Hunter and McCall

Who’s That Guest Star?  Jeanna Michaels (Dallas, Santa Barbara); Robert Ridgely (tons of voice and TV work); Gela Nash (also in the Hunter ep “War Zone” as a completely different hooker); Dana Lee (both TV & movie work including Rambo: First Blood Part II); Ji-Tu Cumbuka (mostly TV work); Nick Angotti (mostly episodic TV); Susan Peretz (mostly TV); Michele Tobin (child actress in stuff like Yours, Mine & Ours; this is her last credit on IMDb); Arnold F. Turner (he’s in four Hunter eps; mostly TV stuff).   Hunter mainstays Charles Hallahan as Devane, Garrett Morris as Sporty James, and John Shearin as Finn, and series stars Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer as Rick Hunter and Dee Dee McCall.

Jeanna Michaels as Laura Decker

Robert Ridgely as Big Jack Hemmings

Gela Nash as Vicki Lake... she's married to Duran Duran's John Taylor, and she co-founded Juicy Couture, so even though her acting career never took off, she's doing okay for herself.

Dana Lee as Dr. Lee

Ji-Tu Cumbuka as Homer

Nick Angotti (right) as Adler

Michele Tobin as Hooker

Arnold F. Turner as Detective ("Nick" Nicholson seems to be his name.)

Charles Hallahan as Devane

Garrett Morris as Sporty James

John Shearin as Finn

Where Can I Fast-Forward Through a Car Chase?  From 20:52, Hunter drives around listening to people on CB radios until he finally hears about the hookers-in-a-camper he’s looking for. If you don’t want to listen to truckers and watch Hunter drive, you can skip to 22:50.

OMG so boring.

A real car chase from 44:48-47:02. Just watch the end and you’ll get the idea.

I'm not sure if you can feel my boredom through the internet, but trust me, car chases make me yaaaawn.

Does Anyone Have Sex, and Does Their Partner Live Through The Episode?  Nope. McCall’s in traction and Hunter’s too busy.

Hunter does not have sex with this hooker.

No sex for McCall, who can't move her head let alone the rest of her.

What Are They Wearing?  McCall: 1. Pink blouse, pink slacks, pink pumps, pink purse, black blazer.

2. For the rest of the episode she’s in a pink hospital gown and halo traction device.

Hunter:  Button-down shirts, slacks/jeans, ties, sports coats.

Also, white long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans.

Wow, This Is Old School:  Gas costs less than a dollar a gallon at 23:17.

What’s For Lunch? At 21:05 Hunter’s eating blue corn chips.

At 21:50 he does NOT eat a sandwich because it looks too sad.

He drinks something out of a thermos at 22:15.

At 32:12, he has some gum. (He also put a piece of gum in his mouth in the first scene in Devane's office.)

Where In L.A.? McCall's house is still the one which is really at 13216 Bloomfield Street in Studio City.

At 32:20, Hunter’s sitting in his car on Orange Street just south of Hollywood Blvd. He turns right onto Hollywood and you see Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

Hunter follows the secretary into the building at 7046 Hollywood blvd (at Sycamore), and they use both the exterior and interior of the building:

Hunter is driving south (I think) on Interstate 5, and we see the exit for Rye Canyon Road in Valencia. There is no longer an exit for that road. He is going the wrong way if he's really heading for Palmdale.

Trivia: Rye Canyon Road is the street Paul Walker was driving on when he died. :-(

At 44:36, Hunter is supposed to be on his way to San Diego but he's really driving on Vanowen at Hayvenhurst in Van Nuys. 

At 45:23 the chase is on, at the intersection of Louise and Vanowen in Van Nuys:

It’s an X-File:  Dana Lee was in the X-Files episode “Alpha.”

Who Does Hunter Shoot, and Do They Die?  He doesn’t shoot anyone. Neither does McCall because she can’t even hold a gun.

Any Scenes Worth Watching? At 31:22-32:01, Hunter wraps up an old shoe in a box, then visits McCall and explains to the audience why he did that.

Is There Banter?  Not really banter but cute, at 04:07-05:17 when Devane gives them a case, and Hunter offers to let McCall go on her lunch date instead, saying he’ll handle the murder in Palmdale.

McCall is thankful.

At 06:45, when McCall says she’s going to talk to some working girls --  Hunter: Want me to go with you and hold them while you interrogate them? McCall: What are you, lonely?

WTF?: Does McCall really still not know that her house is the most dangerous place in L.A.? She takes yet another witness there to “protect” her -- those are totally air quotes -- and of course the witness ends up dead and McCall barely survives. McCall, listen to me: This house is not a place where people are safe. You’re not safe, your guests aren’t safe, your fish aren't safe. Don’t get anyone else killed, okay?? (I’m shouting into the wind, as you will find out in later recaps when even more people end up dead just because McCall invited them in.)

Seriously, never enter McCall's house if you want to come out of it alive.

Oops: Around 3:41 there is a moving boom shadow in the top right corner of the screen (and the top left, too, actually; there's a reflection in the glass of the door.)

Bonus: The script (Part 1 only) at Wonderful World of Hunter: HERE.

Bonus Screencaps:

The episode opens on a wacky commercial by a guy who sells RVs.

BIG JACK'S CAMPERLAND!

