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MartinHafer
I also write for Influx Magazine--where many of my opinions and reviews are also posted.
http://www.influxmagazine.com/
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Billboard Girl (1932)
Marriage equality.
In the very early 1930s, Bing Crosby made a big splash as a singer for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. He was part of a trio but stood out for his crooning ability...so much so that film offers soon arrived for him. What IS surprising is the types of film offers. Instead of going right into feature films, Crosby made a string of shorts for Mack Sennett of all people...the man associated with slapstick in the 1910s. For the most part, they are amiable little films...pleasant diversions.
In "Billboard Girl", Bing has been corresponding with a girl and is going with a friend to go meet her. However, he doesn't know it's a cruel joke...and a cross-dressing guy is planning on making love to him! What's next? And, does he get the girl?
This is a pleasant comedy with Bing singing a pleasant tune at the end. It's not exactly life-changing to see but pleasant and entertaining....and with a couple laughs.
Barnaby Jones: Indoctrination in Evil (1979)
How could a nice guy like Brad get involved with these creeps?!
The biggest reason to possibly watch this routine episode of "Barnaby Jones" is to get a brief look at Lisa Loring (Wednesday from "The Addams Family" television show). Otherwise, it's pretty typical of a late episode of this series.
When the episode begins, two guys are getting violent with a young woman in their hotel room. The manager, Brad (Dabney Coleman), interrupts them and tells them to keep it down...but doesn't call the police. Why? See the show.
What follows is a show about prostitution, though they keep referring to it as 'White Slavery'...meaning they are kidnapping white women and turning them into prostitutes against their will. To investigate, betty takes a job at the hotel...and you can pretty much guess what's next.
It's another 'Betty in peril' episodes...which is a strike against it and an indication that Buddy Edsen will barely be in the show. 'Nuff said.
Barnaby Jones: Girl on the Road (1979)
I wish they'd just let Jenny deal with her problems on her own.
Soon after the episode begins, JR's ex-girlfriend asks for JR's help with her sister who is a bit of a lost soul. Jenny apparently dropped out of school and her ambitions in life are going to parties and getting stoned. What she didn't realize was at the last party she went to, at the home of a rock star, she MIGHT have seen something she shouldn't have....a dead girl in the star's bedroom. But she only was in the room briefly and was stoned...so she thought nothing more of it. However, the star's handlers sure are interested....and want to find her and kill her just in case!
While this isn't a terrible episode, it suffers from one big problem...Jenny is an annoying and rather worthless person. It also didn't help that the actress didn't seem particularly good in this role. Regardless, it's watchable and not bad....but also not all that good either.
Barnaby Jones: Design for Madness (1979)
Finally...an excellent episode that actually stars Buddy Ebsen!
From season five through eight, Buddy Ebsen was featured less and less on his own show. I assume much of this was because of his age. But regardless why, having Jedediah and Betty helming most of the shows is very disappointing if you see the series. Neither has the personality of Ebsen but also it makes no sense to have Barnaby's secretary solving crimes...and Jedediah was too obsessed with his libido to make him likeable. Because of this, I was THRILLED when I saw "Design for Madness", as Ebsen was much more important to the episode....and actually did some reasonably strenuous work late in the episode.
The episode concerns Barnaby's niece*. She seems pretty normal when the show begins but soon she seems to have shot some guy with no provocation and she's lost her mind. Through the course of the show, Amy periodically does this...going from normal to goofy. However, as the episode progresses, Barnaby starts to wonder if maybe Amy is NOT insane but is being drugged with hallucinogens in order to get her permanently locked away in an institution. But who and why???
This is a very good episode and I thought the writing was better than usual. It did have a few plot elements that didn't seem totally thought out (such as why Amy was released soon after the shooting and Barnaby throwing out Amy's pills and testing her blood instead of just testing her pills). It also was a rather cruel episode considering what Amy goes through. But it IS interesting and is never dull. See the show...see what I mean.
