Laurie's Review
Melanie's Review
Laurie's Review:Doctor Longball doesn't do anything for me. I don't dislike it, exactly, it just doesn't spark any interest. It's a very long hour. I can't psych myself up to rewatch it so I'm relying on the transcript to refresh my memory, and it needs a lot of refreshing with this one.
The most appealing feature of Doctor Longball is the development of Harding Welsh's character. We learn more about him in this episode than all the other Season 3/4 eps combined. His relationship with his brother feels real and is very convincing. They're in their 50's but they haven't let go of the past or effectively dealt with it, and they haven't outgrown their sibling rivalry either.
A major criticism is that Fraser doesn't fit in. This ep wasn't written for or about him, and his character comes across as superfluous. I would have preferred him in a cameo role as was done with other cast members. I'm a Mountie fan, I make no bones of the fact that Fraser is my favorite, but I don't like him in Doctor Longball. He actually bugs me. (Did I really say that?) He's an unnecessary distraction.
Upon reflection, I must change my assessment because after going through the transcript and visualizing most of the scenes I can't think of anything I really like. I can't stand Huck Bogart, Wilson Welsh is too much of a wimp, Olivia reminds me of Tammy Markles, Rusty "Waterworks" is obnoxious, and Fraser is a useless afterthought. The brightest moment is the ponchoed Ray standing on the roadside, and he looks good in a baseball uniform.
I can't come up with any Duesies or Dief moments and I'll pass on a keepership. That leaves a grade: the Doctor gets a D+.
Melanie's Review:There are three elements to this episode, and Paul Quarrington did a very good job keeping them fairly balanced and intertwined. First is the Harding/Wilson story, which is the moral and emotional glue that holds the story together. The issue of love and forgiveness in a dysfunctional family is a mature and risky choice.
I have to admit a personal bias for the Harding/Wilson story, because I studied it very closely while working on the story Chicago, 1968. As far as I'm concerned, the relationship between the brothers is the best thing about this episode. There's smoldering resentment in every glance, unspoken anger and love in every insult, animal aggression in every challenge. I have heard that the role of Wilson Welsh was originally supposed to go to Beau Starr's brother, Mike. I've seen Mike Starr in a few small roles, and I have been surprised at the very strong resemblance between the two actors. I'm rather glad that Mike Starr was not cast in the role, as Max Gail's distinctively different physical build and coloring helped to highlight the differences in temperment and ambition between the brothers. The fact that Wilson is both shorter and less massively built makes him an underdog even before he opens his mouth; every moment of interaction between them screams to me that Wilson is a younger brother who would much rather have Harding's approval than their father's.
There's a shade of foreshadowing in the early vignettes of Willison. Wilson seems to be a police officer in Fraser's own mold; wearing a dark brown uniform and stetson, he halts traffic in order to escort an elderly woman across the street. I saw this same dynamic later in the episode, in conversations that remind me of some of the early conversations between Fraser and Vecchio, when Fraser would question Ray's suspicions by affirming his general belief in the goodness of people and asserting the presumption of innocence.
Harding: He gonna stop crying?
Wilson: He's upset.
Harding: Yeah, he wasn't upset when he cracked that guy's skull in.
Wilson: Can I talk to you for a minute? I walked Rusty to school on his very first day, okay? Y'know, I live with these people, it's a community. You can't come here and terrorise them!And later,
Wilson: Y'know, I've known Kelly a long time. He's done a lot of good for the town, y'know--always been there for charity work.
Harding: So what are you saying? A guy does charity he can't have a little ambition?
Wilson: No, but I don't think he'd hurt anybody.And then later,
Wilson: We trust you Hector, okay? We know you're a compulsive gambler, but I know that you are a scrupulously honest bookkeeper.
Harding: Yeah, right.Throughout the episode, Wilson's instincts about the people he knows personally (as only someone in a very small town can) prove correct. He was right about Kelly, he was right about Olivia, he was right about Hector. He was even right about the mayor--he never voted for the guy, after all. (Wilson was wrong about Rusty, though. Pathetically tearful or not, Rusty was a willing participant in the armed robbery.)
On the surface, it's easy to see Wilson as a hapless bumbler. But there's an intense pride behind the plea for help, the pride of a man who has served his community well. It's crystallized best here:
Harding: Mug book? This is a mug page. You got a crime wave going here and you got no criminals?
Wilson: Got no criminals 'cause I done a damn good job here the last twenty years.Surprisingly, Harding's aggressive desire to take charge of the situation and solve his brother's problem for him (rather than working with him to solve the problem) leads him to be far more clumsy and heavy-handed than usual. For example, he walks into Wilson's delecate interview with Olivia and brings it to an crashing halt by asking if Wilson has elicited a confession yet. Stupid move, Harding.
The second element is the baseball story, which is actually a long string of baseball cliches with sources ranging from Casey at the Bat to Bull Durham. They even threw in an inspirational speech from Knute Rockne, All-American. The only original twist I could see in the baseball story was the fact that the team was way out of contention, trying only to win a lifetime record for their manager. Look at the scene when Ray hits the Grand Slam--the players react as if they'd just won the pennant!
