Friday, February 26, 2016

Legend -- Episode 6: Knee-High Noon



Synopsis in 3 sentences or less:
While trying to catch some cattle rustlers, Legend is approached by a woman who claims that her son is Legend's biggest fan.  But in reality the woman is trying to capitalize on Legend's fame by promoting her son as Nicodemus Legend Jr., much to Legend's chagrin.

Memorable Quote:
Just what is little Nic trying to get away with?  ~Legend
The same thing that big Nic is trying to get away with.  ~Laura

Highlight:
A relatively steady episode in that there weren't too many highlights or lowlights that stood out. One element that I enjoyed was the "trojan cow" that Bartok designed as the "future of electronic surveillance."

Lowlight:
It's only too bad that we don't get to see the faces of the loathsome Davenports whenever they learn that they've been written out of the Legend books at the publisher's request.  

Other thoughts, observations, and questions I didn’t ask when I was in fourth grade:
  • The director of this episode was James Conway, the latest in a line of multi-episode MacGyver directors who contributed to Legend.
  • Funny moment in the beginning when Bartok and Ramos barge in on a woman in a hotel room while following their tracking device, and then Legend intentionally re-opens the door to sneak a peek and calmly says, "As you were."
  • The kid is wearing the same style suit as Legend wore in episode 1.  I have to admit that I didn't see this plot line coming at all with the mother and son trying to worm their way into the Legend books.  The young actor playing the kid is really good at being snarky and unlikable.
  • "If Legend has led a truly chaste life, as the novels dictate, then how does he have a kid?"  I wondered the same thing about MacGyver when I first saw The Stringer.
  • I like how when they take the captured rustler in front of the townspeople, he still has the net that captured him covering his body.
  • The mom and the kid are so unlikable that when they're being held hostage, I find myself rooting for the crooked rustler.

Final Analysis:
I rate this episode as third best, just behind Mr. Pratt Goes to Sheridan and just ahead of Legend on His President's Secret Service.  As I mentioned earlier, it's pretty steady without too many highs or lows for me.

We're now officially halfway through the series.  I can't say that I'm loving the show, but it could be worse -- how's that for a tagline!  To its credit, I have been looking forward to watching each subsequent episode and am curious to see where the series will go, but it would be nice to have some more action and adventure.  

5 comments:

  1. I couldn't get into this episode. I was pretty sleepy when I was watching it so that didn't help but even more than usual, it felt like this one drug on. The two storylines started interestingly with the rustlers and with the Davenport mother and son and their motivations being revealed but neither went anywhere that kept me on the hook. Plus, RDA seemed more in Dexter/"goofy Western MacGyver" mode in this episode than in any of the previous five, and it was rather cartoonish, particularly when he was in that lengthy "Yes! No! Yes! No" exchange with the kid. The only stunt in the episode that briefly awoke me from my slumber was the magnetic handcuff activation bit that ripped the gun right out of the hand of the rustler before he shot Skeeter. But as I mused that I enjoyed that brief moment of the episode, I had the epiphany that I also enjoyed the brief moment in "MacGyver's Women" where MacGyver used his belt buckle to cut the ropes tying his hands and narrowly getting out of the noose. While this "Legend" episode wasn't quite in the same league of dumbness as "MacGyver's Women", it had about the same level of appeal for me otherwise. Needless to say, this was my least favorite of the six episodes so far.

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    1. That's interesting that you mentioned RDA in Dexter/goofy mode because I thought the same thing that he seemed even more goofy than usual to the point where it was hard to ignore, and I almost made it my lowlight. But then I questioned myself as to maybe it was just me and maybe it wasn't worse than any of these other episodes. But it really did seem like he dialed up his over the top persona for this one.

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    2. I agree with Mark, this one was our least favorite. Due to being low on internet, we didn't even watch the whole thing. I think my favorite part was the very end when Legend was finally free of the Davenports. Yes! and may you never return. :)

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  2. I agree with a lot of both your comments; RDA is even more over the top in this one and I agree there’s not enough action. The plot is still inventive and I thought this episode has some of the most amusing lines so far but its still just not quite enough. I feel that the series still doesn’t quite know what it is. It’s light hearted, but not an out and out comedy, it has ‘action and adventure’ but there’s not always enough action and any ‘danger’ doesn’t have much of a threat level because of its very lightheartedness.
    My favourite moments and lines; Skeeter ( a character I like) says with all sincerity that he didn’t see any cows but ‘there was a man with a donkey’ which Pratt finds in his room. He then brings him increasingly bizarre merchandise to sign. Pratt’s ‘the most dangerous vermin in America –Lawyers with time on their hands’. The lawyer saying it’s a ‘writer’s problem’ in response to Pratt’s query about how the chaste Legend could have a son. (Good link to MacGyver, Nick!) and the joke about the townspeople helping Legend or going to the ‘quilting Bee’, the latter winning. The satire is one of the best things about the show.
    Enjoyed Pratt punching the rustlers and RDA throwing himself, ὰ la MacGyver, into a couple of wildly overenthusiastic punches which cause him to fall over too. Like Nick, I didn’t see the plot twist about the Davenport’s trickery coming either.
    I think this one fits between ‘Presidents secret service’ and ‘Custer’ for me.

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    1. Yeah, I agree that the show doesn't quite know what it is. Not nearly enough adventure or strong villains for an action show, and not funny enough for a comedy, and not intellectually stimulating enough like MacGyver was with the MacGyverisms, though the historical references are somewhat interesting. I like Skeeter also -- the guy playing him does a good job. Kate on the RDA forum said that he is Mike Greenburg's godson.

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