Post by Lucky Ladybug on Jul 6, 2013 17:30:41 GMT -5
The Night of the Sudden Plague seems to generally be disliked, at least in the circles I find. I feel it's a pity, really; yes, there's some bad editing and a couple of head-scratcher moments, but a lot of episodes people generally like have some of that, too. I'm willing to forgive the flaws, as I feel this episode has a lot going for it.
It's unique in several ways, one of which that it is the return of Michael Garrison as producer. That in itself must say something, such as that this episode is taking the show back in the direction that Mr. Garrison envisioned.
(Not that every direction he wanted to go in is acceptable to me. I would have been alarmed if the show had proceeded with many episodes such as The Night of the Raven, where weird things happen to the main characters' bodies. I don't handle that sort of thing well. But I do find a certain thrill in the fact that Mr. Garrison was involved with Sudden Plague.)
It is a wild ride, no doubt of that. It would likely be quite at home in season 2, alongside some of the bizarre ventures that I dearly love above many of the show's episodes. As it is, it's definitely my favorite season 1 episode and one of my favorite episodes throughout the entire series run.
The plot involves Jim and Arte on their quest to discover why entire towns are freezing in place when they're looted. Along the way, the agents encounter the demented mind behind the plot and the criminal gang working with him.
Is it flawed? Of course. There's those infamous plotholes that seem to be the sign of bad editing. Who can forget the confusion of Jim's encounter with Dr. Kirby and the removing of the fake hair? Obviously there was a prior encounter between them that somehow got left on the cutting room floor.
Another edit that I noticed is where the wretched man Frank is on the floor after being punched. He goes for his gun to try to shoot Coley Rodman (which can clearly be seen when the episode is paused there) and Coley shoots him in self-defense. But suddenly there's a wide shot of Coley shooting Frank while Frank is standing up, causing the ceiling beam to tear free when Frank falls. Something got lost there. I personally believe that the wide shot was the original and that the scenes of Frank on the floor trying to shoot were added later. Then, for some reason, the wide shot was kept even though it didn't fit the rest of the scene.
One pleasing element is that both Jim and Arte have very substantial roles to play. Arte is certainly not regulated to the role of being Jim's sidekick, as he is in quite a few season 1 episodes. By this point, they're starting to better develop the camaraderie that's part of what makes the show so great. They have some excellent banter throughout.
The episode falls back on a plot idea that's used many times throughout the series, that of the mad scientist or other criminal mastermind with a tragic past and/or some deep reason why he's doing what he's doing. But one thing the episode has that is extremely unique is the outlaw with some semblance of honor.
I believe that only El Sordo from The Night of Jack O'Diamonds can compare as far as three-dimensional outlaw characters on the show are concerned. Some people may not appreciate the comparison, since El Sordo is more laid-back and friendly (sometimes), but although their personalities are vastly different, El Sordo and Coley Rodman are simply not your typical Wild Wild West outlaws. Both have developed personalities and extensive screentime in ways that other outlaw characters just do not have.
Coley first shows signs of being different from the norm when one of his men, Frank, wants to shoot down the paralyzed people of Sand Hills for no particular reason at all. Coley refuses to allow it. Yes, he says "You know the orders" and indicates that for now, they're supposed to leave the people alive. But he makes it clear that it isn't just Dr. Kirby's feelings, it's his own, when Frank challenges him on leadership of the gang.
Why does Coley feel as he does? We don't really know. But what we do know, as is made expressly clear later on, is that he is not willing to do anything and everything to get his loot. There are some lines he won't cross.
He does threaten Arte with some rather horrifying consequences if Arte doesn't start talking, but is he serious or is he running a bluff? For a long time the scene puzzled me because it's so different from every other scene with Coley. Coley is capable of being more laid-back, but when he's threatening Frank, he's dead serious. By contrast, with Arte he acts more like Little Pinto from The Night of the Poisonous Posey, playful and sadistic. I finally determined that he's probably running a bluff with Arte, although there's really no sure way of knowing.
