If you follow any of my social media, you've probably seen my recent posts on TV movies streaming on Amazon Prime. I have found a gazillion amazing TVMs and the feedback on my posts has been quite positive, so I'm extending this project to cover an intriguing syndicated religious television series called Insight.
I've been interested in Insight for some time now, and actually did a bit of research on it many years ago, in the hopes I could write something about it. Unfortunately, that research and time have slipped away from me. But recently, I noticed that episodes began appearing on YouTube, in what looks like legal channels.
*Just a note: I realize there is an amazing amount of content online, available through many different means, but I only want to promote product I think is being streamed by the proper rights holders. It might stem from working at the Directors Guild for so many years that I've been trained to do this, but I think it's important we support the people who may be in charge of getting these things out into a physical format, properly cleaned up and with extras, if possible. I certainly don't discourage anyone from watching what they can where they can (your passion for classic TV and telefilms is why I'm here), but I will only promote the legal streams.
That said, OMG, guys! Insight is online and looking great. The YouTube page looks to be run by Paulist Productions and it just appeared recently and is constantly uploading new episodes! So, I've decided to pick an episode, probably on a bimonthly basis, and do a short capsule review with an image or two. Hopefully I can dig up enough trivia as a way to provide a little production history to this fascinating and long running series.
I'll be adding every review to this post, and my picks will be random, but I'll list them in alphabetical order. Hopefully I can put together a decent catalog, with access to every episode Paulist Productions uploads. Call me a classic TV freak, but honestly it's exciting.
So, as I said, my previous research kind of went by the wayside, so let me tell you what little I remember about the show. Insight was created by a priest named Ellwood E. "Bud" Kieser. It's my understanding that he was interested in non-denominational preaching, and this series ran the gamut of episodes that felt either like The Twilight Zone or an ABC Afterschool Special. They could be really surreal, or sometimes they were based in the very real. It could be faith-based, but often it was driven by social issues. And the class of actors was astounding. I think Martin Sheen is in a huge amount of episodes, but you'll also see Bob Newhart, Jack Klugman James Farentino, Bill Bixby, Patty Duke and Cicely Tyson, among many others.
I'll be researching the series as I go along, and I hope I can dig up some interesting nuggets for everyone. This is a work in progress, and I'm unsure of the exact layout (i.e. will trivia go with an episode or get its own section, etc.), but I think it will be fun.
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*One final note: It probably means nothing, but just to clarify, I'm not particularly religious, although I love faith based television. (Confession: I was a die hard Touched by an Angel fan!) I think these kinds of shows are really fascinating, especially when they are more driven by social issues. This is all to say, I won't do any proselytizing here. I only want to look back at the historical and cultural impact of the series. Whatever your belief system, I hope you come along for the ride!
So let's get started!
When, Jenny? When? (OAD: February 1st, 1979, episode #806, reviewed April 21st, 2019): This may be one of the most famous episodes of Insight. I can see why. It's Afterschool Special all the way, and it features Maureen McCormick as a beautiful teenager whose low self-esteem has given her a notorious rep at school. This episode features Jeff East, Clark Brandon and Olive Cole, and was directed by Ted Post (Five Desperate Women, The Baby, and lots of other great movies). In terms of episodic television, Post's name is probably more aligned with The Twilight Zone, but he directed several episodes of Insight. Like he did with the 1972 telefilm Sandcastles, Post directs When, Jenny? When? with a lot of sensitivity and tenderness. Aside from tackling self-esteem, this episode also explores peer pressure, self-identity, and my favorite topic, the loneliness of difference.
Original newspaper listing
The story is told both through Jenny's (McCormick) experiences and how she recounts those experiences with her high school counselor (Cole). What I appreciate about the episode is how it shows how desperate Jenny is to be loved by giving sex freely, but the act itself is not judged (she says sex feels good and she's told she can wear white at her wedding if she wants). But it is analyzed, and Jenny realizes that if she wants to truly be loved, she has to love herself first, and that means standing up for herself. Although it has to be quickly resolved in 22 minutes or so, When, Jenny? When? is handled with taste and thought. Also, Jenny's got a great theme song which helps move things along! Overall, the Afterschool Special approach gave me all the feels. I loved it.