The Beginning, Collection Two - Disc 3

Episodes 54 - 62

Airdates: Sept.8 - 20, 1966


THE PLOT

Bill Malloy is dead. It was his body that Vicki and Carolyn saw the night before, washed up on the shore of Collinwood. Matthew (Thayer David), trying to protect the family, pushed the body back out to sea, for the Coast Guard to find elsewhere.

Elizabeth calls Sherriff George Patterson (Dana Elcar) when she learns what Matthew has done. The sherriff is methodical in his investigation, initiating an autopsy and checking everybody's stories and whereabouts at the time of death. The cause of death is drowning, and with Roger Collins and Sam Evans remaining tight-lipped about the purpose of the meeting Bill called, the sherriff is unlikely to prove any other cause. But Burke isn't satisfied with that. He is certain that Malloy was killed. And the two people with the most cause to benefit are Roger and Sam!


THOUGHTS

Though it's not exactly CSI, I'm pleasantly surprised at the amount of genuine scientific work alluded to in the Malloy investigation. The police, David, and Joe all take turns puzzling over tide charts, discussing the variables involved in tracing Bill's body back from where it washed up on the cliffs at Collinwood to an origin point. For the television era, it's a surprisingly realistic look at some of what goes into police work (and, yes, more budget-friendly for a daytime drama than, say, a car chase would be). It also provides Joe Haskell, a character whose every appearance I've largely detested thus far, with his first good material of the entire series.

That said, Sherriff Patterson's investigative techniques are uninentionally quite comical. He goes around telling the people he most suspects all the information a real detective would most likely hold back to potentially trap someone: the exact time of death, exactly what the police do and do not know, exactly what the other witnesses have told him. If Roger is the killer (unlikely, given that he's been walking around with a neon "Villain" sign around his neck since Episode 1), then Sherriff Patterson effectively tells him everything he needs to know to get away with the crime.

We do finally get some concrete background on Burke Devlin's manslaughter conviction. Episodes 60 and 61 provide Vicki (and us) with both sides of the story - Burke's side, which Burke insists on as the truth, and Roger's side, which Sam presents and defends. It's good to finally know what all the fuss between Burke and Roger has been about. I question whether the series should have waited this long, what would have been a full 12 weeks from its premiere, to finally provide a fuller picture of such a critical piece of backstory. To the series' credit, I don't think this was made up on the spot. It's all quite consistent with the fragments we've gotten to date. I just think it's something the writers for whatever reason chose to hold back a little longer than was probably necessary.


Cast & Characters

Kathryn Leigh Scott is downright adorable, and David Ford has grown nicely into the role of Sam Evans at this point. That said, how many times can they repeat variations on the same scene between Sam and Maggie? Maggie pleads with her father to let her know why he's behaving so strangely; he evades and snaps at her; she responds by whining at him. I wish they would either do something with Maggie's curiosity or let it drop, one or the other, because I am quite tired of watching that interaction repeat itself every time these two are at the center of a scene.

Speaking of good actors who aren't necessarily always best-served by the material, Nancy Barrett really impressed me in Episode 56. When Carolyn learns of Bill's death, her reactions are perfectly played, from the small tremor in her voice to her attempts to suppress any emotion and focus on tasks like making a bed. Carolyn may be written to be an idiot most of the time, but the actress playing her is clearly capable of more. I hope she gets more chances to show that, as the series moves on.


Recast of the Week

A blurred line, this time, since Dana Elcar's Sheriff George Patterson is not actually the same character as Michael Currie's Constable Carter. He's filling the same role in the plot, but with a different character - which is my preferred method of recasting.

In any case, while I liked Currie well enough, this is one cast change I'd say is unquestionably for the better. Elcar was always terrific in roles such as this, and it's a delight to see him popping up here. He's extremely dominant in the episodes on this disc, with Sherriff Patterson really driving the plot, and he effortlessly commands scenes opposite the series' regulars. A scene in which he questions Burke Devlin is particularly good, as two television actors with very strong screen presence square off. It's a disappointment every time that scene cuts away to other characters.


Final Note

A remarkable thing about this disc: It's the first disc where I've enjoyed every episode. There is no episode on this disc that felt like pure filler, and no episode that had me just half-watching and waiting for it to end. Even the episode prominently featuring Joe Haskell, whose presence is usually a guarantee of at least a few scenes of boredom, manages to give Joe his first decent character material of the series. The mystery plot perhaps seems a bit thin, with only two real suspects (neither of whom is likely to be guilty), but it at least continues to see the series building momentum, and Dana Elcar's sherriff is a very welcome addition.


Previous: Episodes 45 - 53
Next: Episodes 63 - 70


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