A grizzled tough lumberjack marries a pretty young thing who happens to be a total slut, he soon becomes crazy jealous and takes it out on his innocent crew and a handsome young guy who's basically caught in the middle, and then after the lumberjack's damage is done, some serious forest justice ensues! So to me this episode isn't a particularly remarkable one but I thought some of the performances were a lot of fun and stood out in it. Michelle Johnson was great as what is really the true villain of the story, although it may not seem that way to everybody. But as you see what a heartlessly manipulative sexually-driven gal she really is, and how she doesn't give a damn about anyone but herself or who gets hurt because of the dangerous flirtatious behaviour she embarks upon in her quest to escape the dreaded boredom, by the end you really want to see the little witch punished for her ruthlessly wanton ways! And Brion James was such a tremendous hoot as the thick-necked sweaty lumberjack who gets psychotically jealous if guys so much as look at his younger wife. What a face the man had! All of his grimacing, incredulous expressions are priceless and he's a massively entertaining blast to watch in this one. He's damn scary but hilarious with it, and he's also quite charismatic and commanding in his raged-up role. He was definitely the best thing about this tale and he had presence, very sad to hear of his passing.. Billy Wirth was just okay, he really didn't stand out though. He looked good but he was boring, you can see why the guy hasn't ever had too many starring roles. He really just should stay silent and look pretty like he did in The Lost Boys! His reaction at the end when he clearly realises what he's been tricked into doing with the chainsaw is confusing, because he looks horrified for a moment but is then eager to get to work on her! Not to mention how the entire lumber crew are suddenly so thirsty for Mr Dixon'd blood, it's a very bizarre ending! This episode is good but I find it a little weak somewhere and for me it doesn't take off that much in a macabre horror kind of way, besides of course the ending. As a Tales episode it just doesn't do it for me very much, but it's better than I remembered it. Not a favourite but fun and very enjoyable, not quite strong as an OAK but certainly AOK. x
Review of Split Second
