Sorry to rain on anyone's parade, but this one is laughably bad. As someone who grew up in the tough NYC neighborhood that Buzz supposedly did, I can tell you that the game of chicken along a high-rise rooftop to establish gang leadership is a screenwriter's invention that has zero connection with reality. And the idea that a middle aged social worker, in a suit and oxford shoes, would try to match the dangerous roof top moves of a kid half his age dressed in jeans and sneakers is nuts. There are only two possible interpretations for this scene. Either the social work is insane or he has a death wish.
This episode came out the same year as the movie "West Side Story," but the Broadway show had been a hit for a couple of years, and apparently taught the director everything he knows about gangs. Because only in West Side Story and nowhere in reality did a gang ever cross the street in a choreographed dance formation. I kept waiting for them to snap their fingers. (Nelson Riddle contributes an appropriately jazzy score. Kudos to the drummer for his amazing cymbal work).
Other things that bug me about his episode: In the opening scene Buz and Todd's laughter about the old neighborhood stories is way over the top. Similarly, the young female lead totally overacts in her big dramatic scene talking about how she chose one gang leader over another. In 1961 everyone seemed to be doing Method Acting. Speaking of which, a young Martin Sheen is Brandoing al over the place, while wearing a stupid haircut that no New York City tough guy would've been caught dead wearing. He looks more like an early British rocker. Or Roddy McDowell. James Caan emerges better, because he's the one cast member who doesn't overact. Interestingly, both future stars Sheen and Caan were billed below veteran character actor/comedian Milt Kamen.
There's an old saying that you should write what you know. Here we have a writer and director who know nothing about the milieu they're presenting, and it leads to one of the three or four worst episodes of this great series ever.
This episode came out the same year as the movie "West Side Story," but the Broadway show had been a hit for a couple of years, and apparently taught the director everything he knows about gangs. Because only in West Side Story and nowhere in reality did a gang ever cross the street in a choreographed dance formation. I kept waiting for them to snap their fingers. (Nelson Riddle contributes an appropriately jazzy score. Kudos to the drummer for his amazing cymbal work).
Other things that bug me about his episode: In the opening scene Buz and Todd's laughter about the old neighborhood stories is way over the top. Similarly, the young female lead totally overacts in her big dramatic scene talking about how she chose one gang leader over another. In 1961 everyone seemed to be doing Method Acting. Speaking of which, a young Martin Sheen is Brandoing al over the place, while wearing a stupid haircut that no New York City tough guy would've been caught dead wearing. He looks more like an early British rocker. Or Roddy McDowell. James Caan emerges better, because he's the one cast member who doesn't overact. Interestingly, both future stars Sheen and Caan were billed below veteran character actor/comedian Milt Kamen.
There's an old saying that you should write what you know. Here we have a writer and director who know nothing about the milieu they're presenting, and it leads to one of the three or four worst episodes of this great series ever.