"Mod Squad" And a Little Child Shall Bleed Them (TV Episode 1971) Poster

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6/10
These Guest Stars Deserved a Better Script
kgraovac26 October 2023
Uncle Miltie (Milton Berle) who had been clowning on TV since television began plays Uncle Bobo -- a clown with his own kiddie show -- in this episode that also features old show-biz warhorses Henry Jones and Keenan Wynn. It's too bad they didn't have a better script for these gentlemen to play.

There is a somewhat creepy prologue where Bobo appears to be offed on live television by a killer balloon. WHAT?? The Squad meets at Bobo's mansion - which seems too grandiose for the star of a kiddie show - and learn that underneath the makeup and wig, Bobo is a bitter alcoholic. Or is he? Bobo's co-star and best pal Paulie (Henry Jones) reveals that Bobo's just blowing off steam and that he actually volunteers a lot of his spare time entertaining hospitalized children.

Later, Paulie has an onstage accident on live TV while Linc substitutes for a drunken Bobo. You'd think The Uncle Bobo Show would have been canceled for traumatizing millions of kids!

Pete interacts with Wynn's character - who was a fellow Vaudevillian with Bobo back in the day - but their scenes are dull.

There is a chase scene at the mansion that ends up with Pete toppling into the pool for no reason whatsoever. Linc looks very uncomfortable dancing with Bobo in the hospital room scenes (who wouldn't?). And the motivation of the culprit is somewhat muddled.

This one has its' moments, but the guest stars deserved better. And clown episodes deserve to be creepier.
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9/10
THE SECRET LIFE OF BOBO THE CLOWN
tcchelsey27 March 2023
Milton Berle, television's pioneer comedian, was also a solid dramatic actor and was making the rounds to all the cop shows at this time. Actually, this is a role he had played in the past, that of a comic who is being stalked. This time he's Uncle Bobo, beloved clown to both young and old, replete with wild makeup and someone out there in tv land trying to kill him. What's his real story? There's a dynamic supporting cast with the likes of Keenan Wynn and Henry Jones. Jones was a regular in classic movies and tv shows, the quiet gentlemen with something up his sleeve. Wynn, long an MGM contract player, was later in scores of tv shows and played both everyday guys and baddies. We also get a glimpse of Bill (William Michael) Berle, the comedian's son, playing Joey. Bill later became a flyer and inventor, leaving the comedy to his dad. Production notes indicate this was partly filmed at Twentieth Century Fox, whether it was for a scene or the unit moved from Paramount for this episode. SEASON 3 EPISODE 11 dvd box set.
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