Today's Special - Episode Guide

Jodie is in the Children’s Department, finishing up work on a mannequin wearing a police uniform. When she’s done, she comments, “There, that’s a lot better. Now all I have to do is get you a hat.” As she walks towards a large wooden box to retrieve the hat, she is startled by Jeff, who is leaving the box rolling out another mannequin wearing a police uniform.

“Jodie, is a police officer really coming to the store tomorrow?” asks Jeff.

“You bet, Jeff,” answers Jodie. “He’s part of our safety display. He’ll tell all the children about road safety and how to prevent accidents.” She then explains that tomorrow, the whole display will be boxed back up and the police will take it somewhere else, like schools, shopping centers, or anywhere else that the police can talk about safety.

“That’s very nice of them!” Jeff remarks. “I wouldn’t want anyone to have an accident or get hurt!” Jeff and Jodie then begin singing a song about various functions of police, including inspecting, checking, collecting information, reuniting lost children with their families, and teaching people how to safely cross the street.

After they finish the song, they take a box of posters and head out of the Children’s Department in order to hang the posters up near the elevator. On the way out, Jeff notices that the mannequins’ hats are missing. Jodie remarks, “Now that’s very strange!”

When Jeff and Jodie return to the Children’s Department, the male mannequin is on the floor, and other items are scattered around, though the mannequins’ hats are back. Jodie questions who would do such a thing. Muffy then comes in, claiming that a ghost was chasing her. Jodie challenges her on the ghost claim, explaining that ghosts only exist in storybooks, but asks Muffy to tell her what happened. Muffy explains that she heard a noise, and went to investigate. Her investigation led her to the food department, where all of the food was scattered around. Jeff suggests that it must be the same person who ruined the display.

Jodie says, “I think we should tell Sam about this.” She then stands in front of the security camera and says, “Sam? Sam, can you hear me?”

Sam is in the Computer Room, and can see and hear Jodie on TXL. Jodie explains to Sam that there might be an intruder in the store, noting that the display in the Children’s Department was ruined, and that Muffy had reported that the food department was a mess. Sam suggests that Jodie fix her display, and that he will take care of the intruder.

After saying goodbye to Jodie, he asks what he’s supposed to do. “Hmmm. This is a mystery! A real mystery, all right. Sounds like a case for…” says Sam, as he takes off his security guard hat and puts on a detective’s hat, “Sam the detective!” He then picks up his magnifying glass and looks through it.

Back in the Children’s Department, Sam, dressed in his detective’s outfit, is looking for clues. When Jeff tells him that they already looked in that area and didn’t find anything, Sam tells him, “Ah, but you need a trained eye for this sort of thing, Jeff, and a good magnifying glass. You’ll see!” Sam then turns around and sees Muffy’s tail sticking up in the air. He says, “Ha ha, gotcha!” and grabs it, much to Muffy’s surprise. He then apologizes to Muffy, explaining that he thought she was a clue.

“I’d like to give you a piece of advice,” says Muffy. “Look for ghosts, not little mice!”

Jeff remarks that it’s too bad that the police officers in the display aren’t real, because the police like helping people. Jodie agrees, and suggests to Sam that he call the police. Sam pooh-poohs the idea, suggesting that he can solve it himself with his Cam the Detective book. He takes out the book, and reads from it, “If the crime is still unsolved after all pieces of evidence have been examined, then call the police.” He chuckles in an embarrassed way, and then agrees to call the police.

As Sam leaves, Muffy remarks that her brother lives in a police station, and that when she was last on vacation, she visited him. Jodie and Sam also visited a police station, and Jodie shows us what happened when they visited.

We then see Sam and Jodie outside of 52 Division of the Metropolitan Toronto Police. Jodie tells Sam that this is the newest and largest police station in the city. There, they meet up with Officer Kathy McCormack, who will show them around the station. Sam tells Kathy that he brought his magnifying glass, just in case they needed help solving crimes. Kathy explains to Sam, “That’s very thoughtful of you, Sam, but we have modern, scientific ways of doing police work now.” She then invites Jodie and Sam in to show them how it all works.

