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The Adventures of Brisco County jr - Wild Card
episode 23
USA 1994
produced by Paul Marks, Jeffrey Boam (executive), Carlton Cuse (executive) for Boam/Cuse Productions, Warner Brothers/Fox Network
directed by Larry Shaw
starring Bruce Campbell, Julius Carry, Christian Clemenson, Kelly Rutherford, Jeff Phillips, Elaine Hendrix, Louis Giambalvo, Paul Ben-Victor, Peter Dobson, Ted Markland, Herschel Sparber, Cosimo Canale, Gathering Marbet
written by Brad Kern, John Wirth, created by Jeffrey Boam, Carlton Cuse, music by Stephen Graziano
TV series The Adventures of Brisco County jr
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Brisco (Bruce Campbell) and Bowler (Julius Carry) are hired to guard a
stagecoach carrying a big payroll on its way to Reno, but the stage is
robbed by a gang of masked outlaws. They almost get one of them, whom
Brisco recognizes to be his on-again off-again girlfriend Dixie (Kelly
Sutherland) though. Riding into Reno, they soon stumble upon a casino run
by Dixie's sister Dolly (Elaine Hendrix), and shadowing her they soon find
their way to Dixie's hide-out. From Dixie they then learn that she
actually stole the payroll to support her sister who has only recently
lost her casino to Dino Tataglia (Peter Dobson), and they have since hired
a poker player to win back the place, as Dino was always a sucker for
poker - and that poker player is no other than young hotshot Whip Morgan
(Jeff Phillips) [see
episode Hard Rock], so Brisco and Bowler are a little
worried. Thing is, Whip actually does win the casino in a fair and square
game - but is robbed of his spoils by Dino and his ruthless brother Joey
(Paul Ben-Victor). So Brisco and Bowler help Dolly setting up a new casino
right next door to her former one, and she manages to make it work,
siphoning off pretty much all of Dino's business. That calls the father of
the brothers, Enzio Tataglia (Louis Giambalvo) onto the scene - which soon
leads to Dixie's casino being blown up, Brisco and Bowler taking Dino
captive but soon finding themselves under siege in the Sheriff's office,
Dixie being taken hostage by the Tataglias - and ultimately a poker game
Whip against Joey, the much abler poker player of the brothers, to resolve
it all. And of course, things end happily ... Brisco and Bowler's
employer Socrates Poole (Christian Clemenson) proves himself pretty
useless in this one, falling prey to a slot machine addiction early on in
the story. To fill up a western story with a few mobster movie
mainstays sure is an inspired idea, and it works out rather well in this
entry, too as it's woven rather organically into what you'd expect from an
episode of The Adventures of Brisco County jr, including the
customary comedy and allusions to things back then still in the far future
(like neon lights). And while the leads are at their usual best, the
supporting cast proves to be solid, and they mostly look their part to
make this an enjoyable romp.
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