Hellride

A racecar driver dies in a crash and her mechanic hires the angels to investigate. Sabrina and the mechanic learn that the car was sabotaged by rival driver Bloody Mary's mechanic. Kelly flirts with Eddie, some racetrack-related guy, and gets him pulled over for DUI, thus clearing the coast for Jill to break into his motel room and have a look around. Inside she finds various incriminating documents, revealing that Bloody Mary is planning to smuggle stolen diamonds across the Mexican border during an upcoming race. While on her way out she sees Eddie coming back home, so she grabs a strange little man and hugs him in order to hide her face until Eddie passes. After a good old fashioned desert car chase, the angels capture Bloody Mary & friends. Once under arrest, Bloody Mary tells the police that they killed the other driver because she refused to take part in the theft.

MY TAKE: 4.5 of 5 stars

I give every angel an A+ in this episode. There is a balance between the angels that I think is upset by the end of the season, and after that, sometimes lost entirely. Everybody looks great, they're smart, there's good interaction, some actual character development, humor, a clever plot, and car chases. To me, this is classic Sabrina, classic Jill and classic Kelly, and rarely do you get all 3 perfect in one episode.

NOTES

COVERS

Sabrina becomes a racecar driver.

Bosley poses as traveling preacher Brother John, and Jill as his sexy daughter.

Kelly uses no particular cover.

FASHION

This episode bears a lot of midriff - Kelly's twice, and surprisingly, Sabrina's. You will never see this much of her again, not even in saunas, showers or hot tubs. Sabrina seems really intent on letting us know her name - she wears a shirt with her name on it, and her SABRINA necklace is prominent, as it tends to be in early season 1. Jill looks great, but breaks no records. Though I guess she does set records, since this is the first episode.

Jill loaned Kelly the Grand Prix Monaco t-shirt, but Kelly kept it - she wears it again in Angels in Chains (#4).

ACTION

Action in this one is pretty much only behind wheels, with some fancy driving from Sabrina and Jill. Though car chases are a Charlie's Angels staple, we don't know that yet, so it's still fairly exciting. I hoped Sabrina would give Bloody Mary more than a slap on the helmet, but alas, that's all we get.

GOOFS AND CURIOSITIES

- Reflections of the camera crew can be seen in Sabrina's blue helmet.

- When shots are fired at Jill, she drops to the ground. A closeup of the shooter shows her way off in the distance, getting up and running around the car, but when we go back to Jill, she's still on the ground.

- A banner for the upcoming race says "LADIE'S INVITATIONAL".

- Since Jill later left the Townsend Agency to be a racecar driver, it's strange that she wasn't the driver in this episode. Although that would require Jill and Sabrina to switch roles, and I don't think Sabrina wants to play the sexy daughter.

RANDOM DETAILS

- Sabrina apparently has some kind of background in racing - she "toyed with becoming the next Janet Guthrie" "a long time ago".

- Sabrina drives an orange racecar, #11.

- Jill is super good at poker, or else just super lucky. She plays cards again in The Big Tap-Out (#14) and The Vegas Connection (#17).

- Right off the bat, Sabrina lets us know that not every one of the angels' cases made it into our living rooms. She references a previous case, even though this is the first episode, and she clearly wasn't talking about the pilot.

- Jill hides in a closet and carelessly drops a Brother John pamphlet in there. Later on in Angels Ahoy (#54), Kris hides in a closet and leaves her crook (corresponding with her Little Bo Peep costume) outside the door. The Munroe sisters are pretty bad at hiding in closets, but always get away with it.

- Charlie gives Sabrina an engraved trophy to commemorate the official end of her racing career - "To Sabrina, the hottest number on wheels. Love, Charlie."

QUOTES

Kale: What's your denomination, little lady?

Jill: 35 - 24 - 25, brother.

Officer: Have you been drinking, ma'am?

Kelly: Not at all, officer. Clear-eyed, breath fresh, kissing sweet. (blows a kiss)

Jill [to the man she hugged]: Thanks for the memories!

Sabrina [to Charlie]: If you ever put forth a championship effort at anything, you be sure and let me know so I can send you a trophy.

BEHIND THE SCENES

- Hellride ranked 8th in the weekly Nielsen ratings.

- Kate did some driving stunts in this one herself, although she had a less than fond reaction to her orange racecar. “Who the hell ever thought of painting it orange?" She asked. "It’s the most miserable color in the world. What’ll I look like in an orange car?” I can't help but wonder if this comment had anything to do with Sabrina getting stuck driving an orange Pinto for the next 3 years.

WATCH IT

iTunes - $1.99 download, full episode.

Amazon Unbox - $1.99 download, full episode.

Minisode - not available

AOL Video - Free, full episode.

SCREENSHOTS

(10 shots per episode)

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