Jodie follows Kathy into the station, while Sam goes his own way, and ends up face to face with a police horse. “We’re just going in for a little tour. We’re not bank robbers or anything!” he says to the horse. Jodie remarks with a laugh that she thinks that the horse knows that. Sam, however, thought that the horse was giving him a suspicious look, and thus he felt the need to explain himself. As the horse checks out the magnifying glass, Sam says, with a laugh, “Don’t eat that – that’s a magnifying glass.” Looking at the horse, he says, “Yep, that’s a horse, all right.”

Inside the police station, Kathy has taken them to their firing range. There, officers practice shooting. Sam remarks that he doesn’t like guns, to which Kathy replies, “Well, nobody does, Sam. They’re very dangerous. And remember, if you ever find one lying around, not to touch it. Make sure to call the police first.” Jodie then asks Kathy if they need to put on the ear protectors that they are holding. Kathy says that they do, because before they start shooting, they have to wear eye protection and ear protection. Jodie helps Sam put on his ear protection, and then puts her own on. Kathy then holds up her gun, lines up her shot, and fires at a target. Sam and Jodie are very impressed with Kathy’s accuracy, as her shot hit the bullseye.

Kathy then takes Jodie and Sam to the holding cells. Sam shudders at the sound of the doors, and then wanders off. Kathy explains that instead of bars, their cells use a special plexiglass that no one can get in or out of. Jodie is impressed, and asks Sam what he thinks, only to discover that he isn’t with them.

They find Sam outside, sitting in the passenger seat of a police cruiser. He says hello to Jodie, as Kathy gets in the driver’s seat. Sam explains that a police officer lent him a pair of handcuffs. He also shows Jodie that the car has a telephone in it. Kathy is quick to correct Sam, explaining that it’s actually a car radio, used to call other cars or the police dispatcher.

“And you probably want to try it, right, Sam?” Jodie says, with a smile.

“Oh, I sure would like to!” says Sam. “Do you think that would be all right?”

“Go ahead,” says Kathy.

Sam immediately begins having fun with the radio, saying, “Calling all policemen! Calling all cars! Calling all horses! This is Detective Sam Crenshaw speaking! And if you ever need any help finding any clues, why, I got a whole clues closet full of them! Ha ha ha ha ha! Over and up! I mean, up and around, or whatever it is they say. Bye!” Jodie and Kathy are both amused by Sam’s performance.

Sam then continues exploring, asking, “Hey, uh, what’s this button here?” as he pulls on a knob. That flashes the car’s lights and sounds its siren. Kathy quickly shuts off the system.

“Are there any more questions?” asks Kathy. Jodie nods no, but Sam has one: he wants to know how to get out of a pair of handcuffs, as he managed to handcuff himself to the steering wheel of the car. Kathy takes out her key and lets Sam out of the handcuffs, as Jodie laughs.

Back in the Children’s Department, everyone is laughing over the incident. Jeff says, “I hope Sam wasn’t handcuffed for very long!”

“No,” Jodie says, with a laugh, “Officer McCormack found the keys.”

Sam comes in, and explains that Officer Hardy is on his way. Sam then tells Jeff to wait in the Children’s Department for Officer Hardy, while he and Jodie were going to go out and look for clues. When he asks Muffy if she wants to come with him, Muffy refuses. “And meet a ghost face to face? I’m going to hide in my own place!” she says, and scampers off.

Jodie is amused that Muffy still thinks that there is a ghost in the store. She then suggests that Sam look around in the food department, and she’s going to check the basement. Sam agrees, and they leave.

Jeff then turns to us and asks, “Do you have any idea who the intruder it? Neither do I. Oh, well.” He then goes into the box to tidy things up, and asks us to warn him if we see the intruder.

A man wearing a tan trenchcoat and a hat then enters the Children’s Department, looks at the female mannequin, adjusts her hat, and then adjusts his own. He then walks around the box. Meanwhile, we warn Jeff of the man’s presence. He comes out of the box, and mouths, “The intruder?” and then follows him around the box. The man then emerges on the other side of the box as Jeff goes around. As the man looks inside the box, Jeff comes around, and grabs the man from behind, by both arms.

“I’ve caught you!” he says. “Now don’t try and get away. Now, the police will be here very soon!”

“I am the police,” the man calmly replies.

Jeff quickly lets go of the man, and responds, “Oh. I’m very sorry. I thought you were the intruder. I’m Jeff.”

“Officer Hardy,” he replies, showing his police ID and badge. “We received a call from a Mr. Crenshaw.”

