The Poachers
| The Poachers | |
| Episode # | 404 |
| Air Date | October 19, 1980 |
| Briefing | ? |
Brief Plot
A couple of poachers are trying to catch deer in the woods, but are thwarted by a man who's taken his grandson there to teach him about his heritage.
Plot
Ponch and Jon chase a truck that has a loose wheel. When it loses the wheel, causes an accident and rolls over, the driver claims someone's trying to kill him.
After the accident is cleared, Ponch and Jon find the driver, Tom Catlin, unloading at a nearby health food store. Tom tells Jon how he's the subject of several bizarre accidents caused by Glinco Industries. In the CHP lunchroom, Ponch is eating health food instead of his usual "Peanut Butter Chocolate Smoothy" just because he wants to date one of the owners of the health food store. Soon we see him out running and doing silly agility exercises with the two women from the health food store.
Meanwhile, Tom is making a delivery when he comes upon a Glinco Industries truck that he tries to pass. When his steering gives out, he gets stuck on the side of the Glinco truck and causes a woman to drive off the road. Later, when Ponch jogs out by Tom's farm, Tom's partner, Cal, runs off suspiciously.
On duty, Ponch encounters a kid who caused an accident when his sailboard crosses traffic. The kid throws a tantrum and Ponch helps him out by talking to his father.
On the freeway, the women from the health food store are escorting Tom when a UPS type truck cuts them off and knocks Tom off the road. Cal was driving the truck. Tom is injured in the accident as are the women. One of the women is unconscious and threatened by acid leaking from a tanker truck. Ponch gets her out just before the broken valve on the tanker breaks. At the end of the episode, Ponch and Jon try to show off at sailboarding but just make fools of themselves.
Guest Stars
- Robert F. Lyons as Arnold
- Michael C. Gwynne as Cleve
- Alex Kubik as Ed
- Cliff Emmich as Daniels
- Paul Linke as Grossman
- Lou Wagner as Harlan
Special Guest Star
- Michael Ansara as Nathan
Co-Starring
- Brodie Greer as Baricza
- Michael Dorn as Turner
- Cal Bartlett as Carruthers
- Tony Raymond as Davey
- Cassandra Gaviola as Martha
- Trisha Hilka as Trudy
- Randi Oakes as Bonnie Clark
Crew
- Produced by: Cy Chermak
- Written by: Marshall Herskovitz
- Directed by: Barry Crane
- Executive Consultant: Rick Rosner
- 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
- Cassandra Gaviola (later credited as Cassandra Gava) played the witch in Conan the Barbarian (1982).
- Michael Ansara rose to fame playing Cochise on the popular 1950s television series Broken Arrow.
- The Malibu Grand Prix track used is this episode was the one in Pasadena. The Kaiser Permanente Medical Offices and car park now stand on the site. View in Google Maps
Mistakes
- When Jon and Ponch find the crossbow arrow, Ponch says "We got the address on that pickup. Let's have another go at those guys." The poachers were driving a sedan at the beginning, not a pickup.
| Preceded by: "To Your Health" |
The Poachers 404 |
Followed by: "The Great 5K Star Race and Boulder Wrap Party" |