User Reviews

Irving J Moore with another solid directing effort on West. This episode has a strong cast. The woman who plays Carlotta Waters has a tie to Star Trek as she had just done a stint with Ricardo Montebhan & the Space Seed episode which would later become the basis of one of the better Star Trek films.

William Schalert (Patty Dukes Dad among numerous other roles) is a guest star as a phony history person certifying a phony copy of a US Constitution as the real thing. Harold Gould (The Sting) is the main heavy as he wants to form his own country in the Pan Handle. Timmy Brown provides someone to punch West.

The plotting while it rings a little phony is entertaining and enjoyable entertainment due to the casting. The title of bubbling death gives you a grand clue as to the finale. Then a second finale is added as well. A clever entertaining episode.

*Spoiler/plot- TNOT Bubbling Death, 1967, Jim and Arte risk everything to recover the U.S. Constituion after it's been stolen by a group of violent revolutionaries.

*Special Stars- Robert Conrad, Ross Martin, Madlyn Rue, Harold Gould, William Schallert

*Theme- The Secret Service always completes their mission

*Trivia/location/goofs- Original air date: 9-8-67. First appearance of the muscle bound henchmen, footballer Tim Brown. The special effect of the elevator descending is poorly done and obviously looks like some textured materials on a rolling dowel. Several of the solid set pieces that Mr. Conrand falls into are clearly new breakaway balsa wood of little thickness or weight. Unsconscious guards are seen to protect their heads by magically lifting them off the ground so as to not have their heads dragged along the ground in their unconscious state. Since Robert Conrad is of short stature(under 5'7") all of cowboy boots clearly have lifts in his soles and heels.

*Emotion- The intro to 'Pan handle" was gritty, with Jim getting into the altercation which happened several times with the muscle bound henchmen guy(Footballer Tim Brown). The main interest lies in the cast. One of the leading men has a devious relationship with the attractive foe lady. One guest character is a mole who happens to be the secret associate. The A plot is that things are not what they appear to be and it's a good drama device. Episodic television declines when stories degenerate to a series of physical obstacles to be overcome, when writers lose "sight" of the value of conflicting human relationships. Instead, it's a series of gadgets West and Gordon use to get through tunnels, open doors, and overcome their enemies on the most superficial, mechanical level. Actually, this episode is written in late season 2, hence the music score by Jack Pleis. Pleis introduces a comical musical line to lighten the tone and dominated by an organ. The music score is like wall-to-wall carpeting -- what an awful score by Jack Pleis. It's overproduced, decorative embellishment but it does little to help this weak story, in fact the music makes the episode much worse. Artie plays his original character of peddler: see the amusing scene in which he offers funny bottles to the saloon owner. Find the W3 fan cult camera plot scene of Agent West crossing the boiling acid pit. A lot of gadgets will become the norm from now on: the cutting powder, the mechanical handle. West even uses hid old cutting ring. It's a fun episode all the way!