Bubba White's in town to collect ten thousand dollars. He drove all the way from Dayton Ohio with his mother (in a car--ahem-- "borrowed" from his collection agency boss), booked her into the most expensive hotel suite he could find, then went looking for the people who stiffed him his 10%. What he doesn't realize is, the man he's looking for is a high-level racketeer the NYC cops have been after for at least 7 years, and his own boss-- who works for the racketeer-- is the one who really stiffed him. No surprise-- turns out the guy's been stealing from the racketeer for 3 years!
When Bubba's (stolen) car runs out of gas, he just grabs another one... which brings him to the attention of Sam McCloud & Joe Broadhurst, assigned to stolen car detail. A young boy who saw Bubba helps point Sam in the right direction, and soon he & Joe are interviewing Mrs. White, who's worried about her son. When Sam promises her to find Bubba, Joe points out, "McCloud, you're still assigned to stolen car detail!" "He stole a car, didn't he?" (There's that lateral thinking again!)
When the investigation-- and Bubba's somewhat violent activities-- lead to mobster Jack Faraday, Captain (or is that "Chief"?) Clifford tells Sam to get back to stolen cars, since Clifford CAN'T tell the Police Commissioner the job of nailing the city's biggest racketeer has been assigned to "an exchange student from Taos, New Mexico". "Guess I'll have to make the best of it, Chief." Of course, we know what that means.
Before long, Bubba's boss, who came in at the request of the cops to pick up his car, has been found out by HIS boss, and winds up DEAD in a sleazy hotel room, as part of a frame-up to make Bubba look like the killer. But even a bullet wound in the shoulder is not enough to stop this ex-football linebacker, and, with info gathered by a photographer's model Bubba's befriended, he goes after Faraday. She winds up calling Sam, and HE arrives moments before the rest of the cops do (with warrants), in just in time to save Bubba's life.
The "laid-back" tone of the 2nd season continues here. While this story takes place in far more "gritty" surroundings than the last one did, it still has a "COLUMBO" sort of feel to it, with the focus being more on Bubba and the gangsters than McCloud and the rest of the police. Sam even goes into his "country Columbo" routine when he interviews Faraday in his fancy office, managing to get on his nerves while telling a story about a Taos crook which ends with the abrupt punchline, "They HUNG him." --just trying to shake things loose.
A lot of familiar faces in this one! You've got Robert Webber (12 ANGRY MEN, THE SILENCERS, THE DIRTY DOZEN, REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER) as Faraday, the main villain; Stephanie Powers (THE GIRL FROM UNCLE, HART TO HART) as Jackie Dawn, the tough-as-nails photo model; Joan Blondell (HERE COMES THE BRIDES) as Ernestine White, Bubba's Ma; Bo Svenson (WALKING TALL, Dan Curtis' FRANKENSTEIN) as Charles "Bubba" White; Vincent Gardenia (ALL IN THE FAMILY and countless guest-shots on TV shows) as Barney Sweetwater, Bubba's boss who really caused the whole problem; Milton Selzer (countless TV appearances) as Flynn, the sleazy hotel manager who tries to frame Bubba for murder; Val Avery (another longtime TV vet) as Gruber, Ed Peck (who I recognized as "Col. Fellini" in the STAR TREK episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday"-- "I'm going to lock you up for two hundred years!!") as the bartender whose bar gets trashed by Bubba; and Antony Carbone (A BUCKET OF BLOOD, CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA, PIT AND THE PENDULUM) as Dave, Faraday's hit man.
Watching episodes from this season really brings back memories for me, of a time when it seemed TV became a haven for "kindler, gentler", more "human" TV shows. It didn't last. After Viet Nam ended and Watergate happened, it seems to me the whole mood of the country got more cynical and callous. Oh well!
Following this season, producer Dean Hargrove would move on to MADIGAN, followed by-- appropriately enough-- COLUMBO. In the years since, his credits have included PERRY MASON, FATHER DOWLING MYSTERIES, MATLOCK, JAKE & THE FATMAN, and DIAGNOSIS MURDER. And to think it all started with these 7 "low key" McCLOUDs! Meanwhile, Peter Allan Fields' later work included executive story consultant on THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, RETURN OF THE SAINT (a real favorite of mine), STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION and producer of STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE.
