. Begone!"

This is the illustrious Ernest Pratt as we first meet him, enjoying a typical breakfast. RDA has said in interviews that this was his favorite part to play, and it really shows. Pratt is grumpy, sarcastic and cynical, but is also fascinated by science, and when he gets into playing the part of Legend - usually with some emphatic prompting on Bartok's part - he actually starts enjoying himself. He's also just immensely funny in general. He's much better at fighting with words than guns or whatnot (he can turn hired guns onto his side, given enough fast-talking time), and much as he'd sometimes like to protest that he's just in it for the money, he's got a definite soft spot for some of Legend's "causes". His finest moments come up whenever he gets to engage in a battle of wits with someone who's obviously unarmed.

Silas: Ah, well, well, well. Is this what they're wearing in San Francisco these days? Looks real pretty, like a girl's skanties. And you know what? He even smells like a girl, too. *laughs at his own joke*
Pratt: *big grin* Y'know, you're not the first one to tell me something like that.
Silas: I'm not, huh?
Pratt: Nooo. No, not at all. Nah, there was this young fella one time - nothing like yourself, mind you - and he didn't like the way I dressed, either, and I had to ask him why he cared so much about my clothes, and he kinda fumbled around for an answer until it became apparent that, well, he knew nothing about clothes except what he had on, and what he had on was- well, you know, that pseudo-Western mail-order kinda stuff that rich folks order from the fancy stores back East? Nothing like what you're wearing, mind you. Anyway, I admitted to him that I do care about fashion. I believe a man's clothes and the scent of his cologne can tell you a lot about him. As a matter of fact, I was able to take a look at this young fella and venture a guess that, well, his mother picked out most of his clothes, because I'd seen the woman, and she'd ordered her outfits from the same kinda fancy eastern store. It turned out I was right. And you know what? The next time I saw that young man, he had on some clothes he'd picked out for himself. Looked like his own man. *big grin, again* Well, nothing pleases me more than to talk fashion with a smart young man like yourself. Let's do it again sometime, what say?

He's also very protective of his writing.

[Pratt is on trial for murder (don't ask). A piece of his latest manuscript has been submitted as evidence.]
Skeeter: *reading* '-so he killed her shotgun-toting father to better give him an opportunity at winning her hand.'
Pratt: *stands* I didn't write that! It has a split infinitive! It's obviously a forgery.

And yes, they do mock the moustache.

Libbie: I'm not sure about this.
Pratt: *grandly* It works with the genre.

His partner-in-crime is Janos Bartok, a Tesla-esque Hungarian scientist with a thing against Thomas Edison. (This show is the only place I've ever heard the phrase "I dreamed that Edison was eating my brains!" uttered.) He's a total idealist and firmly believes that science can be used to prevent violence more effectively than to cause it - most of his inventions are designed to be non-lethal ways to slow down an enemy, although they usually blow up and/or decapitate his test subjects, which are fortunately mostly dummies. His other favourite test subject is, of course, Pratt. In fact, he has a bit of a thing about throwing Pratt out of hot-air balloons.

[Our heroes are in a hot air balloon over a steep drop.]
Ramos: I can't hold it this low!
Kendall: We've got to get down there!
Pratt: *glares at Bartok* Don't even think about those "wings". [hanglider-type thing that's Legend's trademark]
Bartok: Oh, no, no, no, that would be silly. There's so much wind you'd go crashing into the rocks. It would be suicide.
Pratt: Thank you, but that's never stopped you before.

As he's essentially half of what makes up Nicodemus Legend, Bartok's very much concerned with keeping up Legend's image, which means he often has to go chasing after Pratt and keeping him from making them look too bad. There are compromises - Legend is famous for not drinking hard liquor, so the bartender serves Pratt his whiskey in a teacup. Bartok's also quite concerned with narrative continuity and whatnot - he may not break the fourth wall, but he definitely pokes at it from time to time. He's also often got to keep Pratt from abadoning the whole gig and walking off into the sunset (sometimes literally, for Pratt knows the value of a dramatic exit). This method generally involves a complicated mixture of flattery, bringing up Pratt's publishers, and earnest puppy-dog eyes.

Bartok: Do you honestly think that you can go back to the life of Ernest Pratt so easily?
Pratt: Yes, I do.
Bartok: You know, you're not the same man who came to Sheridan. Whether you care to believe it or not, a part of you is Legend, and you'll never be able to walk away from that again. I know I never will, because, you see, Ernest, a part of me is Legend now, too. Don't you see the incredible possibilities for real adventure? The practical application of science and invention. I'm a good scientist. I can create what you can imagine. Doesn't that at least intrigue you? But you know, Ernest, I can't do it without you. Separately, you and I are heroes to no one. Together, we could become legendary.

And okay, I keep thinking he must have something eeevil up his sleeve because I have watched too much TNG and Stargate, but he's still a really fun character.

Then there's Huitzilopochtli Ramos, who is Bartok's supremely awesome lab assistant, and who seems to have studied a bit of everything at Harvard. He's immensely competent, often has to get Bartok and Pratt out of trouble, and has the power of sarcasm at his disposal.

(yes, the aspect ratio's screwy on this one episode - marvel at my dodgy HTML fix)
[during an emotional moment]
Ramos: I'd like to say something from the heart.
Pratt: Well, if you insist.
Ramos: Your books are... getting better.

The other regular is Skeeter (his hair's like that due to Bartok's experiments, apparently), who's a kind of all-purpose errand guy who pops up everywhere.

[Pratt has just arrived in town.]
Pratt: What was the name, son?
Skeeter: Skeeter.
Pratt: Skeeter. Can you direct me to the Sheriff?
Skeeter: Well, you see that building there? Big sign that says... "Sheriff"?
Pratt: Yeah.
Skeeter: That'd be the...
Pratt: That'd be the general area, would it?
Skeeter: ...general area, yeah.
Pratt: Thank you.

So that's about all there is to it! It's a whole lot of fun, doesn't take itself overly seriously, and has some really great moments. If you can get your hands on it, there are much worse ways to spend twelve forty-five minute periods!

Also, I've been doing some quick searches, both Google-ish and on the Wayback Machine, and I've only been able to come up with a couple of awesome-looking fics by

lothithil and a fairly average-looking fic series on a now-defunct Geocities site. There's no fanfiction.net category, and Yuletide's archive is down for the year, so there's no help there. Anyone know if there's a fandom hiding out somewhere? Wishful thinking on my part? Yeah, I kinda figured.

Edit: Okay, so I managed to forget to mention the name of the show - sadly, it is not titled "The One Where Q and MacGyver Fight Crime in the Old West", which is what I would have called it. It's called "Legend".

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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amaresu

I think I remember this show. I know I remember Skeeter and I'm fairly sure I've heard the line about Edison eating his brain before. Now I need this.

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In the spirit of yesterday's exam:

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