MovieChat Forums > Matt Houston (1982) Discussion > What is your favorite Houston episode?

What is your favorite Houston episode?


I'm surprised no one has addressed this pressing issue.
After careful deliberation, my nod must go to "Death Match,'' (episode 19 of the second season)when an enemy from the past lures Houston to an island for a final showdown. This episode has it all: great location, action, romance, revenge, and tragedy. This is as good as television gets, folks. It ranks up there with the "Goliath'' episodes of Knight Rider.
Honorable mention goes to these other classic installments of Houston:
1)"Get Houston''
2) "Love you to death''
3) "On the run''
4) "Deadly games''

Anyone else have their personal favorite Houston episode?

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Hello;
I can not remeber the name of the espidoe, but I remember my favorite actor was on it. His name is Mark Shera and the other guest star was Robert Reed.
Joanne.

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If Robert Reed was in it, then it's most likely "Stolen'' from the third season. Reed plays an evil lawyer who gets punched into some water by Houston. An excellent choice.
Yes, I have no life.

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"Deadly Fashion" (1.4).

This "Favorite episode" topic is also discussed in the "1st Season the Best" discussion thread.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083447/board/thread/9707336?d=12760943&p=1#12760943

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Wow, good question. I like the two that had the "Wolf Man" on them. He was played by Judson Scott(Star Trek II). I also liked the 2 part episode where Houston and his bodyguard go to nam to save Houston's childhood friend Will.

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Excellent selections! The "Wolf Man'' was a brilliant villain.

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I remember one episode wherein Matt and C.J. investigate a computer company. When they arrive at the factory, they are met by a cheesy Buck Rogers left over robot who gives them a tour. It was supposedly very "high tech" but just looked cheesy.

Speaking of which, how about that Excalibur!? Super 80's cheese. And the super computer that never could have worked the way it did.

But, I was a fan. Even when everyone I knew was watching whatever shows were on NBC & CBS, I'd tune in to watch Lee drive the red Jaguar into the pond.

But, It took a dark turn in season 2. They killed off the cop friend, and Houston took revenge on the killers in an amusement park shootout. Matt turned into an avenging angel. I guess they were trying to toughen him up a bit, but some of the fun was lost.

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"Love You To Death"...Kristen Meadows was stunning not only to look at, but her character scared the hell out of me!

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I have to agree with Moondog-6. The only episode of this series that I recorded and kept on my trusty old beta recorder was "Love You To Death." Kristen Meadows created a really memorably deranged character in Erin Brown.

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I remember two episodes that I really enjoyed, but don't recall the titles...

The first had to do with a former Green Beret assassin (played by Judson Scott) who was raised on a Navajo reserve and thought himself to be a "wolf-witch". I remember that Houston and the killer had a really well choreographed fistfight at the end of the episode.

Another favorite had Chuck Connors guest-starring as an unstoppable serial-killer who murdered women and butchered them because he was trying to find their "souls". I remember a creepy dialogue sequence from Pamela Hensley's character explaining that the killer had been cornered in London, but that he had killed several policemen with his bare hands because London police "don't carry guns",....but when he was caught in the US,...where police "do carry guns",...they had to shoot him several times to stop him, but the wounds didn't kill him. This episode also had a great finale with Houston going up against the killer man-to-man.

Two excellent episodes.

If the series ever comes out on DVD I'll buy the seasons just to get those episodes alone!

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I didn't watch this show regularly, but I do remember one episode. Houston was trying to find a kidnapped boy, and flashing back to his own kidnapping as a child. As I recall, it was fairly suspenseful.

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I actually have quite a few favorites so I chose 1 episode from each season: Season 1 with Martin Landau playing the mobster holding CJ on a tropical island; Season 2 when Matt's father passes; Season 3 "Return to Nam". Loved all of the starring and supporting cast members.

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I'll pick a favorite from each season:

Season 1 - "Get Houston" (I have a lot of favorites in this season, including "Deadly Fashion," "Here's Another Fine Mess," "The Yacht Club Murders," "Whose Party is it Anyway?," "A Deadly Parlay," "Fear for Tomorrow," and "The Hunted")

Season 2 - Tie between "Love You to Death," "China Doll," "The Monster," and "The Secret Admirer."

Season 3 - "Apostle of Death"

I've been recently re-watching the series with adult eyes. The last time I saw these episodes was between the ages of 10 and 13 for first-run and 14/15 for syndication. I'm 41 now. When I was young, I wanted Houston and C.J. to get together. Watching the series now, I see that the first season is the best in this regard. She and he were very equal, were great friends, and had some sexual tension between them. Season 2 was the beginning of the end for C.J. The producers, directors, and writers basically started taking her out of this equal partnership and kept her at the office more. They basically gave the character a tranquilizer and dropped the anvil of Buddy Ebsen on her in the third season. At the same time, they turned Houston into an obnoxiously macho womanizer. To me, this ruined the show along with extricating a lot of the humor from the first season and turning it into a "serious" run-of-the-mill, action-packed detective drama. How many times can a man get a major blow to the head before he is permanently hobbled or killed, I ask you? They gave up character development for action and removed the humor. Sad. I still enjoy it through my childhood eyes, thankfully, but had I been an adult when I saw this first-run, I would have yelled at the television to tell C.J. to get the hell out of there before it was too late; and that she was prettier and smarter than his ocean of bimbos, and basically solved all of the mysteries and deserved better than Houston.

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