So Weird 20 Day 1: Favorite Episode
You could ask me this question every week and every week I would probably have a different answer. But I’ve always considered James Garr to be one of my favorites and I feel it is massively underappreciated so I’m going with it.
The one thing that I remember jumping out at me as a kid from this episode is the humor. My sister and I would quote Carey constantly, citing overprotective parents as a serious ailment and threatening to cough on each other when we got sick. That’s all I remember about watching this episode from a kid’s perspective. This seems particularly relevant now, as the interview with Jon Cooksey revealed just how important humor was to Disney executives at the time and how he and Ali were asked to leave because Disney felt the show wasn’t funny enough.
James Garr is a prime example of how So Weird captured the perfect balance of light humor mixed in with heavy subject manner in order to appeal to all audiences. As a child, I loved the humor of Carey’s appendicitis and Jack’s interest in magic tricks. The rest flew way over my 7 year old head and it wasn’t until I acquired bootleg DVDs at age 12 that I fell in love with the main plot of cryogenics and the questions about life and death that it rose.
Fi’s speech about how there’s a spark in people-- a ghost, a soul, whatever you want to call it-- has always moved me. The show has covered ghosts and spirits in the sense of souls haunting the earth after their bodies have passed on, but this episode takes that concept and moves from a supernatural forum to more of a spiritual one and I love it.
I was 11 years old when I first read A Ring of Endless Light by Madeline L’Engle and I’ve always had a hunch that reading that book (which features a love interest with an infatuation with death and an interest in cryogenics) before I rediscovered this episode has helped give me a deeper appreciation for the topic itself as well as the more philosophical aspects of this episode.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve also grown to appreciate how James Garr shows both Jack and Fi cope with physical and spiritual death. Jack, who’s usually the sarcastic and logical one, reveals that he has a more spiritual side and believes in miracles. Fi, who usually jumps to a more supernatural conclusion, first confronts Dr. Rooney with the logical explanation of “You gave him brain damage!” before raising the question of whether this isn’t a medical issue, but a spiritual one. It’s also nice to see a little bit of role reversal when Fi comes to comfort Jack and puts her hand on his shoulder as he tells her that Mr. DeFranco thinks he’s going to die tonight. Often, we see Jack coming to Fi’s rescue or the two bickering. It’s sweet to see Fi being there for Jack and then the two of them leave Carey’s room holding hands (and immediately stop once Molly asks what’s going on, as though they don’t want to be caught being nice to each other).
And finally, James Garr features my favorite piece of advice from the series: “If you can’t help someone, you can still love them. I think that helps.” Again, it reminds me of A Ring of Endless Light were Suzy asks why bother praying when it doesn’t magically heal anybody and Mother responds “Because it’s an act of love.” Both quotes have always stayed with me and have shaped who I am as a human being.
My answer to my favorite episode may change in a day or a week, but James Garr will always have a high rating from me and remain one of my faves.
(Also huge shoutout to homestarrunnertron for posting a decent quality copy of the episode on the forum!)
