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The Time Tunnel: Billy the Kid (1967)
Nice Job, Dude!
My vote of nine (9) is rounded up from an 8.5 and is for this episode of TTT relative to the other episodes of the series...just wanted to get that out of the way! (Sorry, but as a teacher, I'm used to explaining my grading to the students!)
Why a 9? Because I was very impressed with the casting and the writing of William Welch who wrote about six or seven other episodes of the series. His writing was clever and, when given to the cast, made this one of my top five episodes of the 30 in the series.
This time, good ole' Doug and Tony crash landed in Lincoln, New Mexico Territory in 1881, but before you can say, "Stick Em'-up," a gang on horses chases them into the sheriff's office where you would think they'd be safe. But this is TTT and the first five minutes of every episode that I recall, never proves safe for our duo for most of the 51 minutes of airtime! Why isn't the sheriff's office safe? Billy the Kid is being held in the jail cell in the sheriff's office. Just WHY he is there with only one person watching him, is never explained. Oh well!
What impressed me the most was the casting of Robert Walker, Jr. as William H. Bonney, aka, "Billy the Kid." Walker was PERFECT for this role from his similar appearance, build, facial shape, and even his height (approx 5' 8" or 1.73 m). In addition, writer, William Welsh, was great having "Billy" use the word, "Dude" throughout the episode. At first, I thought "dude" was a huge mistake for 1881. But it turns out that "dude" was one of the new, "in" words in the late 1800's! I had no clue, but Welsh sure did!
I wasn't crazy about the last 10-15 minutes of the episode including when Tony wore "The Kid's" unique hat and carrying his gun with all those notches....a rather novice mistake for the character.
So, to me, the episode started out well but slowly lost its sizzle. But the idea of incorporating Doug and Tony meeting The Kid, was one of the show's better historical meetings...NOT the best, but slightly better than most others. The icing on the proverbial cake was with Welsh and Walker -- they made this episode an 8.5/10 to this dude!
The Time Tunnel (1966)
Poor, Unlucky, Doug & Tony!
Think of it.... You're trapped in time....... You're stuck in the same
darned clothes..... The clothing does not appear comfortable!
Turtle-neck & Suit with a tie! (Their underwear must be a bit
"dirty".....BUT they never need to shave!)......... You get thrown in
to each destination...... They're usually captured within five minutes
of arriving...... Neither had the foresight to bring any form of
ID!......... If Headquarters can send items to them, why in the name of
everything holy doesn't someone send them new clothes and/or ID?.......
They always end up "landing" just a day or two prior to a major
historical even that usually involves mass destruction & life.......
When they travel through time, they must go through a dry-cleaner on
those episodes that don't have them reappear in their new (old) clothes
before the disappear into the TT again!...... They never land in the
middle of some beautiful, peaceful location that is not about to
blow-up or be invaded..... 90% of the dialogue at Operation
headquarters is "More power."........ Lee Meriwether seems to be almost
laughing when on the controls...... About 71 percent of the Earth's
surface is water-covered, and the oceans hold about 96.5 percent of all
Earth's water, yet the only time I saw them land on water was on a
ship...The Titanic!!.........
Also, Doug & Tony killed some people during some of their travels.
Wouldn't that affect history?
Yes, indeed, Doug & Tony have some bad luck! However, despite those
things, I like the series and actually learned (or remembered) quite a
bit of world history even though much is embellished.
Irwin Allen was one of TV's greats. I'm thankful for his contributions
& respect his reasons for not putting out another season of TT. I'm in
my 50's and never saw any episode of TT until a week ago. Through
binge-watching, I'm up to episode 16 of 30 -- The Revenge of Robin
Hood. I haven't been let down once...yet. But I see some episodes still
to come that don't look that good such as the travels into the future.
They look really campy! But all-in-all, for entertainment value and a
bit of historical education, I'd give this a rating of 7.5 but rounded
it up to an 8. Why? Because I truly like it & have always been
fascinated with the theory of time travel!
"More power!"
The Time Tunnel (1966)
Poor, Unlucky, Doug & Tony!
Think of it.... You're trapped in time....... You're stuck in the same
darned clothes..... The clothing does not appear comfortable!
Turtle-neck & Suit with a tie! (Their underwear must be a bit
"dirty".....BUT they never need to shave!)......... You get thrown in
to each destination...... They're usually captured within five minutes
of arriving...... Neither had the foresight to bring any form of
ID!......... If Headquarters can send items to them, why in the name of
everything holy doesn't someone send them new clothes and/or ID?.......
