August 1, 2004 - 760712 - Blood Red Roses

[Fizzlestix]

In Vince's temporary absence, I present this week's program for your review:

[b:0fdf7c35cb][color=orange:0fdf7c35cb]760712 - Blood Red Roses[/color:0fdf7c35cb][/b:0fdf7c35cb]

Enjoy the show! ~ Fizzlestix

[brian1984_2001]

This one was an excellent show! I remember listening to it as my cruise ship steamed away from St. Thomas enroute to St. Martin.

Seldom will you find deeper, better developed characters than the hero and the anti-hero in this story. It's hard to think of him as a villian because he is, for the most part, easily identified with.

[Texas]

Last year I suggested a couple of "double play" episodes, suggesting two episodes at a time which had very strong plot links to each other.

Well, I'm glad I didn't suggest this as a companion "twin spin" to "The only blood" (http://www.cbsrmt.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1017), my recent suggestion for SOTW. These both deserve to stand alone.

There are parallels a-plenty for both these shows...there ought to be, as they were both written by one of our faves Sam Dann. Each has a strong, Bible-believing man from the "old country". A son who was lost, to a gangster chieftain who himself has only one child. A police officer who says "You can't get close enough to this guy to kill him, and even if you could you don't want to do this anyway." A plan initially for revenge, which somehow changes.

There was one part about the ending (it involved what Dryden's character said) I didn't enjoy as much, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this show. Thanks, Fizzlestix. (BTW, at least the gangsta child in this story had a clue about his Dad's biz. smile.gif )

[Lagavulin]

how fortuitous... i just listened to this last week. GREAT episode!!!!!! A wonderful moral tale in which the protagonist gets to have his cake and eat it too (i've never really understood that idiom... but the intent is clear)

cheers
miles

[Kizer Sosay]

One thing I like about SOTW is that I often forget the names of episodes I really liked, and these selections usually turn out to be among my favorites. This one is reminiscent of the recent selection, "The Only Blood," in that we have an immigrant father bent on revenge against a mob boss that was responsible for killing his son. In both morality plays, the father's rage and thirst for vengeance succumb to their strength of character. Here we have a hero that, through his example, turns the son of the mob boss into a replacement for his own son among the good guys, while the mob boss, in effect, is robbed of his own son. "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord" is what the concerned wife told her husband, and it came to pass that he achieved his "revenge" in a positive, rather than destructive way. I enjoyed it immensely and gave it a "4."

Of course, in these hour-long plays there are always flaws, particularly heard in these modern days of realism. But surface questions of fact are not as compelling as the symbolism throughout. I especially liked the garden that the old man restored to natural vigor at the estate of the mob boss, a defining symbol that convinced the son to reconstitute his own life.

Very enjoyable, nice choice.

[Fizzlestix]

[quote:5da77f01a2="Kizer Sosay"]Of course, in these hour-long plays there are always flaws, particularly heard in these modern days of realism.[/quote:5da77f01a2]

I agree with everything you said, Kizer, up until the above quote. I found this episode to be reaming with irony and did a lot of approving head-nodding. I'm not sure what you mean by "flaws heard these modern days of realism."

Would you care to elaborate?

I gave the show a 5, because as I was listening, I truly had no idea where it was going. By the end I was extremely delighted that the writer chose the path he did.

I chose this episode, because after not having a SotW for a few weeks, I thought it would be a nice follow-up to the excellent and similar [color=orange:5da77f01a2]The Only Blood[/color:5da77f01a2] from a few weeks back.

[Kizer Sosay]

This does go well with "The Only Blood." And by "flaws," I don't want to be the picky one (again!)... but, fer instance, I thought Sam did a nice job of trying to address an obvious one when the gangster's kid said, "...it was so long ago I fogot the guy's name," when referencing our hero's dead son. And certainly, a gangster can't remember the last names of everyone he is responsible for indirectly murdering, nor would Joe and Albee, the thugs that carried it out, be likely to remember the innocent victim's last name, so that none of the four of them (Sam, Albee, Capone and his son) noticed that this old guy that shows up with free roses has the same last name as the innocent victim whose father stalked the neighborhood for weeks/months (?) to get an ID of the killers....

I don't have the episode with me and I don't remember the hero's name but I don't think it was Smith or Jones or something particularly generic.

But hey, I shouldn't have even mentioned that because I didn't let it detract from the excellent storyline. And, this was about the fourth time I've listened to this in a relatively short period of time.... Seriously, I understand the limitations of a play, I am really not complaining! It is a top-notch episode.

[Fizzlestix]

You know, I seem to remember thinking that it was a bit odd that nobody recognized the man's name as being the same as the murdered son, but it slipped by in the course of listening.

Your point is totally relevant and justified. Audience members can only suspend so much disbelief in a tale before an oversight (however big or small) in the writing, such as this, is caught and questioned.

Excellent catch and well worth pointing out, Kizer! Thank you! :wink:

[MuchAdo]

This was a well-written script by Sam Dann. It's always a pleasure when I don't know where the story is heading until late in the game. Plus, I'm not sure how often a gardener has been a leading character, providing for some interesting twists to the plot. Robert Dryden gives a strong, heartfelt performance that stays on pitch throughout. He doesn't overplay his rage and grief and the "old country" accent was nicely done. The supporting actors pull off commendable performances as well.

As for the quote at the end "An eye for an eye," I don't believe what Dryden's character helped to accomplish is so brutallly simple. He not only took the gangster's son away from him (and not through violent means), he also nurtured the son's struggle to change (to "bloom" if you'll forgive the heavy handed imagery) into a better person than his father.

Uberfrau (aka Lisa)

"An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind" - M.K. Gandhi

[Steve]

I thought this was an excellent episode. Classic Sam Dann. Good Choice!

Steve smile.gif

[scarlson33]

I think my unhappiness with this episode has more to do with my mental state. It took me three tries to hear the entire episode. The first attempt was ended two-thirds of the way through by a bad MP3 copy. The second attempt was ended by my sleepiness. I finally listened to the end last night. I have learned my lesson--listen all the way through each time.

I missed the nuances. ARG! Maybe I didn't pick up on this episode because I did just listen to "The Only Blood" last week. Anyway, a good episode even if I didn't listen all the way through at once.

[Ross]

The writing here is definitely superb! I'll have to pull this one out and listen again.

Cool!

- Ross