VIEWERS TAKE NOTICE.......
*CREEPY VIBE ALERT!...... The extreme close-ups during the birthing scene and the dialogue between the ladies in the opening act of this episode give the whole intro a completely.....creepy.......vibe.
*THE PHANTOM DEATH BLOW........ At 7:10 when the two ladies engage in hand-to-hand "combat" - one of the ladies (50-year-old matron who supervises the house for girls) falls to the floor....dead? That's right - she dies during the struggle. Later, the medical examiner tells Keller and Stone the lady died from head trauma - like a punch. But...during the fight there were no blows struck or delivered. When the lady fell to the floor her head didn't strike anything either. Hmmmmm.
*THE BODY- NO...NOT THE DEAD KIND..... At 8:00, Stone (Karl Malden) is digging into Keller's (Michael Douglas) personal life as they are leaving a restaurant and walking to their car. Stone wants to know why Keller seems quiet. He literally asks Keller which one of the girls he is seeing is causing him the inner turmoil. Stone says, "Is it Connie or the Body?" Keller says, "what?" Stone repeats himself and says, "Which girl is it? Connie or the Body?" Keller says, "It's Connie - the Bod left for Chicago last month." Are you kidding me?! Two of America's stand-up guys in a top rated TV series, representing the good in American men and they refer to one of Keller's girlfriends as "the Body". Lmao!!! I mean it is a show from 1973 and men did (ahem....some still might) actually talk to each other in this fashion - referring to members of the opposite sex with numeric codes (1-10) or using descriptive language and/or certain adjectives rather than proper names. But to have it blatantly presented in a prime time TV show, unashamedly and without a pardon being requested, seems provocative and irresponsible. After all, Michael Douglas is alive and well. Why hasn't he come out and apologized for these irreverent remarks? "The Body"?!?!
BTW: I just remembered one of my first boy/girl crushes was over Australian model Elle McPherson - widely referred to as......I'm not making this up - "The Body". This was around the 1980's ..... I wonder if any woman would be identified as "The Body" today and not be offended by it? Hmmmm.
*CAMERA OPERATOR IN REFLECTION........ At 23:25, in the reflection of the car windows on the passenger side, a cameraman can clearly be seen. In slow motion (or freeze frame & advance) he is very clearly seen.
*1973 - ABORTION WAYS AND WOES........ The doctor involved in the adoption for money scheme was vilified by the main characters (Keller, Stone, et al) in the script for performing abortions. The abortions they talked about were not "back street" or "back alley" abortions. The abortions were by medical professionals using modern medicine & techniques. The doctor had lost his license for performing the abortions.
The girl in this episode who gives birth to her baby at the beginning and is unsure if it was stillborn or has been taken from her - has a confrontation with her mother in the final act. Her mother is a university professor and a progressive/liberal-minded woman who is deeply disappointed with her daughter. The few lines of dialogue between them in the conclusion are so poignant, passionate and powerful that to go over them here would amount, partly at least, to being a spoiler for the episode. I have decided not to do that and instead highly encourage you to watch and expose yourself to the range of emotions between mother and daughter in the 1970's on the cusp of the sexual revolution and feminist movements.
*WHAT DID YOU THINK? FInal Thoughts & Reflective Analysis.......... Very fascinating to watch this in 2021 and see the feelings expressed. Watching this episode was like being taken in a time machine to San Francisco in the early 70's! Wow! As I write this I'm still in the throes of what I just heard and seen. The medium of TV is at its best when leaving impressions such as these.
Final grade: A-
*CREEPY VIBE ALERT!...... The extreme close-ups during the birthing scene and the dialogue between the ladies in the opening act of this episode give the whole intro a completely.....creepy.......vibe.
*THE PHANTOM DEATH BLOW........ At 7:10 when the two ladies engage in hand-to-hand "combat" - one of the ladies (50-year-old matron who supervises the house for girls) falls to the floor....dead? That's right - she dies during the struggle. Later, the medical examiner tells Keller and Stone the lady died from head trauma - like a punch. But...during the fight there were no blows struck or delivered. When the lady fell to the floor her head didn't strike anything either. Hmmmmm.
*THE BODY- NO...NOT THE DEAD KIND..... At 8:00, Stone (Karl Malden) is digging into Keller's (Michael Douglas) personal life as they are leaving a restaurant and walking to their car. Stone wants to know why Keller seems quiet. He literally asks Keller which one of the girls he is seeing is causing him the inner turmoil. Stone says, "Is it Connie or the Body?" Keller says, "what?" Stone repeats himself and says, "Which girl is it? Connie or the Body?" Keller says, "It's Connie - the Bod left for Chicago last month." Are you kidding me?! Two of America's stand-up guys in a top rated TV series, representing the good in American men and they refer to one of Keller's girlfriends as "the Body". Lmao!!! I mean it is a show from 1973 and men did (ahem....some still might) actually talk to each other in this fashion - referring to members of the opposite sex with numeric codes (1-10) or using descriptive language and/or certain adjectives rather than proper names. But to have it blatantly presented in a prime time TV show, unashamedly and without a pardon being requested, seems provocative and irresponsible. After all, Michael Douglas is alive and well. Why hasn't he come out and apologized for these irreverent remarks? "The Body"?!?!
BTW: I just remembered one of my first boy/girl crushes was over Australian model Elle McPherson - widely referred to as......I'm not making this up - "The Body". This was around the 1980's ..... I wonder if any woman would be identified as "The Body" today and not be offended by it? Hmmmm.
*CAMERA OPERATOR IN REFLECTION........ At 23:25, in the reflection of the car windows on the passenger side, a cameraman can clearly be seen. In slow motion (or freeze frame & advance) he is very clearly seen.
*1973 - ABORTION WAYS AND WOES........ The doctor involved in the adoption for money scheme was vilified by the main characters (Keller, Stone, et al) in the script for performing abortions. The abortions they talked about were not "back street" or "back alley" abortions. The abortions were by medical professionals using modern medicine & techniques. The doctor had lost his license for performing the abortions.
The girl in this episode who gives birth to her baby at the beginning and is unsure if it was stillborn or has been taken from her - has a confrontation with her mother in the final act. Her mother is a university professor and a progressive/liberal-minded woman who is deeply disappointed with her daughter. The few lines of dialogue between them in the conclusion are so poignant, passionate and powerful that to go over them here would amount, partly at least, to being a spoiler for the episode. I have decided not to do that and instead highly encourage you to watch and expose yourself to the range of emotions between mother and daughter in the 1970's on the cusp of the sexual revolution and feminist movements.
*WHAT DID YOU THINK? FInal Thoughts & Reflective Analysis.......... Very fascinating to watch this in 2021 and see the feelings expressed. Watching this episode was like being taken in a time machine to San Francisco in the early 70's! Wow! As I write this I'm still in the throes of what I just heard and seen. The medium of TV is at its best when leaving impressions such as these.
Final grade: A-
