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EPISODE 1: Pilot (94 minutes) ORIGINAL AIRDATE: April 19, 1987 PRODUCED BY: Roger Bacon, Glenn D. Banner TELEPLAY BY: David J. Kinghorn STORY BY: David J. Kinghorn, Robert Conrad DIRECTED BY: Robert Conrad RECURRING CAST: Robyn Peterson (Jackie Hawkes) GUEST STARS: Rick J. Porter (Ranger "Merlin" Pierce), Todd Allen (Ranger "Shep"), Tom Towles (T.J. Cousins), Joe E. Tata (Joey Cavelli), Timothy Erwin (Med Tech on Flight), Antoni Corone (Danny Fiori), Ed O'Ross (Bernie Cousins) EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Three men break out of Folsom prison, including serial killer T.J. Cousins. The High Mountain Rangers are called in to investigate after a body is found and a camper has been stolen from the victim. The police believe it is the work of Cousins. The Rangers discuss the fact that the only escapee they really need to focus on is Cousins. The Rangers snowmobile out to an abandoned camper, which they radio in to Robin, who confirms that it’s the missing camper. Cousins and the other escapees are monitoring the Rangers communications and work at staying a step ahead of the Rangers. Merlin is certain that Cousins is "slipping" and accidentally leaving a trail for them to follow, but Matt is not so certain…he’s suspicious of a trap. Cousins shoots and kills Merlin from the rocks above and takes off while the other Rangers take cover. Matt and Shep argue about what Cousins is going to do and what they should do: follow Cousins, whom Shep insists is alone and on foot, or get out of there and regroup, because Matt believes Cousins to be with the other two escapees and on snowmobile. Matt goes to see his father Jesse Hawkes, a former member of the High Mountain Rangers and the man who originated the team and who has a history with Cousins. Matt informs Jesse that Cousins was responsible for Merlin’s death. While Jesse changes, Matt sneaks up on his younger brother Cody, who is walking back to the cabin after fishing with their dog Ding, an Australian Dingo. Before Matt can jump Cody, Cody has sneaked up behind Matt and tackles him. They joke for a while before meeting back up with Jesse. Matt asks Jesse to help track Cousins, and he and his father argue about Cody’s upbringing. Jesse feels that he’s doing a good job teaching his son at home, but Matt thinks Cody should be living closer to Tahoe, where he can go to school and meet some kids his own age. Jesse tells Matt to be careful tracking Cousins. Cody talks to Jesse about Matt and about Cousins and convinces Jesse to help. Jesse and Cody ride down the mountain on horseback into Tahoe and to the Ranger Station. Jesse stops off at a Tahoe casino to talk with his estranged wife, Jackie, who is a dealer at the casino. A pair of guys at the bar tease Jesse about being "Daniel Boone," and Jackie, assuming a very New York City accent, tells the guys to get lost. The guys pick on Jesse after Jackie leaves, but Jesse intimidates them and walks away. The Rangers are troubled by how easily Merlin was killed. Cody stops in at the Ranger Station and has an interchange with the other Rangers, and Jesse stops him from really making a fool of himself with Ranger Robin Kelly. Cutler and Hart are surprised that Jesse is really THE Jesse Hawkes. Jesse coordinates the search for Cousins and tells Robin to use a different language (French) for radio communications. Robin and Cody stay behind as the others head out. CONTINUE: from the "Bullet" that Matt Found... BLOOPERS The Rangers (Matt, Cutler, Shep, and Hart) scoff at Jesse when he tells them he knows of a cave with a heated stream running through it only a couple of miles away, Shep saying that the cave Jesse is thinking of is 30-35 miles in a different direction. Jesse goes to stay in the cave while the Rangers shiver the night out in their tent. Yet in the morning, the Rangers come upon the cave while Jesse is washing up. How on earth did they find him if they think the cave is 30+ miles away?? My first thought was that the rangers may have tracked his path, but according to Robin, Crow Creek Canyon (where everything is and everyone is converged) was due to get three feet of new snow overnight, so Jesse's path would be long gone by the time the Rangers left to find him. UPDATE: Knowing Jesse, he probably left a trail that would be visible to the Rangers after the storm died down. The emergency downed plane: At the Ranger Station, Robin tells Cody there are three people on it. But if you count, there are at least four people on board (the pilot, the co-pilot Tim Erwin, the doctor, Donna, and Donna’s baby to be), if you don’t count Donna’s unborn child, who makes five. CHARACTER BITS Cody tries flirting with a girl on a street in Tahoe, but Jesse hurries him along. Cody is doing college level math, speaks Spanish fluently, and types 55 words per minute. Jesse picks on Ranger Jim Cutler about reading romance novels, and Cutler swears the books are for his mother. When Jesse later catches Cutler with another novel, Cutler admits that he reads them, and Jesse tells him to stop sending them up to his house because the books are making a fool out of his son (Cody), who thinks he’s a ladies man because he reads the books. CONTINUITY The writers must really like the name Hailey/Haley. A little girl whose mother (Donna) was in the downed plane is named Haley, and in episode 3, another character is named