LIGHT SPOILERS
We've seen our share of psychics in TV before, some good, some bad. This was, terrible. Tom Villard's acting is not only terrible but it's painful to watch; Lance Henriksen he is not. From the constant shaking voice like that of a teenager going through puberty but with no voice deepening shift, to his erratic posture making comedian Josh Blue seem normal, everything about the performance is poor.
What could be the cherry on top of this crap cake? How about a ridiculously by-the-numbers script? Could it be worse? Yes! How about a poorly written script!
Villard's character has no convincing traits and offers no rational way for the viewer or Hunter or McCall to believe him, yet Hunter buys into it instantly and McCall falls later, hard, but there is no explanation; one minute she doesn't believe, then he gives a repeat performance that offers nothing new, and suddenly she's convinced. It's like Vader's crossover to the Darkside in Revenge of the Sith. One minute, no, the next, okay!
If that wasn't enough, the episode is not aided by the drum machine and synth score by otherwise strong scoring duo Post & Carpenter. At one point where Villard is cranking out a terrible acting turd by a swimming pool, the cheesy B-movie sci-fi synth scoring underlining it, brings Villard to new levels of Godawful.
Considering this was McCall's third-to-last episode, it was a huge waste.
Do yourself a favor, skip this episode.
We've seen our share of psychics in TV before, some good, some bad. This was, terrible. Tom Villard's acting is not only terrible but it's painful to watch; Lance Henriksen he is not. From the constant shaking voice like that of a teenager going through puberty but with no voice deepening shift, to his erratic posture making comedian Josh Blue seem normal, everything about the performance is poor.
What could be the cherry on top of this crap cake? How about a ridiculously by-the-numbers script? Could it be worse? Yes! How about a poorly written script!
Villard's character has no convincing traits and offers no rational way for the viewer or Hunter or McCall to believe him, yet Hunter buys into it instantly and McCall falls later, hard, but there is no explanation; one minute she doesn't believe, then he gives a repeat performance that offers nothing new, and suddenly she's convinced. It's like Vader's crossover to the Darkside in Revenge of the Sith. One minute, no, the next, okay!
If that wasn't enough, the episode is not aided by the drum machine and synth score by otherwise strong scoring duo Post & Carpenter. At one point where Villard is cranking out a terrible acting turd by a swimming pool, the cheesy B-movie sci-fi synth scoring underlining it, brings Villard to new levels of Godawful.
Considering this was McCall's third-to-last episode, it was a huge waste.
Do yourself a favor, skip this episode.
