Post by William T. Goat, Esq. on Nov 26, 2013 13:47:28 GMT -5
Season 1, Episode 1: The Hit Car
Original airdate March 25, 1981
This episode is much more Bill's story than it is Ralph's. When Bill is on the job, he prefers to follow the rules and do everything by the book. So even though he likes the advantages afforded by Ralph's superhero suit, he doesn't like having to put up with civilians who know nothing about proper procedures. If Ralph and his girlfriend Pam simply follow his instructions at all times, Bill figures that things will go a lot smoother.
Starlet Wilde is a Vegas dancer who has been in a long-term relationship with Johnny Damanti, a drug-dealing mobster. She's contacted the FBI because Johnny dumped her, and she's willing to testify against him. While an agent is transporting her from San Francisco to LA in the middle of the night, their car is attacked by the titular "hit car," a car with tinted windows and a slot in the windshield for a machine gun to poke out. (I don't know enough about cars to identify the make and model. All of its identifying features have been removed, so I guess that's the point.)
Starlet has specifically asked for Bill Maxwell to be the agent to take her into protective custody before the court date. The only explanation we get for how she knows Bill, is that he's been trying to bust Johnny for 15 years, which makes this case personal for him.
Bill goes to Ralph's school to recruit him and Pam for help. He finds Ralph trying to get the students interested in putting on a Shakespeare play for spring break. There's a nice exchange displaying Bill's domineering attitude:
Ralph: "I gotta get a babysitter for Kevin."
Bill: "Done. I covered it, out of the Bureau. She's on her way to your house now. Next problem?"
Ralph: "…You can't go around changing people's lives to suit yourself."
Bill: "Sure I can!"
Pam is left to organize the play while Bill and Ralph go to pick up Starlet at a seedy hotel in San Francisco.
Starlet is a big believer in astrology. She insists that her horoscope tells her that she shouldn't fly to LA, but drive. She also insists on sleeping near water, so Ralph arranges for them to spend the night at a beach house owned by Pam's boss. With Ralph's urging, Bill reluctantly agrees to all of this, just to get Johnny behind bars.
Snipers attack them at both the hotel and the beach house, and the titular Hit Car shows up at the courthouse when Bill, Ralph, and Pam finally deliver Starlet. The car drives away after Bill is shot through the leg. But Starlet is OK, so, mission accomplished, right?
Wrong! Just when you think the episode is over, there's one more twist: Starlet pleads the Fifth, refusing to testify. Bill is mystified, but Ralph figures out what Bill is too single-minded to consider: This whole scheme was Johnny's attempt to kill Bill.
This leads to a great tense scene where an angry and smarmy Bill, bandaged and limping, confronts Johnny (and Starlet) in a restaurant, dumping food in his lap, practically daring him to kill him. Bad idea: Johnny immediately takes the Hit Car and follows Bill and Ralph to the school, where Pam and the students are preparing for the play. The bullets start flying, and it's up to Ralph to save the day.
Stray observations:
- Nice detail: Starlet knocks on the bathroom door, telling Ralph not to hog the "johnny." That word seems to be what triggers Ralph's vision of Johnny's gunmen hiding outside.
- Ralph's clairvoyance power is now called "holographic vision," which makes no sense.
- The pilot episode introduced 4 superpowers: flight, holographic vision (ugh), super strength, and the suit itself is bulletproof. This episode introduces super running speed.
- After crashing into the hotel, Ralph pretends to be an employee working as a messenger. Taking a trenchcoat from the coatroom, he tells another employee that he's quitting, because he hates the new uniform. It's going to be fun watching Ralph think his way out of these situations.
- It's hard to judge the passage of time in this episode. Bill finds Johnny and Starlet dining together immediately after leaving the courthouse, where Starlet just was? The play is in dress rehearsal one day after Ralph assigned it?
- Ralph struggles to take off his clothes and reveal the super-suit underneath, wasting precious time. Is it really necessary? Will the powers not work if the suit is covered?
- Man, these reviews are harder to write than I thought. The stories are tightly plotted, with very little fat. Almost every detail is important enough to pay off later, so I'm finding it hard to summarize.
Next week: At the end of the pilot, Pam briefly mentioned that her parents are coming to town to meet Ralph "next week". Guess what? Next week is right now! …well, not right now, but next week.
Original airdate March 25, 1981
This episode is much more Bill's story than it is Ralph's. When Bill is on the job, he prefers to follow the rules and do everything by the book. So even though he likes the advantages afforded by Ralph's superhero suit, he doesn't like having to put up with civilians who know nothing about proper procedures. If Ralph and his girlfriend Pam simply follow his instructions at all times, Bill figures that things will go a lot smoother.
Starlet Wilde is a Vegas dancer who has been in a long-term relationship with Johnny Damanti, a drug-dealing mobster. She's contacted the FBI because Johnny dumped her, and she's willing to testify against him. While an agent is transporting her from San Francisco to LA in the middle of the night, their car is attacked by the titular "hit car," a car with tinted windows and a slot in the windshield for a machine gun to poke out. (I don't know enough about cars to identify the make and model. All of its identifying features have been removed, so I guess that's the point.)
Starlet has specifically asked for Bill Maxwell to be the agent to take her into protective custody before the court date. The only explanation we get for how she knows Bill, is that he's been trying to bust Johnny for 15 years, which makes this case personal for him.
Bill goes to Ralph's school to recruit him and Pam for help. He finds Ralph trying to get the students interested in putting on a Shakespeare play for spring break. There's a nice exchange displaying Bill's domineering attitude:
Ralph: "I gotta get a babysitter for Kevin."
Bill: "Done. I covered it, out of the Bureau. She's on her way to your house now. Next problem?"
Ralph: "…You can't go around changing people's lives to suit yourself."
Bill: "Sure I can!"
Pam is left to organize the play while Bill and Ralph go to pick up Starlet at a seedy hotel in San Francisco.
Starlet is a big believer in astrology. She insists that her horoscope tells her that she shouldn't fly to LA, but drive. She also insists on sleeping near water, so Ralph arranges for them to spend the night at a beach house owned by Pam's boss. With Ralph's urging, Bill reluctantly agrees to all of this, just to get Johnny behind bars.
Snipers attack them at both the hotel and the beach house, and the titular Hit Car shows up at the courthouse when Bill, Ralph, and Pam finally deliver Starlet. The car drives away after Bill is shot through the leg. But Starlet is OK, so, mission accomplished, right?
Wrong! Just when you think the episode is over, there's one more twist: Starlet pleads the Fifth, refusing to testify. Bill is mystified, but Ralph figures out what Bill is too single-minded to consider: This whole scheme was Johnny's attempt to kill Bill.
This leads to a great tense scene where an angry and smarmy Bill, bandaged and limping, confronts Johnny (and Starlet) in a restaurant, dumping food in his lap, practically daring him to kill him. Bad idea: Johnny immediately takes the Hit Car and follows Bill and Ralph to the school, where Pam and the students are preparing for the play. The bullets start flying, and it's up to Ralph to save the day.
Stray observations:
- Nice detail: Starlet knocks on the bathroom door, telling Ralph not to hog the "johnny." That word seems to be what triggers Ralph's vision of Johnny's gunmen hiding outside.
- Ralph's clairvoyance power is now called "holographic vision," which makes no sense.
- The pilot episode introduced 4 superpowers: flight, holographic vision (ugh), super strength, and the suit itself is bulletproof. This episode introduces super running speed.
- After crashing into the hotel, Ralph pretends to be an employee working as a messenger. Taking a trenchcoat from the coatroom, he tells another employee that he's quitting, because he hates the new uniform. It's going to be fun watching Ralph think his way out of these situations.
- It's hard to judge the passage of time in this episode. Bill finds Johnny and Starlet dining together immediately after leaving the courthouse, where Starlet just was? The play is in dress rehearsal one day after Ralph assigned it?
- Ralph struggles to take off his clothes and reveal the super-suit underneath, wasting precious time. Is it really necessary? Will the powers not work if the suit is covered?
- Man, these reviews are harder to write than I thought. The stories are tightly plotted, with very little fat. Almost every detail is important enough to pay off later, so I'm finding it hard to summarize.
Next week: At the end of the pilot, Pam briefly mentioned that her parents are coming to town to meet Ralph "next week". Guess what? Next week is right now! …well, not right now, but next week.
