McMillan and Wife
Feb. 11th, 2015 09:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eve_primeWhen I was a kid, there was a series that alternated weeks of Columbo, McMillan and Wife, and McCloud, each of which was a two-hour mystery. Now I can see them on the same channel that shows Perry Mason, and last night it was the turn for McMillan and Wife. This one stars Rock Hudson as a San Francisco police commissioner, Susan St. James as his wife, John Schuck as his police sidekick, and Nancy Walker as the mouthy maid. It's designed to be humorous, along with the drama, and there's plenty of witty banter. The trouble is, as I now see through adult eyes, it's not very clever. That is, given that the show is featuring amusing repartee, the flaws in the script are glaring. People keep saying and doing stupid things!
"Either your hiding something, or you're a murderess." (If she were the murderess, she's obviously trying to hide that too.)
"Did you see anyone enter the room?" "No. So now you're accusing me of murder, are you?" (No, he's investigating the murder and wondering if you have useful information.)
Or how about this... Linda Evans' character (the one who's hiding something) is a target of the real murderer because of the papers she was hiding, so she comes to McMillan to keep her safe. She gives him the papers... then they say good night and she goes back to her room. Because obviously the murderer is aware that she no longer has the papers?
But then there's funny stuff too. At the end, the maid claims she solved the crime.
McMillan: "Mildred, you were dispensable."
Mildred (whose vocabulary is no match for his): "Of course I was."
So... I dunno. Why can't it live up to my memory of it?
"Either your hiding something, or you're a murderess." (If she were the murderess, she's obviously trying to hide that too.)
"Did you see anyone enter the room?" "No. So now you're accusing me of murder, are you?" (No, he's investigating the murder and wondering if you have useful information.)
Or how about this... Linda Evans' character (the one who's hiding something) is a target of the real murderer because of the papers she was hiding, so she comes to McMillan to keep her safe. She gives him the papers... then they say good night and she goes back to her room. Because obviously the murderer is aware that she no longer has the papers?
But then there's funny stuff too. At the end, the maid claims she solved the crime.
McMillan: "Mildred, you were dispensable."
Mildred (whose vocabulary is no match for his): "Of course I was."
So... I dunno. Why can't it live up to my memory of it?