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Adam-12: Log 95: Purse Snatcher (1970)
Shattering Beyond Shattering
There's trouble in Los Angeles. Three teenage boys are suspected of snatching purses. The cops find them in an alley and start talking to the leader. One of the followers praises the leader.
"Shut up," Benjie says. "I'll do the talking here."
Benjie's the leader. Officer Malloy talks to the boys, and he tries to steer Benjie in the right direction. Having no proof the boys did anything, Malloy lets them go.
"And think about what I told you," Malloy says.
"Yeah, sure," Benjie says. "I'll probably toss and turn all night thinking about it."
Sometimes there's a story you don't forget. It might take the form of a book, or it might take the form of a film. Sometimes it takes the form of a TV episode. I don't normally get excited about "Adam-12" (1968-'75), but "Purse Snatcher" (1970) is one of the appalling episodes of television history.
16-year-old Benjie Tremain snatches purses--and he's injured at least one elderly woman in the process. He's as rude as he can be. He's easy to hate.
Officer Malloy confronts Benjie's father, a successful business man, about what his son is doing.
"Oh, come on!" Mr. Tremain says. "This is just kid's stuff."
Martin Milner and Kent McCord play their roles recurring roles well as Officer Malloy and Officer Reed, respectively. Myron Healey does a good job as Mr. Tremain. However, the story belongs to Gary Morgan as Benjie. Morgan gives a performance to be remembered--and in doing so, he creates one of the most tragic characters I've ever seen.
"Purse Snatcher," written by Michael Donovan and directed by James Neilson, is shocking on the level of a classic episode of "The Six Million Dollar Man," "Burning Bright" (1974), where William Shatner guest-stars as the brilliant but disturbed astronaut, Josh Lang.
I think of Sidney Poitier playing Mr. Thackeray, the teacher in one of my all-time favorite movies, "To Sir, With Love" (1967). Mr. Thackeray could have reached Benjie.
"Purse Snatcher" (1970) is a 30 minute TV episode, but it has something in common with a three-and-a-half hour epic: the Martin Scorsese masterpiece, "The Irishman" (2019), which I consider the best gangster movie ever made. "Purse Snatcher" and "The Irishman" are both stories that address the question of how we spend our lives.
The main character of "The Irishman" is mob man Frank Sheeran, played by Robert De Niro. Frank's life of crime has ended. Benjie's life of crime has only begun. "The Irishman" is narrated by the elderly Frank, who tells his life story.
What about Benjie? Will he even get a chance to tell his story?
The Six Million Dollar Man: Look Alike (1975)
A Six Million Dollar Heavy Hitter
"Look Alike" (February 1975) is one of the truly fun episodes of television history. It's also intelligently written. Yes, there's somebody who looks like bionic hero Steve Austin--but there's a twist in the story. The episode is not as clichéd as the title might indicate.
As the story unfolds, we're taken into the boxing arena--and making a guest-star appearance is George Foreman. George was in his heavyweight hey-day back then, and he still had hair. In "Look Alike," Foreman and The Six Million Dollar Man prove to be quite a duo ! ! !
Lee Majors excels as both Colonel Steve Austin and Steve's look alike--a man named John Dine. Richard Anderson does his usual great job as Steve's boss, Oscar Goldman. Guest starring as the bad guys are Robert DoQui, Robert Salvio, and Jack Colvin. If Colvin looks like somebody, it's because he later became known as Jack McGee, the obnoxious reporter in the TV series, "The Incredible Hulk" (1977- '82).
On the subject of "looking alike," there's a minor character--a tall man in an orange-pink shirt--who hangs out with the bad guys. He looks like famous film director Quentin Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction," 1994). I know it's not Tarantino, however, because he was only 12 years old in 1975.
"Look Alike" is not one of the famous Six Million Dollar installments, but I think it's one of the best. It's not quite on a level with "Population Zero" or "Day of the Robot," but it makes the Top 10. "Look Alike" is an example of how the first two and a half seasons of "The Six Million Dollar Man" are classic 1970's television. I loved it as a kid, and I love it as an adult.
In closing, let me add this: George Foreman had recently lost his crown as the heavyweight champion to Muhammad Ali, in the fall of 1974. Ali became champion of the world. Foreman, however, got to guest star on "The Six Million Dollar Man." I think Foreman got the better deal.
The Six Million Dollar Man: The Secret of Bigfoot: Part 1 (1976)
The Six Million Dollar Man Meets Sesame Street
Yes, the famous "Bigfoot" episode might as well be called "The Six Million Dollar Man Meets Sesame Street." It's like Big Bird's friend Mr. Snuffleupagus got mad and went on a rampage. A lot of Six Million Dollar Fanatics love it, but I think the makers of the show fumbled on this one.
"The Secret of Bigfoot" starts with promise. Oscar Goldman and Steve Austin talk about the fault-line and the earthquakes and how they have the technology to possibly mitigate the severity of those earth- shattering disruptions that occur from time to time.
