A down-on-his-luck boxer has a reversal of fortune when he gets his hands on a set of cursed boxing gloves that allow him not only to win fights inside the ring, but outside as well...
I really liked "Shadow Boxer." I would have given it a higher rating than this but the premise is just so stupid to me that I just can't. The featured antique and its curse is just too dumb for words. What keeps it from totally going down the toilet is the fact that the writers managed to build a script around it that's good enough to make you overlook its moronic concept and even accept it.
The writing really saves this episode. We're given an abused and mistreated lowlife wannabe boxer who has all the motives in the world to want to use the gloves. We're given plenty of supplementary characters to pick on him and become viable targets for his revenge. We're given a plausible weakness for the shadow man (although, once the trio find this out, why they don't start carrying around battery powered flashlights I'll never know). Micki learns to use her feminine wiles to her advantage.
As well written as the episode is overall, the ending is great as it explores some new avenues. This time we get to see an antique owner break into Curious Goods and try to take a cursed object back which puts a new spin on things and makes things realistic. Beforehand, the trio would reclaim the object and basically ride off into the sunset. After all, would you sit idly by and allow someone to come along and snatch away your most valuable possession without at least trying to get it back first? Also, we get to see that the main characters are not infallible as Ryan dons the gloves himself and actually wails on Jack so his shadow can subdue Tommy Dunn. It's a nice twist that Ryan uses a cursed object himself to foil its owner and shows just how truly seductive their power can be.
We're given some actual story continuity as we see the strain that running the antique shop has on Micki's relationship with her fiancée, Lloyd. This is a pretty big deal as plenty of shows with higher budgets and better reputations of the time didn't maintain this kind of story continuity. David Ferry's performance as Tommy Dunn is the final highlight of the episode.
While "Shadow Boxer" may sound ridiculous to some (it certainly did to me), I would urge those people to give this one a chance as they really made the most of the what they had here.
I really liked "Shadow Boxer." I would have given it a higher rating than this but the premise is just so stupid to me that I just can't. The featured antique and its curse is just too dumb for words. What keeps it from totally going down the toilet is the fact that the writers managed to build a script around it that's good enough to make you overlook its moronic concept and even accept it.
The writing really saves this episode. We're given an abused and mistreated lowlife wannabe boxer who has all the motives in the world to want to use the gloves. We're given plenty of supplementary characters to pick on him and become viable targets for his revenge. We're given a plausible weakness for the shadow man (although, once the trio find this out, why they don't start carrying around battery powered flashlights I'll never know). Micki learns to use her feminine wiles to her advantage.
As well written as the episode is overall, the ending is great as it explores some new avenues. This time we get to see an antique owner break into Curious Goods and try to take a cursed object back which puts a new spin on things and makes things realistic. Beforehand, the trio would reclaim the object and basically ride off into the sunset. After all, would you sit idly by and allow someone to come along and snatch away your most valuable possession without at least trying to get it back first? Also, we get to see that the main characters are not infallible as Ryan dons the gloves himself and actually wails on Jack so his shadow can subdue Tommy Dunn. It's a nice twist that Ryan uses a cursed object himself to foil its owner and shows just how truly seductive their power can be.
We're given some actual story continuity as we see the strain that running the antique shop has on Micki's relationship with her fiancée, Lloyd. This is a pretty big deal as plenty of shows with higher budgets and better reputations of the time didn't maintain this kind of story continuity. David Ferry's performance as Tommy Dunn is the final highlight of the episode.
While "Shadow Boxer" may sound ridiculous to some (it certainly did to me), I would urge those people to give this one a chance as they really made the most of the what they had here.