It's been a while, but there was actually a time when the Soviet Union existed as a communist regime and lived behind an iron curtain. And many of our Russian dance companies would come here with the tightest leashes in history to ensure their talent didn't defect. In this episode, we're at the heart of the ballet world where a Russian company is in LA to do a premiere show. Of course, there's a defector in the midst, but first there's a murder to solve. The episode opens on Jennifer amongst a company of ballet dancers taking direction at the barre. And Stefanie exemplifies yet another one of her multi-talents. I wasn't blown away by this one, but I was impressed by a few things, including the ballet numbers by real Russian and American ballet dancers, and the two fun as hell dance numbers by J&J. The first one was RJ doing a totally indulgent Singin' in the Rain thing, which was pretty entertaining. Then the kicker has the three of them doing a vaudeville number. For absolutely no reason at all whatsoever. Which was fine by me! But ya know what I really loved? Lionel Stander was blacklisted during the McCarthy era, and at the very end of this episode, they opened the kicker with a closeup so close that if it were shot in HD we'd see every tiny little whisker in his 5-o'clock shadow. Don't tell me that little "up yours McCarthy, see I DID work again" was a coincidence.
4 Reviews
Not a Balletomane, Yet Quite Entertaining
amorehl23 August 2023
Some people didn't care for this episode, but I thought it was one of the more enjoyable. It's not that I'm a ballet aficionado, but I enjoyed the mix of actors and ballet dancers, especially after learning a little more about them from this site. Most people recall Xander Berkeley from his memorable portrayal in "24." He was not a dancer, but he is an artist, and his portrayal as the dancer Christopher was convincing, with his slender build and excellent posture. Victor Barbee portrayed the defecting Yuri Rostoff. His dancing (brief though it was) was exquisite. As for his accent, I don't know any Russians who speak English (I do know some Eastern Europeans) but his accent sounded fine to me. Clive Revill, too, was convincing as the Russian Zabin, as long as your brain isn't saying, "Wait a minute, that's Clive Revill, he's English!" As it turns out, he's actually from New Zealand.
The thing I liked most about Anna Rodzianko's performance as Michelle was seeing her light up a cigarette. Anyone who knew dancers back then (and perhaps even still) knows ballet dancers were constantly lighting up. They did it to keep their weight down, to refrain from eating, and for the energy the nicotine gave them. Apparently that outweighed the reduction in lung capacity. You could always find the dancers by looking for the nearest cloud of smoke! It was entertaining to see Alexander Minz as Boris Lermontov. I thought he did a nice job as director of the ballet company. Playing a former dancer was obviously not a stretch but, other than the fact his character never yelled at the dancers, it was a skillful, accurate portrayal. The scene with Officer Burke was a funny little vignette (picking up Yuri for driving on the wrong side of the road, no license, etc.). Last, on the actors, getting to see Gerald Gordon ("FBI agent") again was fun. I remember him fondly as Dr. Mark Dante on General Hospital.
One plot question I had: In the cut-down, shortened version I watched, no one ever seemed to notice that the killer knew about Vladimir's death before Zabin (who supposedly informed him of it) could know about it. But who knows what they cut out for those oh-so-essential, extra commercials?
The thing I liked most about Anna Rodzianko's performance as Michelle was seeing her light up a cigarette. Anyone who knew dancers back then (and perhaps even still) knows ballet dancers were constantly lighting up. They did it to keep their weight down, to refrain from eating, and for the energy the nicotine gave them. Apparently that outweighed the reduction in lung capacity. You could always find the dancers by looking for the nearest cloud of smoke! It was entertaining to see Alexander Minz as Boris Lermontov. I thought he did a nice job as director of the ballet company. Playing a former dancer was obviously not a stretch but, other than the fact his character never yelled at the dancers, it was a skillful, accurate portrayal. The scene with Officer Burke was a funny little vignette (picking up Yuri for driving on the wrong side of the road, no license, etc.). Last, on the actors, getting to see Gerald Gordon ("FBI agent") again was fun. I remember him fondly as Dr. Mark Dante on General Hospital.
