Hellride

When this show was popular i was abouth 9 or 10 years old but the charm of the 3 ladies was the thing that got me hooked to the show . I remember i had a huge crush on jacklyn smith because of this show but the other two were also a lust for the eye . The stories were pretty simple but were interesting enough to keep watching and Bosley was a good ( kind of ) comic sidekick , i don't mean that to bring his character down because he was a very important element of the show .

The other thing i like abouth this original show is the absence of a feminist manbashing agenda that you see so much in todays shows and i am afraid that the latest version will a new low on this .

Think of it as a movie like episode that introduces all of the angels. During its first two seasons this show was a hit. Then after season 3 the cast and ratings changed and by 1981 the angels 😇 were sent to hell 😈.

Hellride is a strong opening episode giving each of the Angels a part of the story.

Charlie has sent them undercover to investigate the death of a female stock car driver. Was it an accident or murder?

Sabrina (Kate Jackson) pretends to be a race car driver. Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) talks to the dead girl's parents. Bosley (David Doyle) and Jill (Farrah Fawcett) are a travelling preacher and his attractive daughter.

Jill plays poker with the guys to get information and win money. The Angels discover that the bad guys use the cross country racing to plan a diamond heist with another female racer in cahoots with them.

It is enjoyable hokum and it is clear even from the first episode that Farrah Fawcett was the standout. Given this was made in 1976, it has aged quiet well.

"Hellride" is from the show's fantastic 1st season and that is almost endorsement enough. The Angels all work well together. The opening murder is hard and cruel, with a nicely unfolding plot.

Farrah has the best scene in this episode playing the nosy, carnal preacher's daughter during a game of poker. Kate has a good bit at the end when she slaps the side of the conquered villain's head "Good job, Mary!" and Kelly is lovely as always, even though Smith is not yet comfortable in front of the camera.

Some of these early episodes of "Charlie's Angels" have enough plot for a TV movie...with the strong production elements and solid supporting casts worthy of a television feature. A tragic auto accident out on the dustbowl racecar circuit leads the Angels to believe there was dirty pool being played out on the track, but that's just the first half of the story. Sabrina (who it turns out did a little racecar driving in her youth!) poses as the new driver--with a Texas drawl; Bosley and Jill are father and daughter Holy Rollers; Kelly does some leg-work interviewing the victim's parents (in a sensitive scene) and later joins the gang at the arena, amusingly getting one suspect arrested for drunk driving. Exceptionally well-plotted installment, though I doubt Jill would be so sloppy as to leave evidence behind in a motel room, or that all her nosy questions would be overlooked by the locals with just a flash of her smile (which is admittedly blinding).