Season Two: Episode Four
In this high intense episode, We will learn that George is damn good detective. We will also see how far Kate paranoia will take her.
Problem
Kate is laid up with a bum knee for a week. Meanwhile George with the help of Debbie engages in a cat and mouse game with a bank prank. But, What George comes to find out that an innocent series of Childish Pranks become a deadly game of revenge.
Summary
George arrives to work, His partner Kate Monday at home for a week due to a broken knee. The only case George has been working on involves a series of harmless bank pranks. George was still unsure about the motives behind the bank pranks. As He comes into the office, the phone rings it is Kate. George tells Kate about Martha and him going to a costume party over the weekend. George asks Kate about how she hurt her knee. Kate refuses to tell him. After talking with Kate, George plays a game called “What do I know?” until Debbie comes in. George tells Debbie that five bank pranks have happen and none of them have made any sense. Debbie gives him a folder of important information that she has made to help him with the case. The phone ring and it is Kate, She asks for him to bring her model airplane. George arrives at Kate’s apartment with flowers and the model airplane she requested. As George sits down in the chair, He sits down on Kate’s Camera. Kate tells him that she have just brought it as a hobby. Kate and George go over Debbie’s information. Debbie calls Kate’s apartment to inform George that another bank prank has happen and a man named Barney Woodward call about appointment at 11:30. Kate figures out a pattern involving the assets of the banks that were prank.
George arrives at the office of infamous investigator reporter Barney Woodward. Barney says that he had some information that could shed some light on the case. Barney shows him a poem he received in the mail. Barney tells him that he received them after every prank. Finally he received another one today he figured by calling Mathnet, George could put a stop to it. George tells him that the prank has already happened and if he receives another one of those poems to let him know. George also requests the poems that Barney has received including the most recent one. Back at the station, George comes in to a slew of messages from Kate. A few minutes later, Debbie comes in and tells George that Kate has called. Debbie tell him that Kate wanted her to get a list of the assets between 70-80 million and that might have an idea about the pattern. Kate finally gets in contact with George. There are 247 banks in the greater Los Angeles all of them could be the next victim. Kate wants George to unrealistically stakeout all 247 banks or call of the managers at the banks. George tells her in so many words that she has lost her mind. George eventually tells her that she needs rest and that he can handle it. George also tells Kate that he will come by later and help her with the model airplane. After the phone call end, Kate grabs her camera and starts to spy on her neighbor in the adjacent apartments. George returns to the station to speak with Debbie. Debbie found that after each prank, business went down for each bank. A series of two calls comes in one from Barney who is waiting outside George’s office and another from Kate who say her neighbor has a bomb.
George along with Sam and Steve rushes to Kate’s apartment. Kate tells them that she saw her neighbor Raymond Sticker is building a bomb using dynamite. Kate tells Sam and Steve to go evaluate the adjacent buildings. Kate insists that George goes over there and arrest him. George looks over there with Kate’s Camera. George sees Raymond putting up counterweights on his clock. George tells her that she has been under a lot of stress. Debbie calls Kate’s apartment to tell George there has been another bank prank. He tells Kate that he will call her when he find out about the assets. Everyone leave and Kate stares at her neighbor’s apartment. The next morning George arrives at work, he has the newest poem on his desk. Kate calls and asks about the assets and also to tell George that she has completed the model airplane. George goes to see Debbie who has compiled a chart of the latest bank prank. The bank suffered a massive withdrawal of customers. He asks Debbie to check and see where the customers are going to after they leave the banks. Maybe there is competitive bank that is trying to run these banks out of business. When George makes it back to the office Barney calls to see if George has received the latest poem. George goes over the 8 poems again to see if he has missed anything. Until, he notice that they are written on deposit slips from the next banks to be pranked. George decides to stakeout the safe enough bank.
