Episode #89 "Deliver Us From Evil"

[Tom]

vor einer Stunde schrieb Robbie C.:

Hackman was a nutjob heist guy. Nothing more. I never saw him as big time in any way at all. Maybe he was on that estate because someone had hired him to work security and he was basking in their protection (people like Calderone would have uses for a Hackman). Don't forget...if Hackman's lips were moving he was lying, after all. 

I agree. As Crockett said: "this guy knows the difference between Baccarat and Lalique". 

[ViceFanMan]

2 hours ago, RedDragon86 said:

I never bought the idea that he was capable of bribing judges etc once he was settled on that Island, and that home and land would would cost millions. The majority of the episode he is running around with a vinyl record, a sawn off shot gun and his right hand man is a dork but he suddenly transformed into a sophisticated crime boss?

The power and political connection was just chucked in at they end purely to beef up his profile as a character.

The likes of Lombard and Calderone were the real deal, they had a network of power.

Agreed...maybe over the years he amassed an amount of money from the things he stole, but I don’t know if it’d been enough to purchase that estate on the island, as well as bribe the judges there??  

It does seem they tried to beef up his status a bit for the episode. He was too psycho & irrational to be a sophisticated crime boss, too...Calderone or Lombard would have had Hackman taken-out within the first few weeks. I don’t know about lazy, but he definitely had...“crazy bones”!  

[RedDragon86]

3 hours ago, Robbie C. said:

Hackman was a nutjob heist guy. Nothing more. I never saw him as big time in any way at all. Maybe he was on that estate because someone had hired him to work security and he was basking in their protection (people like Calderone would have uses for a Hackman). Don't forget...if Hackman's lips were moving he was lying, after all. 

"How do you like the place? Took me a few weeks to get everything set up. You know. I had to figure out where I wanted to retire, find a house, furnish it, get some of my stuff sent down" 

There is no doubt he has bought the place and land, which would cost millions.

 I don't know Hackman went from being a sociopath to easing into a man of sophistication. At the drop of hat he has morphed into Calderone, has his own island with police and judges in his pocket. 

Another thing that was disappointing was where was Barkley and Felicia?

Hackman is a great villain. I prefer him the first time around and the original episode, which is a classic.

[Robbie C.]

You're assuming he was telling the truth. There is every doubt he was telling the truth in this case, as in just about every instance we see him. He could have just been telling Crockett that, knowing full well the original owner was dead in a back room or the pool cabana...or that he'd worked his way into the pockets of people on the island who had power. Hackman was also an accomplished con man (as we know full well from the stunt he pulled on Crockett). As for the rest...we don't actually know about that, either. But Crockett had enough time around small governments to know the chances of getting someone like Hackman back to Miami were slim indeed.

[apocalypse]

The way I understood it Castillo kinda KNEW that Sonny is going to kill him when Blatt gave his exact address. They exchanged "certain" glances and Castillo said something like "try to get some rest" but in my opinion, he KNEW.

If he had acted like normal lieutenant Castillo, he would definitely had given strict orders Sonny to NOT to there.

 

[Robbie C.]

4 minutes ago, apocalypse said:

The way I understood it Castillo kinda KNEW that Sonny is going to kill him when Blatt gave his exact address. They exchanged "certain" glances and Castillo said something like "try to get some rest" but in my opinion, he KNEW.

If he had acted like normal lieutenant Castillo, he would definitely had given strict orders Sonny to NOT to there.

 

This episode changed quite a bit toward the end under network pressure. What we see in the last few minutes is likely not what was in the original script or likely most of the draft scripts prior to filming. If you look back through this thread you'll find some extensive discussion about this very point.

[ViceFanMan]

1 hour ago, apocalypse said:

The way I understood it Castillo kinda KNEW that Sonny is going to kill him when Blatt gave his exact address. They exchanged "certain" glances and Castillo said something like "try to get some rest" but in my opinion, he KNEW.

If he had acted like normal lieutenant Castillo, he would definitely had given strict orders Sonny to NOT to there.

 

Robbie C is correct above...there was network pressure to alter the original script. The story is that the original script had Crockett killing Hackman in cold blood, out of revenge. But, when the script was submitted to NBC they rejected it, saying they didn’t like the idea of one of the main stars going vigilante. So, they had producers/writers add the part in at the end, that showed that Hackman had actually been armed, and ultimately Crockett shot him in self defense. 

What the script (original or revised) had Castillo doing/saying, I’m not sure? But, good point...even if they had gone with the supposed original idea of Crockett killing Hackman out of revenge, you’d think they’d still have Castillo ordering Crockett to stay out of it & let other law enforcement go after Hackman.

But...for this episode, the majority of the rest of the cast was sort of put on the back burner, as this was a more Crockett-centered episode. So, maybe the writers didn’t focus as much on Castillo’s dialogue? 

[depressya]

Hi guys! Does anybody knows what Izzy Moreno's phrase "Muy pa'la paga." means? He confirms Johnny Blatt identity at Izzys Moray Recycled Jewelry for Stan & Trudy. Thanx.

[RedDragon86]

5 hours ago, depressya said:

Hi guys! Does anybody knows what Izzy Moreno's phrase "Muy pa'la paga." means? He confirms Johnny Blatt identity at Izzys Moray Recycled Jewelry for Stan & Trudy. Thanx.

Something to do with payment, my payment I think or paycheck.

 

[Tom]

vor 6 Stunden schrieb depressya:

Hi guys! Does anybody knows what Izzy Moreno's phrase "Muy pa'la paga." means? He confirms Johnny Blatt identity at Izzys Moray Recycled Jewelry for Stan & Trudy. Thanx.

The phrase literally means „very for the pay“. As this does not make full sense (even for Izzy) I assume that the phrase was cropped and a word is missing. 

[ViceFanMan]

Maybe it’s a slang version of paying or making a payment? Like the English language, most languages have tons of slang that doesn’t literally translate to make total sense. 

[depressya]

yeah… now i understand why this line is omited in subtitles for every other language

thanks a lot for your help

[Jack Gretsky]

While rewatching this today and having to writhe through Easton's brand of soft rock, I started speculating on whether it would have been better had Caitlin been a "bad girl" rock and roller - a Joan Jett or a Suzi Quatro type.  I think that would have given their relationship more edge and would show how Sonny was now into someone more from the "vice world" - far from Caroline.  Perhaps Sonny's execution of The Hack and his role as a criminal under amnesia would be better prepared for?  Anyway, idle speculation 35 years after the airing of a TV show episode!