Post by zimmerman on Jul 2, 2013 17:13:53 GMT -5
For fans of Ross Martin and Artemus Gordon, TNOT Big Blast is one of the cherished episodes in the entire 104-episode run of WWW. It features a great villaness in an-above normal outlandish WWW plot, a serious potential love interest for Mr. Gordon (albeit an old childhood friend from his past), some daring swashbuckling antics by Mr. Martin, in addiition to some wonderful humor sprinkled throughout the episode.
The marvelous Mrs. Howard Duff, Ida Lupino, who guest-starred on several television performances of the period, here turns a masterful performance as the devious Dr. Faustina, who uses the bodies of common criminals, revives them back to life, and turns them into walking time-bombs which kills her enemies when she does not get what she wants. ;D. She likes to make momentos of all her subjects, and consider herself one of the greatest scientists of this dark age while President Grant calls them lunatics.
Accompanying her in her endeavor is her noble assistant, Miklos, who, in Faustina's own words, "is mute--He cannot speak--he lost his voice in a terrible accident. But he hears, and he is very intellegent."
In many ways, Dr. Faustina has a very similar demeanor to Dr. Loveless: she has a bone to pick with the government because they refuse to fund her experiments, has a mute assistant, Miklos, much like Voltaire was in the first two Loveless episodes, and has a grand explosion of her equipment after West and Gordon fight her, Miklos, and Artie's "Double" (More on that later).
Ross Martin's girlfriend at the time, Mala Powers, who was also a very good friend of Ida Lupino, is a wonderful match for our fair Artie, as Lily Fortune, Artie's steady girl from High School, now a stage actress, whose last date was at the Senior Prom. Unlike the PYT that Artie romanced in TNOT Death-Masks, Artie at least told Lily the truth about his real job, which impresses Lily very much, because she knew that Artie "Would be a very important man someday." The real-life love affair that Ross and Mala were having offscreen really comes through on the many scenes they have together, including their scene from Romeo and Juliet by the trick fireplace, and the very funny scene at the beginning of the second act when Lily inquisitively asks about Henrietta, not knowing that Henrietta is a carrier pigeon!! .
Another important part of the Lily Fortune story is her mother, brilliantly played to a "T" by Patsy Kelly, whose demeanor and delilvery reminded me a lot of the legendary screen actress Mary Wickes of "White Christmas" and "Father Dowling Mysteries" fame. There are several funny scenes with her, including the one when Lily breaks into the Wanderer to find Artie and picks the lock, with her telling her surprised mother that she learned to do that "At that expensive girls' college you sent me to." Another great scene with Lily's mother is when Lily experiences the faux-Artie, causing her mother to quip, "I told you way back in High School that boy was some sort of maniac." also calling Artie an undependable sort ;D. Also, it was nice that her mother found love with Lyle Peters, ending a twenty-year stretch as a widow. Also found it interesting that Lily's mother never thought Abraham Lincoln would make it as a President.
Of course, James West is pretty much MIA for most of this episode, because he was enjoying the Mardi Gras until one of Faustinas associates planted a Mickey in James' drink, and wound up being one of Dr. Faustina's experiments. The super-human-faux James West, who "Must not be detained", is quite a sight to behold, exhibting rare super-human strength in the fight scene in the alleyway. Plus, the fight scene in Faustina's labratory, with Artie fighting his devious double, was one of the best scenes in the entire series.
In this episode, we really see in Artemus Gordon the depth and dimension that his friendship with James West carries, especially in the scene with Lyle Peters on the Wanderer after Lyle roughs Artie up a little bit. The different facial reactions on Artie when he hears the news about James is masterfully portrayed by Ross Martin: he says more with his facial reactions--first stunned, then rage, followed by denial, sadness, and grief--then any masterful speech Ken Kolb could have written into the script. Upon hearing the news from Lyle Peters that James West could have died a traitor, it triggers a great dramatic reaction from Artie that is one of my favorite lines in the whole episode: "There is no way Mr. Peters, He didn't do it! (Slams table) and I'll prove he didn't do it--even if it kills me."
The search to find his missing partner and friend is an exciting journey for Artie, with many twists and turns along the way. Really enjoyed the fight scene with the faux-Three Musketeers, leading into a great swordfight. Upon watching this scene for closer examination for this review, I did manage to notice his stunt double, David Sharp, when I paused certain scenes of the fight in the DVD copy of the episode I was watching a couple of weeks ago.
Contrary to what other WWW fans think about whether or not Lily Fortune was the right girl for Artie, I raise my hand and give a resounding "Yes" in that department. She may have rejected his proposal in this episode, but, in my eyes, Lily gives Artie the kind of stabilty and voice of reason he would need after his career in the Secret Service was over. Can you imagine Artie being married to any of the PYTs he and James would have on the Wanderer after their missions? In this fans opinion, I don't think so! Really enjoy Lily's line of rejection to Artie: "It's just that I can't live your kind of life. You'd always be disappearing or exploding, and well, I'd never know if I was kissing you or some bomb!" ;D.
