GaryPeterson67

JOE 90's penultimately produced episode is a problematic puzzler. I mean, our heroes gang up to gaslight a man who has broken no laws. Ralph Clayton is adept at the art of the deal and sure, some little people get short squeezed out as he plays the stock market with a shark's instinct for blood in the water. Clayton's acumen is no different than that same savvy praised in business legends Warren Buffet and Donald Trump. So why is he the bad guy here?

Old duffer Harry found himself on the wrong side of the Social Darwinist equation and was going the way of the dodo. Such is capitalism. But in this takeover deal Clayton found himself on the wrong side of WIN. Turns out Harry's specialized equipment firm does occasional work for WIN, so Shane Weston won't allow it to fall into Clayton's hands. Legally there's nothing WIN can do since the takeover is within the bounds of the law. So what can they do? Gaslight Gordon Gekko.

Previous critic Lor correctly noted writer Tony Barwick borrowed plot elements from "A Christmas Carol" and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE as Joe, McClaine, Uncle Sam, and Shane conspire to concoct an elaborate plot to help with good Clayton's revival. Barwick also paid homage to the recent ITC series THE PRISONER with the Okay hand gesture accompanying the catchphrase "see you down there" (a twist on "be seeing you"). Gaslighting an innocent man was also standard operating procedure on THE PRISONER.

That was my nagging problem with this problematic plot. I was being asked to cheer on Number 2 and the Green Dome gang as they waged psychological warfare on a man whose sole crime was being smarter than the average bear in business. Barwick failed to convince me to hate Clayton. I mean, make him a criminal, a money launderer funding terrorists and running drug and prostitution rings who kicks puppies and pinches babies. As it was, he came across as a nice guy with malice toward none, not even towards a random kid parked in his corporate boardroom. I actually pitied Clayton when he's trying to relax with a brandy and an English countryside show and Joe hijacks his TV.

Okay, in spite of my disagreement with the premise, I did really enjoy this show. How could anyone not? I knew it was gonna get eight stars when I saw Joe blowing that horn and playing the blues like a boy Bill Clinton and making with the Maynard G. Krebs Beatspeak. Craaazy. I loved Shane going all Bogart and Sam in a wetsuit slamming a poem about being underwater and underpaid. How he got up to the C-suite in that getup required serious suspension of disbelief. But more importantly, did he have a tuxedo underneath it?

A fun romp with our merry and malicious pranksters that did leave our Scrooge stand-in a new and better man, albeit a poorer one. Did the ends justify the means? We each have to wrestle with and answer that question ourselves... after we stop laughing, that is.

PS: I suspect McClaine's miracle cure inspired not only Ralph Clayton and Ronald Reagan to spill the beans but Tom Baker's DOCTOR WHO five years later. Jelly Baby? Be seeing you down there!

Really, was anyone surprised by Dex and Amanda doing what boys and girls do? Didn't you see this coming after that playful kiss she planted on Dex's lips coupled with a standing invitation to spank her bottom "anytime" just two episodes ago in "Domestic Intrigue"?

What did surprise me was worldly Alexis' uncharacteristic naivete in dispatching Dex and Amanda to a cozy snowbound cabin with apparently no thought given to what might transpire before the fire. I can only imagine she was so singularly focused on getting Amanda out of town and away from Blake that she gave no thought to the possibility. And she may have trusted too much in the prima facie facade that Dex and Amanda erected that they loathed one another.

Another surprise was Dex being the one insisting it was a mistake and must never happen nor be spoken of again. Pouty Amanda looked crestfallen and rejected. Maybe she really was falling for the guy? How else to explain her flattering sketch of Dex earlier in the show?

It is said that men can compartmentalize easier than women (the notion that men's minds are like waffles and women's like spaghetti). That theory appeared proven out by Dex's carefree welcome of Alexis and his gleeful grin at the wedding announcement. What a sharp contrast with Claudia's troubled mind and squirmy resistance to Steven's surprise hug. Of course, Claudia is not only feeling guilty for her fling with Dean but is simmering in her surety that Steven enjoyed a gay romp with Luke in Santa Barbara. Luke only galvanized her suspicions by enthusiastically describing his and Steven's jog along the beach, dip in the pool, and dining on lobster together.

That raises a side note about travel distances in Denver, which is a sprawling metropolis. Luke drives to the Carrington mansion to hand deliver a report that Steven supposedly wanted to see right away, but which Steven showed no interest in as he dropped it upstairs before going out with Claudia. How far did Luke have to drive on that fool's errand? And how far outside of the city is La Mirage? It appears to be nestled in the mountains far from the madding crowds of Denver, even if our peripatetic cast casually pop in for drinks as if it were Kelcy's Bar on the corner. Dean drove all the way out there from his gallery just to see Claudia and was sat down and Dear John'd in under a minute. Another fool on a fool's errand.

