Who in His Right Mind Needs a Nice Girl

The title suggests that no one wants to meet a NICE GIRL like the librarian. That isn't true as I would have liked to meet someone like her, especially back in the 1960s. I went to Daytona Beach for the first time in 1966 and fell in love with the place. I have been back there many, many times since. In this story the girl falls for an insane criminal which will never work out for her, as a snake is a snake and can't be anything else. Too bad she didn't meet a nice guy instead. This episode was filmed in Daytona Beach Florida but they never even mention the world famous Speedway. The story should have seen the guys working on a pit crew or in a speed garage or something Racing related. Great acting by all.

Slow paced episode dealing with a killer (Phillips) who gets involved with a lonely and shy librarian (Smith).

In some ways this episode has its moments especially with regards to the theme. The characters resemble the true life Charlie Starkweather affair where a shy teenage girl fell in love with a spree killer in 1950's Nebraska. It offers some good insights as to why an otherwise 'nice' girl would be attracted to a 'bad' boy. It shows how the woman is so lonely and bored with her existence that she reaches out to this otherwise dangerous man because she finds him 'sick and helpless' and someone who she can 'save' with her love as well as finding him a much needed diversion to her stagnate life. The role of the killer also is created with some insight as he shown as someone with a very low self-esteem, lack of direction, and full of bitterness and self-loathing. This is a lot different and more in depth portrayal of a killer than what you usually see in most other movies and TV shows.

However in the end the show becomes very talky and in need of a lot more action and plot twists. The best part comes at the very beginning where the killer is driving a motorboat out on the lake and swings it around at such a reckless speed that it knocks the other occupants off the boat where they then drown. However even this has some problems. One of which is the fact that it is never explained why he did this. Was he just some psychotic who did it for fun? Or did he have some past grievance with this couple and did it for revenge? None of this is explained, but probably should have been. Of course with the incredibly annoying way that the couple is seen singing an already incredibly annoying song as the show opens one could probably not blame the killer for knocking them off the boat as anyone might consider it.

This episode does feature both Phillips and Smith giving some fine performances. Both had appeared in earlier episodes, but seem to give their best work here. This episode also features the rare scene where someone else besides Tod ends up driving the Corvette. It occurs when Tod hands the wheel over to Phillips who promptly drives the car along the crashing waves of the ocean and skims the water over the car, which is kind of cool to watch.

Grade: C +

Lee Philiips returns, this time as a murderer on the lam, (no he didn't kill his wife: he dumped an aged couple overboard after agreeing to take them on a motor boat trip and they drown). He holes up in, of all things, a mobile library annex run by Lois Smith, (making her third appearance in the series), a lonely, impressionable librarian. The boys show up and Linc senses something is wrong and decides to hang around. Tod, as usual is detached and doesn't want to get involved. Phillips romances the impressionable Smith, (although he seems to see the possibilities of another life with her), and convinces her to help him out. Linc tries to convince her to break away from him. The police eventually catch up and Phillips is killed in a shoot- out. She's back to her lonely life.

Sad and dramatic but not very credible.

The relationship between Lee Philips and Lois Smith is complex and intriguing; it's well-written, well-directed, and very well acted---especially the scene in the back room of the library where Lee returns from his "Bon Voyage" outing with Linc n' Tod.

I've always liked Lee Phillips, who portrayed calm, tough and "cool" characters convincingly... a difficult thing to pull off. There's something special about his confidence and cockiness, with flashes of wit and sarcasm, that keeps me involved in what he's doing, and the scene I mentioned above is a great example.

The ultimate resolution of this show was not particularly satisfying...as if the author and director had to end things in a neat and tidy way to get to the final credits.Also, I'd say we have a case of justifiable homicide in the opening scene; those two boorish jerks on the boat were BEYOND obnoxious. No one could blame Lee for dumping them overboard.

Unfortunately, the tendency of the two "sister productions"-- Route 66 and Naked City--to play most of the local, secondary characters as cartoon-y CARICATURES continues to undermine the dramatic quality of these shows. The old lady in the opening is OK, but Elizabeth McRae's air-head, sex-kitten thing is SO overdone that it's barely watchable. It definitely detracts from the tone of the drama.

The Linc = good,/compassionate guy and Tod = impatient/boorish guy routine has, by this point in the 4th season, become predictable and ineffective. But with only a few more episodes to go, there's no point in complaining. And even though I like Glenn Corbett, Maharis was a better, more versatile actor, who could play EITHER role-- kind/compassionate OR impatient/boorish--- equally well.

ALSO- the scene with Lee Philips driving the Corvette on the beach gave Nelson Riddle a brief opportunity to "open up" in his best free-wheeling, swingin', 60's musical idiom.

LR