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| Production 41216 Original Airdate: January 19, 1975 | |||
 Steve tends to Kuroda
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| Produced by Lionel E. Siegel and Joe L. Cramer | |||
| Written by Judy Burns | |||
| Directed by Richard Moder | |||
| Guest Cast | |||
| Guest Star(s) John Fujioka as Kuroda | |||
| Co-starring Robert Ito as Tomas Gabella Edmund Gilbert as Hayworth | |||
| With Jimmy Joyce as Dr. Richmond Paul Vaughn as Radio Operator | |||
| Broadcast Order | |||
| Season 2 | |||
| ← Previous | Next → | ||
| "Lost Love" | "Return of the Robot Maker" | ||
| Related episodes The Wolf Boy | |||
Summary[]
Steve is sent to a South Pacific island where a plane carrying an atomic warhead has crashed. A Japanese Zero pilot, who has been living as a recluse since the conclusion of WWII, has found the warhead and has taken it into his booby-trapped domain. Steve must retrieve the weapon before an island guerrilla band establishes control of the bomb and blackmails its enemies.
Steve is guided at first by Tomas, who is secretly with the guerillas. When Steve is apparently killed by one of the Japanese pilot's traps, Tomas abandons him to seek the warhead. Steve is taken by Kuroda.
At first, Kuroda does not trust Austin, believing the war still continues. Steve must not only convince him of the peace, but of the reality of nuclear weapons, including how the war was ended.
The two begin to work together, and Steve prevents Kuroda from committing ritual suicide. Together, they thwart the guerillas and are rescued. Back in civilization, Kuroda gives Steve the most valuable thing he has, and Steve gives him a gift in return.
Deconstructed[]
Quotes[]
Oscar: Here is a mock-up of the war head that you'll be looking for. Even though our government didn't build it, we're responsible for it if it goes of. Every moment that it's out of our hands, the risk gets greater. (puts it away) So you've got to find it.
Steve: That sounds easy if you say it fast.
Steve: How often have you done this?
Tomas: Ah, I've stopped counting the number of Japanese I've gone after. The Old Devil's something else.
Steve: The old devil?
Tomas: Well, that's what the island people call him. And I'm surprised America would let the famous Colonel Austin go looking for a common war criminal.
Steve: Well, there's some important people in the United States would like to see him returned to Japan savely. Besides, we're not at war anymore.
Tomas: You tell that to the Old Devil.
Tomas: (having just seen Steve Austin move a tree log with one arm) You moved that like it didn't take any effort.
Steve: Huh? Oh, I used to do a lot of weight lifting in college.
Tomas: Don't let this terrain deceive you, Colonel, death can come very quikly in this jungle.
Kuroda: (takes something from his bag) Thousand stitch belt. When I joined kamikaze, my mother went into the streets and asked people who passed by to put one knot.
Steve: I've heard of it. One knot, one prayer.
Kuroda: A thousand prayers to carry with you until you die.
Kuroda: My family Samurai. Fighting men. My grandfather's father was Samurai and all their fathers before them. The fought for their masters without questioning for hundreds of years. The bushido: the man's honor and duty. Not questons.
Kuroda: You, fly through space to the moon, hm?
Steve: Yes.
Kuroda: And you walk on moon?
Steve: Look, I know it's a little hard for you to believe.
Kuroda: You biggest liar on earth, that's what I believe.
Kuroda: You'll make a mistake... and die.
Steve: And you'll win?
Kuroda: I cannot lose. I have nothing.
Kuroda: I had hoped that my enemies would have killed me. There is dishonor in living beyond one's moment.
Kuroda: (Steve's bionic leg is exposed) What kind of a devil are you?
Steve: I'm a man, just like you. You've seen me bleed, the same way.
Kuroda: (indicating the bionic leg) There's no blood in that leg.
Kuroda: I cannot go back.
Steve: Why not?
Kuroda: You must understand. When I left Japan, they clipped my hair and nails for my funeral. I was dead to the war. I cannot out-live it. There is great shame for me.
Steve: What is the shame?
Kuroda: You are not Japanese, you do not understand.
Steve: After the war there were many men thought dead came back to their families. There was no shame, only tears... tears of joy.
Kuroda: A man who has died in his heart does not run away from real death. That is the way of the bushido.
Steve: The bushido tells a man that he must show mercy, doesn't it? That includes compassion for one self.
Kuroda: Too late. Kamikaze meant 'devine wind'. I am like the last wind of the day. The midnight wind.
Steve: (Steve Austin stops Kuroda from commiting harakiri) You have shown that you know how to die. Now for the sake of your enemies, show me that you know how to live.
Kuroda: I have a gift I hope you will accept. (presents his thousand stitch belt)
Steve: Oh, Kuroda, I can't accept your thousand stitch belt, that represents your life.
Kuroda: It's the only thing left I value. Please accept.
Trivia[]
Bionics[]
- When Steve takes the canteen from Kuroda, injury to his left wrist is visible. This is the result of Steve's bionic arm pulling against the strap that bound his wrists. In other episodes when Steve breaks out of handcuffs or chains, no such injury is implied.
- Steve suffers major damage to one of his legs when he falls onto some spikes - severe enough that the skin is completely removed, revealing the bionic components. Unlike other episodes, however, in which damage to Steve's limbs has been seen to incapacitate him, there appears to be no ill effects, as Steve is able to jump and run normally, despite the damage.
Real World[]
- "Japanese holdouts", or "stragglers", were members of the Imperial Japanese Army that continued to live on various islands in the Pacific following the end of World War II. These soldiers refused to believe that Japan had surrendered, though most were repatriated by the mid-1950s. Lt. Hiroo Onoda was found in the jungles of the Philippine island of Lubang in March 1974, and Pvt. Teruo Nakamura was found on the Indonesian island of Morotai in December 1974 - only a month prior to this episode first airing.
Storyline[]
- The longitude and latitude of the plane crash given by the Turner Airlines pilot is 17 north by 135 east. This point is off the northeast coast of the Philippines.
- It is unlikely that Gabella is operating on behalf of the Philippine government. According to Oscar, Gabella is a "hot head." It seems that Gabella is even worse than a hot head; he is a sociopath or megalomaniac.
Gaffes[]
Gallery[]
