Recap: In a place called Vector 4 Depot, Costa Bravo, a man is fleeing to safety while stuff around him gets blown up. He enters a supply building, opens a trap door, and climbs down into some kind of bunker, where his terrified looking wife is waiting. He tells her there's a helicopter waiting to fly them out of Costa Bravo...but before they're able to make it up the stairwell, the supply building is struck by a bomb. The building is suddenly filled with a lot of rubble that looks suspiciously like Styrofoam (or possibly paper mache), and when the camera pans back to the bunker, there's nothing but smoke and darkness. Jaime is giving her students a lesson in current events, and one of the kids talks about a story he just read in the newspaper: a violent civil war has broken out in Costa Bravo, a pretend country where a lot of U.S. citizens live. U.S. Ambassador George Morehouse, who's stationed in Costa Bravo, was last seen trying to flee the bombing, but hasn't been heard from in awhile. The ambassador and his wife are still trapped in the bunker. Mrs. Morehouse is holding a candle as her husband radios for help. He cries, "Help...please..." but no one responds. Despair starts to set in. After Jaime dismisses her class for the week, the black telephone that's sitting on her desk rings. Yes, there really is a black telephone sitting on her desk, presumably so that she can take emergency calls whenever her bionic services are needed by the OSI. It's Oscar calling, and he tells her he's en route to Ojai to discuss a top secret mission he needs her do. Jaime doesn't look particularly thrilled with the sudden change to her weekend plans, but politely says, "Fine, see you soon."
Jaime is aboard a military plane with Oscar, who apologizes for the suddenness of the mission. Unfortunately, however, they don't have a lot of time. He plays a tape for her, which is the HELP ME message that Ambassador Morehouse radioed earlier. Oscar says that George is hiding somewhere near the Vector 4 Depot, and the army was unable to radio him back. Oscar then looks contemplative for a moment and wonders aloud if this mission might be too dangerous for a rube like Jaime, especially considering that Costa Bravo is currently embroiled in a civil war. Well...let's see, Oscar. She's had no military, combat, or spy-related training of any kind...so YES, it probably is too dangerous to throw a mild-mannered school teacher into a bloody war zone just 'cause she happens to have bionic limbs. Jaime breezily reminds him that she did volunteer for this kind of stuff, and Oscar smiles approvingly and says he'd like to send her in wearing a disguise...and by disguise, he means dressed as an army nurse. He says the guerrillas might respect the neutrality of a medical team, but then again they may not. Fantastic. If she's able to prevent herself from getting shot, killed, or captured by the anti-government forces, her mission is to rescue Ambassador Morehouse and his wife. He explains that he can't send in the army to do this, 'cause it might be perceived as a military intervention. Jaime says she's up for the challenge, except that she knows nothing of nursing. Oscar responds by tossing a first aid manual at her and tells her she should probably cram for the rest of the flight. I'm starting to think he's a bit of a dick, that Oscar Goldman. Sao Paulo. When Oscar and Jaime step off the military plane, Jaime is decked out in military garb with a giant white cross on her sleeve. Oscar tells her that her pilot will be arriving momentarily, and that he's the "best pilot alive", but doesn't know anything about her bionics. A few seconds later, a helicopter swoops in and lands...and the pilot exits and - OMG! - it's Andy Griffith. He rudely strides past Jaime and asks Oscar if he's the nurse who's flying with him to Costa Bravo, and Oscar gives him a funny look and says no, and motions toward Jaime. Andy Griffith snorts derisively and says a jungle war is the last place a pretty young thing like her would want to be, and Jaime snaps that no one should ever be in a jungle war, but - damn it! - there's a U.S. ambassador who needs rescuing! She's optimistic that the guerillas won't shoot at medical personnel, and Andy Griffith snorts derisively a second time and says that while he admires her courage, he questions her smarts. As he stalks back to the helicopter, Oscar softly urges Jaime to be careful, then gives her a tender kiss on the cheek. Mmm hmm..
