episode #35 - Once a Thief

episode #22 of 2nd season / Air Date: 5/04/77 written by Kenneth Johnson directed by Alan J. Levi

This one had its amusing moments, mostly courtesy of old-time actor Elisha Cook, Jr. as a petty thief nicknamed Inky. He runs into Jaime while attempting to steal stuff off the farm she lives at (unusually, this sequence is presented as a flashback, as Inky recounts his misadventure). He then gets the idea to sneak back and get filmed evidence of Jaime's abilities. He planned to present this footage to the local fence boss (Richard Bakalyan) but changes his mind; instead, he places the film in a safe deposit box and blackmails Jaime into helping him rob a bank of $3 million, as his last big score. Oscar plans to deal with Inky after Jaime tells him what's going on, but Jaime begins to feel sorry for the old small-time crook, especially after she meets his pet chimp and learns of his dead mom.

This episode was surprisingly entertaining - nothing great, just a nice diversion. The highlight is when Inky spies on Jaime with his little camera and she begins to perform various bionic feats to correct the damage he did to the farm. The fencing operation is shown in detail, working out of a warehouse, and has an odd charm to it all. The final act is reminiscent of some comical heist films, as 3 factions vie for the stolen money (Jaime & Inky as the robbers, #2 the police force and #3 the rest of the fencing gang). Lindsay Wagner and Elisha Cook worked very well together, a nice give-and-take relationship, sort of like a troublemaking old uncle and his worried niece. William Boyett pops up as the police sergeant, in virtually the same role he played regularly on Adam-12. A nice way to end the season. BoG's Score: 7 out of 10

Star Trek TOS actor alert: Elisha Cook played a lawyer of the future in Court Martial. Mickey Morton appears here as a big henchman; he played a tall alien in The Gamesters of Triskelion