It’s built on the circumstances presented in the season opener; Robert Vaughn’s Albert Stroller is stuck in prison, and it is this scenario that is used that as a panoramic backdrop to an almost Bolting Brothers contrived scam to outwit a corrupt Judge. His hustle revolves around a bullion heist that Kent presided over the prosecution of the two men responsible. The gold was never recovered, and he did a deal with one of the two, giving him a short sentence for a cut. Unfortunately, that man dies in prison before his two years are up. The other accomplice spends much longer in jail but shortly after he’s released he’s killed by a goods train, but before he recovers the gold. What the crew set out to do is convince Judge Kent that the robber didn’t die under the train, and that, for a large sum, they’ll help the Judge find the millions in buried gold. There is more than a nod to the brilliant Peter Sellers film, Two Way Stretch (1960), in these proceedings, although they don’t actually spring Albert from jail to perform a robbery, as such. I’m not going to detail what happens, because it’s far too entertaining to spoil here, but a wonderful celestial alignment of conning the Judge and springing Albert is concocted that had me giggling for at least twenty minutes after it all ended. The characters of Emma and Sean are starting to flesh out a bit, although Matt Di Angelo needs the writers to stop thinking ‘naïve’ every time they go to use him. My only disappointment is that we’ve now consumed half the season, and I’m not remotely half full!