The third element is the investigation. I think this is the episode's weakest link, with enough red herrings to fill a barrel. Kelly did it. No he didn't! Hector did it. No he didn't! Olivia did it. No she didn't! Yes, Olivia did it--with everybody!!!!! Meanwhile, there are plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. How long are the odds that the bad guys would choose to change vehicles in the open, in the very same place where Fraser is letting Dief take a piss? That's even less likely than catching a dead Fed while ice fishing. (And did you notice that they took off their ski masks in that scene? Were they driving down the highway with ski masks on?)
Random thoughts:How much time has passed since "Mountie on the Bounty"? Apparently enough for Ray to become smitten with a suspect and develop a relationship with her to the point that they are willing to take a romantic vacation together (but not so far that she wouldn't dump him at the first opportunity).
The voice-over of the radio play-by-play announcer was an extremely effective means of setting the stage for the story, and introducing many of the characters.
Was that Rusty Barnsdale under the stocking mask during the armed robbery? Hang on--yes, it was. At the confrontation after the opening credits Rusty is the only one of the three who doesn't have a beard. Hmm. . . despite all the tears and sympathy, Rusty is in deep, deep trouble. (Nice clothesline move there, Lieutenant.)
"Experts in the field," says the sheriff. Sudden cut to Fraser and Welsh, who are indeed in a field. ;-)
3000 wins--that's a very impressive record! At roughly 150 games in a minor league season, it would take 20 years to win 3000 games if you never lost! Im-possible. At near-unbelievable average of 100 wins per season, it would take 30 years to win 3000 games--but if he was that good, he'd be working at a higher level, maybe triple-A if not the majors. How old does Huck Bogart look to you? (And for that matter, I wonder what the real minor league managerial career-wins-record is?)
I wasn't impressed with all the silly Dief-things in this episode. Mauled by a wolverine with a goiter, phobia about pink flamingos, particular kinship with the beaver. . . oh, please! Admit it: Draco was just being a bad boy that week.
That pep-talk from the owner was so lame-- "his last wish was that we'd win the pennant"? I'd walk out on her, too. Bubba Dean sure does look buff in his shades, yes? Oh, and who the heck pays their employees in cash any more?
What was the mug page doing in Wilson's trailer?
How in the world did they get ahold of Ray, convince him to come to Willison, and get him transported there so quickly?
The mayor was drawn too broadly, too boorish. He was an obvious choice for a villain from the start.
Hmmm. Unplugged or not, the wheels on the pitching machine are still spinning when Fraser notices that a crucial gear is missing. Keep a close eye on that lanyard, Constable, or you're gonna get strangled!
Oh yeah, Ray. That's real good undercover work. Have a heart-to-heart talk with the guy in the bright red uniform about how you never really played baseball before-- in front of the whole team and hundreds of other witnesses.
Why did Ray start reciting that mantra about counting the seams before Fraser gave him that piece of advice?
I thought it was incredibly sweet that Wilson had a thing for (or with) Olivia. It certainly added a level of complexity to the scenes in which she became a suspect and had to be questioned. However, I am very disappointed that they had to turn her into the village slut:
Woody: He stole Olivia.
Wilson: You and Olivia? Huck and Olivia? Kelly and Olivia?
[Rusty begins crying in the cells]
Wilson: [horrified] He's just a kid!
Duesies:Olivia: A man is hurt, Huck.
Huck Bogart: He's not a man, he's an accountant!Harding: Mug book? This is a mug page. You got a crime wave going here and you got no criminals?
Wilson: Got no criminals cause I done a damn good job here the last twenty years.Fraser: The relationship didn't work, then?
Ray: Well then plane barely touched down in Acapulco and she took off with this guy who was selling ponchos on the street.
Fraser: Oh. So you didn't get the girl, then.
Ray: Nah. Got this poncho.
Fraser: It's very fetching.Diefenbaker: Woof, woof!
Fraser: What are you talking about? It was a strike on the corner.
Diefenbaker: Woof!
Fraser: Oh great, blind and deaf.
Dief Moment:There are several good candidates in this episode. Early in the episode Dief is a hero, knocking Fraser out of the path of a bullet. Later we see him as comforter, nosing a box of tissues to Rusty and giving him a friendly lick on the face. And then there's show-off Dief, fielding balls and adoration from the young female fans. Take your pick.
Hey, it's that guy!Max Gail (Wilson Welsh) first won my heart as the hangdog Detective Wojohowicz on the 70's cop comedy Barney Miller.
Bruce Weitz (Huck Bogart) was the undercover bad boy of Hill Street Blues, Mick Belker.
Snack to eat while watching Doctor Longball:Milk and cheese ('cause in Willison we don't just produce milk, we produce goodness).
Grading:
Harding and Wilson A+ Baseball Cliches B- The Investigation D Overall Grade B-
If you want to sound off, or if you'd like to add a review to the site, let me know!
Back to Mountie on the Bounty
Forward to Easy Money
Back to the Episode List