Lo there shall be an ending! And with "A Single Blow of a Sword" the short-lived SENATOR series draws to a close with a televison movie and eight episodes as a lasting legacy.
This final episode corrects the missteps of its predecessor. The story is a thoughtful and thought-provoking one. It leaves the audience weighing the letter of the law versus the spirit and asking whether ends ever justify means. The casting is also a giant leap forward from last week's, boasting Lincoln Kilpatrick, Mel Stewart, David Sheiner and Logan Ramsey. Sitcom fans will appreciate the brief person-in-the-street interviews with a pre-MAUDE and GOOD TIMES Esther Rolle and a pre-SANFORD AND SON Nathaniel Taylor. Peter Brocco and Regis Cordic make a welcome return as Senators Bevan and Tomlinson.
Knowing the leftist bent of the producers, I leapt to a wrong conclusion, and it was one I was glad to have proven wrong. Logan Ramsey as government CPA Frank Dixon uncovers in his audit that Isaac Johnson, a black activist and community organizer in Stowe's state, has been misappropriating government funds. If this potential scandal breaks publicly and proves true, Stowe's pending spending bill to fund more programs in the ghetto will suffer defeat.
As the plot unfolded, I thought I had it figured out. Dixon will be exposed as a rabid racist who cooked the books to validate the stereotype of blacks bilking the system. But it turned out Dixon is an honest and exacting CPA who actually grew up near the ghetto and harbors no racist prejudices. He simply calls 'em as he sees 'em, and the numbers didn't lie: Johnson was misappropriating funds! But... not for his own personal gain. Yes, he created phony "paper" corporations to offer job training to blacks and make a necessary end run around the trade unions that only hired bonded workers for lucrative jobs. Yes, he siphoned some money off to black militant groups, but as a payoff to "keep the lid on" the ghetto, where violence is the default setting and idle hands the devil's playthings.
Case in point: Lamar has murdered a cop and is now on the lam. Mel Stewart wants Johnson to slip him some of Uncle Sam's money so Lamar can slip town and evade capture. No, says Johnson, that is a bridge too far, aiding and abetting, as he sternly reminds Jewish lawyer Kalman. The practicalities of life in the ghetto, Johnson tells Stowe, require that the government guidelines be bent but never broken.
Johnson is also a Man of God, holding a divinity degree. I groaned, immediately thinking of mail-order wolves in sheep's clothing like the disgraced "Reverend" Al Sharpton and "Reverend" Jesse Jackson. But Johnson was no vainglorious, grandstanding agitator but a tried and true "realpolitk" diplomat.
Okay, Johnson had his flaws. He wanted the money from Washington but none of the accountability. His fiery temper and outsized ego would have lost him Washington's support had it been any other man than Stowe backing him. That said, Stowe also suffered from an outsized ego and sense of importance. When the logical Dixon suggests Stowe drop Johnson and find another administrator for the funds, Stowe haughtily sneers that Dixon is punching above his weight even to suggest it. Speaking of punching, Jordan uncharacteristically implies Stowe should have punched Dixon! Alright, I'll cut Boyle a break because they were understandably on edge because Dixon's report was a torpedo racing to sink Stowe's spending bill.
Did it sink it? We never do find out, in yet another of the series' trademark unresolved endings. The ending we got was an excellent one and perfect to close out the series. Stowe implores the audience to listen more. Still a timely message lo this half-century later!
A couple recurring themes: One was interruptions. That maddening visit between Sheiner and Ramsey that was interrupted again and again by the phone or the secretary bringing coffee. Then Stowe goes all ADHD and butts repeatedly into Sheiner's relevant revelations to ask inane questions like if he wants tomato in their slapped-together dinner. A second theme was the threat computers posed. The opening titles play over banks of computers and pages of teletype. Dixon is likened to a computer, all numbers and logic, no room for nuance or the gray areas life frequently presents.
Cast notes: Lincoln Kilpatrick will again play a Man of God in SOYLENT GREEN, but I remember him most as Zachary in THE OMEGA MAN, which was released later this year of 1971. His appearance here as Isaac Johnson elevated my respect for this actor to new heights. Also in 1971 Mel Stewart would debut as Henry Jefferson on ALL IN THE FAMILY. He brings his intensity here to that show, too. Logan Ramsey, who memorably played a villain in STAR TREK's "Bread and Circuses," appeared poised to play one here but upended expectations.
