SUMMARY: APPROX. RUNNING TIME: 45:00 Min.
First airing March 18, 1987, on CBS-TV, Michael Vejar directed this episode off a script from Clyde Phillips & Stan Berkowitz. As established in the pilot episode, fiery Chicago cop Sgt. Joey La Fiamma (Paré), due to a mob vendetta, has been recently transferred to Houston’s police department. Acclimating to this humid environment, La Fiamma is occasionally at odds with his new partner, the cool-tempered Sgt. Levon Lundy (Beck), under the supervision of Lt. Beaumont (Douglass).
In the Mexican border town of Matamoros, slimy criminal defense attorney Farnum (Albert) sadistically {off-screen} kills a young prostitute, Lotus (Uncredited). Local cop Gutierrez (Figueroa) and a blackmailing pimp (Meléndez) pursue Farnum back to Houston, as both are seeking payback for different reasons. Despite intense friction with a vengeful Gutierrez, Sgts. La Fiamma and Lundy eventually pivot towards whom the real threat to public safety is.
Meanwhile, aside from her exasperation overseeing Lundy & La Fiamma’s troubled investigation, Lt. Beaumont copes with marital problems. She also personally knows the one vital witness who may be able to help bring a ruthless Farnum to justice.
Houston Police Sgt. Joey La Fiamma: Michael Paré
Houston Police Sgt. Levon Lundy: Michael Beck
Clarence (aka ‘Chicken’): John Hancock
Houston Police Lt. Joanne Beaumont: Robyn Douglass
Houston Police Capt. James Scully: James Hampton (appears in title credits only)
Lester Farnum: Edward Albert
Sgt. Estaban Gutierrez: Efram Figueroa
Serpiente: Tonyo Meléndez
Katie Loomis / Katie Pettybone: Doran Clark
Tommy Pettybone: Uncredited
Katie & Tommy’s Young Son: Uncredited
Brad Beaumont: Uncredited
Medical Examiner (Thurgood): Ron Pinkard
Officer Mallory: Richard Partlow
Bartender: Uncredited
Mexican American Prostitute (Houston): Uncredited
Farnum’s Client: Uncredited
Police Plainclothes Interrogator: Uncredited
Nurse: Uncredited
Various Cops: Uncredited
Extras (Matamoros): Uncredited
Extras (Pool Hall): Uncredited
Extras (Bar): Uncredited
Extras (Hospital): Uncredited
Extras (Public Park): Uncredited
Note: Beginning as a mid-season replacement, this 1987-88 CBS TV series last 1½ seasons. Houston Knights was produced by co-creator Jay Bernstein, who had previously supplied Stacy Keach’s Mike Hammer to CBS.
REVIEW:
As evidenced by this early episode, Houston Knights is a 1980’s moody-and-macho TV cop show relic that could have lasted a measly five episodes or just maybe even go a full season before cancellation. Given the show’s generic cops-on-the-edge content, ultimately surviving for a total of 31 episodes proves a better network run than expected.
Clearly meant to chase Miami Vice’s demographic, “North of the Border” turns up the ‘moody and macho cop’ quotient to nearly a full PG-13 blast – mostly through grim inferences and some surprising profanity (at least, by 1987’s prime-time standards).
With Michael Paré and Michael Beck’s mismatched partners as a prime example, a decent cast, otherwise, inhabits familiar genre caricatures. Paré’s one-dimensional La Fiamma, in particular, falls far short of imitating shades of Miami Vice’s Don Johnson. Beck’s low-key acting, by comparison, is more believable, but he, too, isn’t really given enough of a character to work with.
Still, this episode isn’t half-bad viewing, as far as pitching some gritty plot twists. In fact, the last of which is so blatantly illegal, in terms of abusing police custody, it’s the less said the better. This speaks to the storyline’s inherent problem: the plot isn’t nearly watchable enough to overcome all its implausibilities.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 4 Stars
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