*NEVER become a family member or friend of Barnaby, Jedediah or, especially, Betty. This is because whenever these folks are introduced, something BAD soon happens...like they are killed, accused of murder or actually commit a murder!
Barnaby Jones: A Desperate Pursuit (1979)
Sadly, quite predictable.
When the show begins, a boxing promotor's apartment seems like it has a revolving door! In the space of about three minutes, three folks come to see him. First, an angry and disappointed boxer meets with him. Second, Betty Jones arrives to ask the man to read some papers from Barnaby. Third, a man arrives...and pushes him off the balcony to his death! Betty witnessed who this third person was but before she can testify, a person who appears to be a blonde lady starts threatening her NOT to testify or she'll be murdered!!
The surprise plot device in "A Desperate Pursuit" is the same one you will see in Brian De Palma's "Dressed to Kill". However, in the film, the surprise is handled well and the plot keeps you guessing. In the case of "A Desperate Pursuit", you can't help but guess this surprise early on because there is no subtlety nor alternative explanation for what is happening to Betty. As a result, what could have been a neat twist isn't any surprise at all.
The F.B.I.: The Impersonator (1970)
Stuart Whitman is really good...the writing isn't quite as good.
Stuart Whitman stars as Wesley Ziegler, a really awful conman whose specialty is bilking rich lonely women from their gems. And, apparently, he's also not above murder if a woman crosses him.
The story begins awkwardly. Apparently Ziegler's been conning a woman out of her jewels and she comes to his hotel room to confront him. Now this is a cliche I really hate, as I've seen it in many TV cop and detective shows. What I am talking about is when a victim realizes they've been robbed and instead of going to the police or confronting the person in front of many witnesses, they confront him privately...telling the guy they're going to the police! Now what would you expect a criminal to do in a case like this? Yes, they'd try to kill you...immediately!! And, that's exactly what he tries to do...though she fortunately escapes. Now, this is a silly confrontation....one that the episode would use AGAIN later in the show! Awkward and unrealistic....which is a shame as the rest of the show, apart from the confrontation scenes, is great. Whitman is smooth and great at playing an evil man...and it's still worth seeing because of this.
Barnaby Jones: Nightmare in Hawaii: Part 2 (1979)
The second part of an excellent two-parter.
In the first part of this two-parter, Jedediah goes to Maui for vacation and to see a friend...only to learn that the so-called friend was setting him up to be accused of murder. While in jail, Jedediah is nearly murdered...and the staff there don't seem to care. In desperation, he escapes and that is how the episode ends.
When part two begins, you see once again that the cop investigating (Tim O'Connor) is a real jerk. He has some unfinished business with Barnaby and it looks as if his way of getting revenge is to convict Jedediah. So, obviously, Barnaby will get no help from this jerk-face.
What I found interesting about these episodes is that they were very interesting and very good...yet they starred Jedediah. Often, his character was rather annoying but here the writers gave him more to work with and he's not the usual guy who does nothing but talk about women!
Overall, a couple better than usual episodes...tense, exciting and well worth your time.
By the way, the goofs section on IMDB is right...the rifle could NOT have been loaded so the so-called threat was pretty empty...just like the gun.
Barnaby Jones: Nightmare in Hawaii: Part 1 (1979)
Why?!? Who?!?
Jedediah is on vacation in Hawaii, as he was invited there by a friend. However, when he enters his hotel room, he is arrested for stabbing a man to death--something he never did. As for the 'friend', he lies and say he never invited Jedediah. And, soon after this, a police search finds pot in the hotel room! It's obvious he's been set up, but why and by whom? Then, while Jedediah is in jail, a group of prisoners try to kill him...and the guards don't believe him. As a result, Jedediah breaks out of jail, as he figures he's a dead man if he stays there. Additionally, the cop investigating (Tim O'Connor) has a grudge against Barnaby and he's more than happy to fry Jedediah!
