The Rewatch Podcast: RW423 - Police Squad Rewatch S01E05-06

In this weeks episode of the Police Squad Rewatch, Cory and Nathan are obviously laughing as they discuss season 1 episodes 5 & 6, "The Butler Did It" (A Bird in the Hand) and "Testimony of Evil" (Dead Men Don’t Laugh).

The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand):

Written by: Tino Insana & Robert Wuhl
Directed by: Joe Dante
Original airdate: July 8, 1982

Synopsis:

It’s funny how little changes in the city, and special guest star William Conrad isn’t laughing when he’s stabbed and thrown from a moving vehicle. The laughs are also over for professional stand-up comedian, Joey, when his shifty club owner boss, Veronica, finds he has skimmed some money off the top of a recent pay-off. She doses the man with drugs, and an ensuing barrage of hallucinations during his drive home, cause the man to crash and die.

The coroner’s report leads Frank and Ed to suspect foul play, and they begin an investigation into the possible homicide. Frank heads into Veronica’s club, building an undercover persona by auditioning for the open stand-up comedian position. Veronica is extremely impressed by Frank's routine, and after putting him on her payroll, also sends him to pick up her car from the local doctor’s office.

Frank delivers the car to Ted and the lab, and after an extensive search they find drugs in the glove compartment. Now aware of how Veronica’s operation is carried out, they turn their attention to her mysterious supplier, a man they only know as The Frenchmen. They interrogate the doctor and learn of a drop, so Frank visits local shoe shiner, Johnny, who has heard it will take place that night at Veronica’s club.

Frank starts his new comedy routine when he spots a waitress delivering a platter to Veronica. His keen detective skills prove the waitress to actually be The Frenchmen in disguise, and with some boy scout techniques, Ed and Frank capture the traffickers and end their drug operation for good.

Back at Police Squad, Frank knows the real dopes have been sent to the Stateville prison, and they freeze for the end credits as the entire set collapses around them.

Arrive on the Scene:

Director Georg Standford Brown was previously the special guest in the episode “Ring of Fear”

One of the episode writers is Robert K. Weiss. He also serves as producer of this series, and later produced all 3 Naked Gun films, where he made cameos as the Hotdog Vender, the obstetrician, and the tuba player. He went on to direct many of Weird Al Yankovic’s videos. He is best known to us as co-creator of Sliders, alongside Tracey Tormé.

The other credited writer of this episode, Deborah Hwang, was also the series associate producer. She also played “kickboxing mother” in Hot Shots! Part Deux.

The special guest star for this episode was Robert Goulet, who is shot by firing squad. Goulet would later appear in The Naked Gun 2½ as the main antagonist, Quentin Hapsburg.

Thomas Lasorda was Johnny’s customer. He was an American professional baseball pitcher, and manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 1997.

K Callan played Charlotte. She’s had a very long and successful career. We have, of course, discussed her several times during discussions of Lois and Clark, Quantum Leap, and most recently in Knives Out.

Nicolas Coster played Warner. He is a long time working actor going back to his first appearance as a seaman in the 1953 film Titanic. He has consistently had single episode roles in many TV shows, but is most well known for his multi-episodes appearances in The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, Ryan’s Four, The Facts of Life, and Santa Barbara. We’ve seen him before as Warden Henry Sampson in the Wilder and Pryor film Stir Crazy.

Lilibet Stern played Terri. She only had a short lived career of seven credits, starting with an appearance in the Lynda Carter lead Wonder Woman series. After a run of one offs in other shows and TV movies, she did 6 episode of The Young and the Restless from 1981 to 1983 as Patty Williams AND Patty Williams Abbott #2, before she quit acting.

Kingsley was played by Ken Michelman. He only has 25 credits on IMDb, including “pick a number dealer” in Vegas Vacation.

Peter Elbling played the mime. He has a sporadic acting career doing one off episodes in TV series. We’ve apparently seen him as a store manager in Police Academy 6: City Under Siege. He’s also written a lot for prime time TV specials, but randomly also wrote the screenplay for Honey, I Blew Up the Kid. In 2006 and 2008 he wrote and directed 2 short films, called Mr. Vinegar and the Crossword and Mr. Vinegar and the Curse.

Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh):

Written by: Tino Insana & Robert Wuhl

Directed by: Joe Dante

Original airdate: July 8, 1982

Synopsis:

Back at Police Squad, Frank knows the real dopes have been sent to the Stateville prison, and they freeze for the end credits as the entire set collapses around them.

Arrive on the Scene:

Director Joe Dante previously directed the episode “Ring of Fear.”

The special guest star was William Conrad, who was an American actor, producer, and director. He is most well known for the film noir The Killer (1946), the radio series Gunsmoke (1952-1961), and as narrator on Rocky and Bullwinkle (1959–1964) and The Fugitive (1963–1967). Conrad found stardom as a detective in the TV series Cannon (1971–1976), and as district attorney Jason Lochinvar ``J.L. Fatman” McCabe in the legal drama Jake and the Fatman (1987–1992).

Conrad wasn’t always slated for the special guest spot, the original scene was filmed with John Belushi. Belushi had suggested that he die of an overdose, but instead they filmed a scene where he was weighed down and thrown in a river. During filming, there was a brief moment when he choked on water. Afterwards, Belushi eulogised himself and the crew joined in on the joke. A few months later, he did die of a drug overdose, and the scene was replaced before the episode aired. The footage is now considered lost or destroyed.

Johnny’s customer was Dick Clark. He was a radio and television presenter, best known for hosting American Bandstand from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted the game shows $10,000 Pyramid, $20,000 Pyramid and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, which transmitted Times Square's New Year's Eve celebrations.

Claudette Nevins played Veronica. She was a steadily working TV and movie actor since her first appearance in a movie called The Mask in 1961, strangely enough about a cursed mask but seems to be no relation to the Jim Carrey film. We’ve seen her before as Barbara Trevino in the Lois and Clark episode “Witness,” and as an officer in Star Trek Insurrection.

Dick Miller played Vic. Certainly, he’s a recognisable “that guy”, and he makes appearances in a lot of Joe Dante’s projects, including Gremlins (1 & 2), The ‘Burbs and The Howling. You may also remember him as Chicken Gang in Death Race 2000, Buck Gardner in Piranha, the gun shop owner in The Terminator, Walter Paisley in Chopping Mall, and Walt in Night of the Creeps. We’ve discussed him before as Fosnight in The Flash 1990 series, and Mike Lane in Lois and Clark.

Stripping the Lincoln Continental is an homage to The French Connection, where Gene Hackman and Roy Schider’s characters similarly pull up sections of the car to find hidden drugs.

Also, as the Police Squad sing about going to Mississippi, the song is a take on a prison chain gang singing in Take the Money and Run, starring Woody Allen.