The episode eventually culminates when Coley and Dr. Kirby clash over their ideas of what should be going on. Dr. Kirby, furious at the world and having gone mad from an Oriental ruler killing his wife as punishment for not being able to save the ruler's wife during a plague, has decided that he is going to use his germs not just to temporarily paralyze but also to kill. He wants to start by exterminating all of San Francisco. Coley outright refuses, even though it would mean endless looting possibilities without interference. He admits that he doesn't mind shooting a man, but he's "not trying to get rid of the whole human race" and accuses Dr. Kirby of always only thinking about killing. Realizing that Dr. Kirby is serious about the murder of entire towns and cities, Coley decides that he and his gang have to break with him.
I find it very intriguing that both times when Coley actually does shoot someone, it's in self-defense. First there's Frank, who's totally a rotten egg since he wanted to kill the people of Sand Hills for no reason other than thinking it would be fun. Ugh. And then there's Dr. Kirby. Even though Coley goes up to the lab to kill him, things just don't work out that way. When Jim and Coley's second-in-command Lafe start fighting, Dr. Kirby flips out, not wanting them to destroy all of the things he's created in his lab to torture and kill people. He pulls a gun to shoot, actually fires (apparently at Coley), and Coley fires on him at that point.
So many of the male antagonists end up dying in the episodes that I was worried for Coley. I was definitely pleased that he survived. In some episodes, it seems like Jim might have shot him down when he was trying to shoot Jim. Instead, Jim shoots the gun away from him and keeps him alive. I just can't help thinking the writers (and the wonderful actor H.M. Wynant) were deliberately trying to portray Coley as having some level of honor all along and that is in large part why the script allowed him to survive.
The episode boasts quite a few stellar guest stars. Along with H.M., there's Theodore Marcuse as Dr. Kirby, Nobu McCarthy as his daughter Anna, Robert Phillips as Lafe, and Elliott Reid (who just died a couple of weeks ago, oh gosh) as the governor.
The scene of Jim getting menacing with the arrogant governor is one of my favorites, aside from Coley's scenes. Elliott Reid is one of my favorite character actors from way, way back (I had a little crush on him from watching him in old Disney comedies), and it's very enjoyable to watch his character and Jim clash.
Out of all four of H.M.'s WWW episodes, he has the largest role in this one. I watch it off and on semi-frequently, greatly enjoying his presence and the episode's plot in general.
I just wish I could turn up a script to perhaps solve some of those editing mysteries.
It's unique in several ways, one of which that it is the return of Michael Garrison as producer. That in itself must say something, such as that this episode is taking the show back in the direction that Mr. Garrison envisioned.
(Not that every direction he wanted to go in is acceptable to me. I would have been alarmed if the show had proceeded with many episodes such as The Night of the Raven, where weird things happen to the main characters' bodies. I don't handle that sort of thing well. But I do find a certain thrill in the fact that Mr. Garrison was involved with Sudden Plague.)
It is a wild ride, no doubt of that. It would likely be quite at home in season 2, alongside some of the bizarre ventures that I dearly love above many of the show's episodes. As it is, it's definitely my favorite season 1 episode and one of my favorite episodes throughout the entire series run.
The plot involves Jim and Arte on their quest to discover why entire towns are freezing in place when they're looted. Along the way, the agents encounter the demented mind behind the plot and the criminal gang working with him.
Is it flawed? Of course. There's those infamous plotholes that seem to be the sign of bad editing. Who can forget the confusion of Jim's encounter with Dr. Kirby and the removing of the fake hair? Obviously there was a prior encounter between them that somehow got left on the cutting room floor.
Another edit that I noticed is where the wretched man Frank is on the floor after being punched. He goes for his gun to try to shoot Coley Rodman (which can clearly be seen when the episode is paused there) and Coley shoots him in self-defense. But suddenly there's a wide shot of Coley shooting Frank while Frank is standing up, causing the ceiling beam to tear free when Frank falls. Something got lost there. I personally believe that the wide shot was the original and that the scenes of Frank on the floor trying to shoot were added later. Then, for some reason, the wide shot was kept even though it didn't fit the rest of the scene.
One pleasing element is that both Jim and Arte have very substantial roles to play. Arte is certainly not regulated to the role of being Jim's sidekick, as he is in quite a few season 1 episodes. By this point, they're starting to better develop the camaraderie that's part of what makes the show so great. They have some excellent banter throughout.
