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Storyline: Mick and Joey
aid a two-bit boxer with a shadowy past--and a vicious foe named Iceman in
his immediate future--who's been warned to take a dive...or see his
daughter go down for the count. |
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According to US Mick has sent Joey to collect on a debt from Bob-O Dibella. (played by John Pinette, whom I absolutely adore. He is an hilarious comedian in his own right, I've seen him perform a few times. This is also the first of 3 HT appearances made by John as Bob-O). When Joey arrives, Bob-O is going through some memorabilia of his father's, who used to be a boxer. Bob-O asks Joey what he owes them money for. Joey replies, "A missing persons case, or the '87 Superbowl." Bob-O says he's got something in mind for Joey which is worth more than cash. |
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| Hank later tells the boys it's true. He did throw the fight for money. The fix was leaked and it ruined his reputation and he lost his daughter's trust. We now see a montage of work out scenes with Mick, Joey & Hank. (fast-forward opportunity here) Mick asks Hank why he hasn't fought in 10 years. Hank says he just couldn't stay in the game. Mick spars with Hank. While he is taping up his hands he asks Joey to switch out his water bottle so he can have Sam do a background check. Joey is not happy, but complies. Later when Mick & Joey are sitting in the hot tub, Sam calls and says the name of their boxer is Joseph Barrett. Mick yells at Joey for getting his prints all over the water bottle, and Joey asks, "What did you expect me to use to make the switch? My tongue?" Sam did tell Mick though that Hank changed his last name from
Machow. Dillard corners Hank on his way home and offers him $10,000 to throw the fight. Hank turns him down. That night, his daughter is pulled into a car. The next day, Mick & Joey show up in the locker room before the fight. Hank is distressed that his daughter did not come home last night. He opens up his locker and finds a note: Take Dive in Round 6 or you'll never see her alive again. He shows the note to Mick & Joey and says he will do what it says. Mick tells him to get in there and fight and let them find Theresa. He agrees to go 5 rounds, and if they do not show up with her by the end of the 5th round he will throw it. Mick goes to the locker room next door to talk to the Iceman. Joey has to divert the guard's attention so Mick can get in. He tells the Iceman what his manager did. He doesn't believe him at first. Mick convinces him (off camera) and then races out to Joey waiting in the car. He tells him to drive to a beach house on Ocean drive. Joey asks why all bad guys have beach houses. Sam calls Mick again while they are driving and tells him that Hank changed his name to get medical clearance to fight in California. He has a brain aneurysm. They arrive at the house and see Theresa inside with two men. They draw the men out by setting a fire on the barbeque grill. They knock them out and untie Theresa, who is watching the start of the boxing match on the television. They tell Theresa about her father's medical condition and the three of them race to the boxing match. When they arrive they try to get the officials to stop the match. Hank gets knocked to the ground. Theresa tells him she loves him. Hank suddenly has renewed vigor, and knocks out the Iceman. He wins the fight. At the end, Mick & Joey are sparring in the ring. Joey keeps complaining that Mick his hitting him too much. Hank arrives and tells them he is now part-owner of a butcher shop and has brought them some steaks. Mick tells him to put it in Joey's corner with the rest of the dead meat. *This was not a typical episode for this series. The only beach action was at the very beginning, yet they still managed to show Annie in a bathing suit during the hot tub scenes. Good one liners once again, but a very run-of-the mill storyline. Some boxing scenes with Mick, but for the most part it was just sparring -not his usual Tae Kwon Do moves. For all my hopes and excitement for the start of the new season, this one kind of let me down. * - Michelle P. |
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| The Last Fight doesn't score too high in my favorite High Tide episodes. I'm pretty sure it has a lot to do with the fact that I'm not a big boxing fan. In fact, it's one of my least favorite `sports.' I have NO clue why I was so into the Rocky movies back in the 80's. Must've been the `in' thing or something, or maybe the overall story itself…because nowadays I'm not into boxing so much. Grown men are beating each other to a pulp for a trophy? (Can't that cause brain damage after awhile?!) Anyway…despite the fact that the storyline doesn't really appeal to me, it does have a lot of Rick Springfield, so it couldn't be ALL bad, could it?! Rick looks mighty fine in this one too---great hair, eyes sparkling, good clothes. I like the fact that his wardrobe has improved (a LOT) from the first season. His shirts are not quite as `loud.' Mick/Rick looks awesome in red! (but it's a good, solid red…nothing like what he `used to' wear.) I also like his `fits' and outbursts towards Joey in this