Haley Dawkins. Matt arrives and finds Jesse in his own little "sauna." This sauna disappears after the pilot episode. Different sheriff, not Mike McBride...several other officers...maybe outta towners? Knows the rangers on a first name basis, very familiar with them?? "Sheriff Dodge" mans the Ranger radio when Robin goes out to chase Cody down and help him rescue the downed plane. CREDITS Christian Conrad comes before Shane; in the series, it is reversed, Shane before Christian. GUEST STARS Timothy Erwin who plays the co-pilot on the doomed medical flight, is the son-in-law of actor/producer Robert Conrad. Tim will join the series as ranger Izzy Flowers in episode 2. Tim also has a cameo appearance in Robert Conrad's "High Sierra Search and Rescue" pilot movie. Joe E. Tata enjoyed a successful run as Peach Pit owner Nat for ten years on Beverly Hills 90210. He also appeared as one of the two "Feds" in the Jesse Hawkes episode "When Good Stockbrokers Go Bad." Tom Towles can be seen in the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead. HIGHLIGHTS Vivid and intelligent characters that are concerned with other people’s welfare. We are treated to the first example that Jesse and Matt are emotionally distanced by his decision to live with Jackie, his mother, instead of staying in the mountains with his father. Similarly, Cody is just as uncomfortable with the idea of talking to his mother, because he has lived with and been raised by his father. We also see Matt trying to convince his father that Cody is better off living in the city. HISTORY Robin does not like menial work, she is NOT a secretary, and she does NOT make the coffee. According to Cutler, all of the Rangers had to go through a year’s probationary period of doing all the little stuff that no one else wants to do. Matt came back from college and became a Ranger instead of becoming a doctor or a lawyer, as Jackie had expected. T.J. Cousins once stabbed Jesse in the back, literally, and according to Cody, was the reason Jesse had to quit the Rangers. THE INDOMITABLE HAWKES Cody proves to Robin that he knows the mountains better than she does as he sets out to rescue the downed plane by himself. Jesse is never wrong about anything that’s mountain related. He knows every little nook and cranny of all of the mountains in the area, and Cody is nearly as well-versed, better than his older brother Matt, who is still way more advanced than anyone else on the Ranger team. Robin doubts Jesse’s ability to climb down Crow Creek Canyon due to a 2000-foot vertical drop. LIFE IN THE MOUNTAINS Manzanita can be found all over the place, but large Manzanita can only be found above Bear Meadows. Cody asks to run the generator to play a cassette tape ("Aretha") that Matt brought him. Matt refers to Tahoe as "54 miles that way." MULTILINGUAL Robin speaks French fluently. Jesse must. Hart does some. Avila knows Spanish and a "little" French. Cody speaks Spanish fluently. NICKNAMES Codenames are on the front HOODS of snowmobiles with artwork. Cody has a pair of nicknames: "Toad" from Matt, and self-monikered "Ace." QUOTES Cody - (upon arriving at Ranger Station for the first time ever) Nice place. People sleep here and everything? (Shep tells him YEAH, they do, but the food’s terrible.) Hart - (repeating Matt’s description of Cody) What he said is you're "15 going on 35." RANGER STATION CLICK for Images Ranger Station has hardwood floors, slide projector and screen, desk to the RIGHT of the door, with the desk area squared off; you go in the door, turn to the right, and there it is...versus later (the series), where there is a totally different door AND a much more open desk area. Quick remodeling!! Both RS have a pool table and a fireplace; the original RS is just much SMALLER!! Actresses/models provocatively posed in posters on the wall on either side of the photo of Jesse as a young cop/ranger. RESCUES Baby Brisboe (Jesse, Cody, Robin) UNIFORMS White pants, white coats with black "fur" lining/trim, and red HMR insignias/logos on upper left chest area. VEHICLES Rangers Pierce, Hawkes, Cutler, Hart, and Shep arrive at the murder scene in an HMR-logoed and license-plated (front) SUV truck (Bronco??). Rangers Robin Kelly and Frank Avila arrive at the Ranger Station in a gray helicopter with an HMR-logo with grey and red stripes through the logo. The Rangers (Matt, Merlin, Shep, Cutler, Hart) snowmobile out to an abandoned camper on HMR-logoed medium-gray snowmobiles. Matt calls the camper-like vehicle the "Aerostar." VILLAINS Danny "Peanuts" Fiori and his cousin, Joseph "Night Train" Cavelli, mobsters based out of Atlantic City (with setups in Phoenix and Reno), were arrested four years earlier for killing an undercover cop and sentenced to life without parole. T.J. (Theodore John) Cousins came into much of his notoriety from his victimizing the Stoddard family; he slaughtered six people, including a baby. He is also responsible for the injury to Jesse Hawkes that caused Jesse to quit the Rangers. HIGH MOUNTAIN RANGERS Pilot | The Only Place to Live | Old Friends, New Friends | Jesse's Charged with Murder | The Washout | Cross-Sierra Run | The Assassin | Sacred Ground | The Bear | Jesse's Shot By Hunters | Defection of Russian Skier | Anniversary Chopper Crash | Wargames JESSE HAWKES Pilot | Little Girl Lost | The Centurions | When Good Stockbrokers Go Bad | The Tenderloin Strangler | Cody's Taken Hostage |