Route 66:Season 1:Vol.1

I watched the "Play It Glissando" (play it cooool)episode because of guest star Ann Francis. She plays the wife of a jazz trumpeter played by Jack Lord. They are going through some marital difficulties and Jana (Francis) is perceived to be the main troublemaker by Buz and Tod who almost get killed when Jana rams her car into theirs one night along the coast highway. She's running scared from Gabe (Lord) with tales of imprisonment and attempted murder. It turns out Gabe is quite the troublemaker himself and by episodes end, Jana is finally able to live a normal life. The thing that 'gassed' me the most is the lingo scattered across this episode...."how are you gonna gas her..."(how are you gonna impress her) and "You dig Gabe Johnson?! INCANDESCENCE!!" and "I heard she was a flip! man they weren't kidding!" The first time we meet Lords' Gabe Johnson, he is onstage, trumpet to lips,blowing some smooth jazz with his quartet. The piece they play, I thought was pretty impressive for network t.v. Special mention to Harold J. Stone playing the lead detective investigating the rift between Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. The stars of Route 66, Milner and Maharis, are a neat duo to watch..the left corner of Milners' mouth in a perpetual state of up-turned-ness and the way Maharis speaks with a unique kind of cadence that I can't put my finger on. I also REALLY liked the bonus early 1960's commercials that you can watch uninterrupted. And Ann Francis...what can I say? A pleasure to watch!          6/17/09