222. The Exchange

Interstate Transportation of a Stolent Motor Vehicle
Assault on Federal Officers

Original air date: 21 October 1973
Rerun 16 June 1974

Two armed men rob Bayshore Park racetrack, and rob it of $260,000. They did so by assaulting guards, wearing uniforms. They seriously wound Security Chief Phil Jamieson., and then shot

Highlights of this nail-biter include Lewis Erskine in disguise, with his hair gray and wearing horn-rimmed glasses similar to what the late Efrem Zimbalist Sr. (Mr. Zimbalist’s father) wore at that time. His alter ego also speaks in an Anglo-Australian accent, somewhat like his character of Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series some 20 years later. And the alter ego smokes a pipe, just as Stuart Bailey did in 77 Sunset Strip!

They also include some high-tech communication gadgetry used in 1973: A remote microphone hidden in a tie tac..

Our review:

Even as Watergate was playing out, and despite eight years, this episode is clear proof that The FBI did not “jump the shark.” The series was clearly state of the art in production, the acting is excellent, and the plot is also. We get to see some real conflict between Erskine and Assistant Director Arthur Ward, as well as between him and SAC Daniels.