The Checklist: L.A. Heat (S1 Ep10) “Rap Sheet”
If you are a frequent visitor to this site, first off let me say thank you, second there’s a good chance you are aware of my love for all things PM Entertainment. I speak from experience when I say the best way to get a quick fix of PM Entertainment in your life is to check out an episode of the television series they produced from 1996 to 1999, L.A. Heat.
Recently I had a hankering for some PM Entertainment and I selected a random episode of L.A. Heat to fulfill that need. And since I was watching anyway, I figured why not put this randomly selected episode of L.A. Heat to The Checklist test…
- Synopsis: August and Chase are assigned to protect a rapper who is framed for the murder of a gang member, all while trying to figure out who the real killer is.
#1. Was the cold open hot?
The episode starts off with Detective Chase McDonald (Wolf Larson, Picasso Trigger) and his girlfriend Jodi as they are about to go pick up Jodi’s parents at the bus station… this is a big step in Chase and Jodi’s relationship… but even when he’s not on duty, Chase McDonald is on duty. Chase spots what appears to be a bank robbery across the street, he tells Jodi to head to the bus station and that he’ll meet her there.
At this point, Chase spots the wheelman and ends up taking his place in the car… so when bank robber Roy shows up… he’s in for quiet a surprise. And both men are in for quite a ride as Roy holds a gun to Chase’s head while Chase drives erratically all over the streets of L.A. The ride ends when Chase manages to flip the car right in front of the bus station… that’s a helluva first impression and helluva cold open. Cue the saxophone heavy theme song… 1/1
#2. Were there any notable guest stars?
The notable guest stars are dropped one right after the other on this episode… first we see Ted Lange (aka Isaac the Bartender from The Love Boat) as I’ve never seen him before. Lange played Frank Millan a ruthless music mogul type who has a radical idea to revitalize the career of a rapper known as A.K. Frank wants A.K. to regain some of his street cred, so he drops him off on the turf of the crew that A.K. used to run with back in the day, the Bulldog Crips. Accompanying A.K. is Frank Millan’s muscle played by an eye patch wearing Tommy “Tiny” Lister Jr. (aka Zeus from No Holds Barred).
The leader of the Bulldog Crips was Cage played by none other than Ice-T (Surviving the Game)… an episode titled “Rap Sheet” with a rap storyline and an actual rapper guest starring… PM Entertainment, you magnificent bastards! 2/2
#3. Did the episode use recycled PM Entertainment footage?
The morning after A.K.’s trip to the old neighborhood, Chase and his partner August Brooks (Steven Williams, The Elite) are investigating the murder of a member of the Bulldog Crips… the body had the lyrics of an A.K. song pinned to it… making A.K. a person of interest and a media frenzy ensues.
When August and Chase go to question A.K., they are all almost killed drive by style. At that point Captain Jensen (Kenneth Tigar, Riot) assigns August and Chase to protect A.K. until further notice.
When another attempt is made on A.K.’s life, Chase chases after the gunman, who hops in a black Corvette, leading to Chase hopping in a red Corvette and we get some classic PM Entertainment vehicular mayhem… literally classic PM Entertainment because the footage of the Corvette chase comes directly from 1995’s Last Man Standing starring Jeff Wincott. 3/3
#4. Was the episode directed by a PM Entertainment alumnus?
17% of all L.A. Heat episodes were directed by Richard Pepin (one of the founders of PM Entertainment), but occasionally a PM star would get a chance to step behind the camera and “Rap Sheet” was one such occasion.
“Rap Sheet” was directed by none other than Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs… who starred in several PM Entertainment films over the years, including the movie version of L.A. Heat. An interesting side note, LHJ was reunited with Marcia Strassman, who played Jodi’s mom Martha in “Rap Sheet”. Strassman played Mr. Kotter’s wife Julie Kotter on Welcome Back, Kotter… the very sitcom where LHJ became famous playing Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington. 4/4
#5. Did the show end on a light hearted note?
There were quite a few light hearted moments sprinkled through out this episode, most involving Jodi’s “fish out of water” parents from Minnesota. Jodi’s dad Bob even finds himself getting involved in the action at one point as Chase and August get closer to cracking the case and find out who the real murderer was. But the show ends on the lightest of the light hearted moments when A.K. decides his new friends Bob and Martha aren’t going to return to Minnesota on a bus… instead he gifts them a low rider and as they pull away, Martha can’t help but make her new ride bounce. 5/5
- Final Score = 5/5 (100%) Another great episode of L.A. Heat …it had everything I would expect from a PM Entertainment production and more. My only minor complaint was the lack of Ice-T music, but we did get an unexpected scene of Steven Williams crooning, so that more than made up for it.
