50th Anniversary Viewing (Part 1)
The Six Million Dollar Man
"Return of the Robot Maker"
Originally aired January 26, 1975
Peacock said:
A robot duplicate of Oscar Goldman is used in a plot to destroy Steve and steal a secret formula.
We're going straight into the opening credits now, no teaser. In his semi-trailer lair, Dr. Chester Dolenz (Henry Jones in his last of three appearances in the role) prepares his Oscar robot by putting on his face to nobody's surprise. Dolenz proceeds to get an appointment to see Oscar using an alias, shoots him with a tranq gun (because it's just that easy), and switches him with the robot with the help of a couple of window washers. Meanwhile, Steve's workout is interrupted by Barney Barnes (Troy Melton), a field agent who's eager to get into the gadgetry side of the operation by hawking his wares. Steve encourages him to go straight to Oscar.
While RoboOscar uses camera eyes to photograph the top-secret Brahmin file, Dolenz has Oscar brought to his mobile lair, where he's bound in front of a TV showing his duplicate's POV and hooked up to mind-reading electrodes that enable Dolenz to extract the access code to the Brahmin facility. Dolenz transmits this info to RoboOscar over the phone at a restaurant where he and Steve are on a double date with a pair of ladies named Amy and Denise (Iris Edwards and Jean Lee Brooks). The robot is aided in this situation by a new ability to simulate eating and drinking, though RO attracts Steve's attention by quickly gulping down his drinks. (Dolenz mentions Steve having told him that his earlier robots squeaked, a detail I don't remember.) following the call, RoboOscar takes Steve aside to assign him to test the defenses of the Brahmin facility--where a concentrated energy source is being developed--on the premise that a computer has predicted that a bionic man could get through. RO says that these orders came straight from the Secretary (who apparently doesn't use self-destructing reel-to-reel tapes anymore), and that the test will involve simulated defenses.
In actuality, the facility isn't in on the "test" and Dolenz is killing two birds with one stone by using Steve as a diversion with the intent of getting him offed. Steve brings Barney into Oscar's office to get RoboOscar's permission to use the security test as an opportunity to field-test Barney's gadgets. On the way to the test, RO's drinking problem comes up again when he quickly downs a cup of scalding coffee. RO drops Steve off outside the facility's fence and goes over the plan, which involves Oscar getting inside conventionally so he can supposedly monitor Steve's progress from there. After Oscar is in the control center with General Stacey (Ben Hammer), Steve, wearing a pack of Barney's gear, jumps the fence and starts running toward the facility, which triggers alarms and gets him on camera while RO eyes the safe that contains the plans he's after.
After a pen call from Barney looking for a premature progress report, Steve bionic-tosses a briefcase that deploys three explosives to divert remote machine gun fire; then navigates a minefield at bionic speed, keeping ahead of the explosions; then dodges remote machine gun pillboxes, getting close enough to one to squeeze its barrel shut; and is finally felled by a higher-caliber round to the chest from a gun that pops out of a bunker. (Did I mention that one of Barney's gadgets was a lightweight bulletproof vest? Also, I think this sequence is the source of some of the footage that was regurgitated more than once sans any story context in the syndicated version of one of the pre-series TV movies.) While all this has been going on, RO has slipped into the safe without anyone noticing. A camera closeup reveals that the seemingly dead intruder was Steve Austin. In the trailer, thinking his plan has worked, Dolenz threatens to dispose of the real Oscar.
While the guards look for the body, the revived Steve sees RO being driven away and manages to get a cryptic alert out to Barney via the malfunctioning pen radio, then pursues in the car he and RO came in as RO is dropped off at some sort of industrial property. There RO enters the trailer and Oscar expresses the obligatory astonishment at finding himself face-to-face with his double. (It's funny that in the intro while they were attempting to tease the robot's identity, Anderson was very recognizable from behind; while the double playing Oscar seen from behind in the same chair obviously isn't Anderson.) Dolenz walks them out and is explaining how he plans to entomb Oscar in concrete when Steve pops up, and both Oscars cry out that they're the real McCoy. (A very obvious double is seen full-frontal next to Anderson in the long shots, while split screen aided by the edge of the trailer door is used for tighter shots.) Steve examines both with his bionic eye, noticing sweat on the brow of the real Oscar, and charges up to bionic-kick the other. A bionic/robotic duel ensues with the sound effect used for both participants and a tape drive unit being hurled as one of the improvised weapons. (I assume this is one of the cool sequences you've previously alluded to,
RJ--it's not every episode that we see Steve in a bionic brawl with Oscar!) Steve ultimately comes out victorious with a chop that causes the robot's head to come off as it keels over.
As Dolenz is being taken into custody, he and Steve grudgingly express mutual respect; following which Steve explains how he was able to distinguish the real Oscar. A very fake effects shot is used for a close-up of RoboOscar's eyes-open head being held in Oscar's hand as he examines it.
