3-2-1 Contact

Miguel invites Kathy and Robin to Lincoln Park Airport, where he is taking flying lessons. After a brief discussion of the four forces, Miguel acquaints himself with the plane's controls. Kathy discovers a wounded raptor in the Minnesota woods, prompting a visit from a graduate student intent on helping the raptor. Film insert: Different wings for different things. A musical number, Trying To Fly, adapted from The Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive, becomes the backbone of this theme week (it reappears in Flight: Thrust. Another musical send-up, Big Birds Don't Fly, shows up here (and again in Flight: Acceleration). THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of The Veiled Thief, Part One." Someone has broken into a beehive, where a precious coin collection had been kept. (Concludes in next episode.)

Miguel, Robin, and Kathy join the crew of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as they inflate balloons. Robin takes her first parachute jump. FILM INSERT: Air is there. ANIMATION: Falling paper demonstrates drag. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Veiled Thief, Part Two."

Paco is trying to understand how a paper airplane files. As part of the studio experiment on lift, Kathy shows the Bernoulli principle with a straw and a glass of grape juice. Jackie witnesses a 17-year-old Chris Bulger hang gliding in the North Carolina mountains. Miguel visits the Kennedy Space Center to discuss the space shuttle orbiter. FILM INSERT: Birds and mammals gliding to save muscle energy. ANIMATION: Lift. BIOGRAPHY: Wing-designer Woodrow Whitlow discusses how his ideas are tested. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Bottled Boat, Part One." What is with the strange man who had a bottled boat stolen?

Miguel has entered himself and Robin in a boomerang-throwing competition. But neither knows how to throw a boomerang properly. They get a demonstration on boomerang flight from a professional. In California, Kathy flies an ultralight with a test pilot.Film inserts: indoor airplane flying at Columbia University leads a boy to building a model airplane; the need for great amounts of energy for birds and airplanes to fly. ANIMATION: The four forces involved in flying. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Bottled Boat, Part Two." Armed with a ticket to the Maritime Museum, the gang talks to a model shipbulider who tells all he knows about the stranger with the bottled boat. He's a regular customer, buying ships every week, always with a specially-marked pennant on the mast. (Concludes in next episode.)

Kathy brings a telescope to talk about the changing constellations in the night sky. In the process, Kathy discusses Newton's Laws of Motion. Robin visits NORAD as it observes satellites in orbit. Miguel hears how planes take off and land at an aircraft carrier. FILM INSERT: Flying objects need a lot of fuel to fly. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Bottled Boat, Part Three." The Gang deduces the pennant is marked with a microdot.

Before Miguel can put together a training program for his friends, they spend the day organizing the closet. Miguel and Jackie go to a serious West Point gym drill. Robin discovers how computers begin to help in an athlete's training. In the studio experiment, Miguel shows Paco how things are balanced when the center of gravity is below the point of support.Film insert: Gymnasts.THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of X Marks the Spot, Part One." During a ten-mile run in a small village, one of the runners slips out to steal something a treasure map from an antiques store.

Robin helps Kathy and Miguel to coordinate their schedule of errands, splitting the duties among themselves to get everything done faster.Robin finds out from a pair of jockeys the basics of training thoroughbred horses (it's all about speed). Kathy gets a run-in with speed skaters. FILM INSERT: Ride-and-tie races. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of X Marks the Spot, Part Two." Only three suspects could have taken the treasure map, but all three ran the race. (Concludes in next episode.)

Carol Lewis (Carl's brother) and her trainer illustrate the mechanics of the long jump. Kathy witnesses a pole-vaulter in training. Robin discovers a variety of bicycles. Film Insert: Bryan Allen flies across the English Channel on a man-powered plane. The Bloodhound Gang: "The Case of X Marks the Spot, Part Three."

