¶ Overview
From the NOWSPACE Screenshot Archive
Blaine is somewhat of an iconic figure among the Plex community. With his love for the Mullet and denim clothing, Blaine's life has been a journey like no other. As the host of Fire by Night - a Christian television show in the late 1980's - he worked with a number of different actors, including his first wife, Cathy Bartel. In fact, in the regular skit Family First, Cathy plays his sister. Conversely, in another regular FBN skit Friends, Cathy plays his wife. Confused? No worries - we're still trying to figure out the casting decisions. Side-note: They are no longer married.
Be aware that we don't really keep close tabs on the present-day Blaine, but there are some more links at the bottom for your viewing pleasure if you're curious about his current whereabouts.
The NOWSPACE hopes that some day Blaine will join us to watch some of the old episodes as we have many, many questions for him. If you, or anyone you know, happens to know Blaine, please let him know that the Plex would love an interview. Or if you wish, you can just throw him a Tweet.
¶ Fire by Nite
While preaching his interpretation of Christian theology to an impressionable audience of adolescents, Blaine was living through a personal crisis of porn addiction. We often watch FBN with mixed emotions, as we know he struggled at the time (we assume) with one of life's sinful pleasures, porn. Knowing this makes the show difficult to watch, because Blaine (and his team of writers) preach that sex is dirty and bad except when Christians decide it's okay. For instance, it's apparently okay to have sex when you're married, but not all the time and only to make little Christians. You're also not supposed to think about it, we think. We're not fully sure, as the rules are a little blurry. Blaine just doesn't want us thinking about sex, but then there's the porn. We're pretty sure Blaine is just as confused as us on those points, which leads some of us to have some empathy for the poor guy.
However, beyond the weird anti-sex tension, FBN is full of bigotry, racism, and misogyny - all of the classics. It's unclear if Blaine was aware of how problematic the writing of his show was, but our guess is no. He probably was too occupied with his porn addiction to realize he was peddling messages that can lead to violence against marginalized communities. We hope that he knows better now, but it's difficult to be sure without an opportunity to chat with him.
¶ Would You Like to Know More?
- Blaine Bartel - Promo
- Blaine Bartel - Personal website
- Blaine Bartel - Resurrection Tulsa (the short version)
- Blaine Bartel - The Seven Dirty Little Secrets of Resurrection (the long version)