Reviews

Having watched the entire series and comparing the generally high reviews of individual episodes to the reviews of the whole series, it leads me to believe that most of those series reviews were based on sexist views of an otherwise well done program. Certainly many of the episodes were based on more current perspectives, but those claiming the series was nothing more than an anti-male screed have revealed their own personal inadequacies. As a male fan of the series, I can personally say that I not only enjoyed the episodes generally as a man, but particularly the historic episodes including characters such as Earnest Hemingway, Marcus Garvey, and Coco Chanel.

The previous reviewer may not realize that this episode was intended as a back door pilot for a new series centered on Lester and Dr. Fong. Many series do this including The Rockford Files with Just Another Polish Wedding as a spin-off called Gabby & Gandy and the Richie Brockelman episodes. Magnum PI did this with Birds of a Feather and the earlier episode, J. Digger Doyle. The title character typically features less prominently as in this episode. Many are good episodes in their own right, though some are less so. It was a common practice of the time to introduce a new show using a popular show. Lester is a recurring character, featured in four episodes, and the introduction of Keye Luke provides an interesting contrast. I would have been willing to watch more such episodes to see how their chemistry developed.

I watched this with my wife and enjoyed the well done photography in Paris and beyond. The story arc is less engaging but some of the characters are unique and fun. Emily seems to have grown little but it's not exactly a coming of age story or the like.

On a side note, I don't understand one reviewer's criticism of Lily Collins poor American accent as a British woman? She moved from England after her parent's divorce and grew up in Los Angeles with her American mother, ultimately graduating from USC. She sounds very local to my Southern California ear. She doesn't, however, sound much like her character's Chicago origin.

I find it fascinating that much of the criticism in other reviews is based on the idea that James Bond wasn't based on Fleming. A fictional character by its very nature has its roots in more than one place. I've no idea how Fleming's war exploits compare to the novels, but it's quite clear that James Bond's personal behaviors, tastes, preferences, and prejudices are based on Fleming's. His wife made direct reference to this in the series opening and these similarities are well documented in analysis of the novels. Fleming wasn't Bond, nor were any of the others that have been posited as his inspiration. Bond is an amalgam of many, and Fleming himself was certainly one of them.

This is so stupid. The modern-day pirates shown at the marina actually sport an eyepatch and a parrot! Whoever rated this as a Baywatch great is not watching the same episode. In fact, I don't believe such a thing as a great Baywatch episode exists. This one is garbage.