They always end up "landing" just a day or two prior to a major
historical even that usually involves mass destruction & life.......
When they travel through time, they must go through a dry-cleaner on
those episodes that don't have them reappear in their new (old) clothes
before the disappear into the TT again!...... They never land in the
middle of some beautiful, peaceful location that is not about to
blow-up or be invaded..... 90% of the dialogue at Operation
headquarters is "More power."........ Lee Meriwether seems to be almost
laughing when on the controls...... About 71 percent of the Earth's
surface is water-covered, and the oceans hold about 96.5 percent of all
Earth's water, yet the only time I saw them land on water was on a
ship...The Titanic!!.........
Also, Doug & Tony killed some people during some of their travels.
Wouldn't that affect history?
Yes, indeed, Doug & Tony have some bad luck! However, despite those
things, I like the series and actually learned (or remembered) quite a
bit of world history even though much is embellished.
Irwin Allen was one of TV's greats. I'm thankful for his contributions
& respect his reasons for not putting out another season of TT. I'm in
my 50's and never saw any episode of TT until a week ago. Through
binge-watching, I'm up to episode 16 of 30 -- The Revenge of Robin
Hood. I haven't been let down once...yet. But I see some episodes still
to come that don't look that good such as the travels into the future.
They look really campy! But all-in-all, for entertainment value and a
bit of historical education, I'd give this a rating of 7.5 but rounded
it up to an 8. Why? Because I truly like it & have always been
fascinated with the theory of time travel!
"More power!"
The Twilight Zone: A Passage for Trumpet (1960)
A True Classic Top-10 Episode
Indeed, this is one of the best episodes of TZ. Klugman (God rest his soul), was such a fantastic, natural actors of all time. I can't imagine any other actor in this role and still maintaining this high quality of the episode. Of course, at least as I see it, the trumpet is symbolic for ANY talent or gift that each of us in born with. It also shows the impact of choices and consequences. I do feel the explanation given by "Gabe" about everyone else being dead was a bit too contrived. I'd rather the others be thought of as being dead INSIDE, yet I don't believe that's what was meant....perhaps it was; who knows? Serling's message on the outro was spot on. Brilliant!
The Twilight Zone: The Mind and the Matter (1961)
The Mind and the Matter: I don't Mind that this Episode doesn't Matter!
An extremely sub-par episode in many ways from the writing to the acting and even the casting. The theme of this one is one that is too common in the series. What makes it worse is there's not much within this one to make it matter...not that I mind since there are so many excellent episodes of TZ. This happens now and again through the five seasons - - we get an episode that barely has enough power to keep us interested, yet I suppose many of us keep watching in hope the episode will take a turn in the positive direction. Not the case with this one, sadly. However, one takes the bad with the good in life. Perhaps THAT is our lesson from this one. Oh well!
The Twilight Zone: Third from the Sun (1960)
Very Disappointed
As an avid TZ enthusiast and viewer, I was extremely let down by it. The "it" to which I referred, is the title of this episode not to mention one or two "clues" within this one.
I presume we all know the "Third from the Sun" means Earth. I also presume most TZ fans know (or have a good idea) just how the writers think much of the time. Heck, it isn't called The Twilight Zone without reason!
By the first five or six minutes, the plot was very obvious. And when I saw the props used as telephones shown in a couple scenes, I knew these were not phones used on Earth then. (I wonder why the phones did not have the number 9 on them. Odd. I still cannot figure that out!
Poorly acted--fair at best combined with the predictability factor being as close to 100% as possible, I am very disappointed with this season- one episode as, ironically, season-one has the best episodes of all five seasons, in my opinion.
Banacek: Ten Thousand Dollars a Page (1973)
One of the Better Banacek Episodes
***SPOILERS POSSIBLE***
There aren't many episodes of Banacek (16, I believe). I've seen about 10 of them. I can say that of those 10, this one is one of the better ones. Not too much complexity and outrageous "solutions" although we do have the "trap-door"/false bottom trick YET AGAIN! I'm not Banacek, but I DID figure out 95% of the mystery
Kudos to David Wayne for an EXCELLENT performance as the self proclaimed tyrant, Walter Tyson. His performance is a major reason why this episode worked very well.
8 1/2 out of 10
Columbo: Death Hits the Jackpot (1991)
A Jackpot of an Episode!
