Friday the 13th: The Series (TV Series) Shadow Boxer (1987) User Reviews

even Fiona Apple never Shadox boxxed like this

[movieman_kev · 8/10 · 12 March 2009]

A cursed pair of boxing gloves that gives the owner of them abnormal strength while a shadow of the boxer pummels another victim to death is the antique that Ryan, Micki & Jack are after this week. Tommy Dunn (David Ferry of Boondock Saints) is the sad sack pugilist who can't win a fight to save his life until he comes into possession of the aforementioned gloves. It's up to the trio to get the accursed things back.

This is the first really memorable episode of the series and I enjoyed it immensely. A bad guy you love to hate, a nice suitably evil antique, and a great ending makes this on a winner by K.O. Even the lip service given to Micki's not often talked about (and better off that way) fiancé during the first few minutes of the episode doesn't put a crimp on my overall enjoyment of it.

My Grade: A-

Float like a butterfly...

[allexand · 6/10 · 2 July 2009]

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.

Decent Episode, Lacking A Little... Punch

[Gislef · 7/10 · 2 August 2020]

"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?

Reasonably good

[mattkratz · 7/10 · 26 December 2020]

This was a decent episode as a boxer uses a pair of cursed boxing gloves in the ring, and his shadow beats someone else to death in an alley. It was basically sort of a revenge type of object and a decent example of how the objects worked. I enjoyed the boxing scenes and watching the shadow scenes, and the final scene in the shop was classic

** out of ****.

The Gloves from Killer Kelsey

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 21 March 2024]

The janitor and wannabe a boxer of the Manny's Gym, Tommy Dunn, steals the pair of gloves that belonged to Killer Kelsey from the owner and trainer Manny King. He wears the gloves in the locker room and his shadow separates from him, meeting Manny in an alley and punching him to death while Tommy punches a bag. Manny's widow Sadie calls Jack and offers his collection to be sold by the Curious Goods since he bought the pair of gloves from Lewis. However, Jack, Micki and Ryan do not find the cursed gloves and go to the Gym to look for the gloves. Soon Micki takes a picture of Tommy's gloves and sees the name "Killer" printed on them. Meanwhile, Tommy proceeds his killings and the boxer Tony Terrific, with whom he had a beef, is murdered beaten to death. But how to retrieve the gloves from the dangerous boxer?

"Shadow Boxer" is another reasonable episode of "Friday the 13th: The Series". Despite the flaws already listed in "Goofs", the episode holds the attention of the viewer. The conclusion is moralist since Tommy Dunn neither dies nor stay normal, and Ryan is not blamed by the punch. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Sombra do Lutador" ("The Shadow Boxer")

Fair episode

[The_King_of_Cool · 5/10 · 16 September 2017]

Episode 8: Shadow Boxer- ***

A boxer gets a hold of cursed boxing gloves, which he uses to win fights. This was an alright episode not spectacular, but not a dud either. The series was still finding its identity, but overall a decent watch.