05:00 McMillan And Wife
McMillan And Wife. Episode 6. "The Face of Murder" In many ways this looks and feels like a different show. There's no opening titles sequence and no opening theme. There's also no opening gambit. All episodes before this started with McMillan and Enright in the middle of a big chase of some type. This time we jump right into the story.
The story is different, too. Most previous episodes had convoluted stories. This time the story is linear in style and faster in pace. It moves from set-piece to set-piece with little-or-no downtime or padding. The movie opens with the McMillans arriving at a party to find the police there because there has been a robbery. This opening has lot of funny/interesting characters and plenty of backstory to bring the viewers up to speed. Next: the action switches to Palm Springs where Mac and Sally are taking a working vacation. There is a long, and funny, golfing sequence which showcases not only the comedic skill of Susan Saint James but also the love between the McMillans in way that earlier episodes sometimes failed to do. I was laughing out loud at Sally's bad golfing and simultaneously touched by Mac's very obvious love for his goofy wife. It helps that Susan Saint James looks incredible hot in a very short skirt.
Anyway, Mac finds a witness who can help with the case back in San Franciso and before too long the regulars are in a battle between two small airplanes, which ends with that old-reliable source of tension: our hero has to fly the plane. Nice.
Back in San Francisco and... Sally is kidnapped! The kidnapping was sudden and quite serious in tone. I was really shocked. The show didn't tell us who was holding her hostage and there was a great scene where Sally was in shot, behind a desk, blindfolded and trying to make jokes while her kidnapper was slightly off camera and not responding at all. And it was rather chilling. In the end, the movie ended up with a long fake funeral and a few good laughs.
Lastly, this episode was wonderful due to a great performance from guest star Claude Akins. I've seen Akins in hundreds of shows and I've always liked him but he was superb in this McMillan and Wife. He plays an ex-boxer, now down on his luck when makes a living by trading off his name on golfing circuit. Akins is funny, very likable and brings a sublte poignancy to the role that is simply wonderful.
I've enjoyed all the episodes so far but they were silly and you had to make allowances to enjoy them. This one was different. It really held together and was superb entertainment. Reminded me why I loved this show, not just liked it.
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Fri, Sep 12, 08 - McMillan And Wife
