Melanie's Review
Laurie's Review
What I remember most about this episode are the surprises. The first one was right in the opening scene, when the harried mother of three who wanders into the squad room (a victim? a witness?) and then in the confusion of the moment, dropped her gun. To paraphrase Ray's line from Mountie on the Bounty: "Who the hell drops a gun?"Suzanne: Mommy, I want to go back to the truck!What a marvelous understatement! The Morse kids reminded me in some ways of Katherine Burns from Invitation to Romance--a constant annoyance, a force of nature, an inescapable trial to even a Mountie's patience. Their presense in the fringes of any scene made for an amazing slice of real-life chaos.
Janet: Okay, hon.
Robbie: Mom, can I have fifty cents for the candy machine?
Janet: In a minute, sweetheart. Momma's a little busy right now.One unusual element of this episode is Janet's background and competence. In the series as a whole, Americans are usually depicted as city dwellers and Canadians as frontiersmen. Even the horse-loving Stephanie Cabot from They Eat Horses, Don't They? was a city girl who had her daily ride in the quiet early morning streets of Chicago, and the chicken farmer from We are the Eggmen lived in the suburbs and kept his chickens in his house. The only other American outdoorsman I can recall was Lacroix in The Edge--but he was hardly shown in a positive light.
Janet: Well, I grew up in Montana. And, uh, my dad was taking me hunting with him by the time I was three. You know, I got to tell you, that there is not a lot of difference between bear hunting and hunting bail jumpers.The second surprise comes at a moment when the episode seems to have settled comfortably into an action-packed race to capture the worthless fugitive:
Fraser: I suppose not. Although I find the scent trail is much more useful with bear.
Janet: Well, that's true. And the scat's more informative.
Fraser: Oh, scat in the city, well, it's virtually useless.
Janet: Especially in the winter.Bounty Hunter 1: Hey, I saw him first!Now I can't say how the rest of you reacted, but I remember with great pleasure the sudden shock of that revelation. I still get tickled when I remember how surprised I was!
Bounty Hunter 2: He's mine.
Bounty Hunter 3: He belongs to me!
Janet: He's mine. I laid claim to this stake long before you boys even heard his name.
Bounty Hunter 3: You think so?
Janet: I know so. January thirteenth, 1986. South Ridgeway Baptist Church, eleven thirty-five A.M. I married this schmuck. He's mine.The character of Torrance, the bail-jumping ex-husband, was handled very well. He went from being a wanted criminal, to a deadbeat husband, to a multi-faceted character who made a stupid mistake; a man who can show flashes of generosity, a man who loves and plays with his kids.
"Yeah. Uh, it's uh Bradley Torrance. Charges for felony weapons possession, skipped out on twenty-five thousand dollars bail. I'm in the employ of Hector J. Jones, bail bondsman, Billing, Montana."
"I don't get any help from the cops if I tell them I'm after a deadbeat husband. Especially not my own deadbeat husband."
"Well, did you ever see two million dollars? Huh? Well, I'm looking at it, it's all green and beautiful and I'm thinking this is the last chance I got to do anything for us, you know, for the kids."
"That was really unselfish of you, Bradley."
"I mean, he can come and stay on the weekends or something, but not-- I've got this shed that I'm going to make into a bunkhouse and you know, he can stay out there. It's not like he's a great dad, 'cause, I mean, hell, he's not even a good dad, but you know, the kids need to see him so I--you know, what can you do?"
In the vague recesses of my mind I sometimes pair this episode with Mountie Sings the Blues as the "country music" episodes. While Mountie Sings the Blues was about country music, the featured character was a celebrity, a figure of concert dates, recording sessions and fan mail. Janet Morse, on the other hand, is a country music song: hard times, blue jeans, pickup truck, and the man who done her wrong.
I loved Ray's good-natured method of negotiating the price for doing his job while still participating in the work slowdown. On the other hand, Ray's scene with the kids in the interrogation room was a clinker--who didn't know what was going to happen as soon as the handcuffs came out?
I would have been happier if the other bounty hunters hadn't been such cartoons. The story would have been stronger if Janet had been up against other competent professionals instead of bumbling caricatures. I could never really buy them as a threat! Since the writers went to such lengths to humanize Torrance, it would have been impressive to see Janet (as a woman scorned who nonetheless had a strong motive to protect her prey) up against hunters who had no reason to hold back. "Dead or alive," they said.
Duesies:Cops: Gun! Freeze!
Janet: Hi, guys. A little touchy today?
Suzanne: Mommy, I want to go back to the truck
Janet: Okay, hon.
Robbie: Mom, can I have fifty cents for the candy machine?
Janet: In a minute, sweetheart. Momma's a little busy right now.Janet: Sorry, my fault.
Fraser: No, I think that was my fault.
Janet: No, I- I couldn't get a grip on that wheel.
Fraser: Well, I was holding a shotgun.
Janet: Yeah, but I could have spun him out.
Fraser: I could have blown out his tires.Robbie: Has anyone slept there?
