Pros: The show breaks the "standard" format of the team spending the episode recovering the antique-of-the-week. They find it early, and the rest of the episode is the man they stole it from invading Curious Goods to get it back. So it's a nice break in tradition, even if it was a bit early in the show's run for them to have a "tradition".
The shot in the mirror when Jonah bursts into flames is a nice bit of cinematography from director Alexander Singer.
Cons: It's a pretty standard cost-cutting bottle episode, with a relatively small cast and the majority of the episode set in the store. The main villain, Jonah, doesn't have much of a personality beyond "evil" and is as indestructible as a movie Jason. He takes an electrical shock and a second-story fall, and keeps on ticking. The kid, Richie, is annoying and we never get any background on him or his mother Jenny. Who is a friend? Neighbor? Of Micki's. The antique isn't as imaginative as some we get later in the series, or even in the first season. It reveals treasure, as long as the owner kills someone afterward. There's no history on the lantern, or back story on it. It just... is.
The antique also has the bog-standard comic book weakness of several earlier antiques. The beam can be reflected, and kill the bad guy. Why not have an evil shadow that can be defeated by light? Oh, wait, they already did that.
The excuse of Jack and Ryan going off to an astrologers' convention is pretty lame. Jack says it's the only time in years the convention is in the city. But then later they're seen driving through the countryside. A radio announcer mentions a "tropical hurricane". So they're in the tropics? Never seen that before or since.
Why doesn't the police officer (Kennedy, according to the credits) never call for backup? And doesn't anybody wonder why there are three corpses--including a police officer--at the store? And how does Jonah find the store? Yes, he sees the car's license plate as Jack and Ryan drive off. Is he really so connected that he can call at someone at the DMV in the middle of a "tropical hurricane" and get the car's location?
So "Bedazzled" is a decent earlier episode. It's better than the lackluster early-early episodes, but it's not as good as either the preceding "Tales From the Undead" or "Faith Healer", or subsequent episode like "Brain Drain" and "The Electrocutioner".
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
The shot in the mirror when Jonah bursts into flames is a nice bit of cinematography from director Alexander Singer.
Cons: It's a pretty standard cost-cutting bottle episode, with a relatively small cast and the majority of the episode set in the store. The main villain, Jonah, doesn't have much of a personality beyond "evil" and is as indestructible as a movie Jason. He takes an electrical shock and a second-story fall, and keeps on ticking. The kid, Richie, is annoying and we never get any background on him or his mother Jenny. Who is a friend? Neighbor? Of Micki's. The antique isn't as imaginative as some we get later in the series, or even in the first season. It reveals treasure, as long as the owner kills someone afterward. There's no history on the lantern, or back story on it. It just... is.
The antique also has the bog-standard comic book weakness of several earlier antiques. The beam can be reflected, and kill the bad guy. Why not have an evil shadow that can be defeated by light? Oh, wait, they already did that.
The excuse of Jack and Ryan going off to an astrologers' convention is pretty lame. Jack says it's the only time in years the convention is in the city. But then later they're seen driving through the countryside. A radio announcer mentions a "tropical hurricane". So they're in the tropics? Never seen that before or since.
Why doesn't the police officer (Kennedy, according to the credits) never call for backup? And doesn't anybody wonder why there are three corpses--including a police officer--at the store? And how does Jonah find the store? Yes, he sees the car's license plate as Jack and Ryan drive off. Is he really so connected that he can call at someone at the DMV in the middle of a "tropical hurricane" and get the car's location?
So "Bedazzled" is a decent earlier episode. It's better than the lackluster early-early episodes, but it's not as good as either the preceding "Tales From the Undead" or "Faith Healer", or subsequent episode like "Brain Drain" and "The Electrocutioner".
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?