Nearly a year ago, a new channel mysteriously appeared on my local cable system. It was called "RTN"- "Retro Television Network".
Suddenly, classic shows I hadn't seen in decades--or hadn't seen at all--were parading across my TV screen: Wagon Train, Night Gallery, The Bold Ones, and many more.
Among those golden oldies was Run For Your Life, the 1965-1968 series starring Ben Gazzara as young lawyer Paul Bryan. Bryan has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and must try to cram "30 years of living into one...or two."
Bryan goes running off around the world, meeting interesting people and getting involved in various intrigues in exotic locales (all of which were filmed on the backlot at Universal). Strangely, though, for someone who's supposedly dying, Bryan seems to be in good physical shape and rarely so much as coughs! :0
I watched a couple of episodes of Run For Your Life and thought it was okay, but not "must see TV". Then, of course, I found out that Jack Kelly had guest-starred in an episode called "Baby, the World's on Fire", and my interest was piqued.
Now, my cable system doesn't list individual episode summaries for RTN shows on its on-screen information, only generic descriptions of the shows: "Dying lawyer tries to live it up." And, they tend to air episodes out of sequence. So, I had to keep checking every weekend to see if Jack Kelly's episode was coming on.
Today I was drowsy after lunch and about to take a nap, when I remembered to check Run For Your Life. And, good thing I did, because sure enough, "Baby, the World's On Fire" was starting! The nap would have to wait...
So: Paul Bryan bumps into old friend Harry Bevins (JK) in Tokyo. Harry works for an American electronics firm. Bevins' job seems to include a lot of perks, including an apartment and a fancy red sports car, both of which he promptly loans to his old buddy Bryan.
But, someone tries to run Bryan off the road. And, when he goes to Harry's apartment, the place is trashed and Harry is nowhere in sight. The phone rings and a mysterious caller threatens Bryan, thinking he is Bevins.
Then, Harry's fiancee, Susan (Suzanne Pleshette) shows up and explains that she's just arrived from the States. She and Harry were going to be wed and spend their honeymoon in Japan before returning to the US. Susan and Bryan set off to find Harry.
It turns out that Harry's company has secretly developed a new device that could prove deadly if it fell into the wrong hands. But, Harry is interested in the finer things in life and doesn't care who gets the device...only how much he can get for it.
Not surprisingly, Jack Kelly is extremely handsome and charming in this episode. Unfortunately, his Harry Bevins ultimately has ulterior motives for everything he does. Harry plays on people's 1960's Cold War fears to justify his actions. (His catchphrase--"Baby, the world's on fire"--means "You better live it up now, because the bomb could fall tomorrow.") Like Paul Bryan, Bevins is trying to cram 30 years of living into one or two, but for all the wrong reasons.
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And now, here's a preview of coming attractions. I made an incredibly lucky and rare Jack Kelly find that I'm going to share with you all here soon. It involves JK's real-life visit to a "mythical" location--stay tuned! :)
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