06.00 It Takes A Thief
07.00 Due South
08.00 Kolchak: The Night Stalker
It Takes A Thief. Episode 7. "When Thieves Fall In" Susan Saint James returns to the series for the third time. It's her second episode playing Charlie Brown. She also plays a woman who looks just like Charlie! So... three appearances in seven episodes, playing three characters... One of whom is a semi-regular. That kind of thing don't happen too often!
As for the episode... it's a delight. The first half is pure padding, and the second one is a bundle of tension cleverly confined to one hotel room. Nice.
Noah needs Al to steal a coat with something important hidden inside the lining. Al decides he needs the help of former nemesis Charlie Brown, so the boys concoct a story and get the delectable Miss Brown out of prison and onto their team. The next 20 minures are just the three of them on a shopping spree. Malachi Throne gets more to do than in any other episode so far, as Noah gets an up close and personal view of life from Al's side of the law. It's very funny. All three characters are wonderful to watch.
For it's second half, the episode swithes tone. Charlie replaces the girl, but things immediately go wrong when she is spotted as a fake. Everything happens inside one hotel room. There's a heck of a lot of traffic through that one room over the course of a few short hours and you are constantly expecting Al and Charlie to be uncovered. Even when they are, and are trapped at the airport in the closing minutes, the script delivers are nice twist that makes perfect sense, but is impossible to predict.
Another great episode.
Due South. Season 3, Episode 4. "Strange Bedfellows" In every respect this episode is superb. Unlike the first three episodes (which were great in spots, weak in others) this one is without flaw. Every scene, every plot, every character... equals perfection.
Kowalski must protect his ex-wife's new boyfriend (a powerful politican) when shots are fired at the man in public. Ray is heart-broken about this and it shows (thanks to the amazing Callum Keith Rennie).
There are many great scenes where he speaks of his ex-wife. My favourite occurs early on, in a parked car, where he is telling Fraser what it's like for him. I love it not just because I identify with Ray, and his situation, but because Fraser shows what a truly great friend he is by listening and understanding. It's a short scene, but it tells us all we would ever need to know about these two men. We can see that Ray is consumed by his love for this woman, and we can see that Benton Fraser is the best friend anyone could ever have when they are feeling sad.
The casting of Anne Marie DeLuise as Stella blows me away. Right from the first moment she appears she is exactly right for Kowalski. The two actors have amazing chemistry and you believe that they were married, and are still in love. The script never tells us why they split, but we can understand how it came to be this way in the way they respond to one another. Their scenes together, particularly the last major one, are simply wonderful. Two people very much in love, who can't seem to make it work between then, who are still able to be honest with one another.
The case-of-the-week is good, too. A political scandal and a mad bomber and both of these impact nicely on what Ray is going through.
Fraser, meanwhile, is hearing things and - in the final scenes - discovers an office that the ghost of his father has made for himself. In Fraser's closet! He has no sooner come to terms with this revelation than Meg Thatcher opens the door and finds him talking to himself in the closet. A classic moment.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Episode 7. "The Devil's Platform" A classic episode. Carl tracks a corrupt politican. One who has done a deal with the Prince Of Darkness and can turn into a demon dog to dispose of his rivals and enemies.
So how does it measure up to the expected Kolchak formula?
The Bad Guy. Tom Skerritt is arguably the best foe that Kolchak ever faced. Not only is the performance fantastic, but the idea of a crooked politican doing a deal to enable him to do these things is not as far-fetched as some of the ideas on the show.
The Authority Figure/Conspiracy. Strangely, considering that this is one of the very best episodes, this story lacks these two vital parts of the Kolchak mythos. There are no press conferences and no stonewalling by anybody. There's also no indication that anybody else has a clue what is going on. Just Carl this time.
The Experts. This time out the only real experts that Carl goes to are a cop and a doctor. The cop, for once on this show, is more than happy to tall Carl the truth. Off the record, of course. William Mims is only in two scenes, but he is great in both (particularly the scene with Carl).
The Regular Cast. All three supporting characters are in this episode and all three get some great scenes. Tony is in fine form, and delivers many of the funniest lines every uttered in the series. Miss Emily has a great scene bringing heavy books to Carl. It's a funny scene, and it tells us a lot about Carl. This is also the episode where Emily brings Carl a new hat.
The FX. There are only a few FX shots in this one. Mostly to do with the way the dog attacks are filmed. The attacks on Carl are important to the story and the shooting/editing does a good job of telling the story of what is happing during each attack.
The Scare Factor. The climax of this one is a doozy. Carl and his foe face to face... in conversation. The Politican delivers a short paragraph that tells us that he knows exactly who Carl Kolchak is. It also tells us a few very important details about our hero... what he wants, why he'll never get it, and how self-aware he is/isn't about his own flaws. It may well be the finest scene in the series so far.
The Logic. Carl's deductions make perfect sense in this story, because he is on-site for a very odd event at the very start and merely investigates that to it's logical conclusion. It's old-fashioned research, too. Carl, all alone in the INS offices, reading book after book as he searches, searches...
It's a noble, heroic, romantic image.
Highlight? Due South (i love the love story of ray and stella)
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A Briefing With Michael: One Year Ago
Fri, Dec 12, 08 - It Takes A Thief, Due South, Kolchak
