Rustifer
Senior HTF Member
Episode Commentary
Bourbon Street Beat
"Swamp Fire" (S1E27)
Some strange juju going on in the bayou. The Cajun oil drillers are leaving the area in droves over fear of the "old woman of the swamp"--a phosphorous spectre that appears periodically among the swamp weeds. The Cajuns get bug-eyed and fairly load their pants when they see it. Vamoose time for them.
The Batou Oil Company hires Rex to look into this phenomenon that's disrupting their operation. He checks into the Versailles Inn located in the heart of the bayou--a quaint ramshackle structure that features in the lounge an accordion-playing female, Marie Boudreaux (Jacqueline Ravell). To blend in the the locals, Rex channels Steve McQueen--wearing a stressed leather jacket and dungarees. His initial thought is that a rival oil company is trying to scare Batou's workers off the premises so as to assume control.
Odious tobacco-chewing Joe Stagner (Don Barry), the camp's swamp buggy driver, lusts after Marie--practically raping the poor girl save for her accordion getting in the way of his...uh...advances. Rex beats the snot out of the guy thus making him an enemy and earning the devotion of the lovely Marie. After administering a good beating, Rex takes a nice relaxing stroll through the foggy swamp at night and runs into "conjure" lady, Mama Jadot. He comes up with a brain fart to use Mama to do her mumbo jumbo voodoo for the Cajuns in order to scare away the ghost. She provides each worker with a pouch that is filled with such aromatics as bat poop, spider eggs and day old gumbo. This not only wards off evil spirits, but also just about anything within 50 yards of the bearer. The oil company's head engineer McKee (Rex Reason) congratulates Rex for this bit of ingenuity. But of course, it ain't over 'til it's over.
Jaqueline Revell; Cal practices the Gettysburg Address; Rex deals with swamp rash, then orders pizza to be delivered
The bayou workers are in fine spirits now, singing Alouette and sucking down swamp sauce. The ghost reappears but the workers are too drunk to give a crap, and one of them is brave enough to wander out to try and capture it. He ends up dead as a boiled andouille sausage. Rec visits the morgue to check out the dead body and discovers death by ice pick to the brain. This generates concerns from Marie, odious Joe and a few other suspicious types. For his troubles, Rex gets knocked out and left in the bayou as an alligator hors d'ouevres (cue some travelogue alligator footage and jungle noises). He comes to in time to avoid becoming lunch and also catches a glimpse of the ghost.
The upshot--the chief engineer is not as innocent as he seems and Marie has an exiled hubby who turns up in time to perform some heroic action. Even Ken Madison (Van Williams) shows up in his high school letter jacket to help out. He brings the bug spray.
Notes:
Rex's leather jacket has a Pegasus horse embroidered on the back--the traditional logo of Mobile Oil. The guys from "American Pickers" would probably pay big bucks to get their hands on that.
Ken Madison interviews a temporary office secretary--none other than our lovely Joan Staley.
Bourbon Street Beat
"Swamp Fire" (S1E27)
Some strange juju going on in the bayou. The Cajun oil drillers are leaving the area in droves over fear of the "old woman of the swamp"--a phosphorous spectre that appears periodically among the swamp weeds. The Cajuns get bug-eyed and fairly load their pants when they see it. Vamoose time for them.
The Batou Oil Company hires Rex to look into this phenomenon that's disrupting their operation. He checks into the Versailles Inn located in the heart of the bayou--a quaint ramshackle structure that features in the lounge an accordion-playing female, Marie Boudreaux (Jacqueline Ravell). To blend in the the locals, Rex channels Steve McQueen--wearing a stressed leather jacket and dungarees. His initial thought is that a rival oil company is trying to scare Batou's workers off the premises so as to assume control.
Odious tobacco-chewing Joe Stagner (Don Barry), the camp's swamp buggy driver, lusts after Marie--practically raping the poor girl save for her accordion getting in the way of his...uh...advances. Rex beats the snot out of the guy thus making him an enemy and earning the devotion of the lovely Marie. After administering a good beating, Rex takes a nice relaxing stroll through the foggy swamp at night and runs into "conjure" lady, Mama Jadot. He comes up with a brain fart to use Mama to do her mumbo jumbo voodoo for the Cajuns in order to scare away the ghost. She provides each worker with a pouch that is filled with such aromatics as bat poop, spider eggs and day old gumbo. This not only wards off evil spirits, but also just about anything within 50 yards of the bearer. The oil company's head engineer McKee (Rex Reason) congratulates Rex for this bit of ingenuity. But of course, it ain't over 'til it's over.
Jaqueline Revell; Cal practices the Gettysburg Address; Rex deals with swamp rash, then orders pizza to be delivered
The bayou workers are in fine spirits now, singing Alouette and sucking down swamp sauce. The ghost reappears but the workers are too drunk to give a crap, and one of them is brave enough to wander out to try and capture it. He ends up dead as a boiled andouille sausage. Rec visits the morgue to check out the dead body and discovers death by ice pick to the brain. This generates concerns from Marie, odious Joe and a few other suspicious types. For his troubles, Rex gets knocked out and left in the bayou as an alligator hors d'ouevres (cue some travelogue alligator footage and jungle noises). He comes to in time to avoid becoming lunch and also catches a glimpse of the ghost.
The upshot--the chief engineer is not as innocent as he seems and Marie has an exiled hubby who turns up in time to perform some heroic action. Even Ken Madison (Van Williams) shows up in his high school letter jacket to help out. He brings the bug spray.
Notes:
Rex's leather jacket has a Pegasus horse embroidered on the back--the traditional logo of Mobile Oil. The guys from "American Pickers" would probably pay big bucks to get their hands on that.
Ken Madison interviews a temporary office secretary--none other than our lovely Joan Staley.
Last edited:
