RestlessRust

The classic website Jump the Shark had a section for shows that added a new character long into the series' run -- this was especially true for sitcoms with kids, where the new character was the age the original kids were when the show started (Cousin Oliver Syndrome). And that is what we get in this two-part episode, as a new adopted son is added to the family.

This did succeed in adding some freshness to the show, as we now see how Arnold adapts to being an older brother, but it also served to emphasize that the writers were starting to run out of ideas. (The show was soon cancelled, emphasizing the point.)

But not only did this episode mark a significant downward trajectory for the parent series, it also ruined Knight Rider for me. You see, when the kids visit the set of Knight Rider, we learn that KITT is real! (This actually becomes a significant plot point in part 2, which is why I put the review here.) Yes, this isn't just some aftermarket Trans-Am with a voiceover from William Daniels; KITT is an actual artificial intelligence will all the sensors and abilities we see in the show. It's an actor, just like David Hasselhoff. I wonder if KITT has an agent?

Anyway, I was plenty old enough by then to know that Knight Rider wasn't real, so when this show tried to pass that off, my heart sank. Knight Rider was a fantasy, but they were playing it as real. Diff'rent Strokes, meanwhile, was supposed to be relatively realistic, but here they were embracing fantasy as their reality. My 10-year-old self felt betrayed by both shows.

I didn't immediately stop watching either of them, but my excitement had dimmed, and by the time each aired their final episode less than two years later, I had moved on. Nearly forty years later, I don't remember most episodes of either show, but I do remember this point as the downfall of both.

Ugh, this episode could have been so much fun!

O'Neill and Teal'c switch bodies, and hilarity ensues and deep feelings are revealed and the actors get to stretch their abilities. What isn't to love? Well, except none of that stuff really happens.

I get that this is not a comedy show, and there's a plot that has to be resolved, so there isn't time to dig into all the potential an episode like this presents. But at least we should get the fun of the actors switching roles.

Unfortunately, the Anderson and Judge don't quite hit the right notes in their swapped portrayals. They try, and I get what they were going for, but neither of them quite get it right.

Richard Dean Anderson does a fine job of matching Judge's cadence, but the tone of voice and the facial expressions are never really there. Rather than a character who is always serious -- the poster child of "if looks could kill" -- Anderson's Teal'c comes off as a Vulcan after a lobotomy.

Christopher Judge fails in a less obvious way. Again, the cadence is fine (O'Neill is a pretty normal guy, after all), but once again the facial expressions and tone of voice don't quite get there. Judge plays him as a generic character reciting these lines. There isn't the underlying tone of command. As light-hearted as O'Neill can be, there's never any question that he's in charge. Judge's portrayal isn't any more O'Neill than it is any number of characters from any number of other TV shows.

They almost get it right, but that just makes it all the more frustrating. Could the actors not give each other tips on playing the characters? Couldn't the director? Because it wouldn't have taken much. It's so close! But that makes the miss is all the more distracting.