The next day George comes into the office with a bag of produce (Don’t ask!). Martha and Kate calls at the same time. Kate tells him that she might have found another pattern. George, Martha and Kate play phone tag for a bit. Debbie comes in, George tells Kate and Debbie that about the deposit slips and he is planning on going undercover at The Safe Enough Bank. At the bank, George poses as a loan officer when a time bomb of laughing gas is let loose inside the bank. George goes over and grabs the laughing gas bomb and takes it back to the lab. Debbie tell George that Kate had call and that all the banks that where pranked was owned by A. Holding Coe. Debbie arranged for a meeting with A. Holding Coe for George. Kate calls the lab, and tells Debbie that she has spotted another bomb and it is plastic. George goes over to Kate’s apartment. Kate tells George that she believes that Raymond is making a bomb using platique. Kate tells George to take her broken clock to Raymond to get It fix and while try to find out what he is making. George goes over and talks to Raymond. He returns to the apartment, George tells her that he has found nothing. George leaves the apartment. Kate looks over at Raymond’s apartment and he is staring at her.
George meets with a holding Coe to see if anyone wanted to do this to him. He tells George no and that every bank have disgruntled employees. A holding Coe tells George that his must leave for a celebration at his first bank. George returns to find Barney and Debbie waiting for him in his office. Barney shows him the latest poem. They figured out that the next bank is the same one that A. Holding Coe is having the celebration at. Just before George could run out of his office, Kate call saying that Raymond has rigged dynamite to her clock and is bring it over. George and Kate have a heated argument. George leaves to stop the bank prank. At, the bank George runs into Raymond who is leaving out. He goes over to the grandfather clock. George notice that it the bust on top of the clock is the same one found in Raymond’s apartment. He has Steve and Sam to catch Raymond while he evaluates the building. He proceeds to disarm the bomb. When Raymond comes back in and is arrested he tells George that he has one more boom. George realizes that Kate’s life is in danger and leaves to save her. Meanwhile at Kate’s apartment, she is tied up to her wheelchair and bomb that is rig to the door. George arrives in a nick of time to save Kate by using her model airplane she created to knock down the bomb. Creating enough slack to let George in and disarmed the bomb with 1 minute to spare.
My Two Cents
Where can I start? This one of my all time favorites ! It shows a different side of George and Kate relationship. Because, Kate suffers for being a workaholic and also her increasing paranoia. It allowed us to see a vulnerability to her. Kate is not in control. This is also the first time we see George taken center stage. We see him as more than a goofy odd ball character. He actually proves his detective skills and shows off some of his hidden abilities. Also if you are a Kate/George shipper, you will see how loyal George is to Kate to the point he would risk his life for her. The whole dynamic of their relationship has change because of the events that happen in this episode and I have feeling the writers did as well.
Next Time
George and Kate investigates a string of robberies involving a masked man who sounds like a duck.
Square One Television 
July 20, 2012 at 1:51 pm
I still wonder just what it was Kate did to mess up her knee. She only ever said it was “embarrassing.” Perhaps she was trying to dance, and without George around it didn’t go so well? I think we need to ask Bev Leech about this…
July 20, 2012 at 2:40 pm
That is the ten million dollar question! I always thought that it was something that was not Kid Friendly or She was spying on Raymond Sticker one night and got injured. I am very curious on what Bev might say!
May 4, 2016 at 8:08 pm
Just for my own edification, what’s the address for Kate Monday’s home? Plus, I’m looking forward to being in that same building, but on the opposite side of it. Still, after George saves Kate, my heart went crazy, because if the clock with the bomb went off for one more second, Kate would have been done with. Yikes.
May 26, 2016 at 10:48 pm
I am not for sure. I will have to rewatch that episode. I do think that 2nd series had some great episodes. I also liked that it was pushing the button and it was increasingly becoming darker. Especially, when we get to season 4 with A dictator who wants to see Pat killed.
July 11, 2016 at 3:48 pm
They don’t give her address, but I’ve always wondered where it was filmed. It’s lovely. I assume it was filmed at someone’s apartment complex, since it looks too (heh-heh-heh) complex to be a set.
And make no mistake, if that bomb went off, it would have killed them both. For me, that’s one of the most touching things about this episode. George cares about her to the point that he’s willing to die for/with her.
I’ll have more in-depth thoughts, I’m sure, once I re-watch this. I’m working through the series again. This episode was always my favorite for a lot of reasons.
