Recap / Walker Texas Ranger S9E18 "Legends"

Legends is the 18th episode of the Ninth Season on Walker, Texas Ranger. It aired on April 21, 2001.

Noted Dallas mob boss Samuel E. Viscardi has recently been convicted for numerous crimes his organization committed, ranging from murder to racketeering, and has the book thrown at him. In the aftermath of the trial, his son and heir, Michael (played by Jay Bontatibus), wants revenge on all those who imprisoned him, from the head juror, Connie Gibson, to the judge, Abe Stiegler, and to top it all off, the prosecuting attorney, Alex. In the B-Plot, Walker's kickboxing friends are in town for the World Kickboxing Championship set to take place that weekend.

Written by Rob Wright
Directed by Michael Norris

Tropes seen in this episode:

• Anyone Can Die: The body count:
  • One head juror, Connie Gibson, killed by being hit by a car and pushed off the roof of a parking garage. Johnny "Johnny Zoom" Zubliski was the blind hire for this hit, and was killed by Dean Scaggs before he could be arrested by Gage and Sydney.
  • One federal judge, Abe Stiegler, killed by having unodorized propane spread all over his office. One of the blind hires for this hit was killed by Dean Scaggs, but the other survived and was arrested by Trivette.
  • One hired enforcer for organized crime, Dean Scaggs, killed by Michael Viscardi by being strangled to death. Michael then flees his office before he and Scaggs could be arrested by Gage and Sydney, though not before leaving behind Scaggs' lifeless corpse, which contains vital clue for the two Rangers: Alex's name written in his blood splattered on the desk, which indicates that she and Walker are Michael's final targets.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Alex gives the full details of Sammy Viscardi's crimes during his trial, as does the jury when he is found guilty, and this has him looking at a life sentence:
  Alex: If ye be blameless? Five murders, seven kidnappings, 23 counts of extortion and racketeering! And all of these charges Sammy Viscardi claims he didn't know his employees were committing these terrible crimes, when on each of these crimes, Mr. Viscardi had both motive and opportunity, and he was simply directing his lackeys to carry out his dirty work!
• As Himself: Walker's kickboxing friends in the B-Plot: were-champions Joe Lewis, Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Howard "California Flash" Jackson and Bill "Superfoot" Wallace and eventual are-champions Cung Le, Jean Claude Leuyer, Danny Steele.
• Asshole Victim:
  • After Sydney and Gage find him at the July Alley and before they could arrest him for the Connie Gibson murder, Johnny Zoom is killed by Dean Scaggs. Michael wants to make sure none of his blind hires cooperate.
  • Dean Scaggs is killed by Michael after he is trailed to his office by Gage and Sydney after they obtain an arrest warrant for him. When Gage and Sydney storm Michael's office, they find him nowhere in sight, but they do find Scaggs's lifeless corpse on his desk, plus his blood spelling the name of Michael's final victim: Alex (the blood reading D.A. Walk...).
• Avenging the Villain: The premise of the main plot and Michael's motive after his father is convicted; see Even Evil Has Loved Ones. Also a common motive for most mob organizations.
• Bad Guy Bar: The July Alley in Sunnyvale, where Johnny "Johnny Zoom" Zubliski hangs out.
• Batman Gambit: When the Rangers learn that Alex is Michael's final target after Gage and Sydney find Dean Scaggs' lifeless body in his office, Walker knew Michael and his mooks would follow him and Alex to their home, where they plan to kill them both before fleeing the city, and he and Sydney have a plan to lure them into a trap. The Rangers secure a no-knock warrant for Michael's home, not to mention crime scene investigators have raided his office after Scaggs' death was reported. While Gage and Trivette look for Michael at his home, Michael and his mooks prepare to ambush Walker and Alex at their home and kill them, but lo and behold, Sydney was disguised as Alex the whole time! Cue the Fight Scene!
  Michael: Who are you?!
  Sydney: Just your everyday ordinary ranger!
  (Sydney fights Michael while Walker deals with the two heavies; the Rangers easily dispatch the criminals)
  Sydney: So, how may rats did you catch?
  Walker: I caught two.
  (later, at Rangers' HQ)
  Sydney: Well, Viscardi's men have all been rounded up.
  Gage: Is that right? You know, Syd, I heard that Michael Viscardi thought you're a real knockout as Alex. Get it? "Knock," 'cause you...
  Sydney: I get it. I get it.
• Big Bad: Michael Viscardi.
