No apology needed with that episode, Jeff. It *is* one of the weaker ones.
Great set of shows Jeff!Did a little cop show marathon, before moving into a gentle warm-up in anticipation of October and some darker Halloween-themed viewing:
Hunter – 1.2 “Hard Contract”
Hunter is saddled with an annoying insect of a temporary partner, Sgt. Bernie Terwilliger (James Whitmore, Jr., who always excelled at these kind of roles) out to scribble down every one of Hunter’s procedural violations, while Dee Dee McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) tries to track down on her disgraced and disgruntled former partner, who’s planning a hit on a witness under heavy police protection. It won’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that Hunter will quickly ditch Bernie to help out his new BFF McCall. The plot ain’t anything special, but Fred Dryer is appealing as a sort of second-rate Dirty Harry, and has good chemistry with Kramer. It helps that exec producer Stephen J. Cannell had a real flair for churning out entertaining action nonsense like this. That said, seeing Ms. Kramer - surely one of the best looking officers to ever grace a TV cop show - in her skintight undercover hooker gear and big '80s hair, is the undisputed highlight of the episode.
The Mod Squad – 1.26 “A Seat by the Window”
An intriguing premise in this one: an unidentified man is knifed at a bus station and the killer escapes on one of three “youth outing” tour buses, the kind that don’t have any ticket information or waiting lists with names, etc. Linc, Pete and Julie (the oh-so-lovely Peggy Lipton) each hop on a different bus, undercover as fellow sightseers, to investigate. With Bo Hopkins, John Beck, Julie Gregg and (briefly) a very young and pretty Tiffany Bolling. I’ll give you one guess as to which one plays the fruit loop killer…
Kojak – 1.14 “Die Before They Wake”
Tina Louise (a loooooong way from Gilligan’s Island) impresses here in a small but crucial part as a heroin addicted call girl who’s involved in the murder of a crusading TV reporter out to bust a drug-and-prostitution ring. Telly Savalas’ Kojak, in his slick, expensive suits, always stands out from the rest of his rumpled cop underlings. Harris Yulin has a fine line is sleazebag bad guy, and willowy brunette Jess Walton does good work as the ex-addict girlfriend of the murdered man, out for revenge. Good, gritty stuff, as was:
The Streets of San Francisco – 1.24 “Shattered Image”
When a high-ranking politician is murdered by speargun on a yacht in San Francisco Bay, our boys Stone and Keller are on the case, and even the protestations of the dead man’s wife (Barbara Rush), an old flame of Stone’s, won’t keep the detectives from doing their job and nailing the culprit. As always, the great chemistry between Karl Malden and Michael Douglas, plus lots of neat San Fran location footage, makes for compelling viewing. Also with Jim Davis and Dick Sargent.
The Scooby Doo Show
3. 6 “A Highland Fling with a Monstrous Thing”
3. 10 “The Creepy Creature of Vulture’s Claw”
It might be hard for some to imagine, but there is definitely a measure of quality between various Scooby-Doo cartoons. “A Highland Fling…” is pretty dang good by Hanna-Barbera standards, with plenty of funny touches and a reasonably clever script. “The Creepy Creature…” is more of a humdrum entry, although it does offer a much larger range of suspects than usual. Overall, if you like the antics of Shaggy, Scooby and the gang (as I do), there are worse ways to pass the time late at night, vegging out on the sofa before shuffling off to bed.
The Munsters – 1.29 “Herman the Rookie”
Typically funny shenanigans with the lovable Munster family, as Herman, trying to teach Eddie how to play baseball, hits one eight blocks out, where it konks Leo Durocher on the head. This naturally gets the manager’s attention, and so off he goes to the Munster’s house in an attempt to recruit Herman to his team. Lots of fun physical gags here, as Herman’s oafish strength during the tryout makes a shambles of the field and causes the other players to leave the field in disgust.
The Avengers – 4.11 “Man-Eater of Surrey Green”
An intelligent, man-eating alien plant hitches a ride on a rocket that crash lands in the bucolic English countryside, and soon begins planning world domination with the help of a wealthy horticulturist (Derek Farr). This episode, from the first (black-and-white) Mrs. Peel season, is about as sci-fi as this series ever gets. It cracks along at a nifty pace and – at least until the rather ridiculous finale, featuring a fight between Steed and a mind-controlled Mrs. Peel – keeps things relatively grounded, despite the “out there” premise. In a neat twist, only those people who wear hearing aids can resist the mind control of the alien invader. Athene Saylor is a delight as the eccentric elderly botanist who assists Steed and Mrs. Peel. Gillian Lewis (from Mr. Rose and The Mind of J.G. Reeder) also shows up as one of the scientists who fall prey to the killer plant from outer space. And, of course, the late, great Diana Rigg's beauty and poise simply melt the screen.
The Adventures of Superman – 1.2 “The Haunted Lighthouse”
Oof. Apologies to boomers everywhere, but I’m afraid I found this episode pretty poor. It doesn’t help that lame-o king of all wussbags, Jimmy Olson (Jack Larson), is front and center throughout, seemingly unable to handle a mystery that would hardly challenge Wally and the Beaver. I haven’t watched this show for years, but even as a kid catching it in reruns, it always irked me that they only seemed to put run-of-the-mill thugs and criminals up against the immortal, all-powerful Superman. We don’t even get Lex Luthor, for Pete's sake!
You can tell how cheap the production is when the woman posing as Jimmy’s Aunt Louisa comes out of the house to greet him and casts a big shadow on the painted coastal backdrop. Viewers will sigh in relief when good ol’ George Reeves as Clark Kent shows up to help wet blanket Jimmy take down a trio of smugglers. I picked up the S1 DVD of this show several years ago more because it’s a beloved icon of ‘50s television than for any real fondness or nostalgic memories. This is the first episode I've mustered up the enthusiasm to watch since. Oh, well, I guess things can only get better from here...
