Episode 3: The Abominable Snowman
Previous: Episode Two: The Owl and the Eye Next: Episode Four: A Matter of Wife and Death
Honey serves as a courier to a client who’s a novelty salesman, but just when her job seems done, her client is chased by a black car driven by "The Killer" (George Keymas). Honey chases the chaser in a decent (if confusing) car chase, if you like that sort of thing.
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| Honey's Cobra convertible chases a villain's black car |
My favorite scene is where Honey is cleaning the stuff from a broken snow globe (her client’s) off of her purse and discovers that it has properties that make her lip numb (right near her trademark mole). “Like a shot of novocaine,” she says. Aha! Now we know what we’re dealing with!
Honey fights with The Killer in an elevator. Simultaneously, Sam fights with The Killer's chauffeur. Neither of them turns in their assailant to the police.
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| Either I've got a gun to the back of my head, or you're extremely tall and very happy to see me. |
Honey goes to a party dressed in a black wig and light gown that turns into a ninja outfit (the gown, not the wig). She puts on a fake accent, too. (I believe she was going for French, but the jury is still out, fifty years later.) She dances with The Killer, who understandably feels his intelligence is being insulted by Honey continuing to pretend to be a French heiress (or whatever she is supposed to be). They have already met, after all.
Also, Honey and Sam (the latter dressed as a waiter at the party) talk into their eye glasses—again—rather obviously to anyone even casually observing them.
They also spar verbally with each other like a couple from a 1930s screwball comedy, while Honey takes a bubble bath.
Aunt Meg (Irene Hervey) plays intermediary, giving her more to do than ever before or since, almost. One scene transition comically has Meg end with the start of a line that Sam finishes at the beginning of the next scene. Kudos to writer William Bast and director Paul Wendkos for that. (This does become a common occurrence in subsequent episodes; see, for example, "A Neat Little Package.")
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| (You saw my profile where? What's an app?) |
Long before cell phones, the few people who had radio/phones in their cars were ahead of their time in being able to talk with their friends and colleagues at a distance while on the go.
Ocelot play in this episode involves not just Honey but guest star Henry Jones.
Also, Sam gets a black eye, and Honey goes through the motions of ministering to his wound but treats him cavalierly. This is a pattern.
Kudos, too, for using the famous Griffith Observatory in the opening scene.
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| Griffith Observatory. Honey's AC Cobra is the car in the middle of the picture, heading toward us. |
Bottom line: This episode probably should have been the first episode aired. It had more potential to lure viewers back for more. If every episode had been on a par with this one, the show might have gained more of a following and even been renewed for another season.
Note: Honey drives a Cobra sports car, probably white, although on black-and-white TV it could be yellow. She may have driven it in imitation of Emma Peel of "The Avengers," who drove a Lotus. Now, private eyes (or spies) driving high-profile cars like Lotus, Cobra, or Porsche (see the 1987 P.I. series, "Leg Work") is a bad idea if they ever wants to tail people without being spotted right away. Gil Lewis, a real life 1960s P.I. from Boston, Massachusetts, drove a second-hand (but with only one previous owner) dark blue sedan with custom-tinted windows, because it was inconspicuous in most anyone's rearview mirror.
Warning: All ratings are graded on a curve because “Honey West” is a guilty pleasure that doesn’t get better.
Overall rating: 5/5
Martial Arts rating: 5/5
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