Majestic music plays as the camera rolls across the California mountain countryside. Then it ends too quickly. Haunting music plays as a pair of mysterious legs walks across the woods. That ends too quickly, also. The whole sequence is too fast-paced.
Still, there is hope of a good drama. A husband-and-wife team of geologists pitches camp by the lake at the edge of the woods. "This will be our second honeymoon," one of them says. The viewer is led to believe a real adventure is about to happen. Then...
...it turns ridiculous. The action is unnaturally fast-paced, as if they're afraid of the viewer losing interest. I think of "The Pioneers," a Season Two classic that, like "Bigfoot," involves something bizarre happening in the woods. The camera work and the suspense are superb. I also think of the Sergio Leone epic, "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." The sparsity of dialogue is accompanied by a haunting score and a slow-moving camera.
"The Secret of Bigfoot" is the opposite of "The Pioneers" and "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." "Bigfoot" spells a lot of the action out for the audience, as if we've transformed into a bunch of kids. Yes, I loved the "The Six Million Dollar Man" as a kid because it was exciting to watch Steve Austin run in slow motion and get the bad guy. I love it even more as an adult because it gives us some excellent stories. The show worked so well for two and a half seasons. Why change now?
From "Population: Zero" (January 1974) to "The Bionic Criminal" (November 1975), "The Six Million Dollar Man" is a fun and fascinating television series. That's 42 episodes--I count two-part episodes as one--and while not every single one of them is good, there's a consistency of quality.
Then comes "Bigfoot." "The Secret of Bigfoot," the 49th episode, first aired in February 1976. It comes near the end of Season Three, and I fear it marks a turning point.
Good fiction requires the creation of a world the reader or viewer can believe. I believe in the microcosm inhabited by Colonel Steve Austin and his boss, Oscar Goldman. Space exploration is still new and exciting. A few men have even walked on the moon, and one of them is Steve Austin. World War II has ended thirty years ago, with a lot of veterans still alive. The veterans' grandchildren are being born, and in real life, one of them is Yours Truly. "The Six Million Dollar Man" takes me back to a simpler time, and it transports me to a world I can believe.
I don't believe "Bigfoot." There seems to be a conscious effort to reach a children's audience, as if they're advertising to be switched to Saturday morning. Of the Season Three episodes that follow "Bigfoot," two of them are kiddie stuff.
Am I telling people not to watch "The Secret of Bigfoot?" If you're committed to seeing the entire series, then watch it and judge for yourself. Otherwise, the various elements of "Bigfoot" are better expressed in other installments. If you want something strange happening in the woods, then watch "The Pioneers." If you want excellent fighting, then watch "Day of the Robot" and "Look-a-Like." If you want the epic fight of television history, then watch "Day of the Robot."
Does "Bigfoot" signal "The Six Million Dollar Man" jumping the shark? No, it doesn't, because "Bigfoot" doesn't even make it over the shark. I only hope "Bigfoot" doesn't signal the series getting swallowed by the shark.
(This review is dedicated to the memory of Alvin James Miller, 1960- 2007. He was born on May 9th, and he's the most fun-loving person I've ever known.)
The Six Million Dollar Man: Straight on 'til Morning (1974)
Bionic Alert: This is One of the Best
As a kid in the 1970's, I loved "The Six Million Dollar Man." I actually recall very few episodes. I just remember Steve Austin and his slow motion running as a major part of my childhood. In late 2009, I knew I wanted to get the series. I spent two years (2010-2011) reading reviews and taking note of which episodes were identified by reviewers as the best.
Finally, at the end of 2011, I got the box set as a Christmas present for myself. I started watching in January. I saw "Straight on 'till Morning" in June, and I was amazed. In the forty or fifty reviews I'd read, I never heard anybody identify "Straight on 'till Morning" as one of the best.
I'm here to say it's the third-best, behind "Population: Zero" and "Day of the Robot." I am on Season Three right now, but I can't imagine this not being in the Top 5 when I'm finished with the whole series. This rates 10 stars out of 10.
If you watch only a few episodes, then make sure one of them is "Straight on 'till Morning." It's weird. It's science fiction. It involves strange beings from elsewhere, "elsewhere" meaning some place other than Planet Earth. Guest star Meg Foster is superb as Minonee, one of those strange beings from elsewhere. Lee Majors turns in one of his best performances as Colonel Steve Austin. Richard Anderson is excellent in his supporting role as Steve's boss, Oscar Goldman. Goldman has to choose between compassion and what his superiors have ordered.
"Straight on 'till Morning" is about communication and compassion. You don't have to believe in strange beings from elsewhere to appreciate this episode. I don't believe in them, but I do think they're material for good fiction. This is the third-best installment of the series, behind "Population: Zero" and "Day of the Robot."
Yes, it's that good.