#warkask

hehe thanku thanku, I knew from the moment I scrawled out those two syllables that I wanted them to be my SCTV fandom legacy

Oh yeah, there's a lot to dig into there.

It's certainly Bill's most fleshed out relationship. Not that that's saying much, but still. I think of it primarily from Bill's perspective because of course I do, but I'd like to go back and see how it fits into Guy's bigger picture as well.

What's intriguing to me - and what I'll talk about here today - is how they have two pretty distinct dynamics that don't seem to overlap.

On one hand, Bill serves as Guy's right hand man for his little schemes. This side appears in wraparounds, when they interact face to face - Moral Majority, Pledge Week, Staff Christmas Party. Then during the People's Global Golden Choice Awards, we get a twist - Bill isn't collaborating on this one, and in fact leads the dissent against it.

So, what happened there? I think Bill gives it away in how he describes Guy's motivations. He references Guy wanting "power" and "ratings", but nothing about money. I suspect that, at the end of the day, Bill's in it for the money, since that's the focus of the other schemes he’s involved with. I do find it interesting that Bill never tries to boost his own career through the schemes - maybe he does have a spine after all. Except for, y'know, all the swindling.

On the other hand, there's Guy as the tyrannical boss that's constantly suppressing Bill's freedom of speech and cancelling his shows. This is the side we see during Bill's shows - it's introduced right from the start on Mailbag, and is more implied than outright stated in Series 4, though that tension never fades away.

Bill always refers to a nebulous "they", "the station/SCTV", "management", "the powers that be", when he talks about the forces holding him down, but it's gotta just be Guy, right? Guy's seemingly the only one who ever makes decisions about programming like that. The unspecific language feels like an intentional decision on Bill’s part to separate Guy, his boss, from Guy, his partner in crime. Especially when, during Stand Up and Be Counted when Guy calls in to personally cancel the show, Bill says, not moments later, “They cancelled my show.” Maybe Bill’s just that committed to propriety, but I don’t think so.

How do we reconcile these two sides of Needllero? Well, that's where we get speculative. The way I've characterized it so far over at the Needleblog, even Bill's not quite sure where they stand. There's a lot of uncertainty and intimidation at play, although how much of that is Bill's own anxieties being left to sprawl out is left to the reader's interpretation.

Now, I don't ship it, personally, but I see the appeal. They're great for each other (make each other so silly). The dysfunction is definitely a big part of the charm. In a way, I do think Bill needs Guy - not only because he's just gotta be on TV, but also for the companionship of somebody, anybody, who can put up with him.

Also, Lola says "or even love" right as Bill turns to look at Guy, and that's just precious.

More recently ive been thinking about Bill and Honey and their kinda sorta relationship and marraige and such . I don’t think they hate each other or anything obviously, theres some kind of love deep down in there (fraught but not volatile) I mean its hard to tell I guess but theres always fun in speculating. I think maybe theyre both just kind of annoying and petty in their own way. (Bill especially of course) And it makes me wonder how they even got together. But again its something I wish the show went into more!!! I wish we got to see or hear more of honey because, honestly just from her one appearance I really like her character and I wish to see more with her and Bill’s dynamic. Cuz in Maudlin’s Eleven its like, well is that really how they are or is it played up for the movie? I don’t know. I think their Maudlin’s Eleven scene is very silly though and I like how nonchalant Honey is compared to Bill’s constant dramatics. I don’t think I’m as good at character analysis, I mean I have thoughts I just can’t put them into words. Regardless I think they’re sweeties and Honey is very gorjus

Hold on lemme pull up my notes real quick

Bill and Honey are fascinating to consider! There's a through line in Bill's character regarding his feelings towards women ("I love women", his evaluation of Pajama Party) that really comes to a head in his interactions with Honey. Simply put, Needle is a guy who loves women in a very shallow, unconsidered way, so Honey is, in this sense, his perfect match.

