DrGlitterhouse
Joined Mar 2007
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DrGlitterhouse's rating
The very first Saturday Night Live episode I saw was hosted by Hugh Hefner, and his opening monologue was followed by Jane Curtin and Bill Murray in a mock commercial about a soap or skin cleanser that basically was supposed to lobotomize the wife. The sketch ended with Murray accidentally stepping on the end of a rake and clocking himself in the face.
Flashforward almost 40 years and host Jim Carrey parodying Matthew McConaughey's Cadillac ads. While the bit was funny, it struck me that the sketches were making fun of the ads, not the product (which, unlike the lobotomizing soap, was real) and could serve just as much as a commercial as the actual ads. Much of Detroiters' first-season finale, "Quick Rick Mahorn in Dearborn," felt like an ad for the various sponsors.
Tim and Sam's encounter with Carter Page (the Chrysler executive they ran over and left for dead in the pilot) at an awards ceremony distracts them from their work. Meanwhile, former Detroit Pistons star Rick Mahorn seeks to improve his acting after appearing in one of Tim and Sam's ads. As in the pilot, there were several references to Chrysler, as well as to Quicken Loans, Little Caesars Pizza, Doner Advertising, and the Planet Ant Theatre (where Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson performed over a decade ago). For all I know, there might actually be a Downriver Ale; I know Little Caesers and Chrysler exist if for no other reason than they ran actual ads during the episode on top of the fake ads during the awards ceremony. I'd be tempted to compliment the show on keeping the establishing shots to a minimum this week if I didn't suspect that might in part have been due to needing the time to plug the local businesses.
In some ways, the episode seemed to be trying to sum up the season with plenty of callbacks to gags in previous episodes. On the minus side, the episode didn't address any of the (potential) long-term plot threads raised in the course of season 1, such as: Sam's dream board, Tim and Leah's antagonism toward each other, why Tim and Sam put up with Sheila, their receptionist who lets people walk in on them unannounced and the previous week told Tim he wasn't excrement, and whether Tim is married to Sam's sister because he's in love with Sam.
The biggest problem with "Quick Rick Mahorn in Dearborn" is the way the episode tried to split between Sam and Tim and Rick Mahorn. We've seen episodes where the action was split between Sam and Tim, but not between them and some character we've never met before. Presumably, the meat of the episode was Sam and Tim's reaction to what had happened to Carter Page since the pilot, and the attempt to tie Mahorn's quest to become a better actor--outside of promoting Planet Ant's improv classes--even for this show seemed a stretch.
The apex of season 1 for me was "Happy Birthday, Mr. Duvet," "3rd Floor," and "Smilin' Jack." While "Quick Rick Mahorn in Dearborn" wasn't the weakest episode, the flurry of callbacks to previous episodes and the heavy product placement felt like a step backward for the series overall and not a particularly strong climax to the season.
Flashforward almost 40 years and host Jim Carrey parodying Matthew McConaughey's Cadillac ads. While the bit was funny, it struck me that the sketches were making fun of the ads, not the product (which, unlike the lobotomizing soap, was real) and could serve just as much as a commercial as the actual ads. Much of Detroiters' first-season finale, "Quick Rick Mahorn in Dearborn," felt like an ad for the various sponsors.
Tim and Sam's encounter with Carter Page (the Chrysler executive they ran over and left for dead in the pilot) at an awards ceremony distracts them from their work. Meanwhile, former Detroit Pistons star Rick Mahorn seeks to improve his acting after appearing in one of Tim and Sam's ads. As in the pilot, there were several references to Chrysler, as well as to Quicken Loans, Little Caesars Pizza, Doner Advertising, and the Planet Ant Theatre (where Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson performed over a decade ago). For all I know, there might actually be a Downriver Ale; I know Little Caesers and Chrysler exist if for no other reason than they ran actual ads during the episode on top of the fake ads during the awards ceremony. I'd be tempted to compliment the show on keeping the establishing shots to a minimum this week if I didn't suspect that might in part have been due to needing the time to plug the local businesses.
In some ways, the episode seemed to be trying to sum up the season with plenty of callbacks to gags in previous episodes. On the minus side, the episode didn't address any of the (potential) long-term plot threads raised in the course of season 1, such as: Sam's dream board, Tim and Leah's antagonism toward each other, why Tim and Sam put up with Sheila, their receptionist who lets people walk in on them unannounced and the previous week told Tim he wasn't excrement, and whether Tim is married to Sam's sister because he's in love with Sam.
The biggest problem with "Quick Rick Mahorn in Dearborn" is the way the episode tried to split between Sam and Tim and Rick Mahorn. We've seen episodes where the action was split between Sam and Tim, but not between them and some character we've never met before. Presumably, the meat of the episode was Sam and Tim's reaction to what had happened to Carter Page since the pilot, and the attempt to tie Mahorn's quest to become a better actor--outside of promoting Planet Ant's improv classes--even for this show seemed a stretch.
The apex of season 1 for me was "Happy Birthday, Mr. Duvet," "3rd Floor," and "Smilin' Jack." While "Quick Rick Mahorn in Dearborn" wasn't the weakest episode, the flurry of callbacks to previous episodes and the heavy product placement felt like a step backward for the series overall and not a particularly strong climax to the season.