James' Champagne cork opening at the end of this episode is a great capper to one of the finest episodes in the entire series, a wonderful long-overdue chance to give Artemus Gordon and Ross Martin a chance to be in the spotlight for a change.
A well-deserved 10 out of 10 from me.
The marvelous Mrs. Howard Duff, Ida Lupino, who guest-starred on several television performances of the period, here turns a masterful performance as the devious Dr. Faustina, who uses the bodies of common criminals, revives them back to life, and turns them into walking time-bombs which kills her enemies when she does not get what she wants. ;D. She likes to make momentos of all her subjects, and consider herself one of the greatest scientists of this dark age while President Grant calls them lunatics.
Accompanying her in her endeavor is her noble assistant, Miklos, who, in Faustina's own words, "is mute--He cannot speak--he lost his voice in a terrible accident. But he hears, and he is very intellegent."
In many ways, Dr. Faustina has a very similar demeanor to Dr. Loveless: she has a bone to pick with the government because they refuse to fund her experiments, has a mute assistant, Miklos, much like Voltaire was in the first two Loveless episodes, and has a grand explosion of her equipment after West and Gordon fight her, Miklos, and Artie's "Double" (More on that later).
Ross Martin's girlfriend at the time, Mala Powers, who was also a very good friend of Ida Lupino, is a wonderful match for our fair Artie, as Lily Fortune, Artie's steady girl from High School, now a stage actress, whose last date was at the Senior Prom. Unlike the PYT that Artie romanced in TNOT Death-Masks, Artie at least told Lily the truth about his real job, which impresses Lily very much, because she knew that Artie "Would be a very important man someday." The real-life love affair that Ross and Mala were having offscreen really comes through on the many scenes they have together, including their scene from Romeo and Juliet by the trick fireplace, and the very funny scene at the beginning of the second act when Lily inquisitively asks about Henrietta, not knowing that Henrietta is a carrier pigeon!! .
Another important part of the Lily Fortune story is her mother, brilliantly played to a "T" by Patsy Kelly, whose demeanor and delilvery reminded me a lot of the legendary screen actress Mary Wickes of "White Christmas" and "Father Dowling Mysteries" fame. There are several funny scenes with her, including the one when Lily breaks into the Wanderer to find Artie and picks the lock, with her telling her surprised mother that she learned to do that "At that expensive girls' college you sent me to." Another great scene with Lily's mother is when Lily experiences the faux-Artie, causing her mother to quip, "I told you way back in High School that boy was some sort of maniac." also calling Artie an undependable sort ;D. Also, it was nice that her mother found love with Lyle Peters, ending a twenty-year stretch as a widow. Also found it interesting that Lily's mother never thought Abraham Lincoln would make it as a President.
Of course, James West is pretty much MIA for most of this episode, because he was enjoying the Mardi Gras until one of Faustinas associates planted a Mickey in James' drink, and wound up being one of Dr. Faustina's experiments. The super-human-faux James West, who "Must not be detained", is quite a sight to behold, exhibting rare super-human strength in the fight scene in the alleyway. Plus, the fight scene in Faustina's labratory, with Artie fighting his devious double, was one of the best scenes in the entire series.
In this episode, we really see in Artemus Gordon the depth and dimension that his friendship with James West carries, especially in the scene with Lyle Peters on the Wanderer after Lyle roughs Artie up a little bit. The different facial reactions on Artie when he hears the news about James is masterfully portrayed by Ross Martin: he says more with his facial reactions--first stunned, then rage, followed by denial, sadness, and grief--then any masterful speech Ken Kolb could have written into the script. Upon hearing the news from Lyle Peters that James West could have died a traitor, it triggers a great dramatic reaction from Artie that is one of my favorite lines in the whole episode: "There is no way Mr. Peters, He didn't do it! (Slams table) and I'll prove he didn't do it--even if it kills me."
The search to find his missing partner and friend is an exciting journey for Artie, with many twists and turns along the way. Really enjoyed the fight scene with the faux-Three Musketeers, leading into a great swordfight. Upon watching this scene for closer examination for this review, I did manage to notice his stunt double, David Sharp, when I paused certain scenes of the fight in the DVD copy of the episode I was watching a couple of weeks ago.
Contrary to what other WWW fans think about whether or not Lily Fortune was the right girl for Artie, I raise my hand and give a resounding "Yes" in that department. She may have rejected his proposal in this episode, but, in my eyes, Lily gives Artie the kind of stabilty and voice of reason he would need after his career in the Secret Service was over. Can you imagine Artie being married to any of the PYTs he and James would have on the Wanderer after their missions? In this fans opinion, I don't think so! Really enjoy Lily's line of rejection to Artie: "It's just that I can't live your kind of life. You'd always be disappearing or exploding, and well, I'd never know if I was kissing you or some bomb!" ;D.
James' Champagne cork opening at the end of this episode is a great capper to one of the finest episodes in the entire series, a wonderful long-overdue chance to give Artemus Gordon and Ross Martin a chance to be in the spotlight for a change.
A well-deserved 10 out of 10 from me.