Adam-12
"Victim of the Crime"
Originally aired January 28, 1975
MeTV said:
Malloy and Reed are left frustrated after investigating the theft of an elderly woman's old television set, but they have hope that a recently passed law may provide her and other victims with compensation. Elsewhere on patrol, they search for an armed robber who shot an over-trusting shopkeeper, and respond to a call of an unusual armed robbery at a drive-in.
The episode opens with the officers climbing stairs to the apartment of elderly widow Louise Hammond (Dorothy Neumann), who has multiple chain locks, but no deadbolt to protect the place while she's out. Thieves have stolen her vintage Dumont television set (a brand that Reed is unfamiliar with), which she describes as "the only friend I've got left".
On patrol, the officers are called to a 211 in progress at an antique store where shots have already been fired. Debbie McMahon tells the officers of two fleeing suspects, one of whom shot her father (Amy Milner sharing the scene with her real-life father).
The suspects are found jumping a fence out back, and one of them is apprehended. Reed tries to go after the other one, but gets a bad roll and finds himself side-quested to help a young mother (Shelby Leverington) whose baby buggy is rolling down the street. Debbie rides with her father to the hospital, where RL Dad tries to comfort her.
Back in the squad car, Jim vents about a law they're not allowed to tell victims about yet because the forms haven't come in.
We learn more about this in the HQ break room, where the officers inform Woods of a recently passed Rights of the Victim law that's supposed to reimburse victims of violent crimes. Investigator Johnson (Jim B. Smith in his second of three appearances as the character this season) recruits the officers to conduct some follow-up on the tight-lipped suspect they caught, Donald Miller, in an effort to identify his partner, Ronnie. Johnson points them to a bail bondsman named Sid (Stan[ley] Adams), whom Miller was a client of from another recent offense. Sid digs into his files to find that Miller was referred by a cousin named Ron Daly, who's since skipped out on a $500 bond. At Daly's address, neighbor Angie Byrd (Julie Bennett) informs the officers that he's been gone for over a week, but is able to ID his vehicle because he recently hit hers with it.
The officers proceed to check out a 211 silent at a drive-in restaurant, where the waitress (Rose Ann Zecker) describes how she was held up with what turned out to be a piece of pipe, the robbers' car stalled, and they gave the money back before making their delayed getaway. Reed hears on the radio that they've been caught a few blocks away.
Back on patrol, the officers hear a call about a 211 suspect under pursuit in a vehicle matching Daly's. They intercept and corner the vehicle, the suspect gets out and hops a fence into a park with a swimming pool and basketball courts (Malloy doing a nifty fence-vault to follow), and after some more pursuit and fence-hopping, the suspect finds himself surrounded by a pair of armed officers and surrenders.
Back at HQ, the officers are visited by Mrs. Hammond, who's looking for news about her set and airs her dissatisfaction about what's done for victims. The officers return to the T12 office to find Mac handing out and explaining the anticipated Rights of the Victim forms. While the law doesn't cover burglary, Debbie McMahon is grateful for the help it should provide in paying her father's medical bills.
Hawaii Five-O
"Small Witness, Large Crime"
Originally aired January 28, 1975
Paramount+ said:
When a young boy is arrested as a witness to a murder, McGarrett must contend with a fiery deputy public prosecutor.
A pro sniper (some other John Kerry) climbs an old WWII machine gun tower and sets up his rifle while a sailing yacht enters the harbor that the tower overlooks. Nearby, a young urchin (Joshua N. Farin) steals chocolate milk and donuts from the car of a woman returning to her beachside shack with groceries (Elizabeth Smith). The boy gets away and is enjoying his meal on the steps of the tower when the sniper shoots a man on the yacht, the boy drops his milk bottle, and the sniper sees that he has a witness. The sniper attempts to pursue the boy, who loses him in a nearby auto junkyard.
The victim is Chun Hong, president of a trust company. The yacht's captain (Wright Esser) tells Five-O how Hong was supposed to be traveling on business but got called back by an unknown party. Che works out where the shots came from, and the 1/2-mile distance and type of ammo used cause Steve to suspect an assassin with special forces training. Checking out the tower, Five-O finds the boy's discarded lunch and one of his footprints in the milk, deducing that there was a witness to the crime. Steve uses a regular handball game with Hong's executive assistant, Arnold Hubbard (Bert Convy), as an opportunity for questioning. Arnold isn't able to shed light on the situation, but does cast doubt on Hong's reputation as a philanthropist, indicating that he may have been hiding something. After the game, Steve meets energetic juvenile court public defendant Frances Chai (France Nuyen), who's concerned about how this will affect a youth center program.
