Post by zimmerman on Jul 2, 2013 17:11:20 GMT -5
I shall return for you, my sweet."--James West, after knocking VIxen O'Shaughnessy out with her pressure point.
After starting out phenomenally strong with TNOT Bubbling Death, the new Third Season of Wild Wild West continued its amazing string of Western-themed episodes with TNOT Firebrand, an action-packed outing that features an amazing guest cast, some exciting plot twists, a couple of great Artie disguises, and plenty of action to keep you on the edge of your seat while you are watching the episode.
Pernell Roberts, who left the Ponderosa a couple of years ago, and whom already had signed on his replacement, David Canary as "Candy Canady", whose first episode aired around the same time that TNOT Firebrand aired on CBS, masterfully portrays here the episode's primary villan, Owny O'Reilly, who, in the words of James West during his first encounter with him, is "six-and-a-half inches, couple hundred pounds, moustache, scar on his left cheek, and green-eyed.", who wants to be known as an equal with President Grant as a statesman--a leader to the north."
Lana Wood, Natalie Wood's sister, brings all of her charm and joire-de-vivre to the first of her two appearances on the series as Sheila "Vixen" O'Shaughnessy, who escaped the dull enviornment of Miss Primwick's finishing school, to find adventure and excitement with Owny O'Reilly, and who also has "Got Washington in an uproar", because her Senator father thought that she was kidnapped. Little did he know that his daughter was involved in something far worse!! . In comparing Miss Woods' appearances on this episode and in TNOT Plague, I have deduced that this is the better of the two appearances, because she does not totally act like a brat for the majority of the episode, like she appears to be doing in TNOT Plague. Her brattiness does not bother me much here, because the thirst for power that Vixen shares with O'Reilly is very well fleshed out here on the screen, and of course, when she starts to get a little too annoying, James West discovers his pressure point and knocks her out for a few minutes! ;D.
Both of our heroes have several wonderful scenes in this episode. In the case of James, a top highlight is how he masterfully gets out of the "Explosive finish" that O'Reilly and his men have prepared for James and the Cavalry by carefully knocking out the barrel of water so that it can diffuse the exploding dynamite, followed by using his boot knife so that he can untie himself and escape, while the Cavalry eager watches with excitement. Also worth mentioning is the scene wherein James ties up two of O'Reilly's men, and of course, that action-packed third act with James using all of that dynamite to take down O'Reilly and his gang.
Artie's two disguises in this episode again really show off the stylistic range of the many characters he portrayed during the four-year run of the series. I really enjoy watching him as the Mountain Man Trapper who causes a major ruckus at the bar when he announces to everyone that he is bored!! He is loud, boisterous, and really gets into the feeling and the passion of the character. Plus, he gets to play another classy foreign character with "Jacques Beaumont", and helps to get James out of yet another jam by giving him that snuff-knife to help him escape and give James another chance to romance Vixen again.
The writers sure gave Pernell Roberts some great lines for him to say throughout the episode, making him somewhat of a classy, elequent villan. One of my favorite scenes is when O'Reilly's gang thinks that the fort has exploded, to which O'Reilly counters them and Vixen with the possiblily that it could be "Some Hocus-pocus arranged by a very resourceful gentleman to make it sound that way." Another great scene with O'Reilly is when he chastizes his barber calling him "You Blasted Butcher." and when he calls his men to get on their horses when he finds out that James created a diversion, allowing him for him to escape in that wagon that was slowing falling apart, unbeknownst to his knowledge. . Plus O'Reilly's dramatic demise is very intense and really thrilling to watch.
Andre Durain and his cast of characters are also really interesting to watch in this episode as well. The actor playing Durain reminds me of Phil Foster as Frank DeFazio in the early episodes of Laverne and Shirley.
Overall, a wonderful episode filled with plenty of action, great comedy, and a cast of Cavalry men in uniform men along for the ride on this exctiing episode of "Our Favorite Programme". Also enjoy the funny tag as well.
