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Excellent list there, Mr. Phelps. I like the premise of "Cat's Paw": a this-time-it's-personal case for Barney, but found it a bit disappointing in execution. "The Missile" also almost made my top 10, but I could've done without John Beck's drooling perv bit.
Too bad "Get Me Flint!" doesn't exist; I can definitely imagine Nimoy taking over from Coburn. Also nice that you brought Pamela Tiffin into the 1970s. 
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(Member), I take it you are topic starter "Stefan Miklos"? I couldn't find your reviews for "Decoy" and "Squeeze Play" and was wondering why you have them on the lower half of your list.
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Posted: |
Aug 14, 2016 - 12:00 AM
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By: |
Rollin Hand
(Member)
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(Member), I take it you are topic starter "Stefan Miklos"? I couldn't find your reviews for "Decoy" and "Squeeze Play" and was wondering why you have them on the lower half of your list.
In order to satisfy your curiosity find the requested reviews:
DECOY
Comments:
The "document" is a piece of machinery that plays a musical code. As in "The Killer", there's an inflatable dummy of one IMFer. This is the first episode in which we see a secret agent listening to a private conversation (between Jim and Paris in a record shop) via a shotgun microphone. Also notice the unusual shape of the talkie-walkie used by the East German agents: in the car and in the last floor of a building. According to the map of the mortuary that Jim shows during the apartment scene, the action takes place in Leipzig, East Germany, but the protagonists have Slavic names? Leipzig's name is derived from the Slavic word Lipsk, which means "settlement where the linden trees stand". It contains many Gellerese as “Stät Mortärium” and “Recordät”. The State mortuary is located in the Paramount offices. The final chase scene (2 minutes) between Colonel Petrovitch’s black limousine and the couple’s tiny orange racing car is made with differents angleshots: titled pan shots of the running cars, subjective long shot from the black car chasing the tiny one, objective close-ups of Jim and Anna driving the car, subjective low angle shots of the road (made with a wide angle lens whose vignetting is visible).
The character vignette of Jim from the opening credits comes from the first Act of this episode.
Review:
A minor but still sympathetic Soviet offering reminiscent of Geller's early years (details from: “Memory” for the hotel ID and “Fake Out” for the chase scene at the frontiere) and above all, it is an IMFer-oriented drama and the second Jim’s entry from season 5, after “Homecoming”. As in "Nicole", Jim falls in love (see the romantic talking and walking clichés that consist of a long fade over process in the park of the dasha: a long shot of the park mixed with a close shot of the couple talking in front of a black background) and his conversation is heard via a bugged purse. The love issue between the two seem ambiguous: how can secret agent Jim have a steady relation with the daughter of a former communist leader and continue his job? Moreover, Anna is a pawn that is manipulated by her brother and her lover. The Act 4’s ending is worthwhile when Jim and Anna fastly drive a tiny orange racing car to flee the border police and the boobytrapped gate. The music cue used as a love theme for Anna and Jim is recycled from the season 3 “The Play”.
SQUEEZE PLAY
Comments:
As in the season 1 “The Legacy”, one key foe is replaced at the airtport by the IMF and here, Paul Corrigan. The exit of the Aerotermintale Municipale airport is recycled from the season 4 “The Code”. As in the season 2 “The Widow”, the action takes place in Marseilles’ underworld. Some details of the story can be linked to “Butterfly”: the highly guarded estate, Paris as the confidant, Paris and Eve walk in the garden. As in “Homecoming”, a gun comes out of a door and one IMFer neutralizes the mysterious man. As in “The Innocent”, the IMF gives the impression of being very abusive, especially towards Eve Zembra. As in “Flip Side”, one IMFer lectures a person who refuses to see the evil of drug dealing: Dana and Cameron there and, here, Paris and Eve Zembra. As in “Decoy”, a secret document is hidden inside a precious object. Cinematographer Ronald W. Browne uses again the gimmick of the scale of shots in the same frame (Cf. “The Amateur”) thanks to a wide angle lens to suggest a death threat: during the prologue, gangster Paul Morat’s head in the foreground and hitman Vito in the background. During Act 1, we learn the real name of the owner of the estate: Villa de Ruscello (see the entry by the gate). Oddly enough, all characters have Italian names, except Pierre Morat and Gaston Rochelle, and it is supposed to take place in the South of France: Willy and Paris use the expression “signore” (“sir” in Italian)—I guess that Zembra clan is from Italy and settles down in Marseilles. Zembra is also the name of a Tunisian island. The district of Caffé de Pietro looks rather Italian than French: see the names of the shops as Libreria de Leonardo or Bottega de Regali!
Review:
This is a minor, preachy and melodramatic family affair and a companion piece to Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather”, William Friedkin’s "The French Connection" and Robert Parrish’s "The Marseilles Contract" because Albert Zembra is a blend of Mafia leader Don Corleone, drug lord Alain Charnier and Jacques Brizard. Here’s Paris’ second love affair (with the little daughter of a Godfather) after “My Friend, My Enemy”, for this season that makes three if you add the season 4 “Lover’s Knot”. My favourite scene takes place between Act 3 and 4: Carlos listens shiftily to his boss’ bedroom and Paris talks to himself in front of an unconscious Zembra while Vito steps into the bedroom the get the key of the wine cabinet.
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Thank you!
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Okay, it's all clear now. Fine showcase for a mutton-chopped, Neo-Edwardian-garbed Nimoy and former Playboy model Victoria Vetri is what I believe I enjoyed about Squeeze Play. Albert Paulsen is an icon around the Phelps House.
Squeeze Play stays on the S5 top ten.
Yes, for some reason, I find it easy to recall Vetri's presence....
And don't forget Nicholas Georgiade as poor Vito, treated very poorly by Paris here.
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I suppose Squeeze Play is a "Syndicate" episode, which are my favorites.
I hope to get seasons 6 & 7 soon which have more of the "syndicate" stories. I'm sorry though that they get rid of Warren and Nimoy. Sam Elliott too, although they never really gave him any distinction as a Willy substitute. It was also weird to see Elliott without a mustache and not saying things like, "That's a good one!" in a cowboy accent.
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I have really become a M:I fanatic during this month of August 2016. I just finished season 1 and am watching seasons 3 and 7 simultaneously now!
My top 10 for season 1 (for now; might alter here and there at a later reviewing) in alphabetical order.
Action!
The Carriers
Elena (not a favorite ep. among the others on this thread, but I'll follow Barbara Luna anywhere)
The Frame
Memory
Operation Rogash
The Ransom
The Reluctant Dragon
Shock
The Train
The dossier scenes early on were good because there would be variations here and there - one time only agents filling in and so on. Toward the end of the season and pretty much all of season 2 we have the absurdity of Dan/Jim taking a minute or two to choose the exact same team we just saw in the opening credits!
Steven Hill was fine as team leader this season. Had Hill been able to, he would have been quite suitable for the entire run of the show - although difficult to imagine the complete absence of Graves.
After becoming a M:I fan with season 5, I still prefer Nimoy's Paris over Landau's Rollin. That's a minor quibble though; Landau/Bain are a classic pairing, although I'm glad we get a variety of team members in later seasons. As I've been jumping around, watching seasons 2, then 5, then 1, now 3 & 7, I really notice how Peter Lupas was giving much more to do and say in later years. Greg Morris' Barney remains the great stalwart throughout - perhaps the truest bluest hero of the entire show.
As others have noted, it's cool to see familiar actors such as Anthony Zerbe, John Crawford, Albert Paulson, John Vernon, et al make multiple appearances.
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