@HawkMan47 said:

Not a bad episode at all. The " Devil" Dog idea would later resurface in The Omen. The problem generally with this show is presenting these horror tropes in a procedural law enforcement show. The finale lacks a creepy embodiment of evil feeling , there's a lot of good stuff here, but it just doesn't fit together properly. There's a wonderful show here trying to get out but just not managing it. Miss Emily has turned up, which was cool, and McGavin was great as usual I'll give this 8/10

The Devil's Platform

It's good to see a villain that's human for a change, even if said  villain does spend most of his of time running around on all fours.

It's election time, and Chicago is finding Senate hopeful Robert Palmer simply irresistible.   It doesn't hurt that his opponents are dropping like flies.  His allies too - Kolchak is in the right place at the right time to witness a tragic elevator failure that kills a carload of people that included one Stephen Wald,  a disillusioned campaign member that was about to disclose some damaging material on Palmer.  The only survivor is a big black dog Carl manages to photograph.  The dog runs away, with Carl accidentally snagging a pendant it was wearing.  We the audience know that Palmer got into the elevator - he wasn't in it when it hit the basement. 

For once Vincenzo is supportive of a story Kolchak is following, provided it's solidly based in evidence.  It's a good, down-to-earth story of political corruption.  It does have an irritating drawback, as Kolchak insists on obsessing over that dog.  The damned thing keeps showing up.  It attacks Carl when he drops in on the Palmer estate hoping for an interview (bites a hole in Kolchak's pocket and takes back the pendant), and is seen by police ripping apart Wald's secretary who had a briefcase full of blackmail material on Palmer.  Off the record?  The police shot six rounds into that dog at close range, and it just stood there staring at them like it enjoyed it.  Meanwhile, the dog has disappeared from Kolchak's photo.  The dog has five toes per paw, which Updyke informs him is impossible.

I've been complaining that the writing of the episodes has been venturing into camp, which can be either amusing or painful, and threatens my suspension of disbelief.  Light comic relief is one thing, and it works if it rises organically from the characters and situations.  It's quite another if it becomes outright comedy that relies on caricatures or too-clever byplay.  Firefall was the show done right, IMO,   with well-rounded characters, a clever plot that doesn't take a predictable path, and humor that's organic.  TDP has another smart script well-directed, though not up to the level of Firefall - it's never particularly scary, nor does it surprise or misdirect.  We know what's going on well ahead of Kolchak, where it would have been more rewarding to discover the secrets of the case with him.  all the same, it's a nicely urbane piece with good character writing.  Vincenzo is less bellicose and more the model of an editor with a head for a good story ethically presented.  Updyke and Kolchak play their scenes less like high school rivals and more like realistic colleagues; they  trades shots at each other but not so maliciously that they can't share office space together.  Ruth McDevitt as Edith Cowles finally clicks into place, revealed as the advice columnist "Miss Emily" who was much alluded to but not seen in 'The Ripper'.  She's a pleasant sort, always wanting to do nice turns for her fellow office workers like buying them gifts when she's out of town.  She brings Carl a nice hat.  It's...not a Kolchak hat.  But it's a nice hat.

In the course of covering the story Carl meets a doctor who tries to brush him off, and doesn't reveal much, but the exchange is notable for a couple of reasons.  One, the dialog is terse and sharp without being bombastic.  In fact, this episode is entirely devoid of the usual antagonism between Kolchak and the  authority-of-the-week (there isn't a foil at all this week), which is a welcome change.  The doctor is mistrustful, secretive, abrasive, but also reasonable.  Also a female authority figure, with no fuss made about it, in a show that's been spotty on it's presentation of women.

Then there's our villain, Palmer, coolly played by now-veteran Tom Skerritt in an  early role.  He's an icy one, married to an equally icy woman unruffled in public but unhappy in private.  Her breezy rebuffs of Kolchak's efforts made me want to see more of her. (Kolchak: "What's it like, living with Bob?"  "He's perfect."  "I wish I were."  "So do I.  Goodnight.")  That doesn't happen, but with an economy of scenes we learn that privately she is left cold from her husband's pursuit of power and uncomfortable with his secrets.  We get the sense he's not the same man anymore.  He's certainly not a man who would hesitate to turn on her.  It's not a lot of development but it's more than the standard monster on TNS gets. 

Everything falls into place for Kolchak a mere ten minutes or less from the closing credits when an info packet on Palmer lands on his desk.  The candidate is seen in one photo wearing the same pendant that the dog sports: a pentacle in a circle.  Kolchak scours the libraries for books on Satanism.  He also reaches for Ms. Cowles' souvenir bottle of holy water. 