• Big "NO!": From Connie Gibson at the beginning of the episode when she is exiting the mall after spending the last four hours shopping. Just before she could get into her car, another car charges at her and pushes her off the roof of the parking garage, resulting in her instantaneous death.
• Blood-Stained Letter / Couldn't Find a Pen / Dying Clue: After Michael strangles Scaggs to death after the latter is trailed by Gage and Sydney to the former's office, the duo investigates further to find Scaggs' blood reading "DA Walk..." on Michael's desk, which states that Alex and Walker are Michael's final targets.
• Book Ends: For the Rangers' kickboxing friends in the B-Plot. It starts with the were-champions (Wilson, Lewis, Wallace and Jackson) using the Ranger Gym for training, with Gage and Sydney joining them, and it ends with them using said gym again after the kickboxing tournament for a sparring session with the are-champions (Steele, Leuyer and Le).
• Chemistry Can Do Anything / Explosive Instrumentation / Stuff Blowing Up: Of the people involved in the Sammy Viscardi trial, after everyone was given extra protection after hearing about Connie Gibson's murder, Judge Stiegler was the only one who refused it, thinking nobody would go after a federal judge. What kills Stiegler is unodorized propane sprayed all over the floor of his portable office at the Dallas Law School where he had been busy lecturing; moments after he turns on the lights shortly after stepping into his office, the gas ignites and explodes. Fire investigator Ned Bloom originally believed someone was painting the office and left a few cans of turpentine open and the windows closed, until a full arson investigation he conducted proved otherwise. While Trivette, Sydney and Gage search the oil refineries and gas plants across the Dallas area for the hitmen responsible for killing Stiegler, the latter two have no luck, but Gage determines that 9,500 gallons, about the size of a tanker truck, is the minimum order size for the propane, and the hitmen would need a truck to transport it. This information is passed over to Trivette, who finds and arrests the oil contractor who perpetrated the hit before Scaggs could kill him next (his partner having been killed by the latter), as well as the dispatch manager after he interrogated him, which then leads up to the Rangers determining that Scaggs is responsible for all the killings overall.
• The Dragon: Dean Scaggs. As a hired enforcer for organized crime all across Texas, he is Michael Viscardi's middle man.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Justified with Sammy and Michael Viscardi. The defense attorney in Sammy's trial made the "loyal husband and loving father" comment about him very clear at the start of the episode, and Michael feels the exact same way with his father, going so far as to kill the people who put him away.
• Foreshadowing: After Sydney and Gage find the grille for the stolen LeSabre used to kill Connie Gibson and are prepared to arrest Hugo, one of his employee tries to strangle her to death in the midst of this fight. This is what Michael will soon try to do to her while she is disguised as Alex (who is his final target) after doing so to Dean Scaggs while he and his mooks ambush her and Walker at his home near the end of the episode.
• Frying Pan of Doom: Sydney wields one when she and Michael exchange blows while Walker deals with his two henchmen as the gang raids Walker's house to try to kill him and Alex, only for Sydney to reveal at the last minute she was disguised as Alex the whole time.
• Gotta Kill Them All / Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Michael Viscardi wants revenge on everyone who put his father away, and every attempt on the lives of those involved in the trial was a blind hire by his middle man, Dean Scaggs. After the hit is carried out on the people involved in the trial, the blind hire is then eliminated. It is after Walker apprises Alex of the first victim being killed, he arranges for her and everyone involved in said trial to be given extra protection. The kill count is as follows:
  • The first victim is Connie Gibson, the head juror. She is killed by being hit by a car and being pushed off the roof of the parking garage to the shopping mall she was visiting, and the person driving the vehicle at the time was a car thief named Johnny Zubliski (nicknamed Johnny Zoom), who had been linked to a vehicular homicide but got off on a technicality. In addition, the vehicle that was used to kill Connie, a cobalt Buick LeSabre, was reported stolen, and its grille was traced back to a junkyard, where Gage and Sydney arrested the owner and a few of his employees, who cooperated in the investigation. When Gage and Sydney try to arrest Johnny Zoom at a bar he frequents, he has his poker buddies keep them busy while he makes his escape, only to be killed by Scaggs. After Gage and Sydney dispatch the bar patrons, they find Zubliski's lifeless corpse and Scaggs having already escaped.
