How about a quick post to get back into the swing of things after another lengthy hiatus? Due to a brutal stretch at work and a bout with Covid (it finally got me after previously eluding it for three years), I haven’t had a lot of spare time of late, but I’m back healthy, energized, and hoping to make a real effort at posting here regularly.
So, what better way to return to blogging than to share a message of love on Valentine’s Day? Of more accurately, to share a couple of my favorite cardboard couples – one of a few themes I collect that spans the world of sports, non-sports, fiction, and non-fiction. This time I won’t focus on Verlander and Upton, Garciaparra and Hamm, Bird and Rapinoe, or even the newly christened Swansons. Tonight is all about two of my favorite couples of the small screen – however fictional they are.
First up, a classic – Maxwell Smart and Agent 99. I grew up watching reruns of Get Smart and loved everything about it. From the doors of the opening sequence to the Sunbeam Tiger, gadgets, and general influence of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, which helped shape my early comedic tastes. I also had a wicked crush on Barbara Feldon. Over the last couple of years I was able to pick up a couple autographed 1966 Topps Get Smart cards of both Barbara Feldon and Don Adams – it took a long time to find a Don Adams, since he’s been gone since 2005, and the copy I found was pretty munched… but it’s signed and it completes the pair.
My second fictional couple is a less overtly comedic combo, but one that still featured plenty of laughs – although they usually came in the form of accidental homicides and the like. This pair is Tatiana Maslany and Kristian Bruun as Alison and Donnie Hendrix on Orphan Black. The Bruun card was chosen because of the personalization the actor added to his signature. The Maslany was added after watching eBay for quite some time waiting for an example featuring her as Alison to appear. I probably overpaid for it when I finally found one last year, but buy it when you see it – right? I have no regrets. Alison was by far my favorite clone in the series, and Donnie one of my favorite screen husbands in recent memory.
I wish you all happiness on your Valentine’s Day – whether you’re part of a couple or not. I choo choo choose you all.