Charlie's Angels (TV Series) Angel on a Roll (1981) User Reviews

A mediocre episode slightly elevated by Cheryl Ladd

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 22 October 2013]

Firstly, you'll be way ahead of the Angels and Bosley in figuring out that all 12 of the diverse group of people robbing banks through ATM machines are one and the same person; and secondly, it's beyond absurd that a man would be allowed by the other players at the poker table where he's sitting to be constantly checking his watch / calculator, quite obviously and indiscreetly (I'm fairly sure Las Vegas casino rules are not as lax as depicted here, either). "Angel On A Roll" is a less-than-thrilling episode of the fifth season, with Kelly, Julie and Bosley very much in the background. The foreground belongs to Kris, and it's Cheryl Ladd's performance that slightly lifts this episode from mediocrity, as she believably portrays Kris' conflict between her duty as a private detective and her growing fondness of her target. **1/2 out of 4.

Very routine.

[retep_bk · 6/10 · 6 August 2020]

Another very flat season five storyline, unfortunately. Kris very much taking the lead, with her colleagues totally in the background. The main strength is a good performance from Cheryl Ladd, otherwise it won't last in the memory.

C'mon, it's still good viewing!

[neilclack · 8/10 · 28 November 2022]

So, it opens with what we think is a lazy 1970s stereotype of an Asian/Japanese buisnessman... but actually that turns out not to be the case, because it's actually the suspect in disguise.

And one of his other disguises is as a man called Morales Morales who wears a sombrero, and has a droopy moustache...

I honestly can't see anything wrong with it, and do get the joke.

I don't have a problem with Kris (Cheryl Ladd) getting the main role either - Kelly and Julie have had the lead in other episodes, and the three Angels can't work together, sharing equal screen time, in every episode.

There's a mixture of comedy, when Bosley, Julie, and Kelly interview the various bank executives....and some seriously beautiful philosophical acting between Kris and the suspect Ted Markham (played by Mark Pinter)... the car ride when they discuss their lives, and Van Gogh, could've easily been from a movie classic like Dr Zhivago, Love Story, or Casablanca.

Cheryll Ladd, apart from being beautiful, is an excellent actress, probably at her best when interacting with men, and, as she shows here, could definitely have handled a serious role in a serious film.

But why did Kris and Ted Markham finish? - once the charges are dropped against Markham, why couldn't he and Kris have become an item, and gone to Europe together? That actually might have been a good way of ending the whole thing as there were only two Charlie's Angels episodes two go after this one.

a good episode, especially for series 5

[riku-28160 · 9/10 · 25 March 2020]

This episode is actually quite good, the plot is believable, Kris partly falls for the villain and the scene of them talking in the car about travelling to Europe was really well done. I liked the shots of Vegas from the early 80's too since no doubt it has changed massively since then.

Very Average Disappointing Episode Despite the Vegas Setting

[hypestyle · 5/10 · 13 November 2020]

This is an average, disappointing episode, despite the Las Vegas setting for most of it.

Kris investigates a gifted computer programmer who systematically robs 12 bank machines then takes an impromptu flight to Las Vegas to make it big at the gambling tables.

Kelly and Julie play more of the background here. Kris gradually falls for the thief/suspect, but in the meanwhile, they are both pursued by an obsessive small-time casino owner (and his bodyguard) who want to catch the thief and kill him.

Kris falls for the thief while investigating him. This is disappointing.

The first scene of the episode features the gentleman thief putting on a disguise as an East Asian elderly person, replete with super-thick eyeglasses and a cringeworthy accent.

Good Story; Hrrible Dialog

[GravediggerMark · 3/10 · 29 May 2021]

I enjoyed the story itself, but not the way it was presented. It was just another Kris-centric episode written by Edward J Lakso. The series was titled Charlie's Angles, as in plural; not Charlie's Angel and her associates. I enjoy the episodes where they all work together to solve the crime much more than the episodes where Kris is the primary character and all the others are relegated to supporting roles. Some of the back and forth dialog was terrible and very contrived. While I liked the story idea and the story itself, I just think they ruined it with terrible dialog. It had the potential to be so much better; too bad the producers could not see that.