The Checklist: T and T (S1 Ep12) “The Silver Angel”
I do not remember watching T and T when it originally aired. It was a Canadian television series, and if it was sold into syndication in the States, it did not air in my television market. Fortunately, Tubi has the show available to stream, and since I’m a huge Mr. T fan, I jumped at the opportunity to randomly select an episode and put it to The Checklist test.
Before I get to my Checklist, I would like to remind you that T and T is about a boxer, T.S. Turner (Mr. T) who was framed for murder. A beautiful young attorney, Amanda Teller (Alexandra Amini) takes his case and he is found innocent of all charges. T.S. Turner now works for Amanda Teller as a private investigator. Together they are T and T, and in each episode, they work together to help people in trouble.
- Synopsis: The Silver Angel finds T and T defending an elderly man arrested for stealing food from a grocery store. This “vigilante” wears a silver angel costume, while driving an angel truck with wings. Could Mr. Duffy, a feeble crossing guard, really be the dastardly devil known as the Silver Angel?
#1. Were there any notable guest stars?
T.S. just happens to have a nephew in need of a little bit of cardio exercise. Dick Decker (David Nerman) agrees to train T.S.’s nephew and his friends. This trio is none other than The Fat Boys! Yes! Buffy, Kool Rock and Markie Dee are all in this episode. Darren Robinson aka Buffy passed away many years ago and just a couple of days ago, we lost Mark Morales aka Markie Dee. It was bitter sweet watching The Fat Boys. However, I couldn’t help but smile, because The Fat Boys have brought nothing but joy to millions of people throughout the years. Fear not, if you like to hear The Fat Boys rap, you will not be disappointed. 1/1
#2. Is this a Decker in the gym episode?
Dick Decker might be the most vanilla character I’ve ever seen in a television show. He has no clue what rap music is. He calls it talking music or something like that. At first, he tries to encourage The Fat Boys to train hard. He does come around, and by the end of the episode, he’s spitting his own raps. The big question is: Will Decker ever be featured in scenes outside the gym? With T and T only running around 23 minutes an episode, it is shocking the amount of screen time Decker gets. I’m guessing T.S. (The former boxer) shows up to the gym in each episode to talk things over with Decker. You could say these scenes in the gym are a good way to get the viewer caught up with plot of the episode. 2/2
#3. Does T.S. wear any cool jewelry, use any awesome catchphrases or by some miracle, do we learn what T.S. stands for?
The opening to each episode tells how T.S. went from the jailhouse to wearing a suit and bow tie. It is odd seeing Mr. T without his patented gold chain. He also doesn’t say “I pity the fool”. He calls someone “brother” once, but I’m not counting that. I also have no clue what T.S. stands for. It could be Toucan Sam for all I know. T.S.’s job as a private investigator is to pretty much intimidate the bad guys into telling him information helpful to the case of the week. However, none of this takes away from Mr. T’s dynamic natural screen charisma. 2/3
#4. Is there anything in the episode that left me speechless?
I doubt T and T won any awards for outstanding acting. The show is corny as hell. But, how often do you get to see The Fat Boys running around a grocery store dressed up as silver angels? You’re going to find out Mr. Duffy is indeed the Silver Angel. He’s guilty as sin. But, Mr. Duffy is stealing food from a grocery store to give to a priest that’s probably running an orphanage or something like that. The Silver Angel is not a vigilante, but a modern day Robin Hood. The bad guy in the episode turns out to be the snooty grocery store manager. None of this should spoil the episode for you. The grocery store manager ends up dropping all charges and even gives Mr. Duffy a job. I can’t make this up, and of course, I was left speechless watching The Fat Boys act all crazy in angel costumes in the hilarious finale at the grocery store. 3/4
#5. Was justice served?
T and T’s theme is to help the ones who need help the most. Amanda Teller does care about her almost flawless trial record, but I believe she is even more concerned with helping those in need. T.S. Turner is definitely glad to be out of prison, and I believe he genuinely enjoys working as a private investigator. At the end of the day, this episode is one in the book for the good guys. Everyone in Canada comes together at the end of the episode for a The Fat Boys rap and dance off. If that isn’t justice, I don’t know what is. 4/5
- Final Score = 4/5 (80%) I have a sneaking suspicion this is one of the better episodes of T and T. With guest stars like The Fat Boys and a plot involving an elderly Robin Hood, I can’t see how T and T could possibly top this.
Side note: This is episode 12 of Season 1, but IMDb mistakenly lists it as episode 7.