March 12, 2017 at 6:57 am
George probably would have been done for as well, along with many of Kate’s neighbors. Or not, hard to tell how large an explosion it would have been, but probably a pretty sizable one going by Mr. Cuckoo’s explosive-building skills.
August 27, 2016 at 5:10 pm
Oh boy, here I go. I’m gonna apologize in advance for rambling but this truly is my favorite of favorites.
So first off, right from the start, George is a mess without Kate. Leaving the keys in the car, shoelace untied, jacket unbuttoned. Maybe he’s always like this, but considering it’s in conjunction with his saying things like “something was missing” and “a lonely mathematician” it sure seems like we’re being shown how much her absence affects him.
George’s goofy grin when Kate calls to ask for the model plane is one of the first times I feel like we see a solid clue as to how much he likes her, too.
Debbie, meanwhile, really does not like George. Her eyerolling is through the roof. And then we contrast it with Kate’s reaction to him from the moment he arrives. She’s giddy, like a girl seeing her crush. When he puts the flowers in the water wrong, all she can do is smile and say how much she misses him. I also commend Beverly Leech & the writers/director for showing us that Kate can be fond of him one minute, and then all business the next. She’s a smart woman, and even if she does love George, she’s not going to let it get in the way of solving the crimes and doing her job well.
The writing in the whole episode is great. Everything mentioned here has a purpose. The plane: “you can either fly it or hang it in your room”. Foreshadowing to how it’s going to save them later.
We also notice George knows Kate’s number by heart both in the office and at the end, when he realizes she’s in peril. I guess he must call her at home after hours. It’s a little thing, but shows they’re close.
George is good in this ep, but come on George…the gas is rigged to a clock and you didn’t think of Kate’s neighbor?!
I love how Debbie she shoots George a look like “your girlfriend’s calling” when Kate calls, and then lies and says he’s on his way to Kate’s apartment. She’s doing it to mess with them both.
And then the bomb scene. I mean come on. “I loved… working with you”? I don’t even think I need to say much about this scene. It’s another of the most shippable moments in the series. Kate says what she says, and meanwhile he is 100% willing to risk his own life to save hers. He would have died with her. Von, you’re right that everything changes after this. S2 in general seems to show a shift in their relationship, but this episode and this scene solidify it. Also, we can only assume that after the camera cuts away, he would have helped cut her free, comforted her some more, and who knows what then. (Yes, I know they’re fictional characters, don’t worry.) Especially considering the next episode aired is “Missing Air” where Kate is bizarrely jealous, it seems like maybe something changed.
I think this is the only time a criminal “speaks” during their charges, isn’t it?
Now, super nerd alert: I love music and musical scoring in general. And the musical scoring in this episode is really wonderful. We hear a couple of new themes: George has a whimsical goofy detective theme that plays when he’s working solo. Then, Kate & George have a beautiful little theme. (And it’s going to pop up again in Deceptive Data.) Their theme starts the minute she calls to ask him for the model plane, and it continues throughout that whole scene and returns in various iterations throughout the episode (it’s even playing to some extent during the bomb scene.) Then at another point, there a specific “happy flute music” cue when George answers the phone and it’s Kate. An interesting choice, since it’s in a key and tone that suggests hearing from her makes him happy.
Finally, I also have some theories (or really, questions) about George & Martha here. George mentions his airplane is hanging in his room. He has his own room, okay. Not totally unheard of with married couples. In addition, why doesn’t George know the perfumed letter he receives on Monday is from Martha? He looks excited to receive it, sticks it in his pocket, and then by Friday takes it out and reacts with surprise that it’s from his wife. Meanwhile, why hasn’t Martha simply asked him about the dinner in person? Like, wouldn’t a normal spouse say “Oh hey did you ask Kate & Debbie about the dinner? Did you get my note?” So has George not been at home during this time? Also, Debbie seemed suspicious when he was playing phone tag with Kate & Martha, when she hears him say “honey”. She looks questioning until he mentions the green peppers. Then both Kate & Debbie seem to react as if someone other than his wife sends him perfumed letters. What’s going on here?
OK, that’s all on this one, but boy do I really love this episode. It’s a good mystery, a suspenseful story, and shows us great character relationships.