Kathy is downstairs, exercising while waiting for Miguel to return. Miguel is with Judy Clarke, who discusses the design of athletic shoes. She leads Miguel to two other researchers, ready to do measurements on Miguel's feet. Miguel weighs 135 pounds, and the impact each foot endures while he runs is twice that weight. In between the experiments and observations, Judy tells Miguel what type of athletic shoe would be best for running. Back at the basement, Kathy sprains her knee. Robin sees Sammy Duvall, a world-champion water skier. He talks about the stress a water skier meets during a jump. They meet Dr. Michael Fulton, who shows Robin the forces a knee faces when walking, jogging, and jumping. Fulton explains what kind of injury Sammy had in 1979 and how the doctors countered the injury. Sammy gives Robin a water-skiing lesson. Paco walks to the basement wearing street-hockey pads, all of which impress Kathy. Robin is at a softball game, quickly learning that she must wear a baseball helmet if she is to bat. At a nearby factory, Robin sees how the baseball helmet is assembled. She also learns the difference in the various foams used in different athletic equipment. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Magnetic Woman, Part One." Skip's friend, Billy Chatterton, is a weakling. And he's the perfect victim to a get-strong scheme. It all centers around someone calling herself "The Little Georgia Magnet" and her "magnetized Georgia stump water." She has convinced Billy's father. But the Bloodhound Gang knows this woman is pulling off magician's tricks. (Concludes in next episode.) Back in the basement, Miguel arrives. He criticizes Kathy and Paco for not exercising, but they have an answer for him.

Robin sees two synchronized swimmers in perfect coordination. The Biography segment features a neurologist discussing people's motor skills. A team of high-school boys uses information churned through a computer to assemble a basketball "dream team" and predict the score of a game. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Magnetic Woman, Part Two." The Gang exposes the "Little Georgia Magnet's" tricks.

A computer program introduces the names of the new cast. Robin surprises Miguel and Kathy with a used car, but all three are surprised when the carburetor is faulty. During their ride, the tailpipe falls off.In Inglewood, California, Kathy participates at a firefighter's school.Lauren Taylor begins the New York City Marathon in the first of a five-part film story. ANIMATIONS: How birds breathe; how fish breathe. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Frozen Blob, Part One." Vikki suspects that a frozen ice sculpture has been stolen. But is it too late to save "the blob"? (Concludes in next episode.)

Robin goes on a survival trek in the mountains of Wyoming.In Part Two of the New York City Marathon story, Lauren explains the importance of keeping cool.Film insert: warm-blooded vs. cold-blooded animals.Biography: How important is smell to guinea pigs? Biologist Benjamin Shepherd explains this principle to a group of schoolkids. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Frozen Blob, Part Two." Mrs. Belmont-Smith is convinced that the ice sculpture has melted. But a quick taste proves that this melted blob came from the nearby ocean. This, plus a couple of hunches, leads Vikki to find the ice sculpture at a meat locker.

Miguel, Robin, and Kathy help epidemological detectives in their investigation on a food poisoning case. Jackie searches with schoolkids for jumping frogs. In "The Bloodhound Gang," Vikki attends a séance staged by a fortune-teller.

Paco attempts to surprise the others by preparing bread–and ends up surprising himself. In The Bloodhound Gang, Vikki senses something afoul at the séance.

Miguel, Robin, and Kathy have a computer game in waiting for a contest. Can they get anything done by splitting the responsibilities? In Denver, Miguel puts a hospital's Flight for Life rescue squad to the test. Lorna Coppinger and son Tim show Robin how their sheep dog interacts so well with sheep. The New York City documentary ends with a reminder on togetherness. FILM INSERT: Loner animals. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Girl from Outer Space, Part Three." The gang reassembles to determine just how Madame Saturn is swindling the séance attendees.

Paco is trying to find out what DNA is. Not everyone has the complete answer until somebody calls the wrong number repeatedly. Robin is fortunate to talk with one of the biologists who discovered the basics of DNA.Jackie learns about the breeding of miniature horses. Miguel finds a botanist observing the wildflowers and insects populating a vacant New York City lot. FILM INSERT: The jacquard loom. ANIMATION: Life evolving through DNA. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of The Locked Safe," a one-shot surprise that trains the gang to work under pressure. Can they find the new combination to the lock?

Miguel has had it up to his ears with duplicates. He goes to a florist to get the perfect orchid for his mother's birthday. The florist tells him all the orchids in the shop are clones. That prompts Miguel to visit a cytologist for a lesson on cloning plants. Once that's done, Miguel runs into a nice girl at a copy center, for whom he wants to buy another orchid. He doesn't realize she is one of identical twins.Paco tells his dog Franklin about growth hormones. Kathy meets a biochemist who has helped a boy who has not grown as expected, but has been helped with a growth hormone. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Computer Caper, Part One." When the Twins Research Foundation finds several computer files stolen, the gang is called to help follow the directions in the ransom note. Skip must drop the ransom money in a trash barrel at the park.

