Favourite McCloud episode?
I'd say "Encounter with Aries" featuring Sebastian Cabot, Susan Strasberg and Louise Lathan.
The Best? Hmm let's see...
Butch Cassidy Rides Again
A Cowboy in Paradise
The Man With The Golden Hat
Somebody's Out To Get Jennie
Park Avenue Pirates
McCloud meets Dracula
And the worst: The Concrete Jungle Caper & The Moscow Connection
Good choices mate! I really enjoyed "Somebody's Out to Get Jennie". What a eerie scene that was when the guy walked out from that wall(It was supposed to be a painting)
Man, that was a scary scene. The rating on my DVD box is six years and older, but if I had seen that episode when I was six it would have scarred me for life and I never whould have wanted to see another McCloud ever! haha. Lucky I'm not six anymore.
"I think that Amish Robot was drunk"
Here are my rankings for all of the regular episodes, from favorite to least favorite (includes the one-hour episodes but not the pilot and reunion movie):
1. 'Twas The Fight Before Christmas
2. Return to the Alamo
3. The Day New York Turned Blue
4. The Colorado Cattle Caper
5. This Must Be The Alamo
6. The New Mexican Connection
7. Butch Cassidy Rides Again
8. The Concrete Jungle Caper
9. The Man With the Golden Hat
10. London Bridges
11. Showdown at Times Square
12. The Million Dollar Roundup
13. Our Man in the Harem
14. Who Says You Can't Make Friends in New York City? (edited version)
15. Fifth Man in a String Quartet
16. The Disposal Man
17. The Park Avenue Rustlers
18. The Solid Gold Swingers
19. Horse Stealing on Fifth Avenue (edited version)
20. Lady on the Run
21. The Barefoot Girls of Bleecker Street
22. Walk in the Dark (edited version)
23. The Concrete Corral (edited version)
24. Our Man in Paris (edited version)
25. Shivaree on Delancey Street
26. Fire!
27. McCloud Meets Dracula
28. Showdown at the End of the World
29. The Moscow Connection
30. The Gang That Stole Manhattan
31. Top of the World, Ma!
32. A Cowboy in Paradise
33. Somebody's Out to Get Jennie
34. The Great Taxicab Stampede
35. Sharks!
36. Give My Regrets to Broadway
37. Bonnie and McCloud
38. Encounter with Aries
39. Park Avenue Pirates
40. The Stage is All the World (edited version)
41. The Barefoot Stewardess Caper
42. Encounter with Aries
43. Three Guns For New York
44. The 42nd Street Cavalry
45. A Little Plot at Tranquil Valley
46. Night of the Shark
Off the top of my head, in no particular order...
THE COLORADO CATTLE CAPER
THIS MUST BE THE ALAMO
SHIVAREE ON DELANCY STREET
RETURN TO THE ALAMO
THE NIGHT NEW YORK TURNED BLUE
I love how in the "COLORADO" episode, McCloud goes to Colorado, winds up in jail; Broadhurst goes to Colorado, winds up in jail; then Clifford goes to Colorado, and gets punched out in a bar-room fight!
"Who was that guy you punched out?"
"M' CHIEF!"
The "ALAMO" episodes feel like prototypes for HILL STREET BLUES; 4 stories running side-by-side, building to a climax in which the police station takes a beating. William Daniels & Bernadette Peters in the 3rd one are particularly hilarious.
In my opinion, there were no really "bad" episodes in the entire run of the series... except for the pilot, which SUCKED, REALLY BAD. I never saw it until after the series ended, and when I did, I could not believe how something so badly-done ever went to full series. The plot is incomprehensible, the pacing drags beyond belief, and the climax is totally ineptly done. AWFUL!! And to think, my #1 favorite series of the 1970's started with this THING.
I was stunned when I noticed Richard A. Colla directed the pilots for both McCLOUD and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. On my recent re-watch of the entire BG series, I was stunned that I enjoyed every episode, even the "bad" ones, more than when it was first-run. But, the 3-hour pilot... especially the parts dealing with Boxey, the council of elders, and the gambling casino, were the worst parts of the entire series. (At least, they were the parts that felt the most unwatchable. Even the "bad" episodes a bit later had more to them.) Checking his IMDB resume, it seemed Colla directed a large nunmber of TV series, but usually only one episode of each. It was like nobody ever wanted him back...
My favorite was "Return to the Alamo" (5.9): Sgt Phyllis Norton (Teri Garr) assumes command of the station when Chief Clifford catches the flu, a thief kidnaps Broadhurst in order to swap him for the thief's brother, a drug-addicted mother kidnaps her addicted newborn daughter - and a time bomb ticks in the squad room ceiling.
Other favorites were "Showdown at the End of the World" (1973; 3.4) and "The Man with the Golden Hat" (1975; 5.6), mainly for the revelation of "Who was that jaw-droppingly gorgeous brunette guest star?" (A: Jaclyn Smith, before her breakout in "Charlie's Angels").
Strangely, I don't see many "McCloudisms" listed yet in the "Quotes" section. You know, those Taos-similies McCloud would utter that would leave the other party(ies) with a quizzical look (e.g., "He's slicker'n a greased shoat.")
I generally liked all of the episodes of this series, but the one that stands
out in my memory is the one entitled "The Night New York Turned Blue."
Bernadette Peters was hilarious as an "Eighth Avenue Hooker" (as Chief Clifford
called her), who spray painted clients blue. Then here comes a pompous
clueless inspector (actor William Daniels) who thinks that Bernadette is one
of the employees at the police precinct. Their dialogue is hilarious:
Daniels: "My dear, Washington has given me Carte Blanche."
Peters: "I don't take credit cards."
Peters: "You're not into whips, are you"
Daniels, looking horrified: "I thought that went out with the third degree."
Years later Bernadette came here to Tallahassee where I live and I had the
chance to meet her. I said to her "I'd turn blue for you Bernadette." She
just laughed.