OMG how meta. The commercial ends with Big Jack watching himself in front of an RV on the TV inside an RV.

Meanwhile, it's nighttime on a freeway.

This Rolls Royce goes by...

And this girl is thrown out of the car.

This does not look at all good.

McCall's very interested in the boundary between Palmdale and L.A., saying that this dead body might not be their responsibility. (We will pretend that Palmdale isn't in Los Angeles County, which it is. Maybe the 122nd Precinct really is so far-reaching that it goes all the way up to Palmdale and stops there? I doubt it would be that large; surely some other precinct would grab the case of a dead body way out in Palmdale, which is over an hour's drive with no traffic.)

Hunter says she's got a point. It all depends what side of the road the body's lying on.

McCall's wondering, why today of all days?

Charlie calls his buddy up in Palmdale to ask which side of the road the d.b. is.

"Well, McCall, unless you want to drag that body to the other side of the road, she's all yours."

McCall sighs. "Great."

"What's the matter with her?"

"Today's her birthday, Charlie, and you screwed it up."

And then Charlie does a jig. (Okay, not really. But it looks like it, no?)

McCall's pissy 'cause she had a lunch date. Hunter, as usual, is in the act of putting on his jacket.

Hunter asks if it's 'another jerk attorney.' McCall: "What do you mean, 'another jerk attorney?' Just because I date one attorney... those are the only guys I date?" She says this guy happens to be a doctor, who is successful and busy, which means they don't get a lot of time together.

Hunter says he'll take this one and she can stay with her doctor.

"Really? You'd cover?"

"Sure," he says.

This is the cutest. The very cutest!

Off Hunter goes to the crime scene.

Barney says there's no ID on her but they're checking her prints. "Judging from the marks on the ground, looks like she rolled about 60 feet."

Hunter says it looks like she hit the ground going 90 mph.

Barney says she was already dead, though, shot in the head.

Moondoggie!

Hunter says the dead woman's name was Anita Fargo, alias Maria Fuego, first arrested in 1985 for prostitution when she was 19.

Then she was picked up again, this time as 'Darlene Darling.'

(Okay, if she was 19 in 1985 she's now 21. This woman in these photos is clearly 30 at the youngest. Yeah, being a hooker can age someone, but that much??)

"And then again as Betty Blade."

That's the last they have on her, but she was picked up with two other girls, Susan Dumont, alias Suzie Q, and Mary Lakowski, alias Vicki Lake. McCall says they were picked up at Macarthur Park so she'll go there and talk to the working girls.

"Want me to go with you and hold them while you interrogate them?"

"What are you, lonely?"

"No, you stay here and talk to Sporty."

So Hunter calls Sporty.

Oh good, Kirby's back! (Last time, someone else answered Sporty's payphone and I missed Kirby.)

Goodness. Some continuity! When Sporty says he's studying the new tax laws, Hunter asks if he's trying to lay off some of Bogota's million (from the episode "Love, Hate & Sporty James").

Hunter says he needs info on a hooker named Anita Fargo.

Hahahaaaa, Kirby's face.

Sporty says he's seen her around...

Hunter says she's dead, and he needs info on her friends, Suzie Q and Vicki Lake.

Sporty says he'll see what he can do.

Kirby answers the payphone as usual: "Sporty James Enterprises."

Sporty's shocked when it turns out this call's for Hunter.

It's McCall, who says she's found Suzie Q. McCall says Suzie and Anita Fargo were working for a guy who runs RVs from here to San Francisco, servicing truckers and traveling salesmen.

"You've gotta be kidding."

Suzie wants to talk but is scared... McCall asks Hunter to meet them at McCall's house at 7:30. 

He agrees, and says "ta ta" to Sporty.

"'Ta ta?'"

McCall arrives home with Suzie Q.

McCall is immediately shot in the back by a gun with a silencer.

And then Suzie's shot too.

The gunman turns out the light before leaving.

Hunter arrives at McCall's.

When there's no answer and the house is dark, he realizes the front door is unlocked, and he becomes alarmed.

Checking for a pulse, he realizes McCall's still alive. but barely.

"Officer down, send an ambulance Code 3..." (Code 3 means it's an emergency.)

Hunter follows.

The nurse tells Hunter he'll have to wait outside.

He hears some more commotion...

It's Suzie, who's also in bad shape.

Well of course it's Wilshire Memorial. It's the only hospital in the city.

Hunter's still waiting.

They bring someone out, obviously dead because she's completely covered by a sheet.

Hunter has to see if it's McCall.

The dead woman is Suzie Q, not McCall. Whew. Unless you're Suzie, in which case, not so much.

Devane and Finn have arrived at the hospital so that they, too, can worry in person.

"They just rolled Susan Dumont out; she's dead." (That's Suzie Q's real name.)

Dr. Lee introduces himself, and says Sgt. McCall is in the ICU in critical condition.

Finn asks about McCall's chances.

"She has a bullet lodged between the 3rd and 4th vertebrae ... she's paralyzed from the neck down."

He says it might be temporary, or the bullet might have caused permanent damage.

Hunter asks, "Can't you operate?"

The doctor says they won't know until the swelling goes down, and that might be a week.

Devane asks if they can talk to her tonight - they want to know if she saw who shot her.

