This episode was pretty cool back in the day, at least for all of us children of the 70s. Seven foot two Kareem Abdul Jabbar (one of the tallest BB stars ever) and 6 foot 1 Gail Goodrich (one of the shortest) play Jeff and Tim, concerned over the mysterious disappearance of their fellow team mate Cal Moore (played by Sam Chew, Jr.)
Historically speaking, Jabbar and Goodrich were likely cast because they were riding a WAVE at the time. Jabbar had powered the Milwaukee Bucks (before joining the Lakers) to their first NBA championship at age 24. Goodrich was scoring big time for the Lakers, after a two year with stint the Phoenix Suns. And he had even more terrific years to come in the 1970s. Simply put, Incredible.
But this is not all sports. Mannix is hired by a desperate father, Alton Moore (well played by John Callicos) who needs help to find his superstar son. Callicos was an intense actor, appearing seven times on the series, also on MISSION IMPOSSIBLE in some classic tough guy roles. Best remembered as the Count on BATTLESTAR GALLICTICA. I have to admit, his look and style reminded me of Anthony Zerbe, best of the tv baddies.
The only negative here is that Alton's missing son has an attitude problem. "Don't give me any more advice, Dad!" Popular actor Sam Chew, Jr plays Cal, who went onto portray JFK and Bobby Kennedy in tv productions. Bing Russell plays Pete the coach, father of actor Kurt Russell, and a fairly popular actor at the time. Everyone loved his first name.
The inside joke to all this is that with the likes of Jabbar and Goodrich on your team --who needs Cal anyway??? Creative writing 101. Credit this story to famous writer John D. F. Black (Donald Francis), who was cranking out lots of material for HAWAII FIVE O at the time. He began his career at the top, writing for SURFSIDE SIX at Warner Brothers/ABC tv. Robert Reed returns as Tobias, more than likely to give him something to do because he wasn't happy on THE BRADY BUNCH. I always thought Ward Wood was the real deal cop on the show anyway, and a better actor than Reed. Black also wrote in some solid fight scenes. Look out!
Worth a late night look with an energy drink. SEASON 4 EPISODE 20 CBS/Paramount dvd box set.