This one was a fun episode to watch, as long as you are good at putting your common sense and knowledge aside (granted, pretty much a prerequisite for viewing this show). Someone is trying to kill him, so Jonathan gets a disguise from the best: Frank Westmore, renowned Hollywood makeup artist, turns him into his "Swiss uncle." Contrary to what some others think, it's so good that the other characters wouldn't see through it. They know he's related to Jonathan so there would be a certain amount of resemblance anyway. And people generally aren't that great at faces (and a lot like me are incredibly *bad*), perhaps because, understandably, they are more focused on themselves.
As others note, Jennifer is her usually bubbly self in spite of her husband's "death" - on this show *nothing* gets the Harts down for long! This is also 1 of 11 episodes with Lee Wilkof as Stanley Friesen, and having Stanley along is always a big entertainment plus. OTOH, having Max as the spokesman for Hart Industries to announce his death struck me as quite odd and inappropriate. His unpolished persona is wrong for that role, but then the writers had to give him *something* to do in this show. Peter Mark Richman, a well-known actor accomplished at playing sinister bad guys, plays a fine one here as greedy lawyer Owen Grant. Royce Applegate is also fun to watch as Richman's accomplice, good old Oklahoma boy "Billy Ray Thompson," who's not really cut out for murder. But as we know, "the love of money is the root of all evil" . . .
Last, there is the excellently forged will in which Jonathan leaves everything to Billy Ray. No one even considers that California, quite famously, is a community property state (as are 8 other states). This applies not just to divorce, but death. And even if a wife is left out of a will (an "omitted spouse"), she is still entitled to her "widow's share." No, Billy Ray, hold on, you would never have been taking over anytime soon!
As others note, Jennifer is her usually bubbly self in spite of her husband's "death" - on this show *nothing* gets the Harts down for long! This is also 1 of 11 episodes with Lee Wilkof as Stanley Friesen, and having Stanley along is always a big entertainment plus. OTOH, having Max as the spokesman for Hart Industries to announce his death struck me as quite odd and inappropriate. His unpolished persona is wrong for that role, but then the writers had to give him *something* to do in this show. Peter Mark Richman, a well-known actor accomplished at playing sinister bad guys, plays a fine one here as greedy lawyer Owen Grant. Royce Applegate is also fun to watch as Richman's accomplice, good old Oklahoma boy "Billy Ray Thompson," who's not really cut out for murder. But as we know, "the love of money is the root of all evil" . . .
Last, there is the excellently forged will in which Jonathan leaves everything to Billy Ray. No one even considers that California, quite famously, is a community property state (as are 8 other states). This applies not just to divorce, but death. And even if a wife is left out of a will (an "omitted spouse"), she is still entitled to her "widow's share." No, Billy Ray, hold on, you would never have been taking over anytime soon!