Jan. 8-14, 2012 TV show club- 90s Hardy Boys- "Jazzman"

[MacGyver]

Leave your thoughts and comments and reviews for the "Jazzman" episode of the 1995 series The Hardy Boys here.

[tomswift2002]

This is probably my favorite episode of the series.  Plus, you can tell that the bus terminal that was used was the Toronto bus terminal that's around or on Young Street (it's been years since I was at that terminal, but I remember when I first saw the episode on DVD, It sent shivers down my spine, since I had stood in a spot that had been shown on a Hardy Boys episode).

[MacGyver]

That's pretty cool! It's always neat to see real landmarks and places used for TV shows and movies, etc. (Although many times they are greatly altered for their on screen appearances.)

[Hardy Boys UB Fan]

That's pretty cool! It's always neat to see real landmarks and places used for TV shows and movies, etc. (Although many times they are greatly altered for their on screen appearances.)

Why is that?

[MacGyver]

Sometimes they need a real life location to double as something or somewhere else- mainly to fit budgetary constraints or perhaps for comedic purposes.

[Olivia]

Yeah - my dad and I recognize a lot of the locations in and around Toronto ourselves, since we don't live too far away (and he lived there at one time).

[MacGyver]

As to the episode itself, I have to say it's a storyline that I've seen done before on other series. (Not that it's a bad storyline necessarily, especially if the writers can bring something different to it and have The Hardy Boys take it on in a different way, separate from other versions.) But essentially you have the storyline of a race to prove a childhood hero's innocence in some sort of crime. The deadline is sometimes a court trial or maybe even a death row sentence.
     I liked this version fairly well from what I recall- I will have to go back and rewatch it again to have some fresh thoughts on it.
For the record, a few other versions of this plot that I've seen include Quantum Leap- "Last Dance Before An Execution" (In which Sam Leaps into a guy about to be electrocuted on the electric chair, but gets a last minute stay of execution and has 48 hours to prove the innocence of the guy he Leaped into and his friend. Definitely one of the most electrifying Leap-ins ever! )
Also, The Flash- "Beat the Clock" - This one was kinda fitting for The Fastest Man Alive to be racing the clock to try to save the life of a jazz saxophonist who will be going to the electric chair by midnight if his innocence can't be proven. This one particularly reminds me of The Hardy Boys (or rather, vice versa) since they both involve jazz musicians.