This is an okay episode. As I noted in my review of the last episode, the card sailing is already overused as Tony uses it to thwart the hitman. And Bill Bixby is... well, Bill Bixby. Which means he's kind of swarmy, know-it-all, does magic tricks for no good reason except to show off how "cool" he is, and has zero chemistry with his female co-star. But that's built into the cake by now: I don't expect it to change in the back half of the back half of the season.
And what's up with psychic Linda Casey (Pamela Franklin) anyway? Other than to leap onto the 70s trope of psychics, and get Tony involved, Linda really serves no purpose to the story except as a narrative device. How does the writer get Tony to Moran? Let's have Linda get a psychic vision of Moran being killed. Beats Tony doing anything detective-ity, I suppose.
Granted, it does give us Murray Matheson as Moran. And Matheson is one of those actors who is good in anything. But having the hitman Ross go after him just gaslights a plot hole in the guy's logic. Ross is big on his reputation, but doesn't killing the guy who hired you hurt your reputation? Who wants to hire a hitman who comes gunning for the person who hired him?
And has there ever been a TV hitman who wasn't worried about his "reputation"? It's not like there's an Assassins R Us to choose the most reputable from. Granted, Jeremy Slate as hitman Ross Hazlitt is creepy, effective, and smart (if a bit chatty) until the plot requires him not to be. Like going after Linda on a public beach. It does give us a scene of Tony hang gliding, which was another 70s trope.
And I would have liked to learn more about Ross and his partner/apprentice/protégé Jeremy. What's up with them, and why are they partners? Jerry doesn't contribute anything to the story: He even gaslights that he didn't find out much from Linda. He shows up, acts nervous, and then Ross kills him for acting nervous. Ross says that Jerry is a great archer, which is an informed talent. The one shot we see Jerry make, he misses. There is a mildly erotic scene of Ross massaging Jerry's shoulders, but then Ross quickly (and rather unconvincingly) suggests that they go find some female masseurs.
Ross does have a few sophisticated arrow tips, which makes him basically Oliver Queen 40 years early (and hence the title of this review). But Ross and Jerry are not Oliver and Diggle. Although I could imagine if Oliver decided to become an assassin, him and Diggle driving around the country in a camper and Oliver occasionally massaging Diggle's shoulders.
So it's an okay episode, with a decent bad guy (why does he wear hunting clothes all the time?) and some decent magic. But that's about it.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
And what's up with psychic Linda Casey (Pamela Franklin) anyway? Other than to leap onto the 70s trope of psychics, and get Tony involved, Linda really serves no purpose to the story except as a narrative device. How does the writer get Tony to Moran? Let's have Linda get a psychic vision of Moran being killed. Beats Tony doing anything detective-ity, I suppose.
Granted, it does give us Murray Matheson as Moran. And Matheson is one of those actors who is good in anything. But having the hitman Ross go after him just gaslights a plot hole in the guy's logic. Ross is big on his reputation, but doesn't killing the guy who hired you hurt your reputation? Who wants to hire a hitman who comes gunning for the person who hired him?
And has there ever been a TV hitman who wasn't worried about his "reputation"? It's not like there's an Assassins R Us to choose the most reputable from. Granted, Jeremy Slate as hitman Ross Hazlitt is creepy, effective, and smart (if a bit chatty) until the plot requires him not to be. Like going after Linda on a public beach. It does give us a scene of Tony hang gliding, which was another 70s trope.
And I would have liked to learn more about Ross and his partner/apprentice/protégé Jeremy. What's up with them, and why are they partners? Jerry doesn't contribute anything to the story: He even gaslights that he didn't find out much from Linda. He shows up, acts nervous, and then Ross kills him for acting nervous. Ross says that Jerry is a great archer, which is an informed talent. The one shot we see Jerry make, he misses. There is a mildly erotic scene of Ross massaging Jerry's shoulders, but then Ross quickly (and rather unconvincingly) suggests that they go find some female masseurs.
Ross does have a few sophisticated arrow tips, which makes him basically Oliver Queen 40 years early (and hence the title of this review). But Ross and Jerry are not Oliver and Diggle. Although I could imagine if Oliver decided to become an assassin, him and Diggle driving around the country in a camper and Oliver occasionally massaging Diggle's shoulders.
So it's an okay episode, with a decent bad guy (why does he wear hunting clothes all the time?) and some decent magic. But that's about it.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?