Stroke of Genius

Actors Telly Savalas and Beau Bridges play father and son Steve and Gary Keller. Gary, while talking to his father, aimlessly fires a shot from a rifle. Unfortunately, the shot hits and kills Reverend Barlow, driving in his vehicle with Richard Kimble as his passenger. Kimble sees the Kellers approach and runs, stopping to ask someone to call police.

A manhunt is started, and Steve Keller is deputized. Wishing to protect his son, he decides he needs to blame the killing on the passenger. However, Gary, a sensitive, intelligent young man, is conflicted, as Rev. Barlow was a good friend and benefactor to him, helping to promote his art career.

Lieutenant Gerard arrives, and the stakes are high for Gerard, Kimble, and both the Kellers.

When the show begins, Gary Keller (Beau Bridges) is playing with a rifle--aiming it at cars and imagining what it would be like to pull the trigger. Soon, his father, Steve (Telly Savalas), arrives and they talk...and all of the sudden, Gary inexplicably pulls the trigger--striking the driver of a jeep that is driving by! The vehicle flips and the passenger, Richard Kimble, is hurt...the driver, a local preacher, is dead!

Soon folks put 2 and 2 together and come up with 37! In other words, they automatically assume that Kimble murdered the guy. When Lt. Girard hears about this, he insists that this isn't like Kimble at all and he couldn't have been responsible for the killing.

In the meantime, Steve Keller catches up to Kimble and threatens to kill him unless he keeps his mouth shut about the gunshot. After all, Steve will do ANYTHING to keep his stupid son from going to prison. Steve tells Kimble that he'll not only kill him but Girard...who has just caught up to them. What can Kimble do to escape AND protect Girard?

Overall, a decent episode though I love how they referred to the shooting as an accident. Nope...sure didn't look like one to me! That kid has issues!

There's not that much genius in the stroke here. Beau Bridges plays a young man admiring his new gun who shoots is off and accidentally shoots a beloved local minister in a passing car. The minister has just picked up a hitchhiker: Richard Kimble. The vehicle crashes and Kimble runs away, the minister being dead with a hole in his head and the police presumably on the way. Bridge's father, (Telly Savalas) wants to protect his son's bright future by leaving immediately on a fishing trip and pretending they had already left so the stranger will be blamed for the death.(Surely they can tell it was a rifle shot?). Beau wants to confess. It becomes too late to leave anyway. Savalas decides to volunteer for the manhunt, (that's the stroke of genius). He thinks he knows where Kimble is hiding out- and he's right. He wants to get to him first.

Meanwhile Gerard has been called in. He does some investigating of his own and tracks Kimble down shortly after Savalas finds him. Savalas tells Kimble that if he gives Gerard any information that will implicate his son, he'll kill them both.

What sets this one part is the much changed relationship between Kimble and Gerard. Kimble keeps his mouth shut about Savalas' son to save both of them and in the end prevents Savalas from shooting Gerard. Gerard is solicitous of Kimble's health, helping to bind his wounds from the car crash. Ironically, Gerard has to prove Kimble innocent of this killing because the local Sheriff insists he will be tried for it, (and perhaps executed there), before Gerard can have him. Gerard insists "Kimble has never killed anybody while trying to escape!" He's just not the type.