Nope, she's in no condition. He'll let them know when they can talk to her.

She could still be in danger, Hunter says. He wants to post someone outside her room.

Dr. Lee will tell hospital administration.

As Hunter leaves, Charlie says if Hunter needs anything to let him know.

Sporty!

Sporty heard what happened and wants to know if McCall's okay.

Hunter says no; she's in the ICU. Sporty is sad.

Down in the hospital cafeteria, Sporty is telling a story about a guy coming to town a year ago and shaking down some of the best girls...

None of the pimps took him seriously until they realized, a few weeks later, that a couple of dozen of "the choicest girls" had disappeared.

Honestly, I try to use some restraint because every screencap of Garrett Morris' face is awesome and I just can't use them all or they'd have to change the show's name to "Sporty!"

Hunter thanks Sporty for the info...

..and says he's going to go look for Vicki Lake.

Sporty says that a guy owes him a favor... and if anyone knows where Vicki Lake is, Homer does.

Hunter's going to pay Homer a visit.

That's Homer on the right, and Pearlie on the left. You might remember them from episode 2.15, "Scrap Metal."

Hunter says he's looking for someone Homer might know ... Vicki Lake.

"And you expect me to help you find her?"

Hunter explains that someone's killed two of her friends and Vicki might be next.

"And you're not looking to bust her. Just want to help her? Tell me why I should believe you."

"The people after Vicki ... shot my partner."

Homer asks Pearly if he thinks Hunter's telling the truth, and he does...

So Homer says there's a massage parlor over on Hill ... he describes Vicki for Hunter.

Hunter thanks Homer and says he owes him one.

"Cover charge is $20."

Hunter doesn't say a word and just pays the lady.

She couldn't be more jaded.

Ummm... is that girl in the red doing needlepoint? I hope she is.

Hunter does not pick the needlepoint girl. He picks the girl Homer described.

Also jaded.

Badge flash! Vicki's not impressed. "What are you gonna do, bust me?"

Hunter asks about the guy who runs girls up and down the highway in motor homes.

Vicki just stares at him.

He's like, "Come on," and tells her that her friends Anita Fargo and Suzie Q are dead.

Vicki frets a bit...

...then checks that nobody can overhear.

She says that about a year ago she had a fight with her pimp, and that's when she heard about the guy with the motor homes, so she went to Pershing Square to meet him and check him out.

But the guy didn't show; he sent a woman named Flo. "She was a working girl, maybe forty, with a lot of miles on her."

"She said I'd be getting a thousand a week plus twenty percent. No pimps, no nothin'."

"Just me and three other girls in a motor home."

Hunter asks how many motor homes they used.

She says eight or nine. Flo was the manager She told them where to go and which roads to stop, and she handled the money.

Flo would give them what they were due and put the rest in an envelope and leave. Once Vicki saw Flo give the money to someone in a black Rolls, but she didn't see who.

Hunter asks for a description of Flo.

Vicki says Flo has red hair, is maybe 5'6, 140 pounds, and she has a tattoo of a rose on the back of her shoulder.

Hunter asks which highways they'd take.

"All of the major truck routes..."

"All we'd have to do is get on the CB, and say the Wild Bunch was pulling into a truck stop, and we'd be turning tricks like crazy."

"Each RV had its own handle. Soft Shoulder, Hot Pursuit, stuff like that." (And just like that they slip in the episode title, practically a throwaway!)

Hunter wants to know why Vicki quit when she was making so much money.

Vicki becomes visibly upset but doesn't say anything at first.

Hunter says, "You're in danger; your friends are dead. Talk to me here!"

"That's right... I am in danger, all right -- talking to you!"

"I have answered all your questions. The well is dry." 

"Your time is up."

He gives her his card and some money.

"The name's Sergeant Rick Hunter, Metropolitan Homicide. You know how to get hold of me. You know how it works."

Now Vicki can finally be sad about her dead friends.

Dr. Lee tells Hunter not to ask McCall to talk too much. "She's in pain and under a lot of medication."

Things sure don't look good.

(Though McCall looks good, considering.)

Hunter asks how she's doing. What a terrible question. 

She says "Okay," in a way that means OMG I AM SO NOT OKAY, I'M PARALYZED FROM THE NECK DOWN and he says the doctor told him not to make her talk too much.

Hunter says he found Vicki Lake.

"Suzie okay?"

"She didn't make it. ...Did you see the guy that did this?"

McCall says no.

"...You're gonna be okay."

McCall doesn't say anything. This episode's a bit of a downer, man. 

Hunter sets out looking for the hookers in motor homes.

He's got his CB radio, because that's how they communicate. 

(Useless personal information: When I was 14 or so, I had a CB radio at home, complete with a 64-foot antenna on my roof. I was totally internet chatting with strangers before there was an internet! My handle was 'Pink Panther.' Oh 1970s, you were awesome. Yes, I was super cool, if cool means dorky. Thirty-five years later, a boy I talked to back then found me on LinkedIn. I'm temped to marry him just so I can tell people how we met.)

Hunter's eating blue corn chips while he drives. He likes those.

He likes them a lot.

Hunter listens to the truckers on the CB. Nothing about any hookers.

Really, he likes blue corn chips quite a bit.

