MATHNET: DESPAIR IN MONTEREY BAY (TV)
Summary
One in a series of hour-long specials of the "Mathnet" segment from "Square One Television," replete with word and math puns and inside jokes characteristic of the short segment. In this episode, Tuesday and Frankly head for Monterey Bay, California to keep an eye on Archie Leach, a suspected jewel thief who has likely set his sights on the Despair Diamond, the centerpiece of an upcoming "save the out-of-doors" charity gala. Posing a "Nick and Nora Chuck" of Omaha, Tuesday and Frankly arrive at the home of Lady Esther Astor Astute, who is in on the plan, and she introduces them to the smarmy Leach. The partygoers scatter in fear when gunshots suddenly ring out, but it is discovered to be a mere tape recording – intended to distract the guests while the thief makes off with the diamond. Leach is spotted fleeing the scene by boat, though the vessel flips over and he is soon rescued by the Coast Guard.
Leach feigns ignorance of the theft, but Frankly and Tuesday guess that he lost the stolen gem when the boat flipped, and they use two eyewitnesses, a young girl and dog owner John "Steenbeck," to triangulate the vessel's precise location at the moment when the diamond was presumably lost. Their scuba-diving trip turns up nothing, however, and Leach, diving nearby for his lost "pocket watch," expresses surprise that the Midwestern "clods" would be interested in such pastimes. A comment from Steenbeck prompts Frankly and Tuesday to realize that they didn't consider the currents when determining the diamond's likely location, and they use a stone with the same weight as the diamond – "nine nickels" – and a floating tennis ball to calculate how far the diamond traveled laterally while sinking. Sheriff Mooney is frustrated when their second dive bears no fruit, complaining that Leach is the clear culprit, though Tuesday reminds him that their evidence against him is still only circumstantial. Leach invites them all over for tea, where he uses a remote control to turn on some music, and Tuesday and Frankly deduce that he turned on the audio tape featuring the gunshot sounds via the same method.
Steenbeck takes Tuesday and Frankly to MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute), where a scientist helps "Nick and Nora" to understand the underwater currents at the exact time of the boat-flip, and when they dive to the third spot, they find a number of tools likely belonging to Leach, but no diamond. Steenbeck then reveals that his dog has located one of Leach's shoes, which contains a false bottom, and they wonder if the other shoe contains the diamond – or if it might have fallen out of his pocket after the tools sank, meaning that it may have fallen into a deep underwater canyon just beyond the spot where the boat overturned. The MBARI scientist allows them use of a submarine to explore the canyon, and the ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle) soon locates Leach's cummerbund – in which the diamond has been neatly tucked. Mooney reveals that Leach has spent several days watching the tides, clearly hoping that the diamond would eventually wash ashore, and the detectives play a trick on the thief, allowing him to "find" the stolen gem right in front of them so that he can finally be arrested for his many crimes. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE:
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:38
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:50122
- GENRE: Comedy, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy, police/private detective; Mystery/Suspense; Mathematics; Jewel thieves; Parody
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1987-1994
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jeffrey Nelson … Executive Producer
- Yvonne A. Hill … Coordinating Producer
- David D. Connell … Senior Producer, Created by, Writer
- Jim Thurman … Senior Producer, Created by, Writer
- Howard Meltzer … Producer
- Rosemary Marlow … Associate Producer
- Jeff Thurman … Associate Producer
- Maura McGloin … Associate Producer
- Doug Hertz … Math PSA Producer
- Susan Litman … Math PSA Producer
- Jesus Salvador Treviño … Director
- Mike Gargiulo … Director
- John Rodby … Music by
- Toni DiBuono … Cast, Pat Tuesday
- Joe Howard … Cast, George Frankly
- Jayne Meadows … Cast, Lady Esther Astor Astute
- Chuck McCann … Cast, Sheriff Mooney
- James de Paiva … Cast, Archie Leach
- Clark Gordon … Cast, John Steenbeck
- Lewis Dauber … Cast, Airline Captain
- Keone Young … Cast, MBARI Rep
- Kristi Chong … Cast, Little Girl
- Morgan Stock … Cast, Butler
- Peter Doven … Cast, Guard
- Greg Allen Johnson … Cast, Waiter