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New Mexico Marshall Sam McCloud captures fugitive James Waldron in the desert only to be told that he has to escort the man to New York to testify in front of the grand jury in the case of Ramos and the murder of a beauty queen. However on arrival in New York he is meet by a police escort who turn out not to be who they claim – kidnapping Waldron and leaving McCloud handcuffed around a pole by the roadside. The New York police want McCloud gone but he hangs around and starts doing his own digging in the disappearance of Walden and the actual Ramos case itself.I vaguely remember seeing some the McCloud series when I was very young but it is no more than a distant memory so I decided to take a look back by watching the pilot episode. Opening with a scene in the desert that does a lot to set up the character and approach of McCloud in a few moments we then go right to New York and into the mystery. From here on the film trades on the gentle humour of McCloud a bit too much but still have enough of a plot to keep things moving on. Director Colla doesn't really help things by having far too many wide shots of McCloud walking round the city streets like a mix between Columbo and Midnight Cowboy; he doesn't even really use the locations well he just seems to feel like he has to keep highlighting that this cowboy is in New York, like we haven't got it already.Weaver is comfortable in the role although he is a bit too simplistic and swaggering for my liking; I know it is just a pilot but I would have liked more depth because as it is his character does come off as being pretty superficial. He is the main reason to come though because the supporting cast are only average – nobody bad as such but they would be mostly forgettable were it not for the familiar faces of Newmar, Julia and Richman.Overall this is an OK pilot to a TV show that I can't remember well enough to comment on, but I'm not sure if this film did enough for me to bother trying to see more. The story is pretty good but the location drags the energy and pace out of it making the delivery nearly as slow and pokey and Weaver's "good ol' boy" delivery. OK but there are better detectives out there if you are into the genre.
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