Honey West "A Matter of Wife and Death" #1.4 (1965) (TV)

I've only seen four episodes so far, but this is my favorite, 20 January 2010

Somewhere on the web (if I could remember where, I would give due credit), I read Honey West described as the "coolest show you've never seen". A more apt description I couldn't come up with no matter how hard I tried. Every thing from the gadgets to Bruce the ocelot to the hidden panel in Honey's office to the far-out spy plots is about as cool as you could find on this side of the Atlantic in 1965. But the best part of Honey West is easily Anne Francis. Instead of gushing on for several sentences, I'll just say "WOW"! I bought the Honey West DVD set when it first came out, but only got around to busting it open this week. I had originally planned to write a short review of each episode, but at 24 or so minutes, there's not a lot of ground to cover. That is until I watched A Matter of Wife and Death. Of the first four episodes in the series, this is by far the best.

Honey and Sam are hired to protect a woman named Maggie Lynch. It seems that someone wants her dead and, unfortunately, there are no shortage of suspects. I'm not going to give it away – instead, I'll just say that I had no idea where the plot was headed. There's some real mystery and suspense in A Matter of Wife and Death – no mean feat for a 24 minute television program. It's solid writing from Tony Barret that makes this episode work. Well, the writing and some well choreographed (well choreographed for Honey West, that is) fight scenes, a few funny moments from Aunt Meg, and Anne Francis anytime she's on screen. For anyone new to the series, A Matter of Wife and Death would make a good jumping-off point. I'll be generous and give it an 8/10.

8/10