"Just Say No" to Reverend Joy. 8)

Let me preface this by saying that, in general, my personal preference is for Mystery Theater's supernatural tales or traditional OTR-style mysteries, as well as adaptations of classic literature. More stylized dramatic genres seemed to work better for them. Whenever they tried their hand at cutting edge, real-life dramas, they were never quite as successful.

Having said that, I couldn't get into this one. I almost turned it off during the second act. The acting and production values were perfectly fine, very solid--in fact, they were the only thing that kept me from rating this a 1 instead of a 2. But the hijacking story just didn't appeal to me. It didn't seem to work well as a radio drama, nor did it have much dramatic subtlety. The unnecessary death of the pilot right at the beginning was frustrating and turned me off immediately. And as for the fanatical reverend with reefer madness...well, that was just plain silly.

The one aspect of the story that I did find somewhat interesting was the gunman Ham's ambiguous loyalties, and the secretive dialogue that went on between Ham and Torres. It's the only thing that kept me from turning off. Whereas the reverend was pretty much a one-note character, Ham's character did suggest more subtlety and depth and I wondered what he might do next. That, plus Torres' general likeability and ingenuity, kept me listening despite my dislike for the overall story.