Route 66 (TV Series) Narcissus on an Old Red Fire Engine (1963) User Reviews

Youthful Angst Collides With Mental Illness

[AudioFileZ · 6/10 · 21 April 2012]

I will have to admit I'm not certain what Stirling Sillphant was going for here. Was he exploring a collision of youthful angst with mental illness? I definitely feel the protagonist, Janie Nickerson, was suffering from some sort of personality defect as implied by the episode's title. A somewhat strange slow to unfold episode that is low on the entertainment quotient.

On the plus side we, more or less, officially get Tod's new sidekick Lincoln Case played by Glenn Corbett(he was a guest star in the previous episode). Wisely, the producers make the replacement a "soft" one where the viewer isn't completely sure if they are going to drift as a pair. Maharris is sorely missed, but I can see why those in charge felt Corbett had the required striking good looks as well as the ability to sell that all element of unpredictability which Maharris had in spades. Sadly, steady viewers failed to give Corbett his deserved due. Watching now, detached from the brouhaha of the various stories for Mahariss's departure, it's clear Corbet was up to the task. There is a few nice Texas coast location shots as well as a remembrance of how things were when "Cotton was King" in America. Not a must episode other than Case assuming the Maharris role.

"The Skipper" helps sink this one

[lrrap · 5/10 · 12 January 2020]

This is an OK "The Guys Meet a Crazy Lady" episode. Actually, it's Glenn Corbett's performance that makes it work as well as it does. He's smitten with the girl, makes no apologies, and will put up with just about anything to pursue her. A "strong, silent"-type performance that rings true.

Alan Hale, Jr, try as he might, just COULD NOT manage to break out of the cartoon-ish buffoonery that would work so well for him as Gilligan's Skipper. He was truly a one-note actor/comedian (similar to Adam West, whose limited gifts were perfectly suited to his campy signature role). Too bad.

The Skipper's big scene in the restaurant with Glenn is embarrassingly bad (the actress playing his wife is no better, and the quality of their dialogue stinks). And Glenn just stands there silent and motionless; it's a wonder he doesn't burst out laughing.

I'm still hopeful that the addition of LInc Case to the series would put an end to Route 66's "Psycho Drama"-with-unhinged-young-ladies syndrome; at least, in this case, it was bearable, thanks to Glenn Corbett's stalwart, understated and sympathetic performance. LR

3/29/63 "Narcissus on an Old Red Fire Engine"

[schappe1 · 4 December 2015]

This time Linc must deal with a crazy lady, except she's not very crazy. Anne Helm makes her third appearance on the show as a college student who came from a home where they had a lot of material things but not a lot of emotional support. She's run away to a coastal town and is living it up with the denizens of local bars. Linc sees her there and falls hard for her. The local Sheriff, a friend of the family, warns him off her, describing her emotional vulnerabilities. The descriptions of this episode describe her problem as "retreating into a fantasy world " but she just complains about people responding to superficial things like how cute she was as a kid. I never was able to discern what her real problem was but she tries to solve it by jumping off a peer, (there was no bear pit available), and Linc jumps in to save her.

There's more discussion of Vietnam, with Linc trying to tell of his very real problems there to contrast, while not belittling her rather lesser difficulties. The title comes from an old fire engine she mounts at an amusement park, from where she makes one of her speeches.

Music question

[nancyminchew · 28 April 2019]

I have a friend who is looking for the name of the song in the opening scene in the Greek bar. This episode was filmed in Galveston, Texas. Anne Helm was dancing a "Greek dance" and Glenn Corbet made his first appearance on the series. Possibly a local Galveston musician?

A blank reflection

[lor_ · 4 October 2023]

As pretentious as its title, this "Route 66" segment spotlighting new cast member Glenn Corbett is quite disappointing. Looking more like a stand-in than a replacement, Glenn Corbett as Milner's new "on the road" teammate opens the show at a Galveston, Texas restaurant having a "Love at first sight" locking of gazes with Ann Helm as she does a Greek dance, and then he's slipped a Mickey, somewhat humiliated by the bar patrons en masse. It's an oddball opening to the show and later when he picks her up in their new Corvette (a sleek shiny metallic model, with no headlights visible) it's a bit late.

The boys are working in a cotton processing plant with forklifts, and first thing, the local constabulary visits Glenn and tells him to leave the girl alone. The script emphasizes his return from Vietnam where he served as a special forces soldier, a quite topical element for 1963.

The boys get into a fist fight with the locals later on at the same restaurant (where's Maharis when you need him?) and get arrested. Once back out, Glenn resumes romancing Helm, but his dull set smile is boring, making one wonder what she sees in our new hero. And Helm is stuck with lousy dialogue, not up to the Silliphant level of early shows.

Like the boys, Helm represents a free spirit trying to find herself, but hanging out in her home town is hardly the stuff of a Kerouac odyssey. Key scene has her ringing a bell at night, perched atop an old red fire engine launching into a Beat Era monologue about herself, a maudlin neurotic breakdown. Glenn continues his blank stare.

Milner steps in, introducing Glenn to Helm's parents, with Alan Hale Junior in a more sombre role than usual. They're worried about her future, expecting her to settle down -she's already engaged, and in college. Glenn rejects Hale's lecture and doesn't listen to Milner's advice either.

Helm recites the Greek myth about Narcissus and feels aimless, wondering if Glenn can be the one to guide her. Intervening is her fiance Bill, who shows up with thugs to attack Glenn, who easily beats all three of them up. Then he gives Helm a speech about the futility of his battles "to take a hill" in Vietnam, and promptly drops her.

Next up the local sheriff lectures him on the generation gap, and Glenn gives him good news -he's about to leave town for the open road once more. And he earns another lecture from Milner. Pretentious emphasis on Vietnam war weariness proves wearying in this episode. Low point is the climax: Glenn and Ann at the fire engine again, with her turning suicidal. Followed by some suspense at last, as he chases her along a scenic pier, trying to save her.

It's not a moment too soon when Milner drives the Corvette away from the Seahorse Hotel and stops to pick up Glenn, ready for their next adventure on the road.