Now for something completely different. After Munro has played nebbish intellectuals in his last two appearances, here he gets to rant, rave, fence, ride a horse, and sweat as the Marquis de Sade. And Munro puts the "sadism" in de Sade. As does writer Jim Henshaw. But Munro more than contributes with his scenery-chewing.
I don't buy Munro being that intriguing a character, to Micki or anyone else. But Munro gives it his best effort, and different strokes for different folks.
Louise Robey joins in the fun, and Micki gets some characterizing. Granted, it's of a 20th century woman fascinated by de Sade's philosophy. It's basically an elaborate version of how women love bad boys. Which might explain Micki's involvement with the men in her past.
Is it just me, or is the town that the trio lives in (Chicago, supposedly) have a regular problem with serial killers. There was a serial killer in "Negative Exposure", several in "Mightier Than the Sword", and Larissa mentions one on the loose in this episode. It's no wonder the police seems so incompetent: they probably considering serial killings ho-hum and treat them accordingly.
Jack and Johnny don't do much except unravel the plot. Which is a bit complicated, since the cursed object isn't the one responsible for the time travel. In fact, there's no cursed object at all. The two-sided painting has mystical powers. Micki's letter in the writing box that Lewis purchased sets off the whole thing, but it's not cursed or is subsequently cursed by Lewis.
The execution of the 18th century on the show's budget is well done. And I like how de Safe catches onto Mick's deception. There's not "Ooh, you're pretty smart for an 18th century man" condescension. On the other hand, it seems like a "Show off Louise Robey's talent" sort of episode. Who knew Micki was an accomplished equestrian, for instance? The scene where Micki and de Safe ride horses doesn't serve any plot purposes. It just shows off how well Ms. Robey can ride a horse.
Also, it may be Robey, or it may be Munro as I noted before. But Robey isn't really able to sell how Micki is intrigued by de Sade's unrepentant evil. I don't know if the portrayal of de Sade is accurate to the historical version. I get the impression de Sade here is more TV "sadistic" than anything. Maybe that's because the "real" de Sade is too horrific for TV, even syndicated TV. He doesn't appear that often in American television shows that I know of. And maybe Munro is historically accurate. But Robey falling for the short, dumpy looking guy just doesn't work.
And it's another time-travel episode. Like its three predecessors", "Pit" doesn't dwell on the time travel element. Part of it is the 60-minute nature of the show. Part of it is that the production crew... just don't seem that interested in the wonders of time travels. The episode does have a casualty loop of sorts, but not much is made of it. And Micki has traveled two hundred years into the past, but no one seems to care. "Eye of Death" is the only time-travel episode that seems to have done much with the time-travel aspects, and that wasn't much.
All we really get here is Micki challenging de Sade to deal with a peer. But that just leads into a torture scene: there's no explanation of de Sade having to deal with the sexual sensibilities of a 20th century woman who is ready for him. Which could make for an interesting episode, but it's not what the production crew is trying to do here.
I like Vlasta Vrana as the main 20th century bad guy, Webster Eby. Vrana had a relatively minor part in "Hate on Your Dial". Here he reminds me of Donatello on 'Supernatural'. It's not a huge part, and Webster turns into a raving bad guy at the end. But until then he's not bad as a 20th century man enraptured by de Sade's philosophy.
So "Pit" is an overall decent episode: it just seems like the production, and the actors, aren't up to the challenge of doing de Sade justice. As a series finale, "Pit" doesn't do much but apparently the cast and crew knew it would be the series finale. I suppose this prevents some kind of big "finale" type episode. But it does leave the series rather open-ended.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
I don't buy Munro being that intriguing a character, to Micki or anyone else. But Munro gives it his best effort, and different strokes for different folks.
Louise Robey joins in the fun, and Micki gets some characterizing. Granted, it's of a 20th century woman fascinated by de Sade's philosophy. It's basically an elaborate version of how women love bad boys. Which might explain Micki's involvement with the men in her past.
Is it just me, or is the town that the trio lives in (Chicago, supposedly) have a regular problem with serial killers. There was a serial killer in "Negative Exposure", several in "Mightier Than the Sword", and Larissa mentions one on the loose in this episode. It's no wonder the police seems so incompetent: they probably considering serial killings ho-hum and treat them accordingly.
Jack and Johnny don't do much except unravel the plot. Which is a bit complicated, since the cursed object isn't the one responsible for the time travel. In fact, there's no cursed object at all. The two-sided painting has mystical powers. Micki's letter in the writing box that Lewis purchased sets off the whole thing, but it's not cursed or is subsequently cursed by Lewis.
The execution of the 18th century on the show's budget is well done. And I like how de Safe catches onto Mick's deception. There's not "Ooh, you're pretty smart for an 18th century man" condescension. On the other hand, it seems like a "Show off Louise Robey's talent" sort of episode. Who knew Micki was an accomplished equestrian, for instance? The scene where Micki and de Safe ride horses doesn't serve any plot purposes. It just shows off how well Ms. Robey can ride a horse.
Also, it may be Robey, or it may be Munro as I noted before. But Robey isn't really able to sell how Micki is intrigued by de Sade's unrepentant evil. I don't know if the portrayal of de Sade is accurate to the historical version. I get the impression de Sade here is more TV "sadistic" than anything. Maybe that's because the "real" de Sade is too horrific for TV, even syndicated TV. He doesn't appear that often in American television shows that I know of. And maybe Munro is historically accurate. But Robey falling for the short, dumpy looking guy just doesn't work.
And it's another time-travel episode. Like its three predecessors", "Pit" doesn't dwell on the time travel element. Part of it is the 60-minute nature of the show. Part of it is that the production crew... just don't seem that interested in the wonders of time travels. The episode does have a casualty loop of sorts, but not much is made of it. And Micki has traveled two hundred years into the past, but no one seems to care. "Eye of Death" is the only time-travel episode that seems to have done much with the time-travel aspects, and that wasn't much.
All we really get here is Micki challenging de Sade to deal with a peer. But that just leads into a torture scene: there's no explanation of de Sade having to deal with the sexual sensibilities of a 20th century woman who is ready for him. Which could make for an interesting episode, but it's not what the production crew is trying to do here.
I like Vlasta Vrana as the main 20th century bad guy, Webster Eby. Vrana had a relatively minor part in "Hate on Your Dial". Here he reminds me of Donatello on 'Supernatural'. It's not a huge part, and Webster turns into a raving bad guy at the end. But until then he's not bad as a 20th century man enraptured by de Sade's philosophy.
So "Pit" is an overall decent episode: it just seems like the production, and the actors, aren't up to the challenge of doing de Sade justice. As a series finale, "Pit" doesn't do much but apparently the cast and crew knew it would be the series finale. I suppose this prevents some kind of big "finale" type episode. But it does leave the series rather open-ended.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
