"And Now the News" isn't a bad episode. Giving the radio a "voice" is a master stroke: it gives it some personality. Henry Ramer does good work as the announcer, and the bit at the end where it offers the cousins a way to safely recover antiques is cute. And the story isn't bad: there's the old "cure to kill" exchange, and I find it hard to believe that Avril would get a Nobel Prize for her work.
But Kurt Reis as Finch plays Finch's frustration with Avril and the loss of his patients well. And his death at the hands of the Hulk Maniac is appropriately bloody, while all we see are blood smears in a cell window. And Kate Trotter as Avril is good. As is Stephen Black as Gibson, the patient that Avril sets out to cure but ends up using as a henchman.
The rest of the story is goofy, though. Ryan has to ignore the insulators on the fence to get electrocuted. And isn't a medical facility required to put warning signs on an electrified fence? One wonders if Richard Brenner understands how electricity works. Also odd is that Avril electrocutes Gibson with a handheld electroshock device. Umm, electroshock devices don't generate killing voltage. That's why you don't hear about electroshock patients dying during treatment.
It also seems clunky that Avril has to deliver the radio into the cell of each victim. No wonder Finch catches on to her!
Finally, I could have lived without Gibson's threatened rape of Micki. It's done for shock value, and Micki of course gets over the trauma in record time. Micki gags and throws up a little, then shakes it off and rescues Ryan. It's nice to see Micki get a hero's role, but do we really need to see her threatened with rape? They've already said that Gibson is a serial killer: can't he just threaten to kill her? Yes, they also say that he's a rapist, but the rape scene adds nothing to the episode. Avril has Ryan in her clutches earlier, strapped to a gurney, but there's no rape threat there.
The absence of Jack is noticeable. Yes, they mention he's on vacation and sent a postcard, but they don't even bother to mention if he's off hunting for an artifact. Jack wouldn't have added much to the episode, admittedly, but his presence is always welcome in an episode.
So overall, "And Now" is a decent episode highlighted by a good cursed item. And the supporting cast is decent. But the rape scene, and the misuse of electricity by the writer, knocks it down from being a classic.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
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