Andy Griffith flies the helicopter into the war zone that is Costa Bravo and warns Jaime that most of the soldiers hate Americans...so they have about a 50/50 percent chance of getting out alive. A group of guerillas spot the helicopter, bark some words in Spanish to each other, and start shooting at it...and a few seconds later Andy Griffith declares, "We're hit!" and tells Jaime that the controls are jammed. The helicopter flails around in the sky as Andy Griffith urgently pulls on the control stick and growls, "Come on! Pull up!" After a few agonizing, tension-filled minutes (not really), the helicopter hits the ground in a crash landing...and as the camera pans in on the downed helicopter, there are no signs of life from Jaime or Andy Griffith. Scary, ominous music starts up in the background while the scene fades to black for a commercial break. Eeeek! Ambassador Morehouse is still trying to radio for help in the rubble filled bunker, while his wife holds a candle and softly weeps. He tells her the radio's battery is starting to get low. Despair is deepening. The guerillas peer through their binoculars to try to locate the helicopter...and as soon as they spot a large tuft of smoke, they grab their rifles and run over to where their jeeps are parked. Jaime climbs out of the helicopter and sees that Andy Griffith is unconscious and has a gash on his forehead. She takes the opportunity to bionically rip off the door of his side of the helicopter and pull him out. She rifles through the first aid kit Oscar gave her and finds a package of ammonia tablets, sniffs one to ensure that it's nasty enough to revive him (probably not the wisest idea), and shoves them under Andy Griffith's snout. He immediately wakes up and stares up at her looking dazed and confused. She tells him he did a fantastic job landing the helicopter, and that the crash threw them both clear of the helicopter. He feels the gash on his forehead and tells her she should probably bandage it...but she can't find any bandages in her first aid kit - which seems very odd for a first aid kit - and instead wraps gauze around his forehead in a sloppy manner. She says they need to get moving and start looking for Ambassador Morehouse, and Andy Griffith looks at her like she's crazy and says the crash has effectively ended their mission...and that their only goal now is to get out of Costa Bravo alive. Jaime says she won't accept failure and insists on searching for the ambassador. The guerillas, meanwhile, are speeding toward the crash site in their jeeps...but fortunately for Jaime and Andy Griffith, it looks like it's taking them a really loooong time to get there.
As Jaime and Andy Griffith troop through the "jungle" (which has no tropical foliage of any kind and looks suspiciously like a wooded area you'd find in North America), Jaime's bionic ear kicks in and she hears footsteps. As she strains to hear better, she gasps when she spots a snake slithering down a tree. She grabs it and quickly squeezes it to death with her bionic hand, then tosses it to the ground. Andy Griffith, who was busy futzing with the electronic tracking device he's using to locate the ambassador, stares mutely at the dead snake on the ground next to him. Jaime cries, "I hate snakes!" then says her adrenaline must really have been flowing to make it possible for her to be able to do that with one bare hand. Andy Griffith just kind of shrugs, and the two continue ambling through the fake jungle...and a few seconds after that, we see the boots of whoever's following them standing inches from the dead snake. Jaime and Andy Griffith encounter a guerilla who somehow got himself trapped under a fallen tree. Andy Griffith manages to lift the tree (with the secret aid of Jaime's bionic foot) and tells Jaime she should probably administer a painkiller to the man. Jaime looks icked out and goes, "You mean with a needle?" and Andy Griffith rolls his eyes and says he'll just do it himself. When the two arrive at Vector 4 Depot, Andy Griffith says he's getting a strong signal from the ambassador's radio. They hear rustling in the woods behind them and then see a face peek out from behind a tree, and both Andy Griffith and Jaime hit the ground. Andy Griffith points a gun at the woods and orders the person to reveal himself...and it turns out to be a young boy with a bad limp. Jaime sadly mutters, "He can't be more than twelve." Andy Griffith barks at him to tell them his name, and the boy spits on the ground and snarls, "American peeeg." Jaime shoots him a disapproving look and says that only pigs fight for the guerillas, then points to the white cross on her sleeve and says they're not here to fight with anyone. The boy tells her that the guerillas killed his parents and therefore deserve to die, then says how irked he is that they saved the guerilla who had gotten trapped under the tree. Jaime inches toward him with her sympathetic face on and asks him if his feet hurt, and he nods and stares back at her with a pained and piteous expression on his face. Looks like the sad sack is just looking for a friend.
