User Reviews

Surprisingly eerie episode detailing a psychic named Brycie (Smith) who foresees Tod killing Buz. Smith in her stylish short haircut, make up, and thin figure looks almost like a 60's fashion model here. Her date with Tod has a very distinctive atmosphere as it features them walking around outside at night while she tells him of her spooky visions and it is coupled with some eerie music and interesting camera work. Her relationship with her father (Bickel), who makes it a life mission to debunk psychics, is interesting as is the revelation at the end to the deep dark secret that they both share.

The fire filled finale is pretty impressive and frighteningly realistic as actress Lu Leonard literally has her clothes catch on fire. The story also has a unique structure as it starts out right away on a dark and stormy night with the foretold incident about to happen and then cuts away to show how it all started.

The only negative to this episode is Milner's overwrought performance at becoming much too unhinged as Smith's frightening visions seem to start happening. This is fortunately balanced by Buz's very laid back attitude about the whole thing. He even has an amusing conversation with Tod where he talks about his presumed upcoming 'death day' and states that if someone is going to kill him he wouldn't want it to be anyone else but his friend doing the honors. He even continues to lament how it is unfortunate that people aren't informed of their 'death day' in advance so they could celebrate it every year along with their birthdays.

Grade: B+

Tod and Buz are back in Cleveland where they see a nightclub act put on by Lois Smith, (her third appearance in the series), who is the estranged daughter of a college professor, (Theodore Bikel), who is a famous debunker of psychics. Lois is doing her phony but effective psychic act to embarrass him. Both Tod and Buz scoff at her predictions of doom but it's harder for Tod, who is told that he will be responsible for Buz's death, (an ironic suggestion as this will be his character's last appearance, save for "A Gift for a Warrior"). The joke about it but it becomes harder for Tod as Lois seems to know more about him that he would have expected and some minor predictions come true. In another good performance from Milner, (reminiscent of "The Thin White Line" from Season 2), Tod goes from joking about it to obsessed with it, with Buz going after him to try to bring him back to reality.

As it takes place in Cleveland, as does "Welcome to the Wedding" and "Everybody's Father's Daughter Must Weave Her Own" and no other episode this season does, I don't believe this is the last episode Maharis filmed. But we won't see him in the next four episodes.

That first part's a grabber. It's a psychic's stage show inside a ritzy nightclub, but where's the psychic. Instead, there's only an empty chair. The demonic-looking dog's an exotic addition and well-trained too. So, can psychic Brycie (Smith) actually foretell the future. Let's hope not, because she foresees Tod killing Buz amidst a hellish fire. And from the entry's opening, it looks like the unthinkable is coming true, as Tod tells the lead-up story in flashback. So, is Brycie actually psychic and will Tod actually break up the buddies, violently.

The entry's a departure from the series naturalistic norm. The lighting here is darkly noirish, while the subject matter departs from the normal by focusing on the paranormal. It's more like Tod and Buz meet the Twilight Zone. I like the way the guys' work inside the infernal looking machines blends in with the overall theme. Visually, this may be one of the most striking of the series.

Much depends on Smith's acting abilities, and while she's sometimes excessive, it fits in with the general mood. (And see if you agree that there's a facial resemblance to Natalie Wood.) Looks like Bikel's role as Brycie's dad was added so as to deepen the philosophic premise-, which is that the future is already decided such that it can be foretold. That's basically Brycie's psychic presumption. Dad, however, remains a skeptic--- the future can only be decided by contingent human actions, so it cannot be foretold. Thus, he and daughter carry on a running debate that allows writer Silliphant to indulge his penchant for high-brow tropes.

Anyway, the entry may be a matter of taste for many viewers, departing from the series norm as it does. There were parts I liked and some I didn't (like the concocted ending). Nonetheless, the visuals remain compelling, even when the narrative wobbles.