While Miguel, Robin, and Kathy go off on a picnic, Paco is left to examine Miguel's ants. He then has to scramble for the ants when they get loose. Immediately, Miguel senses that his ants have escaped.A saxophonist imitates the call of a wolf in attempt to understand wolves' "music." Miguel examines spiders' webs in the Okefenokee Swamp. Kathy witnesses how the sounds of dolphins are reproduced on computers to help learn about dolphin behavior. Robin watches a monkey being trained to help a quadriplegic.Video insert: "The Amazing True Story of Tex and George" tells of a whooping crane who has been attracted to a biologist. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Computer Caper, Part Two." After a cold snap the night before, Vikki and Ricardo stake out the trash barrel in question. A strange lady pours water into the barrel a couple of minutes before Skip arrives with the money. Once the trash is dumped into a garbage truck, the order goes out: "Tail it."

Robin visits Mount St. Helens two years after its historic 1980 eruption to see where plant life in the area is attempting a comeback. In the weekly studio experiment, Miguel explains to Paco how fungus colonizes. BIOGRAPHY: Geraat Vermeij, a native of Holland, studies shells. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Computer Caper, Part Three." Vikki discovers that the woman who poured water in the trash can, is left-handed. Looking closer at the pictures, Ricardo realizes that the money–wrapped in plastic–froze to the bottom of the trash barrel. Back at the park, the gang is surprised to hear from a hot dog vendor that the "lady" came back for the trash can. In truth, the culprit is a man. (Concludes in next episode.)

Paco sets up a school report on his walk on the beach. He teams up with a chimpanzee and a biologist who studies animal locomotion. At the university, the biologist shows Paco part of the skeleton of Lucy, the great evolutionary find of 1974. Miguel goes to a dinosaur burial ground in northern Montana. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Computer Caper, Part Four." With the barest of clues, a restaurant's souvenir pen, the gang traces the man who stole the computer files.

Jackie gets an up-close look at the Teflon roof of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The Bloodhound Gang is called to investigate "The Case of the Veiled Thief."

Leonardo da Vinci's vision of a spring-driven car is put to the test in the "Olympics of the Mind," where youngsters test ideas. The Bloodhound Gang solves "The Case of the Veiled Thief."

Among the field visits in this program is an automobile assembly line. The Bloodhound Gang gets involved in "The Case of the Bottled Boat."

Paco envisions the concept of modular components. Among the sites visited is a video-games manufacturer. The Bloodhound Gang try to shed light on "The Case of the Bottled Boat." (Concludes in next episode.)

Broadway Video provided production facilities for 3-2-1 Contact for six seasons. In this episode, editors at Broadway Video show their work in assembling a film (later seen in its entirety) about dancers. The Bloodhound Gang cracks "The Case of the Bottled Boat."

Miguel and Paco start the week in the back of a pick-up truck, riding through San Diego Wild Animal Park. They see the prehensile tongue of a giraffe up close. A worker explains how giraffes evolved to its long-necked self. Kathy and Robin go to Magi, a 3-d computer animation studio. Christine Chang, a computer scientist, shows how masic shapes turn into complicated animal shapes. Back at the Wild Animal Park, Miguel and Paco see how an elephant's trunk can pick up things. FILM INSERT: Basic shapes are all over the world. ANIMATED MUSIC VIDEO: The Way It Was shows how the continents were together millions of years ago. BIOGRAPHY: Botanist Elma González reflects on her life and her inspiration for studying the cells of plants. FILM INSERT: Basic shapes are all over the universe. Back at the Wild Animal Park, Miguel and Paco emcounter a Bactrian camel. An expert explains that animal families are determined by the similarities of different animals. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Magnetic Woman, Part One." Skip's friend, Billy Chatterton, is a weakling. And he's the perfect victim to a get-strong scheme. It all centers around someone calling herself "The Little Georgia Magnet" and her "magnetized Georgia stump water." She has convinced Billy's father. But the Bloodhound Gang knows this woman is pulling off magician's tricks. (Concludes in next episode.) Back at the Wild Animal Park, Miguel and Paco have some final words.

