Ring of Terror

In this installment, "The Untouchables" takes on one of the more familiar topics in cop and detective shows of the 1960s--boxing. But while there might be a reasonable reason for McGarrett or Mannix investigating tampering in the boxing ring, the reason for Ness investigating is tenuous as best. After all, the real life Ness was a Treasure Department agent whose job it was to stop booze production and sales during Prohibition....and what does that have to do with boxing?! According to the show, he eventually gets involved because one boxer was drugged and they say that the Treasury Department is there to eliminate the drug trade...but this isn't heroin or crack but morphine and not a drug trade. There is no way Ness or any one of the folks with the Treasury Department would have investigated this--it's strictly a case for the state boxing commission or the local police. Perhaps the writers were running out of ideas or perhaps they just thought folks would get bored with the typical cases on the show so far.

The show begins during a boxing match. The manager of a boxer thinks his guy is throwing the fight--little did he or the boxer know that the guy was drugged instead! Sadly, the guy ends up getting beaten to death because of the drug's effects. But, despite the morphine in his system, the coroner rules it an accidental death! Obviously something fishy is taking place.

One strength of this episode is that Harold J. Stone plays the manager. He was a very familiar and very capable actor--one whose toughness worked well here. Additionally, while completely ridiculous, the story is interesting and kept me watching even though I knew it was all ridiculous. So, if you can suspend disbelief, you'll no doubt enjoy the show. It's tough and pretty exciting as well.