Jack Kelly - Better Than Chicken Soup

Hi!

One of my best friends is recovering from recent surgery. She's at the point where she's feeling better and moving around, but isn't quite ready to leave the house and do things yet. She invited me over yesterday and said, "Bring some Mavericks with you."

My friend knows I'm a big fan of Jack Kelly and Maverick, and although she hasn't seen much of the show herself, I've told her about it. She said it sounded like something that would help perk her up. So, I bundled up a few choice Maverick episodes and also threw in the Banacek episode ("Fly Me--If You Can Find Me") that Jack Kelly appeared in.

The Maverick episodes we ended up watching were "Pappy", "Shady Deal at Sunny Acres", and "Duel at Sundown". She got a big kick out of all them. She especially enjoyed the chemistry between Jack Kelly and James Garner. She's an equestrienne and noted that both JK and JG seemed to know how to handle a horse pretty well. She's also a major sci-fi fan, and she immediately recognized Michael Forest ("Jean Paul St. Cloud" in "Pappy") as the actor who played "Apollo" in the Star Trek episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?" (Of course, she also recognized that Pappy's "Rudolph St. Cloud" was Adam West.)

She said she found a new answer for when she's asked how her recovery is coming along: "I'm workin' on it." (Bret Maverick's comic catchphrase in "Shady Deal at Sunny Acres".)

My friend enjoyed Banacek, too. It was a show we both remembered watching when it originally aired, but she hadn't seen it in years.

So, the next time you have a friend who needs a little perking up, instead of ladling out the chicken soup, break out the Maverick episodes instead. :->

Jack Kelly TV Alert: Forbidden Planet airs on Turner Classic Movies at 4:15 pm ET on Sunday, November 1 (yep, today!)