One plot question I had: In the cut-down, shortened version I watched, no one ever seemed to notice that the killer knew about Vladimir's death before Zabin (who supposedly informed him of it) could know about it. But who knows what they cut out for those oh-so-essential, extra commercials?
Utterly predictable
critic-25 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is the first and only complete episode of "Hart to Hart" that I have ever seen (I managed to see it online). If it is any indication of what the series was regularly like, I certainly didn't miss much.
The plot revolves around Yuri Rostoff, a Russian ballet dancer who wants to defect, but is then accused of murder. Rostoff is played by American Ballet Theatre dancer Victor Barbee in one of his few dramatic acting roles, complete with an outrageously phony-sounding Russian accent. Let's be kind and just say that he is a much better dancer than actor. Another ABT member, the late Alexander Minz (viewers might remember him as Drosselmeyer in Mikhail Baryshnikov's famous production of "The Nutcracker") gives a much better, but still hammy, performance as ballet company director Boris Lermontov (yes, "Red Shoes" fans, that is the character's name). Minz, who was born in Russia, does have a real Russian accent.
The acting and writing are nothing to write home about in this episode. The identity of the real murderer is, unfortunately, not a surprise at all, and there is not a single plot twist that the viewer will not see coming far ahead of time. The final confrontation has no suspense at all, given the fact that the identity of the murderer is so easy to guess.
Even worse, this episode takes little advantage of the fact that a ballet company is featured. Very little dancing is shown, perhaps a total of five minutes, and the rest of the time is spent on the plot.
Skip this unless you are dying to know what "Drosselmeyer" sounded like when he spoke (he appears in the very first scene), or unless you are a rabid fan of "Hart to Hart".
The plot revolves around Yuri Rostoff, a Russian ballet dancer who wants to defect, but is then accused of murder. Rostoff is played by American Ballet Theatre dancer Victor Barbee in one of his few dramatic acting roles, complete with an outrageously phony-sounding Russian accent. Let's be kind and just say that he is a much better dancer than actor. Another ABT member, the late Alexander Minz (viewers might remember him as Drosselmeyer in Mikhail Baryshnikov's famous production of "The Nutcracker") gives a much better, but still hammy, performance as ballet company director Boris Lermontov (yes, "Red Shoes" fans, that is the character's name). Minz, who was born in Russia, does have a real Russian accent.
The acting and writing are nothing to write home about in this episode. The identity of the real murderer is, unfortunately, not a surprise at all, and there is not a single plot twist that the viewer will not see coming far ahead of time. The final confrontation has no suspense at all, given the fact that the identity of the murderer is so easy to guess.
Even worse, this episode takes little advantage of the fact that a ballet company is featured. Very little dancing is shown, perhaps a total of five minutes, and the rest of the time is spent on the plot.
Skip this unless you are dying to know what "Drosselmeyer" sounded like when he spoke (he appears in the very first scene), or unless you are a rabid fan of "Hart to Hart".
Singing in the rain!
coltras3520 September 2023
The Harts become involved in international intrigue when they infiltrate a ballet company to clear a world-renowned Soviet dancer of murder charges. Also the KGB want to stop the dancer from defecting, but the Hart step in, preventing him to do so. But not for long as the KGB manages to take the dancer but there's one more ballet performance before they take him to Russia. The Harts are sure the real killer will try his hand in murdering again...
Standout out moments have to be Jonathan doing a Gene Kelly skit and the finale has Jonathan, Jennifer and Max practise their dance moves with Freeway looking perplexed. The ballet dancing is good, however I found it just passable and not too striking.
Standout out moments have to be Jonathan doing a Gene Kelly skit and the finale has Jonathan, Jennifer and Max practise their dance moves with Freeway looking perplexed. The ballet dancing is good, however I found it just passable and not too striking.
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