When Bubba's (stolen) car runs out of gas, he just grabs another one... which brings him to the attention of Sam McCloud & Joe Broadhurst, assigned to stolen car detail. A young boy who saw Bubba helps point Sam in the right direction, and soon he & Joe are interviewing Mrs. White, who's worried about her son. When Sam promises her to find Bubba, Joe points out, "McCloud, you're still assigned to stolen car detail!" "He stole a car, didn't he?" (There's that lateral thinking again!)
When the investigation-- and Bubba's somewhat violent activities-- lead to mobster Jack Faraday, Captain (or is that "Chief"?) Clifford tells Sam to get back to stolen cars, since Clifford CAN'T tell the Police Commissioner the job of nailing the city's biggest racketeer has been assigned to "an exchange student from Taos, New Mexico". "Guess I'll have to make the best of it, Chief." Of course, we know what that means.
Before long, Bubba's boss, who came in at the request of the cops to pick up his car, has been found out by HIS boss, and winds up DEAD in a sleazy hotel room, as part of a frame-up to make Bubba look like the killer. But even a bullet wound in the shoulder is not enough to stop this ex-football linebacker, and, with info gathered by a photographer's model Bubba's befriended, he goes after Faraday. She winds up calling Sam, and HE arrives moments before the rest of the cops do (with warrants), in just in time to save Bubba's life.
The "laid-back" tone of the 2nd season continues here. While this story takes place in far more "gritty" surroundings than the last one did, it still has a "COLUMBO" sort of feel to it, with the focus being more on Bubba and the gangsters than McCloud and the rest of the police. Sam even goes into his "country Columbo" routine when he interviews Faraday in his fancy office, managing to get on his nerves while telling a story about a Taos crook which ends with the abrupt punchline, "They HUNG him." --just trying to shake things loose.
A lot of familiar faces in this one! You've got Robert Webber (12 ANGRY MEN, THE SILENCERS, THE DIRTY DOZEN, REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER) as Faraday, the main villain; Stephanie Powers (THE GIRL FROM UNCLE, HART TO HART) as Jackie Dawn, the tough-as-nails photo model; Joan Blondell (HERE COMES THE BRIDES) as Ernestine White, Bubba's Ma; Bo Svenson (WALKING TALL, Dan Curtis' FRANKENSTEIN) as Charles "Bubba" White; Vincent Gardenia (ALL IN THE FAMILY and countless guest-shots on TV shows) as Barney Sweetwater, Bubba's boss who really caused the whole problem; Milton Selzer (countless TV appearances) as Flynn, the sleazy hotel manager who tries to frame Bubba for murder; Val Avery (another longtime TV vet) as Gruber, Ed Peck (who I recognized as "Col. Fellini" in the STAR TREK episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday"-- "I'm going to lock you up for two hundred years!!") as the bartender whose bar gets trashed by Bubba; and Antony Carbone (A BUCKET OF BLOOD, CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA, PIT AND THE PENDULUM) as Dave, Faraday's hit man.
Watching episodes from this season really brings back memories for me, of a time when it seemed TV became a haven for "kindler, gentler", more "human" TV shows. It didn't last. After Viet Nam ended and Watergate happened, it seems to me the whole mood of the country got more cynical and callous. Oh well!
Following this season, producer Dean Hargrove would move on to MADIGAN, followed by-- appropriately enough-- COLUMBO. In the years since, his credits have included PERRY MASON, FATHER DOWLING MYSTERIES, MATLOCK, JAKE & THE FATMAN, and DIAGNOSIS MURDER. And to think it all started with these 7 "low key" McCLOUDs! Meanwhile, Peter Allan Fields' later work included executive story consultant on THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, RETURN OF THE SAINT (a real favorite of mine), STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION and producer of STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE.