Category: Directed by Oz Scott

American Gothic (1995) s01e09 – To Hell and Back

To Hell and Back aired out of order; way out of order. It was one of the infamous summer burn-off episodes, airing about nine months later than it should have. No one tried to kill serialized seasonal narratives like the networks.

The episode’s all about Jake Weber, starting with a flashback to when he killed his wife and daughter in a car accident. He was drunk. The show’s been teasing the details since the pilot, but now it’s the anniversary, and he’s got a very similar case going on in the present day. Town-drunk Robert C. Treveiler went out after a party—a hospital fundraiser, no less—and got in a wreck. He walked away; wife Laura Robbins wasn’t so lucky; plus, she and Weber had a star-crossed meet cute at the fundraiser, so it’s even worse. Weber then starts imagining his wife (played by Andi Carnick) in her place, the added stress pushing him towards drinking.

Sheriff Gary Cole—perhaps demonically aware of Weber’s, well, particular demons—does whatever he can to make things more difficult for Weber. When Weber’s off trying to suss through his shitty day-and-a-half at the local blues club, Brenda Bakke puts the moves on him. Or something approximating them. It’s never clear why Bakke’s tempting him, but then Weber leaves and finds Cole waiting for a bottle and a deal.

Sleep-deprived Weber seems very aware Cole’s got something supernatural (and evil) going on; will he give in?

And here’s the funny thing—it doesn’t matter. I mean, it does matter, and Weber’s got a significant character development and reveal arc going on, but the way they leave things… it doesn’t matter. Either Weber’s leaving, or he’s staying. The finish, which emphasizes his character arc, doesn’t resolve it.

Good thing the network pushed the episode out of order so far. It’d be terrible to know what was happening with the show’s first protagonist.

The B plot involves Lucas Black spying on weird old neighbor William Morgan Sheppard and his cousin, Paige Turco, getting upset he’s becoming such a gossip. It’s an excellent arc for Black, though it duplicates another episode’s arc… meaning he didn’t learn anything the last time. I think it also involved his friends, Evan Rachel Wood and Christopher Fennell, teasing him into some behavior.

Excellent script—credit to Judi Ann Mason and Robert Palm—with barely okay even for 1995 TV drama direction courtesy Oz Scott. Scott at least gives the actors time but still manages to work against them with some of the gimmicks.

Even with Scott fumbling, the episode is successful, a testament to the writers and, especially, the actors. It’s a terrific showcase for Weber while also giving Bakke and Black decent spotlights. Turco and Cole—despite having a lot to do—are just supporting their plots’ protagonists.

Outstanding stuff.

Michael Hayes (1997) s01e18 – Gotterdammerung

It’s recognizable guest star week on “Michael Hayes.” Lots of guest stars. Sadly former “Facts of Life” co-stars Meredith Scott Lynn and Charlotte Rae don’t share any scenes. But there’s also the return of Larry Miller—he gets a “special appearance” credit—and does his best Gene Hackman in “The Conversation” (or Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State trailers) as a CIA agent who gives David Caruso the dirt on the CIA hiring on a bunch of Nazis after World War II, which is true but the show’s so silly at the conspiracy stuff it doesn’t come off truthy. The main guest star is Lawrence Dobkin, playing an elderly German immigrant who changes his testimony on the stand. He’s testifying against other guest star Vyto Ruginis.

Dobkin changes his story right after Holocaust survivor Rae spots him in the court house, in such an obvious sequence (even without the show’s “cut in a Nazi uniform” montage technique, even worse than the show’s flashback devices) you have to wonder if Hillary Danner’s character is supposed to have never seen or heard of Marathon Man.

Last recognizable guest star is Lawrence Pressman as the government Nazi hunter who tries to find out the story on Dobkin.

Meanwhile, Caruso, Danner, Peter Outerbridge, and Ruben Santiago-Hudson are all scrambling to save the case against Ruginis (for murdering a federal agent) while wondering if they fell for an old Nazi’s lies or if Rae’s just mistaken.

Once the CIA gets involved, Miller comes back for a scene—which just leads Caruso off to another visit with jailed CIA whistleblower now conspiracy crank Thomas Kopache (who isn’t a recognizable guest star so much as what I assume is a desperate attempt at appealing to “X-Files” viewers)—and then Caruso’s got to figure out how to uncover all the secrets.

There’s some good acting. Rae’s really good, Pressman’s good, Dobkin’s pretty good—the problem for Dobkin is he’s in it too much, doing too little, and the script (credited to show runner Michael S. Chernuchin and Barry Schkolnick) doesn’t really know how to do the story. The script shoehorns in conspiracy when it’d have been more affecting and effective without it. The regular cast just gets to be angry about Dobkin hoodwinking them—or is he—and all of a sudden you’ve got a roomful of righteous rage and not just the seething righteous rage of Caruso. Caruso’s righteous fury a lot more effective when the bad guys aren’t potentially actual Nazis. It’s over kill, lighting a burner with a flamethrower; though it does give Caruso endless one-liner deliveries to try out, just not a lot of acting.

It’s well-acted enough, just really thinly written—the episode disappoints in an all new way; even towards the end of the season, “Michael Hayes” can always find a new fail vector.

Also, one final complaint—no Rebecca Rigg (but Danner, who’s been sitting out Rigg episodes). Not sure why they can’t be on the same episodes anymore, possibly because all the characters are purely functional at this point.