"The Blue Flash"

(Original air date 11/16/75)

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Steve goes undercover as a longshoreman to expose a plot to smuggle
detecting devices that can jeopardize national security

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Writers: Sheridan Gibney & Sydney Field

Director: Cliff Bole



At the OSI laboratory, technicians are busy setting up Steve’s bionic arm with Rudy’s latest gadget designed to detect computerized microchips with the aid of his infrared eye.

           

Once the arm is sutured up, Steve demonstrates to Oscar the wonders of this new component and how it will enable him to thwart the plans of the spy organization eager to get their hands on the microchips. He explains that a blue light flashes in his eye whenever his hand hovers over a container concealing the transistor units.

This new revolutionary technology will allow Steve to provide fellow agent Ed Carpenter with the help he needs to locate the microchips and expose the thieves. He stresses the importance of halting the shipment before the devices fall into enemy hands and thus jeopardize national security.

           

Undercover agent Ed Carpenter, alias Ed Brennan, steps out of the boarding house where he’s lodging to get the newspaper when two men jump him and toss him in a car. Unbeknownst to them that house owner Mrs. Cook (Janet MacLachlan) has witnessed the kidnapping.

Later an unkempt Steve shows up at the boarding house under the alias Max Stouffer to rent the last available room. He wastes no time in fishing for information about the second tenant Ed Brennan, but Mrs. Cook remains evasive, stating that she doesn’t nose around in her boarders’ affairs.

           

Outside Steve meets with Mrs. Cook’s son Ernest (Rodney Allen Rippy) who is crying over his broken bicycle. Steve dries the boys’ tears by assuring that faith can accomplish miracles. On that notion the boy cheers up and hope for that very miracle.

At the enemy headquarters, technicians study the microchips and assure their boss Mr. Logan (Jason Wingreen) that the shipment should be smuggled without a hitch in containers of cocoanut oil. However Logan is not convinced and shares his concern with his aid Tony Anderson (Eddie Fontaine). Ed Brennan’s murder is liable to bring more Federal agents to wreak havoc in his plans.

           

In his scruffy attire, Steve shows up at the dock looking for a job. Following a brief interview, supervisor Tony hires him as a longshoreman. However Tony’s partner Jimbo (Michael Conrad) smells a rat and suspects the government of having assigned another undercover agent to snoop around. They cannot afford to get entangled with the law during this crucial stage of the operation.

Steve reports to Oscar who urges him to pack up and return to Washington for the mission may now be too costly a price to pay. They were just informed of Ed Carpenter’s death, which proves that the criminals are on to them.

           

When Steve returns to the boarding house he finds the boy wishing for a miracle over his broken bicycle. His mother warns Steve about feeding him cockamamie stories about spirits mending his bicycle, but Steve ignores her advice and accomplishes the good deed before going off to do some ferreting.

     

The next morning Ernest is ecstatic over his newly mended bicycle. He brags about the miracle to his friend Charlie (Benny Nickleberry) who laughs it off, but later returns with a wrecked bicycle of his own and orders Ernest to ask his spirits to repair it.

     

On the docks, Steve continues his search for the microchips by brushing his bionic hand against a shipment of new crates. So far no blue flashes.

At home, Mrs. Cook gets a surprise visit from Detective Olmstead (Barry Cahill) on the suspicious death of Ed Brennan. Again she remains evasive and argues that she never meddles in his tenants’ personal affairs.

     

She then drives to the dock where she pretends to give Steve his lunch as an excuse to discuss the disturbing visit she received earlier. She recalled Steve enquiring about Brennan when he first arrived, and figures that his must be a Federal agent as well.

Unbeknownst to them that Jimbo is eavesdropping on their conversation.

           

Quickly the man reports to Tony who suggests an ‘accident’ in order to put the nosy body out of commission before he blows their entire operation. Thankfully the twenty cases of cocoanut oil have arrived and are safely tucked away in the warehouse. All they need is to keep the mole away from those crates until they can be shipped to Logan.

Jimbo brings Steve inside the warehouse on a small errand. Once out of earshot, Steve continues his search for the case, while Jimbo gets his leverage to lift a crate right over the unsuspected victim. With one bionic push Steve thrusts the crate back into place and accidentally knocks Jimbo in the process.

           

With the man out from under foot, Steve proceeds to locate the case. A blue flash appears before his eye when he comes across the flask containing the chip. He then flees with the box and calls Oscar to report his mission accomplished.

           

When Ernest begs him to find his mother who’s just been kidnapped, Steve advises Oscar to hold off his men until he can ensure the woman’s safety. He asks a favour of Ernest’s friend Charlie to baby-sit in exchange for a new bicycle.

Steve then retrieves the canister containing the computer chip and hides the box.

           

At the dock Tony is up in arm over that missing case. Steve shows up confident that Tony will bring him to the top honcho now that he has their merchandise.

He issues an ultimatum to Logan: Mrs. Cook is to be released unharmed in exchange for information on the location of that missing case. Once the woman out the building Steve lunges at the crooks and subdues them.

           

Days later, before he is to leave with Oscar, Steve is asked to perform one last delicate task, which is to confess to having ‘helped’ the spirits in mending the boy’s bicycle. Ernest forgives his friend, but wonders how he is to reimburse all of the kids who trusted him to repair their stuff.

           

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