[rec.arts.sf-lovers] Highwayman

jfreund@dasys1.UUCP (Jim Freund) (03/16/88)

Highwayman is on the traditional sci-fi slot that networks assign: Fridays at
8:00 PM (EST).  (Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Max Headroom, Otherworld and V come
to mind as having that same slot.  It's shown on NBC.

In brief, this show sucks.

Premise:  The Road Warrior goes Hi-Tech and meets up with the US Army. 
Costumes and hair styles are a direct steal.  Some cyberpunk-like plot elements
are poorly integrated.

Acting:  Wooden.  The star is Sam Jones, whose height of acting ability was
demonstrated in the title role of Flash Gordon, and in 10 (in which he was well
cast as Bo Derek's plasticized husband.)  His sidekick is a cartoon-like Aussie
named Jocko (of Eveready Batteries fame) who does little more than mug and
grunt.

Dialogue:  "...we are searching the universe systematically--and not just at
random, either!"  'Nuff said. 

Special FX:  OK.  But who cares? 

This show isn't good enough to enjoy, and has enough production value to avoid
being campy, so even that rationale for checking it out is gone.  Don't
bother.
-- 
Jim Freund
Big Electric Cat Public UNIX
..!cmcl2!phri!dasys1!jfreund

edward@engr.uky.edu (Edward C. Bennett) (03/22/88)

In article <3396@dasys1.UUCP> jfreund@dasys1.UUCP (Jim Freund) writes:
>
>In brief, this show sucks.

No arguement there.

>Premise:  The Road Warrior goes Hi-Tech and meets up with the US Army. 
>Costumes and hair styles are a direct steal.  Some cyberpunk-like plot elements
>are poorly integrated.

What premise? There is none. We were never given a reason for these
guys to exist. They (Highway and Jetto) are such good copies of the
Road Warrior that they can't function believably outside a post-
apocalyptic, crime-ridden, highway-oriented society. Yet their surroundings
are the 1980's! Who invented this thing? (It's produced/created by Glen
Larson of "Battlestar Gallactica fame. That should tell you something.)

>Acting:  Wooden.  The star is Sam Jones, whose height of acting ability was
>demonstrated in the title role of Flash Gordon, and in 10 (in which he was well
>cast as Bo Derek's plasticized husband.)  His sidekick is a cartoon-like Aussie
>named Jocko (of Eveready Batteries fame) who does little more than mug and
>grunt.

In the interest of correct information, the character Jetto is played
by the actor Jacko. Creativity at work.

You have to see Jones to appreciate how bad of an actor he is. This guy
would get upstaged by a brick.

>Special FX:  OK.  But who cares? 

Oh, I dunno. The truck/helicopter was kinda neat.

>This show isn't good enough to enjoy, and has enough production value to avoid
>being campy, so even that rationale for checking it out is gone.  Don't
>bother.

Agreed. This show is in that grey area between bad and campy. It's trying
to be serious so you can't call it camp. And it's just too stupid to
even call it bad.

Perhaps if the producers would watch some old Batman episodes they'd
learn something.

-- 
Edward C. Bennett				DOMAIN: edward@engr.uky.edu
					UUCP: {cbosgd|uunet}!ukma!ukecc!edward
"Goodnight M.A."				BITNET: edward%ukecc.uucp@ukma
	"He's become a growling, snarling white-hot mass of canine terror"