Charlie's Angels (TV Series) An Angel's Trail (1980) User Reviews

Farrah and Harley the half-wit

[adamcshelby · 6/10 · 29 September 2021]

This was an unfortunate final episode for Farrah Fawcett and her Jill Munroe character. She only has brief scenes with Cheryl Ladd's Kris and David Doyle's Bosley, and none at all with Jaclyn Smith's Kelly or Shelley Hack's Tiffany Welles.

The plot is simple, Jill stops for gas and witnesses a robbery in progress where someone is shot and killed. The killer and his two sons take Jill hostage in their van. They flee into rugged Arizona terrain, stopping for the night in an abandoned mining town. One of the sons, Harley, is mentally deficient (learning disabled) and is referred to as 'retarded'. The other son spends most of his time leering at Jill, alternately threatening to kill and or assault her sexually (implied, at least).

The father, played by LQ Jones, is no better, and is probably one of the more morally repugnant characters in the Charlie's Angel universe. This episode is Jones 4th go round, having appeared in Bullseye, Angels in the Backfield, and the Diablo Island episode.

Harley is played by John Dennis Johnston, and it's an amusing portrayal, a definite product of its times. The bit with the cake at the end is pure cringe. The other brother, Clint, is played by Tracy Walter, a pretty recognizable face to this day.

Farrah certainly does her best to make this interesting, without her there's nothing to look at or root for. The other Angels spend most of the episode looking concerned and talking to local law enforcement.

At least towards the end, Kris is able to take action, but by the time she arrives Jill has things under control. It would have been nice to have one final scene with Farrah and Jaclyn, but viewers were robbed of that. Quite a let down.

Farrah's final Angel ride

[robrosenberger · 9/10 · 21 March 2011]

Am i unjustly awarding a flawed product, bamboozled by sentimentality? Maybe, maybe not. But as the final scene came to a close, tears rolled down my face. Farrah's final appearance is a tight, realistic ride. She gets kidnapped after witnessing a robbery/homicide. The fugitives are an escaped con father, and his two sons, one of them retarded. They confound the law by heading north for Canada, not south. For no credible reason, the other Angels go north. Lots of family drama comes up, as the father was in jail for killing Mom, and the retarded son becomes protective of Jill. There's a brilliant scene where she hangs over a rattler pit. The other son (Tracey Walter - BATMAN, CITY SLICKERS, CONAN THE DESTROYER) is suitably despicable and weak. John Dennis Johnston gives a great performance as the retarded son. Wrapped in huge shades of Lenny (George, not Squiggy), he's not flawless, but close enough. The final scene tears come as he tastes a cake baked by Jill, at his new caretaker's home. Bosley's there too, and no fan could ask for more...she's not on a pedestal, she just shines in a moment they all create.

Nice final appearance for Farrah on the show that made her.

[HeartMonger · 10/10 · 3 August 2011]

Another user, robrosenberger, was right in his review for this episode of the popular Aaron Spelling show. Farrah's final appearance on "Angels" is an appropriate one. In it, she brings her character, Jill Monroe to a full closure in, as the above stated reviewer rightly described as a tear-jerking finale. Though I admit I was in tears before this final moment. The episode concerns itself with the kidnapping of Jill Monroe, and the Angels' attempt to rescue her. Kris is indubitably in a tassel over her sister's disappearance, and Kelley and Tiffany are given ample screen time and material to support Kris, but the episode really belongs to Jill, and what she does both to survive, and to be good to one of her captors, the mentally retarded son of the main bad guy (Jones.) This was a pretty deep episode and Farrah plays it to perfection, like only she could. It has the same level of intensity as an earlier Jill Monroe-centered episode, "The Angel Trap" in which Jill sees that there are two sides to a hit man the Angels are trying to trap (Fernando Lamas) and is torn between catching him, or helping him. Didn't want to give too much away. The plot, as read above is fairly simple, but interesting writing, great turns from Farrah and her co-stars make this episode a winner.

Not an emotional tearjerker as some reviewers are saying LOL

[peeedeee-94281 · 5/10 · 7 May 2020]

This whole episode is basically Farrah Fawcett riding in a truck with three other guys. That's it. She doesn't even interact with the other angels. It's also very gimmicky with the cliched mentally challenged, physically-strong, son who takes a shine to her. A trope seen in many TV shows or movies. The final scene where she delivers a chocolate cake to the same mentally challenged son doesn't even feel poignant. A weak send-off for Jill Munroe, mainly because it didn't feel like one.

"I'm going to bake you a cake."

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 5 July 2023]

Despite a murder and kidnapping that puts Jill (Farrah Fawcett) in harm's way, this turns out to be a rather endearing episode. Endearing because we see Jill at her best, befriending the mentally handicapped son of her captor...providing some much-needed care and understanding that his father and brother fail to give him.

John Dennis Johnston does a fine job playing the handicapped son, channeling Lennie from John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men.' I think what makes his performance so effective is that he plays the character with a softness and tenderness, wisely refraining from any sort of cartoonish or grotesque portrayal of a grown man with an obvious disability.

There's a nice moment when he reminisces about his dead mother and the fact she used to make chocolate cakes for him. Jill shows compassion and decides she will bake a cake for him when the chance arises, which foreshadows the episode's poignant final scene. In other crime dramas, the female victims are usually in a hurry to get away from their captors...and while Jill certainly seeks her freedom (and we have the other angels trying to track her down), she uses this time to get to know these people and what makes them tick.

Farrah ends her run as this iconic angel character on a strong note.

Wait....she lives?

[jeremydavidlee-181-410693 · 5/10 · 13 March 2019]

I was disappointed she wasn't killed. My tears were not jerked!

"If"

[featfans · 4/10 · 23 March 2021]

If this was a prize-fight, they would have stopped it before the 2nd round. Just horrible. Even Farrah couldn't save this hot mess