Lots Of Kicks

I've been rewatching Route 66, the black and white drama from the early 60s.  It may not be classic, but it's unique.  It's about two youg men, Buz (George Maharis) and Tod (Martin Milner), who travel across American in a Corvette getting into adventures.  What makes the show different is it's shot on location--the company traveled to the putative spot the story takes place and managed to shoot a new show each week.

The show was created by TV and screenwriter Stirling Silliphant (who, if nothing else, has the greatest name ever). It seems inspired by On The Road, except this being network television it's cleaned up considerably.  Milner is a bit more square than Maharis, but both are clean cut and almost impossibly moral.  They also manage to line up a job at every stop. (Though why give them a job if you know they're going to quit soon?  At least this explains where they get gas money.) The series lasted four season, but Maharis got hepatitis and missed the last season and a half, and they never really came up with a proper replacement.

One of the best things about the show is the co-stars, some of whom were already famous--Boris Karloff, Rod Steiger, Buster Keaton, Ethel Waters--but most of whom would go on to greater fame--Robert Redford, Ed Asner, Tuesday Weld, Martin Sheen, William Shatner.  Actually, as the boys get involved in other people's lives each week, they're really guest stars in their own show.  This means a certain variable quality, but if you get bored at least you can look at the new scenery.

While the show may have been following the trail the beats blazed, it's really ahead of its time, having a searching quality that may be very American, but would feel more natural in the late 60s when the country itself was wondering about its place--it points to a work like Easy Rider (without the drug money funding it all).

Another great thing about the show is the theme.  The famous Bobby Troup song would have cost too much, so Nelson Riddle wrote a great, cool jazz number.