Season 1 episode 18
Mark’s note:
Canned ham and loyalty to the navy get Sonny and Will into a tight spot. A shifted load, inept military police, and clueless arms smugglers let them off the hook.
“Ammo” unfolds as a taught mystery after Sonny cadges a case of canned ham from the manufacturer and presents it to an old flame. When they discover stolen Navy ammunition in the cans instead of ham they report it to Navy investigators who enlists Sonny and Will to infiltrate the gunrunners. They boys get inside the gang and thwart the plot. The highlight of the final confrontation is a forklift and auto smash-up. Sonny and the forklift prevail and the boys get to tell the Navy, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.”
Barry’s Bits:
A San Diego dockside cannery is the star of this episode, “Ammo”. Once again we had the location before we wrote the story. You’ll enjoy the beautiful cityscape of downtown San Diego as our story moves from cannery row, with fishing trawlers in the background, to many great locations around the city. Unfortunately, you may need “a road map” to follow the plot of “Ammo”. But I know you’ll find the episode worth checking out.
When Sonny drops off his load at the cannery he requests a box of canned hams that he intends to gift to his local gal and kindle a night of romance. She owns a diner and when she opens the cans she’s shocked to find the cans are filled not with ham, but with military munitions. What to do?
San Diego is a Naval base. Sonny’s exemplary Navy service record, and Will’s desire not let his buddy down allow the police to recruit the boys to go undercover to flush out the bad guys.
Watching the episode again I recalled that NBC had suggested we try finding alternate ways to get our boys into various stories. After “Ammo” was delivered and aired, everyone agreed that “going undercover” was not going to be Sonny and Will’s raison d’etre. They were truckers, modern day cowboys, the road would call them and wonderful, natural adventures would unfurl before them.
It is fun however to watch our guys playing “undercover cop” and at the pyrotechnics with guns and hand grenades and “feinting” bad guys. “Ammo” is nicely directed and soundly acted…. with a “gold star” going to the location director…. again!!! Enjoy, and let’s hear what you think.
