mateur Night
mateur Night
A drive-by shooting could ignite a gang war, but Schanke's got stars in his eyes moonlighting on a movie set. Then the star of the movie steps right into the killer's path. Will Nick and Schanke find the renegade killer before this movie star is history?
I didn't find the flashback to be terribly convincing. Ok, so if Nick hadn't rushed into the alleyway, the officer wouldn't have died, but the two criminals wouldn't have been caught, either. And if the officer hadn't blindly rushed into the alley, he wouldn't have died, and the situation would have been just fine. True, if Nick weren't a vampire, he would have died -- but that's been true many, many times before.
So there's this actress named Alix Logan (played by Laurie Paton) riding around with Nick and Schanke. Nevermind that she films during the day, and that they're on the night shift. Somehow, she manages to convince everyone that she should be able to do whatever she wants. After the gun fight/car chase scene (where she seems thrilled, rather than terrified), when even Schanke thinks she's an annoying liability out in the field, nobody tells her to get lost.
The episode is aptly named, as they all seem to be amateurs in some respect. Schanke is tricked by Alix into letting her ride along. Nick lets Schanke talk him into letting her come along, against his better judgement. The mayor is convinced (again, by Alix) to let her hang out at the precinct. Alix herself is revealed as an amateur after she causes the death of Keys, Schanke's informant. Even the street gangs seem to have been baffled about who the drive-by killer was. And at the end, Schanke is an amateur in a different role -- as an actor.
But Schanke really pulls it together in the middle of the show. After Keys is killed, he gives an eloquent speech about how harsh police work can be. He kindly tells Alix to get lost. And at the final confrontation, he puts his gun away and talks this crazed, armed gang member into submission. An astonishing bit of work when compared to the buffoon we usually see.
So even though this episode wasn't especially great, it's worth seeing just to watch Schanke.
Episode rating (0 to 10): 5
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