A couple nice things about this episode include location shooting in Maui, Hawaii as well as having Richard Lynch as one of the villains. He has a very familiar face and he often played some of the scariest heavies in the 70s-90s....and he is a VERY scary looking guy! Additionally, I noticed most of the two-part episodes were very exciting and well worth seeing...and this one certainly is exciting!
Barnaby Jones: Man on Fire (1979)
Yet another episode with Gary Lockwood.
During the course of "Barnaby Jones", Gary Lockwood starred six times as a villain. In most of these shows, Lockwood played seriously deranged characters though in his final appearance, "Man on Fire", he's downright normal compared to these other appearances.
Barnaby is involved with an arson investigation and he's paired up with Jim Parks (Lockwood), a friend he's trusted and worked with for several years. However, Barnaby is surprised when Parks considers the case an accident while the evidence shows it was arson. Barnaby chalks this up to a simple mistake. But when another 'mistake' happens, J. R., surprisingly, nails the case and he thinks Parks is dirty...but Barnaby just can't bring himself to believe this is true.
This is a very good episode, even if Lockwood's villain is downright normal compared to his other very vivid portrayals! An interesting plot...and well worth seeing.
Barnaby Jones: Temptation (1979)
Lt. Biddle is a bit of a putz in this episode.
When the episode begins, a nurse is walking in a parking lot with a man and out of the blue, a car careens through the lot and deliberately runs over the man! Later you learn that the man was going to the police about a crook...and the woman, oddly, just disappeared and didn't stick around to talk to the police. To complicate things, the woman is already a secret witness against this same gangster...and she and Lt. Biddle (John Carter) are AWFULLY close to each other. What really goes on here?
This is a decent episode and you get to see the recurring guest, Carter, play a more prominent role...and is also a bit of a putz because he is taken in so well by the woman. What's next? See the show. Overall, this is a pretty good episode and it's worth your time.
Barnaby Jones: Target for a Wedding (1979)
Starring Buddy and Bonnie Ebsen!
Buddy Ebsen's daughter, Bonnie, appeared in several episodes of "Barnaby Jones" and even starred in a few. While she is probably a lovely person, her acting was not great. I'll say no more about this.
When the story begins, Blue murders a prospector in order to steal his claim. Apparently, there's gold and greed makes Blue money-crazy. But after killing the man, he realizes his niece will inherit the property, so his plan is to romance and marry her so he'll have access to this fortune. Unfortunately, Laurie is already about to marry another guy....so Blue needs to discredit the guy so he has access to her. But one of the guests for the upcoming wedding is Barnaby, so you know he'll dig to uncover the truth.
Like the last time Bonnie Ebsen starred in the series, this time the writers didn't help her very much. Her character seemed rather dim...a woman who changed her mind rather easily. This certainly didn't help the episode. However, despite this, it's modestly enjoyable and worth seeing.
Barnaby Jones: Child of Love Child of Vengeance: Part 2 (1979)
A fine finale.
As I mentioned in my review for Part One, this two-part episode was no doubt inspired by the real life actions of a weird drug treatment center that eventually became a full fledged cult. Synanon was very well respected by outsiders for its successful drug treatment programs in the 1960s. By the 70s, the leader declared they were a religion. However, NBC news investigations were able to establish a pattern of violence...murders and beatings authorized by their leader! So, this makes "Child of Love Child of Vengeance" seem possible the cult in it is very, very similar.
At the end of Part One, Barnaby has had his private detective license suspended but this doesn't mean he cannot investigate to clear himself. As he works on this, Jedediah impulsively (is there ANY other way he does ANYTHING??) joins the cult to look into is from within. By the end of the show, the cult leader (Pat Hingle) has had enough and orders Jedediah's death. Sadly, this doesn't actually get carried out (as Jedediah is a bit annoying).
This is a solid and enjoyable episode. A worth completion to the two-parter. I have noticed that most of the very best episodes of the series were two-parters...and this is no exception.
Barnaby Jones: Child of Love Child of Vengeance: Part 1 (1979)
Barnaby investigates a cult...and gets arrested for Felonious Assault!
