Rescue 911
When my son was little in the 80s and early 90s, the whole family used to love the TV show “Rescue 911.”
It was one of my guilty pleasures. A reality show that featured staged reenactments of actual 911 calls and their aftermath, it was something I watched often although I learned that people would make fun of me when I’d talk about it so enthusiastically. It was on TV in reruns for a while, and although even those ended a long time ago I still recall many of the most dramatic and/or touching tales.
Did I say “touching”? Yes. Rare was the show (most of them featuring three or four vignettes) when at least one of its tales didn’t make me cry.
Was I a softie? Maybe. But part of the reason the show engendered such emotional responses was that the episodes were believably done, and part of the reason for that was that the actors were frequently the original participants, who often seemed to experience a sort of psychodrama effect during the reenactments. Another reason was that you never knew how it would end (unless you saw the original participant narrating at the outset; then at least you knew that that person had survived). Most had happy outcomes, but not all by any means.
Last night it occurred to me that I might be able to go to YouTube and watch some of the shows. Sure enough, that turned out to be the case. In fact, one could spend many many MANY hours doing so. Therefore I warn you that if you’re of a certain cast of mind, this activity could be addictive.
YouTube doesn’t feature all the episodes, but an awful lot of them are there. I chose to watch the following one first, almost at random. I didn’t remember seeing it originally and still don’t remember whether I did, but it didn’t disappoint this time. Something about these little girls (who now would be grown women) touched my heart—their sweetness and kindness, and then the surprising twist at the end when…well, I won’t tell you. Watch for yourself:
It struck me as I watched this episode and then several others that, even though it was only 20 years ago, it seems longer ago than that because the people seem quite different from now—more innocent, more loving, more old-fashioned in some basic way. Maybe it was just these particular people, of course. But maybe there have been more changes in the culture since then than I realize.
Another show that came out at the same time, COPS, is still one of my favorites, too, but it has shown the decline of society, the wretchedness that keeps getting more wretched. Rescue 911 was a family favorite, though, and thanks for reminding me of it. We used to watch another show, too, with Robert Stack. Unsolved Mysteries. They even filmed a segment for an episode on our street in 1993. The cops were called by concerned neighbors worried about a guy breaking down the door of a neighbor’s house…only to be told that it was Hollywood knocking.
You aren’t kidding, Neo. The call struck me in particular because the girls never used bad language or yelled at the dispatcher. Almost every released 911 call that we hear now is censored. In fact, in my area there was a big fracas because a girl was swearing like a sailor and tearing into the dispatcher so much that he warned her that he was going to hang up – and he did.
It’s amazing that the girls and the man they helped formed that tight of a bond; now I think perhaps that wouldn’t happen for all sorts of reasons.
Neo–reading background material on the 17th through 19th centuries here in the U.S. and in England, Ireland, and Wales to help in doing genealogical research that I have been working on for something like 15-20 years now, I got the same impression. To judge by the descriptions I have been reading, people in past eras were of a markedly different character and behavior generally, so different that I don’t think that many of us realize just how different that really was.
In the U.S. that meant, for instance, an emphasis on behavior, character, and reputation–measuring people’s behavior, and character against Judeo–Christian norms, and pointing out and often shaming and shunning those who were lacking. And since many people lived in small communities–where everyone knew everyone else and their business, a man’s word and his reputation counted for a lot–was sometimes all that he might have–and those adjudged to be of bad character could face hard times indeed.
On the frontier this difference seemed to be exemplified by just how many people had “grit,” a grim determination to endure hardship, to succeed and survive, no matter what the odds.
There was a great concern for character and reputation and for personal rights, and the duel as a way to settle disputes was a very personal and individual way to vindicate your position, and to preserve your rights against those who had infringed on them.
And, of course, in the absence of things like TV, movies, Radio, and the Internet–the emphasis was on various card games, on parties, balls and other festive occasions, on public events, on reading, church attendance (which quite often featured two or three hour sermons) and especially on the closeness of family and relations; most things were done in groups with family or neighbors, and more solitary pursuits seemed comparatively rare.
Perhaps the knowledge of the all too real wilderness and the ever present dangers and death that surrounded our ancestors made them long for the company and warmth of others, and much more willing to gather together in small, intimate groups.
You should watch “I Survived” on bio channel. The stories are completely enthralling, and once you start you can’t stop watching.
“”the people seem quite different from now–more innocent, more loving, more old-fashioned in some basic way.””
Welcome to post Christian America.
The primary concerns of parents in the past was that their children be respectful, honest, reliable, and hard working. Now they want their children to be popular and successful. The two approaches create a different outcome.
You forgot to mention the host, William Shatner, whose distinctive cadence gave each vignette added drama.
“Rescue……… nine… oneone”
The above commenters are correct. Our emergency medical system reveals the soft, white underbelly of society. It is not pretty.
“Cops” is a fascinating view of the human condition at its worst. What these police officers have to endure is beyond belief. I admire them for their professionalism and their superhuman ability to restrain themselves from shooting some of the people they encounter who so richly deserve it.
I never heard of Rescue 911, but that was a great episode. What wonderful kids.
Wolla Dalbo mentioned “shunning those who were lacking” which, to me, is something we don’t — aren’t ALLOWED — to do now. It’s cruel, a form of bullying, exclusionary, unthoughtful. After all, the crudball needing the shunning might be misunderstood because he was forced to eat spinach when he was widdle.
Shunning, shaming, and gossiping are all means of social control. When those are weakened, you get lots of destructive behavior.
Concerning the “wrong number” in that episode. I’m not so sure.
When I was about 11 years old and living in California, I was home alone and mowing the back lawn. The phone rang, so I went inside to answer it (push mower, you could actually hear something). It was a collect call wrong number from New York. As I picked up the phone I looked into my bedroom and saw my escaped parakeet spiraling down toward the floor with a fascinated cat circling underneath.
The rescue was successful, and the lesson about Reality has never been forgotten.
I’m not sure whether it was Rescue 911 or not, but I recall watching in the late 80s/early 90s a show where the call was centered on a family pet. They ended up rescuing the dog. I cried when it lived! That was the fist time I can recall seeing an animal on one of those shows.