With Tan & Chan out of the picture (but not gone forever), a smaller-time racketeer, "Clarence", decides to make Chinatown HIS now. Standing in his way are a Shaolin priest (Kwai Chang Caine) & his detective-son (Peter Caine). So first Clarence decides to plant a bomb in the previously-firebombed building Caine is in the processing of rebuilding, hoping to take out Caine and "make an example" of him to the community. When that doesn't work (thanks to Peter), he & his thugs, including a couple of crooked cops on the take, lure Peter to a notorious drug den, ambush him, and pump him full of enough drugs to kill ten men. This time, Kwai Chang returns the favor and saves Peter's life.
Before it's over, Clarence, his thugs, and the crooked cops all converge of Caine's new home, determined to kill both father and son. You can guess how this ends.
First and foremost, this episode SHOULD, by all means, be watched immediately after the 2-hour pilot. As far as I can tell, it was probably filmed immediately after the pilot. Why it was "held back" to 2/3rds of the way into the season, and presented as a "flashback" to a framing sequence where Peter is ambushed again and winds up in a hospital, well, the logic of this escapes me. Watching it in broadcast order does nothing except to confuse the viewer on many levels.
Among the best scenes in the story are when Peter asks Blaisedale why he has so much trouble talking with his father, when he can ask Blaisedale anything; when Blaisdale refuses to believe the alleged "common knowledge" rumor (spread by the crooked cops) that his adopted son Peter is a drug addict; and the scenes with the little girl sent to deliver a "good luck" cricket to Caine (hoping he'll decide to stay in Chinatown), and later, when she comes to warn him of the approaching killers, and winds up hiding in a closet for her safety. She's such a sweetie!
I was surprised to check the IMDb credits and see that this was (apparently) Clarence's only appearance. That can't be right... can it? (I know a lot of series listed at this site have a LOT of info missing... until someone adds it in.)
At the end of the (alleged) "flashback", Peter gives his father a ceremonial dagger he says he saved from their temple after it was destroyed. It figures in a later episode (though I don't recall which one at the moment).
Just a suggestion for any fans wanting to re-watch...
1-2 -- (PILOT)
3 -- "THE LACQUERED BOX"
4-5 -- "SATURDAY AT THE HOTEL WITH GEORGE"
6 -- "SHADOW ASSASSIN"
Why couldn't they run this show more in an order that made sense???
Before it's over, Clarence, his thugs, and the crooked cops all converge of Caine's new home, determined to kill both father and son. You can guess how this ends.
First and foremost, this episode SHOULD, by all means, be watched immediately after the 2-hour pilot. As far as I can tell, it was probably filmed immediately after the pilot. Why it was "held back" to 2/3rds of the way into the season, and presented as a "flashback" to a framing sequence where Peter is ambushed again and winds up in a hospital, well, the logic of this escapes me. Watching it in broadcast order does nothing except to confuse the viewer on many levels.
Among the best scenes in the story are when Peter asks Blaisedale why he has so much trouble talking with his father, when he can ask Blaisedale anything; when Blaisdale refuses to believe the alleged "common knowledge" rumor (spread by the crooked cops) that his adopted son Peter is a drug addict; and the scenes with the little girl sent to deliver a "good luck" cricket to Caine (hoping he'll decide to stay in Chinatown), and later, when she comes to warn him of the approaching killers, and winds up hiding in a closet for her safety. She's such a sweetie!
I was surprised to check the IMDb credits and see that this was (apparently) Clarence's only appearance. That can't be right... can it? (I know a lot of series listed at this site have a LOT of info missing... until someone adds it in.)
At the end of the (alleged) "flashback", Peter gives his father a ceremonial dagger he says he saved from their temple after it was destroyed. It figures in a later episode (though I don't recall which one at the moment).
Just a suggestion for any fans wanting to re-watch...
1-2 -- (PILOT)
3 -- "THE LACQUERED BOX"
4-5 -- "SATURDAY AT THE HOTEL WITH GEORGE"
6 -- "SHADOW ASSASSIN"
Why couldn't they run this show more in an order that made sense???