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| The gold medal haircut [right]. |
From now on, I’m going to be discussing the
contents of Crimetown episodes, and
specifically, spoiling the episodes. So, if you still aren’t following along,
I’d recommend catching up on the past episodes. They’re usually in 30 minute
chunks, and I highly recommend them!
The sixth
episode of Crimetown is probably the
strongest of the season so far, and not surprisingly, it’s because it stars
D&D player and former mobster Jerry Tillinghast. Again, it’s the usage of
the show’s audio clips and interviews that makes the 35-minute runtime so
compelling, as you can hear the weariness and sadness in his voice.
The broad
strokes of the show – Tillinghast has to kill one of his best friends, a fellow
mobster, who had gotten too mouthy. Unknown to him though, he’s already being
tailed by a police officer (Vincent Vespia) and an FBI agent, so he’s arrested
shortly after the hit.
However, his
brother Harold, who in previous episodes is portrayed as not having the nerve
for the mob life, is also arrested. Vespia is convinced that he saw Harold in
the car, while Tillinghast’s old lawyer and others swear that he wasn’t. The
tension stems from the fact that 1) someone WAS in the car with Tillinghast 2)
it almost certainly wasn’t Harold but 3) Tillinghast won’t give up who was in
the car with him.
Tillinghast
ends up convicted for the murder, but Harold is too. He spends 25 years in
prison, because his brother chose his mob family over his actual family member.
It’s gripping stuff, and you can hear the regret in Tillinghast’s voice as he
talks about it, since after he’s incarcerated, mobsters start turning on one
another to avoid prison sentences in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
It’s weird
to say about a mob hitman, but Tillinghast, now 70, is the most sympathetic
character on the show through six episodes. He shows some remorse and
perspective on what he did, which is most evident when talking about Vespia
putting him away. His words work as a great stinger to end the episode.
“Life’s too
short to hold grudges. Listen, they do what they gotta do. I don’t hold grudges
against Vinny or anybody. They’re doing their job. If I put myself in a
position where I have to worry about the law, that’s on me. Choices. I made a
choice. My favorite word is choices. It should be everybody’s in this fucking
world. You make it, you own it. You reap the benefits, suffer the consequences.
You made the choice. Be man enough or woman enough to take the pain as well as
the gain.
Some odds
and ends:
- This
episode starts off with another great anecdote, with Tillinghast and his barber
winning a gold medal. The narration is priceless. “And my model used to be
Jerry Tillinghast.” “Yeah, that Jerry Tillinghast. Mob enforcer, Vietnam
veteran, environmental inspector, and hair model.” Like the best mob movies,
there is always a sort of bleak or dark humor to the anecdotes on Crimetown.
- In past
entries, I’ve been spelling it “Jerry Tillinghast,” based on a
bio on the Crimetown site.
However, in some entries on their site and in other news articles, he goes by
Gerry and Gerald. So, take your pick as to which is correct. (And, by the way –
The characters page on
their web site allows you to sort and filter by episode, and it’s very helpful!
All they need now is to offer a downloadable organizational chart or family
tree, a la a proper crime procedural.)
- The
episode summary on the web site for Crimetown
has some awesome photos. Check it out here!
- The show
is on hiatus until late January, which kind of sucks. It was just starting to
build up some momentum! Then again, I can understand that download numbers and
new listeners would probably be non-existent for the Christmas and New Year’s
Eve break.
I’ve written about podcasts here and there,
and this entry from 2014, after Serial finished, is still mostly valid. And hey, I
host a podcast! If you like pre-2000s video games, check out Your
Parents Basement.
Want to support Steve’s blogging? Then
purchase something via the Amazon clickthru link for Your Parents Basement, Steve’s other
project! To read all of Steve’s past Inexplicable Movie Reviews, click here! For Inexplicable TV Reviews, click here! For Inexplicable Video Game Reviews, click here! And for Inexplicable Book Reviews, go here!
