"Shadow Boxer" probably look good on paper. It's got a decent premise with the antique boxing gloves, even if they don't seem very antique-y. You got Philip Akin, on his feet after his Norton role on "War of the Worlds". Yeah, he played Charlie on "Highlander", but they never seemed to do much with him. So it's nice to see him have something a bit meatier here. The supporting cast isn't bad, and the shadow boxer is both cheesy-looking and creepy. And John LeMay gets a chance to actually act when he's beating on Jack.
So why is the episode so-so? Part of it is that David Ferry plays another in the show's early history of leering bad guys. Give me a Colin Fox or Nigel Bennett, or Colm Feore, or even a Denis Forest. Ferry is no Colm Feore, sorry.
Part of it is the episode ends on a weak note. Ryan beats Jack, and Jack half-jokingly says that he'll have revenge someday. Another is that Cornelius turns from revenge-filled boxer to "Manny wouldn't have wanted this" in the turn of a script page. Geez, gaslight it a little next time, will you, production staff? And Cornelius claims Manny "was a like a father to him". Not that the production staff ever bothered to portray that: show, not tell, folks.
Part of it is that the episode tries to have it all. Yes, it's subtly terrifying seeing Ryan use a glove's curse to beat the bad guy. But it's laughed off way too easily.
Part of it is that we spend a lot of time watching Tommy leer over Micki. Neither Ferry or Robey are that good of actors, so it's kind of eh.
Another is that the shadow has a comic book style weakness. I don't recall the cup, or scalpel, or Cupid's statue, having vulnerabilities. So why does the shadow? It's also not very imaginative. Yes, I suppose shadows are weakened by light. It makes sense, but it's also kind of a cop-out.
And that's the problem with the episode as a whole. It does a lot of things that later episodes would do much better. Here, the production staff seems to be just trying to do too much, too early, without the world-building that would make it believable. They make Ryan practically a killer, but then cop-out at the end by saying that Tommy had brain scarring anyway, so it is okay for Ryan to beat him practically to death. Or so they imply. The artifact-of-the-week has a vulnerability, but it's a pretty weak and predictable one. Cornelius comes across as a decent secondary character, but they give him a turn at the end that makes him one instead of building to it. And so on.
So "Shadow Boxer" is an okay episode, but not a great one even by first-season standard. "Doctor Jack" had a better villain and a decent artifact. Maybe it's connection to Jack the Ripper?
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
So why is the episode so-so? Part of it is that David Ferry plays another in the show's early history of leering bad guys. Give me a Colin Fox or Nigel Bennett, or Colm Feore, or even a Denis Forest. Ferry is no Colm Feore, sorry.
Part of it is the episode ends on a weak note. Ryan beats Jack, and Jack half-jokingly says that he'll have revenge someday. Another is that Cornelius turns from revenge-filled boxer to "Manny wouldn't have wanted this" in the turn of a script page. Geez, gaslight it a little next time, will you, production staff? And Cornelius claims Manny "was a like a father to him". Not that the production staff ever bothered to portray that: show, not tell, folks.
Part of it is that the episode tries to have it all. Yes, it's subtly terrifying seeing Ryan use a glove's curse to beat the bad guy. But it's laughed off way too easily.
Part of it is that we spend a lot of time watching Tommy leer over Micki. Neither Ferry or Robey are that good of actors, so it's kind of eh.
Another is that the shadow has a comic book style weakness. I don't recall the cup, or scalpel, or Cupid's statue, having vulnerabilities. So why does the shadow? It's also not very imaginative. Yes, I suppose shadows are weakened by light. It makes sense, but it's also kind of a cop-out.
And that's the problem with the episode as a whole. It does a lot of things that later episodes would do much better. Here, the production staff seems to be just trying to do too much, too early, without the world-building that would make it believable. They make Ryan practically a killer, but then cop-out at the end by saying that Tommy had brain scarring anyway, so it is okay for Ryan to beat him practically to death. Or so they imply. The artifact-of-the-week has a vulnerability, but it's a pretty weak and predictable one. Cornelius comes across as a decent secondary character, but they give him a turn at the end that makes him one instead of building to it. And so on.
So "Shadow Boxer" is an okay episode, but not a great one even by first-season standard. "Doctor Jack" had a better villain and a decent artifact. Maybe it's connection to Jack the Ripper?
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?