My heart went out to Dean because I like Richard Hatch as Apollo on BATTLESTAR: GALACTICA. I thought if he had only played the "you know, my wife Serina was murdered by a Cylon centurion" card Claudia would have melted in his arms.

Hey, far-out fantasy would not be far out of line in an episode that embarks Jeff and Nicole on a quest for a treasure map leading to a lost Incan idol! Wow, talk about a plot twist, huh? Writer Camille Marchetta appears inspired by that year's summer blockbuster INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. Will we soon be seeing Jeff cracking a whip in a fedora, Nicole in perpetual peril, and Little Blake bringing up the rear as Short Round?

I could see John James stomping into Aaron Spelling's office and sputtering that if Gordon Thompson got to play James Bond then I get to play Indy. Aaron calls Camille and says to make it happen. To make it work, some retroactive continuity implants were necessary, such as De Vilbis having been on a quixotic quest for a priceless Incan idol and his having entrusted Fallon with half of the treasure map. And then there's the out-of-left-field reveal of De Vilbis pairing up with a Swedish model who may have actually been the passenger on Peter's ill-fated final flight. So no family or friends reported this Swedish model as missing? And how is Camille going to explain the ring Jeff gave to Fallon being found at the crash site (as revealed in "The Rescue" earlier this season)?

James Bond and May Day aka Adam and Dominique are given a break after their foreign intrigues and have little to do this time around but attend the press gaggle in Blake's office trumpeting Rashid's signed document exonerating Denver Carrington. Surprisingly, nothing was said about Alexis' role in sabotaging the deal, which criminal act should have been center stage. Pesky reporter Gordon Wales is being positioned to play a larger role in coming seasons. Intrigues in the casting department: Nigel Bullard, the black reporter prominently featured, was apparently a love interest of Diahann Carrol's at the time. It was great fun, but it was just one of those things (as Dex might put it and Diahann might sing it).

And now it appears Adam suspects Dominique is Blake's love interest, or so it seems from the pointed question that Blake blithely dismisses, only fueling his son's suspicions. Blake didn't have to say Dominique is claiming to be his half-sister and thus a Carrington entitled to a piece of the pie. He could have simply and truthfully said Dominique financially rescued Denver-Carrington and thus she is a de facto partner with all the attendant rights and privileges. As an attorney, Adam would understand that (even if not liking it).

Me, I'm not liking Krystle this season. I can barely stand the sight of her on screen. They just had a baby, so celebrate that together. No, she's cold, aloof and still obsessed with blaming Blake for Rashid's death. She's doesn't trust her own husband and a root of bitterness is bearing ugly fruit. I really thought she'd be humble after her tumble, but nope; she's more self-righteously indignant than ever. Well, not too indignant as to neglect putting on that pearl necklace and admiring herself in a hand mirror.

The crisis of baby Kristina turned out to be a tempest in a teapot. Guest star Bibi Besch got only a minute's walk-on before the subplot of Kristina's crisis was hastily concluded. Too many other plots demanded screentime this week, with the highlight being Dex and Amanda enacting their Nonaggression Pact topped off with Alexis' unilateral nuptials announcement. Coming in second was Jeff and Nicole readying to romance the stone, and a distant third was the continuing saga of Steven and Claudia and Luke and Dean. Blake and Krystle's contretemps didn't even make the charts this week.

Closing on a high note, didn't it warm your heart to know 5% of profits from the South China Sea will go to schools in Rashid's (unidentified) native country? I thought it was so cool how Blake said "schooools," and I tried to say it like Blake said it but fell woefully short. Blake sets the bar on awesomeness too high for the average guy.

Ben Casey's premiere episode is a compelling redemption story freely drawn from Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The ever-angry and arrogant Ben Casey plays Scrooge. He's not stingy; in fact, he spends the hospital's funds like a drunken sailor on leave. And he's not heartless, having abundant compassion for patients like Pete Salazar. But he absolutely no patience for dumbfounded doctors or the administrative suits who try to rein in their runaway medical maverick.

The Ghost of Marley that Casey meets and which sets him on redemption's road is a rabies-infected needle poked in his hand during a botched attempt at giving a lumbar puncture to a flailing patient. Suddenly our cocksure superhero is staring death in the face. Casey can't take the vaccines due to a deadly reaction. And if he's contracted rabies, he's sure to die a terrible death as did Dorothy (and her little dog too!). After his colleague and confidante Nobby refuses to amputate Casey's hand in a desperate attempt to isolate the disease, all Casey can do is sweat out the next 30 days and pray no symptoms present themselves.

Memorable scenes I loved include Casey's descending to the dimly lit bowels of the hospital and wandering the concrete-walled labyrinthine tunnel. It brought to my mind the haunting opening lines of Kris Kristofferson's aptly titled song, "Casey's Last Ride":

"Casey joins the hollow sound of silent people walking down /The stairway to the subway in the shadows down below /Following their footsteps through the neon-darkened corridors /Of silent desperation, never speakin' to a soul /The poison air he's breathin' has the dirty smell of dyin' /'Cause it's never seen the sunshine and it's never felt the rain."