From the San Diego Wild Animal Park, Miguel and Paco observe elephants flipping dust and dirt on their backs. An evolutionary expoert at the Wild Animal Park explains why elephants have large, sturdy legs. FILM INSERT: Gravity. Robin goes to a California logging camp see forester Becky Robertson. Robertson explains to Robin how certain trees take on some shapes due to sunlight and gravity. FILM INSERT: Building a skyscrapers. Jackie talks to Marvel Allen on the Golden Gate Bridge to learn the forces acting on a suspension bridge. Back at the Wild Animal Park, Miguel and Paco find out how ostriches have survived in their environment. The evolutionary expoert also discusses the strength of an egg, any egg. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Magnetic Woman, Part Two." Ricardo consults a magician friend to discuss the egg trick. This leads Vikki to consult Lulu Hearst's book on the real Little Georgia Magnet. It lets the Gang expose the swindle that Billy Chatterton and his father almost fall to. Back at the Wild Animal Park, Miguel and Paco have some final words.

Miguel and Robin attach a speedometer on a bicycle so they and Paco can see how fast Paco can really ride his bike. Jackie meets with MIT engineers who built a streamlined bicycle, the longest in the world. ANIMATION: Laminar flow. At Miguel's house, Kathy tells Robin about the odometer on a bicycle. They decide one of them rides 2,000 miles a year on a bicycle. FILM INSERT: Streamlining isn't the only thing that lowers air resistance in high-speed travel. Robin and Kathy find the hole in Kathy's flat tire by putting the tire in a tub full of water. Miguel talks to Diane Green, a champion windsurfer, about sailboards. Green builds a sailboard herself and gets Miguel on another sailboard (temporarily). FILM INSERT: The streamlined shape of salmon and other fish, beavers, penguins, and dolphins. Robin and Kathy patch up the tire and test it in the tub. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of X Marks the Spot, Part One." Vikki is entered in a village's ten-mile race. One of the runners, though, slips out of the track and enters an antiques store belonging to Vikki's friend Cece. When the race is over, Cece says someone has stolen the treasure map she had. ANIMATION: Drag. Miguel finishes installing the speedometer on the bicycle.

Miguel is chopping wood because he wants to play the violin. He asks Robin to take the wood to Carlene Hutchins, who makes violins, a musical acoustician. She tells how the violin's shape determines its sound. And she makes a violin from wood strips. FILM INSERT: Animals to evolve shapes that help them. In Lordstown, Ohio, Miguel meets Denby, who insists he is not a robot. He invites Miguel into the Chevrolet plant to see true robots at work. Robin, Kathy and Miguel sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat in a round as they walk from the subway to hear a string trio rehearse. At the hall, they meet the trio: Eugene Moore, Ida Kafavian and Marcus Thompson. At Miguel's request, the trio play Frere Jacques in round. All three musicians tune up to play a fugue by Bach. In a fugue, once they play the initial melody, musicians begin imitating each other. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of X Marks the Spot, Part Two." Cece explains that someone has switched a map of what may be Captain Kidd's buried treasure, with a fake. She reveals the names of her three partners in a voyage to India to try and find the treasure. The Gang talks to each of the three partners. One of them has just noticed her copy of the key to Cece's store missing. Another recognizes Cece's shop key on sight. The string trio tunes up in preparation for their fugue. All three play a sample of the fugue as the credits roll. Miguel's voice-over points out places where the individual musicians' parts stand out.

Robin has her hands full trying to develop pictures in the makeshift darkroom set up in the basement. In the field, Robin gets a first-hand look on how police use fingerprints as criminal evidence. The Bloodhound Gang cracks "The Case of X Marks the Spot."

Robin is ready to ski down a mountain. Miguel and Kathy, who have never skied before, spend their time witnessing a snow-making machine. All three discover a geologist at the mountaintop who explains the nature of glaciers.On location, Miguel flies in a weather plane. Robin goes to the Rocky Mountains to find the origin of the Colorado River.A mock commercial for water, used as a running thread through Episode 100, makes its first appearance. ANIMATION: The water cycle. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of The Locked Safe," a one-shot surprise that trains the gang to work under pressure. Can they find the new combination to the lock?

