The New Maverick just doesn't cut it . . . no matter what deck you're using.
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This must be Western month, only somebody forgot to tell me. It seems that all the studios are dusting off their cowboy catalog titles and releasing them in May. But one that has a heck of a lot more dust than most is "The New Maverick," a failed 1978 pilot which attempted to recapture the magic of the old 1957-62 TV series.
"Maverick" was an Emmy-winning show that starred James Garner and Jack Kelly as Bret and Bart Maverick, two cardsharps who made a living by their wits, not their guns (though they knew how to use them). As a result, it was a witty show--well written and well acted, with a tone that was predominantly tongue-in-cheek.
But lightning seldom strikes twice, and it didn't in this case for a couple of key reasons. First, "The New Maverick" was really structured and paced like the old "Maverick," and by 1978 the TV-loving public had really moved beyond that. But second and most importantly, the clever lines weren't there and the chemistry was missing. Writer Juanita Bartlett, who would do a fine job on "The Rockford Files," just didn't get it right this time. There are too many long segues where nothing much happens, too many long reaction shots, and lines that try for wit but come out sounding just a little dim. Then there's the problem of casting. Young Charles Frank was being groomed to step into Jack Kelly's role (Kelly only appears in flashback and briefly at the end of this one), and Frank just doesn't have Garner's charisma--or any of his own, either. He looks and acts like Generic Seventies Man, and so we never believe for one moment that he's anything but an actor wearing Western duds.
Another problem is that the plot seems just about right for a one-hour TV drama, but stretched to fill 92 minutes it starts to feel mighty thin. The action (and I use the term loosely) begins when Bret Maverick (Garner) arrives in New Las Vegas, N.M. to meet his brother, Bart (Kelly). But he's told that Bart was shot dead just the night before, and handed Bart's gun as proof. Then it's out to the cemetery, where he arrives just in time to chat with the gravedigger, help him shovel dirt on the coffin, and pull a gun on a group of strangers who want to take the lid off and see what's inside. "For a stranger, you sure do attract a crowd," the gravedigger quips after another fellow claiming to be the Maverick's cousin turns up. From that moment on, it's the Ben (Frank) and Bret Maverick show, and we have to endure banter that doesn't come close to the original series.
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[release]23796[/release]