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RANSOM
Original Airdate: Dec. 30, 1973
Synopsis. In Durham, North Carolina, Erskine and his new field partner, Special Agent Chris Daniels, investigate the kidnapping of Tish Lemaire (played by Jo Ann Harris). Given the terse relationship between Tish and her stepmother, Anne (played by Anne Francis), Erskine believes that Tish may have engineered her own abduction to get attention from her father. The inspector’s suspicions mount when one of the abductors, Vietnam War veteran Bernie Voyt (played by Zalman King), addresses Anne as “Didi,” a family nickname that only Tish and her father know about. Unbeknownst to Tish, Bernie has long resented Tish and intends to kill her even after the ransom is paid.
Based on its production number, “Ransom” was the first episode filmed for the ninth season. Strictly speaking, that makes it the first appearance of Shelly Novack as Chris Daniels. However, the episode itself does not explain why Erskine suddenly has a new partner, nor does it tell us the whereabouts of Special Agent Tom Colby. (We won’t learn the answer to that question until “The Animal,” several episodes later.)
LEARN MORE about “Ransom” in THE FBI DOSSIER, everything you wanted to know—and more—about the long-running ABC-TV series produced by Quinn Martin and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
THE FBI DOSSIER is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
