Terry and the Pirates

I was maybe seven years old . . . we had one of the first TV sets on the block . . . and I heard a promo for a new series called TERRY AND THE PIRATES. There wasn't much for a kid to watch in 1952, so being a big fan of TREASURE ISLAND, I literally began doing a dance . . . until my father explained that these weren't "those kind of pirates . . . but modern ones . . . after WWII" . . . when the East was alive with turmoil. Sounded way too political for me, but I figured I'd give it a chance. Two minutes in, I was hooked. Big time. There was Terry, the typical American he-man hero, flying planes for a none too trustworthy Asian owner of a seedy airline. And Terry's sidekick Hot-Shot Charlie, who reminded me of Mickey Rooney. Or a road company version thereof. But what made the show click was the villainess . . . The Dragon Lady. It was love at first sight. Most of my buddies had a crush on Burma, the slightly soiled American blonde night club singer who resembled Marilyn Monroe. Or a road company version thereof. Not me. It was the evil, if irresistibly so, Dragon Lady from day one. She slithered about in silk skirts. One year later I'd discover the Catwoman in BATMAN comics, and Dragon Lady would have some real competition when it came to my fantasy dreams of gorgeous bad girls. For a brief while, the Dragon Lady ruled supreme. She'd be up to her nefarious crimes and always slip away at the last moment, to strike again. The following week, I'd be there waiting to watch. In the old days, TERRY ran Sunday afternoons in New York on the old Dumont Channel 5. A ginger ale company sponsored the show and gave away free TERRY comics with a sixpack. THE DRAGON LADY STRIKES BACK was my all time favorite. Does a copy still exist anywhere in the world? I'm sure I'm not the only collector who would love to get ahold of it again! Several years later, when LAWMAN premiered on ABC, the publicity said young star Peter Brown was the son of the woman who had played The Dragon Lady. I never believed them.

I am a fan of the Terry and the Pirates serial so I decided to check out a few episodes of the TV show. I was pleasantly surprised, it is fun to watch. The thing that makes the show work is the cast, they are all really good. They are smooth and effective in their roles. You feel comfortable with them and they work together nicely. The show also has pretty good production values and the writing isn't bad either.

It's a shame that this show didn't catch on and that they made less than twenty episodes. It would have been great if there had been a full 39 episode run at least. When I watch these old shows I realize more and more just how horrible and lurid TV is today...its almost all garbage. Even the ones I like are more like guilty pleasures that I'm almost ashamed of admitting I sometimes view. Today's TV is just awful, constantly playing off our most basic needs and interests.

Terry is a bit like Captain Kirk, almost every show ends with him making out with one of the leading ladies. The guy playing shady boss man is a hoot...he would have made a wonderful Charlie Chan. His role is fairly similar in a lot of ways. Terry and the Pirates is a good one...pure fun that goes down smooth.