Night has fallen and Hunter must have run out of blue corn chips. Now he's got tea or coffee or something. He's still listening to truckers on the CB.

Also, he's brought a sandwich.

What's in this thing, anyway?

Hunter does not like the looks of that ham and/or cheese product.

Hmm. I guess he just sticks with coffee.

Night has turned to day.

This is apparently not the camper he's looking for.

Day turns back to night.

Hmmm... all of a sudden, in contrast to truckers asking for rides and giving warnings about Smokey, the CB broadcasts a sexy female voice

"Breaker 1-9 ... Hello, all you lonely truckers out there. This is the Wild Bunch calling to let you know we're on the Highway to Heaven." A few truckers break in, happy to hear this news. She goes on: "Now boys, no fighting. There's enough for everyone." She tells them where they'll be. "We've got a couple of experienced mechanics here just waiting to service your big rig."

"...We're in a Country Comfort cruiser, beige with a brown stripe..."

U-turn!

Are they thataway?

Ooh, looks like they're thisaway.

Hunter thinks this looks like the motor home described over the airwaves.

Sooo, he sits and watches it.

Then a guy comes out of the camper.

And another guys goes IN the camper. I'm pretty sure this is the one he's looking for.

Can you see gears turning in Hunter's head? He is hatching a plan!

This plan involves Hunter backing his car into the motor home.

Not too hard... just enough that they'd notice from the inside.

"Hey!" says the lady in the motor home.

"What the Hell's going on here?" Hunter says he's sorry. "Backing up here I misjudged the distance..."

"Yeah, well you oughta be more careful," he says. We hear another woman from inside say, "Hey Ginger, it's cold in here, shut the door!" Ginger asks Hunter to come in.

While walking in, he's saying he's sorry and that he intends to pay for the damage to the motor home.

"Oh, really?" she says.

Hunter says hi to these girls and they pose seductively, probably because he's a lot cleaner, better looking and fit than most of the truckers they service.

"I'd like to forgo my insurance... maybe we could exchange phone numbers and addresses and you can send me the bill." She says it's nothing serious and they can just forget it.

No, he insists on paying!  But she says she doesn't own this rig, and she doesn't think the owner wants to exchange addresses with him. "So since it's not a big dent, let's just forget about it, okay?"

Hunter bids the hookers adieu. They invite him to stick around, stay for a  drink... (or some bow chicka bow wow action, I'm sure.)

He thanks them, but says the accident shook him up, and he leaves.

She gives this look like, "WTF is wrong with that guy?"

Before he leaves, Hunter makes a note of the hookermobile's license plate.

Vicki Lake has left tons of urgent messages!

...But when he calls there's no answer.

So he calls someone named Wayne and asks for the address for that phone number.

Then Hunter heads to the high-tech computer room to do some research.

This guy Jimmy says he has the info on the RV Hunter asked about. It's registered to Bay Industries, with a PO Box number in Hollywood.

"Post office box? I need an address, Jimmy." Jimmy says he'll get right on it.

Weight 140! Rose tattoo! Bingo!

Hunter makes a call to this guy:

"Vice, Nicholson."

"Yeah, Nick ... I'm looking for a prostitute .. Florence Kean. She's connected with the people who shot McCall."

Nick says he'll get back to him as soon as he finds something.

Someone (Wayne?) calls and gives him Vicki's info.

Hunter writes down the address. It's on K Street, which at the time was completely industrial and had no residential buildings so they're just making junk up. ;-)

Well this doesn't look good at all.

Hunter goes to check on this dead body (indeed, dead, it turns out)...

Then someone clocks Hunter over the head.

This neighbor man was walking down the hall and the door was open and he saw these two bodies...

The EMT says Hunter had better go to the hospital and get his head x-rayed. Hunter says, "Yeah, I'll get right on that," with absolutely no intention of doing so.

Finn tells him to listen to the guy and take it easy. The dead body, Finn says, is Mary Lakowski, and whoever shot her was waiting behind the door when she came in, and she was shot in the back.

Hunter says that Mary Lakowski is the real name of a hooker named Vicki Lake, and that the dead body is NOT her.

He tosses Finn the ice pack. "See ya."

And off Hunter goes.

Back to the massage parlor...

The manager says Vicki hasn't been there since the last time Hunter came in.

...Nope, no Vicki.

After peeking in all the rooms, Hunter leaves without saying a word.

"Jerk."

Hunter goes to see Sporty, who tells him he thinks Vicki is long gone.

Hunter says Vicki knows an awful lot and that's why they'e after her. He asks Sporty to stick with it.

Oooookay, what's Hunter doing with this old shoe?

He's putting it in a box. 

And wrapping it in Christmas paper.

"So when I checked out the address I had for Bay Industries, I realized it was an abandoned building," Hunter says. "Then I asked myself, 'What would Sgt. McCall do in a situation like this?'" 

"'She'd get out the old wrapping paper and send them a package to the post office box.'"

McCall can smile. Those are the only working muscles she's got left, pretty much.

So, Hunter waits outside the post office. Now, normally this might take like DAYS ON END, right? But as far as we know, Hunter pulls up and waits for like five minutes, and... 

...This lady goes to pick up her Christmassy-wrapped package soon thereafter.