There's a nice sequence herein involving the INS darkroom.  A solid minute and forty seconds are spent developing a blowup of Palmer to see the medallion, and developing tension.  No  coincidence that the scene is dark, lit entirely in red.  Yes, that's standard for a darkroom but it also plays on the nerves and sets a mood.  Normally we should have  had Monique doing the work for him, with half a minute of banter serving as exposition.  We know what the scene is leading to, and utilizing Monique would have cut to the chase...but that would have lent the scene an entirely different flavor, useless to the episode.  Instead the director takes three times as long and establishes a mood of dread before the inevitable confrontation.

Kolchak sneaks into the Palmer household that evening and finds Robert in his basement preparing a ritual.  Palmer knows he's there and calmly calls him forth.  Skerritt underplays the scene beautifully, no histrionics or boasting an all the more threatening for his supreme confidence.  He makes Kolchak an offer: he could become the evening's blood sacrifice or he could see his life's ambitions to fruition by becoming a servant and acolyte.  Palmer's going to the top, President, and he'll need allies in the press - people to squelch honest  reporting and be a conduit for his lies.  That's how tyrants work, history shows.  Sad I need to reiterate that, but in 2017 the lesson is still timely. That's not a matter of right or left, it's a matter of democracy and freedom.  I know people on both sides of the aisle who are alarmed.  Devalue a free press, and slide into tyranny. 

"The offer expires almost immediately."  Skerritt gets a monologue that includes an  insightful passage about Kolchak himself.  "You're a good reporter.  Not a great one, you have character flaws that are going to keep total success from your grasp, but you are nonetheless a very good reporter.  You would like more than anything to have the Pulitzer Prize.  Though publicly you scorn the very concept of awards, you would like more than anything else to get to New York and work on a major daily paper.  You would even like a suede-backed chair at your desk.  Not leather, suede.  Such small ambitions, really.  Your editor is Anthony Vincenzo, he frustrates you terribly...you blame him for your problems but you know that you yourself are responsible for most of them. Mr. Kolchak, all those stumbling blocks can be very easily put aside.  You can have as little as you want and much more, starting tonight."

This is the crux of the threat.  Words, carefully chosen and backed up by demonstrated power.  The threat lies in a moral choice.  This again is an important change from the usual baited chase and trap, to the story's benefit.  We're never in doubt what Kolchak will choose, but we can feel how palpable the temptation for him. At the episode's start Kolchak laments that politicians seem "fearless, independent, and energetic" rather than "like the rest of us: timid, insecure, and lazy". Now Palmer is telling Kolchak that Palmer was just like him and did something about it. We've never seen a conundrum hit so close to home for Kolchak before.   Rightfully, he never voices his reason for the choice he makes - be it simplistic or complex, fueled by morals, personal integrity, or just stark terror at consigning his soul to darkness. 

I will give it 9 nice hats.  In spite of it's lack of scares, it's a good story.

Asides: a bartender is played by Stanley Adams, Tribble-trader Cyrano Jones of Star Trek.

The juxtaposition of politics and Satan is not a new one, but The Devil's Platform looks forward to The Omen (which also has scenes involving scary dogs) just a couple of years down the road.  It's sequel, Damien: Omen II, even features a demise by crashing elevator.  Omen III: The Final Conflict has a nice turn by Sam Neill as the Antichrist that might have been inspired by Skerritt's unruffled quietude in TDP - they look not dissimilar to each other. 

Politics is a fertile ground for stories which feature the dark side of the human soul. It’s not hard to think that that politician you particularly don’t like may just as well have made a deal with the devil. The funny thing is that, even though in fiction we would all agree Palmer is the evil one, in reality things are not that clear, and people may have a totally idea views of who the real anti-Christ is.

The episode also touched on the subject of the Press as a necessary tool for an evil politician. I think this is a timely subject. Lately I have been appalled at how unprofessional and partial the Press can be while, at the same time, trying to project a disinterested image. And the line between reporting and editorializing is blurrier than ever. But, back to the episode itself, we all knew Kolchak wouldn’t surrender to the devil’s siren song, right?

Another interesting aspect is that it is not unusual to use animals to symbolize evil, particularly if they are black. (Poor creatures!) Black dog: hell hound. Black cat: witch’s familiar. Black horse: Zorro’s horse. (OK, that’s actually a good thing.) I for one don’t share this view, so the metaphor is lost on me. But this episode uses this trope effectively, with an “inhuman” creature representing an inhuman entity.

