Joe is shot and dumped in the middle of nowhere. He tries to figure it all out from his hospital bed.Joe is shot and dumped in the middle of nowhere. He tries to figure it all out from his hospital bed.Joe is shot and dumped in the middle of nowhere. He tries to figure it all out from his hospital bed.
Photos
- Nurse
- (as Anne Newman)
- Bomb Disposal Officer
- (uncredited)
- Hart
- (uncredited)
- Lou
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsAt one point, the doctor tells a nurse "he'll need another transfusion," but then the nurse prepares a hypodermic needle to give Mannix a shot. Given that Mannix had been agitated, the doctor probably meant a sedative.
- Quotes
Joe Mannix: Miss Winslow. I'm Joe Mannix.
Karen Winslow: Oh!
[kisses Joe]
Karen Winslow: I'm so glad to see you.
Joe Mannix: Well, now, that's not usually included in my fee.
Karen Winslow: Except the man that's been following me is sitting at the end of the bar, so I thought perhaps it would be better if we made it look like a date.
Joe Mannix: Of course. Now, uh, why don't we sit down and take a look at your friend, huh?
[they sit down at a table]
Joe Mannix: That's quite a man to have following you.
Karen Winslow: Do you know him?
Joe Mannix: Does the name Johnny Sands mean anything to you?
Karen Winslow: No.
Joe Mannix: He's an enforcer. Do you know what an enforcer is?
Karen Winslow: It's a paid killer.
Joe Mannix: Yeah. He works for a man named Al Kordic.
[Winslow gasps anxiously]
Joe Mannix: What is it?
Karen Winslow: I... I mean, I just can't believe it. Why would Al have a man like that following me?
Joe Mannix: Al? Well, now, if you're that chummy, I can think of a lot of reasons.
Karen Winslow: Our relationship is strictly professional. I work for him.
Joe Mannix: Oh. Tell me about it.
Karen Winslow: I can't.
Joe Mannix: Miss Winslow, I usually don't take a case unless I know at least as much as my client does.
Karen Winslow: I'm really sorry I dragged you all the way out here, Mr. Mannix. There's obviously been some terrible mistake. I mean, if Johnny works for Al, then I'm sure I'm not in any trouble at all.
Joe Mannix: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I'm glad; glad to hear it. Now, uh, why don't we have dinner and then I'll see you home, okay?
Karen Winslow: Terrific.
Joe Mannix: Mm.
[looks at the bar to see that Johnny Sands has left]
This is the second episode where Joe uses flashbacks to reconstruct a crime, with the first being What Happened to Sunday from season four and the flashbacks worked then and they work again here. The story is intriguing and there's action throughout, but there are lots of problems also, which results in this one being just an average episode that is nothing special.
What's notable here is for the first time this season, Joe gets clobbered in the head!! Yes, after a long and unprecedented absence, the cliché that we know and love has returned, and it returns in grand style because it happens within the first minute of the episode AND it's shown twice, which is a first. Maybe the writers wanted to assure everyone that they definitely have NOT forgotten about this cliché and figured that showing it twice would really drive this point home, or maybe they figured that after fifteen episodes without it, they desperately needed to make up for lost ground so they can meet their head-whipping quota for this year. Whatever the case, the headaches are back for Joe.
William Devane and Victor French are absolutely awful and totally unconvincing as syndicate bosses. Neither one of them knows how to play the role and both of them are just going through the motions. Devane is too timid and soft-spoken and too agreeable to everything that anyone says, which is just not believable for a syndicate boss. French doesn't look or act anything like a syndicate boss and lacks charisma and excitement. Both of them look disinterested and bored and Devane looks like his mind is elsewhere and doesn't seem to be taking anything seriously. The meeting between the two of them towards the end is absolutely cringe-worthy and laughable. They're totally inept and will certainly never be mistaken for gangsters. Both of these clowns are way out of their league here.
There's some horrendous acting by Mike Connors when he's in the hospital bed. He sounds like a robot with his stilted speech. This gets irritating very quickly.
The real highlight is Ward Wood, who plays a substantial role and is excellent. Elizabeth Ashley is radiant and does a fine job as Karen Winslow. Paul Shenar is great as Johnny Sands.
There are some plot holes. There's no way Joe or anyone else could have seen what time the wristwatch was showing in the picture. And how did Sands know Joe mailed the picture to himself? And why would Joe mail it to himself in the first place? Why didn't he lock it in his safe? Then when the hood checks the bedroom, he doesn't go all the way in to see if the woman is in there, which is just maddening. And once again, we have an elaborate scheme to kill someone when it could have been accomplished much easier, which is a plot element that has been seen in many previous episodes also.
This was a particularly brutal outing for Joe. He gets shot, beaten up, clobbered over the head and nearly run over by a car.
The guy rolling down the hill at the beginning and the guy who jumps from the balcony are obvious stuntmen as you can clearly see their faces and they're obviously not Mike Connors.
So a mixed review. The flashbacks are interesting and there's plenty of action but there are also plot holes, clichés, some terrible acting and some of the worst casting decisions of any episode to date, all of which add up to just a mediocre episode.
- pkfloydmh
- Apr 19, 2015