SPOILERS INCLUDED. _____________________________________________________
I'm a huge fan of Mr. Falk particularly in his Columbo character. I can't imagine any other actor making these episodes so wonderful! RIP, Mr. Falk.
I thought I saw ALL of the Columbo episodes multiple times. But for some reason, do not recall seeing this one. My loss.
We have a 1991 episode with the creativity, surprises, and brilliant clues along with Mr. Falk's sharpness as Columbo that was more commonly seen in the early episodes. In my opinion, episodes of the 90's and beyond lacked that spark of genius and "Oh, wow!" effect from the many clues that we see here. I'm into photography and even I didn't pick up on the f-stop numbers as the winning lottery numbers! Plus the fact that chimps have fingerprints. Amazing and clever!
Columbo: Ashes to Ashes (1998)
Ashes to Ashes --or--Patrick McGoohan as the Greek Phoenix!
I've been a fan of Columbo for decades. Prescription: Murder, the official introductions of Falk as Columbo aired as a TV movie in 1968. Although Columbo's persona and mannerisms were remarkably different from those we've grown to love throughout the Columbo series, Falk was a natural.
In my opinion, the earlier seasons of Columbo (Seasons 1 through 7 from 1971 through 1978), were the best. I believe most fans would agree. After season 7, it was hit and miss. As the seasons/years continued, there were fewer episodes that had that "Columbo Edge" although there were still some good ones. This episode, Ashes to Ashes, was, in my humble opinion, one of the better later episodes. It appears to me that Falk thoroughly enjoyed and savored his role in this episode; and it was evident in his mannerisms. This was the first time I saw this episode. After the first 15-30 minutes, I was NOT very captivated from what I saw. The acting appeared a bit weak and contrived and the story wasn't very clear nor interesting. But kudos to the writers and Mr. Falk for doing a 180 degree turn and breathing life and increasing interest in to this one! I wish there was more of a cat and mouse play throughout this episode as the ending seemed somewhat rushed. Yet I had a smile on my face when Falk ended the episode saying, "It's your funeral" as he closed the case and casket on Patrick McGoohan, who also directed this episode. I also admire the "loyalty" that existed in "recycling" many guest stars. Patrick McGoohan, for instance, McGoohan directed five episodes of Columbo and starred in 4 episodes as the murderer: By Dawn's Early Light (Emmy Award) (1974), Identity Crisis (1975), Agenda for Murder (Emmy Award) (1990), and Ashes to Ashes (1998).
Overall, I'd give this 7.5/10 stars and would recommend it to Columbo fans who may have missed it.
Banacek (1972)
Banacek Had Potential BUT....
Most people love mysteries. The more obscure or difficult the mystery, the more allure. Combine that with a handsome actor in Peppard, and the groundwork is set for a good series. I recall reading or hearing that Banacek (the show) was often written backwards meaning the writers came up with the "answer" and then wrote most of the script around it. While there were some good episodes, I find the majority to be rather poorly acted and somewhat difficult to follow. Perhaps the "difficulty" in following & understanding the ending, is due to too many gaps in the story lines and too many red herrings thrown in that rarely are explained to the viewer. The only episode I really liked was episode 2 (season 1), "Project Phoenix." I recall watching that when it originally aired in 1972 and still remember it fairly well. I thought THAT was a clever one; I'll never look at a freight train the same way after viewing that episode's conclusion! But more often than not, I end up feeling somewhat confused. SPOILER ALERT-->In the episode I just watched, "Now You See Me...," I figured out the "bad guy" way too quickly. But how the magician's daughter did not recognize the cosmetic surgery, is unbelievable. I can tolerate (and even enjoy) Banacek every now and then just to see how the mysteries are solved. Thanks for your time!
Quantum Leap: Shock Theater - October 3, 1954 (1991)
One of the BEST!
Okay. I debated with myself if I should give this a 10 or a 9 (or even an 8) as a rating. But I went with the 10 and here's my thinking.
The acting was phenomenal. Kudos not only to Bakula for reprising so many past characters, but also to Bruce A. Young, who did a fantastic job as Butch (The "Butcher") in this episode. Fantastic job Bruce!
The reasons why I almost went with an 8 or 9 as my rating was because of two things: 1. Al's rapping "song" ALMOST ruined this episode for me. In the middle of a serious, well acted show, we have to deal with this RIDICULOUS song...totally out of place.