As usual, the episode has great, but unrealized potential. It wouldn’t hurt the story to give the villain a little more depth, as the little I saw I liked. He was calm, composed and sinister. It would be great to know more about his motivations and trajectory.

This episode could have worked much better with a few alterations. First, don’t mention the devil in the title. Let the viewer find out it’s about the devil when watching the episode. So, the title could’ve said something about politics and evil. Second, the packet with pictures of Palmer that Kolchak received appeared in the story too conveniently. They way he got it should’ve been explained in his investigations. Third, Kolchak should have made the assumption was using witchcraft; the fact the devil himself was involved should’ve been the final surprise. Fourth, Kolchak, and the audience, should have learned everything (including the deal with the devil) in the final confrontation, not before.

I’m not sure I get the ending. Palmer tries to seduce Kolchak into embracing “the dark side of the Force,” Kolchak timidly refuses, they have a little fight and Kolchak runs away. Then, coming from a totally different way, we see the dog. So, did Palmer-the-dog also have teleportation powers?

Anyway, Kolchak starts throwing at the dog whatever he can get his hands on, in this case, the bottle of holy water, which falls to the floor and breaks, spilling the sacred H20 solution. Then he struggles with the dog and accidentally yanks his pentagrammic dog tag, and, apparently by instinct, threw it away, which fell right on top of the holy puddle. And the evil symbol was dissolved. In other words, Kolchak only got the upper hand in his conflict with the dog because of sheer dumb luck.

As a consequence, the dog became this sweet and docile puppy, and we could see in the dog actor’s eyes his anguish to play an evil role and his relief of ending it. OK, here’s what I don’t get. Did Palmer actually turn into a dog? How come the dog came from another room? Then he became a good dog without the evil dog tag? Was Palmer doomed to spend the rest of his days as a canine? (Well, Kolchak did mention in his recorded notes that he hopes Palmer’s wife had a dog to lick her hands or something.)

The “Devil’s Platform” had some excellent points, but was also seriously underdeveloped in others. Still, for a Kolchak episode, the positive aspects prevail. This episode gets 8 typical people’s candidates: timid, insecure and lazy.

Politics enters into the Kolchak zone this week as does the Devil, though he is never seen. Instead we have an up-and-coming Senate candidate named Robert Palmer whose success is due to his selling his soul to Satan. This is a different kind of story, more of a news investigation that Vincenzo is almost ready to approve of, except that this involves a sinister, unkillable, murdering dog. Political scandal usually sells, complains Tony, but why does yours have to have a dog in it?

At first, Carl is just dispatched to watch the senate candidate at work, but the candidate is instead trying to take out his campaign manager, who’s gotten wind about Palmer’s past sins and wants no part of him anymore. They travel down an elevator full of people only to have it crash, killing everyone aboard except a sinister dog, who jumps out and attacks Carl after he gets some pictures of it. He develops them on his own (as Monique is gone now) but before he can show the photo to Tony, the dog has vanished from it. So for once, Kolchak gets a good photo – but then it is altered by devilish interference. Carl is then supposed to cover a debate with Palmer and his opponent only to find that Palmer is a no-show. He is actually that fierce dog who is stalking Carl because he grabbed an amulet from around its collar preventing him from changing back to his human form. He eventually recovers it from Carl ripping it from his pocket and then returning to human form acting as if nothing happened.

Miss Emily – aka the lady who complained about her evil neighbor the Ripper, aka “Edith” “Cowels”, the riddle lady, now Emily Cowles - returns, from Italy that is. It’s a nice scene where she gives everyone gifts from her vacation, including dietetic pasta for Tony and a new hat for Kolchak. It’s a nice hat, but Carl prefers his own straw one. Vincenzo complains later to Kolchak that he got that nice hat from Emily but insists on wearing “that eyesore”. This leads to the episode’s funniest exchange.

Carl: What don’t you like about my hat? Tony: What’s under it.

