Insight

Back when I was younger & partied way too much, I knew it was time to call it a night after "Insight" aired in the wee hours of Sunday Morning. For a production by a non-secular order (The Paulists) it was surprisingly non-preachy, but probably the reason the long running anthology seems to have been overlooked & underrated.

The writing was always top-notch & was successful in prompting the viewer to think about the age-old problems confronting man, albeit in a modern setting. The writing also seemed to avoid conclusions, rather, it seemed to focus on making one think about important questions.

The actors were also some of the best of their day. I remember Martin Sheen as appearing in multiple episodes, as did Harold Gould. Jack Albertson was in at least one episode (along with Martin Sheen, entitled "And The Walls Came Down" in which Sheen plays God to Albertson's old man). I also seem to recall other actors such as Linda Lavin, CArroll O'Connor and Teri Garr, although I am less sure on these three.

Insight was a show that I used to see _early_ Sunday mornings after "Davey & Goliath". The best way to describe this show is a sort of religious "Twilight Zone". In fact, if I remember correctly, there was one episode that was a blatant rip-off of the "Zone" episode about the six dolls. The twist in the plot would be some sort of morality play. It was an interesting show that was pretty subtle in its message.

Some "Insight" episodes are available on VHS from Paulist Press (http://www.paulistpress.com). They are grouped together in sets of 3; I have used "Christ Incognito: Classic insight Dramas: Jesus B.C., The Day Everything Went Wrong, The Man Who Mugged God" in my Sunday School class.

"Wrestling with God: Classic Insight Comedies: Packy, The Walls Came Tumblin' Down, This side of Eden" worked well, too; I remembered "Packy" about an actor's agent getting into heaven though I'd seen it once over 20 years ago.

They are working on DVDs but say that it is "a slow process".

Every now and then, I peruse the Sunday morning listings to see if it's there. It hasn't been there for quite some time, but old habits die hard.

I can't remember many of the episodes, but if I saw them again, I might remember them.

One of the few that still occupies my brain is one of the Christmas episodes, with William Windom, James Cromwell, Tim Matheson and Paula Kelly (Jesus B.C. (1976)). It was amazing the talent they used to employ! The show, from my recollections, was shown into the early 90s. I don't remember watching them from the 60s or even 70s, but I do recall them airing later.

I'm not religious, despite my growing up as a Catholic. Over time, I've become an atheist, but it really shouldn't matter. Morality, whether you are religious or not, shouldn't depend on what faith you come from. Morality should come from the heart, and be something you do without any reward, recompense or favor. And I think this show promoted that as much as it could, within the confines of its format and design. That's why it resonated with people who weren't particularly religious--it took common values and brought them to life. And every one of us who has ever cared about another person could find themselves in the midst of the situations presented.

I think the show should be available on DVD as well, as I think we could all remember the messages they told us. While there has been dating in some episodes, the vast appeal of the format, as a single one act play, could be a nice addition to the Sunday morning shows, and certainly as appealing as all the political shows on at that time!

This is another one of the shows that has been almost totally forgotten. I saw episodes of Insight about a dozen times over the years, and almost every episode I saw remains fresh in the memory.The Paulist Fathers, who are also responsible for that superb series of great spiritual writings by and for people of all faiths, Classics of Western Spirtuality, produced the show, and got an astonishing array of Hollywood and Broadway talent to write, direct, and star in the different episodes. Despite its Catholic provenance, this show was far , far from propaganda, and actually reflected the best in post- Vatican 2 U.S. Catholicism. One hopes the Paulists still have some episodes on DVD