This was probably a long awaited episode for the original fans of Charlie's Angels, the return of Farrah Fawcett as Jill Munroe. They say you can never go home again, and in the TV show sense, it's true. You can't really recapture the chemistry and freshness of the original three. Cheryl Ladd has been great as Jill's sister Kris, and her scenes with Jaclyn Smith have always been solid, but Farrah was an icon and the chemistry changed when she left.
Does this show reclaim some of that? Well, maybe in scene or two, but the plot unfortunately keeps Jill away from Sabrina and Kelly for long stretches, so it's hard to really judge.
Plot wise, Jill returns from her car racing career in Europe with a fiancé played by Steven Collins. Collins is a fellow driver named Steve Carmody. Horst Buchholz plays Jill's ex b/f Paul Ferrino, another F1 type driver who now wants Jill to drive his test car that unknown parties are trying to destroy.
That's what the Angels have to figure out; who's trying to blow up the test car? For most of the episode Carmody is under suspicion, carrying major gambling debts and a pugnacious rivalry with Ferrino. There's a pretty good scene where Kris questions Collins in front of Jill, and you can see that Kris is hurt to have to do it but it's all part of the job.
There's a great scene late in the episode where someone tragically dies, and that leads to one of the best moments in the episode, the final one, where the Angels and Bosley gather on the beach to have a picnic with their old friend Jill. It's sweet and sentimental and it leaves you with the hope that Farrah's future appearances will be more impactful.
Speaking of Farrah, her performance was a little subdued, as if she was out of place. The great smile was there but not as strong and vibrant as in season one, as if she has been through a lot in the preceding year and a half. Her natural vivaciousness was at maybe a 7, instead of the 9's and 10's she gave off in Season One.
A solid episode overall, but missing a little magic.