Tow Truck Lady
| Tow Truck Lady | |
| Episode # | 320 |
| Air Date | Feb 9, 1980 |
| Briefing | Fake "Tow Away Zone" signs |
Plot
A tow truck driver (Danny) puts up a "Tow Away Zone" sign in front of a parked car and tows it away.
After the theme, a tomato truck overturns dumping hundreds of tomatoes on the highway.
The next day, Jon and Ponch go on a picnic with Ellen, Chris, and Marla (Danny's daughter).
Meanwhile, Danny tows in a car and we find out that he's stealing them to pay off a loan. Since he has to work late, Marla goes to work with Ponch.
After the briefing, Ponch gets Bonnie to bring Marla to school.
On the highway, a hay truck catches fire and rolls over, causing a major accident.
Later, Chris shows off his ring of "fire". Then they have a "party" with chips and dip. Danny calls and tells Marla he has to keep working.
The next day, Marla steals Chris's motorbike and goes home to try to get her dad on the CB. Danny's partner in crime goes to Danny's house to stop the girl. She sneaks out and hides in the car he's towing. After towing it to a junkyard, they raise it with a crane to hide it...with Marla inside. Ponch climbs the crane and rescues her just before the car crashes to the ground.
Guest Stars
- Chris Robinson as Danny
- John Durren as Julian
- Roger Perry as Howard
- Christian Zika as Chris
- Liberty Godshall as Ellen Roberts
Co-starring
- Tonya Crowe as Marla
- Michael Dorn as Turner
- Mary McCusker as Nancy
- Dick Patterson as The Businessman
Featuring
- Nancy Bleier as Lisa
- Robin T. Williams as Receptionist
- Randi Oakes as Bonnie Clark
Crew
- Produced by: Cy Chermak
- Written by: Max Hodge
- Directed by: Larry Wilcox
- Executive Consultant: Rick Rosner
- Story Editors: William D. Gordon & James Doherty
- Associate Producer: 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: Les Gobruegge
- Editors: William Neel
- Unit Production Manager: Ron Grow
- Assistant Director: Bob Jeffords
- 2nd Assistant Director: John Peter Kousakis
- Script Supervisor: Jack Gannon
- Set Decorator: W. Joseph Kroesser
- Production Consultant: Dave McDannel
- Stunt Co-ordinator: Paul Nuckles
- Assistant to the Producer: Randy Torno
- 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, Walter Schenck
- Hairdresser: Don Lynch
- 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
- Ellen and Chris Roberts also appear in "Disaster Squad".
- Danny and Marla's home was at 3621 Bagley Avenue. The house currently at that address is a 16 bedroom multi-family unit built in 2000, but the house to the left is still recognizable. View in Google Maps
- The green and white Ford pickup that flips the flaming hay truck is the same one that was driven by the female bike riders in Off Road.
Mistakes
- When Marla pulls the parking brake on the MG it skids around the corner, but when the camera angle changes, the car stops astride the first white line.
- Would an MG weighing just over 1,600 lbs really cause a wrecking yard crane to fail?
- Ponch races against time to rescue Marla before the cable on the crane snaps, yet when he reaches the ground he stands underneath the dangling car with Marla and is joined by Jon, Bonnie, Baricza, and Danny. Surely there are safer places to stand.
- When the CHP officers arrive at the junkyard, the sun is almost directly overhead, yet after the rescue (supposedly just minutes later) the long shadows suggest it's near sunset.
| Preceded by: "Off Road" |
Tow Truck Lady 320 |
Followed by: "The Strippers" |