Main cast: Stephen McHattie (Strike), Jayne Heitmeyer (Helene Bournouw), France Castel (Marie Duvall), and Terence Stamp (The Host)
Director: Richard Ciupka
The Face of Helene Bournouw is based on a script by Harlan Ellison, written just for this show. His name is left off the credits, though, replaced by “Cordwainer Bird”, probably because he doesn’t like the resulting episode and doesn’t want to be associated with it, heh.
It all begins with this fellow screaming and acting all melodramatic as a woman with long straight blonde hair and in a red coat and hat walks away from him. Realizing that she isn’t even giving him a farewell glance, he takes out a gun and puts a bullet into his head.
Cut to another scene with a melodramatic artist acting all cocky and diva to someone on the phone, while breaking things and all because that’s what artists do. Then he realizes that a woman with long straight blonde hair and in a red coat and hat has left his loft. He sees her getting into a car, and screaming away her name, starts slashing at his wrists.
He survives, but in a straight jacket and mostly unresponsive as he is interrogated by a reporter, Strike.
Meanwhile, this woman doesn’t restrict herself to men. A woman, Marie Duvall, throws herself onto incoming traffic when the mysterious woman leaves Marie’s car and walks away.
Strike has deduced that this mysterious woman, “Helene”, is linked to a rash of people in the neighborhood committing suicide, and he wants to track her down himself. If he succeeds, he would have the scoop of a lifetime.
Now, if you’re thinking that Strike is going to meet his end like this Helene’s other victims, you’re far smarter than the people behind this episode give you credit for. The story is so predictable that it has no clue that most members of the audience are already at the finish line waiting for it to catch up.
The only thing I like about the story is how there is no clear explanation as to what this Helene is or what she is up to, which lends a hint of mystique and mystery to an otherwise forgettable story.
Still, the cast is all around gorgeous. A young Stephen McHattie is shockingly hot in a weathered, rugged scoundrel way—someone please tell me he did many nude scenes when he was younger and I’d be on my way to watch those things. Also, one of the male extras show side view of bum, which is nice as the show all this while had been very stingy with male skin for what seems like years.
I also laugh out loud at the suicide scenes, as the characters are so histrionic and the faces they make when they die are so cute. What, I’m not supposed to laugh at those scenes? Oh please, let me take whatever entertainment I can get from this thing.
Anyway, I can see why Mr Ellison wants his name taken out of this thing, as it’s not the best or most memorable episode around.
Still, the production values and the cast members are easy on the eyes, and there is some unintentional comedy to be had. It’s not a complete loss, therefore, for whatever that is worth!
