The Coward
From The Bionic Wiki
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| Production 40015 Original Airdate: April 19, 1974 | |||
 Garth at the summit | |||
| Produced by Sam Strangis and Donald R. Boyle | |||
| Written by Elroy Schwartz | |||
| Directed by Reza Badiyi | |||
| Guest Cast | |||
| Guest Star(s) George Montgomery as Garth Ron Soble as Queng-Dri France Nuyen as Mamu | |||
| Special Guest Star(s) Martha Scott as Helen Elgin | |||
| Co-starring George Takei as Chin-Ling | |||
| With Fuji as Kai-Sing Bennie Dobbins as 1st Bandit Robert Herron as 2nd Bandit Bill Lane as 3rd Bandit Kim Kahana as Prokar Kenny Endoso as Johra | |||
| Broadcast Order | |||
| Season 1 | |||
| ← Previous | Next → | ||
| "Burning Bright" | "Run, Steve, Run" | ||
| Related episodes | |||
| - | |||
Steve travels to Asia to find the wreckage of his father's downed World War II spy plane, and to prove once and for all if he bailed out leaving his crew to die.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
Oscar Goldman briefs Steve Austin on an earthquake in the Himalayas which has uncovered a USAF DC-3 that was brought down by enemy fire during World War II close to the Chinese border. The aircraft, nicknamed "My Little Girl", was carrying secret papers from Chinese Nationalists intended for the Russian government and Steve’s mission is to locate the aircraft and return the papers to the US. Oscar also informs Steve that the pilot of the DC-3 was his late father, Captain Carl Austin, and that according to the official record he had baled out of the aircraft abandoning the rest of the crew to their fate.
Steve goes to visit his mother, Helen, at her home to tell her of his forthcoming mission and to ask why she had never told him much about his father. Previously the only details Steve had known were that his father had been a pilot and that he had been killed in action when Steve was only two years old. Helen replies that she does not feel that her late husband would have abandoned his crew in the way the official report portrays. However, she concedes that if he had done so he would have felt so ashamed of his actions that he would have been unable to return home to his family and look them in the eye.
The aircraft wreckage is located high on a mountain and Steve therefore receives training from an experienced local climber named Chin-Ling before they both fly out to Asia. Over the target area they parachute down but on landing are immediately confronted by a local tribe of men on horseback. Chin-Ling informs Steve that, as a white man, the tribe consider Steve to be of value and intend to sell him to the Chinese. However, their intention is kill Chin Ling. Steve runs off at bionic speed in a bid to create a diversion and allow Chin-Ling to escape but Chin-Ling is shot dead as he runs away in the opposite direction. Having escaped the tribe Steve is then held at gunpoint by an American man, called simply Garth who is living in the area. He tells Steve that the leader of the tribe, Queng-Dri, allows him to live amongst them in return for selling stolen goods. Garth then takes Steve to his home and, much to the disapproval of his wife, offers to help Steve in his search for the DC-3.
Early next morning Steve and Garth begin their climb of the mountain. During a break Steve fully explains who he is and why finding the aircraft is so important to him personally. They resume climbing and finally they reach the ledge where the DC-3 is located. An emotional Steve finds the remains of one of the pilots still sitting in the cockpit but to his profound disappointment the man’s identification tag names him as Christopher Bell. No other crew can be located and Steve therefore has to conclude that his father did indeed bale out after all. Bitterly disappointed, Steve helps bury the pilot and recovers the bag containing the secret papers.
Meanwhile Qung-Dri and his men visit Garth’s wife and she tells him that Steve forced Garth to climb the mountain at gunpoint. Having searched Steve when they first confronted him they know that he came on the mission unarmed. They therefore decide to wait for the two men to return down the mountain. Steve and Garth are subsequently attacked and Steve has to use his Bionic powers to defeat the tribe. Garth is seriously injured during the attack and as he lies on the ground he tells Steve some devastating news: he is in fact the real Christopher Bell and that it was he who had bailed out of the aircraft in disgrace all those years ago. He had later located and returned to the wreckage and swapped tags with the pilot who had died in the crash. This was Steve’s father, Carl Austin, and it was he that Steve had just helped bury on the mountain.
Carl Austin is subsequently exhumed and buried in the US with full military honors.
[edit] Deconstructed
[edit] Quotes
Steve: (to his mother) Say, what's that new perfume I smell? Chicken soup?
Helen: Are you all right, Steve?
Steve: Oh... sure, I'm fine.
Helen: Now, you know I can always tell when you're fibbing.
Steve: Well, I can't give you much of the details. It concerns an old World War Two aircraft. It was nicknamed 'My Little Girl'.
Helen: 'My Little Girl', that was your father's plane. He used to call me that.
Chin-Ling: See, I told you and Mr Goldman, those bionics of yours don't work when you're climbing a real mountain.
Chin-Ling: Your white skin's gonna save you, but I haven't got a chance. That's what he just said. You're worth cash to them. They're gonna sell you to the Chinese. But I'm just excess bagage. They're gonna kill me. So if you ever used your bionics, use it now.
Garth: Risking one's life for a countryman is a rare gift. Please, do not take it away from me.
Kai-Sing: Garth, who is he to you that you should risk your life for him?
Garth: We'll discuss this no further.
Garth: Who are you?
Steve: Oh, you mean my name?
Garth: No, no, names are only labels the outside world attaches meanings to. You outran horses. Your strength – your strength is incredible! Just who are you?
Steve: Well, I'm just a man.
Garth: Not an ordinary one.
Steve: In most ways I am.
Garth: Don't you underestimate Queng-Dri. You know, he's not an ignorant man. Why, he speaks and steals in five languages.
Garth: You know, your questions are much deeper than your search for a missing airplane. Just what are you looking for?
Steve My father.
Queng-Dri: I wonder if he can escape... a bullet.
[edit] Trivia
[edit] Character
- This episode marks the first appearance of Steve's mother, Helen Elgin, played by Martha Scott.
- This episode also establishes that Steve has a stepfather, and a name: Jim. Jim Elgin would be introduced onscreen in The Bionic Woman.
[edit] Cast
- This is the second episode (in a row!) to feature a member of the cast from the original Star Trek series. William Shatner (Captain Kirk) guest starred in "Burning Bright," and George Takei (Lt. Sulu) in this episode.
[edit] Real World
- The maneuver performed by the jet aircraft during Carl's funeral is an authentic military custom known as the "missing man" formation. It's used to honor deceased aircrew and astronauts.
[edit] Effects
- Steve's attack on the horsemen late in the episode boasts an early first season use of the Bionic Sounds, and used for Steve's Bionics this time, unlike other early uses by an adversary.
[edit] Gaffes
[edit] Gallery
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 Steve confronts his mother. |
 Chin-Ling |
 Base camp. |
 Steve in uniform. |