Once again, a stellar cast: Tom Skeritt is the devil-assisted Senatorial candidate. Funny thing is, when I first watched this I already knew him – from an episode of TIME TUNNEL where he was the second banana of a pair of brothers, but nevertheless had a powerful moment at the show’s end. Later, he would go on to fame with ALIEN and PICKET FENCES for which he won an Emmy. At this stage, he was a rising star but still unknown. He’s effectively evil, but the role isn’t as colorful as it might have been – aka we don’t get to see that charming side that the regular populace must have seen. Julie Gregg has a small role as his secretary/former lover who still has the campaign manager’s dossier of evil on him. When I was watching the BATMAN series a few years back on METV, I found her to be the best moll of any villain – (in her case, it was the Penguin). She wasn’t a looker as some were, but she put so much extra effort and exuberance into her character that she made her much likable and sexier than most of the others. Here, even in a small part, you can see that she used to believe in the Palmer character but is now conflicted about him. And lovely Ellen Weston is Palmer’s charmless wife – well, charmless to Kolchak at least. She tries to talk her husband into backing out of the deal, but he reminds her it’s not like cancelling lunch with her mother.

Those are the main characters, but even the smaller roles have some familiar faces – there’s Stanley Adams playing the bartender – he’s a comic gem. And Jeanne Cooper is playing a doctor explaining why the Julie Gregg character died. She’s been on everything from TWILIGHT ZONE to THE MAN FROM UNCLE. They have a nice exchange where she tries to tell him he wouldn’t understand her medical explanation, and he spins it around on her to say she doesn’t understand how reporting works. Palmer’s opponent is played by John Myhers, one of those familiar faces you don’t really associate with any one role. Thankfully, there’s no police bigwig fighting against Carl this week – just a couple of beat cops reluctant to share their stories with the reporter because they find it hard to believe themselves.

The finale finds Kolchak confronting the candidate in his Black Mass style secret room. Fortunately, he had taken Emily’s holy water blessed by the Pope with him which he tosses the amulet into causing it to melt and leave the candidate permanently stuck in the dog’s body with all his fierceness removed. Mr. K reports that the candidate was never seen again and his wife later vanished as well. He adds he hopes she has a friendly dog to keep her company wherever she is. And of course, he notes that Tony tossed his story in the trash.

The story is well-paced, more plausible than most, and very well acted - well worth a 9. Usually, I like to have something extra to boost the story to a 10. I’m getting used to great casting on this show, so that’s not sufficient anymore. But this episode does have something extra. When Carl confronts Palmer, the candidate tries to get Kolchak to sign his soul away. He tells us secrets the Devil has revealed to him about the reporter – though he scoffs at awards, he secretly years to win a Pulitzer Prize. And he also wants to work for a big newspaper, with his own desk and a suede-backed chair. As he tells Carl this, you can see the emotion in Kolchak’s eyes as he tries to feign that it doesn’t matter but that deep down he realizes that’s what he really wants. Funny that I never really remembered that scene in earlier viewings, but it really struck me here – it tells us more about the character, and makes him a little more poignant knowing he’ll likely never fulfill his dream. Thankfully, he knows keeping his soul outweighs sating his desires! And so I award this episode 4 packs of artichoke pasta, 3 fancy new hats, 2 vials of Holy Water, and 1 more alias for Ruth McDevitt for a total of 10.

Random thoughts: I don’t normally read any other postings before I complete my review, but I did read mad-pac’s plot description and saw that he predicted this would be one of my favorite episodes (for obvious reasons). Well, he was right.

The footage of the fatal car explosion at the beginning is popular stock footage that I’ve seen at least twice on the original HAWAII FIVE-O and once on MANNIX, and other shows I’m sure. I think that boat explosion was also used on HFO in “Why Wait for Uncle Kevin to Die?” where it was also part of a montage of victims.

Updyke has a funny line where he sees Carl looking at a book on dogs and asks, “The Kolchak family album?”

One disappointing exchange is when Carl and Emily both descend on Tony with Carl trying to describe that the candidate sold his soul and Emily complaining about the elevator not working. I expected some sort of payoff with him confusing the stories, but essentially he just ignores them both.

This week’s story had one person doing the teleplay and another credited for the story. That’s why I think there were a lot more crisp, funny lines this week – the above exchange notwithstanding.

(Been a bit late this week, worked over the weekend)

The Faustian deal has been done many places before and since, but it always an interesting concept. What would you give up to get what you want? For Senatorial hopeful Robert Palmer (not the one addicted to love), this meant a rise in politics from what he declares late in the episode was a zero. We never find out the cost of this bargain, I assume it's his immortal soul but perhaps the coldness that is hinted at by his wife is a sign that he has given up some of his humanity.

Tom Skerritt is very good, if sparingly used in the role. He only gets to really shine at the end. He is charming but cold and is an interesting enemy for Kolchak. He is the first truly human "monster" able to reason his position and not just a mute boogeyman to excise or destroy.

