The Tale of Cutter's Treasure Pt. 2

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Midnight Society

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Air Date: October 29, 1994
Storytellers: Gary (Ross Hull) / Frank (Jason Alisharan)

Frame: When we last left the Midnight Society, Frank and Gary had teamed up to deliver their best story, using their individual strengths; their strengths going as far as their individually created characters of Frank's Dr. Vink (Aron Tager) and Gary's Sardo (Richard Dumont). Just as the story was getting good, the group had to be left hanging due to rain, but they have returned, eagerly awaiting the rest of the story. Frank and Gary provide a brief recap of what happened in 'Part 1,' and the story picks up right where it left off.

Recap: The previous chapter told the story of two brothers, Rush (Dominic Zamprogna), a typical teenager interested in a girl named Sandy (Emily Hampshire), and Max (Andrew Sardella), who wants to hang out with his big brother. To keep Max out of his hair, Rush buys him a magic set from Sardo's shop, but while there, opens a strange chest that no one is supposed to be able to open and finds a busted old spy glass inside that he gives to Max, which appears to be a gateway for pirate ghosts to be able to come to the land of the living and eventually kidnap Max, leaving Rush with a mission to save him.

Story: The pirate ghosts, led by Cutter (Charles S. Dutton), kidnap Max, as Cutter mistakes Rush for being an old nemesis, and he's trying to force him into a final duel, using Max as the bait. Upon the kidnapping, Rush goes to Sardo's shop to confront him about the spy glass, and Sardo points him in the direction of Dr. Vink, who is better suited to answer his questions. Here, we find out that Rush was able to open the chest in Sardo's shop, thanks to being part of the bloodline of one Ian Keegan (Chip Chuipka), who was the only man to try to take on Cutter in the days of piracy. Rush doesn't just have a rescue mission now, but a destiny to fulfill.

Review: This may be a somewhat obvious statement, but 'Part 2' is where all the good stuff is. I appreciate that there are real stakes to this story, and it plays out almost like a movie in some ways, considering aspects like fulfilling one's destiny as a sort of "chosen one." Vink is featured more here as well, and I always liked him a little more than Sardo, but the guy who really makes this episode is Dutton. He's a lot of fun to watch as a ruthless pirate, and you can tell he's having a lot of fun with the role. I wouldn't call it "scary," myself, but it does make for a fun adventure, nonetheless.

Final Rating: Scared

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