Countdown for Flipper

Ricks (Brian Kelly) decides to allow Sandy (Luke Halpin) and Bud (Tommy Norden) make an important shipment to Frank Schofield (as Dr. Koeing), since he's dismissed his regular gofer Jon Cypher (as Jim Lorman). The kids set sail for Schofield's island laboratory, with Flipper swimming along. Meanwhile, the dismissed Cypher steals Dr. Koeing's most prized possession - a fish named "Specimen No. 303". When Flipper gets into the fish tank, Schofield declares the dolphin has, "just eaten the most valuable marine specimen in the world!" To retrieve the fish, Flipper must be cut open within a half hour!

While the story is obviously far-fetched, it's the poorly executed kidnapping sequence involving Sandy, Bud, and Cypher that really brings this episode down (not that there aren't other problems). Frank Schofield is yet another "Flipper" guest star who later became a "Dark Shadows" TV regular; he played fisherman Bill Malloy, and his ghost.

** Countdown for Flipper (11/7/64) Herman Hoffman ~ Brian Kelly, Luke Halpin, Tommy Norden

In this episode, Porter Ricks gives his two boys a very important job. After all the trouble Bud and Flipper have recently gotten into, Po still trusts his youngest boy and pet to do the right thing. He sends them away without clearly stating that Flipper cannot go. Then when he's caught in the pin of a rare fish, the scientists announces Flipper will have to be opened up so he could get the fish back.

Of course if you take an innocent dolphin, a man who just got fired, two very anxious boys, and throw in good ol' dad, you have a pretty decent scene where the boys figure out a way to save Flipper. I was a bit shocked that Sandy practically threw Bud and the thief together the way he did and left the boat, but still...it was a good action scene.

I didn't take this episode as seriously as the previous reviewer did. Sure, I saw the obvious flaws in the writing. But if you love the three main characters as much as I do (Porter Ricks and the boys) then you don't pay much attention to such flaws and just enjoy the sheer pleasure of twenty-five wonderful minutes. There are many episodes of "Flipper" that I am enjoying immensely, some stories such as this one that could have been utilized for full feature films. Of course, the aforementioned flaws would need to be corrected but on the whole they would succeed. I am sorry there aren't more full feature films of "Flipper" that feature Brian Kelly and the two boys.