A lot happens in this well-written and well-played episode of the series. Guest star Tony George, in his last television role, plays a man who is basically a death merchant, dealing in the sale of arms to third-world countries. Some of these countries have the support of the American government and intelligence agents are monitoring the exchange of weapons. One agent (Ken Swofford) seems to have switched sides. But of course, Rick and A.J. have no clue any of this is going on when they first go down to Mexico and inadvertently get mixed up in it.
The set-up for the main plot is fairly realistic. The boys are sort of experiencing a mid-life crisis and they decide to chuck the detective agency work and head down to Baja when Rick inherits a boat from a late fishing buddy. Rick's dream is to run a sightseeing tour on the boat, while A.J. will help but mostly focus on efforts to become a bestselling novelist. This is the second time in the seventh season that one of the brothers has writing aspirations. Earlier in the season, Rick had his own book published chronicling his exploits as an investigator. None of which is referenced in this story.
There is a subplot involving a woman A.J. gets to know on the side. She turns out to be an undercover agent for the S.I.A., which stands for the Security Intelligence Agency (a make-believe version of the C.I.A.). She plants drugs in his suitcase so she can use him and Rick to aid in an operation to take down George and Swofford. A.J. feels betrayed, and he is able to one-up her in the end with Rick's help.
I gave this episode a 9, because I thought Tony George was great in his role. He had previously played Jameson Parker's father on the daytime soap 'One Life to Live' in the late 1970s, so this was an on-screen reunion for them. Also, I liked the whole ambiance of the story, though it was obviously filmed on the Universal backlot. Except for the opening scenes, the majority of the story takes place outside San Diego. Cecilia and Abby Marsh do not appear and are never mentioned, which seems significant-- because if the boys did leave San Diego for good, they would have obviously had a farewell with their friends at the San Diego P.D., and Cecilia would have undoubtedly tried to talk them out of their decision to relocate to Mexico. But then, we knew it wouldn't last and they'd be back home in time for the next episode.
The set-up for the main plot is fairly realistic. The boys are sort of experiencing a mid-life crisis and they decide to chuck the detective agency work and head down to Baja when Rick inherits a boat from a late fishing buddy. Rick's dream is to run a sightseeing tour on the boat, while A.J. will help but mostly focus on efforts to become a bestselling novelist. This is the second time in the seventh season that one of the brothers has writing aspirations. Earlier in the season, Rick had his own book published chronicling his exploits as an investigator. None of which is referenced in this story.
There is a subplot involving a woman A.J. gets to know on the side. She turns out to be an undercover agent for the S.I.A., which stands for the Security Intelligence Agency (a make-believe version of the C.I.A.). She plants drugs in his suitcase so she can use him and Rick to aid in an operation to take down George and Swofford. A.J. feels betrayed, and he is able to one-up her in the end with Rick's help.
I gave this episode a 9, because I thought Tony George was great in his role. He had previously played Jameson Parker's father on the daytime soap 'One Life to Live' in the late 1970s, so this was an on-screen reunion for them. Also, I liked the whole ambiance of the story, though it was obviously filmed on the Universal backlot. Except for the opening scenes, the majority of the story takes place outside San Diego. Cecilia and Abby Marsh do not appear and are never mentioned, which seems significant-- because if the boys did leave San Diego for good, they would have obviously had a farewell with their friends at the San Diego P.D., and Cecilia would have undoubtedly tried to talk them out of their decision to relocate to Mexico. But then, we knew it wouldn't last and they'd be back home in time for the next episode.