And if he really was waiting there a long time, it's a good thing he's a cop, because there is so no parking in that area.

That's right; she's on Hollywood Blvd. They love themselves some Hollywood Blvd on Hunter.

Look how tall he is compared to a car door. I look nothing like that getting out of a car.

Hunter checks the building directory when she stops at the 5th floor.

Bingo! Bay Industries! (Along with a whole bunch of other stuff in the same suite.)

"Sorry, no solicitors," she says, barely looking up.

"Look, I don't care what you're sellin', I don't want it..."

Then arm-crossing ensues. "How is it," Hunter asks, "a little office like this could house what appears to be one of California's largest conglomerates?"

Two can play that game, the lady proves by crossing her arms too. 

"I just work here, Mister."

Hunter asks to talk to her boss. She does not cooperate. "Do you got a warrant? 'Cause if you don't, I don't have to talk to you."

She answers the phone...

...Then looks at Hunter and says, "Are you just gonna stand there? Cause if you are, I'm gonna hang up."

Next thing we know, Hunter's talking to Big Jack at a whole different location, though we don't really know that 'til he leaves. "You've got five companies in an office that big, Jack."

"...One of them belongs to your wife, Louise Hemmings. The rest belong to a John [Something], is that you?"

"Mr. Hemmings' corporate  holdings are a matter of public record," this guy says. Not that it matters, but this guy is named Adler. He's Hemmings' accountant.

"You're also running hookers up and down Interstate 5 in motor homes, Jack," Hunter says.

"That's a damn lie! it's also slander ... I run an honest business!"

"You're a pimp and you're a murderer, Jack," Hunter says.

"You paid some punk to shoot my partner; now I'm gonna get ya."

"Get out of my office."

Hunter: "You've given new meaning to the term 'recreational vehicle,' Jack." 

"Call me when you want to confess."

And he leaves.

This woman follows.

She looks a bit distressed as she watches Hunter go.

"You heard me," Big Jack says on the phone. "Shut the whole thing down!"

"Florence, listen... you work for me!" He's all angry and junk. "Get rid of the girls, and get the RVs back in here!"

"What the hell about Anita Fargo and Suzie Q?"

"Do whatever you want! Just get rid of those stinkin' hookers, and make sure you and the vehicles are back here tonight."

Big Jack tells Adler to use his friends at City Hall to get this cop off his back.

They're not even in the door and Charlie's already mad.

"You know what this sounds like," Charlie says. "It sounds like an officer harrassing an innocent citizen without just cause."

"I'm just trying to get the guy to make a mistake, Charlie, you know that."

"Meanwhile Big Jack's got one of the commissioners dumping on us."

Devane: "You look like my cat after a bad night." Hunter: "Hairballs?"

"Go home and get some sleep."

The stuff Charlie has to deal with, man.

Someone's waiting at Hunter's desk.

It's the woman we saw a bit ago. "I'm Laura Decker," she says. I saw you today at Big Jack's. ...I took this stuff from his office. I want to help you get him."

"Why's that?"

"He killed my father."

Hard to tell, I know, but this is an establishing shot of Hunter's house.

...Where he has taken a totally unknown person. WTF, Hunter? Anyway, she tells the story of how her parents were going to see America in their RV but they had a lot of trouble with it, then it turned out that the RV had been sold at least once before, and her dad sued.

"And right in the middle of the trial," Laura says, "he had a heart attack and died."

She says she got a job with Big Jack, hoping she'd find a way to make him pay for what he did. When she saw Hunter she decided she'd found the way.

She has a folder of papers. "These are his in-house originals. They haven't been doctored yet by his CPA ... Roger Adler." 

That's the guy Hunter saw in Big Jack's office. 

"Big Jack pays him a lot of money to make sure everything adds up."

"What about Big Jack's wife Louise? She's on record as the owner of one of his businesses."

Laura says that it's probably a tax scam -- Louise is a cheap-looking bimbo who can't balance her checkbook, let alone run a company.

Laura asks for some cream for her coffee.

Hunter says that when Jack finds out the files are missing he'll come looking for Laura.

He doesn't think she should go back her house 'til this all blows over. He invites her to stay at his place. (It doesn't play as skeezy as it sounds. Hunter's not picking up on Laura.)

She says she can't; she'd be imposing.

"You don't have much choice, honey, you're in danger." (Robbie's note: Ewww, I hate when guys call me 'honey' and they're not my boyfriend.)

Hunter gets a call. We don't know who it is.

"Great," he says. "I'll pick you up at the precinct in 20 minutes."

He says he's going to be gone an hour or more. "If anybody calls, don't answer it. If anyone knocks at the door, call the police."

And off he goes.

Hunter and Nick are watching this middle-class house in a nice neighborhood.

...A taxi pulls up.

"Yeah, that's Flo," Hunter says.

As Flo walks to her front door...

...Someone runs across her lawn with a gun and shoots her..

Hunter and Nick run to check it out.

Nick checks on Flo while Hunter follows the shooter.

The guy's already in a car.

So Hunter shoots at it.

He knocks out a tail light but that's all.

Nothing new here; I just like shots of Hunter with his gun.

Flo's dead.

Hunter calls it in.

"I've got a 187 victim, suspect driving a late model sedan with the left rear tail light out." He gives the location.