2. It was VERY unrealistic for the doctor to agree to and the nurse to administer such a powerful electroshock to Bakula based solely on the request of the persona of a "retarded" persona's request.
So why the 10? I'm still asking myself the same question!! But this was one heck of an episode in which we never saw the TRUE mirror image of Sam Beiderman!
Quantum Leap: Camikazi Kid - June 6, 1961 (1989)
Cute and Effective
A sweet story unfolds here with Bakula playing the part of Cam who must find a way to convince his sister not to marry a guy who is an abusive alcoholic. There's another story line about a girl who has a crush on Cam but is bashful as she is beautiful. She hasn't even been kissed by a boy yet! It comes down to a drag race for pink slips so Cam can show what a loser her fiancé is both literally and figuratively. Thanks to a bit of cheating using nitrous oxide to increase Cam's car's acceleration, Cam wins the race and saves his sister after she sees how violent he became after losing the race.
Combine those with some drag-racing and you have yourself a pleasant, effective episode that will put a smile on your face.
Quantum Leap: A Little Miracle - December 24, 1962 (1990)
Campy but Effective
Okay, so this episode is a wee bit on the campy side. The acting isn't the best either. However, it did bring a tiny tear to my eye.
In reality, Al is the one who was mainly responsible for accomplishing Sam's "job" as the Ghost of Christmas Future is what really put the soul back in good ole' Mickey!
We don't get any parallel story lines or glimpses into any of the main character here, but it's obvious this was written and played to be exactly what is is -- a fable or A Christmas Carol meets Quantum Leap.
This episode originally aired on December 21, 1990 (I believe) making it QL's "Merry Christmas" episode to the viewers. If we accept that and not expect the usual heavy hitting common to most of the better episodes, there shouldn't be any disappointment.
Quantum Leap: Nuclear Family - October 26, 1962 (1991)
Don't Judge an Episode by its Plot Summary!
As I type this on July 5, 2014, the overall IMDb average rating for this episode is an 8.1 out of 10. I'm going along with the other IMDb folks on this one and give it an 8 although a 7.5 would be more accurate but is not a choice.
Despite how silly the plot synopsis seems, once again, the wonderful cast and crew of QL rises well above and beyond to deliver a story that had me on the edge of my seat more than once.
Since I was born only seven months before the culmination of the Cuban Missile Crisis, I have no memory of living through it although in reality, I did. Thank goodness a seven month old baby doesn't remember things! But I'm sure my parents and family WERE quite concerned especially BECAUSE they had a seven month old -- their first and only child.
Writer, Paul Brown and director, James Whitmore, Jr along with the entire QL crew, did a fairly superb job capturing the dear of that generation by creating a story line around one family who had two young children and who lived through that nightmarish hell in 1962.
While definitely not on my top-10 list of QL episodes (maybe not even my top-20!), I still believe this episode IS a winner in its own right and worth watching.
Quantum Leap: Nowhere to Run - August 10, 1968 (1992)
Powerful
Not much to say about this episode except it is extremely powerful. And just like the 60's and early 70's, it's not completely predictable either. It's well acted and costars Jennifer Aniston as a volunteer who works at a San Diego Veteran's hospital.
Donald Bellisario keeps us in touch with the Vietnam era and continues to educate new generations about the repercussions of that nasty war and the people affected from it. I suppose "carpe diem" is a secondary theme of this episode (without giving much away about the somewhat surprising bittersweet ending that may be a tear-jerker for some.
Do yourself a favor - watch this one...then say a prayer.
Quantum Leap: The Play's the Thing - September 9, 1969 (1992)
To Like or not to Like!
Although I love QL, I believe this episode falls short in two main areas.
Bakula -- the actor -- just seems tired (in "real-life") and does not act with the normal gusto one would expect. Even Al (Stockwell) seems out to lunch during the shoot!) Most QL episodes bring either a tear of happiness or sadness (or both) to my eyes. This did neither.
The other problem was the rather abrupt ending. The episode ends in the middle of a song sung by co-star Penny Fuller. The best acting comes from Fuller and her TV son, Neil, played by Daniel Roebuck.
So, to rate this, I ask, "To like or not to like?" I'll just flip a coin and not even look if it landed head's or tail's up and give it a five (5)out of 10. But believe me, my usual ratings for QL episodes are between a 7 and 9 with a few 10's deservedly given, such as the two part, The Leap Home, when Sam is himself at age 16 back in Elkridge!
