"DELIVERANCE" The Old Ammo in the Fire Gag May 2, 1997

by
Gordon Hom

This week's episode is perfunctory in it's main story of a Guardian Angel-like group gone bananas. This group even wears red berets, though how civilians are able to be so heavily armed in an urban area exists only in NASH BRIDGES' world. This story is contrived by any way you look at it, but none more than when Nash and Joe are captured by the group. To escape, the tied-up Nash and Joe toss a spare ammo clip into a fire, resulting in the ammunition exploding all over the place. Of course the flying bullets happen to hit one of the guards.

If you look closer at this bizarre scene (and it is worth discussing), things get weirder. The scene is set in a kind of Asian boiler room - the pipes in the room are painted red with large Chinese characters decorating them. There are two rows of boilers with two rows of flaming 55 gallon drums. It looks like a theatrical stage for MISS SAIGON. Why? But WHY? Because Nash needs an open fire to toss the ammo into. The NASH BRIDGES set designer had to go wild to mask this plot contrivance by making it part of the scenery.

Plot contrivances aside, the leader of the group - Robard, is basically a ruthless thief, ripping off and killing drug dealers. This NASH BRIDGES view of the decorated military man is currently contrary to the post-Vietnam resurrection of the soldier as seen in series such as JAG. In JAG, even though soldiers do wrong, they often do so with honorable intentions. In this episode of NASH BRIDGES, why Robard goes bad is never explored - he's just another Bad Guy of the Week. Nash gets the drop on this highly trained soldier when Robard inexplicably trips and drops his weapon! Well, after the ammo in the fire gag, anything is possible.

After three testosterone-heavy episodes (Episode #28 "Out of Chicago," Episode #29 "Moving Target," and Episode #30 "Wild Card,"), Nash the family man returns with the appearance of the female characters - ex-wife Lisa, Detective Bryn Carson, and very briefly, daughter Cassidy. This softened Nash is to counterbalance sidekick Joe's wife Inger's delivery of their baby girl. Joe finally gets to drive the 'Cuda, but his sidekick status is re-affirmed when he misses the actual delivery of his baby ("Who the hell are you?" asks the mother in the delivery room). When Joe finally arrives at the right place, it's Nash that's cradling his baby! Talk about stealing poor Joe's thunder. The episode ends with a suddenly sentimental Nash (with that lonely Pretenders tune playing) wanting to renew his relationship with ex-wife Lisa (probably only for the duration of the fade-out to black). And what about that nurse that said she'd return or the next beautiful Woman of the Week that comes along? Rest assured that Nash will return to his alley cat ways....

For more, see synopsis for Episode 31

Copyright © 1996-2022 Gordon Hom. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy