The Checklist: Tropical Heat (S3 Ep30) “Tess”
Season 3 may have been the final season of Tropical Heat, but it was a super sized season with 36 episodes!
I randomly selected an episode from Season 3 to put to The Checklist test and landed on Episode 30, which originally aired on August 16, 1993. Cue the steel drums and lets get started…
#1. Was the cold open hot?
The show begins with Nick Slaughter (Rob Stewart) serving papers to a guy who is laying on the beach with a female companion. This proves to be no easy task as the guy stands up punches Nick and then takes off running. A young man named Robbie Burns (Joe Roncetti) who was watching the entire incident swoops in on his dirt bike and lends Nick a helping hand in making sure the guy gets served!
I should point out that Robbie reveals that Nick Slaughter is his idol. Robbie became a fan of Nick after reading about a car jacking ring that Nick helped bring down and it was then and there that Robbie decided he wanted to be Nick’s right hand man. But Nick isn’t exactly looking for a right hand man… 1/1
#2. Were there any notable guest stars?
Just a refresher, Nick Slaughter is a private detective by trade along with his business partner Sylvie Girard (Carolyn Dunn). Nick and Sylvie are in their office when Devon Madsen comes in looking to hire Nick to track down a guy who owes Devon $5,000. Devon has it on good authority that the guy in question hangs out at a bar called the Shady Lady.
Devon Madsen was played by Joe Lara of Hologram Man and Tarzan in Manhattan fame. But we will eventually find out that Devon Madsen is much more than a guy looking to hire Nick. 2/2
#3. Was there a bar fight at the Shady Lady?
A man of action like Nick Slaughter going into an establishment called the Shady Lady, this situation seems ripe for the obligatory bar fight. But it never happens… Nick and his buddy Spider Garvin (Ian Tracey) are standing at the bar when Tess Walters (Barbara Alyn Woods) bumps into Nick with a drink, spilling it on the hunky private dick. Suddenly Nick isn’t concerned with his job and is more focused on Tess and the two quickly leave the Shady Lady before a bar fight could break out. 2/3
#4. Did Nick find himself in a romantic entanglement?
Nick may not have gotten any action at the Shady Lady, but he gets some action with the shady lady named Tess as after a nice walk on the beach, the two end up back at Nick’s place where they do it on his dining room table.
Tess has officially suckered Nick into her scheme… well Tess and one of her lovers (yes, I said one of) Devon Madsen. There was no guy who owed Devon $5,000 it was just a story to get Nick to the bar so he could “bump into” Tess.
When I referred to Tess as a shady lady that was actually an understatement… Tess is a married woman, who is looking to have her husband killed so she can inherit all of his wealth. Tess has convinced Devon to pull the trigger and that the murder of her husband will be pinned on Nick Slaughter… now you may be wondering why she has an issue with Nick, well she doesn’t BUT her OTHER lover does. Oh what a tangled web we weave! 3/4
#5. Did the show end on a light hearted note?
I mentioned Robbie in Question #1 and he plays a big part in the entire episode as he trails all the key players in this episode at one time or another… he even finds himself in jail when the police catch him at the murder scene of Tess’ husband Roger Walters.
At the end of the episode Nick tells Robbie he never wants to see him again… but quickly walks that back as it appears that he may have grown a soft spot for Robbie. However I should point out with only six episodes left in the season Nick never sees Robbie again… maybe they were saving Robbie for the fourth season!? 4/5
- Final Score = 4/5 (80%) “Tess” was the perfect name for this episode since the Tess character was such a vital part of the story. Tess was smooching with everybody Nick, Devon, Snuffy, Al, Leo, Little Mo with the gimpy leg, Cheeks, Bony Bob, Cliff and her mystery lover… I was a fan of the Robbie character and wish he did have the chance of becoming a recurring character on the show… and most importantly there was some action with a car chase scene and a scene with Nick running after Tess who tries to get away in her convertible, featuring Nick jumping into the car. Those two scenes helped make up for the lack of a bar fight.
