TV: Poker Face

I hated Rian Johnson's take on Star Wars, but I'm a fan of his latest creation, Poker Face, which is currently streaming on Peacock:

Capably helmed by showrunners Lilla and Nora Zuckerman, Poker Face is a loving tribute to the case-of-the-week shows of the 1970s and 80s and a throwback to Johnson's low-stakes murder mystery roots (think Brick). The series follows Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne, also executive producer), a casino waitress with the nigh-supernatural ability to detect when someone is lying. When a friend of Charlie's is killed, the fallout puts Charlie on the run, drifting from town to town and getting caught up in local murders that she can't help but try and solve.

Lyonne's blue-collar, easygoing charisma is the heart and soul of the show, and her character is an amalgam of the great TV detectives (Charlie has Columbo's raspy smoker's voice and drives an old Plymouth Barracuda like Nash Bridges).  While murder seemingly follows Charlie everywhere she goes (and is even sometimes triggered by her presence, as in Murder, She Wrote ), the series as a whole has a surreal, lighthearted tone and some really fun guest stars.

Miscellany: Microtech Combat Troodon review

I like the John Wick series, but most of the Gucci gear featured in the later films is out of my reach (I'm not dropping $7,000 on a Taran Tactical Pit Viper anytime soon). John Wick: Chapter 2 was perhaps the last entry where a casual fan like me could afford the same weapons used by the titular assassin, including the subject of today's review, the Microtech Combat Troodon.

The Combat Troodon is one of the biggest knives Microtech makes, and one of the biggest double-action OTF knives on the market, period.  Mine is a standard production model with an M390 dagger edge blade. While the action is a bit stiff (there's no way this knife will fire accidentally), fit and finish are top-notch.  Hey, they better be - this is a $500 (!) knife.

What the heck is a "troodon"? It's Ancient Greek for "wounding tooth," and the name for a "dubious genus" of dinosaurs:

In some respects, this Microtech Combat Troodon is a dinosaur, too - a throwback to a time when small consumer goods were made in the U.S.A. Unlike other switchblades that are merely "assembled" in America, Microtech really makes 95% of their knives here, starting with raw materials and milling, machining, and finishing them in-house, right down to the proprietary screws (there are a few controversial exceptions, which Microtech very clearly identifies). 

Such American time and labor are not cheap, hence the exorbitant asking price. But how is it as a knife? Well, at almost 5-1/2 ounces and over 9 inches open, the Combat Troodon is at the outer limit of what can be comfortably carried in the average pocket:

The big ole double-edged blade came razor sharp, albeit with a tiny, almost imperceptible burr near the tip. The pocket clip is wide and stable, with enough "bite" to secure the knife even in relatively flimsy material. Finally, at the end of the knife is a typical Microtech glass breaker - some like 'em, some don't, but they do seem to work, and add some functionality to what would otherwise be a giant adult fidget toy.

In the end, is the Combat Troodon worth the 500 smackers? For me, the answer is yes - it's a conversation piece, it cuts as well as anything else, and it'll hold its value over time. That said, I sure as heck don't plan on ever getting into a subway fight with it...