Target Angels - Charlies Angels Season 1 Reaction & Review (#5)

[@19CALI_sunnyv]

I just learned that Kate Jackson was nominated for an Emmy for this episode! And in season 2 she was nominated for an Emmy for "Angel in Love". No surprise at all. She was outstanding in both episodes! What a pity she never won.

[@RetroQTV]

Wow! I knew she was nominated for Emmy's but wasn't sure which episodes. I would love to have seen her win. Angel in Love is outstanding - I can't wait to get to that episode. In 1977 Kate was up against Lindsay Wagner who won for Deadly Ringer and no-one was going to beat that performance. But 1978 should have been Kate's year.

[@geupelboi]

How did you find out what episodes Kate was nominated for? I have never been able to learn that or even figure it out, though I guess it's almost a no-brainer that she would have gotten her 2nd season nomination for "Angel in Love", but Kate is great in every single episode she appeared in.

[@19CALI_sunnyv]

@@geupelboi Someone told me on social media. And yes, "Angel in Love" of course! And "Target: Angels" is no surprise either. Great episode, as well. And Kate is fantastic in it. I also keep coming back to ridiculous episodes such as "Pom Pom Angels" just because Kate has some great scenes in it and is fun, caring and badass, the total package! Or her final episode which was basically a slide show. And she wasn't happy at that point and was glad to leave the show! Yet once again she owns the screen. Remarkable!

[@geupelboi]

@@19CALI_sunnyv Thank you for your super fast reply! : ) I agree that even in the more or less ridiculous episodes like "Disco Angels" and "Pom Pom Angels" (terrible titles!), Kate still manages to give fresh performances. Like in "Pom Pom Angels", the scene where Sabrina goes over to the two tryouts to tell them that the openings are theirs in a few days "Oh, come on, girls, don't be sad..." Nice. And there is just something about the way Kate delivers her lines that makes her fascinating to listen to. For a show that is basically fluff like CA, Kate Jackson unexpectedly brings to it something extra.

[@19CALI_sunnyv]

@@geupelboi You're welcome! I agree with everything you say! "Pom Pom Angels" is such a silly title that's why it was one of the last episodes I watched when I binge watched season 1 to 3 last year. i didn't expect much but then of course I was more than happy to see Kate making it an enjoyable episode nonetheless. The scene you mention is exactly the one that stands out to me! Kate always elevated the material except when it was impossible to do so like the awful "Marathon Angels" and the boring "Rosemary, for Remembrance". Kate (and Jaclyn) were hardly in it! Other than that Kate managed to make each episode worth watching. She created characters that weren't written in the scripts. One of the reasons why she was so good!

[@reinholdkorner6473]

Kate Jackson ( Sabrina) the best Angel

[@mannymontgomery9807]

They def could have added some backstory for each of the angels. Love the recaps!!

[@RetroQTV]

Thanks Manny! It would have made for a more interesting show if they shared a few more insights into the characters lives outside the Townsend Agency. They sprinkled some clues here and there but sadly they mostly steered clear of origin stories. Glad you're enjoying the recaps - I'm having fun doing them! The Killing Kind should be out in the next week or so! Thanks for watching and for taking time to leave a comment - I appreciate it!

[@19CALI_sunnyv]

"Target: Angels“ is really one of the best episodes of season 1! I agree that the insight into the life of each angel is wonderful and I wish there had been more of it throughout the show. We get to see Sabrina’s father. And it’s lovely to see her and her ex husband interact. Also Kelly and her boyfriend (Tom Selleck looking good without moustache) and we learn she is an orphan. Jill being a basketball coach for girls is fun. On a side note, we get to see Bri’s ex Bill Duncan again in „Blue Angels“, only briefly, though. And that’s it. When Bri meets that guy at the travel agency there is an interesting dialogue. I noticed something specifically. He says: „I’m a naturalized citizen, this country will protect me!" Sabrina: "That’s what Eichmann thought! He really did!“ I imagine this is something probably only a few people noticed. She is referring to Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi SS officer who was seized by Israeli agents in Argentina in 1960 and smuggled to Israel to stand trial. I don’t think there is a dialogue quite like that in any other episode. I believe in season 1 they tried to add some depth to the scripts, something Kate Jackson had been promised being the co-creator of Charlie’s Angels. As we know that didn’t really happen. The script writers became lazy and the producers saw that bikinis and skimpy outfits meant high ratings so they abandoned depth. Sadly. However, in these early episodes we see some attempts to have more depth. At least briefly. Another thing I noticed. Later on Boz talks of a „lousy crook“ and Sabrina goes: „like an administration we once had“. I assume she is referring to the Nixon administration. I’m not saying there isn’t any depth in later episodes. I just noticed it in this one. But of course there is A LOT OF FUN, too. And I love it of course! Thanks for the insight on them having only one camera crew back then. I didn’t know. That must have made filming much more time consuming and complicated. The cab scene is a lot of fun especially how Jill and Kelly „steal“ the car. Poor guy haha. I don’t think Jaclyn Smith actually drove the cab. I just recently saw how they film these scenes. The car is on a trailer and is being pulled. I would think they did that scene that way because they were driving fast. But it does look realistic! I don’t like how obvious the stunt women and men are in their wigs… They had no idea how we analize the whole thing more than forty years later. Haha. It’s interesting you mention Sabrina's pronunciation of „rather“. I have noticed it, too, many of times. Wasn't the Mid Atlantic accent spoken by highly educated people from the East Coast in the 30s, 40s? By old Hollywood stars like Katherine Hepburn? Whereas Kate Jackson was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. When she moved to NYC when she was 19 to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she had to work hard to get rid of her Southern accent and she eventually succeded. But she still had that slight charming Southern accent throughout her career. But I do not know if „rather“ is being pronounced that way in Alabama? Since that accent was highly influenced by the early English settlers it could be possible, though? There is so much fun dialogue between the Angels and also Bosley. So many fun scenes: Bri’s fake funeral with Bosley overacting and right after the funeral Jill throwing that flower and Boz catching it. Things like that. It cracked me up! And yes, the ending is very cute and so funny. Again great fun and a really good episode!

