Writer: Richard Landau
Director: Lee H. Katzin

commentary: A very prized Germany radar station must be destroyed before a flight of bombers comes over. To do it, the Rat Patrol is given a new, special kind of explosives. Troy is apprehensive about carrying this dangerous cargo, which can explode with the slightest of bumps. Dietrich learns of the mission and tries to beat the Patrol to the area by utilizing an old Arabic legend of an unknown "trigh" (road) through the jebels (mountains). The Patrol is also in search of this trigh. But Moffitt gets them lost and Dietrich beats them there. Troy then manages to plant some explosives -- and bluffs Dietrich out of the radar station by telling him that he's willing to die himself rather than let the station do its work.

Jan's Notes: Tennis Anyone?
30 March 1999

Lt. Winters delivers a new, improved explosives that look like tennis balls to the guys so they can blow up the German radar station. Only one problem, you look at these things sideways and they go off. So much for moving fast.

However, Moffitt having gone on fossil hunts when he was a young lad knows of a ancient river that used to cut through the mountains and would get the guys there faster. But he gets the patrol lost. Guess all fossils start to look the same after a while. Maybe the title of this show should be "A River Did Run Through It...Somewhere."

Watching the guys while they try to carefully maneuver their way through the hills is a hoot. I can just manage what is going through their mind. When Moffitt asks Tully is he is enjoying the drive, I sure Tully is wishing he is back in Kentucky chasing butterflies (see The Blind Man's Bluff Raid raid)

Hitch is busy thinking about his tennis game, inspired no doubt about the shape of the new, improved explosives.

Troy is wishing that Hitch would stop thinking about tennis and concentrate on his driving.

While Moffitt is getting lost, Dietrich is busy charming an Arab girl into finding out the location of the river and he is successful. So Dietrich gets to the radar station first and he is standing just knowing that the patrol will show up and make him look stupid again.

Troy gets very upset with Moffitt when he announces that he is lost. Turns his patented kill look on him. Poor fellow. Any ways he does eventually find the route only to realize that Dietrich found it first. Moffitt really did not like that. He really hated to have Dietrich pull one over him. After all, he is the expert in archaeology, etc.

Now we get to find out who is the better poker player, Troy or Dietrich. I'll give you a hint: It isn't Dietrich. While Troy fakes Dietrich out, the rest of guys scurry about hiding the exploding tennis balls where they will do the most damage.

This episode has one of the classic Dietrich looks: How am I going to explain this to Headquarters? In fact, I like to imagine the conversation between Dietrich and his CO. Somehow I don't think his CO would have been very understanding.

Dietrich's last words to Troy -- "I'll be seeing you, sergeant" -- must have had Troy shaking in his boots, I'm sure. Poor Dietrich -- even when things start out well they turn out badly.

The radar station is destroyed, Troy lets Dietrich go (after all, why make things easy for him -- facing his CO is going to be a lot worse than an Allied POW camp.

Just an aside: I watched this episode with my Mom and spent most of the show trying to explain why Troy wore an Australian hat. She also wanted to know why when the patrol showed up at the radar station, they didn't just throw the exploding tennis balls at the Germans. I explained to her that throwing tennis balls at the bad guys did not make for good dramatic interest.

Anne adds:
I always wondered why Dietrich didn't just have a sniper pick Troy off before Troy got close enough to threaten Dietrich with the Tennis Ball O' Death. There is a war on, after all.

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