It took the combined true talents of writers JAMES BRIDGES and LEVINSON & LINK to create a screenplay this padded and dull. How they all three managed to use not a tiny percentage of their considerable talents to make this episode other than overlong, is something more interesting to consider than this episode. The approach seems to be, we've got a good ending now let's fill up the first 38 minutes as boringly as possible. It's such a waste of talent this episode on all levels.
Like some of Bridges other poor episodes (he of course wrote some good ones too) this show has no shape no suspense and really no murder/crime/ or suspense until about ten minutes before it's over.
Cast, writers, director all made me think this was going to be good and none of them did much to help. It's style-free on a director level and that none of the actors can do much with their total cliché roles is only a surprise because of who they are. There is just nothing interesting to play here or portray as an actor.
Only surprise is that Shultz from Hogans Heroes shows up near the end. He's quite good in a decent little suspense scene. The end itself works well enough, but what's really good about it takes up the last 15 seconds. The rest of this show you'll see coming from a mile away.
There are pointless--other than to pad running time--scenes from the REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT knock-off play to pad time. The young lovers who are the leads, and real life man and wife John and Gena, as characters are not worth liking, actually he's a jerk and a brute and she's self centered--their scenes together do nothing to make you think they "must" have one another, or that their love could redeem them as people, or that their love is what corrupts otherwise good people.
There is no real villain of the piece either. Or from Hitchcock's point of view all villains as the story is about actors. Other episodes about actors in this series usually portray them in a bad light actually. And none of those are really very good episodes either. It's like an inside joke--or not so inside as Hitchcock's public views of actors were well known--but that's not a funny enough joke to support a serious hour show.
Only the episode SIGN OF Satan has an actor in sort of a hero role, though in that show an actor is a form Satanic cult member so.... What matters though is that these characters in this episode are total cliché and a bore.
Hitchcock's intro features the semi-famous image of him with his finger in a leaking Dyke and a kind of unusual Hitchcock slapstick type gag as well. It can't redeem the show however.
You can easily skip 20 minutes of this show and not miss a thing plot-wise. You can pretty much just skip this episode, it's not the worst of the series but it's not worth the time it takes.
Like some of Bridges other poor episodes (he of course wrote some good ones too) this show has no shape no suspense and really no murder/crime/ or suspense until about ten minutes before it's over.
Cast, writers, director all made me think this was going to be good and none of them did much to help. It's style-free on a director level and that none of the actors can do much with their total cliché roles is only a surprise because of who they are. There is just nothing interesting to play here or portray as an actor.
Only surprise is that Shultz from Hogans Heroes shows up near the end. He's quite good in a decent little suspense scene. The end itself works well enough, but what's really good about it takes up the last 15 seconds. The rest of this show you'll see coming from a mile away.
There are pointless--other than to pad running time--scenes from the REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT knock-off play to pad time. The young lovers who are the leads, and real life man and wife John and Gena, as characters are not worth liking, actually he's a jerk and a brute and she's self centered--their scenes together do nothing to make you think they "must" have one another, or that their love could redeem them as people, or that their love is what corrupts otherwise good people.
There is no real villain of the piece either. Or from Hitchcock's point of view all villains as the story is about actors. Other episodes about actors in this series usually portray them in a bad light actually. And none of those are really very good episodes either. It's like an inside joke--or not so inside as Hitchcock's public views of actors were well known--but that's not a funny enough joke to support a serious hour show.
Only the episode SIGN OF Satan has an actor in sort of a hero role, though in that show an actor is a form Satanic cult member so.... What matters though is that these characters in this episode are total cliché and a bore.
Hitchcock's intro features the semi-famous image of him with his finger in a leaking Dyke and a kind of unusual Hitchcock slapstick type gag as well. It can't redeem the show however.
You can easily skip 20 minutes of this show and not miss a thing plot-wise. You can pretty much just skip this episode, it's not the worst of the series but it's not worth the time it takes.