Quantum Leap: Roberto! - January 27, 1982 (1992)
Clever, but....
A clever ending, but not one of the better episodes of the series.
Despite 46+ minutes of show, the story was too superficial. Also, it lacked the normal emotion that Bakula usually gives 110% to this series.
Just how a man can sneak into a TV studio screening room unnoticed and switch an inhaler, is beyond me. And HOW "Roberto" (Bakula) figured out what was in the inhaler that he didn't notice was switched, is another huge gaping whole in the plot unless it is implied that they played along and "allowed" the guy to switch the inhaler with some forethought or help for Al. Regardless, none of this was shown or even narrated in.
So..."Roberto!" (the episode) was under cooked with an extremely abrupt ending as well.
Quantum Leap: Trilogy: Part 2 - June 14, 1966 (1992)
Excellent Writing and Acting But Needs Close Attention!
I am a 50 year old man and an avid QL fan; I've have seen every episode several times. However, TRILOGY stands out to me as one of the most thought out and thought provoking of the entire series. Kudos to the writers for their attention to detail in this three part episode! The one thing that sort of creeps me out is how Will had such a crush on Abigail in the first part of TRILOGY since he was so much older than her. Another thing that bugs me in Part-2, is Sam's stuttering. I just feel he overdid it.
This review is specifically about TRILOGY - PART-2. There are only a handful of episodes from the five year series that I consider to deserve a rating of 10. TRILOGY PART 2 is one of them. (Actually, I'd go for 9.5 if that was available!)
My reason for this high rating is EVERYTHING! The casting is spot-on! Even the resemblance between Abigail and her mother (played by veteran actor Meg Foster) is uncanny. The writing is virtually flawless and ALL of the actors brought the script to life in a near perfect manner.
The first time I saw all three episodes of TRILOGY was back in the late 90's, so I had to wait a week between episodes. We didn't have Netflix back then! It can be somewhat easy to get lost following what's going on in these three parts if one doesn't pay attention. Ironically, if I was asked to rate TRILOGY (all parts) back in the 90's, I would have gone with a five or six b/c it left me feeling confused.
In conclusion, if one feels confused and aggravated by this confusion with following the three parts, may I suggest watching them again and giving this trilogy another shot? Perhaps I am slow, but it wasn't until the third time I watched this mini-series in a series, that I felt so much respect and understanding and admiration for the story-line. So, coincidentally, I needed a trilogy of views to feel so strongly about this amazing three part episode!
The Wonder Years (1988)
A Television Time Machine Masterpiece for All Ages
The Wonder Years pilot episode aired immediately after the Super Bowl on January 31, 1988 and ran for six seasons on ABC -- six wonderful seasons. Created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens, the show would go on to capture the hearts, minds, and memories of the majority of age groups.
**There may be some episode SPOILERS in the remainder of this review. **
I'm a middle-aged guy with two sons currently 17 and 14 years of age. My 14 year old loves it and has seen most of the episodes. However, my older son, doesn't seem to enjoy it (although he WILL watch some episodes if nothing else is on any of the other 867 channels!) Seems he's at that age where he relates to the character of Wayne, played extremely well by Jason Hervey. If the episode doesn't have many "Wayne scenes," my older son gets disinterested. But since the lead character, Kevin, portrayed by Fred Savage, is at the center of 99% of the shows, it keeps my younger son interested and involved -- he can and does relate to Kevin most of the time. (SPOILER ABOUT LAST EPISODE NEXT!)-- The final episode, which was done over two shows, I was somewhat disappointed in the first part. It was left unclear if Winnie and Kevin made love in the barn, although may avid fans believe they did. In the second part and conclusion of the series, I enjoyed the way the writers summarized things although they could have given Jack a few more years to live! Doing the math, I believe they knocked him off in his late 50's! However, I can't get past the closing narration as it leaves me in tears every time I listen to it. But that's one hallmark of a good show -- to bring both laughter and tears to the audience. (END OF SPOILER!)
As for me? I get so much MORE from the series now than I ever did. It allows me to reconnect with many of the good times, great times, sad times, and happy times. As mentioned, quite a few episodes bring a tear to my eye while others make me cry like a baby. The narration (done in most episodes by Dan Stern,) is a catalyst to my emotions. His words and tones of voice can and does make the difference between an "okay episode" and a tearjerker. Kudos to the cast, crew, writers and Mr. Stern for an excellent job narrating. It makes me yearn to relive my own wonder years.