|
Post by robertanderson on Mar 21, 2006 13:47:34 GMT -5
I don't think this episode was very well written. It doesn't seem to make sense that Mattie is going out trolling bars to meet strange men when she is going to be meeting someone later in the night that she has had a relationship with for many years. Of course, we don't know that they had known each other for years in THIS episode, but in the following episode we find out. So I guess if you just watch THIS episode it makes sense.
However, the jail scene is beyond far fetched. Men and women aren't put in adjoining cells in a big city jail. Jail scenes in 80s tv were of course very very far from reality, but the scene in this show is totally absurd. Why would the lady be so happily willing to confess to such a serious charge as murder? This whole part of the story is confusing and poorly constructed.
The only redeeming aspect to this poorly written episode was the aura of a night out on the town, the singles bar scene, etc. That is to say the background atmosphere in which the scenes take place, which was always what was truly great about moonlighting anyway.
In short, though parts of this episode were entertaining, it certainly doesn't warrant a "10" by any means. It was far from one of the best episodes of the series.
|
|
|
Post by queensgirl on Mar 21, 2006 19:24:58 GMT -5
I don't think this episode was very well written. It doesn't seem to make sense that Mattie is going out trolling bars to meet strange men when she is going to be meeting someone later in the night that she has had a relationship with for many years. Of course, we don't know that they had known each other for years in THIS episode, but in the following episode we find out. So I guess if you just watch THIS episode it makes sense. However, the jail scene is beyond far fetched. Men and women aren't put in adjoining cells in a big city jail. Jail scenes in 80s tv were of course very very far from reality, but the scene in this show is totally absurd. Why would the lady be so happily willing to confess to such a serious charge as murder? This whole part of the story is confusing and poorly constructed. The only redeeming aspect to this poorly written episode was the aura of a night out on the town, the singles bar scene, etc. That is to say the background atmosphere in which the scenes take place, which was always what was truly great about moonlighting anyway. In short, though parts of this episode were entertaining, it certainly doesn't warrant a "10" by any means. It was far from one of the best episodes of the series. The point is, according to her, she didn't know she was going to meet Sam at all, until she got his message. So if she's telling the truth about that, she wasn't 'planning' to do one thing and then doing another at all. She changed her mind, and with good reason, given her disappointing night at the club. And it's pretty clear why she wants to go to the bar at first. Watch the way she acts when she's first in there. Seems to be having a pretty good time, until the guy spills his drink and Maddie gets so frustrated it ruins the evening for her. This is very much in line with her character. We don't actually see Maddie herself leave the bar, nor do we get to see her meet Sam. So we don't actually know if she's being truthful with her story the next day. That in itself is what's intriguing about it. The themes of amibiguity and a (failed?) foray into reckless abandon gel perfectly with the confusion and frustration Maddie had talked about with Dave at the office before she ran out. The reason Joan probably had to confess to the murder was that she was caught pretty quickly, the FBI man had been following her and knew who she really was, and there wasn't really any other place to go, especially after they got through questioning David. She probably figured out that once they knew who she was, with her husband's criminal record, they'd think it was much more likely for her to commit the crime than some random stranger like David. Joan had a motive (kill her husband, take the robbery money). David had none, since he did not have a criminal record and no connection to these people. As for the jail scene, it's called "poetic license." They had to figure out some way for someone else to talk to David about his feelings for Maddie. The jail scene emphasizes how weird and out of control everything is. That's why it's so funny, and so touching--it takes a bunch of crazy people to get David to admit what's going on! Sure, they might not have put the two groups next to each other in a real jail, but this is not "Law and Order" or "L.A. Law." It was a comedy as well as a drama and they were not going to be by the book on everything. (If they were, frankly, it doesn't make sense for David to come out of the flying leap into the garbage bin with just a few scrapes and bruises and a layer of grime to show for it.) I can forgive them certian quirks because the whole is more than the sum of its parts. I thought it was actually very clever how they made the "said operative" line of hoo-rah from David actually turn out to be true. In fact, I don't know why he didn't get a reward for information leading to the capture of Joan. I think the show was written to be so strange and different to demonstrate just how strongly David felt and how much he was willing to go through--as well as how difficult it was for him. There's also Maddie showing a very different side of her personality. It might be one of the stranger episodes in the cycle, but it is a setup for what comes after.
|
|
|
Post by adyjdy on Mar 21, 2006 21:56:56 GMT -5
However, the jail scene is beyond far fetched. Men and women aren't put in adjoining cells in a big city jail. Actually if they were in a holding cell, rather than the city or county jail itself, it is possible men and woman might be near one another. If David is still waiting to be interrogated, as is Joan, they are almost certainly NOT at the jail but in holding which is a small area within the police station itself.
|
|
|
Post by robertanderson on Mar 23, 2006 20:17:39 GMT -5
Maybe that's how it is in LA, maybe not. I know in some police departments they don't have those kinds of holding cells as they have individual rooms where they lock the suspect. Anyway, those 80s jail scenes always bothered me as a bit unrealistic, but I suppose different police departments and counties might run things differently. I will try not to get hung up on it in the future.
|
|