Synopsis:
Hazzard is being plagued by strippers. Uh, car strippers that is.
Waylon explains the setup: “They shoot out a fellow’s radiator, pluck his car clean as a naked chicken and take off cross-country in jeeps so they don’t leave no tracks. Shows lots of country smarts, don’t it?”
Of course, being a Duke, Uncle Jesse happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He stops to take a look at a stripped car, the owner sees him driving off, and assumes he’s the one who stripped the car. Back in town, Boss’s nephew Hughie Hogg gets sworn on as acting sheriff, just in time to arrest Jesse.
Bo and Luke are enjoying a picnic with twins Francee and Floralee when they hear of Jesse’s arrest. Unfortunately, when they return to the General they find they’re the latest victims of the car strippers.
Back at Cooter’s they realize that the new auto parts store miraculously always has the right parts in stock to repair the stripped cars, and that it opened about the time the strippings began.
After a bit of detective work, the Dukes discover that Boss Hogg is behind the scam. In the meantime the car strippers have decided they’re not getting paid enough, so they strip a patrol car and Boss’s Caddy and take off with money. It takes a promise from Boss to drop all charges, repay the victims and pay the $500 reward to persuade the Dukes and Cooter to track down the strippers (with the help of the General riding higher than usual on a lifted suspension and off road tires).
Commentary:
The shows in season 2 are clearly not in the correct order. Here Daisy is already driving her Jeep, even though she won’t receive it for another two episodes. Note that it still has the “golden eagle” decals and a prominent Jeep logo.
There’s no Rosco in this episode. He’s supposedly attending a refresher course at the Police Academy in Atlanta. His temporary replacement is Boss’s nephew, Hughie Hogg. Jeff Altman returns as the scheming, college-educated Hughie in several later episodes, but in this first outing he’s more like a bumbling deputy. Just like his Uncle, Hughie has a white car with horns, but his is a more modest VW.
It seems that sexual equality lasts about as long in Hazzard as T.C. Rogers’ political career. When Cooter enters the auto parts store we get to see the car strippers behind the counter as Waylon says, “Look at who’s selling him parts instead of staying home, making babies and biscuits.”
Highlights:
In an attempt to find the car strippers, Cooter and Daisy borrow a limo from the Hotchkiss Funeral Home. It gives both of them a chance to dress up in fancy clothes, much like Daisy did previously in Route 7-11. Cooter’s not so comfortable with the change of apparel, and when they face a walk back to town he comments “I hope nobody sees me uptown with this monkey suit on.”
Hughie’s future comic potential is clear as he chases Bo around the square, and manages to trip over virtually everything in sight.
Trivia:
Kellee Patterson (second from the left) was Miss Indiana in 1971 and released four jazz/disco albums in the ‘70s. In 2009 she sang Heal the World at the Michael Jackson Memorial (Jackson was her friend and former neighbor). Kathrine Baumann (right) was Miss Ohio in 1969 and is an accomplished jewelry designer. Both competed in Miss America, with Kathrine being runner-up in 1970. Lois Hamilton (second from the right) held a private pilots’ license and had her own 1936 German biplane. She was also an accomplished sculptress, painter and writer. Daina House (left) was Playmate of the Month in January 1976, and now runs her own ministry in Van Nuys.
–synopsis and vidcaps by Hoss (with info from The Dukes of Hazzard Unofficial Companion).
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