Return to Death's Door

Return to Death's Door
Episode #	609
Air Date	December 12, 1982
Briefing	Keep an eye out for the honeymooners.

Title screen

Brief Plot

A guy arrested for hill racing holds a grudge against Ponch because his brother, Ponch's friend, died while racing him. Bruce helps to catch a dog on the freeway and Harlan is persuaded to look after it. A pair of honeymooners steal a car.

Guest Stars

• Lee Montgomery as Chris
• Gina Gallego as Elena
• Ellen Geer as Mrs. Williams
• Bruce Penhall as Bruce Nelson
• Tina Gayle as Kathy Linahan

Co-Starring

• Bryan Cranston as Billy Joe
• Clarence Gilyard, Jr. as Webster
• Bill Cross as Jim Telford
• Ralph Manza as Cooper
• Tony Perez as Eddie
• Kathy Shower as Honey Jean
• John Vidor as Zack

Featuring

• Gaby Mandelik as Sgt. Ford
• Paloma Vander as Tammy

Crew

• Executive Producer: Cy Chermak
• Supervising Producer: Paul Mason
• Written by: Gerald Sanford
• Directed by: Winrich Kolbe
• Executive Consultant: Rick Rosner
• Executive Story Consultant: Joseph Gunn
• Creative Consultant: Larry Mollin
• Story Consultant: Gerald Sanford
• Associate Producer: Randall Torno
• Developed for television by: Paul Playdon
• Music by: Alan Silvestri
• Theme by: John Parker
• Music Supervisor: Harry V. Lojewski
• Director of Photography: Robert F. Sparks
• Art Director: Stephen Myles Berger
• Editor: William Neel
• Unit Production Manager: Donald Gold
• First Assistant Director: Steven P, Saeta
• Second Assistant Director: David Newman
• Set Decorator: W. Joseph Kroesser
• Script Supervisor: Suzi Alter
• Production Consultant: Bill Udell
• Stunt Co-ordinator: Paul Nuckles
• Production Associate: Bonnie Jo Chermak
• Rerecorded at: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
• Sound: Harlan Riggs, M. Curtis Price, C.A.S.
• Wardrobe Supervisor: Shelly Levine
• Makeup: Richard Cobos, S.M.A., Jane Aull
• Hair Stylist: Don Lynch
• Sound Editor: Mark Dennis
• Music Editor: Tommy Carlin
• Casting: Al Onorato, Jerry Franks
• With Appreciation to Glen B. Craig, Commissioner California Highway Patrol
• Motorcycles Furnished by: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.
• Filmed in METROCOLOR / Titles and Opticals MGM
• Rosner Television in association with MGM Television

Fun Facts

• "Death's Door" in the title refers to a deadly curve on a road popular with racers.
• Gina Gallego (Elena) previously appeared in Valley Go Home! in season 3.
• In previous episodes the Thalberg Building in Culver City played a hospital. Here it's the Los Angeles Police Department.
• Getraer tells Ponch and Bobby that the honeymooners have been spotted at the City Center Motel at Sunset and Hill. The actual motel is the City Center Motel at 255 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach. It still looks virtually the same today. View in Google Maps

Mistakes

• Just after Bruce catches the dog, Ponch and Bobby get a call about cars racing on Mulholland north of Coldwater. They are clearly in the docks/Long Beach area when they get the call, which is roughly 40 miles away. Surely there are units closer to the action.
• In Ponch's flashback, his car loses one of its rear hubcaps at the start of the race. The hubcap is missing throughout the race, but reappears when Ponch exits the car to see the crash. The same hubcap also disappears in some shots of the present day race.

Preceded by: "Head Over Heels"

Return to Death's Door 609

Followed by: "Fallout"