"SUPERSTITION" Bare-Chested and Virile February 12, 1999

by
Gordon Hom

Nash turns down another beautiful woman who offers herself to him in this episode. In the previous episode it was a French babe named Lucy (Episode #67, "Gimme Shelter"). In "Superstition," it's Fenn Rivers, a singer whom Nash has an obvious attraction for, as he says "I want to, but I can't do this." WHY NOT? Is Nash so smitten with Caitlin that he's saving himself for Caitlin? To add insult to injury, Caitlin turns him down for a date.

Nash is showing his age, and you get the feeling that all those vests he wears might be hiding a big 'ole beer belly. Could it be a middle-aged physical malady (like prostate trouble, God forbid)? You know David Hasselhoff of BAYWATCH is in shape because he's half-naked on the beach most of the time. And Chuck Norris of WALKER, TEXAS RANGER does all that martial arts action and he hawks that Total Gym exercise contraption on that infomercial. Norris is half-naked too, to verify that he is indeed in shape for a middle-aged star. Perhaps it's time for Nash to purchase one of those Total Gym exercise contraptions for his apartment and get in on the infomercial deal. Or how about a bare-chested Tae Bo workout? We need to see Don Johnson half-naked to verify he is the virile star he claims to be, just like his other middle-aged TV peers.

The Nash/Caitlin relationship is certainly one of the most stilted and awkward relationships. Caitlin can't seem to find the words, while words seem to pour out of Nash. The platonic, almost intellectual relationship between Scully and Mulder of THE X-FILES is more glib (and fun) than the awkwardness of Nash and Caitlin. And what about Evan, ducking around Cassidy for a date with Ursula and her poodle? Ursula feeds cheese cake to her beloved poodle, but did you notice the actress didn't eat off the fork again? But she does offer the poodle-slobbered fork to Evan though. Evan deserves whatever disease he gets...

As for the main storyline of the vampire cult, this is more fitting for October (Halloween) than the critical February sweeps period. The vampires are just another gimmick and treated unimaginatively. There's no psychiatrist figure to explain why people think they're vampires, or on the more militant side, there's no vampire hunter figure (like a Dr. Van Helsing) to drive stakes into the hearts of the vampires. Missed opportunities abound here for Nash to encounter a Buffy-like vampire slayer. As usual for NASH BRIDGES, it's a superficial treatment, much like the cult of serial killers in the profoundly stupid Sylvester Stallone cop film COBRA (1986). Instead of the beautiful singer Fenn Rivers, there was Brigitte Nielsen, who got her 15 minutes of fame by marrying Stallone for a few minutes and then disappearing.

For more, see synopsis for Episode 68

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