The Avengers Forever: The GLG Reports

	The GLG Reports Page 46 of 67

Whoever Shot Poor George Oblique Stroke XR40?
By Grant L. Goggans

"It's George! I think he's throwing some sort of fit!" Few Avengers stories go straight over the bounds of sense and into pure farce like this silly effort does. While that, in itself, is no crime, it will only work if the script is solid and engaging. "Whoever Shot Poor George..." is less a drama and more of a flat comedy, what with its continuous "medical drama" treatment of George's operations (treating the box as if it were a human) and Tara's outlandish costumes (she spends the first ten minutes in a downmarket Catwoman suit, complete with mask), plus a far higher than normal number of quips and one-liners. Comedies need to be funny, though, and this episode is quite dull, and as joke after spoof fails to spark, the hour feels uncomfortably like watching a standup bomb all night long. Most of the cast, particularly Linda Thorson, who is excellent, do a great job, but they're working with a total bore of a screenplay. The best moment comes towards the end when Steed silently and viciously threatens to set Keller afire. All in all, it's a very poor effort.