"Child of Love Child of Vengeance: Parts 1 and 2" were obviously influenced by a real cult that was making news in the late 1970s. Although Synanon was well regarded in the 1960s due to its very successful drug programs, by the 1970s it had become an actual religion. This is no big deal. But it also turned out that its leader was an evil man and used violence and even murder to maintain control in his empire! And, after this came out on NBC news, this two-part episode debuted.
The story begins with a lawyer being murdered. He had come to see Barnaby about some threats made to him and when he was murdered, the criminals made it look like he was killed as a result of a robbery gone bad. In actuality, the leader of their cult ordered the man's death! Not surprisingly, Barnaby won't just close the case with the man's death and his trail leads towards the cult....and by the end of the show, the cult has pushed back by having a devotee claim that she was beaten by Barnaby. Now, considering she let the cult's goons work her over to make it look real, this sort of devotion is gonna be hard to beat (perhaps a bad choice of words...sorry).
This is an exciting episode of "Barnaby Jones". My only complaint is that, once again, Jedediah comes off in a throwaway line as a sexually obsessed harasser...which apparently was seen as cute back in 1979 but it gets really old listening to his character constantly referring to women this way.
Find the King (1927)
A fancy dude heads west.
I recently received a copy of the DVD "Edward Everett Horton: 8 Silent Comedies" as I helped contribute to the fund supporting the restoration of Horton's short films. I noticed pretty quickly that these shorts were NOT like many comedies of the day. Instead of relying on pratfalls and slapstick, these shorts seem much more character-driven...which makes sense as the films were made by Harold Lloyd's production company. By the 20s, Lloyd's style changed from rough and tumble movies designed just for laughs to films where the character is important....more than cheap laughs. As a result, these films seem more polished and more timeless because they offer a very appealing character....not some guy who just punches and kicks people for no apparent reason (which is classic slapstick).
Horton plays an effete sort of rich man who is anything but macho. However, he is called on business to Nevada and it turns out the town he's headed to is rough and tumble...and Horton seems VERY out of place. Yet, oddly, through the course of the film, he's able to get the best of the tough guy running the town AND win the girl. In so many ways, it does look like a Harold Lloyd film, especially his "Why Worry?" where a similar sort of guy is dropped into a tough environment and manages with pluck, determination and brains is able to come out on top.
Overall, a fun little film which is fortunately in pristine condition as a result of its recent restoration.
No Publicity (1927)
A dandy and well crafted little comedy.
I recently received a copy of the DVD "Edward Everett Horton: 8 Silent Comedies" as I helped contribute to the fund supporting the restoration of Horton's short films. I noticed pretty quickly that these shorts were NOT like many comedies of the day. Instead of relying on pratfalls and slapstick, these shorts seem much more character-driven...which makes sense as the films were made by Harold Lloyd's production company. By the 20s, Lloyd's style changed from rough and tumble movies designed just for laughs to films where the character is important....more than cheap laughs. As a result, these films seem more polished and more timeless because they offer a very appealing character....not some guy who just punches and kicks people for no apparent reason (which is classic slapstick).
As far as the shorts go, they are in gorgeous condition, though a few tiny portions of "No Publicity" is still degraded...perhaps too much for current technology to completely restore.
In "No Publicity", Horton plays a photographer for some newspaper. His boss sends him to a fancy society event in order to get a photograph of a young lady, Miss Lawrence. Sally Lawrence is amenable to getting her publicity photo made but her fun-despising guardian, it's a definite NO. So, Horton spends much of the film trying to secretly get a photo.
He even dresses up as a woman, but in the process he's mistaken for some woman who has come to lecture about temperance and living a 'proper' life. What's next? See this cute film.
In so many ways, I could imagine Lloyd starring in this film with similar results. However, by the mid-1920s, Lloyd had given up shorts and was strictly making full-length pictures...which is likely why Horton was chosen for this and other pictures with Paramount. Very enjoyable, very polished and a film I strongly recommend.
By the way, if you see the film and are confused when you hear the guardian talk about 'St. Vitus' Dance', she is referring to epilepsy and that's an old fashion term for it.
