TV and Movies

[Pearlee]

Funny, Phillip Abbott, the sheriff on tonight's show, was just in TheTwilight Zone on MeTV.

[chloe4578]

@Pearlee 

Its hard to believe he was only 33.  He looked much older to me, but then, everyone looked old to me.

Didn’t care for this one.  Discuss tomorrow.

[Tique]

@Pearlee  this picture is from The Witch. Madeleine Sherwood looked better.

First thoughts on this week's show: What an ensemble of thoroughly unlikeable and despicable characters. Topping my list is Marybeth. "Tad you go on home. You mind me Tad or I'll slap you."

Photos from this Episode:

[Pearlee]

Spoilers below








@Tique. Really? You disliked Sherwood's character more than Oates'?

I couldn't help but wonder whether this show's writer(s) also wrote mostly westerns that were so popular in the early 1960s. This epi seemed more like a wild west episode than a TF. I was thinking that people are rarely killed in TF so the shoot-out at the end was a real aberration
for this series. Compare and contrast this epi with Man in a Chariot with Robert Drivas and Ed Begley -- seems like it had to be a completely different team of writers!

Janssen had less screen time in this epi, as I alluded to above with him looking more well rested. Reason enough to dislike this episode. 😉

I did think it interesting that the sheriff recognized Kimble right off the bat. Aside from that there is little to like about this "wild west" episode. I agree with @Tique that the characters were very unlikable, even Tad who comes to Kimble's rescue. And Oates was just despicable. The best part of this show was the first 5 minutes in the truck when Kimble smiles and then laughs! It was downhill from there.

[drizzellla]

I watched the episode. It just seemed to me that they tried to make lots of drama. And they did for one small little town.

A bit of everything Dad dying in prison, Deputy making it into a sideshow, telephone operator broadcasting news to everyone. Felt the author took a page from Andy Griffith Show and added the darker side.

[Tique]

---

@Pearlee wrote:




...@Tique. Really? You disliked Sherwood's character more than Oates'?...

---

@Pearlee  Emphatically YES. We knew who Hanes McClure was from the time he appeared onscreen so he didn't surprise or disappoint.

Marybeth was supposed to be a mother - providing guidance and unconditional love to her son. Instead she terrorized, bullied, humiliated, emasculated, and tried to run every aspect of his life so again yes, I disliked her much more.

[Tique]

@Pearlee  I can't even get my mind to "Compare and contrast this epi with Man in a Chariot with Robert Drivas and Ed Begley." One was so good and the other equally as bad.

I'll claim the excuse of it's too early right now. Maybe later.

Edited to fix the link.

[Oznell]

Ha, ha, @drizzellla ,  excellent!   "Andy Griffith" from the dark side--  you nailed it.

One of the imdb reviewers used the word "cartoonish" to describe the characters and epi., and I laughed b/c that was the word I was thinking too.

Maybe the reason we're all reacting so strongly is that we are used to the mostly 'good' writing in the Fuge.  A dud really stands out.

But it's happened before.  Some writers, especially, seemed to have had little experience of small towns, and wrote the most implausible caricatures of the people who live there....   Maybe an example of "Hollywood coastal" syndrome, a condition that thrives to this day....

[chloe4578]

There wasn’t one redeeming character in this episode.  Though I never could stand Madeline Sherwood at all.  She was always overacting and screaming.  The screaming alone turned me off and her possessiveness of Tad made me cringe.

In a way, it seemed to me that everyone except the Sheriff used Kimble. And logically, it didn’t make any sense.  For example, why did a known criminal on the run try to enter the town where he was known?   For some reason, people were scared to death of a bank robber.  What else did he do?  Not explained... As Kimble asked at one point, to Hanes,why did he pick up a hitchhiker if he was on the run?  Hanes explained that he was going to give him the truck and flee...leaving Kimble to take the blame.  Or did anyone really believe Hanes, that a gang was after him?  I didn’t.  He lost all credibility from the word go.  

 It was a small town in Georgia with small people who were out to make a quick buck on Kimble’s back.  The sound quality was poor so I may have missed something but It really didn’t matter

The writers really phoned this episode in.  As @Oznell commented, we’re used to good writing for the Fugitive.  This wasn’t it by a long shot.

[Tique]

"We" were just the answer to a question on Jeopardy.

Category: TV Noir for $1200

IN THE 1963 FIRST EPISODE OF THIS DRAMA, THE FLEEING TITLE CHARACTER TENDS BAR IN TUCSON & FALLS FOR THE PIANO PLAYER.