The guerillas finally arrive at the site of the crashed helicopter and look miffed that there are no gringos in sight. They head back into the woods-like jungle to search for the survivors. As Jaime bandages up the kid's foot and cautions him about wearing boots that are too big, she learns that his name is Julio. She invites him to accompany them to the depot, and both Andy Griffith and I are like, "Say what?! There's an urgent mission to carry out!" Andy Griffith grumbles that the kid is going to slow them down...but he loses that argument, 'cause in the next scene, he's giving the kid a piggyback ride. Incidentally, he and Jaime seem to be working at far too leisurely a pace, considering their limited time-frame while trying not to get killed by guerillas. Julio pulls the dead snake from his bag - ack! - and offers it up as sustenance if they're hungry, and Jaime pales at the sight of it and insists they're fine and asks him to please put that fucking thing away. As they enter the depot, Andy Griffith says that the signal from the ambassador's radio is getting stronger, and they enter the rubble filled supply building. He yells the ambassador's name...but it looks like Morehouse and his wife have lost consciousness while waiting for the slow moving help to arrive. Jaime pulls out a radio and tries to make contact, and the ambassador regains consciousness and tries to get a message across that he and his wife are buried under the supply depot...but the battery suddenly dies on him. He despondently says, "Dear God, it's dead. They'll never hear us" and his wife weeps harder. I wonder why Jaime's bionic hearing didn't kick in, since the trapped couple are located only a few feet beneath her. The guerillas encounter the injured soldier who had been trapped beneath a tree. He tells them about the two gringos who helped free him from the tree, then points in the direction of the depot. Andy Griffith is ready to throw in the towel on the mission and reminds Jaime that the guerillas are looking for them and could show up at any moment. Jaime insists on continuing the search, and a frustrated Andy Griffith says he'd rather spend his time trying to find a way out of here, and takes Julio along for reinforcement. He doesn't seem to subscribe to the popular U.S military notion of we don't leave our people behind. In the bunker below, Mrs. Morehouse's candle burns out, and she continues her weeping in the dark. The guerillas drive past a sign that says Depot 1km. Eeek! Jaime is ambling around the supply building when she suddenly hears a banging noise...and when the camera pans below ground, we see that Mrs. Morehouse is desperately banging on some metal thing. Jaime's bionic hearing catches that, and she starts bionically removing all the large pieces of Styrofoam - I mean heavy concrete chunks that are blocking the bunker's entrance. Andy Griffith, meanwhile, finds a spare jeep...but it's clear that the engine is shot. Julio looks around and miraculously finds a tiny airplane that's hidden with netting. He calls Andy Griffith over, who grins and says, "Muy bonito, kid! Muy bonito!" - LOL - and excitedly adds, "This dog looks like it might hunt!" He orders Julio to go get Jaime and tell her they may have found a way out of Costa Bravo...and when the kid just stares at him in bewildered confusion, he shoves him out the door and barks, "Pronto, kid. Pronto!" Jaime is continuing to slowly remove the Styrofoam rubble (but then, maybe it just looks like she's moving slow 'cause of the dun dun dun dun slo-mo bionic footage). Down below, Mrs. Morehouse hears the concrete chunks being tossed about, squeals happily, and bangs harder on the metal thing.
