Reporting for duty at No. 10, Sgt. Carter

Punditty's Pantheon of TV Greats in Secondary or Lesser Roles: The Countdown begins...

10. Sgt. Carter, “Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.” The unmatched brilliance of Frank Sutton’s Sgt. Vince CarterVince Carter character is largely a product of Carter’s ability to perfectly reflect that mid-20th century convergence of American Freedom and its oft-overlooked secret twin, American Honor. Carter is perfectly at home in – and perfectly reflects – the pre-Mansonian zeitgeist that prevailed in -- and was unique to -- Southern California in the mid-to-late 1960s. If Gomer Pyle represents America’s capacity to dream, Sgt. Carter represents America’s ability to achieve.

A little-known Zen koan points to the distinction between teaching and learning as “the blur that never moves, yet always changes places.” This mystic riddle perhaps best describes the relationship between Carter and Pyle, insofar as it can be described without reaching for advanced mathematical theorems or abstract art. With Pyle as his partner in some vast cosmic dance of celluloid give-and-take, Carter embodies The Warrior’s eternal search for a balance between sworn duty and one’s own humanity, even as Pyle foreshadows the essence of “a kinder, gentler America” a full two decades before President George H.W. BushGeorge H.W. Bush beckoned the country toward such a noble goal. Together, they form a magical tandem.

Who can forget the usually steely Carter getting all weepy as the usually daffy Pyle sang a full-throated version of “O My Papa” at some swank supper club? With Vince and his girlfriend Bunny looking on, overcome by raw emotions they could not contain, Pyle channeled all the unresolved Freudian conflicts Carter still felt about his own father. Carter responded as any man with a heart would, and across America, millions cried healing tears one minute only to be laughing once again by the end of the show.

Carter, often driven to agitation by Pyle’s well-intentioned schemes gone awry, remains to this day a fascinating character study in the evolution of consciousness by virtue of his growth – or lack thereof – that resulted from Pyle-induced cycles of panic and relief.

Next up at No. 9 – She held an uprooted TV family together as they tried to adapt to a changing world.

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