Barnaby Jones: A Short Happy Life (1979)
I agree with the person who hated this one!
While I did not appreciate a two and a half sentence review, I agreed with the sentiments of the reviewer who hated this episode and thought it suffered from poor writing and terrible acting. This is pretty much how I felt and I couldn't wait for it to end...or the character 'Foxey' to become a murder victim!
When the episode begins, Foxey lands at the Hollywood airport to visit her cousin, Betty. It's likely the first thing you'll notice about Foxey is that she talks non-stop and is more annoying than a migraine! Well, it's obvious she annoyed the crap out of the guy she was sitting next to on the plane but he pretends to like her so he can hide a key inside the sole of Foxey's VERY thin soled shoes. Now HOW she could walk even a foot or two with this key under the sole is beyond me...it would have been like having a large pebble in your shoe! The remainder of the episode consists of bad people trying to find her to retrieve that key. Sadly, this is their first concern...not killing Foxey!! Yes, she's THAT annoying.
In addition to Foxey being a character straight from the pit of hell, the show suffers from the worst cliche the show used (or, should I say OVERUSED). Through the course of the series, Betty must have had friends or family members in peril several dozen times! Now having this happen once or twice could be believed....but several times every season? This just shows very lazy writing and a certain amount of contempt for the audience. Now I know it wouldn't have been so obvious during the initial run of the show, as the most you could see were an episode a week as they aired. Now, you can binge on the series...and that's when this awful trope becomes more obvious and more annoying.
Overall, a terrible episode as it annoys from start to finish and features a character almost as annoying as the godawful Starlight Sisters from season 5. As for the Starlights, they managed to be worse simply because they were featured in TWO episodes. Oh, and by the way,.... Cassie Yates played not only Foxey but one of the Starlight Sisters!!! Surely, there should be some sort of punishment for having done this!! Now I don't completely blame Yates....she was just getting paid to act...though in the four episodes in which she appeared, the HIGHEST rated ones earned 3s from me and the other two 1s. But the writers...uggh!! They are the real culprits here! A rare episode that is so annoying I cannot actually believe I kept watching it!
Barnaby Jones: Master of Deception (1979)
This man is NOT great husband material!
Darryl (Glenn Corbett) is not a very good husband. First, he murders his wife. Second, you then see he has another wife at the same time! How does polygamy relate to industrial espionage? See the show.
Seasons 5-8 featured way too many episodes where Buddy Ebsen is essentially just there in a token role and the cases are handled by Jedediah and Betty. These shows are generally very bad and fortunately this one is NOT a Betty nor Jedediah show. The plot is pretty interesting and the solution pretty satisfying. I sure wish they'd made more episodes like this in the final seasons...without the usual clichés and deficiencies you too often saw in these episodes.
Barnaby Jones: Fatal Overture (1979)
Not great but better than most Betty episodes.
When the story begins, Betty is in her apartment and she can't help but look across at some other apartment because there is some sort of big broo-ha-ha going on there. Two women are screaming at each other as some guy tries to settle things down.
The next day, Betty notices in the newspaper that one of the women she saw the night before was reported dead from suicide. Now THIS is a coincidence. Soon the guy from the previous night (Scott Marlowe) and he offers to hire her to investigate this suicide. So although this is a huge conflict of interest (considering they are neighbors and this could get REALLY ugly), she takes the case because, well...she's Betty! What follows sure makes it look as if the man's wife killed the other woman, as apparently years ago, the husband and dead woman were having an affair....and the wife is LESS stable that a crackhead going through withdrawal. In fact, soon the wife begins imagining that Betty and her hubby are having an affair and she destroys Betty's apartment with a butcher knife...and also chases after Betty! Well, it sure seems as if the wife is the killer...but being a 70s detective show, you figure it's really someone else.
