The opening scene is Miller Springs,at "Lloyd's Garage."Capt.Adam Greer of the Mod squad is being beaten.A large,mustachioed man holds a gun on a man tied up.A rope is tied to a car bumper.
The car starts,dragging the bound man out of a pickup truck's flatbed, aloft,where he hangs lifeless from a tree branch.
Chief Metcalf of the Mod Squad calls the Miller Springs sheriff to inquire about Capt.Greer,who's been missing for four days.
The chief is worried because Greer uncharacteristically missed police academy graduation.Linc,Pete,and Julie head up to Miller Springs.
Julie yells;Pete jams on the brakes.A girl stands in the middle of the roadway.Another care roars up.Out jumps her father,Al Jennings - the man with the gun.He snarls that his daughter is "mute,"drags her into the car,and speeds back to town.
In Miller Springs,The Mod Squad trio meets with silence.Lloyd,the filling station owner(the town's only black man)is hostile,especially to Linc(the black Mod Squad member.) The girl's brother,apologetic,meets the Mod Squad outside his father's hotel;inside,the father refuses them lodging.
A crash emanates from the kitchen;the Mexican cook lies on the floor,drunk.The father drags him upstairs to sleep it off.The Mod Squad witness the girl watching,tensely.
At the filling station,a dog brings Pete a fishing hat which Julie recognizes as Capt. Greer's.
The sheriff promotes Parkersburg to the Mod Squad.They pretend to be students;he directs them to camp outside town.
Come nighttime,Linc lock-picks the filling station and finds Capt. Greer's car in the garage.
Pete and Julie worry about Linc;a pickup truck slows down, and a beaten,semi-conscious Linc is dumped from the flatbed.
The sheriff won't press charges,advising Linc and Pete to accept a "complimentary" bottle of whiskey.
Julie sneaks back of the garage,smashes a window and looks inside.
At the jail,the sheriff castigates Al Jennings for bringing unwelcome attention to their town.
Inside the hotel,Pete attempts to talk with Donna Jennings.Julie tells Linc the car is gone.
the Jennings boy becomes confrontational;Pete grabs him,demanding answers.He tells Pete about his sister's secret - then stops.
Linc gets the "promised"liquor,befriending the cook,who admits drinking to obliterate the memory of a recent lynching.The Mod Squad hastens to Parkersburg to call the Chief.
As they leave Miller Springs,the sheriff has Lloyd follow them.In the jail, the sheriff enters a cell where Capt. Greer is handcuffed and gagged.
Attempting to escape,Greer slugs the sheriff who saps Greer unconscious with his gun butt.
The cook is leaving town.Jennings attempts to stop him,but the cook pulls a gun and speeds off.
The hotel owner wants to kill Greer and deposit him in the lake.
At Parkersburg,the trio call Chief Metcalf about the disturbing developments.He doesn't believe them,but orders them to stay put and will fly up to their location.
Pete insists they return to Miller Springs, with Lloyd right behind.They stop,and Lloyd attacks them with a wrench.Linc beats him up;Pete disables Lloyd's truck so he can't follow.
Upon arriving,Pete and Linc demand to see the jail cells.An old drunk is in Capt. Greer's former cell.
The sheriff then pulls a rifle and herds them all to the hotel for a "town meeting." The sheriff starts questioning the "kids' interference."Linc mentions Capt. Greer,and Pete,the lynching,and Donna Jennings' troubles.
The sheriff tries to concoct a frame-up of the trio,but Linc reveals they are undercover cops.Julie and Pete assent,also.
The sheriff admits:"It's all over,"but Al wants to kill them.The sheriff admonished Al to kill the strange who raped Donna.
Donna Jennings bursts into the room,wailing the man was her lover.The father tries to beat the girl but her brother protects her,screaming that his father always resolves problems violently.
The father says things will never be the same;Capt.Greer is going to be drowned in the lake.
The sheriff and the Mod Squad race to the lake as the murderer drives there with the bound Greer,in Greer's own car.
At the lake the man slugs Greer,pushing the car into the lake with the unconscious officer inside.
Linc and Pete arrive,in time to jump in and rescue Capt.Greer.
Back in Miller Springs,an ambulance arrives from Parkersburg with Chief Metcalf to take Capt.Greer for a checkup.
Chief Metcalf states that there will be prosecutions,but the townsfolk are"losers who'll have to live with their shame." The Chief compliments the trio:"Didn't I tell you to wait for me in Parkersburg?Well,I'm glad you didn't." As the ambulance leaves,the three opine that the world will be a better place when strangers are welcomed someday as friends.
Jason Evers(Sheriff)excelled in portraying the smarmy,small-town lawman who values cover-ups over justice.
Cliff Osmond(Al Jennings)effectively depicted the bullying father whose obsession to protect the family "honor" involved him in one actual,and one attempted homicide.
Louis Gossett,Jr.(Lloyd) very skillfully played a minority mechanic in an isolated,hostile environment.
Donna Baccala(Donna Jennings)was convincing as the stressed girl with a terrible secret.
Barry Brown(the Jennings boy)displayed his considerable talent in his taut,emotionally-charged characterization of a teenager torn between doing the right thing(disclosing the truth behind his sister's situation),but hesitant(fearing another fatal response from his abusive father.) The ancientness of the cars,as well as the Mod Squad's attire date the show,but the 60's violence level of police shows was neither so realistic,nor visceral as it is today.
