IVIV (2) Dope Fiend Standards and Ethics Committee (26)

[Doug Millison]

Before we get away from Chapter 2 entirely, I'm still wondering which  
sit-com, TV cop show, or movie is the model for this exchange, which  
has made me laugh out loud several times now. Or maybe we need look no  
further than Firesign Theater, which, Robin has reminded us, is worth  
looking at again as a possible influence on IV. This dialogue has the  
feel of a 60s underground comic book, too, like the one that Bigfoot  
quotes.

"Potheads, you're so exclusive. Would you say you _took offense_ at  
Glen's preference for barbiturates and amphetamines?"
"Yeah, I was planning to report him to the Dope Fiend Standards and  
Ethics Committee." (26)

I also like the way Bigfoot is piecing together a narrative of what  
might have happened, fashioning a scenario in which Doc is guilty of  
the crime - as all literary PI's seem to do - not only a genre  
convention but also a what-if storytelling strategy that fits well  
Pynchon's predilection to create characters who wonder how history  
might have unfolded differently.