Multiple viewings have made me realize there's at least one plot hole in this one-- there's enough information available that the detectives originally assigned to the case should have been able to come up with a profile of the killer on their own without our beloved Ironside, but of course it is enormous fun to watch and listen to him work it out. Anway, the performances are so good I have to give this one a thumb's up. Ross Martin's angst-ridden character is particularly well done, and Louise Sorel's character is similar to the one she did on an episode of Star Trek: highly intelligent and emotionally vulnerable. She was very good at that.
2 Reviews
Interesting Departure for Ironside, and chilling!
TopekaBob3 April 2022
Only a few episodes before in season 7 Ironside had a chance to delve into ghosts and the supernatural, and opted firmly on the side of rational explanation. In this episode, they do the opposite with psychic powers. They present them as real, are at least seemingly real.
This is a chilling episode in that the killer arsonist kills children when he sets his fires and tries to burn Fran and Louise Sorel to death! Ghastly. I admit, and this has happened before, at the end I really wouldn't have minded if Ironside and Ed hadn't just gunned the guy down. So often in Ironside someone is brandishing a weapon and they hardly ever fire! In this episode he had even shot at Ed, giving him more than enough justification for pumping six bullets into him later. Especially a child-killing pyscho. I know, I know...still.
Guest stars are good. Ross Martin, famous for being on the Wild Wild West and a great villian on classic Columbo, touchingly portrays a man whose wife was murdered by this psycho.
Burr DeBenning (the club owner) played an iconic role in American film history! Dr. Ted Nelson, The Incredible Melting Man!
Finally, Louise Sorel satisfies the Ironside/Star Trek connection, having a major role in in a classic episode of Star Trek the Original Series.
Enjoy the fire scenes done on the Universal lot and sets. They're pretty good!
This is a chilling episode in that the killer arsonist kills children when he sets his fires and tries to burn Fran and Louise Sorel to death! Ghastly. I admit, and this has happened before, at the end I really wouldn't have minded if Ironside and Ed hadn't just gunned the guy down. So often in Ironside someone is brandishing a weapon and they hardly ever fire! In this episode he had even shot at Ed, giving him more than enough justification for pumping six bullets into him later. Especially a child-killing pyscho. I know, I know...still.
Guest stars are good. Ross Martin, famous for being on the Wild Wild West and a great villian on classic Columbo, touchingly portrays a man whose wife was murdered by this psycho.
Burr DeBenning (the club owner) played an iconic role in American film history! Dr. Ted Nelson, The Incredible Melting Man!
Finally, Louise Sorel satisfies the Ironside/Star Trek connection, having a major role in in a classic episode of Star Trek the Original Series.
Enjoy the fire scenes done on the Universal lot and sets. They're pretty good!
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