Still,as a barometer of 60's classical TV,it was "Really cool and groovy, man!" Be sure to watch it.
The car starts,dragging the bound man out of a pickup truck's flatbed, aloft,where he hangs lifeless from a tree branch.
Chief Metcalf of the Mod Squad calls the Miller Springs sheriff to inquire about Capt.Greer,who's been missing for four days.
The chief is worried because Greer uncharacteristically missed police academy graduation.Linc,Pete,and Julie head up to Miller Springs.
Julie yells;Pete jams on the brakes.A girl stands in the middle of the roadway.Another care roars up.Out jumps her father,Al Jennings - the man with the gun.He snarls that his daughter is "mute,"drags her into the car,and speeds back to town.
In Miller Springs,The Mod Squad trio meets with silence.Lloyd,the filling station owner(the town's only black man)is hostile,especially to Linc(the black Mod Squad member.) The girl's brother,apologetic,meets the Mod Squad outside his father's hotel;inside,the father refuses them lodging.
A crash emanates from the kitchen;the Mexican cook lies on the floor,drunk.The father drags him upstairs to sleep it off.The Mod Squad witness the girl watching,tensely.
At the filling station,a dog brings Pete a fishing hat which Julie recognizes as Capt. Greer's.
The sheriff promotes Parkersburg to the Mod Squad.They pretend to be students;he directs them to camp outside town.
Come nighttime,Linc lock-picks the filling station and finds Capt. Greer's car in the garage.
Pete and Julie worry about Linc;a pickup truck slows down, and a beaten,semi-conscious Linc is dumped from the flatbed.
The sheriff won't press charges,advising Linc and Pete to accept a "complimentary" bottle of whiskey.
Julie sneaks back of the garage,smashes a window and looks inside.
At the jail,the sheriff castigates Al Jennings for bringing unwelcome attention to their town.
Inside the hotel,Pete attempts to talk with Donna Jennings.Julie tells Linc the car is gone.
the Jennings boy becomes confrontational;Pete grabs him,demanding answers.He tells Pete about his sister's secret - then stops.
Linc gets the "promised"liquor,befriending the cook,who admits drinking to obliterate the memory of a recent lynching.The Mod Squad hastens to Parkersburg to call the Chief.
As they leave Miller Springs,the sheriff has Lloyd follow them.In the jail, the sheriff enters a cell where Capt. Greer is handcuffed and gagged.
Attempting to escape,Greer slugs the sheriff who saps Greer unconscious with his gun butt.
The cook is leaving town.Jennings attempts to stop him,but the cook pulls a gun and speeds off.
The hotel owner wants to kill Greer and deposit him in the lake.
At Parkersburg,the trio call Chief Metcalf about the disturbing developments.He doesn't believe them,but orders them to stay put and will fly up to their location.
Pete insists they return to Miller Springs, with Lloyd right behind.They stop,and Lloyd attacks them with a wrench.Linc beats him up;Pete disables Lloyd's truck so he can't follow.
Upon arriving,Pete and Linc demand to see the jail cells.An old drunk is in Capt. Greer's former cell.
The sheriff then pulls a rifle and herds them all to the hotel for a "town meeting." The sheriff starts questioning the "kids' interference."Linc mentions Capt. Greer,and Pete,the lynching,and Donna Jennings' troubles.
The sheriff tries to concoct a frame-up of the trio,but Linc reveals they are undercover cops.Julie and Pete assent,also.
The sheriff admits:"It's all over,"but Al wants to kill them.The sheriff admonished Al to kill the strange who raped Donna.
Donna Jennings bursts into the room,wailing the man was her lover.The father tries to beat the girl but her brother protects her,screaming that his father always resolves problems violently.
The father says things will never be the same;Capt.Greer is going to be drowned in the lake.
The sheriff and the Mod Squad race to the lake as the murderer drives there with the bound Greer,in Greer's own car.
At the lake the man slugs Greer,pushing the car into the lake with the unconscious officer inside.
Linc and Pete arrive,in time to jump in and rescue Capt.Greer.
Back in Miller Springs,an ambulance arrives from Parkersburg with Chief Metcalf to take Capt.Greer for a checkup.
Chief Metcalf states that there will be prosecutions,but the townsfolk are"losers who'll have to live with their shame." The Chief compliments the trio:"Didn't I tell you to wait for me in Parkersburg?Well,I'm glad you didn't." As the ambulance leaves,the three opine that the world will be a better place when strangers are welcomed someday as friends.
Jason Evers(Sheriff)excelled in portraying the smarmy,small-town lawman who values cover-ups over justice.
Cliff Osmond(Al Jennings)effectively depicted the bullying father whose obsession to protect the family "honor" involved him in one actual,and one attempted homicide.
Louis Gossett,Jr.(Lloyd) very skillfully played a minority mechanic in an isolated,hostile environment.
Donna Baccala(Donna Jennings)was convincing as the stressed girl with a terrible secret.
Barry Brown(the Jennings boy)displayed his considerable talent in his taut,emotionally-charged characterization of a teenager torn between doing the right thing(disclosing the truth behind his sister's situation),but hesitant(fearing another fatal response from his abusive father.) The ancientness of the cars,as well as the Mod Squad's attire date the show,but the 60's violence level of police shows was neither so realistic,nor visceral as it is today.
Still,as a barometer of 60's classical TV,it was "Really cool and groovy, man!" Be sure to watch it.