Turnbull: Oh, yes indeedy-doo. The chairman of the beef marketing board, huh?
Fraser: I have some bedding in the uh. . .
Turnbull: Oh, Bobby Orr slept here once. And k.d. lang. But not at the same time, for obvious reasons.Fraser: What are you trying to suggest?
Bob: Oh, I'm not suggesting anything, Son. It's just that lately I've been thinking a lot about grandchildren.
Fraser: Grandchildren.
Bob: Yeah. Well, you know. I'm getting on.
Fraser: Getting on? You're dead.
Bob: Yes, I am. And in death, I'm learning to appreciate the importance of family. All of those great times we had together, you know.
Fraser: Dad, Mom and I saw you about once every sixteen weeks, and sometimes then you slept out with the dogs. Bob: And there was always a good reason, Son. No, no. My mind is harkening back to those special times. You know, all of those great family dinners.
Fraser: We never had family dinners.
Bob: Well, God willing, someone will die before Christmas and I'll have them around for dinner.Thatcher: Tell me something, Constable. Are we running a five-star hotel?
Fraser: No, sir.
Thatcher: A fly-by-night motel?
Fraser: No.
Thatcher: Is it a drop-in center?
Fraser: No, sir.
Thatcher: An orphanage?
Fraser: No.
Thatcher: Perhaps, then, it's a bordello.
Fraser: No, sir.
Thatcher: So in conclusion, this is not a place where travellers sleep, nor is it a daycare center, and it is most definitely not an institution where you would bring wayward women to satisfy animal needs and unmentionable underwear.Ray: Yeah. You realize, of course, that this is going to cost you. Another fifty.
Fraser: Forty.
Ray: Thirty.
Fraser: Twenty.
Ray: Done.
Janet: You pay this guy?
Fraser: Canadian funds.
Nitpick of the Week:Janet: Three hundred bucks.
Fraser: Are you planning on taking that?
Janet: You. . . you have a problem with that?
Fraser: Well, ordinarily, yes. I have a problem with theft.
Janet: Well, sure. But uh this is evidence.
Fraser: Oh.
Janet: Of the fact that he has three hundred dollars. I don't usually do this, but it just means the kids and I won't have to spend another night in the truck.
Fraser: I understand.It's bad enough that Fraser countenanced Janet's breaking into Torrance's hotel room, but I can't believe he'd come close to allowing Janet to take the fugitive's cash.
Fantasy moment of the Week:Annie: The Queen sleeps here?
Turnbull: Oh, she could. Whenever she's uh in Chicago, the regal suite will always be ready for her.[snort] Yeah, right. As Thatcher herself points out, later in the same episode, we're not running a 5-star hotel here. The Consulate-as-a-hotel concept was not one of my favorite developments in the 3rd season.
The Explanation:This one is one of the best, spoken by Ray in one of his tongue-tied moments.
"He first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of his father, and for reasons that do NOT need explaining at this juncture, he has remained a lesion--"
"Uh, liaison, Ray." (beat) ". . . attached as liaison with the Canadian Consulate."
Snack to eat while watching Bounty Hunter:Your mother will give you 50 cents for the candy machine.
Grading:
Janet and Bradley A The Kids B The Strike C Overall Grade B+
Laurie's Review:This is such an enjoyable ep, and like so many others, there's a perfect blend of humor and drama, and it's very madcap at times. The bratty kids are hard to tolerate but I really like the chemistry between Fraser and Janet. I also like the way Ray sort of gets sucked in. At first he's Mr. A**hole, in a totally out-of-character way, but at the end he's Mr. Compassionate, a true reflection of the man.
Insp. Thatcher and Turnbull also have a turn in the spotlight, even if it doesn't cast a positive light on them. Whenever I watch the scene where Fraser is getting chewed out by Thatcher I can't help laughing. It's supposed to be serious but how can it be when he's standing there in those ridiculously adorable (or adorably ridiculous) long johns? I'm surprised she didn't order him to report to her in full uniform for his dressing down. He was so out of uniform that the entire reprimand scene was seriocomic.
This is another personal ep; Ben reveals much about himself and what he wants for himself, even if he doesn't say it directly. This is the only time he's admittedly lonely. Beautiful interaction between Ben and Bob as they discuss the issue. So often Ben is sarcastic with his dad but obviously Bob doesn't take it too personally - he keeps coming back!
The opening scene was eerie the first time I saw it. Fraser and Dief moving through what appears to be a deserted precinct, echoes of voices and sounds. Almost dreamlike and we're given no clues as to what's happening. Another good moment is when Fraser, Ray and Janet are at the precinct talking. Clever camera work with the circling effect.
Duesies:Ray on phone: Your name, Sir. Bob. Hmm. How do you spell that?
Ray: Those kids are immature.
Fraser: Well, they're children, Ray.
Dief moment:The way he runs madly through the precinct in the opening scene.
This is a strong ep, any weaknesses are more than compensated for by the entertaining dialogue, rapid scene changes, the stereotyped Hell's Angels type bounty hunters, and the poignant moments. I give Bounty Hunter a B+.
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