I finally caught an episode of this long-elusive David Janssen series on YouTube. But "Operation: Moonshine" was a misstep and not the episode to come in on. No coincidence it was the cursed 13th episode of O'Hara's single season.
In this story O'Hara and colleagues are tasked with tracking down the sources of some inadvertently toxic moonshine. Leads salts have gotten into the mix and six people have died thus far. O'Hara gets a break when they nab a young delivery boy and convince him to turn state's evidence and lead O'Hara to the big man behind the operation. O'Hara goes undercover as an out-of-work moonshiner and wins the trust of the big man. The trap is set to spring...! But when it does, it's all so anticlimactic and unsatisfying.
What went wrong? The show was way too Jack Webby with its clipped dialogue and cast of heartless law n' order automatons carrying out their duties with no regard to the people whose lives they were upending. Janssen's laid back and mumbled/growled delivery was in too stark a contrast to the spat-out dialogue delivered by Paul Comi and others in the cast. Janssen just didn't fit in a Jack Webb-produced series.
But the biggest misstep by the producers was allowing the casting department to undermine the heroic ATF agents vs. Evil moonshiners script. By casting the loveable Alan Hale Jr as Tidwell the operation's top dog, and everyone's grandpa Will Geer as his lieutenant and lead moonshine maker, the deck of audience sympathy was stacked against the ATF. If they wanted a bad guy the audience would dutifully boo and hiss, they should have cast craggy-faced Morgan Woodward or grizzled Victor French as the villain, not the Skipper, for cryin' out loud!
By the time O'Hara bullied young Petey Harper into betraying his friends and fellow mountain folk I was openly rooting for the moonshiners. Yes, it was tragic that six people died from drinking a bad batch, but that didn't justify the ATF's take-no-prisoners war against this region's "illegal whisky" producers. The deaths were simply a pretext to destroying a culture and eradicating a regional identity.
In a cornball moment, an ATF agent flips on a radio that conveniently breaks from playing hillbilly music to broadcasting a sermon/public service announcement railing against moonshine and insisting it is "long past time" to abandon the dangerous notion that Snuffy Smith and his jug of Mountain Dew are just loveable, laughable, colorful folklore. "Amen," growls Janssen.
But I do find Snuffy Smith and his hoisted jug a "charming piece of old Americana." Think of John Wayne's Rooster Cogburn in TRUE GRIT, or Granny Clampett. Will Geer brought to mind the beloved Baldwin Sisters from THE WALTONS. Would anyone cheer on O'Hara busting the doddering biddies, destroying Daddy's still and confiscating the Recipe as evidence? Or who would nod approvingly when O'Hara slams Jesse Duke against the wall and reads him his rights?
A bright spot was boy bootlegger Petey, played expertly and sympathetically by Russell Wiggins. I felt for the kid, in love with big man Tidwell's daughter and making a few bucks running 'shine. The poor sap gets bawled out by his ex-girlfriend, and his current one interrupts and glances past Petey to lust over Janssen: "Who's your good lookin' friend?" Yeesh, I hope Petey got off scot-free when the smoke cleared and the last of the spilled mash soaked into the mountainside.
The closing moments were heartrending. There was no elation at the good guys routing the bad guys. ATF agents pour in and surround Hale and Geer, and Geer makes a half-hearted attempt at defying them, but he's old and all the fight has gone out of him. Tearfully Geer recalls making 'shine for 70 years, earning a good reputation. He asks what will happen to his lifetime's work, the stills and the barrels? After collecting evidence they will be destroyed, declares O'Hara offhandedly and utterly devoid of human feeling.
Wow. After Waco, many people see the ATF as the bad guys, and this story broadcast 22 years before that tragedy does nothing to alter that perception. If anything, it galvanizes it.
So what worked well? The casting was excellent, with old vets Alan Hale Jr and Will Geer really shining. To be fair, Geer's trademark role as Grandpa Walton was still a year away, so the original audience of this episode could not bring those warm associations. Another veteran character actor, Dabbs Greer, has a small role as grocer Billy Jack. Since he quakingly tosses down the 'shine and gives up instead of kung-fu kicking all the ATF agents into unconsciousness we can assume he's no relation to Tom Laughlin's Billy Jack. The real breakout star was Russell Wiggins as Petey. This was only his second acting gig, and he stole every scene with his Southern charm and accent. A favorite scene of mine is when a chuckling Alan Hale pulls Petey close in a side-hug like he would Gilligan. I was just waiting for him to call Petey "little buddy," but I'm sure Jack Webb would have frowned on such tomfoolery on his very serious show.
