Main cast: Stephanie Zimbalist (Heather Kepler), Joseph Ziegler (David Kepler), John Boylan (Martin), and Page Fletcher (The Hitchhiker)
Director: Leon Marr
Hold it, Hootch does not have any French cast member and it’s not even set in Paris. What is this? Have they run out of Americans to do away with in that city, or is this an old, unaired episode that they put out only now to fill a slot in the fifth season?
At any rate, hey. it’s Stephanie Zimbalist! Aww, how can I be down on this episode when I still have fond memories of Remington Steele?
She plays Heather, who wants her brother, a veteran with PTSD from his time in Vietnam, out of their home, so that she can finally sell the place off. Yeah, I’m sure most folks can see where this episode is heading toward.
Don’t feel too sorry for David, though. He doesn’t do anything to help himself, instead taking for granted that his sister will continue to take care of him.
In fact, when Heather tells him that she needs to get her own life back, get married and start a family, he acts as if it was her responsibility to keep watching over him as he slums around in his place and plays practical jokes on her when she drops by with groceries, et cetera, for him. She isn’t kicking him out to the streets, as she will be helping him find a new place of his own. David, however, sees that as a betrayal.
This is actually a well-acted episode, with all principal cast members putting on a good performance. The plot isn’t so clear cut with obvious good guys and bad ones, and the dialogues feel natural. In fact, this baby could have been the best episode of this season, perhaps of any season…
…If it hadn’t included this dumb notion that PTSD is like a virus that can be transmitted from one person to another. That, and it decides to dumb down the story eventually by having Heather be the bad guy for not wanting to spend the rest of her life being an unappreciated maid for a brother that should have received psychiatric care.
Oh, The Hitchhiker. Always one step forward, two steps back.
