Callan the geek

One of the many interesting things about the show Callan is that its hero, the eponymous spy, assassin, and man of troubled conscience, is also what we'd now call a geek. He makes and collects model soldiers and plays war games with them. His war gaming figures heavily in the 1970 episode "Act of Kindness," part of which takes place at a war games convention. There are several scenes of game play (including rolling dice to determine casualties, morale, etc.), and although I'm not a war gamer, I find this look at early geekery fascinating.

It will come as no surprise that Callan's hobby is mocked by his boss and colleagues, no matter how strongly he insists that his models are not "toys." I certainly wouldn't call the show geek-positive (Callan's hobby is meant to show, in part, that his life is lonely and empty), but it also demonstrates the pleasure and friendship people find in their geekery.

/umpteenth Callan promo post