The return of Charlie Brown, 8 September 2017
Admittedly, the plot in When Thieves Fall In leaves a lot to be desired. To put it bluntly, it's ridiculous. Mundy is asked to steal a fur coat from a Baltic country that, for reasons known only to script writer, has Soviet missile plans sown into the lining. For some bizarre reason that I can't begin to explain, a fantastic ceremony is planned where the coat will be presented to a London fashion model (Like I said, it's ridiculous). Mundy needs a female operative and realizes his old friend Charlie Brown (Susan Saint James) is quite naturally the spitting image for the model (Wasn't she the spitting image of Princess Astride in Episode 2?). He convinces Noah to get her out of prison so they can work together.
Despite how ridiculous the whole thing is, When Thieves Fall In is still a lot of fun. You can thank Robert Wagner and Susan Saint James. They had real on-screen chemistry that was a joy to watch. I was able to go along with much of the crazy plot simply because I believed their relationship. I see that Charlie Brown appears in a couple more episodes. I look forward to both and wish she had appeared in a dozen more.
7/10
I love the rabbit, 6 September 2017
The leader of a small Middle Eastern country has been diverting the funds from agricultural assistance provided by the West and plans to use it to purchase military aircraft. The money is squirreled away in a foreign bank. If Mundy can get his hands on the account book, the West might get their money back and preserve the peace. Mundy hopes to use his cover as a fashion designer to get close to the country's First Lady. After gaining her confidence, he'll have access to the leader's home and the account book.
Overall, Totally by Design isn't one of the best episodes, but it's still fun enough. The heist is enjoyable, but, other than one detail, it isn't particularly memorable. That detail is the clever use of a small rabbit to assist in the theft. Mundy's fashion designer cover is a facet of the episode that worked for me. He's quite good, though I'm not sure how believable he is. I think he needed to do more than drape fabric over his client's shoulder. Finally, I enjoyed the little twist at the end. Without some unexpected assistance, Mundy would have surely been caught.
Another real plus for Totally by Design is the supporting cast. It's exceptionally strong. While the names John Van Dreelen, Oscar Beregi, and Ron Soble may not be overly familiar, their faces certainly are. All were rock solid character actors. The usual pattern in It Takes a Thief is for Mundy to woo a Woman of the Week. Here, it's Tina Louise of Gilligan's Island fame. Unfortunately, she's not very good and is upstaged at every turn and in every way imaginable (acting, poise, beauty, etc.) by the older Mari Blanchard. This, unfortunately, was Ms Blanchard's last role. She gives a very engaging performance and is unquestionably the highlight of the episode.
6/10
"Even the Sharknadoes are tougher in New York.", 5 September 2017
In Sharknado 2: The Second One, there's not just one tornado full of sharks, there are three. This time, the sharknados are bearing down on New York. The fear is that the three sharknados will combine into one mega-sharknado. Fortunately for everyone in New York, Fin Shepard (Ian Ziering) has just arrived and he has a plan to defeat the sharknados.
These Sharknado movies have to be some of the dumbest things ever put on film. Still, they're so ridiculous they can be fun in that "so bad it's good" sort of way. You can't think too hard about the physics, biology, meteorology, or any other science behind the film's concept or your brain might explode. You just gotta go with it. This one probably isn't as good as the first as it loses points for lack of originality. The surprise factor is completely gone. This lack of originality means that, unfortunately, some of the movie can be dull. How many times can Ian Ziering go completely through a shark with a chainsaw and it still feel fresh? Number 2 includes a steady stream of cameos which, regardless of how you feel about it, helps make for a few funny bits. My favorite had to be Robert Hays in the beginning of the film. Pretty neat seeing him again – and flying a plane. A few of the cameos were, however, super annoying. I could have done without the Today Show cameos altogether. Finally, a couple of other bits, while not exactly original, were enjoyable. My personal fav was Tara Reed attaching the circular saw to her stump and slicing a flying shark in half. Pretty cool. Overall, Sharknado 2: The Second One is okay, but nothing great. A very average 5/10 seems fair to me.
Finally, I'm sure that older folks like me watched Ziering's character run across the floating sharks and immediately thought of the same scene from the Bond movie Live and Let Die. It was silly back then and is just as silly now.
5/10