Meanwhile, back at Wilshire Memorial...

...McCall is still paralyzed...

...And Hunter's still sad about it.

...But at least a kind nurse or random hospital makeup artist came by to make sure her makeup was perfect.

Hunter arrives back at his house.

He finds Laura sleeping in his bed and leaves her there.

Hunter heads backdownstairs to check out the files Laura took from Big Jack.

"Do you know it's 5:00am?"

Hunter asks about some initials on the papers.

Laura: "The bank inspector's. Dealers buy their inventory with borrowed money. Then when they sell a car or RV, they repay the bank. The inspector's initials tell the bank the vehicle's still on the lot, unsold."

Hunter says all these loan agreements show the RVs were sold weeks before these pages were initialed.

"We got him! He's selling RVs and he's not giving the bank their money! It probably amounts to millions of the bank's dollars!"

"Big Jack plays the stock market all day long. I've heard him buying options, commodities...Rick, if we take this to the bank, we've got him!"

Hunter points out that if they take this to the bank, Laura will be arrested for stealing the papers. He asks what would happen to Big Jack's buisiness if the RVs stopped coming in.

"His whole scam depends on turnover," she says. "RVs coming in as fast as they're going out."

"...You cut off his supply and he's had it."

"Where does the supply come from?" Hunter wants to know.

From a plant in San Diego near the border, in El Mirage.

Hunter says he's going to the hospital, then to El Mirage.

Morning has broken at Wilshire Memorial.

"Can Sergeant McCall come out and play?"

He asks how she's doing and she says okay. (Dude, she's not okay.)

"You may not see me tomorrow." He says he's going to San Diego.

McCall asks why and he says he'll tell her when he gets back. He asks how it's going.

"...I can't feel anything yet, you know?"

"The doctors say it'll take about a week for the swelling to clear up."

"Then what?"

"You're gonna be all right."

McCall is clearly not so sure.

This car comes from behind Hunter and gets way too cozy, smacking into him..

Then Hunter chases the guy.

"This is L-56, in pursuit of an ADW suspect driving a late model red sedan, license plate number blah blah..." (ADW = Assault with a Deadly Weapon, btw.)

He asks for backup.

... I love it when they reach up to put the cherry light on the car.

Blah blah car chase.

It goes on and on.

And on.

Have you dozed off? I have. Car chases, blah blah car chases.

Seriously, it's still going on? Something has to end this car chase soon because the episode's almost over.

I'll let the screencaps do the talking.

Who’s That Guest Star?  Richard Cox (episodic TV, Cruising); Shawn Elliott (random TV & movies; married to actress/Broadway star Donna Murphy); J.E. Freeman (Miller’s Crossing, Alien: Resurrection); Mark Arnott (mostly TV); Leigh Christian (mostly episodic TV); Jack Bannon (Lou Grant); Larenz Tate (Menace II Society, Rescue Me, House of Lies); Patrice Chanel (episodic TV, and she played the same role in the Hunter episode "Crime of Passion"); Montrose Hagins (Homefront, The Famous Jett Jackson, episodic TV).  Charles Hallahan as Devane, Martin E. Brooks as Mike Snow, John Shearin as Finn, Garrett Morris as Sporty James, Perry Cook as Barney the Coroner. And of course Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer as Rick Hunter and Dee Dee McCall.

Richard Cox as Carl Remick

Shawn Elliott as Jake Barruzo

J. E. Freeman as Wally Grimes

Mark Arnott as Connie Bleaker

Leigh Christian as Terri Barnes

Jack Bannon as Michael Stevens

Patrice Chanel as Sharon Williams

Larenz Tate as Sporty’s Nephew

Montrose Hagins as Alma

Charles Hallahan as Capt. Charles Devane

Martin E. Brooks as Mike Snow

John Shearin as Lt. Ambrose Finn & Perry Cook as Barney the Coroner

Garrett Morris as Sporty James

Where Can I Fast-Forward Through a Car Chase?  Nothing long enough to skip.

Does Anyone Have Sex, and Does Their Partner Live Through The Episode?  Hunter has sex w/ Terri (at least it’s a fair assumption) at 08:24. And of course she doesn’t live. Hunter is like a black widower.

What Are They Wearing?  McCall: 1. White & royal blue vertically striped blouse with crazy sleeves that I can’t really explain; blue slacks, royal blue earrings, royal blue belt.

See? Crazy sleeves.

2. Light pink blouse, light pink skirt, light grey suit jacket.

3. Red blouse with white pattern, white slacks, white Oxford-type shoes with black toes and heels, black blazer with red pocket square, red earrings. (Looks like the same jacket/slacks/shoes from the bench scene in “A Child is Born.”)

4. Pink turtleneck, dark purple leather jacket, dark blue slacks, light blue casual shoes.

5. Peach polo buttoned to the neck, light blue shirt with southwestern pattern in dark grey, light-colored jeans, white tennis shoes.

Hunter:  Button-down shirts, slacks/jeans, ties, sports coats.

At 23:00, he's wearing a dark polo shirt with light horizontal stripes.

At the end, jeans, blue t-shirt, light denim shirt, black tennis shoes.

Hunter wore skinny jeans before they were skinny jeans.