“Well, that’s Sam,” answers Jeff. “Well, I’ll go find him and Jodie. They’re looking for clues. Don’t go away.” Jeff then leaves to go find them.

Sam then enters the Children’s Department, mumbling to himself that he hasn’t found anything. “I’ve looked just about everywhere. I’ve looked in the clues closet. I looked…” He then bumps into Officer Hardy, says, “Oh, excuse me,” and keeps on walking and mumbling to himself. He’s startled when Officer Hardy speaks to him. He explains that he thought that he was one of the mannequins.

Officer Hardy introduces himself to Sam. Jodie then comes into the Children’s Department and startles Sam again as she introduces herself to Officer Hardy, and thanks her for coming to help solve the mystery.

Jeff remarks that it must be exciting to be a police officer. Officer Hardy begins to explain, but Sam cuts him off, explaining, “Oh, it is, Jeff, it really is. I mean, solving mysteries, and facing dangers, always being brave and fearless, always on guard so that our community can sleep in peace. Oh, yeah, they’re a swell bunch, the police. A real swell bunch.”

“I’m glad you think so, Mr. Crenshaw,” says Officer Hardy. “But most of the work we do is routine. It’s traffic control, patrolling the streets, safety checks, things of that nature.” Officer Hardy then sings a song about his work as a police officer.

Later, in the corridor outside Muffy’s house, Officer Hardy is looking for clues to find the intruder. He hears someone trying to get his attention from behind a rack of clothes. When he parts the clothing, he finds Sam, who asks him if he’s found any clues yet. “Not yet, Mr. Crenshaw,” he responds. Sam is not surprised, because Officer Hardy is not using a magnifying glass. Officer Hardy responds, “With my eyes, Mr. Crenshaw. You see, I write everything down in my black book, and it helps me to remember.” Sam finds it somewhat strange, and then gives Officer Hardy his own magnifying glass, explaining that he always carries a spare, in the event that he has to look at two clues at the same time. Officer Hardy thanks Sam, and puts the clothing back as he found it.

Officer Hardy then walks over to examine a box. As he is looking in the box, Sam comes over to him and asks, “Still no luck, huh?”

“Mr. Crenshaw,” says Officer Hardy, “if you went somewhere else to look for clues, then we would have twice the chance to find the intruder.” Sam understands, confirms that Officer Hardy doesn’t need any help, and then heads off.

Officer Hardy then walks down the hallway towards Muffy’s house. He hears Muffy singing to herself, and investigates by reaching in with his pencil.

Muffy, meanwhile, is cooking. She feels a poke from Officer Hardy’s pencil, and then a second poke shortly thereafter. She remarks, “Hmm, my goodness, what was that? A ghost has just given me a little pat!” She goes back to her singing until she feels a third poke with the pencil. Now, Muffy is losing her patience, saying, “This doesn’t make me overjoyed. In fact, I’m getting quite annoyed!” before returning to her singing. After a fourth poke, Muffy has had enough, remarking, “It’s time that silly ghost was told that even mice can be quite bold!” The next time that Officer Hardy reaches into her home with his pencil, Muffy grabs it and engages in a tug of war with Officer Hardy over the pencil. Muffy eventually wins, and Officer Hardy makes a defeated expression in the hallway.

In the Children’s Department, Jeff explains that everyone is off looking for clues, and he’s alone with nothing to do. He adjusts the male police mannequin’s hat to tip it to one side, and asks us if we think that it looks better tipped to one side. Jeff then explains that he wears his hat tipped to one side. He then tips his own hat a little more, asking us what we think of it. He then tips it even further, and accidentally knocks it off of his head.

Officer Hardy then walks in and remarks, “Nobody here!” He then looks at Jeff, now a mannequin, and says, “Where have I seen that face before?” He then picks up Jeff’s hat and places it back on his head. “Very strange,” he remarks, and walks away.

Muffy then arrives, excited about her encounter with the alleged ghost. “Jeff! Jeff!” she exclaims. “At my place the monster’s been! Uh oh, Jeff’s become a mannequin.” Noting that his hat is already on his head, she says the magic words to bring Jeff back to life. Jeff, upon coming back to life, greets Muffy and asks if she’s still seeing ghosts. Muffy explains, “Not ghosts, but monsters, so don’t joke! With a great big pencil he did poke!”