  • Abe Stiegler, the presiding judge, is killed when his portable office at the Dallas Law School, where he had been busy lecturing all day, has unodorized propane spread all over, causing it to explode the moment he turned on the lights, thanks to a full arson investigation by fire inspectors. While everyone involved with the Viscardi trial was given extra protection after hearing about Connie Gibson's death, Stiegler refused it, thinking nobody would go after a federal judge; he was proven dead wrong, both literally and figuratively. An oil contractor named Floyd was responsible for Stiegler's killing, and is Scaggs' next target to be killed after he paid him half the $50,000 he was owed for the hit. However, Scaggs only succeeds in killing his partner, and then, both Floyd and the dispatch manager are arrested by Trivette and they, too, cooperate.
  • Dean Scaggs himself is the last victim. When the Rangers finally determine he killed Johnny "Zoom" Zubliski (who killed Connie Gibson) and tried to kill Floyd, but succeeded in killing his partner (who killed Judge Stiegler), they get an arrest warrant for him. When Gage and Sydney try to arrest Scaggs, they then chase him to Michael's office. As a result of the chase, Michael has no choice but to kill Scaggs, too, before he can proceed doing so with his final targets: Alex and Walker.
• He Knows Too Much / Leave No Witnesses: Common for most crime syndicates, as well as a staple of the show. Michael Viscardi has his middle man, Dean Scaggs, organize blind hires for those involved in the trial. After the hit against the person involved in the trial is carried out, the blind hire is then killed. Michael would even do so to Scaggs after Gage and Sydney determine he was responsible for the killings of those who assisted them in their killing spree, and then trail the latter to the former's office, where he strangles him to death.
• I Never Said It Was Poison: Gage and Sydney's search for the Buick LeSabre in connection with Connie Gibson's murder leads them to a junkyard, which is the last stop on their list. They are successful at finding the grille for the car, and Hugo tries to say it wasn't blue to try to cover things up to no avail. Cue Gage and Sydney fighting Hugo's employees after incapacitating him, followed by calling for backup to arrest all of them.
• Ironic Echo: Judge Stiegler before Sammy Viscardi is convicted, then as Michael targets him next after Connie Gibson is killed:
  Judge Stiegler: Madam Foreperson, have you reached a verdict?
• It Runs in the Family / Villainous Lineage: After Sammy Viscardi is convicted, his son, Michael, becomes the leader of the Viscardi Organization.
• The Mafia: The Viscardi Organization.
• Middle-Management Mook: Dean Scaggs.
• Off on a Technicality: Johnny Zoom, who was linked to a vehicular homicide the year prior, but got off on a technicality, as noted by the information Trivette pulls up when Sydney and Gage look for him so they can arrest him for the Connie Gibson murder.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Twice for Sydney and Gage while trailing Scaggs to Michael's office. Upon entering the office, Michael had already left, but they manage to find Scaggs' lifeless corpse on Michael's desk, as well as learning through his Dying Clue that Alex and Walker are Michael's final targets.
  • Michael's surprise to find that Sydney was disguised as Alex as he prepares to kill her the same way he did with Scaggs, while his mooks deal with Walker.
• One-Word Title
• Overlord Jr.: Michael Viscardi becomes the new head of the Viscardi Organization after his father is convicted by Alex. Who knows if he has children of his own who will succeed him after Walker arrests him for his revenge killings?
• The Precarious Ledge / Surprise Car Crash: At the start of the episode, the head juror of the Viscardi trial, Connie Gibson, is killed this way. While walking to her car after spending a morning at the mall, another car, a cobalt blue Buick LeSabre, sneaks up behind her, rams her and pushes her off the roof of the parking garage, causing her to fall hundreds of feet to the ground. The suspect of this killing was a car thief by the name of Johnny Zoom (real name Johnny Zubliski), but Scaggs kills him before Gage and Sydney could arrest him. They do, however, find photos of Zubliski's crime in his apartment, which were taken and given to him by Scaggs.
• Secret Message Wink:
  • Averted for Sammy Viscardi after he is convicted for his crimes. Walker had been watching the trial in the gallery along with Michael and Scaggs, but while he congratulates Alex on the convictions, he sees Sammy nod to Michael while he is led out of the courtroom in handcuffs to await sentencing the next day at 9:00 AM, and doesn't realize what this means, until he and Trivette are the first Rangers on the scene when the head juror, Connie Gibson, turns up dead. After forensics determine that Gibson's death was not an accident, having found car headlight glass and chipped auto paint on the rail she went over, not to mention the vehicle used in the murder, a brand-new cobalt blue Buick LeSabre, was reported stolen, Walker concludes that Sammy was nodding the message to Michael that he avenge him, with Gibson having been his first victim, at which point he apprises Alex of the situation and arranges that extra protection be provided for her and everyone involved in the trial.
