episode #08 - Winning is Everything

episode #8 of 1st season / Air Date: 4/7/76 written by James D.Parriott Directed by Phil Bondelli

Jaime enters the world of cross country racing - briefly. Summoned to Oscar's office abruptly, Jaime is briefed: the 'macguffin' this time is a tape, left by an OSI agent at a location inside a middle eastern country (this world's version of Iran). The best way to get the tape is for Jaime to be the navigator for the driver in an international desert race; midway through the race, she'll simply get the tape when they stop at a town. The driver (John Elerick) used to be a top man, but after a crash during the Indy 500, his career unwinded. Others will be after the tape, of course - perhaps one of the other driving teams. There's a Russian team, for example, and an excitable rival (Alejandro Rey) of Jaime's driver, and someone likes to sabotage vehicles during the night.
This is another of the cliched stories: the driver has lost his confidence and it will be up to Jaime to snap him out of it. Much of this reminded me of films like Death Race 2000 (1975) and Cannonball. The set-up is similar: the driver with a navigator, driving a funky machine over rough terrain. Oscar (Richard Anderson) is in the rare role of accompanying his agent to the location, with a sorry-looking mustache as a cover disguise; he also uses a different last name than Goldman, reasoning that his real name wouldn't go over well at the location. The climactic chase, when the bad guys are chasing Jaime in a racing truck, is unconvincing; the truck reaches nearly 100 mph yet we see that Jaime in slow-mo is somehow able to maintain distance . BoG's Score: 6 out of 10