one. It may sound funny, but I do like seeing that side of him. He makes the best angry faces! He's a great actor and has the talent to carry out a wide range of emotions and make it believable. He also makes me believe he is "Mick Barrett," the ex-cop & big brother to Joey Barrett. That's a sign of a really good actor, in my opinion. So the story is, Joey bet some of his and Mick's money on a washed out boxer. Of course Mick is furious when he finds out. Joey went to get money from a guy who owes them, but Joey doesn't return with it. He was convinced into putting the money on an old boxer. In this second episode we are introduced to a new character---Bob-O DeBello. I guess with the absence of Fritz and Gordon in season two, the writers thought it'd be fun to bring in a new face. Bob-O is a sloppy, obese, shady, conniving sort of guy who is always looking out for number one. I tell ya, if I knew this dude in real life and he pulled stunts on me like he does to Mick and Joey, I think I'd want to smack him good. LOL! But even though he's a snake in the grass, he really does add something to the show. He kills me at times with his selfishness, but he's funny to watch and he certainly has a way of getting the brothers in an uproar! Bob-O is the one who convinced Joey to put his money on Hank the boxer. I thought it was quite funny when they go to the practice ring & Joey tells Mick he does not have their money, but he has something better. Mick says, "What? Magic beans?" Hee hee. He tells him, "I don't want something better. I want the money. Then if I choose to, I'll buy something better with the money. Now where is it?" What is up with Mick wearing a red shirt, blue jeans & light brown boots??? Are those boots `fuzzy?' LOL! They almost remind me of the ones he's wearing in one of my favorite old shots from the 80's in the pose I call "The fuzzy boots." :-P Not exact, but similar. That whole thing---jeans tucked into boots---actually looks pretty good on him (why is it that Rick can pull off almost any outfit imaginable and still look cool?!), but it seems funny, considering he's a surfer. I guess even surfers like shoes or boots! Mick finally comes around when he learns from Hank that he needs money to bail his kid out of jail. Mick and his big heart…he can't resist helping out someone in need! The Barrett brothers & Hank go to bail his daughter Teresa out of jail. She obviously wants nothing to do with her dad, as she smarts off to him and runs off, returning to her `street' friends. So the guys go in to help with Hank's training, acting as his new managers. The man has been out of the biz for many years, and he has some serious work to do to get back in shape. They find out later that Hank has a brain aneurism and that he should not have been in the ring at all. He is boxing once again for his daughter, as he explained to the guys that he `threw a fight' one time in order to make some money on the side for his family. I believe Teresa sees her dad as a quitter, not realizing what his situation was at that time. |
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| YOW! We have a sweet scene of Mick and Joey in the hot tub, soothing their `aching bones' after training with Hank. Looks like a NICE spot to be! (in the hot tub with Mick, that is…not healing from achy muscles!) I noticed in this episode, that Rick did not have his hawk tattoo yet. I believe it must have been only weeks later when he got the tat, because it appears on his shoulder a few shows later. Or maybe it's the next season when the tattoo shows up? So that would actually be about a year later… A cute Joey comment---Mick and Joey find Teresa on the streets (where she has just spray painted a building). Hank's daughter is quite the smarty pants! Joey asks her if she "had a personality bypass." Ha! That was a good one I thought! In a later scene with her, I thought her comment was funny when the guys rescued her from the kidnappers. Mick`s phone rings and she told him, "Your butt's ringing!" LOL! I liked the funny look on Mick's face when he goes to confront the Iceman in the locker room and the man grabs him around the throat with one hand, barely straining a muscle. We usually see Mick looking more like the `tough guy' on High Tide, but he had really met his match with this man. Thank goodness he finally turned loose of Mick's neck, as he was struggling to breathe. During the fight scene, I liked Mick's reactions down in the crowd as he's rooting Hank on. Hank is fighting the Iceman. I thought it was cute when he picked Hank's daughter up off the floor in a hug and started hooting and hollering with excitement when Hank won the match. Is it just my imagination, or did the show do a bit of overkill on the surfing music during season 2? I really noticed a lot of it during this one. I mean, I realize the music adds to the scenes and can create suspense or whatever other set up that's needed, but I swear it's a bit much at certain points! It can be overdone sometimes. The end is nice when Mick and Joey are boxing at each other in the practice ring, and we have a couple of good shots of Rick's sexy upper arms…back before he had the cross tattoo! - Kelley Pearson |
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