[@RetroQTV]

Thanks again for the insightful comments - I really appreciate the time you take to share your thoughts on each episode and there's always something i didn't know or hadn't considered which adds some extra dimension to the episode for me. I know who Eichmann is but didn't know the full story and just found out there's a movie about called Operation Finale about it on Netflix www.netflix.com/title/80986885 so I'm going to check that out. Interesting about how they filmed the car driving scenes and that makes more sense, Kind of dangerous to have Jaclyn Smith driving for real at high speeds while doing her quick-change taxi driver look. Yes, that mid-atlantic accent was popular in the early to mid-20th century and taught in schools. Apparently it's completely made-up. There's an interesting video about it here called "Why do they talk like that in the movies". kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5K7noGimpppZs0 It would be interesting to know why Kate settled on that pronunciation. I hope she reveals something about how she lost her accent in her book if the damn thing ever sees the light of day!!! I do love all those little interactions too. The scene with Jill throwing the flower at Bosley, is great fun - and a glimpse of real comradery - I bet that was improvised not scripted. What do you think?

[@19CALI_sunnyv]

@@RetroQTV It's my pleasure! That movie "Operation Finale" looks like it's very well done! If I get the chance I want to watch it, too. Thanks a lot for the youtube link on the mid-atlantic accent. Very interesting how it all came to happen. I didn't know. John Forsythe seems to have quite a distinct accent, too. Oh Kate's book! I really would love to read it! She'd have such a gripping life story to tell. So many things I want to know. I'm just afraid it's not going to happen. But let's see. I agree! I'm sure Jill throwing the flower at Bosley was improvised. In fact, they did a lot of improvising! Jaclyn Smith said in an interview: "Kate and I improvised a lot together. She was very uh...(laughs) you know she did what she wanted…she would say ok we’re gonna change it, we’re gonna do... Kate could be on the show a little rebellious. Which was fun!! And I think that’s why she’s good! Because she would wanna…surprise us. And with surprise spontaneity and something new comes out." Jaclyn also said that David Doyle was great and improvised a lot and would make them laugh. Kate also mentioned once that she and Farrah used to improvise a lot and would try to do something unexpected and make one another laugh on camera. I think all of that showed. Yes, I agree. I think the ending scene of "Target Angels" is improvised to some extent. These moments are so much fun to watch. Their comradery really shows. It must have been phenomenal.

[@RetroQTV]

@@19CALI_sunnyv Agree. They look like they're sharing some "in" jokes in this episode! FYI I hope to have my next review up next week sometime. Will film it this weekend.

[@19CALI_sunnyv]

@@RetroQTV Terrific! I look forward to it.

[@RetroQTV]

This is a very exciting episode. Lots of thrills and spills and packed full of insights that reveal our Angel's back stories! Let me know what you think of Target Angels in the comments! 😇

[@WilAdams]

While I think Kate Jackson is a very pretty woman--especially during her Dark Shadows, and The Rookies era--I just don't think she fits in with the other two women. She does not wear bikinis, rarely even a dress, and presents herself as being too smart when compared to the other two women. I would have like to see, Olivia Newton-John, Glynis O'Connor, or Adrienne Barbeau in the role.

[@originalangelsforever6535]

Let’s see. Kate Jackson cast as Angel No. 1, co-creator who came up with the name & concept of Charlie’s Angels. Amazing and experienced actress and it showed! No Barbie Doll/princess but dared to be unconventional, cool and was gorgeous at that. Effortlessly sexy. After she left none of the other Angels were able to carry the show. No matter how often they'd don a bikini. Nobody could replace Kate Jackson. Nobody! That's how well she fit in. PS: Kate wore elegant skirts and blouses throughout season 1. In fact, she wore more elegant outfits than the others. THANK YOU, KATE, for your amazing contributions to pop culture! You are an ICON!

[@BigBandGuy]

Jaclyn Smith and Tom Selleck had really great chemistry.

[@jennym2276]

Is So Cal so the dress is fine.

[@migo5205]

Tom Selecks mustach was auditioning for Magnum while he played in this episode. It got the job no matter who would be attached to it 😄 i love the insight into the girls private lifes, especially Bree beeing emotional.

[@RetroQTV]

Ha, I know right. Tom Selleck looks so different without the moustache! I love the glimpse of their private lives too - so rare to see in Charlie's Angels