This episode features Gary Lockwood as a draft dodger trying to reconnect with an abandoned daughter. He does a nice job, and there are fine turns also from John Aprea as a shyster lawyer and Carmine Caridi as Mr. Agonistes, a mob 'enforcer' type. The Agonistes character returns in a season 5 episode called 'Full Moon Blues.' Interestingly the word Agonistes means wrestling with adversity, which is an apt way to describe the struggles faced by Lockwood's character and the Simons themselves in this particular story.
A lot happens during the 48-minute running time and I'd say the writer does a skilled job of balancing the pathos with the comedy (and the action). More than most episodes, there is a considerable amount of melodrama in the scenes between Lockwood and the daughter, since she rails at him with a load of abandonment issues. Despite the soap opera histrionics, I still thought the moments were well-played. The comedy scenes involve the boys and Town which take place inside a limo. Town is using the vehicle-- posing as a chauffeur while trying to bringing down Lockwood's ex- wife. In another segment, we have some funny business with an informer type guy who comes into the office- - he's a flamboyant black dude that dazzles Cecilia with a bunch of fancy jewelry. The character, who resembles Sporty James on 'Hunter,' was never used again in any other episodes. He seems like a leftover from the 70s, definitely a stereotype.
As for the main action, the Simons have been hired by Lockwood to tell the daughter and ex- wife he is holding a press conference about having evaded the draft. He plans to do this to thwart a blackmailer. I sincerely doubt a powerful businessman would do such a thing. He would instead use hired detectives to flush out the blackmailer. But this is really just a way to set the stage for a deeper, mob-driven story. The ex-wife had been remarried to a penny ante mobster and has now taken over his territory. Her lawyer is the one orchestrating the blackmail scheme, but of course, we don't know that upfront. We also do not know what can be gained from blackmailing a draft dodger, nor do we know why a man would have married a woman with a penchant for mob violence in the first place. Unless it makes for a more compelling struggle with adversity.
A lot happens during the 48-minute running time and I'd say the writer does a skilled job of balancing the pathos with the comedy (and the action). More than most episodes, there is a considerable amount of melodrama in the scenes between Lockwood and the daughter, since she rails at him with a load of abandonment issues. Despite the soap opera histrionics, I still thought the moments were well-played. The comedy scenes involve the boys and Town which take place inside a limo. Town is using the vehicle-- posing as a chauffeur while trying to bringing down Lockwood's ex- wife. In another segment, we have some funny business with an informer type guy who comes into the office- - he's a flamboyant black dude that dazzles Cecilia with a bunch of fancy jewelry. The character, who resembles Sporty James on 'Hunter,' was never used again in any other episodes. He seems like a leftover from the 70s, definitely a stereotype.
As for the main action, the Simons have been hired by Lockwood to tell the daughter and ex- wife he is holding a press conference about having evaded the draft. He plans to do this to thwart a blackmailer. I sincerely doubt a powerful businessman would do such a thing. He would instead use hired detectives to flush out the blackmailer. But this is really just a way to set the stage for a deeper, mob-driven story. The ex-wife had been remarried to a penny ante mobster and has now taken over his territory. Her lawyer is the one orchestrating the blackmail scheme, but of course, we don't know that upfront. We also do not know what can be gained from blackmailing a draft dodger, nor do we know why a man would have married a woman with a penchant for mob violence in the first place. Unless it makes for a more compelling struggle with adversity.