PS: Janssen was excellent as always, looked cool in that bomber jacket, but it was evident throughout he just didn't fit in a Jack Webb-produced show. He found a series better suited to his style a few years later on HARRY O.
In this story O'Hara and colleagues are tasked with tracking down the sources of some inadvertently toxic moonshine. Leads salts have gotten into the mix and six people have died thus far. O'Hara gets a break when they nab a young delivery boy and convince him to turn state's evidence and lead O'Hara to the big man behind the operation. O'Hara goes undercover as an out-of-work moonshiner and wins the trust of the big man. The trap is set to spring...! But when it does, it's all so anticlimactic and unsatisfying.
What went wrong? The show was way too Jack Webby with its clipped dialogue and cast of heartless law n' order automatons carrying out their duties with no regard to the people whose lives they were upending. Janssen's laid back and mumbled/growled delivery was in too stark a contrast to the spat-out dialogue delivered by Paul Comi and others in the cast. Janssen just didn't fit in a Jack Webb-produced series.
But the biggest misstep by the producers was allowing the casting department to undermine the heroic ATF agents vs. Evil moonshiners script. By casting the loveable Alan Hale Jr as Tidwell the operation's top dog, and everyone's grandpa Will Geer as his lieutenant and lead moonshine maker, the deck of audience sympathy was stacked against the ATF. If they wanted a bad guy the audience would dutifully boo and hiss, they should have cast craggy-faced Morgan Woodward or grizzled Victor French as the villain, not the Skipper, for cryin' out loud!
By the time O'Hara bullied young Petey Harper into betraying his friends and fellow mountain folk I was openly rooting for the moonshiners. Yes, it was tragic that six people died from drinking a bad batch, but that didn't justify the ATF's take-no-prisoners war against this region's "illegal whisky" producers. The deaths were simply a pretext to destroying a culture and eradicating a regional identity.
In a cornball moment, an ATF agent flips on a radio that conveniently breaks from playing hillbilly music to broadcasting a sermon/public service announcement railing against moonshine and insisting it is "long past time" to abandon the dangerous notion that Snuffy Smith and his jug of Mountain Dew are just loveable, laughable, colorful folklore. "Amen," growls Janssen.
But I do find Snuffy Smith and his hoisted jug a "charming piece of old Americana." Think of John Wayne's Rooster Cogburn in TRUE GRIT, or Granny Clampett. Will Geer brought to mind the beloved Baldwin Sisters from THE WALTONS. Would anyone cheer on O'Hara busting the doddering biddies, destroying Daddy's still and confiscating the Recipe as evidence? Or who would nod approvingly when O'Hara slams Jesse Duke against the wall and reads him his rights?
A bright spot was boy bootlegger Petey, played expertly and sympathetically by Russell Wiggins. I felt for the kid, in love with big man Tidwell's daughter and making a few bucks running 'shine. The poor sap gets bawled out by his ex-girlfriend, and his current one interrupts and glances past Petey to lust over Janssen: "Who's your good lookin' friend?" Yeesh, I hope Petey got off scot-free when the smoke cleared and the last of the spilled mash soaked into the mountainside.
The closing moments were heartrending. There was no elation at the good guys routing the bad guys. ATF agents pour in and surround Hale and Geer, and Geer makes a half-hearted attempt at defying them, but he's old and all the fight has gone out of him. Tearfully Geer recalls making 'shine for 70 years, earning a good reputation. He asks what will happen to his lifetime's work, the stills and the barrels? After collecting evidence they will be destroyed, declares O'Hara offhandedly and utterly devoid of human feeling.
Wow. After Waco, many people see the ATF as the bad guys, and this story broadcast 22 years before that tragedy does nothing to alter that perception. If anything, it galvanizes it.
So what worked well? The casting was excellent, with old vets Alan Hale Jr and Will Geer really shining. To be fair, Geer's trademark role as Grandpa Walton was still a year away, so the original audience of this episode could not bring those warm associations. Another veteran character actor, Dabbs Greer, has a small role as grocer Billy Jack. Since he quakingly tosses down the 'shine and gives up instead of kung-fu kicking all the ATF agents into unconsciousness we can assume he's no relation to Tom Laughlin's Billy Jack. The real breakout star was Russell Wiggins as Petey. This was only his second acting gig, and he stole every scene with his Southern charm and accent. A favorite scene of mine is when a chuckling Alan Hale pulls Petey close in a side-hug like he would Gilligan. I was just waiting for him to call Petey "little buddy," but I'm sure Jack Webb would have frowned on such tomfoolery on his very serious show.
PS: Janssen was excellent as always, looked cool in that bomber jacket, but it was evident throughout he just didn't fit in a Jack Webb-produced show. He found a series better suited to his style a few years later on HARRY O.