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The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand)
Encyclopedia
The Butler Did It is the third episode broadcast (but the fifth produced) of the TV series Police Squad!
it was written by Pat Proft
and directed by George Stanford Brown. It was produced by Robert K. Weiss
.
" Mr. Burton tells the band to play "something different". The band then actually plays a song entitled "Something Different". The butler then comes bringing in the cake. When she has blown out the candles her boyfriend Kingsley, comes to her, he wants to speak with her in the Japanese Garden (a garden filled with Japanese people).
While they are discussing marriage a man comes out of the bushes, grabs Terri and knocks out Kingsley. Then we see Frank and Ed, at the scene of the crime talking about the ransom note that they found. The demand is $1,000,000. When Frank and Ed are questioning Mr. and Mrs. Burton the phone rings. It's the kidnapper(s), Frank orders Norberg to get a tap on the phone, only this doesn't work on time.
The next day Frank decides to talk to the only witness to the kidnapping, Kingsley Addison. Kingsley plays Basketball
everyday at the Shorewood Highschool playground. Frank decides to meet him there. While joining Kingsleys basketball game Frank discovers that, one, He's a great basketball player, and two maybe Kingsley wanted to marry Terri for her money. When Frank leaves he receives a phone call from Ed, saying that the kidnapper(s) contacted Mr. and Mrs. Burton again, with some additional information. A tape came in with the mail, When Frank, Ed and Norberg listen to the tape, they hear some strange noises in the background. When at the scene Ed says: "We don't even have the spot for the ransom drop yet." A mime
falls in to the window to sign them they have to drop the ransom, Thursday at the bus depot at ten o' clock.
When Frank and Ed drive around for a couple of hours they end up at the gas station where they discover that the foghorn is not a foghorn but a tuba
, and the bell is the bell from the gas station. When Frank and Ed have checked almost every tuba store in the city, they come to a dead end. Frank decides to go to his own private source, Johnny. Johnny tells Frank that they have just opened up a new store called the El Tubadera club. Then Tommy Lasorda
arrives and consults with Johnny about his pitching rotation.
When Frank gets there he sees the kidnapper coming out of the building holding Terri Burton. A big gunfight starts, Ed comes by and tries to get behind the kidnapper. He yells:"cover me!" and Frank covers him with a blanket. Ed goes everywhere but near the kidnapper, and trips over a couple of trash cans. When the kidnapper tries to run, because he's out of bullets, he trips over Ed and Frank arrests him. Frank takes off the kidnappers mask and reveals that he is the butler.
Police Squad!
Police Squad! is a television comedy series first broadcast in 1982, created by Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker and starring Leslie Nielsen. A spoof of police procedurals, the series was packed with ZAZ's usual sight gags, wordplay and non sequiturs...
it was written by Pat Proft
Pat Proft
Patrick "Pat" Proft is an American comedy writer and actor.Proft was born in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, the son of Marguerite and Bob Proft. He began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis. In the mid-1970s, he began writing for television and films...
and directed by George Stanford Brown. It was produced by Robert K. Weiss
Robert K. Weiss
Robert K. Weiss is an American film and television producer. His productions include films by director John Landis, producer Lorne Michaels, and the “Z. A. Z.” team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker. He also co-created the science-fiction TV series Sliders...
.
Plot
The episode starts with a party organized by a Mr. Burton for his daughter, Terri, her 18th birthday. As the band is playing "Happy BirthdayHappy Birthday to You
"Happy Birthday to You", also known more simply as "Happy Birthday", is a song that is traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth...
" Mr. Burton tells the band to play "something different". The band then actually plays a song entitled "Something Different". The butler then comes bringing in the cake. When she has blown out the candles her boyfriend Kingsley, comes to her, he wants to speak with her in the Japanese Garden (a garden filled with Japanese people).
While they are discussing marriage a man comes out of the bushes, grabs Terri and knocks out Kingsley. Then we see Frank and Ed, at the scene of the crime talking about the ransom note that they found. The demand is $1,000,000. When Frank and Ed are questioning Mr. and Mrs. Burton the phone rings. It's the kidnapper(s), Frank orders Norberg to get a tap on the phone, only this doesn't work on time.
The next day Frank decides to talk to the only witness to the kidnapping, Kingsley Addison. Kingsley plays Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
everyday at the Shorewood Highschool playground. Frank decides to meet him there. While joining Kingsleys basketball game Frank discovers that, one, He's a great basketball player, and two maybe Kingsley wanted to marry Terri for her money. When Frank leaves he receives a phone call from Ed, saying that the kidnapper(s) contacted Mr. and Mrs. Burton again, with some additional information. A tape came in with the mail, When Frank, Ed and Norberg listen to the tape, they hear some strange noises in the background. When at the scene Ed says: "We don't even have the spot for the ransom drop yet." A mime
Mime
The word mime is used to refer to a mime artist who uses a theatrical medium or performance art involving the acting out of a story through body motions without use of speech.Mime may also refer to:* Mime, an alternative word for lip sync...
falls in to the window to sign them they have to drop the ransom, Thursday at the bus depot at ten o' clock.
Act Two: Ball III
Frank decides to go to the lab and see what Ted has come up with. Ted shows Frank that the noises on the tape that was delivered are a bell and a foghorn, the kind of type you would associate with the ocean, or the lakefront.When Frank and Ed drive around for a couple of hours they end up at the gas station where they discover that the foghorn is not a foghorn but a tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, and the bell is the bell from the gas station. When Frank and Ed have checked almost every tuba store in the city, they come to a dead end. Frank decides to go to his own private source, Johnny. Johnny tells Frank that they have just opened up a new store called the El Tubadera club. Then Tommy Lasorda
Tommy Lasorda
Thomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully...
arrives and consults with Johnny about his pitching rotation.
When Frank gets there he sees the kidnapper coming out of the building holding Terri Burton. A big gunfight starts, Ed comes by and tries to get behind the kidnapper. He yells:"cover me!" and Frank covers him with a blanket. Ed goes everywhere but near the kidnapper, and trips over a couple of trash cans. When the kidnapper tries to run, because he's out of bullets, he trips over Ed and Frank arrests him. Frank takes off the kidnappers mask and reveals that he is the butler.