One of Our Running Backs Is Missing
Comments0this wiki
Redirected from One of Our Running Backs is Missing
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Production 43001 Original Airdate: November 2, 1975 | |||
 Episode-at-a-glance. | |||
| Produced by Kenneth Johnson | |||
| Written by Kenneth Johnson Elroy Schwartz | |||
| Directed by Lee Majors | |||
| Guest Cast | |||
| Guest Star(s) Larry Csonka as Larry Bronco Pamela Csonka as Pamela Bronco Dick Butkus as Bobby Laport | |||
| Co-starring Mike Henry as Tatashore Carl Weathers as Stolar Al Checco as George Yokum | |||
| With Lee Josephson as Rick Laport Russ Grieve as Coach Earl Faison as Ailes Russ McGinn as Ernie Tom Mack as Kibbie | |||
| Broadcast Order | |||
| Season 3 | |||
| ← Previous | Next → | ||
| "Target in the Sky" | "The Bionic Criminal" | ||
| Related episodes | |||
| - | |||
Contents |
Summary
On the day of an important game, star running back Larry Bronco is drugged and kidnapped by a gang headed by disgruntled over-the-hill player Bob Laport. Their plan is to keep Bronco out of the contest, thus affecting the final score. This will enable the kidnappers to make a fortune betting on the pre-game pointspread. Steve Austin locates the place where Bronco is being held, and he and Bronco then take on the gang in a titanic "scrimmage."
Deconstructed
Quotes
Rick: You gotta trust me. This is a hand picked crew, all guys I met in prison and they're beautiful.
Larry: I'm asking what kind of shape you're in. What's under your skin?
Steve: Hm. You'd be surprised.
Larry: When was the last time you had a good run?
Steve: Well, uh.
Larry: See, you can't even remember.
Steve: Now Oscar, who's a good bookie?
Oscar: What! A bookie?
Steve: Oscar you were a public prosecutor in this town. You must know a good bookie.
Oscar: Me?! Me know a good bookie? Are you crazy?!
Steve: Oscar.
Oscar: Well, um.
George: I'll tell you Mr. Austin, Goldie is one beautiful guy. (referring to Oscar Goldman)
Steve: Goldie?
George: Yeah, he's a good guy, don't you know?
Steve: That truck, Larry, is our ticket to freedom.
Larry: Might as well be the moon.
Steve: Yeah, well, I've been to the moon. It's not as far as you think, pal.
Larry: First time I've ever been on two winning teams in one day.
Trivia
Actors
- During 1975, Larry Csonka was playing in the World Football League for the Memphis Southmen. Less than two weeks before this episode aired, the WFL folded midseason on October 22, 1975.
- One of the characters mentions that Larry Bronco was a star in Super Bowl VII. Larry Csonka played running back for the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VII on January 14, 1973. The Dolphins won. Csonka was named MVP in Super Bowl VIII played on January 13, 1974.
- At the end of the episode, Larry Bronco is wearing No. 39 on his jersey. This was Csonka's number during his career.
- Dick Butkus retired from the Chicago Bears and the NFL due to knee injuries; a problem he shares with his on-screen character. Rather than rigging the point spread to secure his financial future, Butkus filed a lawsuit against the Bears in 1975.
Crew
- This episode marks Lee Majors' only directorial effort. Although not unheard of, in the mid-1970s it was still considered a very rare event for the star of a TV series to direct an episode of that series.
Characters
- This episode gives us details into Oscar Goldman's past. He was a prosecutor in Pasadena before his work with the OSI.
Visual Effects
- The episode features a character observing Steve's bionic running from a distance. Consequently, Steve is briefly depicted as running fast, rather than the typical slow motion jog (see video link below). This confirms information from "Nuclear Alert" and elsewhere; the reason bionics are shown in slow motion is because the cameras usually document the action from a third-person point of view. Thus, there is "creative license" to depict the action however the narrator wishes. However, the characters are actually seeing a man moving at high velocity.
Gaffes
- When Steve and Larry are driving to the hotel from bowling Larry talks about them playing high school football together, then indicates he bought a ranch in his home town in Ohio. If they went to high school together, Larry should have been from Ojai.
- Why did Steve have to use his bionic strength when bowling? He could have just targeted the pins in order to get a strike as he targeted the tennis court line without using bionic strength like he did in Day of the Robot.
Credibility
- It's not exactly clear why Steve parked his car not in the large parking lot at the Rose Bowl, but blocks away in front of a bowling alley.
Video Links
Gallery
.jpg)
_-_Planet_Earth.jpg)
