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.

Insight is one of television's lost classics, an anthology series that successfully explored religious and spiritual themes while (usually) avoiding a heavy-handed approach. Considering the quality of the writing, direction, and acting in this series, it is amazing that it has not achieved a greater degree of popularity; it's regular use of symbolism, surreal images, and rather inventive plot and narrative devices should have guaranteed it a place in television history alongside other excellent anthologies such as The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. The series dabbled in every format from comedy and satire to fantasy and speculative fiction to deliver it's modern-day morality plays. At times light-hearted and humorous, at other times downright chilling, it was always effective in it's delivery. And who can forget the Reverend Kieser's narrative intros that suggested a cross between Sermonette and Rod Serling's narrations?

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".

I remember the series fondly as a kid. In my early years as a TV engineer in a little Public TV station in Newark, Ohio, I got to run the episodes on film (we didn't have standard videotape in that station).

Except for those video pirates who have copies of the shows, "Insight" will remain buried forever. The reason is that the show represented Catholic theology of its time. Those episodes don't represent current Church doctrine on a lot of things. I think the Church doesn't want some of them publicized today. Some episodes also had very insistent bits of Catholic doctrine that make many people wince these days - I recall an episode that drably covered adultery in marriage that ended in suicide, with the priest/narrator suggesting this was the expected end of such immorality.

Even if you agree with the opinion that this was "the Twilight Zone of religious television," it was at least heartfelt. This show, and "Davey and Goliath," were made by people who honestly believed in the morals they promoted. I don't believe that's true of the expensive, show-bizzy, money-begging religious shows of today.