To its benefit, "Deadly Conglomerate" does feature plenty of magic. Which is what I watch a show called 'The Magician' for. It also unfortunately introduces Tony's penchant for card sailing, which I recall becoming an overused schtick in the last part of the series. It also raises the question once more of why Tony doesn't use a gun. So he's okay with throwing metal razor-sharp cards around, but not shooting bullets? Double-standard much. At least here Tony uses it cleverly, to cause a gas leak that starts a fire.
It's also amusing to watch Tony get into two fistfights, and do pretty miserably in both. Credit to Bixby: he portrays a guy barely holding his own pretty well.
Joe Sirola also isn't bad as Dominick, although his schtick of trying to figure out Tony's magic is already getting old. And Jack Ging actually seems to be doing his own magic the two times Frank does anything magical.
The plot is kind of blehh. Tony's friend Frank stumbles across an abduction racket, where some evil conglomerate is taking bums (we call them homeless now!) as part of their swapping the bodies for rich guys who pay for new identities. It's the kind of plot we saw in the 70s and 80s in one form or another. The plot isn't bad, but it isn't particularly inspired, either.
Eugene Roche is okay as a sanctimonious reverend who picks out the bums from his mission. The character has no motivation, and Roche can't do much with the part. And his character never does get his justly-deserved comeuppance. He just... disappears. William Sylvester plays a typical 70s eevviiil business type and is as flat as a piece of paper. I do like his condescension toward Tony as a "mere" magician, but that's all he's got. Nobody else makes an impression other than a mildly hammy Bill McLean as a chatty janitor. So of course that character disappears about a third of the way through.
Overall, mediocre plot and potentially interesting characters who either disappear or never get any further development. Bixby does some mugging and comes across as is often the case, as a smug SOB. I like how he points out exactly how Frank intends to escape to the bad guy. Thanks, blabbermouth!
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
It's also amusing to watch Tony get into two fistfights, and do pretty miserably in both. Credit to Bixby: he portrays a guy barely holding his own pretty well.
Joe Sirola also isn't bad as Dominick, although his schtick of trying to figure out Tony's magic is already getting old. And Jack Ging actually seems to be doing his own magic the two times Frank does anything magical.
The plot is kind of blehh. Tony's friend Frank stumbles across an abduction racket, where some evil conglomerate is taking bums (we call them homeless now!) as part of their swapping the bodies for rich guys who pay for new identities. It's the kind of plot we saw in the 70s and 80s in one form or another. The plot isn't bad, but it isn't particularly inspired, either.
Eugene Roche is okay as a sanctimonious reverend who picks out the bums from his mission. The character has no motivation, and Roche can't do much with the part. And his character never does get his justly-deserved comeuppance. He just... disappears. William Sylvester plays a typical 70s eevviiil business type and is as flat as a piece of paper. I do like his condescension toward Tony as a "mere" magician, but that's all he's got. Nobody else makes an impression other than a mildly hammy Bill McLean as a chatty janitor. So of course that character disappears about a third of the way through.
Overall, mediocre plot and potentially interesting characters who either disappear or never get any further development. Bixby does some mugging and comes across as is often the case, as a smug SOB. I like how he points out exactly how Frank intends to escape to the bad guy. Thanks, blabbermouth!
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?