Date of airing: May 20, 2000 (CBS)
Nielsen ratings information: 7.51 million viewers, 4.9/10 in Households, 2.3/9 with Adults 18-49
written by: James Stanley, Dianne Messina Stanley, Lorin Wertheimer
directed by: Gary Nelson
The biggest thing this episode was missing was Gary whispering to himself “Not again” after he realized he was back in time again. Again, traveling back in time to Chicago's notorious past happened in the penultimate episode of the season, and again, Gary jumped back in time to help the family member of one of the characters he was hanging out with in the episode, so that, when he gets back to the present time, he notices that his actions had a positive effect. Back in season two's "Hot Time in the Old Town," Gary helped a kid escape burning Chicago who happened to be the grandfather of one of the construction bosses in the present to help Gary prevent an explosion from happening, and in this episode, the kid Gary helped to escape a mob-ridden Chicago is part of Crumb's family, and again, Gary helped to get them out of a crappy situation that was based on a real-life event. It is almost like the writers ripped themselves off, considering this episode and “Hot Time in the Old Town” have more than just a few similarities. Although Marissa of the 1800s has been replaced by an attractive lady named Ginger, so that the story can also be about Gary falling in love and finally getting the opportunity to live a fruitful life with the potential love of his life, without having that woman be Marissa.
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| Gary gets the love and attention he craves in black and white. |
The episode was okay. As expected, the writers went back to the times of Al Capone, which is not the first time they have done that in the show (last time, they had one of the last Untouchables be the guest character of the week), but I am appreciative towards the fact that the writers chose a more unknown time for Capone to be in action, without needing him to be part of the story as an on-screen character. Although the episode could have literally taken any other fictional character in Capone’s stead, it would not have changed the story at all. The fact that the narrative involved Capone in the background just gives the story a timeline, and the viewers got a chance to see what 1929 in Chicago looked like, according to the writers and set designers. And I do have to say, seeing some of the old-timey automobiles in a couple of scenes was neat, even if the episode felt somewhat like a backstage production.
The story itself was pretty mediocre and minimalist though. Most of it was set in the 1929's version of McGinty's, and despite all the drama and tension, it barely went past its G-rated offering and turned the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre (a real hit that happened in 1929, and in which seven people lost their lives) into just a random scene, which not even Gary and Charlie cared about at the end. I mean, the guys just witnessed the execution of seven people, and no one gave a damn. Gary just witnessed one of Chicago's most infamous events and he did not bother about that at all, let alone prevent it from happening altogether, instead of just saving Charlie's life. Yes, Gary and Charlie were kind of busy running for their lives, but when the two guys and Ginger reunited at the bar, all they could think of was to get out of the city and for Gary and Ginger to lock lips like they are the final couple standing in a Bachelor spin-off show. No words about the seven guys that were just killed in front of them. No words about how this was in fact a real-life event the show just portrayed, which not every viewer knows.
I loved the black-and-white style of the episode, although I was wondering if it was really necessary to go for that style in the first place. For a moment I was wondering if Gary was also seeing his surroundings in black and white, or if he could see color, or if maybe this episode was about to become a PLEASANTVILLE-type stylish hour, something I would have loved watching, and would have proven the producers' attempt at doing something unique with the show this late in its life. But the general late-1920s aesthetic was nice to look at, with Kyle Chandler looking like a dapper guy in the hat. He also starred in the two-season show HOMEFRONT which is set during the 1940s, and it makes me wonder if Chandler was wearing a similar style on that show as well. Not that I would start watching a show because I liked how a guy was dressed on another show, but you never know...
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| Gary finally gets to play with pistols. |
But the entire episode also felt like something of a stage production – a group of people attempts to dress up their sets and characters for a time they believed looked like that, but the result makes it look too polished, too clean at times, and very much like the producers did not put a lot of money into it (understandable, considering this is one of the later episodes of the season, when cash was getting tight). Not that I mind the stage-production feel of it all, but the episode could have done a lot better if it had a bit more money to spend.
And finally, one can only hope the woman Gary met at the end of the hour is going to turn out to be the love of his life, and that the paper just gave him a shot at not only saving Crumb’s life, but also showing Gary that love is possible without the paper getting in the way. Gary is their most valued subscriber, so the paper can definitely help him out in that regard.