Wow, This Is Old School:  Hunter's living room TV and VHS tapes at 07:01. Also, a flag from the 1984 L.A. Summer Olympics.

Hunter’s bedroom TV at 07:23.

The drink machine, wooden phone booths and candy (or cigarette) machines at 20:20.

Sporty uses a payphone at 25:02. (And he's got a new shoeshine guy who's not Kirby! Where's Kirby?)

McCall's manual typewriter at 26:55.

At 32:45 Finn uses ye olde police radio in McCall's car.

Hunter uses a payphone at 34:43.

What’s For Lunch?  Hunter takes chewing gum out of his mouth at 5:51.

Later, Terri shows him the dinner she’s got planned: salad, rice pilaf, salmon steaks, asparagus with hollandaise sauce … but as usual we don’t see them actually eat it.

Where In L.A.?  At 01:53, we look south down Western Ave from the Griffith Park area. They used a long lens because you can see the Wiltern theater pretty clearly down at the other end. (It's the greenish building if you look up from the letter O in the title; see first screencap at the top of this post.)

At 02:43, they turn a corner at E 7th Street, near Central Ave downtown. And at 2:54 they’re on 7th between Central and Alameda. They filmed quite a bit in the very same area for episode 3.08, “Love, Hate, and Sporty James.”

I’m pretty sure they’re on Cabrillo Beach Pier at 14:29.

At 17:02, "Hudson Imports" (supposedly in San Pedro, we learn later in the episode) is actually a building at 507 Towne Ave at the corner of 5th Street in downtown L.A. near Skid Row. (You can see the Fred Jordan Rescue Mission across the street).

At 19:50, they're at Central Ave and Industrial Street, another location previously used in "Love, Hate & Sporty James."

The restaurant where Terri and Hunter go for dinner is at the corner of Venice and La Cienega. The building's still there but it's not a restaurant now.

At 41:55 McCall and the backup units are on Towne just near 5th, so they are right by "Hudson Imports." I'm not sure if they're supposed to be farther away, but they're literally right across the street when they pull away to drive there. They put on their sirens, as if they will encounter any traffic on this 100-foot drive. ;-)

It’s an X-File:  Richard Cox was in the X-Files episode “Brand X.”

Who Does Hunter Shoot, and Do They Die?  Shockingly he shoots no-one. 

Hunter shoots at Wally Grimes, but doesn't hit him.

Any Scenes Worth Watching?  McCall asks if Hunter’s getting serious about Terri in the scene at 27:11-27:46.

Is There Banter?  At 1:57, McCall tries to get Hunter to take a “personal love potential” test from a magazine.

At 9:37-9:59, they banter a bit about Terri.

WTF?:  Hunter tells Terri “a street cop’s life is no type of life to share with a woman,” but at 27:52-28:58 he proposes to her (dooming her to a speedy death, of course). Also, I found it hard to believe Hunter would be so into someone with so little personality, but that’s just me. She is very pretty and seems nice enough, and she's not a criminal, so for Hunter, she's probably a pretty good catch.

Also WTF?: At 09:54, Hunter & McCall get in his car; it's been sitting outside all night at his house with the windows open. What kind of cop not only doesn't lock his car's doors, but leaves the windows open? Not to mention that the windows were closed when he got out of the car the previous night.

Windows closed as he drives up to his house...The Window Fairy must have come in the night and opened them.

Oops:  When Hunter asks Terri how she got in his house, she says “With my key, how else? I’ve kept it safe all these years.” Except he hasn’t lived in this the beach house until this season, so she wouldn’t have a key.

Oops #2: At 45:37, we see Stepfanie Kramer's mark on the ground. It's possible this wouldn't have been seen on TV at the time, but it's on the DVD. We wee it throughout the scene and I suspect it was seen on TV.

Bonus: The script, at Wonderful World of Hunter: HERE.

Bonus Screencaps: 

The show opens with McCall trying to get Hunter to take a "Personal Love Potential" test from a magazine.

Hunter's like, I don't have to. "My personal love potential goes right off the scale."

We don't get to hear any more about it because they get a call about a jewelry store robbery.

"Jewelry" is misspelled even if they're using the British spelling.

Normal people: Go get him, Hunter! Me: They've used that location before! 

Hunter gives chase.

Go get him, Hunter!

Dear Criminals: Running down an alley isn't that great an idea unless you know you can get out the other end.

Also, probably not a great idea to throw a trash can at an armed cop who's bigger and more badass than you.

This lady didn't see the suspect, Wally Grimes.

Mike Snow is basically telling them they have nothing.

They're not excited to hear this.

I'll tell you what Mike Snow's got. A doozy of a comb-over, that's what.

This is Sharon Williams, the most attractive Assistant District Attorney ever.

Not sure what's going on here, but these two screencaps make me giggle.

The original script had this actually happening in a courtroom with a judge and everything, but they changed it to the much-less-official interrogation room at the station.

Mike Snow is weaving a scenario that he'd use in court, where his client was just walking down an alley, all innocent-like, when a man with a gun approaches, so he runs! Then Hunter also has a gun, so he runs! Etc etc etc.

They are just so displeased at the way things are going. It's adorable. It reminds me of Mulder and Scully in Skinner's office.

"You should have identified yourself as a police officer, Sergeant."