A thoughtful episode of a thoughtful series. I already miss it!
This final episode corrects the missteps of its predecessor. The story is a thoughtful and thought-provoking one. It leaves the audience weighing the letter of the law versus the spirit and asking whether ends ever justify means. The casting is also a giant leap forward from last week's, boasting Lincoln Kilpatrick, Mel Stewart, David Sheiner and Logan Ramsey. Sitcom fans will appreciate the brief person-in-the-street interviews with a pre-MAUDE and GOOD TIMES Esther Rolle and a pre-SANFORD AND SON Nathaniel Taylor. Peter Brocco and Regis Cordic make a welcome return as Senators Bevan and Tomlinson.
Knowing the leftist bent of the producers, I leapt to a wrong conclusion, and it was one I was glad to have proven wrong. Logan Ramsey as government CPA Frank Dixon uncovers in his audit that Isaac Johnson, a black activist and community organizer in Stowe's state, has been misappropriating government funds. If this potential scandal breaks publicly and proves true, Stowe's pending spending bill to fund more programs in the ghetto will suffer defeat.
As the plot unfolded, I thought I had it figured out. Dixon will be exposed as a rabid racist who cooked the books to validate the stereotype of blacks bilking the system. But it turned out Dixon is an honest and exacting CPA who actually grew up near the ghetto and harbors no racist prejudices. He simply calls 'em as he sees 'em, and the numbers didn't lie: Johnson was misappropriating funds! But... not for his own personal gain. Yes, he created phony "paper" corporations to offer job training to blacks and make a necessary end run around the trade unions that only hired bonded workers for lucrative jobs. Yes, he siphoned some money off to black militant groups, but as a payoff to "keep the lid on" the ghetto, where violence is the default setting and idle hands the devil's playthings.
Case in point: Lamar has murdered a cop and is now on the lam. Mel Stewart wants Johnson to slip him some of Uncle Sam's money so Lamar can slip town and evade capture. No, says Johnson, that is a bridge too far, aiding and abetting, as he sternly reminds Jewish lawyer Kalman. The practicalities of life in the ghetto, Johnson tells Stowe, require that the government guidelines be bent but never broken.
Johnson is also a Man of God, holding a divinity degree. I groaned, immediately thinking of mail-order wolves in sheep's clothing like the disgraced "Reverend" Al Sharpton and "Reverend" Jesse Jackson. But Johnson was no vainglorious, grandstanding agitator but a tried and true "realpolitk" diplomat.
Okay, Johnson had his flaws. He wanted the money from Washington but none of the accountability. His fiery temper and outsized ego would have lost him Washington's support had it been any other man than Stowe backing him. That said, Stowe also suffered from an outsized ego and sense of importance. When the logical Dixon suggests Stowe drop Johnson and find another administrator for the funds, Stowe haughtily sneers that Dixon is punching above his weight even to suggest it. Speaking of punching, Jordan uncharacteristically implies Stowe should have punched Dixon! Alright, I'll cut Boyle a break because they were understandably on edge because Dixon's report was a torpedo racing to sink Stowe's spending bill.
Did it sink it? We never do find out, in yet another of the series' trademark unresolved endings. The ending we got was an excellent one and perfect to close out the series. Stowe implores the audience to listen more. Still a timely message lo this half-century later!
A couple recurring themes: One was interruptions. That maddening visit between Sheiner and Ramsey that was interrupted again and again by the phone or the secretary bringing coffee. Then Stowe goes all ADHD and butts repeatedly into Sheiner's relevant revelations to ask inane questions like if he wants tomato in their slapped-together dinner. A second theme was the threat computers posed. The opening titles play over banks of computers and pages of teletype. Dixon is likened to a computer, all numbers and logic, no room for nuance or the gray areas life frequently presents.
Cast notes: Lincoln Kilpatrick will again play a Man of God in SOYLENT GREEN, but I remember him most as Zachary in THE OMEGA MAN, which was released later this year of 1971. His appearance here as Isaac Johnson elevated my respect for this actor to new heights. Also in 1971 Mel Stewart would debut as Henry Jefferson on ALL IN THE FAMILY. He brings his intensity here to that show, too. Logan Ramsey, who memorably played a villain in STAR TREK's "Bread and Circuses," appeared poised to play one here but upended expectations.
A thoughtful episode of a thoughtful series. I already miss it!