Meanwhile, the original owner of the boy's meal, Rosalei Kahala, is found, and tells Chin that the boy probably lives in the junkyard. Five-O and HPD search the place while the sniper, who's staking out the property, watches from afar with interest. The boy tries to slip away but is caught by Danno and, when his shoe proves to be a match, taken in. At HQ, Steve and Danno try to loosen the kid up with all the fast food he can eat, but as they present him with evidence of his presence at the tower and show him pictures of possible suspects with special forces training (one of whom is the sniper), the boy remains completely mum. They decide to hold him on theft charges for his protection, and word of this gets to an outraged Frances Chai via Arnold Hubbard (already a suspicious character for his story placement and casting). Meanwhile, a well-placed informant named Tommy (Thomas Fujiwara) tells Frank of rumors that Hong's trust was involved in fencing stolen stocks and bonds. A computer analysis of the boy's footprint against birth records identifies him as Moki Kanihelu, the orphan of a mother who OD'ed and a father who'd been serving time on the mainland until recently and is known to be looking for his son. Then Steve learns that the boy's been set free.
Judge Keona (Ted F. Nobriga) hooks Steve up with Chai, who had the boy released into her custody and placed him in a youth foundation home. Steve lays out for her exactly why he had the boy in custody, she realizes that she's put Moki in mortal danger, and is sent with an officer to bring him back in, but learns that the boy has split. Along the way, Steve has noted with interest that it was Hubbard who tipped Chai off. Five-O learns that it was an auditor who'd found some paper substitution in a portfolio who called Hong back to the island. Steve and Danno share what they know with Hubbard, getting him to contribute knowledge about how Hong might have made such a switch to profit from the stolen securities. Then Steve turns the tables on Hubbard, indicating that Hong was out at sea when the switch was made and that Arnold's their suspect.
Hubbard pleads that he was working for a mainland ring who hired the hitman, and is nevertheless booked for murder one. Five-O heads to the junkyard to find Moki, but Chai gets there first. As she's trying to call the boy out of hiding, the sniper readies his rifle and finds a good position; but the boy, aware of the sniper, pulls her behind cover. Then Five-O and HPD come wailing in and search the place. The sniper is taking aim at McGarrett when Moki provides a distraction, causing the sniper to reveal himself, and McGarrett puts a few rounds into the man's chest. Moki positively identifies the body as the killer he saw, then Duke arrives with the boy's father to end the story with a happy reunion.
The Odd Couple
"The Rent Strike"
Originally aired January 31, 1975
Wiki said:
Felix organizes a rent strike against the building's nasty manager (Victor Buono).
It seems that I was previously mistaken; the show did move to Fridays at this point for the remainder of its final season...this being the penultimate episode available to me.
In a quantum reality in which Felix doesn't have a fear of flying, he returns from Baltimore exhausted after having to climb 11 flights of stairs because the elevator's broken. While Oscar's happy to avoid the issue by working from home, Felix organizes a tenant march--which includes Miriam and a bagpipe player--and has the new building manager, Mr. Lovelace (Buono sporting a Santa beard), called before a board. Felix assumes that he's got Lovelace where he wants him when he's called to the manager's office for a meeting, but Lovelace, who's a houseplant lover, announces a rent increase to pay for improvements he's already made that don't affect the tenants' quality of life as much as the issues they're protesting. Felix proceeds to lead a rent strike, with Lovelace retaliating by turning off heat and water and taking away the tenants' doors so that they're all robbed. (The thieves take away most of the apartment's living room furniture, including the couch that Oscar's sleeping on.) During a tenants' assembly, Lovelace pops in to announce that he'll restore things to normal and cancel the rent increase, on the condition that Felix moves out immediately. Oscar's initial reaction is to cheer.
While Felix packs his things, a guilty Oscar tries to reason with Lovelace. When the manager stands firm while predicting that the other tenants will turn against Felix, Oscar is motivated to back his roomie in staying. After a warning from Miriam, an angry mob of tenants accompanied by Lovelace forces their way through a barricade of boxes and a table in the doorway. Oscar shames them by recounting good deeds that Felix did for each of them, causing most of the mob to disperse while a small group that includes Mr. Ralston (Ed Peck) and Mrs. Osgood (Georgia Schmidt) turns on Lovelace and stands with Felix. Just as Felix is referencing the wisdom of Solomon as what it would take to resolve this clash of irresistible force vs. immovable object, Murray arrives to announce that he's finally identified the building's owner (having been recruited to do so earlier in the episode)--child actor Rodney Allen Rippy (himself), who, accompanied a lawyer who does most of the talking (Peter Hobbs), fires Lovelace with promises to have things restored to normal.
In the coda, Felix and Oscar go down to see an apologetic Lovelace as he's packing up, noting along the way that they conveniently got their furniture back.
So Pat Boone started out as an Elvis impersonator.
Pat (who doesn't exist as far as my collection's concerned), like most of the world, presumably wouldn't have heard of him at this point.
OK, pretty forgettable.
"Survive" covers a lot of ground.
I had to look that up: "George Smith was unconscious for six days, and when he awoke he was blind in both eyes. After four surgeries and seven months in the hospital, he recovered from his supersonic ejection and returned to flight status." I found that
here. Pretty amazing.
Are you bucking for a No Prize?
And they've already done better.
It's strange that they would give him that ironic name and then not use it.
The studio audience did the reacting.