9 out of 10 from me. .
After starting out phenomenally strong with TNOT Bubbling Death, the new Third Season of Wild Wild West continued its amazing string of Western-themed episodes with TNOT Firebrand, an action-packed outing that features an amazing guest cast, some exciting plot twists, a couple of great Artie disguises, and plenty of action to keep you on the edge of your seat while you are watching the episode.
Pernell Roberts, who left the Ponderosa a couple of years ago, and whom already had signed on his replacement, David Canary as "Candy Canady", whose first episode aired around the same time that TNOT Firebrand aired on CBS, masterfully portrays here the episode's primary villan, Owny O'Reilly, who, in the words of James West during his first encounter with him, is "six-and-a-half inches, couple hundred pounds, moustache, scar on his left cheek, and green-eyed.", who wants to be known as an equal with President Grant as a statesman--a leader to the north."
Lana Wood, Natalie Wood's sister, brings all of her charm and joire-de-vivre to the first of her two appearances on the series as Sheila "Vixen" O'Shaughnessy, who escaped the dull enviornment of Miss Primwick's finishing school, to find adventure and excitement with Owny O'Reilly, and who also has "Got Washington in an uproar", because her Senator father thought that she was kidnapped. Little did he know that his daughter was involved in something far worse!! . In comparing Miss Woods' appearances on this episode and in TNOT Plague, I have deduced that this is the better of the two appearances, because she does not totally act like a brat for the majority of the episode, like she appears to be doing in TNOT Plague. Her brattiness does not bother me much here, because the thirst for power that Vixen shares with O'Reilly is very well fleshed out here on the screen, and of course, when she starts to get a little too annoying, James West discovers his pressure point and knocks her out for a few minutes! ;D.
Both of our heroes have several wonderful scenes in this episode. In the case of James, a top highlight is how he masterfully gets out of the "Explosive finish" that O'Reilly and his men have prepared for James and the Cavalry by carefully knocking out the barrel of water so that it can diffuse the exploding dynamite, followed by using his boot knife so that he can untie himself and escape, while the Cavalry eager watches with excitement. Also worth mentioning is the scene wherein James ties up two of O'Reilly's men, and of course, that action-packed third act with James using all of that dynamite to take down O'Reilly and his gang.
Artie's two disguises in this episode again really show off the stylistic range of the many characters he portrayed during the four-year run of the series. I really enjoy watching him as the Mountain Man Trapper who causes a major ruckus at the bar when he announces to everyone that he is bored!! He is loud, boisterous, and really gets into the feeling and the passion of the character. Plus, he gets to play another classy foreign character with "Jacques Beaumont", and helps to get James out of yet another jam by giving him that snuff-knife to help him escape and give James another chance to romance Vixen again.
The writers sure gave Pernell Roberts some great lines for him to say throughout the episode, making him somewhat of a classy, elequent villan. One of my favorite scenes is when O'Reilly's gang thinks that the fort has exploded, to which O'Reilly counters them and Vixen with the possiblily that it could be "Some Hocus-pocus arranged by a very resourceful gentleman to make it sound that way." Another great scene with O'Reilly is when he chastizes his barber calling him "You Blasted Butcher." and when he calls his men to get on their horses when he finds out that James created a diversion, allowing him for him to escape in that wagon that was slowing falling apart, unbeknownst to his knowledge. . Plus O'Reilly's dramatic demise is very intense and really thrilling to watch.
Andre Durain and his cast of characters are also really interesting to watch in this episode as well. The actor playing Durain reminds me of Phil Foster as Frank DeFazio in the early episodes of Laverne and Shirley.
Overall, a wonderful episode filled with plenty of action, great comedy, and a cast of Cavalry men in uniform men along for the ride on this exctiing episode of "Our Favorite Programme". Also enjoy the funny tag as well.
9 out of 10 from me. .