I remember when this episode was first broadcast in late 1979. Tensions between the U.S. and the Iranian regime were rising all summer, and the Iran hostage crisis was just weeks away. Gas prices were rising steadily across the country to as much as (gulp!) 90 cents per gallon.
This episode has some interesting plot lines and stories, all to do with gasoline: Big time gas heists, small time gas syphoning, shady station owners, protests over rising prices, fuel shortages, long lines for gas, etc. All this was right on target of what was really going on in the waning days of the 1970.s
You get a couple of well-staged highway car crashes (ever notice that all the cars are beat up 1960s and early 1970s models?) You see a lot of VW bugs, Ford Pintos, and Honda Civics in the background, a subtle reflection of America's move to smaller cars over the latter half of the decade. But it's only the big American cars that get in the wrecks.
The plot is rather thin, with a derivative roller hockey game used as filler. But this is more than made up for with the freeway wrecks, explosions, and general streetscapes of now-extinct 1970s L.A - all topical themes regarding that tumultuous decade.
Anyway, it's been more than 40 years since I last saw this episode and it's amazing how much of it I recall. It was a nice trip down memory lane and remembering just how much the Iran oil crisis did impact the consumer in car-centric Los Angeles.
This episode has some interesting plot lines and stories, all to do with gasoline: Big time gas heists, small time gas syphoning, shady station owners, protests over rising prices, fuel shortages, long lines for gas, etc. All this was right on target of what was really going on in the waning days of the 1970.s
You get a couple of well-staged highway car crashes (ever notice that all the cars are beat up 1960s and early 1970s models?) You see a lot of VW bugs, Ford Pintos, and Honda Civics in the background, a subtle reflection of America's move to smaller cars over the latter half of the decade. But it's only the big American cars that get in the wrecks.
The plot is rather thin, with a derivative roller hockey game used as filler. But this is more than made up for with the freeway wrecks, explosions, and general streetscapes of now-extinct 1970s L.A - all topical themes regarding that tumultuous decade.
Anyway, it's been more than 40 years since I last saw this episode and it's amazing how much of it I recall. It was a nice trip down memory lane and remembering just how much the Iran oil crisis did impact the consumer in car-centric Los Angeles.