Palmer's changing into or projecting a vicious dog is an effective way to give him a dangerous side but maintain his humanity. It also leads to the early mystery of where he went in the elevator. It is also scary that he can influence events, such as causing the elevator crash or with Susan Driscoll's drip.

In regards to Dr. Kline, I know medicine has changed since the 70's but a young patient dying of a stroke after a dog attack would to me be at least unexpected. Her explanation is also one of those stick medical terms together situations which don't make much sense.

"Miss Driscoll died on haemolysis (breakdown of blood cells), cerebral vascular blockage (blockage of blood vessels supplying the brain, usually by a clot)." From what we saw it looked like Palmer caused a lot of bubbling in the IV, that could (in the right circumstances) lead to a "blockage" known as an air embolism. It's not the actresses fault, she was pretty good in her role and it doesn't have any real bearing on the story.

Kolchak is solid as always this week. This time he is on scene at the event from the beginning so he is onto the dog. The fact that all these figures associated with Palmer keep dying is clearly a juicy story.

Jeff Larsen -

For once Vincenzo is supportive of a story Kolchak is following, provided it's solidly based in evidence. It's a good, down-to-earth story of political corruption. It does have an irritating drawback, as Kolchak insists on obsessing over that dog.

I can imagine Vincenzo's increasing blood pressure as what seems like a good story is being ruined by the dog angle. I wonder how many times while reading Kolchak's reports he prepares himself for when the story will go "strange" thinking "here we go again!".

Overall this was an enjoyable episode, not as good as last week but solid Kolchak 7 votes for Palmer (David not Robert) out of 10

@cloister56 said:

Overall this was an enjoyable episode, not as good as last week but solid Kolchak 7 votes for Palmer (David not Robert) out of 10

Oh yeah? Then I'll vote for Palmer (Wayne, not David).

I'll vote for Dave (Kevin Kline).

@Simian Jack said:

I'll vote for Dave (Kevin Kline).

But he's not a Palmer. Sorry, only Palmers are running.

@Simian Jack said:

I'll vote for Dave (Kevin Kline)

He's an independent that one, not part of the Repalmians or the Demopalms, he doesn't stand a chance.

@mad-pac said:

Oh yeah? Then I'll vote for Palmer (Wayne, not David).

Urgh Wayne??? I think I would have preferred Charles Logan

@cloister56 said:

@Simian Jack said:

I'll vote for Dave (Kevin Kline)

He's an independent that one, not part of the Repalmians or the Demopalms, he doesn't stand a chance.

@mad-pac said:

Oh yeah? Then I'll vote for Palmer (Wayne, not David).

Urgh Wayne??? I think I would have preferred Charles Logan

That "Urgh" is unwarranted. Wayne had a heroic death, giving his life for his country.

"Wayne suffered significant brain damage as a result of an attempted assassination carried out by Reed Pollock and Bruce Carson, and spent several hours in surgery. To prevent Vice President Noah Daniels from taking premature action against the Middle East, Sandra and National Security Advisor Karen Hayes convinced the President's doctors to bring Wayne back to consciousness so that he could resume his duties. However, Wayne only served for a few more hours before suffering a hemorrhage and falling into a coma, which he had not woken from by the end of Day 6. At some point after Day 6, Palmer succumbed to his wounds and died. "

And Charles Logan was a crook!

Beholden to a highly secretive corporate cabal inside BXJ Technologies, President Logan sponsored the Sentox nerve gas conspiracy with the intent to acquire more oil for America from Central Asia. Among the actions he supported was the selling of Sentox nerve gas to terrorists and the assassination of David Palmer, the former president. When former CTU agent Jack Bauer discovered and neutralized Logan's lower-level conspirators during Day 5, the President himself took the reins and attempted to direct the entire apparatus of the government and the military to cover up his crimes.

@mad-pac I never really took to Wayne. He may have died a heroic death but he felt like an attempt to recapture David. I liked that Logan changed the dynamic. Now Jack couldn't just ring the president and sort things out. Plus I really like Gregory Itzin.

@cloister56 said:

@mad-pac I never really took to Wayne. He may have died a heroic death but he felt like an attempt to recapture David. I liked that Logan changed the dynamic. Now Jack couldn't just ring the president and sort things out. Plus I really like Gregory Itzin.

Well, Logan short of redeemed himself later helping the good guys... until he double-crossed them again. But even if his crimes can be forgiven, there's one thing I fond very hard to forget: Logan looked too much like Nixon.