I have quite an affection for Honey and how she functions as a foil to Bill. Her nonchalance endears her immediately - she isn't about to let Needle push her around. Also, yeah, she prebby! Needle has good taste.

I do have to wonder what she gets out of the deal, though. I can't imagine Needle makes a lot of money as a very part-time critic-at-large. Is she a big fan of criticism? Does she find Needle genuinely hot (understandable)? Much to think about.

The way I've chosen to interpret Bill and Honey's relationship hinges on a very minor and questionably intentional detail; Bill's ring. You can see Needle sporting a wedding ring from Cycle 2 onwards - I'm pretty sure this is because Human Dave actually got actual married around this time. Other characters Thomas plays can also be seen wearing rings from this point on (though not all, e.g. Doug).

Frankly, it's not something I've given a lot of thought! I feel like I haven't reached that point of familiarity with these characters yet (other than Needle of course). I'm sure that by the time I run through the entire series again, some more headcanons will crystallize.

With Needle, I tend to extrapolate from offhand comments/references in the show (like his interest in ham radio, from the Zontar wraparound, which I then spun into a potential NeedleTodd interaction). And I'm able to do that with Needle because I went ahead and took notes on/transcribed all of his appearances.

It all becomes this big logic puzzle - what patchwork outline does the show give us, and what assumptions can we make from that? It's an intensive process, so I haven't really applied it outside of Needle, but I'd like to! It'll just take a while.

I suppose my silliest headcanon is Doug being a big dancer. It's fun to imagine this pasty, kinda surly looking guy launching himself into a whole routine. I don't know if he's a good dancer necessarily, but he certainly commits to it.

Thank you kindly! It's nice to be able to share these thoughts with an audience that, well, knows what I'm talking about.

Oohoohoo, they would make a fun trio, huh? I'm very much an ensemblehead. Love to imagine how two, three, more characters (or cast members more broadly) would interact in this or that scenario. Definitely a dynamic worth exploring!

Okay so here's the skinny

Bill Needle and Gerry Todd are my favourite SCTV characters, and it's not close. I originally thought Todd would be my absolute favourite when I started watching (I began with Series 4) until I hit 4/1-8 and Needle came along and snapped my brain like a twig.

Figure 1: Bill Needle character Bill Needle. Bill Needle Dave Thomas SCTV Bill Needle

Anyway. Now they're tied.

Being a self-professed Dick Rave enthusiast (that is, Rick and Dave; Moranis and Thomas; those fellas what play Bob and Doug), this should come as no surprise. Besides the McKenzie brothers, Todd and Needle are the duo's default station characters. Pals with Caballero, Prickley, LaRue, Heatherton, Bittman, ya know. This is established both by their sheer screentime and by their contributions to various wraparound segments.

Figure 2: This is how you know you've made it

Which makes it all the more unfortunate that they only have one interaction - during the Staff Christmas Party. To be fair though, it's a delightful thing. Needle says "video" funny, Todd says "Needlebaum", they both cackle heartily, and the door is left open for them to collaborate on any number of schemes in the future.

Figure 3: "What the hell are we laughin' at?"

They don't, of course, but why let that stop us? I think the appeal of their potential dynamic is pretty clear on the surface, but to expound on it a bit: Needle is flummoxed and lightly exasperated by Todd, while Todd is amused by how Needle is tying himself in knots. Neither of them can quite figure the other one out, though for very different reasons. And yet, they somehow feel compelled to keep spending time together. Gradually, these two loners realize they might've found an actual, honest-to-goodness friend.

Figure 4: Todd introducing Needle to ham radio is just the first step. Can you imagine the two working together on a program? Doing a call-in show together? There's always some new video

In the early days of my newfound NeedleTodd devotion, I wrote almost 2500 words of dialogue between the two, most of it in one sitting. I think that's what it comes down to; they're a lot of fun to bounce off each other! Filling in the considerable blanks between these two funny guys is a thoroughly pleasurable experience.

Figure 5: heehee, hoohoo