Just listened to # 68, followed by a viewing of the last Last Precinct, and I wanted to get this up while it's all still fresh in my mind.
A few weeks back, I put in a comment about this series, which for whatever reason didn't get through; no matter.
First things first: You might have noticed that Keenan Wynn wasn't in this episode. I mentioned that fact in the lost comment - along with a mention that Keenan Wynn died later in 1986. I don't know the details, but I'm reasonably sure that Mr. Wynn's final illness (which was pretty catastrophic) might have coincided with the filming of this episode, which would account for the presence here of Charles Lane (you know, the Petticoat Junction guy) as Sundance's partner du jour. This in its turn would indicate that this was indeed the intended season finale of The Last Precinct. You might recall that Future Cop, op cit., was a similar "short-flight" series, designed as a try-out, which didn't take. Same thing here; I'm guessing that the passing of Keenan Wynn might have been regarded as an indicator that the show was "8 and done", so to speak. As to the episode itself, its overstuffed quality would seem to indicate that the producing staff figured that the end was not far off, so "Katy bar the door". I loved the all-star cast: Charles Lane (who was at least 82 when he did this) as Wynn's pinch-hitter, Henry Jones and Frances Bay (both past 70) as the Brownie Bandits, John Fujioka as Hu, and Jonathan Goldsmith as Watt (did you spot Mr. Goldsmith from his years-later role as The Most Interesting Man In The World (or at least in those Dos Equis beer spots)?). That clown-car fade-out did look a lot like a farewell gesture; still, I wonder what might have happened in the unlikely event of a pickup: would Charles Lane have been engaged to play the world's oldest street cop? Interesting to contemplate …
Ah well/oh hell, I now patiently await your next addition to this blog - and I sure hope it's one that I've actually seen …
Hello again!
ReplyDeleteJust listened to # 68, followed by a viewing of the last Last Precinct, and I wanted to get this up while it's all still fresh in my mind.
A few weeks back, I put in a comment about this series, which for whatever reason didn't get through; no matter.
First things first:
You might have noticed that Keenan Wynn wasn't in this episode.
I mentioned that fact in the lost comment - along with a mention that Keenan Wynn died later in 1986.
I don't know the details, but I'm reasonably sure that Mr. Wynn's final illness (which was pretty catastrophic) might have coincided with the filming of this episode, which would account for the presence here of Charles Lane (you know, the Petticoat Junction guy) as Sundance's partner du jour.
This in its turn would indicate that this was indeed the intended season finale of The Last Precinct.
You might recall that Future Cop, op cit., was a similar "short-flight" series, designed as a try-out, which didn't take.
Same thing here; I'm guessing that the passing of Keenan Wynn might have been regarded as an indicator that the show was "8 and done", so to speak.
As to the episode itself, its overstuffed quality would seem to indicate that the producing staff figured that the end was not far off, so "Katy bar the door".
I loved the all-star cast: Charles Lane (who was at least 82 when he did this) as Wynn's pinch-hitter, Henry Jones and Frances Bay (both past 70) as the Brownie Bandits, John Fujioka as Hu, and Jonathan Goldsmith as Watt (did you spot Mr. Goldsmith from his years-later role as The Most Interesting Man In The World (or at least in those Dos Equis beer spots)?).
That clown-car fade-out did look a lot like a farewell gesture; still, I wonder what might have happened in the unlikely event of a pickup: would Charles Lane have been engaged to play the world's oldest street cop? Interesting to contemplate …
Ah well/oh hell, I now patiently await your next addition to this blog - and I sure hope it's one that I've actually seen …
'Til then …