Powerful fable
One of those single-episode leftovers at Archive.org. Like many cop shows of the time, it's oily and sanctimonious, packed with Complex Moral Conundra; but the ending is simple and important.

A man who works for a peculiar thing called a "News Paper" is doing what "News Paper Men" always did. He is trying to improve people's lives by revealing facts. I don't know if this "News Paper" was simply made up by the episode's authors or possibly existed at some time in the distant past. We have things with similar names now, but their job is the exact opposite. They ruin people's lives with violent lies.

Anyhow, this News Paper Man is working in a place called "San Francisco", which must also be an imaginary place. Again it seems to be the exact opposite of a similar place in the current world.

News Paper Man notices an event that doesn't fit the usual patterns, a genuine piece of Shannon information. A young Chinese man beats up his brother in public, outside of Chinatown. The community always keeps its troubles inside. If a trouble is big enough to spill out into non-China streets, it must be worth looking into.

Soon News Paper Man pulls together a set of seemingly unrelated events to find the big trouble. The new revolutionary government in China is extorting money from Chinese people all over America with letters claiming falsely that their relatives at home are sick or in trouble.

The crucial moment happens when News Paper Man is pressing the head of the Chinese Social Bureau, who knows and coordinates everything in Chinatown. (This part does have a current equivalent.) The head resists, following keep-it-quiet tradition, then finally decides that it's time to break the blackmail bubble by pouring out the information. He provides a complete list of people who have received letters, News Paper Man publishes the story, and the blackmail stops.

Sarc off. The part about breaking the blackmail bubble is a powerful fable that deserves to be told and heard now, even if we no longer have those News Paper thingamajigs.

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[Footnote: The title of the clip at Archive is wrong. The title is 'Don Gray Marine Investigator', but the show was actually 'San Francisco Final'.]

Labels: Alternate universe

  ¶ 11:33 PM