- Title: Silk Stalkings – Blo-Dri
- IMDb: link
Throwback Tuesday takes us back to the unsolved crimes of passion in the wealthy playground of Palm Beach, Florida. “Blo-Dri” introduces fans to Donnie “Dogs” DiBelco (Dennis Paladino), a local gangster who would go on to have a dozen appearances over the show’s run. Investigating the murder of a womanizing hairdresser (Oliver Darrow) and a mob lawyer leads to a disagreement between Chris (Rob Estes) and Rita (Mitzi Kapture) and as to who the true target of the hit was. While some evidence points to a photographer (Teri Ann Linn) with a rough romantic history with the victim, the real reason behind the murder proves to be money. Donnie’s bark in his first appearance is worse than his bite, but first interaction between the gangster and Rita sets the stage for their unusual relationship.
Aside from Donnie’s first appearance on the show, “Blo-Dri” features a handful of memorable moments including Chris getting a black-eye from a professional football player (Peter Koch) and later celebrating some revenge. There’s also a short-lived romantic interest for Rita in an writer (Scott Colomby) who helps arrange a sit down between Donnie and Rita. Despite some chemistry, Rita is rankled by the man’s close association to the gangster and a willingness to justify any action (even putting Chris and Rita’s lives at risk at one point during the episode). Laura Albert is memorable as the exhibitionist girlfriend, and ex-wife of the victim, who enjoys torturing Chris a bit in front of her boy-toy (who she used to help kill her ex). The episode also reveals that Hutch (Ben Vereen) wanted to be an FBI agent but was rejected due to a questionable childhood setting up the police captain’s animosity towards the Bureau.
