"Blood Money" continues the trend of the second season of 'Stingray', which is glom onto as many ripoffs of other shows and themes as possible. So we get Indian mysticism, and evil duppelgangers, and Top Gun, and now urban street gangs. There's nothing wrong with "Blood Money", and it's nice to see Chief Riskin back from the first season even though he doesn't do much. The appearance of Kareem Abdul-Jabbear is also cute: you wonder what favor Ray did for him. Teach him to shoot hoops, no doubt. And Felton Perry as the evil gang leader isn't bad.
Although Kareem's appearance just adds to the stereotyping. Of course the three teenagers are interested in basketball. Because they're black street kids. Even though there's been no interest of them in the sport previously mentioned. I guess Ray just figured they'd be wowed by a black basketball player. *rolls eyes*
But the episode just has too many tropes and stereotypes. One of Ray's three "children" is a sensitive artist. Of course. And another is initially hostile but comes around to Ray's point of view. Check. And all three of the teenagers eventually switch sides. It's all played out convincingly, but it doesn't do much and seems horribly dated in 2020 (where I'm rewatching it). And shows like 'MacGyver' did the same thing at the time, just better.
There are also some vague hints about Ray's background that never pay off. For instance, at one point he says that it's personal. And he seems to take it all personally. But we never find out why. We did find out earlier in the season that Ray started off as a street vigilante: is it connected to that? But enough with the mysterious Ray's background: producer Tom Blomquist has cliches to write and a story to get through. We've also seen that Ray is a master fighter in the past, but he can barely hold his own against Floyd.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
Although Kareem's appearance just adds to the stereotyping. Of course the three teenagers are interested in basketball. Because they're black street kids. Even though there's been no interest of them in the sport previously mentioned. I guess Ray just figured they'd be wowed by a black basketball player. *rolls eyes*
But the episode just has too many tropes and stereotypes. One of Ray's three "children" is a sensitive artist. Of course. And another is initially hostile but comes around to Ray's point of view. Check. And all three of the teenagers eventually switch sides. It's all played out convincingly, but it doesn't do much and seems horribly dated in 2020 (where I'm rewatching it). And shows like 'MacGyver' did the same thing at the time, just better.
There are also some vague hints about Ray's background that never pay off. For instance, at one point he says that it's personal. And he seems to take it all personally. But we never find out why. We did find out earlier in the season that Ray started off as a street vigilante: is it connected to that? But enough with the mysterious Ray's background: producer Tom Blomquist has cliches to write and a story to get through. We've also seen that Ray is a master fighter in the past, but he can barely hold his own against Floyd.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?