"...I did that twice."

Hunter decides it's time to stop listening to Mike Snow, so they all leave.

Williams says it'd be a waste of time filing charges; there's no way they could get a guilty verdict.

Hunter gets a message saying the man in the jewelry store died, so now it's a murder case.

Grimes threatens Hunter.

Hunter threatens Grimes.

Hunter tells Grimes to take a hike.

Hunter senses something in his dark house...

Are there any walls in this house not covered in wood paneling? It's a beach house, not a mountain cabin!

Hunter cocks his head like a confused puppy.

There seems to be a woman in his bed. Which isn't a rare occurrence, but this time it's without his knowledge.

"Hi, Rick."

"Terri Barnes, how did you get in here?"

"With my key, how else?" (See "WTF?" above ...)

"What happened, Terri?"

"The station manager fired the news director, and the new boss fired me."

He listens as she says it happened a few weeks ago and it took her this long to realize that she should come home.

Hunter's watch seems to say it's dinnertime.

"Okay," he says, "Let's go get something to eat."

Terri says she's really not too hungry for food right now, as she sinks back into the mattress.

Hunter, never one to pass up an invitation for sex, says he's not hungry either, and turns out the light.

ATTHS. It was the most unromantic thing ever.

Hunter says his partner's picking him up in ten minutes. Terri asks if his partner's still Garriman, and he says no, McCall's his partner now.

As McCall enters, Terri seems surprised McCall's a woman, and McCall seems surprised Hunter's not alone.

They both recover nicely...

...And they smile and shake hands when Hunter introduces them.

McCall says she can come back later...

Hunter says no, they're on their way out... To Terri he says he assumes she'll be here when he gets back, and she says she will.

The ladies (both a little insincere?) say it was nice to meet each other.

Why is McCall dressed like my snooty uncle?

"What'd you do, promise her a ride with the siren on?"

"She's an old friend, for the last four years, McCall." "So that's why you gave her the shirt off your back. ...What a guy."

(And they leave and now it looks like McCall just leaves her car at Hunter's house with the window open. A little security, please!)

Carl makes sure that Hunter and McCall are gone...

Terri doesn't seem that thrilled to see him. He says that if she doesn't like what he has to say, he'll leave.

Carl asks Terri why she ran.

She says, "I lost my job, so I came home."

Carl says he knows she was in in his apartment night before last, and so does Barruzo. He wants to know how much she heard and why she left town so suddenly.

Terri says it's hard to believe that she and Carl were once lovers and friends.

Carl still wants to know why she hid in his apartment and what she heard.

She says she listened long enough to know that Carl is involved with "that creep," meaning Barruzo.

She says she couldn't believe it: someone like Carl, right school, right money, old money...

Carl says that Jake Barruzo is powerful, rich and cultured, and that he likes him.

Like all women on "Hunter," Terri seems to get up in the morning fully made up.

"He's a killer; a dealer ... coke, probably. Where's he from? Colombia?"

"He's an American citizen."

"And the old money was running a little short; I needed some of his new money. ...Did you hear him mention coke?"

"Relax," Terri says. "If you're doing business with Barruzo, no one could prove it by me."

"And if you think I know something which you'd rather I didn't, which I don't..."

"...I wouldn't tell anybody. I don't intend to forget what it was like between us. That's all I care to remember."

Carl says he was just worried when she ran, that she had misunderstood what he and Jake were discussing.

"I'd been planning to leave since the day I lost my job."

"Let's just say a sweet goodbye? And remember each other as friends. Okay?"

"You... slept with him last night, didn't you?" That Carl, he can pick up on a clue, can't he? She spent the night and is now wearing Hunter's shirt. We ALL know they slept together, Carl.

She looks at him like, Yeah, Carl. (Duh.)

"Okay. I'll see ya."

Sporty's telling a fishing story.

Sporty says he's going to talk to his friends over there.

The wind is crazy so Hunter puts his tie in his pocket. I can only assume they glued Sporty's hat to his head.

Sporty explains that the kids are his niece and nephew.

Hunter asks if Sporty knows Wally Grimes.

Sporty does.

Hunter says Grimes' partner's in San Quentin so they don't know who he's working with.

Sporty says he'll check it out.

And now for some quid pro quo?

Poor McCall is just trying to control her windblown hair in this scene.

Sporty wants them to do a favor by helping a female friend of his out with a bogus shoplifting charge.

Hunter says they'll see what they can do.

Sporty is needed on an urgent pier fishing matter.

McCall: "Where do you think he got those pants?"

Hunter: "Caught them off shore here."

Sporty says, "Boy, you got talent! I'm sending you to the fishing academy!" (Hopefully with the proceeds from the fish he sells, they'll be able to get Sporty's niece a jacket that fits, instead of putting her in an adult jacket.)

Okay, this is the weirdest. This phone is ringing... but the room looks nothing like the room Carl walks into to pick up the phone.

Um... I guess I will pretend it's the same room. (It's totally not.)

Jake is calling from his car on the way from the airport. He wants to meet with Carl.

"You're in L.A.?"

"Our butts are on the line, pal; you bet I'm in L.A. What'd the girl say?"

"It's okay, Jake, everything's cool."

Jake's not buying it. "Meet me at the warehouse, NOW!"