Julio enters the supply building and witnesses Jaime single-handedly lifting concrete. He asks her how it's possible that she's so strong, so she tells him that all the excitement of rescuing the ambassador has temporarily given her super-human strength. Julio's like, "Er...OK" and tells her that he and Andy Griffith found a small plane. Jaime's like, "That's nice, but we still have to rescue the ambassador", then orders Julio to tell Andy Griffith to get his ass back over here. Julio rushes out of the supply building just as - ack! - the guerillas pull up in their jeeps. He runs over to them and says, "Los americanos went in the direction of the mountains!" and the guerillas let out whoops of joy, thank the helpful lad, and drive in the direction of the mountains. LOL. Jaime opens the trap door and finds Ambassador Morehouse and his wife, miraculously still alive, and they're thrilled and relieved to be rescued. Morehouse tells Jaime that his wife is pinned under a concrete beam, and Jaime says her super powerful adrenaline rush will take care of removing that. She bionically lifts up the beam, and Mrs. Morehouse manages to drag her leg out from under it...and then Jaime helps her climb up the stairwell. The guerillas are driving around in the mountains, - but, of course, there's no sign of los americanos. Andy Griffith enters the depot, befuddled by how Jaime was able to rescue the ambassador and his wife with all the rubble laying around. He asks her how she managed to dig them out, and Julio haplessly explains that she's just very strong. Andy Griffith tells the group that they're prolly going to have to hide in the jungle 'cause the guerillas will likely be coming back soon. Sadly, the plane he just found isn't a viable option 'cause the landing wheels are all out of whack...but Jaime perks up and says maybe she can help fix them. Jaime looks over the bent landing gear on the small plane and says she can definitely remedy that. Andy Griffith says that's impossible, and that they'll need a vice and hammers, but Jaime argues that she can do it with her bare hands...then bionically bends the wheels into place. Andy Griffith stares in awe and asks her how she did that, and she nonsensically tells him she typically gains a lot of extra strength when she's frightened...then orders him to get his ass inside the plane. As the guerillas drive back toward the depot, Jaime and Andy Griffith usher the ambassador and his wife toward the tiny plane. Andy Griffith tries to start the engine, but can't...and says the only way they're going to get this bird in the air is if someone with super strong arms can spin the propellers, like really really fast. I guess I can buy that. Jaime gives it a whirl and, to everyone's relief, gets it working on the second try. As everyone piles into the plane, Julio is left standing on the tarmac, staring at them sadly. Andy Griffith says they can't take the kid 'cause they're already overloaded, but Jaime barks at him to pull Julio inside...and while he's doing that, the guerillas are driving toward them, their guns blazing. Andy Griffith taxis the plane to a nearby paved road and frantically works the controls while muttering, "Go faster baby. Go faster. Pull up, baby! Pull up!" The plane takes off just in time to soar over a cliff...and the foiled guerillas are forced to end their pursuit. Phew! At the air force base in Sao Paulo, Andy Griffith gives Julio a piggyback ride and tells Jaime that he's going to stay in Brazil until Julio gets settled into a foster home. Jaime smiles approvingly and gives them a tearful goodbye, and Andy Griffith tears up a bit too and tells her she's a special lady with remarkable muscular strength. As she walks across the runway to catch her flight home, Andy Griffith stares after and remarks to Julio, "Yep, that's some special lady." When Jaime welcomes her students back to school on Monday morning, one of the kids tells her about the news item he just read in the paper: a hot shot helicopter pilot rescued Ambassador Morehouse from Costa Bravo with the help of a kid named Julio. Apparently, Andy Griffith is quoted in the newspaper as saying he wouldn't have completed the mission if it weren't for lady luck...and Jaime smiles and chuckles delightedly at the secret shout-out. Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
The Bionic Woman homepage
Recapper: Isabel K. French
Your contributions help keep the site ad-free
|
|
|
|
|
|
Privacy policy: Television of Yore respects your privacy and does not directly share any personal data it receives as a result of blog/email comments, donations, and e-book purchases
© 2025
Written content on this website is protected by copyright
Written content on this website is protected by copyright