09:00 McMillan And Wife
McMillan And Wife. Episode 1. "Once Upon a Dead Man" Great fun. The opening scene of this pilot sets up the series that would follow as perfectly as any pilot I have ever seen. Police Commissioner McMillan is woken from a deep sleep to find that his wife ("a nut") is running around the city on an errand. Police officers have spotted the McMillan car out and about and have called to alert the Commissioner in case anything is wrong. Nothing is wrong. It's just that Police Commissioner McMillan has no way to rein in his nutty wife. Even in the middle of the night. And that's essentially the series that would follow. Sally running around doing things and her husband trying to slow her down. And most of what Sally gets involved in leads to murder and mayhem along the way.
The movie is a quarter of the way done before Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James appear on-screen together, but when they do.. Wow! The chemisty between them is fantastic, and - coupled with some great writing - makes them one of Television's Greatest Couples. Both of them are very funny, and fun to watch, and they play the McMillans as a very loving couple. They may disagree a lot but their honest affection is never far below the surface and they make a great team.
The story for the opener is pretty good. A sarcophagus is stolen from a charity auction that Sally is organising and - before long - the murders start to happen. The cast is first rate. It's particularly cool to see Jonathan Harris and Kurt Kasznar sharing some screen time, since they played - essentially - the same character in different sixties sci-fi TV shows. James Wainwright is well cast as a guy who may or may not be a crook. The McMillan's believe in him, but we have a reason to be suspicious. And it's cool the way the story makes us wonder about him. It's also cool to see the McMillan's go about solving the case.
The pilot also has a long, and fun, bicycle chase where we get to see McMillan playing the action hero. But this show isn't about action scenes or murders. It's mostly about comedy, and watching the McMillans do their thing. And there is lots here to laugh at: throwaway comments about the mayor, stubborn coffee machines, missing underwear, etc. And Sally herself - a wonderful creation - is a great source of amusement. My favourite Sally-scene is her attempt to prevert herself being overheard on the phone. Priceless.
Wed, Jun 4th, 2008 - McMillan And Wife
