It's William Shatner in all of his glory, reliving his 'Barbary Coast' days as Ed Cassidy, the entrepreneur running an Old West-themed charity gambling establishment aboard the Queen Elizabeth docked liner and hotel. It must have been popular during the time, as I recall several other shows filming episode there.
Four robbers break in and steal the charity proceeds. But when three of them escape, they discover that the money has been replaced with cut newspaper. The leader figures that Ed swapped out the money and ripped them off. With some prodding from his off-screen girlfriend, the leader goes after Ed and tries to convince him to hand over the money.
Tony is performing for charity as the headline magician. He totally fails to stop the robbers, and about gets himself killed by refusing to give them a jeweled bracelet he's borrowed from a volunteer in the audience. Fortunately for Tony, the robbers have to catch their escape helicopter and don't have time to break Tony's purty teeth. Max (a carryover from the first half of the season) and Jerry are there as well. Max gets to make a weird comment or two, and we're introduced to Ed's wife Sandra. Shatner turns on the charm, wondering how she's so fun when she's not so fattening. Ah, Shatner, you smooth talker, you.
Not surprisingly, on a show where the writers and producers love portraying scheming women, Sandra is actually the unseen girlfriend. Somehow she's turning the robbers against Ed, while convincing Ed to get the money for her. Sandra keeps saying that she wants the money for her and Ed to start a new life, but it sure seems like she's setting him up to get killed so she can get the money for herself. Her motivation doesn't make much sense.
Ed goes to get the money, which Sandra hid beneath the waterline on the Queen Elizabeth. Tony has flirted with the robber leader's other girlfriend, and Jerry has tracked down the robbers and flies their helicopter to the Queen Elizabeth. He hovers the helicopter over the robbers' boat and for some reason they stop. Does that work in real life? But hey, Tony contributes by calling the police in. But as usual when he appears in the second half of the season, Jerry is the real hero.
At the end, Sandra goes to jail and Tony invites Ed to dinner. Uh-huh. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
"Queen's Gambit" doesn't make much sense, mainly because Sandra is another in the show's collection of scheming women (get them all!), but because she seems to have no motivation that makes sense. Is she trying to get the money for her and Ed? Or her and the robbers? Or just for herself? I have no idea and neither does writer Edward J. Lasko, apparently. Sandra is all over the map.
Shatner is... Shatner. He only has one major scene, where he finds out that Sandra betrayed him and accepts her anyway. Ahhhh. Bixby doesn't do much, nor do Max or Dominick: Joe Sirola who is shoehorned into the beginning in an episode that was produced in the first half of the season, before Sirola's character was introduced.
Despite the presence of the famous (infamous?) William Shatner, there isn't much to say about this episode. It's pretty mediocre: no thrilling car chases or magic. Bixby does more of his Leisure Suit Larry seduction routine with the second girlfriend, but Bixby clearly thinks Tony is a much more charismatic guy then he actually comes across as, and never bothers to convince us viewers of that.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
Four robbers break in and steal the charity proceeds. But when three of them escape, they discover that the money has been replaced with cut newspaper. The leader figures that Ed swapped out the money and ripped them off. With some prodding from his off-screen girlfriend, the leader goes after Ed and tries to convince him to hand over the money.
Tony is performing for charity as the headline magician. He totally fails to stop the robbers, and about gets himself killed by refusing to give them a jeweled bracelet he's borrowed from a volunteer in the audience. Fortunately for Tony, the robbers have to catch their escape helicopter and don't have time to break Tony's purty teeth. Max (a carryover from the first half of the season) and Jerry are there as well. Max gets to make a weird comment or two, and we're introduced to Ed's wife Sandra. Shatner turns on the charm, wondering how she's so fun when she's not so fattening. Ah, Shatner, you smooth talker, you.
Not surprisingly, on a show where the writers and producers love portraying scheming women, Sandra is actually the unseen girlfriend. Somehow she's turning the robbers against Ed, while convincing Ed to get the money for her. Sandra keeps saying that she wants the money for her and Ed to start a new life, but it sure seems like she's setting him up to get killed so she can get the money for herself. Her motivation doesn't make much sense.
Ed goes to get the money, which Sandra hid beneath the waterline on the Queen Elizabeth. Tony has flirted with the robber leader's other girlfriend, and Jerry has tracked down the robbers and flies their helicopter to the Queen Elizabeth. He hovers the helicopter over the robbers' boat and for some reason they stop. Does that work in real life? But hey, Tony contributes by calling the police in. But as usual when he appears in the second half of the season, Jerry is the real hero.
At the end, Sandra goes to jail and Tony invites Ed to dinner. Uh-huh. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
"Queen's Gambit" doesn't make much sense, mainly because Sandra is another in the show's collection of scheming women (get them all!), but because she seems to have no motivation that makes sense. Is she trying to get the money for her and Ed? Or her and the robbers? Or just for herself? I have no idea and neither does writer Edward J. Lasko, apparently. Sandra is all over the map.
Shatner is... Shatner. He only has one major scene, where he finds out that Sandra betrayed him and accepts her anyway. Ahhhh. Bixby doesn't do much, nor do Max or Dominick: Joe Sirola who is shoehorned into the beginning in an episode that was produced in the first half of the season, before Sirola's character was introduced.
Despite the presence of the famous (infamous?) William Shatner, there isn't much to say about this episode. It's pretty mediocre: no thrilling car chases or magic. Bixby does more of his Leisure Suit Larry seduction routine with the second girlfriend, but Bixby clearly thinks Tony is a much more charismatic guy then he actually comes across as, and never bothers to convince us viewers of that.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?