Cry Wolf

Cry Wolf
Episode #	118
Air Date	February 16, 1978
Briefing	The new task force

Title screen

Brief Plot

Hurry up and wait! Bogus accident calls have the CHP spinning its wheels.

Plot

While Ponch and Jon try to get some fast food, someone on the San Diego Freeway calls in a gas truck rollover. Although he's calling from callbox "SD 283", he gives the CHP callbox number "SD 285". Ponch, Jon, Baricza, and fire trucks respond. As Jon is on his way to box "SD 285", a woman skids in the water and causes Jon to fall off his motorcycle. Luckily, he's only scraped.

At the reported location of the accident, emergency response units are standing by. Grossman tells Getraer there's nothing for miles. They give up and start to head out.

As Ponch and Jon check over Jon's motor, the nurse from the car suggests that Jon get his elbow X-rayed in case it's chipped. Ponch encourages it just to get Jon to spend time with the good looking nurse, but Jon turns down the offer.

Finally arriving at the reported location of the accident, Ponch and Jon are told that Getraer wants to see them all back at Central. After they arrive, Getraer, leads a task force and goes over tactics to catch the guy phoning in the fake accidents. They have help from someone from the phone company. Getraer notices Jon's elbow and asks him to have it checked out.

Elsewhere, we see the guy who called in the false alarm in his bedroom and learn his name is Walt. His sister comes to the door and he lies about having a job interview and yells at her. She encourages him to do something with his life. He heads out and calls in a fake brush fire from box "SD 424" as "SD 426". Once again, emergency units respond. Baricza arrives first and finds nothing there.

Back at Central, Getraer tells Jon that the phone company's equipment will be ready at 8am the next morning.

That morning, the phone company has tracing equipment ready. When a possible false alarm of a helicopter crash comes in from box "SD 248", everyone responds. They find out it's real when Ponch and Jon arrive first on the scene. After getting everyone to safety, the two officers grab a box of rare blood just before the helicopter explodes. They then race to Valley General Hospital with the blood. They get there just in time and are rudely greeted by a doctor. Seconds later, the doctor comes out and apologizes.

While they're there, Jon has his scraped elbow X-rayed by the radiologist he met earlier on the highway. In the process, they discover they're both from Wyoming. Ponch helps to hook him up with the radiologist by having flowers delivered on Jon's behalf.

Back at Central, Ponch informs him that he and his girlfriend Ruth will be joining him and the radiologist for dinner.

At dinner, Ponch and Jon are annoyed that another party was seated before they were and convince the maître d' to seat them right away. Unfortunately, they have no idea what they're ordering since everything on the menu is in French. They order escargot not realizing that they're snails. When they get their entree, they joke about the small size.

The next day, Ponch and Jon come across a damaged Mustang in the middle of the road. After Ponch moves it, he sees a snake grab his ankle and realizes the door won't open. He honks the horn to get Jon's attention. Jon pulls him out as the kid comes along to get his snake.

Later, Walt calls in another false alarm about a Greyhound bus accident claiming it's at "SD 255". The call is traced to "SD 253" and Ponch and Jon go after the him. He threatens to jump off a bridge. As he slips off the edge, Ponch grabs him at the last second.

That night, Ponch and Jon double date at a nice restaurant again. Ponch orders cheeseburgers and fries for everyone. Although everyone seems to enjoy it, the waiter looks annoyed. Ponch surely makes it worse when he asks for ketchup.

Great Quote

"Names, ah, Jon Baker. You know yours?"

"Uh huh. Officer Egg-in-the-face."

-Jon and Ponch at the hospital

Also starring

• Brodie Greer as Baricza
• Paul Linke as Grossman
• Lew Saunders as Fritz

Guest Stars

• Kathryn Holcomb as Karen
• Brad David as Walt
• Charlene Dallas as Ruth
• Melinda Fee as Sarah

Featuring

• Robbie Rist as Jeff
• David Staller as Caller
• Gregg Palmer as Walter
• Alyscia Maxwell as Kathy
• Ellen Travolta as Helen

