High Explosive

High Explosive
Episode #	212
Air Date	December 9, 1978
Briefing	We never see it...just Grossie running a lottery.

Title Screen

Plot

Cahill spots the shooter.

A misguided youth shoots his pellet gun onto the highway and causes an accident when he hits a passing car. Ponch and Jon assist with the accident. The ambulance driver speeds with the concussion victim off like a nut while Ponch and Jon investigate the scene of the crime. Later, the kid calls the hospital asking about the woman's condition. He's obviously upset about the whole thing. When Ponch and Jon arrive at Valley General Hospital to do their follow-up, they end up chasing a speeder. When they pull it over, we learn it's the ambulance driver. Before the briefing, everyone's entering a lottery about how long it will take Jon to rope a steer. When the kid goes back to get his gun, Sindy spots him and calls Ponch and Jon. He brings the gun to his friend, the gun dealer. When he leaves the store, Ponch chases him on foot. Jon cuts him off and catches him. After talking things over at Central, Jon and Ponch take him out to a ranch to ride. Jon shows off and then lets the kid ride. Meanwhile, the ambulance driver is fired from his job. When he leaves the hospital, he tells his wife that he still has his job. Later, Jon and Ponch introduce the kid to the un-injured accident victim. She begins to like him. Later, Ponch and Jon chase the ex-ambulance driver in a stolen ambulance full of dynamite. The ambulance stops in a playground and kids start picking up the dynamite while Ponch and Jon chase the driver. After they catch the driver, all three of them run to the dynamite and convince the kids to hand it over. At the end, everyone's enjoying Jon in the mini-rodeo. ste

Great Quote

"Ponch, you're a dirty, double-crossing fink. That's the kid that caused the accident, isn't it?"

--Mary Barnes

Guest Stars

• Steve Oliver as Brad Holmes
• Jonathan Goldsmith as Stan Mallory
• Lynne Marta as Beth
• Ike Eisenmann as Barry Lasher
• Rosanne Katon as Mary Barnes

Also Starring

• Brianne Leary as Sindy
• Brodie Greer as Baricza
• Paul Linke as Grossman
• Lew Saunders as Fritz

Co-starring

• Bucklind Beery as Shorty
• Ken Kercheval as Dr. Faraday
• F. William Parker as Gus
• Robert Yuro as Eddie
• Carol Vogel as Mrs. Lasher
• Marie Denn as Receptionist
• Steven Mond as Boy

Crew

• Produced by: Cy Chermak
• Teleplay by: William D. Gordon & James Doherty
• Story by: Susanne Ryder
• Directed by: Barry Crane
• Executive Consultant: Rick Rosner
• Story Editors: William D. Gordon & James Doherty
• Associate Producers: Wm. L. Young and Paul Rabwin
• 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: Joseph M. Altadonna
• Editor: Dennis Mosher
• Unit Production Manager: Thom Anable, Wm. L. Young
• Assistant Director: Ron Grow
• 2nd Assistant Director: Mary Lou MacLaury
• Script Supervisor: Jack Gannon
• Set Decorator: W. Joseph Kroesser
• Production Consultant: Bob Hayden
• Technical Advisor: Dick Barton
• Sound: Robert Sheridan, Hal Watkins, C.A.S.
• Stunt Co-ordinator: Paul Nuckles
• Wardrobe Supervisor: Shelly Levine
• Makeup: John M. Norin
• Casting: Michael O. Hanks
• 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

• Ponch and Jon pass through the intersection of Soledad Canyon Rd. and Sierra Highway when the show opens.
• Gas is 66 cents per gallon; later, we see it for 71 cents per gallon
• Rosanne Katon, who plays Mary Barnes, was Playboy's Playmate of the Month for its September 1978 issue.
• The pursuit of the ambulance driver, driving his blue car, passes through the intersection of Cahuenga Blvd. and Yucca St. View in Google Maps
• The pursuit of the ambulance loaded with dynamite passes through the intersection of Yucca St. and Ivar Ave. , headed east on Yucca. You can see the Capitol Records building in the background. View in Google Maps

Mistakes

Someone moved the pellets!

• When the kid with the gun takes off, he drops his tin of pellets. A number of them fall out. When Jon discovers the tin of pellets later, the tin is nearly full and the lid is much closer to the tin. It looks neatly placed.
• When Ponch and Jon chase the ambulance driver, both the driver and the CHP exit through a gate, pass a pillar, a speed limit sign, and a smaller sign. The next shots appear to be the same footage given where they pass and the movements of the CHP riders. The first shots of the driver and then the CHP officers appear to be edited versions of the second shots.

Visible jump ramp

• During the chase of the ambulance driver, a jump ramp is visible right before one vehicle vaults another (853 LKQ).
• The kid, Barry, shouts "I killed her, didn't I?" when Jon catches him. How does he know that only one woman was hurt? How could he be sure the passenger was a woman from his distance? Why didn't he say, "I killed them, didn't I?"
• Does Jon usually go riding with criminals?
• A doctor is the ambulance driver's boss? Aren't ambulances run by private companies or at least someone that's not busy being a doctor?

Buy this episode

• High Explosive on DVD at Amazon.com

Preceded by: "Supercycle"

High Explosive 212

Followed by: "Down Time"

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