The Checklist: Street Justice (S2 Ep18) “Countdown”
There have been a number of shows that I have watched for the first time ever all in the name of content for the site. But only one of those shows has won me over to the point that I found myself binge watching it after The Checklist was published and that show is Street Justice.
It was only a matter of days after I put a randomly selected Season 1 episode of Street Justice to The Checklist test that I had binged the entire first season. I did show some restraint and stopped myself from going right into Season 2, but I knew its time was coming and that time is now.
So in keeping with Checklist tradition, I had Alexa randomly select an episode from Season 2 of Street Justice and the winner was Episode 18, titled “Countdown”…
#1. Was the cold open hot?
As “Countdown” begins, Detective Adam Beaudreaux (Carl Weathers) is dealing with a case that has fallen apart. Adam is so fired up, he doesn’t even realize that his friends, Malloy and Grady have arrived as planned to catch a movie with Adam when his tour was over. Those plans get quickly scrapped when crime boss Greg Tyson shows up with some heavily armed men and the police station is under siege! Tyson is looking for his son, who Beaudreaux arrested earlier in the day, and he plans on holding everyone hostage until he gets his son back. When Beaudreaux steps up to Tyson and tells him to give it up… Tyson shoots Beaudreaux in the chest… much to the horror of everyone, especially Malloy and Grady! I would say shooting the star of the show, presumably dead is about as hot of start as a show could get. 1/1
#2. Were there any notable guest stars?
With a hostage situation on the inside, it is no surprise that the SWAT team was called in and have set up shop outside with Lt. Stryker at the helm. Stryker was played by Bo Svenson of The Delta Force and Crackerjack 3 fame. Stryker finds himself communicating with Tyson on the inside and butting heads with Lt. Pine on the outside. Pine doesn’t want any of the cops in his precinct killed as a result of Stryker’s actions, creating added tension.
And what about the instigator of this tension, Greg Tyson? He was played by Steven Williams of L.A. Heat and 21 Jump Street fame. It was fun seeing Williams in a villainous role here and go toe to toe with Beaudreaux.
This one feels like a technicality, but Eric McCormack received guest star billing in “Countdown” as he did in all of his Season 2 appearances. McCormack joined the cast as a recurring character a few episodes into Season 2 as wisecracking Detective Eric Rothman. My guess is if Street Justice would have made it to Season 3 that McCormack would have made the switch from guest star to series regular, much like Marcus Chong’s Miguel Mendez did from Season 1 to Season 2. 2/2
#3. Is this a Die Hard themed episode?
After Beaudreaux is shot, Tyson has his men drag Beaudreaux’s carcass out of the police station bullpen and into the hallway. Which gives Beaudreaux plenty of privacy when he comes to and we find out that he was wearing a bulletproof vest and is in fact very much alive and ready to be “the fly in the ointment” for Tyson’s plans (with an unlikely partner). This includes taking out some of Tyson’s men and getting a secret message to Grady, to let him know he is still alive! 3/3
#4. Did Bryan Genesse get to show off any of his martial arts skills?
Speaking of Grady, when Beaudreaux cuts the power inside, Grady tells Tyson he is an electrician and could get the lights back on. Tyson sends one of his men to accompany Grady to the basement to fix the electricity and that’s when Grady finds his opening and springs into ass kicking action!
It isn’t long before Grady runs into Detective Rothman and Miguel Mendez who managed to find an alternative way into the police station. Once they meet up with Adam Beaudreaux we are really going to have ourselves a party! 4/4
#5. Was the mustache back?
One of the things that made me (and probably many others) do a double take while watching the first season of Street Justice was a Carl Weathers without his trademark mustache. In fact if I had to complain about anything from Season 1 it would be the distraction that was Carl Weathers sans mustache. Well don’t let the DVD cover fool you, I am happy to report that not only did Carl Weathers reprise the role of Adam Beaudreaux in Season 2 of Street Justice, he did so with his mustache. Which means Carl Weathers was at maximum power! 5/5
- Final Score = 5/5 (100%) While you can always guarantee Adam Beaudreaux is going to be heavily involved, you never know how much Grady, Miguel and Malloy are going to get to do from episode to episode, but in “Countdown” they all got to shine, plus they worked Rothman into the mix too. Throw in the Die Hard scenario and some quality guest stars and this truly was a perfect episode of Street Justice!
