The Checklist: L.A. Heat (S2 Ep1) “Fangs”
With Halloween just one week away, I didn’t just want to present another edition of The Checklist, I wanted to present a Spooktacular edition of The Checklist! So I went on a quest to find a potentially spooky episode of an action TV classic and that’s when I found the Season 2 premiere of L.A. Heat, titled “Fangs”. With a title like that, this episode certainly had spooky potential, even if it did originally air on April 20, 1999… well outside of “spooky season”.
#1. Was the cold open hot?
The episode begins with Chase McDonald (Wolf Larson, Expect No Mercy) running on the beach showing off his lean physique and it is clear he is seriously distracted. What was distracting Chase? The very attractive blonde that was coming in from surfing, followed by her peeling off her wetsuit. Chase is so distracted that he does not spot the older gentleman walking from the opposite direction, who was also distracted by the buxom blonde. Chase ends up knocking the man down and that’s when he learns the woman is actually a doctor, Dr. Samantha Morecroft… what he won’t find out until a bit later in the episode is that Morecroft is the LAPD’s newest medical examiner! Some would consider this eye candy filled open more steamy than hot, but I say it still gets the point. 1/1
#2. How spooky was it?
“Fangs” had a whole lotta spooky going on! Eerie music, a full moon and a murder victim with bite marks on her neck and her body drained of its blood. And get this, there was even an eyewitness who saw a possible suspect all dressed in black, with a pale complexion and FANGS!! Throw in some gothic lifestyle enthusiasts and their blood drinking ceremonies (even if it’s really just tomato juice) and some of the events of this episode even take place on Friday the 13th! 2/2
#3. Was there any vehicular mayhem?
PM Entertainment productions are well known for their car chases… to add to the spooky theme, the first car chase (in classic PM fashion there was more than one car chase in this episode), the fleeing murder suspects gets away in his HEARSE, with several cop car casualties along the way!
When Chase and Gus (Steven Williams, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning) finally catch up with the hearse, the driver is gone and when they check out a nearby building, our two LAPD detectives find a whole room full of goths at the aforementioned blood drinking ceremony. 3/3
#4. Were there any notable guest stars?
I have mentioned the murder suspect in the last two questions, it is time to reveal his identity to you… Eric Sommers was the man in black with the pale complexion and the fangs. Sommers was played by Paul Logan, who certainly qualifies as a notable guest star from his work in such movies as The Horde, Code Red and Return to Savage Beach.
Logan’s action movie experience, made him a formidable foe for Chase and Gus and I have to say Logan also made for a good vampire (even if his teeth were dentist made). 4/4
#5. Did the episode have a light-hearted ending?
There is a thread that runs through the entire episode involving Captain Jensen (Kenneth Tigar, Riot). The Captain is dreading getting one year older and is falling into a depression. The episode ends with a birthday party for the Captain at the precinct, a birthday party it looks like Captain Jensen isn’t going to attend… that is until he shows up with a beautiful woman on his arm and a smile from ear to ear. 5/5
- Final Score = 5/5 (100%) “Fangs” was exactly what I was hoping it would be in terms of Spooktacular content which was a nice treat. And there were no tricks either, since “Fangs” also delivered on all the tropes PM Entertainment was known for extending L.A. Heat‘s Checklist hot streak with another perfect score!