  • Also averted with the dispatch manager at the Talford Petroleum Refinery, where Trivette successfully finds the people who carried out the hit against Judge Stiegler (whereas Sydney and Gage had no luck at, respectively, the Waterton Refinery and the Venue Gas Plants). After Gage determines that the people responsible for torching Stiegler's office need a truck to transport unodorized propane, Trivette notices a truck with no markings, at which point the manager of the refinery alerts the hitmen of his presence. Although Dean Scaggs kills one of the hitmen, Trivette manages to arrest Floyd and the dispatch manager, upon which he is able to determine Scaggs tried to kill them.
• Special Guest:
  • The main plot has Jay Bontatibus as Michael Viscardi (the Big Bad of the episode), John Thaddeus as Dean Scaggs (Michael's middle man, a hired enforcer connected to organized crime all over Texas) and Peter Siragusa as Hugo Bianco (the junkyard owner whom Gage and Sydney arrest at the start of the episode while searching for Connie Gibson's killer).
  • The Rangers' kickboxing friends in the B-plot, who are all in Dallas for the World Kickboxing Championships set to take place that weekend: were-champions Joe Lewis, Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Howard "California Flash" Jackson and Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, and are-champions Cung Le, Jean Claude Leuyer, Danny Steele. At the start of the episode, the were-champions are seen renting the Rangers' gym for a workout session, and Gage and Sydney are invited to work out with them. At the end of the episode, after the Viscardi Organization is defeated, the Rangers hang out with the were-champions watching the tournament, then the are-champions challenge the were-champions to a sparring session at the Ranger gym.
• Title Drop: From Gage when he, Trivette and Sydney examine the championship match program at the office while Alex is in the middle of the Viscardi trial:
  Gage: The World Kickboxing Championships in Dallas this weekend, and all these legends are going to be here at the same time watching!
• Trashy Trailer Home: Dean Scaggs lives in one deep in the Texas backwoods. Gage and Sydney visit his home when they get a warrant for his arrest after one of the hitmen responsible for the hit against Judge Stiegler identifies him while being interrogated by Trivette, but there's nobody in sight... until he returns home on his motorcycle and sees the two Rangers' unmarked Crown Vic parked outside, upon which he makes a run for it back into the city with Gage and Sydney in hot pursuit... and to Michael's office where he ends up being strangled to death.
• Victim of the Week: Connie Gibson and Judge Stiegler.
• Villain No Longer Idle: After Dean Scaggs is trailed by Gage and Sydney to his office, it's quite obvious Michael is out of blind hires, to which he decides to kill Alex himself, though not before he murders Scaggs to keep him from talking mere moments before Gage and Sydney raid his office. Michael has then followed Walker and Sydney (who was disguised as Alex to fool him) to Walker's house, where he and his two heavies easily have their asses handed to them.
• What Happened to the Mouse?:
  • This is averted with Sammy Viscardi, because he's looking at life in prison for his crimes.
  • Played straight with Hugo (the junkyard owner who tried to cover for Connie Gibson's killer along with his employees), Floyd (the oil contractor who killed Judge Stiegler) and the dispatch manager of the gas plant Trivette was visiting after they were arrested. It is likely they all got reduced sentences in exchange for their testimonies against Michael.
  • Also played straight with Michael Viscardi after he and his two henchmen are easily taken down when they raid Walker's home to kill him and Alex, only for them to find out Sydney was disguised as her and acting as a decoy to trick them while the real Alex was in hiding. It's safe to assume Michael got the same treatment his father did before him upon conviction for his crimes.
• You Are Too Late: After Michael and Scaggs take out Connie Gibson (the head juror of the trial) and Johnny Zoom (the blind hire asked to perpetrate the aforementioned hit), Judge Stiegler is next to be killed. Alex tells Walker and Trivette that she got in touch with everyone involved in the Viscardi trial, and they were provided with protection after the Gibson murder. Judge Stiegler, meanwhile, refused it, saying nobody would go after a federal judge. Walker and Trivette decide to visit Stiegler at the Dallas Law School, but Michael already got there first and his office is blown to smithereens.
  Trivette: Go after a federal judge, you'll go after anybody.
  Walker: I know.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Dean Scaggs is responsible for the blind hires to take out the people responsible for Sam Viscardi's conviction, and after all the victims are killed, the blind hires are killed afterwards. Near the end of the episode, when Gage and Sydney get a warrant for his arrest and follow Scaggs to Michael's office after Trivette arrests one of the men responsible for the hit against Judge Stiegler and the dispatch manager of the gas plant, it's not long before Michael gives him this treatment before he goes off to murder Walker and Alex.