Scariest villan of them all.
POSTED BY: chapterandverse
UPDATED: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 21:18
VIEWED: 4434
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I loved the "best villans" thread and Early, Niska, and Saffron all deserved to be lauded for their contributions to villany but I have to say, after watching Safe again last night, the Tam parents, or at least the father, are the worst of the lot.
While the other villans threaten, and do, all sorts of nasty things to pretty much everyone they meet, the Tam parents value their wealth and respectability above the lives of their children. They opt to ignore the concerns that Simon has about River's safety and, when Simon decides to rescue River himself, they abandon him.
Now, I know that Niska is a cheerful torturer, Saffron left the crew to die, and Early was a nasty piece of work, but for me, the scene where Simon's dad bails him out of prison and coldly demands that he stop trying to help River is more chilling than any other scene in the series.
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To play devil's advocate, maybe the idea that River was in danger really was that absurd to him, and Simon's insistence to go against the law seemed like utter lunacy. Maybe he thought that a "tough love" stance would shake Simon out of a dangerous and irrational confusion.
I'm not ready yet, to assign true villainy to the Tam parents. Short-sightedness and carelessness, perhaps, but just painting them as Bad Parents without the benefit of some doubt is such an easy answer. Lacks meat and complexity.
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I sure would have loved the opportunity to see the Tams (Senior) fleshed out more. I would be willing to bet that we would have seen more of them if the series had survived longer.
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I'm pointin' right at it!
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I take you point devil's advocate but I think that if anyone was to suggest to a parent that their child was in danger, no matter how unlikely that seemed, they would at least investigate that threat.
It would have taken very little for Mr. Tam to ask to visit his daughter or to ask that Simon would be allowed to visit her.
To refuse to do so, when the only thing that would appear to be at stake is a little embarrasment, seems willful to me, especially if he believed that Simon's concerns were utter lunacy.
Moreover, in the early scenes at the Tam's estate, there seems to be more than a suggestion that Simon is the golden boy of the household and River, despite the fact that she is actually more intelligent, is regarded as less important.
When Simon looks set to become an important doctor, he is helped, when he is willing to risk everything to help his sister, he is abandoned.
I think Simon would have known "tough love" when he saw it from his father, and the scene at the station aint it.
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I agree with AGENTROUKA on this. Although every time I view the scene with Daddy Tam trying to convince Simon of the error of his ways in the police station I want to grab, slap and tell him to get his head outta his ass, I don’t think he qualities for the villain status. Then when he states “ I had to walk through that door, which goes on my permanent profile!” he gives away his attitude that family perception by the silver spoon crowd is more important that anything, is disturbing.
Anyhoo, it wouda been cool to see an eps devoted to condition of the Tam family estate after the kiddies had becomes sought after felons. What is daddy Tam thinking now? And how is he conceived by the community since the children have joined out merry little band of do-baders? We’ll have to see when the series continues.
Z
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Yeah, I don’t think the Tam’s rise to the level villainy either. I think there is a lot about them that is not fleshed out, as others have indicated, but there are some assumptions that I think are implied.
1. The government was in complete control.
2. The Tams were wealthy and likely to feel comfortable, but knew that there wealth provided them a degree of protection from what they understood to be a very unforgiving and harsh world. They trusted the system.
3. They want what is best for their children, and felt that Simon’s attitude would jeopardize his chances at a successful and happy life. (And they weren’t really wrong about that.)
The Tam’s weren’t villain, but they were proxies for the true villains: the government.
Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum.
Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system.
-- Cicero
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Quote:
Originally posted by zzetta13:
I agree with AGENTROUKA on this. Although every time I view the scene with Daddy Tam trying to convince Simon of the error of his ways in the police station I want to grab, slap and tell him to get his head outta his ass, I don’t think he qualities for the villain status. Then when he states “ I had to walk through that door, which goes on my permanent profile!” he gives away his attitude that family perception by the silver spoon crowd is more important that anything, is disturbing.
Well, that is kinda my point. That is a disturbing thing to say when your son is pleading with you for help. How he is regarded is more important than anything else to Tam senior, including his children's welfare.
I have always found the bureaucrats who sign on the dotted line when evil deeds are afoot a lot scarier than the people who are actually carrying out the deeds. It seems colder and more inhuman.
I think that if the series had showed more of Mr. Tam, he would still have the same attitude toward his children, regardless of River's condition: Basically he would be angry that they had disgraced him by causing trouble. That is what I find frightening.
I seem to be in a minority on this one but I will continue to hiss and boo when Mr. Tam appears on screen!
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I think it’s in the definition of the word “villain” that ppl are having trouble with. Although folks are seeing daddy Tam as a self centered A-hole,misguided and misinformed it doesn’t seem that he is intentionally wanting to cause harm to his offspring. Where with a true villain it is with reasonable assumption that they are. I see your point CHAPTERANDVERSE but although Mr. Tam could be considered a “bad daddy” I don’t think ppl consider him a villainous one. And mommy Tam herself doesn’t want to hear of anything negative about the state of verse affairs either.
As for the hissing and booing of seeing daddy Tam on screen, I’m right there with ya 
Z
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Quote:
Originally posted by chapterandverse:
I take you point devil's advocate but I think that if anyone was to suggest to a parent that their child was in danger, no matter how unlikely that seemed, they would at least investigate that threat.
It would have taken very little for Mr. Tam to ask to visit his daughter or to ask that Simon would be allowed to visit her.
To refuse to do so, when the only thing that would appear to be at stake is a little embarrasment, seems willful to me, especially if he believed that Simon's concerns were utter lunacy.
Still, he can be accused of letting pride and stubborness matter more to him than making sure his daughter is alright, but that still doesn't imply actual maliciousness.
The only thing that could truly make them villains would be if they had known River was being harmed, had not cared and had therefor actively tried to prevent Simon from helping her - and I think this could have been done in a less obvious way, so it doesn't seem plausible to me.
Quote:
Moreover, in the early scenes at the Tam's estate, there seems to be more than a suggestion that Simon is the golden boy of the household and River, despite the fact that she is actually more intelligent, is regarded as less important.
What gives you the idea? All I see is Simon making a deal with his father regarding an unfiltered kind of communication device he wants.
River asks if she can have a "dedicated source box", as well, and daddy Tam says "many years". Could easily be due to her age and the fact that even super-geniuses can't necessarily deal with any "Heaven knows what" (quote) that would come in through the cortex connection when they are five.
Quote:
I think Simon would have known "tough love" when he saw it from his father, and the scene at the station aint it.
Do children, regardless of age, always see the love within the tough? I doubt it.
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I think Chapter is right. Villans come in many forms and the Tam dad strikes me as the kind that will even cut off his own kids if they threaten to undermine his status.
I think that the early scenes in Simon and River's life set up the later scenes because they show how a seemingly normal and loving father can switch in a moment to an unfeeling supporter of the status quo.
Mister Tam would know Simon well enough to know that he was not prone to conspiracy theories (he is certainly not the hysterical type) and Simon would know his father well enough to recognize a false threat when he sees one. I think most children do know when their parents are bluffing (I certainly always did) and the scene in the prison is an impersonal threat, not a "tough love" moment.
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