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Date Posted: 11:28:37 05/18/13 Sat
Author: Jarrod
Subject: I have to critique 'The Initiation'-- please humor me

This one currently has a rating of 7.3 on tv.com and a 6.1 on the IMDB. I tend to like the Jamie episodes and this one is no exception for me. I watched it yesterday on the Encore channel, and I am still thinking about it this morning. I do not like some of the plot developments, but I think it is an excellent offering about childhood peer pressure. I am sure there must have been cases of teen initiation rites in the pioneer days, though this one does seem to draw inspiration from modern-day fraternity hijinks and hazing in colleges. Let's get to the episode...First, Ron(ny) Howard is an interesting choice as the guest star, because he is really at that awkward adolescent stage, like Mitch Vogel is at the time of filming. Though one does see mannerisms he had developed on a long-running sitcom, and you half expect Andy Griffith to peak around the corner, and say 'Opie, stop all this foolishness and come on home. Aunt Bee has supper waiting for you, and it's getting cold!' Of course, Howard is not playing Opie Taylor, he's playing a teenaged gang ringleader named Ted Hoag. And this is not a gang so much as it is a club. The rites of passage that these boys experience do seem very realistic, and we can easily guess that the shyer, quiet kid will become the victim. It is not stated that he died of a heart ailment brought on by the hazing, but it is somewhat implied. What makes this episode works is the amount of guilt the boys feel about Sonny's death, and how they attempt to deal with the aftermath, without any adult help. However, I find some of this to be a bit implausible, at least in Jamie's case, because we had already seen him change after S13's 'The Grand Swing' and moreso, after the Cartwrights officially adopted him. So while Jamie may grapple with the accidental death of a friend, I do not think he would be as easily manipulated by Ted as the other boys-- especially since he has had two years of Ben pounding values and truth into him. At any rate, the death is covered up, in order to prolong the drama, and to give the writers time to set up the potential conviction of an innocent vagrant who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and is blamed for Sonny's demise. Again, some of the plot elements are artificial, but the performances, especially at the trial-- when Jamie testifies-- are just so convincing and so heartfelt that it gets me. I also reflected on the greater themes here, and I think that it is more than a bullying story. It is also a story about loyalty, and about how the ringleader (Howard's character) can use sympathy to persuade the others to defend him. While a point is made that all the boys are responsible and equally share the blame, Howard's Ted is turned into an ironic victim, and I am not sure I buy that. Especially when he seemed to be able to subvert the values of all his peers, including Jamie. It's too bad we did not get a chance to see this character again, starting to accept more responsibility and progressing into one of Jamie's real best friends.

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Replies:

[> Re: . . . The Initiation'-- ["cover up" ] -- Joe H., 11:27:46 05/19/13 Sun [1]

A "cover-up" !? Say it ain't so!~ (;-)

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cover-up

".
any action, stratagem, or other means of concealing or preventing investigation or exposure.

2.
Also, cov·er·up. any of various women's garments*, as loose blouses, jump suits, caftans, or sarongs, worn over a swimsuit, exercise clothing, or the like. "

* http://www.justbeachwear.com/apparel/products/coverups/coverup_turtle.jpg


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[> Re: I have to critique 'The Initiation'-- please humor me -- Richard L., 15:47:28 05/20/13 Mon [1]

I actually remember this episode from when it aired, probably because it was very unusual in terms of the plot, and the hazing "trick" with the ice.

We ususally don't think of teenage fraternity pranks with the old West of the late 1880's, when families worried about putting food on the table. Ted Hoag (Ronny Howard) should have been more concerned about room and board more so than forming a social club.

That said, I enjoyed the episode very much.


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[> [> Re: I have to critique 'The Initiation'-- please humor me -- Jarrod, 19:52:46 05/20/13 Mon [1]

Thanks for your comment, Richard. I think the scene with the ice, as you said, was very memorable. I also liked the stand-off at the end. The whole episode held my interest, and Ron Howard was great. So was Mitch Vogel.


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[> [> [> Re: I have to critique 'The Initiation'-- please humor me -- Richard, 08:09:27 05/21/13 Tue [1]

Ron Howard really "played against type" here, since he is usually associated with being the good kid from the nice family. He did a good job playing the "outsider."


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[> [> [> [> Re: I have to critique 'The Initiation'-- please humor me -- Jarrod, 10:36:53 05/22/13 Wed [1]

Yes, he sure did!


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