User Reviews

"Pressure Cooker" is a very uneven episode of the TV show "S.W.A.T."--and the first bad episode of the series. That's because it relies on a very, very tired plot device--the angry, stupid female reporter with a chip on her shoulder. Similar plots were done around the same time period on "Hawaii Five-O" and it was bad the first time they used it! Much of "Pressure Cooker" is actually quite good. I loved one of the early scenes involving a guy barricaded in a burning building. It was very sad and showed a softer sort of S.W.A.T. encounter--with a guy who really just wants to die. See it and you'll know what I mean. The same can be said for Harrelson (Steve Forrest) and his problems with balancing his job and family life--it was quite compelling. BUT, halfway through the episode, they introduced the know-it-all dumb female reporter. Why couldn't' she be smart or willing to form conclusions AFTER investigating?! Instead, she is a one-dimensional and annoying 'dame'--one who never listens and nearly gets herself shot at the end. It was if the writer was deliberately trying to make women look dumb and it sure set feminism back a bit! They also had THE most annoying music I've ever heard on a 70s TV show during the maniac kidnapping sequence. What were they thinking?!?! Overall, a very mixed bag---and hopefully they'll get better.