I was a bit surprised by the way the wife's psychiatrist was written. Although the woman had a LONG history of unstable behavior and was violent, her therapist sure seemed oblivious to how dangerous she was...only hospitalizing her overnight after this rampage against Betty. He insisted the woman really did NOT intend to kill Betty!! I cannot imagine any therapist thinking this way after a knife attack...and I am a trained psychotherapist. His response was just bizarre....though, conversely, the husband's response to therapy at the end of the show was VERY well written, as he finally admitted that he, too, was part of the problem...which makes a lot of sense.
So why did I still give this one a 6 despite my issues I had with the show. First, compared to many of the Betty shows from seasons 6 and 7, it was STILL significantly better than the rest! Secondly, despite some logical issues, the show still was entertaining.
Barnaby Jones: The Protectors (1979)
It seems to have pilot episode written all over it.
"The Protectors" is an episode of "Barnaby Jones" that certainly looks like a pilot episode for a new series that never actually got made. This is not a complaint, as from what I saw, it would have made a dandy TV series.
When the episode begins, a couple guys try to kidnap the head of a large company. But he's able to escape. Soon, Barnaby is hired to investigate the attempted abduction and he finds that there already is a company involved....so it turns out he and 'Counterforce' will be partners through this episode. As a result, Betty and Jedediah are pretty much relegated to small supporting roles...which isn't a bad thing.
The Counterforce idea is pretty cool. Imagine a high tech security team....kind of like the "Mission: Impossible" team because of their various abilities...such as a lady forensics expert, a car expert, etc.. It makes for a very unusual and interesting concept and the show is one of the better ones of season seven. Well worth your time.
Barnaby Jones: Dance with Death (1979)
Disco Fever!
"Dance with Death" is a definite product of its times. Back in 1979, Disco was popular and several shows tried to capitalize on this craze. However, by about 1980, folks were announcing that Disco was dead and the popularity of the music plummeted. I like to assume much of this is due to this episode!
Penny spends most of her free time at the discotheque dancing the night away. However, one night a guy she connects up with won't take no for an answer and things get ugly. But the night gets far worse...a friend comes to stay with Penny and she sleeps in Penny's room....and someone breaks in and bludgeons the friend to death! Penny can't help but think maybe this murder was intended for her....and Jedediah is called in to investigate, as Barnaby is going to go fishing or testify in court or get his prostate checked. In other words, like too many of these later episodes, Buddy Ebsen is barely in the show.
So is this episode any good? Well, it's not terrible. While it lacks Ebsen and is a bit too focused on Disco, compared to many other episodes this often godawful season, it's not too bad. Plus, at the end, you get to see Ebsen do a bit of dancing...and it's pretty cute.
Barnaby Jones: The Enslaved (1979)
We see yet another friend of Betty's and Betty soon goes undercover to investigate...'nuff said.
"She's a real bow wow..." Jedediah Jones
During the first half of the run of "Barnaby Jones", it was one of the better detective shows. It was written well and Buddy Ebsen was enjoyable in the lead. However, starting in season five, the show really started to go downhill. First, they brought in a new assistant, Jedediah. Second, they started sending Betty out on cases. And, as a result of both, Ebsen was practically written off the show by seasons six and seven and eight. I am not sure why this occurred....but it wasn't good for the fans of the show.
This episode features one of Betty's friends (sign #1 that the show will be poor as this was a WAY overused trope) and it features Betty going undercover (sign #2 that Ebsen will only be in the beginning and end in token appearances). The story is set at a fancy (in other word expensive) drug treatment center. It seems that a friend, Peggy, went there and came back MUCH more screwed up than when she arrived. In addition, there was a suspicious death there and so Peggy investigates....and Barnaby goes fishing! Soon Betty realizes the treatment center does everything it can to keep everyone addicted! Can Betty manage to unravel things AND have Barnaby and/or Jedediah at the end come to her rescue...which is usually the case when she goes under cover.
I really wish that by the time "The Enslaved" came out they'd just done a spin-off show called "Betty and Jedediah", as the show no longer was exactly "Barnaby Jones". At least would have seemed a bit more honest. I also wish they'd come up with a plot that was at least somewhat believable....and you just have to see this one to see how ridiculous the plot was...and how much the show had slipped. A dumb plot and yet another practically Barnaby-less episode.
