12.30 Garrison's Gorillas
Garrison's Gorillas. Episode 1. "The Big Con" Very good opening episode to a very good series. Garrison's Gorillas was about a motley crew of convicts, co-opted into the military and working on dangerous missions behind enemy lines during WWII. The opening minutes of this opener shows them parachuting down together for the first time and getting the particulars of their first mission: replacing counterfeit currency plates with ones that have been altered in a particular way. It's good story, with a really great cast. There's lots of silent action and tension (a lá Mission: Impossible) and with this being the first mission together there's a fair bit of macho posturing as Craig Garrison tries to control his men and gain their respect.
The focus for most of this is the character played by guest-star Telly Savalas. Savalas is great (of course) but the character is boring and pointless. Even if I wasn't a long-time fan of the series I would find it easy to predict what will happen to the rebel within the team (Garrison will beat him down, win everyone's respect by doing so and - in the end - the rotten apple will die somehow). Consequently most of the scenes with this character are less entertaining than the scenes of heroic teamwork and male bonding. Garrison's Gorillas is a noteworthy series in that all of the leads are equally likable and it's a lot of fun to watch them working together. It's also a fine action/espionage series. The climax of this opener is a rousing battle between our heroes (making their escape having made the switch) and - what appears to be - hundreds of German soldiers. Good stuff.
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Thur, Aug 21, 08 - Garrison's Gorillas