A dry tour of the solar system shows no substantial water on the other planets. Back on Earth, water contains just about all life.Miguel visits the Okefenokee Swamp, hoping to see an alligator.Robin shows Paco how to start an avocado plant. Paco then tries to help a cactus by giving it excess water. On location, Paco learns how animals and cacti survive in the desert with little water. BIOGRAPHY: Eloy Rodríguez visits the desert to study how its natural resources can help man and industry. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Computer Caper, Part One." (Recycled from Episode 82.) When the Twins Research Foundation finds several computer files stolen, the gang is called to help follow the directions in the ransom note. Skip must drop the ransom money in a trash barrel at the park.

Miguel helps Robin complete a homework project before heading to a harbor on the Hudson River. He and Kathy are worried that a houseboat may be sinking. A marine biologist tells them the difference between an estuary (like the Hudson) and a delta (like the Mississippi).In New Orleans, Kathy discovers the channels and levees that practically crisscross the area. Two ecologists inform her how important the Mississippi is to New Orleans, and how man and Nature must work together.Robin ventures to a region poisoned by acid rain, then labeled "New York State's problem." THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Computer Caper, Part Two." After a cold snap the night before, Vikki and Ricardo stake out the trash barrel in question. A strange lady pours water into the barrel a couple of minutes before Skip arrives with the money. Once the trash is dumped into a garbage truck, the order goes out: "Tail it."

Miguel discovers a leak in the water pipes and tries valiantly to fix it. Kathy discusses Lake Mead and Hoover Dam, which supply water and electricity for Las Vegas. Robin and Jackie examine the Grand Canyon from two different angles.Film insert: Tracing the New York City water system. ANIMATION: The creation of the Grand Canyon. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Computer Caper, Part Three." Vikki discovers that the woman who poured water in the trash can, is left-handed. Looking closer at the pictures, Ricardo realizes that the money–wrapped in plastic–froze to the bottom of the trash barrel. Back at the park, the gang is surprised to hear from a hot dog vendor that the "lady" came back for the trash can. In truth, the culprit is a man. (Concludes in next episode.)

Paco, Kathy and Robin set up an aquarium to surprise Miguel. Two scientists from different fields lead Robin to study bears in the Minnesota winter. They take samples of bear blood to aid human health problems, such as kidney dialysis.Film insert: Where there's water, there's life, as demonstrated in human blood vessels and kidneys. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Computer Caper, Part Four." With the barest of clues, a restaurant's souvenir pen, the gang traces the man who stole the computer files.

Miguel, Robin, and Kathy are prepared for a fishing campout. On their way back from fishing, Kathy discovers she has lost the matchbook and ventures out to find it. She finds it, but has she gotten herself lost? At the University of Pennsylvania, Robin learns how taste and smell are connected (and how they differ).Kathy goes to 3M to see the production of scratch-and-sniff. THE BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Frozen Blob, Part One." Vikki suspects that a frozen ice sculpture has been stolen. But is it too late to save "the blob"? (Concludes in next episode.)

Main Concept: In order for us to see, the eye must convert light energy to electrical energy, which is interpreted by the brain as an image. Robin learns that sight is the dominant sense in some animals. She visits the U. S. Coast Guard in San Francisco and finds how pigeons, with their acute eyesight and color vision, are used to spot survivors at sea. Miguel visits the Computer Graphics Lab in New York City and learns how forms and colors of video images are manipulated electronically to produce pictures. BLOODHOUND GANG: "The Case of the Frozen Blob, Part Two."

The kids assemble glasses with varying water amounts for a musical scale. In the process, Paco learns that certain frequencies are beyond the human hearing range. Vikki of The Bloodhound Gang is hired to begin "The Case of the Girl from Outer Space."

Paco surprises everyone with a gecko as his present for Robin's birthday. We meet a neurologist who studies the sense of touch in Brooklyn. In "The Bloodhound Gang," Vikki attends a séance as she investigates "The Case of the Girl from Outer Space." (Concludes in next episode.)

After a close call, Miguel, Robin and Kathy drill themselves (and the basement) in case of fire. The Bloodhound Gang, en masse, breaks down "The Case of the Girl from Outer Space."