The episode falls back on a plot idea that's used many times throughout the series, that of the mad scientist or other criminal mastermind with a tragic past and/or some deep reason why he's doing what he's doing. But one thing the episode has that is extremely unique is the outlaw with some semblance of honor.
I believe that only El Sordo from The Night of Jack O'Diamonds can compare as far as three-dimensional outlaw characters on the show are concerned. Some people may not appreciate the comparison, since El Sordo is more laid-back and friendly (sometimes), but although their personalities are vastly different, El Sordo and Coley Rodman are simply not your typical Wild Wild West outlaws. Both have developed personalities and extensive screentime in ways that other outlaw characters just do not have.
Coley first shows signs of being different from the norm when one of his men, Frank, wants to shoot down the paralyzed people of Sand Hills for no particular reason at all. Coley refuses to allow it. Yes, he says "You know the orders" and indicates that for now, they're supposed to leave the people alive. But he makes it clear that it isn't just Dr. Kirby's feelings, it's his own, when Frank challenges him on leadership of the gang.
Why does Coley feel as he does? We don't really know. But what we do know, as is made expressly clear later on, is that he is not willing to do anything and everything to get his loot. There are some lines he won't cross.
He does threaten Arte with some rather horrifying consequences if Arte doesn't start talking, but is he serious or is he running a bluff? For a long time the scene puzzled me because it's so different from every other scene with Coley. Coley is capable of being more laid-back, but when he's threatening Frank, he's dead serious. By contrast, with Arte he acts more like Little Pinto from The Night of the Poisonous Posey, playful and sadistic. I finally determined that he's probably running a bluff with Arte, although there's really no sure way of knowing.
The episode eventually culminates when Coley and Dr. Kirby clash over their ideas of what should be going on. Dr. Kirby, furious at the world and having gone mad from an Oriental ruler killing his wife as punishment for not being able to save the ruler's wife during a plague, has decided that he is going to use his germs not just to temporarily paralyze but also to kill. He wants to start by exterminating all of San Francisco. Coley outright refuses, even though it would mean endless looting possibilities without interference. He admits that he doesn't mind shooting a man, but he's "not trying to get rid of the whole human race" and accuses Dr. Kirby of always only thinking about killing. Realizing that Dr. Kirby is serious about the murder of entire towns and cities, Coley decides that he and his gang have to break with him.
I find it very intriguing that both times when Coley actually does shoot someone, it's in self-defense. First there's Frank, who's totally a rotten egg since he wanted to kill the people of Sand Hills for no reason other than thinking it would be fun. Ugh. And then there's Dr. Kirby. Even though Coley goes up to the lab to kill him, things just don't work out that way. When Jim and Coley's second-in-command Lafe start fighting, Dr. Kirby flips out, not wanting them to destroy all of the things he's created in his lab to torture and kill people. He pulls a gun to shoot, actually fires (apparently at Coley), and Coley fires on him at that point.
So many of the male antagonists end up dying in the episodes that I was worried for Coley. I was definitely pleased that he survived. In some episodes, it seems like Jim might have shot him down when he was trying to shoot Jim. Instead, Jim shoots the gun away from him and keeps him alive. I just can't help thinking the writers (and the wonderful actor H.M. Wynant) were deliberately trying to portray Coley as having some level of honor all along and that is in large part why the script allowed him to survive.
The episode boasts quite a few stellar guest stars. Along with H.M., there's Theodore Marcuse as Dr. Kirby, Nobu McCarthy as his daughter Anna, Robert Phillips as Lafe, and Elliott Reid (who just died a couple of weeks ago, oh gosh) as the governor.
The scene of Jim getting menacing with the arrogant governor is one of my favorites, aside from Coley's scenes. Elliott Reid is one of my favorite character actors from way, way back (I had a little crush on him from watching him in old Disney comedies), and it's very enjoyable to watch his character and Jim clash.
Out of all four of H.M.'s WWW episodes, he has the largest role in this one. I watch it off and on semi-frequently, greatly enjoying his presence and the episode's plot in general.
I just wish I could turn up a script to perhaps solve some of those editing mysteries.