Crew

• Executive Producer: Cy Chermak
• Produced by: Rick Rosner
• Written by: Jim Carlson & Terrence McDonnell
• Directed by: John Florea
• Associate Producer: William O. Cairncross
• Production Consultant: Bob Hayden
• Unit Production Manager: Wm. L. Young
• Developed for television by: Paul Playdon
• Story Editors: William D. Gordon & James Doherty
• Story Editors: Glen Olson & Rod Baker
• Music by: Billy May
• Theme by: John Parker
• Music Supervisor: Harry V. Lojewski
• Director of Photography: Robert F. Sparks
• Art Director: Joseph M. Altadonna
• Assistant Director: Henry J. Lange, Jr.
• 2nd Assistant Director: Randell Henderson
• Script Supervisor: Jack Gannon
• Production Assistance: Roni Rochin
• Set Decorator: W. Joseph Kroesser
• Technical Advisor: Mike Sylvia
• Editor: Richard A. Freeman / Richard E. Rabjohn
• Sound: Maury Harris, Hal Watkins, C.A.S.
• Stunt Co-ordinator: Paul Nuckles
• Wardrobe Supervisor: Shelly Levine
• Makeup: John M. Norin
• Casting: Gary Shaffer
• Locations by: Cinemobile Systems
• With Appreciation to: Glen B. Craig, Commissioner, California Highway Patrol
• Motorcycles Furnished by: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.
• Automobiles furnished by: Ford Motor Company
• Filmed in METROCOLOR / Titles and Opticals MGM
• Rosner Television in association with MGM Television

Fun Facts

Helicopter crash

• When we see the fire engine respond to the first false alarm, it has a number "51" on it. Engine 51 was made famous in the Los Angeles-based series Emergency!.
• During the second false alarm, the fire truck (seen after the Ghostbusters-style ambulance) is also from Station 51.
• Station 127, which is called Station 51, is located at 2049 E. 223rd St. in Carson, CA just south of the San Diego Fwy. (405) View in Google Maps
• When Ponch is trapped in the Mustang, he honks Morse code for "SOS".
• In this episode we see the return of the revolving license plate. Jon's license plate reads "J A B" this episode.
• Alyscia Maxwell also appears in the Season 2 episode, "Return of the Turks" and the Season 3 episode, "Nightingale."
• The waiter presents the Cheeseburgers as “boeuf haché au fromage américain, et pommes de terre frites”
• The helicopter crash was filmed on the link road between the Glendale Freeway and the westbound Foothill Freeway. The actual number of the call box there is "2 228TA". View in Google Maps

Mistakes

Hollywood Tower apartments

• The fire engine that arrives on the scene for the first false alarm is completely different than the one we saw leave the fire station moments earlier. It is also number "519" and the one that left the station was "51".
• Grossie doesn't know his directions. Grossie reports there's nothing southbound. Getraer tells him to go north to Mulholland. After the theme, the first words we hear are "Not even a fender-bender south of us." I guess he went south again, huh?
• When the guy calls in the brush fire, it's night time around the phone but daytime everywhere else. The same happens for the guy's final call.
• Baricza arrives at the reported location of the brush fire first. It looks identical to the location of the first false alarm even though the callbox numbers aren't close to each other.
• The guy gives the location of the gas tanker incident as the San Diego Freeway. He's actually on Shoreline Drive in Long Beach.
• The location where the emergency vehicle arrive for the first false alarm (SD 285) is only about 50 to 100 yards from where the phone call was made (SD283). Several of the same buildings can be seen in the background.
• When Jon and Ponch respond to the opening false alarm they are seen joining the Hollywood Freeway at Argyle (the Hollywood Tower apartments can be seen behind them). This won't help them get to the San Diego Freeway, and it's completely the wrong direction to get to the actual location in Long Beach. View in Google Maps
• In the opening sequence, Jon skids off his bike on Shoreline Drive, just across the road from where all the other emergency vehicles are supposed to be (none are visible). A few shots earlier, Jon, Ponch and the girl in the blue car are all seen heading in the opposite direction in Shoreline Drive. They must have driven past the reported incident location.
• The guy who's been making the phoney calls reverses back off Shoreline Drive and abandons his car at the spot where Ponch comes off his bike in Sick Leave in season 4. He runs onto the Golden Shore bridge over Shoreline, but the shots from below show a completely different parapet. The below shots were actually filmed on a link road to the Glendale Freeway, very close to the helicopter crash. View on Google Maps

Buy this episode

• Cry Wolf on DVD at Amazon.com
• Cry Wolf from Amazon Prime Video
• "CHiPs" Season 1 from iTunes Store

Preceded by: "Hitch-Hiking Hitch"

Cry Wolf 118

Followed by: "Crash Diet"