This is really slow. Like most of the "Chopper One" episodes, this show starts with some totally unrelated scene. The Chopper Cops drop some kid off at a ball game, his distraught father leads him away. After the commercial break, a completely different story picks up; the kid and his father are never seen again.
And what happened with casting? Dick Van Patten is usually a good actor, but he appears disinterested in his character. His wife is even worse, she is positively boring. And Mark Lenard, who gave such great performances as "Spock's father" appears briefly at the beginning of the story, then he is gone until the closing scene. What a wasted opportunity!
Several plot holes wreck the story. First, why didn't they just keep the informer in the Police Station? It was only 24 hours until the trial. Let him sleep on a couch in the lobby of the Police Station or something. Why do they always take an informer to some out of the way beach house? And when the wife was asked to come visit, exactly how did Dick Van Patten know where he is, since the Chopper Cops flew in from the ocean side of the house?
There is some limited gunfire, and of course the action centers on the Helicopter doing battle against a motor boat.
6 Stars is the best I can do for "The Informer".
And what happened with casting? Dick Van Patten is usually a good actor, but he appears disinterested in his character. His wife is even worse, she is positively boring. And Mark Lenard, who gave such great performances as "Spock's father" appears briefly at the beginning of the story, then he is gone until the closing scene. What a wasted opportunity!
Several plot holes wreck the story. First, why didn't they just keep the informer in the Police Station? It was only 24 hours until the trial. Let him sleep on a couch in the lobby of the Police Station or something. Why do they always take an informer to some out of the way beach house? And when the wife was asked to come visit, exactly how did Dick Van Patten know where he is, since the Chopper Cops flew in from the ocean side of the house?
There is some limited gunfire, and of course the action centers on the Helicopter doing battle against a motor boat.
6 Stars is the best I can do for "The Informer".