Reporter Tom Kirkwood (Allan Royal) covers a violent labour dispute on a waterfront picket line and witnesses a security guard get fatally knifed by what looks like a striking worker (Frank Moore). The killer saw who saw him and evades capture whilst he stalks Kirkwood. Neither the killer nor the victim are what they seem and a bigger criminal conspiracy appears likely.
An underrated but integral part of the multi-layered dynamic at work on 'Night Heat' is Susan Hogan's turn as the earthy, wise and sexy saloon owner/barkeep Nickie Rimbaud. Whilst ostensibly the love-interest for the hero cop O'Brien she often injects a humanistic, civilian take on things contrasting her boyfriend's cop view of things and the cold journalistic interpretations of their friend Tom Kirkwood.
But in episodes like this where too many of the characters are in on the conversation about issues raised by the case it comes off like a bad consensus circle on a TV talk show. This particular episode was never a favourite and instead is more an example of the show being a notch below the standard 'police procedural' instead of being a cut above which it usually was. It could just as easily been a throwaway episode of Kojak 15 years earlier but with lesser production value.
Stevie Vallance joined the cast of 'Night Heat' as Detective Stephanie Brody by the 7th episode of the first season seemingly in place of Lynda Mason Green who had portrayed Detective Fleece Toland over the first 6 shows. I tended to think of bubbly & perky Stevie Vallance as more of a sitcom actress and never felt she fit well on the show in her 23 episode run including this episode.
An underrated but integral part of the multi-layered dynamic at work on 'Night Heat' is Susan Hogan's turn as the earthy, wise and sexy saloon owner/barkeep Nickie Rimbaud. Whilst ostensibly the love-interest for the hero cop O'Brien she often injects a humanistic, civilian take on things contrasting her boyfriend's cop view of things and the cold journalistic interpretations of their friend Tom Kirkwood.
But in episodes like this where too many of the characters are in on the conversation about issues raised by the case it comes off like a bad consensus circle on a TV talk show. This particular episode was never a favourite and instead is more an example of the show being a notch below the standard 'police procedural' instead of being a cut above which it usually was. It could just as easily been a throwaway episode of Kojak 15 years earlier but with lesser production value.
Stevie Vallance joined the cast of 'Night Heat' as Detective Stephanie Brody by the 7th episode of the first season seemingly in place of Lynda Mason Green who had portrayed Detective Fleece Toland over the first 6 shows. I tended to think of bubbly & perky Stevie Vallance as more of a sitcom actress and never felt she fit well on the show in her 23 episode run including this episode.