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The F.B.I.: Overload (1967)
Worst Episode of the Series Up To This Point
This is a terrible episode of The FBI. The wanted felon carries a cat around with him the entire episode which is ridiculous and distracting. There are too many coincidences that allow him to escape easy detection and capture. For example 1) a plane lands early 2) there is a blackout at the airport 3) phones are not working. The felon is a professional boxer who kills one man with one punch but then we are supposed to believe that he hits Erskine 5-7 times and who is unfazed. That fight is also too dark. The felon also walks around with an ax at the end like a spoof of a slasher movie villain. Skip this episode!
In Broad Daylight (1971)
B level Columbo Episode - with Flaws
As others have noted this is a pretty decent movie that is in the style of Columbo. Interesting to note that it aired after the two Columbo pilots in 1968 & March 1971 and after the first two episodes but before it was a bona fide, iconic smash. Hard to know if this was coincidence or a knock-off with that timing. There are two major plot flaws that keep it from being better 1) All the victim - his wife - had to do when confronted by Tony pointing a gun is to silently and/or quickly move out of the way since as blind man he could not know where she went - at least not enough to accurately shoot her. She could have gone behind the desk or the chair or just ducked down. Instead she stood in place and threw a picture frame at him - stupid. 2 ) The "Columbo" of the story played by John Marley of Godfather horse-head fame solves the case WAY too easily. He figures out Tony was the killer in a matter of minutes and also the clue needed to prove it. And then he manages to capture him just as he returns to the scene of the crime. At least Columbo would require 90-120 minutes. The movie is still clever in parts but these plot holes are distracting.
Quincy M.E.: Last Day, First Day (1980)
A Weirdly Constructed Episode
This is a very odd episode. It seems like the main plot about a coroner being blackmailed to misdirect an autopsy and a novice Dr. Catching him was not long enough so it was stretched with a random collection of scenes. The most bizarre is minutes of the office staff laughing uncontrollably at still pictures of Quincy playing softball. This goes on forever and feels very phony. Then Quincy spends some time consoling the murder victim's young child and there is a rabbi who sits in the "cold room" as a vigil to a dead body although he does provide a clue. Also Quincy comments on the new, young Dr's (female) looks are awkward today.
Miracle on 34th Street (1973)
The 70s and 34th Street Do Not Mix Well
This attempt to update/remake/refresh the film for 1973 ultimately fails despite a spirited attempt.
I find the PROS to be 1) the full integration of Macy's which gives it authenticity 2) the on-location filming in NYC, 3) I like Suzanne Davidson who played Susan 4) some other casting such as Tom Bosley as the Judge and James Gregory as the DA.
But there are many more CONS including 1) David Hartman and Jane Alexander who lack any spark and are just boring here 2) Sebastian Cabot ultimately has not enough charm to win over viewers 3) David Doyle and Jim Backus were miscast - they should have played each other's role - Backus as RH Macy and Doyle as Shellhammer, 4) the goofy musical numbers 5) the lack of spectators in the court room - likely to save on budget for extras 6) the post office climax scenes are clumsily and hastily executed and Hartman does a poor job especially "solving the case". 7) NYC in 1973 just feels worn down and not Christmasy no matter how it is filmed.
This is for the die-hard 34th street enthusiast only.
Running Out (1983)
Decent Family drama - until the end
This film has some decent performances - especially from Ari Meyers as the young girl Jenny - and is both emotional and well written. However whatever one feels about these characters is completely ruined by the ludicrous ending when the 12 year old protagonist borrows her friend's mother's car and drives successfully to a NYC airport and somehow finds her mother before she leaves back for France on a 1am Pan Am flight. This is a rather serious and touching movie that falls into parody/farce in the last 10 minutes. It is stupefying how this script was shot with this ending.
I Love Lucy: Mertz and Kurtz (1954)
Fine 1st Half - Unwatchable 2nd half
The first half of the episode is perfectly enjoyable, typical Lucy fare with Lucy playing maid to Ethel and Fred. But the second half with the horrible musical act is among the worst segments in the entire series. Once has to imagine the fictional Tropical audience was wildly disappointed to pay money to see Ricky Ricardo and getting these four amateurs / hasbeens doing this hacky material.
