TV Episode Review: Nancy Drew - The Mystery of the Fallen Angels

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Before they were famous guest cast, fun

Cons: Weak mystery with plot holes

The Bottom Line: 

Some famous guest stars

Entertaining enough but

Serious plot holes

Cast Stands Out More Than the Mystery

So far, I've been pretty impressed with the Nancy Drew episodes from the first season of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries.  The fifth episode to star this young detective was "The Mystery of the Fallen Angels."  While I was watching it, I enjoyed it, but thinking about it, it seems to be fairly week.

Some friends of Mr. Drew (William Schallert) are hosting a carnival on their property as a fundraiser for the local hospital.  Nancy (Pamela Sue Martin) and her friends George (Jean Rasey) and Ned (George O'Hanlon Jr.) are enjoying the festivities.  But then the couple discovers that they've been robbed.  The jewels in their safe are gone.

The carnival is run by a biker gang, and Nancy immediately suspects they were involved.  When a friend of hers from school is arrested for the crime, she decides to go undercover to try to find evidence that will clear him.  But this gang doesn't take kindly to outsiders.  Can Nancy stay out of danger long enough to clear her friend?

So I'm guessing the title comes from the bicycle gang and an attempt to tie into the Hell's Angels.  Honestly, that connotation added a sense of danger to most of the episode that isn't normally there.  I think that sense of danger blinded me to the fact that the plot was really rather simple.  Yes, there were a couple of twists to thing, but in the end there were few surprises.

Plus there are several glaring plot holes.  Why would you set up a carnival right outside your home?  Why host a carnival as a private charity event?  Seems like there are much cheaper ways to raise money, especially if it's an invite only thing.  If you really want a carnival fundraiser, open it up to everyone.  I have a feeling I wasn't supposed to think about it all that much.

Then there's poor Ned's sub-plot.  In a throw away scene with a fortune teller, he gets the idea to be more manly, so he's trying to go around without his glasses and basically being incompetent.  It keeps with the character as established in the series, but they'd been making him more competent as the series progressed.  This is definitely a step back, probably for comedic value, although it really adds nothing.  And it's very different from the Ned I remember from the books.

Probably the most interesting aspect of this episode was the guest stars.  They include character actress Beverly Garland as well as very early appearances by a blond Jamie Lee Curtis (almost didn't recognize her) and Robert Englund (he was the easiest of the cast to spot).  George O'Hanlon's then wife Susan Pratt even guest starred in this episode.  The performances are pretty standard for the series and didn't detract from the episode.

While I was watching it, I found "The Mystery of the Fallen Angels" light but entertaining.  The plot holes only came to mind later.  This one is best for fans of the series or the guest stars.