Two Minutes to Play (1936)
"It's been almost 30 years since your father pulled that boner"
This is the story of a young man whose father didn't want him playing college ball because in his younger days, his dad went from college hero to a joke because of one bad play (referred to again and again as his 'boner'). However, the father eventually relents...and Marty (Herman Brix) has problems at his college that are not his fault. What's next for him? See the film...or, better yet....don't.
The reason I watched "Two Minutes to Play" is that is starred Herman Brix (later, changing his name to Bruce Bennett) AND it should have been a film right in his element....as he plays a college athlete and in real life, Brix was a major amateur sports star. He excelled at football and track & field and even took home a silver medal for the shotput at the 1928 Olympics. Now I've seen him in quite a few films already...but this is the first film I saw of his where he played an athlete.
I was amazed by this film for two reasons. First, Brix didn't actually do that much athletically in the film. A lot of the footage is stock footage and there are only a few sports scenes with him in it. Second, the film was boring beyond belief and was very amateurish. Brix wasn't bad...but the writing certainly was. It was full of cliches and the dialog was pretty dreadful. Overall, a film that should have been better...but certainly wasn't.
Teenagers Battle the Thing (1958)
More like a home movie than something you'd actually pay to see.
A high school teacher does what most high school teachers would do....he takes a group of his students out to explore for ancient crap. And, while they do find a few broken pots and the like, they also find a mummified ancient man. Soon, the seemingly dead thing goes on a very brief rampage until it's very easily killed by the teens and their teacher.
The movie appears to have been made with a budget of about $58...at most. The actors cannot act, the monster looks ludicrous but the worst thing about this....it manages to also be incredibly dull. This is not a funny horror film like "Robot Monster" or "Bride of the Monster"...it's just a horrible film...period.
Barnaby Jones: Echo of a Distant Battle: Part 2 (1979)
A really good conclusion!
In general, the two-part episodes are among the best episodes of "Barnaby Jones" and this one is a dandy.
In the previous episode, Barnaby is hired to find out where a missing man from the Vietnam War is now. His widow is, naturally, in need of some closure. In the process of investigating this, however, some unexpected stuff happens...including a seemingly innocent bystander being killed, some stolen gold and much more. All in all, very exciting, well written and a great conclusion to part one.
Barnaby Jones: Echo of a Distant Battle: Part 1 (1979)
Barnaby kills a bystander....oops!
"Echo of a DIstant Battle" is a very good two-part episode of "Barnaby Jones". These two-parters always ended up being awfully good...though part one isn't as good as part two.
A woman hires Barnaby to try to look into the disappearance of her husband...a vet who fought in the Vietnam War. They thought he had died in the war but there are rumors he actually ran away with a friend and they ask Barnaby to learn exactly what happened to him. Surprisingly, this seemingly simple case turns into a real doozy!
At one point, Barnaby is trying to talk to a possible witness who might know about the missing man...and the guy runs. Barnaby chases (as best he can for a 70 year-old man) and soon there is a gun battle. In the process, Barnaby does something unusually dumb...he fires a warning shot*. This shot ricochets and ends up killing someone...and not the suspect. As a result, Barnaby loses his right to carry a gun and might end up going to prison...which is all the more reason to wrap up this case quickly.
The solution to Barnaby getting away with killing someone seemed pretty limp....the sole reason I am only giving this on an 8. But otherwise, it's very exciting. It's also neat to see Andrew Robinson in both parts one and two, as he played the psycho killer in "Dirty Harry" and also played a very interesting character on "Star Trek: Deep Space 9"....and he plays dandy villains.
Overall, an episode that has you wanting to see more.
*Most police departments have outlawed the so-called 'warning shots' and gun safety classes usually tell you NEVER to do this...for exactly the reason you see in this show. They sure have Barnaby do something stupid here!