All in the Family: The Locket (1972)
A great episode but stilly trope propels the story
There is a lot to like about this episode of All In The Family. Some of the best stories are when Archie tries to get one over on "the system" (which he loves to defend) but then Edith innocently thwarts him. The scene where Archie thinks Edith is lying to help him collect on the insurance by making up "The Trial of Red Delaney" is priceless and is capped off when Edith notices the new TV.
However the second half of the episode is driven by the fact Archie accepts delivery of a TV before he knows the lost locket has been found. When the TV arrives Mike and Gloria are home and they "try" to tell Archie the locket has been found by saying things that are equivalent to "Archie you better listen to this" or "Archie I have something to tell you" but Archie cuts them off and they remain silent. All they had to do was blurt out "the locket has been found" and then Archie would have not handed over the check and could have sent the TV back.
All In The Family is too good for this sort of tired sitcom TV trope (even tired in the 1970s).
Matt Houston: Company Secrets (1985)
Worst episode of S2 - S3
This episode is the weakest of all episodes after the show got past its campy and too-light tone from S1. In this episode Matt Houston losses lot of his abilities to fight that are very evident elsewhere in S2 and S3 in order to stretch this episode into an hour. The portly, out of shape assassin should have been caught 10 minutes in but Houston had to fall, slow down and become an incredibly bad shot so the villain could get away. Later in the episode when we find the real villain (which was not a bad twist) he is an old man who somehow manages to kidnap Buddy Ebsen and guest star Celeste Holm, tie them up, shuttle them around LA, when it would seem they could have easily disarmed him along the way. This episode seemed to be trying to cater to the Barnaby Jones fan and not the Matt Houston fan (that is not a dig at Barnaby Jones - I watched all 8 seasons last year).
The Streets of San Francisco: No Minor Vices (1976)
Maureen McCormick
Perhaps the creepiest episode in this whole series with Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady!!) as a call girl. McCormick appeared in several 70's TV dramas after The Brady Bunch ended and here she is the main guest star as a college student who models but also hooks on the side. James Olson as usual plays a creepy guy, in this case Maureen's father, who kills people who exploit his daughter (not a spoiler).
The weirdest thing in the episode is that McCormick's character kisses her father ON THE LIPS a lot in this episode!! In fact McCormick kisses multiple much older men including series co-star Richard Hatch. Very weird - especially given the creepiness of this whole episode.
The episode is decent although the crime-solving is a bit contrived with a few easily-found clues.
Matt Houston: Death Match (1984)
Good story - ruined by an inept supporting character
This episode is a mixed bag. On the one hand there is some emotional depth as Houston chases a serial killer who killed a woman he was going to marry ( although of course we have never heard of her before). The killer - whose identity we know - lures Houston to a small island community where he plans to kill Houston and the town's female Chief of Police who looks like Houston's ex. The plot gets convoluted and somehow this guy gets the drop on Houston all the time (until the end. The biggest problem is the Chief - she is just really bad at her job. The killer disarms her easily; she is easily caught in a car chase and then when SHE HAS A GUN ON HIM AND HIS BACK IS TURNED he kills her and she doesn't fire her gun!!! Ridiculous and detracts from the story's effectiveness. Lots of action though.
The Rookies: Key Witness (1974)
Decent episode - Stupid Fight Scene
A decent episode of this mostly-forgotten 70s cop show now airing on Family Net. Just watched this episode which is pretty standard stuff - but well done for the most part. There are plenty of solid guest stars including Jon Cypher, William Lucking and Jared Martin. However there is a ridiculous scene toward the end with Kate Jackson and a female guest star fighting one of the bad guys and the other women hits the bad guy over and over WITH A PILLOW. There are plenty of sharp/hard objects around the room and she chooses a couch pillow - it looked RIDICULOUS. Also of note is that in Charlie's Angels Kate Jackson was kind of a "plain Jane" but here she is quite stunning.