The Checklist: Cobra (S1 Ep9) “I’d Die for You”
It has been more than five years since I last put an episode of Cobra, the short lived Michael Dudikoff action adventure series, to The Checklist test.
For those of you unfamiliar with the series, Michael Dudikoff plays Robert “Scandal” Jackson… an ex-Navy SEAL who finds himself recruited by an undercover anti-crime agency known as Cobra.
If the long layoff was not enough of a reason to show Cobra some love again, the fact that the series will be celebrating its 30th anniversary later this year certainly is. So I asked Alexa to pick me an episode at random and she selected Episode 9 from the first and only season of Cobra, titled “I’d Die for You”, which originally aired in first run syndication on November 11, 1993.
#1. Was the cold open hot?
If you consider a sensual music video shot in black and white for Mindy Lake’s hit song, “I’d Die for You” hot, then the answer is yes. In fact, this open felt like it could have been straight out of an episode of Silk Stalkings.
After getting a taste of the music video we see Mindy’s husband, Jack Beyer, on death row. Jack has been convicted of killing his wife. Jack swears he did not do it, but the court saw things differently and now he has about 24 hours to live… and that makes for one helluva hook. 1/1
#2. Does Cobra have a quality opening?
One question I did not ask in my previous Cobra Checklists was about the show’s open. It is time to give credit where credit is due, because the Cobra open is all about excitement… the open features high energy music and the star of the show, Michael Dudikoff as “Scandal” Jackson, swinging into action (literally), fighting bad guys, running for his life and driving fast! The other two series regulars, James Tolkan and Allison Hossack who play Scandal’s boss and partner in Cobra, get to share some of the Cobra opening spotlight. And I’d be remiss if I did not mention the open features an exploding helicopter! 2/2
#3. Does Michael Dudikoff’s hair look amazing?
Michael Dudikoff unquestionably has one of the best heads of hair in action entertainment history (and possibly all of human history). and it is on point in “I’d Die for You”. Even when Scandal messes his hair up to pose as a patient being admitted to a psychiatric hospital it looks damn good. Scandal is accompanied by Dallas Cassel (James Tolkan, Masters of the Universe), who is impersonating a doctor there to see a patient who they hope can help them prove that Jack Beyer is an innocent man. 3/3
#4. Were there any notable guest stars?
Speaking of people helping Scandal and Dallas on the Jack Beyer case, that brings us to this episode’s notable guest star, Eric McCormack. Most of the world knows McCormack from his work on Will & Grace… but action fanatics may know him as a semi-regular on the second season of Street Justice.
McCormack plays Blake Devaroe, the prosecutor who helped get Jack Beyer convicted, but even Blake does not want to see Beyer sentenced to death if he is innocent… or so he says. Scandal and Dallas end up finding evidence that it was Blake Devaroe that killed Mindy Lake! Blake’s involvement was covered up with some help from mob boss/record mogul Rudy Fink and an FBI agent on the take and then they pinned the murder on Jack. Diabolical!! 4/4
#5. Was there any sexual tension teased between Scandal and Danielle?
In the past I mentioned that the lack of sexual tension between Scandal and Danielle (Allison Hossack) could have been the cause of Cobra‘s early demise. You don’t want your hero and the female lead hooking up instantly, but you want to tease it and make viewers want to see it as they play the “will they or won’t they game?” in their heads.
In “I’d Die for You”, Scandal and Danielle barely share any screen time with one another… although Danielle’s heart does seem to skip a beat when she realizes Scandal really felt for Jack Beyer’s story. This is more of a Scandal and Dallas episode with Daniele serving as the support back at home base. In fact, I could ague that Tolkan’s Dallas is the star of the episode as he looks to undo something his dirty FBI partner did years ago and save Jack Beyer’s life and Scandal is his sidekick. 4/5
- Final Score = 4/5 (80%) While I have yet to watch all 22 episodes of the series, “I’d Die for You” felt different than any of the episodes that I have seen thanks to the increase in Tolkan content. I am a big James Tolkan fan (he’ll always be Detective Lubic to me) so more Tolkan was a big plus, especially Tolkan teaming up with Michael Dudikoff, the patron saint of Bulletproof Action!
