moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (09/12/85)
Sometimes my faith is restored in the ability of some people in the industry
to do good work in the face of mass stupidity. Take, for example, a pilot
(which didn't make it to a series), which aired on ABC last night called
"J.O.E. and the Colonel". I tuned in, expecting to hang up after 10 minutes
due to another Six Million Dollar Man clone; but no. Yes, an action picture
with science fiction overtones (an artificially grown man); but the emphasis
is not on J.O.E.'s abilities, but on the characters surrounding him.
Particulary good are Terrance Knox (the late Dr. Peter Whyte of St.
Elsewhere) as one of the people who created him, and his
companion/father/friend. Special kudos for excellent music and good
photograpy; an intelligent script that always makes the few sci-fi elements
fairly believable; a government agency which isn't sugar-coated for TV (this
is pretty much how I would expect an agency to act in this case -- but then
I'm a cynic). Again, while the idea is anything less than original, the
dialogue and handling throughout the show were very good indeed.
I don't think, however, that this would make a good series; the most
interesting characters are dead or gone by the end of the show, and the only
plot devices left to work on ARE the Six-Million Dollar Man elements.
Still, a nice surprise.
"I'm as doomed as doomed can be!"
-Ed Grimley
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA
UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb1, lbl-csam}!fluke!moriarty
<*> DISCLAIMER: Do what you want with me, but leave my employers alone! <*>broehl@watdcsu.UUCP (Bernie Roehl) (09/16/85)
<bug line> Yes, I was pleasantly surprised as well. "J.O.E. and the Colonel" was nicely done, especially given that the premise has been used often enough by others (usually badly). The show moved along without being frenetic, the characters were all very believable (I found J.O.E.'s reaction to his "brother's" death very real and very moving), and the story itself made sense. Shame it won't wind up as a series.