Courtesy of a mate in the US, I've been able to witness this latest attempt to out-moonlight 'Moonlighting' and out-Steele 'Remington'.
Two thieves - one male, one female - blackmailed into working for the government. Cue loadsa scenes of the two diametrically opposed characters sparring away ... and nothing more.
John Stamos was okay in his role as the whiny Johnny but Melissa George never convinced me. Life's too short for the level of disbelief required to believe in the Kung Fu kicking, forever-moaning Rita (as portrayed by Ms George). A stronger actress should've been cast, even if it had meant sacrificing the 'babe' factor.
I could excuse the silly plots, the daft storylines, the trite dialogue and the ridiculous scripts if the writing had been cleverer, wittier and far less predictable. So many times I said the next line before Johnny or Rita did. And as for their no-brainer assignments? Let's not go there...
In addition, 'Thieves' tried too hard to emulate the sexual tension of the aforementioned 'Remington Steele' and 'Moonlighting'. Having the chief protagonists discuss a supposed relationship every bloody five minutes was a huge mistake. It eroded the UST factor to such an extent that you just wanted them to do it so they'd stop talking about doing it .... and whether they should do it .... and how they should do it .... and when they should do it. Enough already! And apparently the Network has had enough.
ABC has flushed this show down the toilet.
The postscript? 'Thieves' was the McDonalds of TV programming. Fast food entertainment. Forgotten as soon as it's consumed.
