Change Your Image
marik4me
Reviews
The Mod Squad: Never Give the Fuzz an Even Break (1969)
WTH is this trash?
So basically this episode can be summed up in one sentence: the kids go undercover to catch a conman and end up liking swindling people.
What?
It's really hard for me to believe they're in-character in this venture. They don't like hurting people. Most episodes feature them rooting for justice to be done, even if sometimes their methods for obtaining said justice are a bit unorthodox. But here, they're rooting for the crook and they try to justify the swindles by saying that the conman says he only cheats people who already have larceny in their hearts.
That isn't quite what he said. He justified himself by saying that everyone has larceny in their hearts, and with that as the case, why shouldn't he be the one to bring it out for a spin? After their little adventure, they can go back to being honest and meanwhile, he's made a profit. That's rather twisted logic.
He also tries to claim that he only hurts people's pride and their pocketbooks. He seems to go after people who are already rich rather than preying on, say, poor widows with only a Social Security check, so at least that's something, but it's still not right. And it's not even true, concerning the only things he damages. At one point he does a stunt in a restaurant pretending to have been cut by glass so he won't have to pay for his meal. That's just immature, mean, and it could permanently damage the restaurant's reputation! And the kids just think it's funny and cool. I just can't wrap my mind around it. This isn't the Pete, Julie, and Linc I know and love. They're acting like juvenile delinquents, something they were supposed to have matured beyond being.
What bothers me even more is that there's no real moment of realization that they are totally idolizing the wrong kind of guy. Okay, true, The Boston Strangler he's not, but that doesn't make what he does right. In the climax, the kids actually want to destroy the evidence they've got against the guy. Luckily, Captain Greer is right there to take it from them. Unfortunately, the guy conned all of them and the evidence is a fake.
He finally does get caught, off-screen, in the epilogue and the kids all feel bad about it.
I could see the kids, especially Julie, feeling some fondness for the guy, as he is charming and seems to like them. But actually going so far as to think it's okay for him to swindle people and to actually end up enjoying it themselves? Um, no. Just no. It's totally out of character, unless you want to say they're enjoying railing against the establishment, but I thought they'd matured enough that they wouldn't enjoy it in this type of way.
It could have been at least somewhat interesting and forgivable if the storyline had been approached more seriously and the kids had come to an epiphany of "What are we doing?!" But instead there's no such thing and the script really seems more like it's glorifying the conman and his swindles. I am not impressed.
The only real highlights of this episode: Captain Greer expressing an aversion to heat and the usage of the Paseo Verde exterior set from Mannix for the Mexican café scene.
The Virginian: The Long Quest (1964)
Excellent, heartfelt episode that ended with everything the way I wanted
The Virginian is one of my favorite shows for its well-thought-out story lines and loving attention to guest-starring characters. It really makes one care about all the characters involved, both regular cast members and one-shot guests.
This is one of my most favorite episodes. And while there are many that end in a very satisfying manner, I believe this is the only one I've seen where absolutely everything I wanted actually happened.
The plot involves a woman who has been raising a boy as her own for twelve years. Suddenly the biological mother comes back and, in company of her detective friend, engineers an attempt to get custody of the child in court. But does she really want him for love or is she after something else? The Virginian is wonderful as he tries to get to the truth and see that the adoptive mother and her son will not have to be parted. The boy sees his adoptive mother as his real mother and doesn't want at all to leave. There is a very moving scene where she makes a speech to the biological mother about how giving birth isn't the only thing it matters; loving and caring and raising the child count for a whole lot too.
The biological mother seems unmoved and insists on pursuing her court case. She continues this even after the boy, in desperation, goes to visit her the night before the hearing and expresses unhappiness with her plan.
Now, SPOILERS! In court it's revealed that the boy and the mother are being sought by a relative to give the boy an inheritance that the mother will be in charge of while he's young. This is probably why the biological mother suddenly wants the boy when she didn't before. But the judge says it's impossible to know what emotions are really in her heart. The boy and adoptive mother are heartbroken and embrace.
At the very last moment, when the judge is about to award custody to the biological mother, she suddenly has a change of heart and claims that she is not the biological mother, but a fellow actress and friend who took the lady's identity after she died three years ago. The detective is highly upset and feels betrayed and tricked and leaves in a huff. The boy remains with the adoptive mother and the other woman departs Medicine Bow.
But the story doesn't end there. In a beautiful epilogue sequence, the woman is on the train and the detective comes and sits by her. He reveals that she was acting again and simply decided to give up her claim to the inheritance since she could only have access to it if the little family was torn apart and she found she couldn't do that to them. She admits to that truth and says that when they were trying to take the boy away, she didn't like the detective very much. He says likewise about her and adds that now they have a chance to learn how to be better people. They are apparently going to stay together.
I was just so thrilled with everything. I expected the boy to be able to stay with the adoptive mother, but I thought it was a cop-out for the biological mother to conveniently not be who she claimed to be. The twist revealed in the epilogue, and her friendship with the detective renewed, made everything just perfect.
As I mentioned, The Virginian series has a way of making people really care about the characters. And despite their actions, I thought both the biological mother and the detective seemed like pretty decent people at heart. Their scenes of interaction indicated both that and that they had real chemistry with each other. They just clicked so well, seeming to know each other deeply and having very easy-going and relaxed interaction. I was sad to think that perhaps their relationship was really instead only superficial and monetarily-based and I had misinterpreted things. As it turned out, the writers definitely were aware of their lovely interaction and knew exactly what they were doing. When I thought that they were not just superficially connected, I was right. The epilogue left me on an incredible high and feeling that I had just watched something totally satisfying.
I sought this episode because the fellow playing the detective, Joseph Campanella, is a new favorite of mine. I seem to have mixed it up with another of his guest-spot episodes, and I am so glad I did! I will be watching that episode too, but I have a hard time believing it will be more satisfying than this one. I would happily give it even more than 10 stars, if possible. Excellent, satisfying venture, highly recommended.
The Desert Song (1953)
Bright and Cheerful Film
Though it seems many criticize this in comparison with the stage play, I have always been in love with this movie version. The characters are fun (especially Benjy), the music is heavenly (I could sing it all day!), and the plot is nonstop action. I look at the play and this movie almost as two different shows completely, since there are, admittedly, many differences. Here, Margot is the general's daughter (as opposed to his child being the Red Shadow/El Khobar). Pierre is now Paul. Captain Fontaine's first name is Claude. Benjamin Kidd's nickname is now Benjy instead of Bennie, and his secretary Susan is absent. And there's an evil sheik, making two different foes for the Riffs: The Legionaires and the sheik and his men. All in all, I find the movie quite satisfying.