As if to underscore those despairing words, which were almost a decade away from being written, a little train comes by loaded with garbage cans and rattles past Casey and down a dark and seemingly endless tunnel. All it needed was a sign saying to "abandon all hope" as here's where Casey learns his patient died of rabies... and he could be next.

A second favorite scene comes straight out of a 1930's prison picture as Casey wakes up in bed staring at the ceiling before turning to the wall calendar and crossing off December 6. Casey is a prisoner both to time and to his own conscience and the guilt and fears that lurk therein.

The implacable facade Casey projects to the world begins to crack. He seeks to make things right, bestowing gifts on those he's wronged. He shows (initially awkward) kindness to the lady doctor he earlier ignored.

Watching this post-Covid one wonders why Casey wasn't quarantined until the danger of rabies infection had passed. Nope, he's in the OR performing delicate brain surgery on a nine-year-old boy and enjoying a passionate kiss with the lady doctor.

Since the series ran for five robust seasons, it shouldn't be a spoiler to say Casey survived his harrowing ordeal and, like Scrooge, emerged a new and better man.

A third scene I loved was Peter waking up Casey by spritzing water in his face and that grin of joy that spread across Casey's face. Like Scrooge awakening after his long, dark night of the soul to find himself alive and well albeit profoundly changed on a fundamental level. The smile is significant because Peter earlier noted that Casey never smiled. Yeah, this Tiny Tim was blessed to be present at good Scrooge's revival.

Wow, what a strong opening show setting the series on an upward trajectory and boasting abundant promise for all the episodes yet to come.

Random observations and cast notes:

The closing scene features Dr Zorba and Pete Salazar watching an offscreen loving embrace between Maggie and Ben. I smiled, imagining Zorba erupting, "Take your hands off my wife, you cad!" On TV Maggie Graham may be in love with Ben Casey but in real life she left the set each night hand in hand with Dr. Zorba! Actress Bettye Ackerman (1924-2006) was married to Sam Jaffe (1891-1984), their 33-year age difference posing no hindrance to a marriage that lasted just shy of 30 years from 1956 through Jaffe's passing in 1984 at age 93. Ironically, for a woman who preferred (much) older men, Vince Edwards was four years her junior (1928-96). One wonders if Jaffe ever felt threatened by his wife playing the love interest to (and locking lips with) the dashing young doctor.

I must admit I am not yet impressed by Maggie Graham as the love interest. Both scenes of her lunging after Casey were embarrassingly overwrought, and she appeared more in pain than in passion. Ackerman has recurring appearances in 62 episodes, so I'm hoping she wins me over as the series progresses.

A recurring cast member already proving himself a strong and steady pillar is Harry Landers as Dr Ted Hoffman. His chiseled and creased face contrasts nicely with Edwards' suave smoothness and lends gravitas to the neuroscience department. Of course, as a STAR TREK fan, Landers will always be first and foremost Dr Coleman, amorous accomplice to the woman who would be Kirk, Janice Lester, in the series finale "Turnabout Intruder."

A weak link was apparently Barton Heyman as Dr Paul Cain, the panic-attack-stricken doctor that Casey reams royally (we're talkin' Roto-Rooter). Heyman made three appearances and was written out after the fourth episode. Even Nurse Wills couldn't veil her contempt for Cain as she snaps blankets when he asks her about the mysterious gift of a microscope. Sadly, Vince Edwards and Barton Heyman died just two months apart in March and May 1996, aged 67 and 59, respectively. Done too soon.

And making his sole series appearance was Aki Aleong as Dr George "Nobby" Namura. He appeared poised to be a series regular but disappointingly disappeared. Aleong outlived all the cast (except for Rafael Lopez/Pete Salazar), dying at age 90 on June 22, 2025.

In the 1960s Ben Casey had his mentor Dr. Zorba, Dr Kildare had Dr Gillespie, Dr. Gannon had Dr. Lochner, and Dr Kiley had Marcus Welby (an AARP-approved plot twist where the aging mentor finally got title billing). I believe this medical master-protege trope can be traced back to Sinclair Lewis' 1925 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Arrowsmith. Young and eager upstart Dr Martin Arrowsmith finds a mentor in the elderly eccentric Dr Max Gottlieb, and together they fight the fossilized doctors and administrators playing priests to outdated medicine and methods, much like Ben Casey does in this opening episode with an able assist from the zesty Zorba. Lewis' century-old story is a must-read for medical drama enthusiasts.

And speaking of milestone dates, the date Casey awakens in the clear of rabies infection is December 7, 1961, the twentieth anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Upending the date's association with "a day that will live in infamy," it becomes the first day of the rest of Casey's life, which on TV spanned another five years, 152 more episodes, and a 1988 reunion movie. The journey through the epic series begins with this first episode....