SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 43:14 Min.
Reuniting with producer Jay Bernstein, star (and co-executive producer) Stacy Keach resurrected Mike Hammer for a short-lived syndicated run of twenty-six episodes over two seasons in 1997-98. This syndicated TV episode first aired on April 6, 1998. Dimitri Logothetis directed the episode from a script co-written by Peter McGovern & Michael O’Connell.
Prodded by an egotistical call-in radio psychiatrist (Markoe), Hammer’s (Keach) far younger girlfriend, Nadine (Deno), reluctantly dumps him. After Hammer angrily confronts ‘Dr. Sylvia,’ at her office, she soon winds up dead in her office’s dressing room (yes, the idea of supposed radio celebrities with private dressing rooms is amusing).
Still, it appears that others aren’t fans of Dr. Sylvia’s abrasive relationship advice, either. As a fugitive suspect framed for three murders, the big question mark for Hammer is: whose grudge is personal enough to repeatedly commit cold-blooded homicide? For that matter, is it possible that the hard-boiled sleuth has something in common with the culprit?
Mike Hammer / Hammer’s Father (flashback): Stacy Keach
Velda: Shannon Whirry
Nick Farrell: Shane Conrad
Deputy Mayor Barry Lawrence: Kent Williams (appears in the title credits only)
NYPD (35th Precinct) Capt. Skip Gleason: Peter Jason
Grady: Gregg Daniel
Maya Ricci: Malgosia Tomassi (Keach’s real-life spouse)
Dr. Sylvia: Merrill Markoe
Frank: Gary Hudson
Ethan: Joe Crummy
Hailie: Elizabeth Baldwin
Sam Moeller: Michael Kagan
Dr. Simmons: Dr. Joyce Brothers
Nadine: Mary Deno
‘The Face’: Rebekah Chaney
Sylvia’s Radio Producer: Uncredited
Gangster (flashback): Uncredited
Mike Hammer – 9 years old (flashback): Shannon Keach (Keach & Tomassi’s son)
Herb Liebmann: Ritchie Montgomery
Herb’s Construction Workers: Uncredited
Reece (talent agent): Greg Grunberg
Duane (security guard): Ross Strauss
Keach’s Stunt Double: Uncredited
Ethan’s Stunt Double: Uncredited
Radio Station Engineers: Uncredited
Police Station (35th Precinct) Extras: Uncredited
Journalists/Photographers: Uncredited
Reece’s Audition Extras: Uncredited
Memorial Service Extras: Uncredited
Uniformed Cops: Uncredited
Policewoman (35th Precinct): Uncredited
Carmine Miranda: Uncredited
Dr. Sylvia’s on-air clients (female voices only): Uncredited
Dr. Wanda (voice only): Uncredited
Radio Ad (male voice only): Uncredited
Lou’s Bar Extras: Uncredited
Swimsuit Model: Caroline Ambrose
Warehouse Creep # 1: Uncredited
Warehouse Creep # 2: Uncredited.
Notes: Curiously, this syndicated version of Mike Hammer isn’t a sequel to the 1984-87 CBS-TV series. Case in point: besides Williams’ character by a slightly different name, the role of ‘Velda’ has been re-imagined and recast with a younger actress. More so, unlike Keach’s prior version, the mysterious ‘Face’ forever eluding Hammer is never resolved.
REVIEW:
Even without a network TV budget, 56-year-old Stacy Keach’s Mike Hammer is still watchable – to a degree. Now far more an undemanding guilty pleasure, what this low-rent revival series sorely misses is the original show’s sense of updated noir. With plausibility mostly out the window, the dubious trade-off on a limited budget is a ridiculous over-emphasis on scantily-clad women and too much cheesy humor – the trashy “Dump the Creep” is a prime example.
Given this episode’s surplus of amateurish acting, such sleazy elements are pushed to an even more blatant degree than Keach’s original Hammer series. Case in point: “Dump the Creep” squanders a solid contemporary premise and even a few good scenes, as the show’s pedestrian execution is too readily evident. The supposed need for Hammer to briefly bump into a not-so-bright swimsuit model at a radio station, no less, speaks for itself. The same applies to Hammer’s twenty-something girlfriend decked out in sexy lingerie for her two scenes (while supposedly waiting for hours on end before the gumshoe finally shows up).
Aside from quirky casting of Dr. Joyce Brothers in a minor role, the plot’s sense of imagination doesn’t extend much beyond a well-played pre-credits sequence. For the logic police investigating plot holes, here’s a glaring one: exactly how would the culprit know about (let alone know where to find) Hammer’s own personal shrink is left to the imagination – that is, beyond a brief flashback of the second homicide Hammer is framed for? One can assume that Hammer was being unknowingly shadowed, but the script doesn’t clarify this point.
Another nonsensical moment (frankly, it’s more disturbing without giving away a spoiler) is how the epilogue has Hammer’s voice-over express sympathy for the culprit, as far as needing some heavy-duty therapy. Considering how one of this episode’s brutal homicides (as mentioned above) is a totally innocent bystander, such sentiment makes no sense. It’s worsened by the inference that Hammer has evidently shrugged off a personal confidant’s murder that was solely meant to incriminate him.
Before the culprit’s ‘big reveal’ becomes a giveaway in the last ten minutes (including a ludicrous stunt sequence), this tawdry murder-mystery rates maybe a 3 or 4 on anybody’s 0-10 whodunnit scale. “Dump the Creep,” as a whole, has some entertaining moments, but it’s also a readily forgettable excuse for late-night viewing.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 3 Stars
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