episode #49 - The Winning Smile

episode #14 of 3rd season / Air Date: 1/11/76 written by Gustave Field, Richard Carr Directed by Arnold Laven

Here's the return of Callahan (Jennifer Darling), Oscar Goldman's best secretary, from the 2nd season's episode Steve Austin, Fugitive. She's still his secretary, but she's caught in the middle of some major trouble: OSI secrets spoken of inside the offices are making their way to the villains. Goldman angrily has the offices swept for bugs but this nets nothing. It soon becomes apparent to Goldman and Austin that Callahan is the common denominator in all the occasions when these hush-hush discussions were taking place, but they still can't figure out how she is being used. She does have a new boyfriend / fiancee, a dentist (Stewart Moss), but that can't have anything to do with it, can it? Oh, and a new dog - given to her by the dentist .
This one actually succeeds superbly in regard to one plot point - the way the villains are using Callahan. The writers pulled a sleight of hand here, pointing the way to the obvious manner - and I completely bought into it. I thought I had it figured out (and so did Austin); it was obvious, sure, but what else could it be..? So, the reveal took me completely by surprise. Yet, it made perfect sense in light of the information presented earlier in the episode. Callahan was amusing as before and both Goldman & Austin behave a bit more casual than they usually do here, like real people. BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10

Star Trek TOS actor alert: Moss appeared in a couple of episodes - in The Naked Time as a crew member and in By Any Other Name as an alien invader.