The Checklist: L.A. Heat (S2 Ep16) “Bad Reputation”
Over the past year and half, I have slowly but surely sampled episodes from the first season of the PM Entertainment series L.A. Heat, even putting some of the episodes to The Checklist test along the way. But in this edition of The Checklist, I thought I would push forward and put an episode from season two of L.A. Heat to The Checklist test.
So as I often do, I asked Alexa to pick a random number, this time between 1 and 22, and she gave me sweet 16…
- Synopsis: Detectives Chase McDonald (Wolf Larson) and August Brooks (Steven Williams) must work with Captain Gettys of the Army C.I.D. (Criminal Investigation Department for those in the know) to track down a C.I.D. officer who has been accused of selling arms on the black market and may have added the murder of two Army personnel to her list of crimes.
#1. Was the cold open hot?
The show opens with Chase and August on their lunch break sitting in their car that is parked outside a bank engaging in some witty repartee. Doesn’t sound like that hot of a start does it? Well, the masked robbers that flee the bank heat things up and things get even hotter when Chase and August find themselves in hot pursuit. The chase ends when the getaway van flips over in spectacular PM Entertainment fashion. 1/1
#2. Were there any notable guest stars?
Major Lauren Wiley is the prime suspect in the murder of the two Army personnel… at least according to Captain Gettys… but that is all Chase and August have to go on. Wiley was played by Alison Armitage of Acapulco H.E.A.T. fame. Once Chase and August get Wiley in custody she tells them a much different story and reveals it is actually Gettys who has stolen some missiles that will be used to eliminate a high ranking official from Mexico who is set to arrive in Los Angeles later that day.
To add another wrinkle to this storyline it turns out that Lauren Wiley and Chase McDonald were college sweethearts and Lauren was Chase’s first true love. This gives August plenty of opportunity to bust Chase’s balls. 2/2
#3. Was this a Bobby Cole episode?
My research told me that Gary Hudson played Bobby Cole in 5 episodes beginning with Episode 5 of Season 2. Cole is a drug kingpin who presents himself as a legitimate business man and thanks to high priced lawyers always manages to stay out of jail. Hudson is no stranger to to the world of action entertainment having had roles in movies like Road House, Martial Law, Wild Cactus and The Force.
In “Bad Reputation” Cole in cahoots with Captain Gettys in the plot to murder the aforementioned high ranking official from Mexico. 3/3
#4. Did the episode use recycled PM Entertainment footage?
The spectacular rooftop helicopter stunt and big fall seen in this episode was repurposed footage from the PM Entertainment Christmas action classic, Riot starring Gary Daniels and Sugar Ray Leonard. 4/4
#5. Did the show end on a light hearted note?
August and Chase may not have been able to bust Bobby Cole and his plot to kill a high ranking Mexican official, but when all three find themselves at a charity event, August uses Bobby’s words against him and as a result Bobby is out 100 grand… I guess he really is a philanthropist. 5/5
- Final Score = 5/5 (100%) This was another home run episode of L.A. Heat, featuring all the PM Entertainment hallmarks… The fact that the series was able to pull from an amazing library of stock footage to up the action like no other basic cable series could at the time was huge. Combine that with two likable leads and the fact that I will never be upset with more Alison Armitage on my TV and “Bad Reputation” more than deserves a perfect score.