Some writers blossom under certain producers or story editors, who presumably can cover their shortcomings better than others. The first Jay Simm-scripted Have Gun - Will Travel episodes I saw were "Caravan" and "The Black Bull" from season 6. I also hated Simms' sequel to "The Naked Gun." For a while, I've thought "The Black Hankerchief" was Jay Simms' best episode (and possibly by a fluke), but after having seen "Brother's Keeper" recently and "Unforgiven" this morning, I may be forced to reevaluate my estimation of Simms as a writer.
Paladin is summoned to the death bed of a colonel who had Paladin court-martialed during the Civil War. There's no love lost between the men, but for a (negotiated) price, Paladin agrees to deliver a message to a ex-partner of the colonel now living in a small town.
This is early season three, so Simms not only has Frank Pierson as the associate producer overseeing him, but producer Sam Rolfe as well, two very good writers in their own right, and the script showcases the best elements of Simms' HGHT's: Paladin coming into a small, isolated community and meeting several eccentric characters, chief among them this time, Hank Patterson as hired gunman Ronson.
Speaking of having first impressions changed, Patterson's appearances on this show are a revelation if all you know him from is Green Acres. Ronson is a simultaneously menacing, funny, and ultimately sad character. And at the risk of sounding like Donald Trump, the cinematography in the final scene, both in the lighting and the framing, is terrific, probably more impressive than anything directed Andrew McLaglen managed in any of his feature films.
I don't know why I've never watched this episode before, but having seen it now, it immediately shoots up into the pantheon of my top five favorite episodes (along with "The Man Who Lost," "The Outlaw," "El Paso Stage," and "The Man-Hunter"). It gets my highest recommendation.
Paladin is summoned to the death bed of a colonel who had Paladin court-martialed during the Civil War. There's no love lost between the men, but for a (negotiated) price, Paladin agrees to deliver a message to a ex-partner of the colonel now living in a small town.
This is early season three, so Simms not only has Frank Pierson as the associate producer overseeing him, but producer Sam Rolfe as well, two very good writers in their own right, and the script showcases the best elements of Simms' HGHT's: Paladin coming into a small, isolated community and meeting several eccentric characters, chief among them this time, Hank Patterson as hired gunman Ronson.
Speaking of having first impressions changed, Patterson's appearances on this show are a revelation if all you know him from is Green Acres. Ronson is a simultaneously menacing, funny, and ultimately sad character. And at the risk of sounding like Donald Trump, the cinematography in the final scene, both in the lighting and the framing, is terrific, probably more impressive than anything directed Andrew McLaglen managed in any of his feature films.
I don't know why I've never watched this episode before, but having seen it now, it immediately shoots up into the pantheon of my top five favorite episodes (along with "The Man Who Lost," "The Outlaw," "El Paso Stage," and "The Man-Hunter"). It gets my highest recommendation.
Leah's threatening to quit over Cramblin and Duvet's not having paid its health insurance premiums sets Tim and Sam on an odyssey to collect from past clients who haven't paid them.
Sam and Tim's "innocent viciousness" was thankfully on display this week, but it wasn't enough to buoy "Dream Cruise." Like the first few episodes, this episode was too provincial for my tastes. Some of the scenes (Mike Eshaq mocking how Sam and Tim laugh, the "Cash for Copper"/"On the Books" scene, and the Lawyer Mom scene) were brilliant. Some of the other scenes (specifically the Dream Cruise and the doctor visit montages) were mostly annoying time filler. This episode felt like a series of bits stuck together lacking a core. I recognized several of the locations, and I had no idea Diana Lewis' daughter was no longer an anchor, but what was there for viewers who aren't familiar with the Detroit area? The scene where Sam and Tim get caught in Dream Cruise traffic put me in mind of the auto show in the Jay Leno movie, Collision Course. Since when does the Dream Cruise wind through residential neighborhoods? Or maybe that's just the Detroiter in me.
What's wrong with "Dream Cruise" can be symbolized by the scene on Lawyer Mom's porch, when she's talking about "pay to play" porn sites and diverges into cartoon character porn. It sounds like a rant someone might have improvised and then decided to stick in the episode. Hilarious, but how does it fit in with the rest of the show? That's the difference between a good sketch and a good TV show episode. Not the worst episode, but definitely a step back after the previous three episodes.
And scene.
Sam and Tim's "innocent viciousness" was thankfully on display this week, but it wasn't enough to buoy "Dream Cruise." Like the first few episodes, this episode was too provincial for my tastes. Some of the scenes (Mike Eshaq mocking how Sam and Tim laugh, the "Cash for Copper"/"On the Books" scene, and the Lawyer Mom scene) were brilliant. Some of the other scenes (specifically the Dream Cruise and the doctor visit montages) were mostly annoying time filler. This episode felt like a series of bits stuck together lacking a core. I recognized several of the locations, and I had no idea Diana Lewis' daughter was no longer an anchor, but what was there for viewers who aren't familiar with the Detroit area? The scene where Sam and Tim get caught in Dream Cruise traffic put me in mind of the auto show in the Jay Leno movie, Collision Course. Since when does the Dream Cruise wind through residential neighborhoods? Or maybe that's just the Detroiter in me.
What's wrong with "Dream Cruise" can be symbolized by the scene on Lawyer Mom's porch, when she's talking about "pay to play" porn sites and diverges into cartoon character porn. It sounds like a rant someone might have improvised and then decided to stick in the episode. Hilarious, but how does it fit in with the rest of the show? That's the difference between a good sketch and a good TV show episode. Not the worst episode, but definitely a step back after the previous three episodes.
And scene.