“A pencil?” asks Jeff. “A big, yellow pencil?” He then goes over to the male mannequin and retrieves a pencil. “Like this one?” Muffy nods yes. Jeff explains that it wasn’t a monster that attacked her, but rather, it was Officer Hardy, and that he has a pencil just like that.

“Well, he hasn’t got it anymore. I won it in our tug of war!”

Jeff then explains to Muffy that she should get it, because Officer Hardy is trying to help, and he might need it. Muffy then runs off to get Officer Hardy’s pencil.

Officer Hardy then walks in and says to Jeff, “Oh, there you are. Did you know that…” before stopping, noticing that the mannequin that he saw earlier is gone.

“Is anything wrong?” asks Jeff.

“Um,” explains Officer Hardy, “well, there was this… I mean, you look like… no, it couldn’t be.” When Jeff remarks that he doesn’t look very happy, Officer Hardy takes off his hat and explains that he should have been a fireman. “You see, my hat’s running away. MY HAT!” he remarks as he grabs it back.

As it turned out, Officer Hardy placed his hat on top of Muffy, who has his pencil, explaining, “This is your pencil, I’ve been told. I’m sorry that I was so bold.”

“Who are you?” asks Officer Hardy. Jeff introduces Muffy to Officer Hardy.

“I’m pleased to meet you, officer,” she says. “I will salute if you prefer.”

“Do you always talk that way, in rhyme, no matter what you say?” asks Officer Hardy. “I mean, rhyme all the time?”

Muffy explains, “Well, I like words when they are matching. And often they are very catching!”

Officer Hardy remarks, “I think I’d be better off in the army!”

Jodie them runs in, breathlessly, explaining that the intruder struck again in the book department, knocking all of the shelves over. Officer Hardy is pleased, because it’s fresh clues. He tells Muffy to go find Sam, he tells Jeff to stay and guard the display, and for Jodie to come with him.

Jeff is all alone again, wishing that he could join them looking for clues. He takes the hat off of the male mannequin’s head and, remarking, “I bet Jodie and I would make great detectives,” takes his hat off and puts the mannequin’s hat on.

Soon, Officer Hardy and Jodie return, as Officer Hardy remarks that this case is the strangest that he’s seen. He then sees Jeff as a mannequin, and says, “Oh, no.”

“What’s wrong?” Jodie asks. Officer Hardy points at Jeff. Jodie simply remarks, “Oh, Jeff’s taken his hat off again.” She puts the police hat back on the proper mannequin, and puts Jeff’s hat back on his head. She then invites us to say the magic words with her, and brings Jeff back to life.

Jeff asks, “What happened?” and then remembers what happened. He then turns to Officer Hardy and asks him, “Did you catch the intruder?”

Officer Hardy is speechless about what he just saw. Jeff comments to Jodie that something is wrong with Officer Hardy. Jodie then realizes that they never told Officer Hardy that he is a mannequin.

“A what?” asks Officer Hardy, incredulously.

“A mannequin!” exclaims Jodie. “You see, Jeff’s hat’s magic, so he can come to life!”

“Of course!” remarks Officer Hardy. “Why didn’t I think of that?” He then turns to the female police mannequin, waves, and says, “Hi, there.” He then turns and says, “Just in case.” Jeff and Jodie give each other a look as Officer Hardy clearly still can’t quite comprehend the concept of Jeff’s hat.

Down in the Computer Room, Sam is explaining to TXL about what has happened, and how they had to put the entire book department back together. TXL inquires about whether Officer Hardy is still looking for clues. Sam explains that Officer Hardy is still looking, and remarks about how calm he is, and how nothing ever rattles him. He then explains that Officer Hardy told him to come down to the Computer Room and have a rest. TXL asks, “That’s a good idea, Mr. Crenshaw, but what about the intruder?”

“Dozing detectives!” remarks Sam. “This is the most mysterious mystery I’ve ever come across!”

Jeff, meanwhile, is sitting on the steps in the Children’s Department, by himself again as everyone else is out looking for clues. However, Jeff then hears a noise coming from the display box, as an object then flies out of it. Jeff gets up, holds the doors shut, and calls out that he’s caught the intruder. When everyone comes back, Jeff tells Officer Hardy, “The intruder is inside, and I caught him!”

“Good work, Jeff!” says Officer Hardy. “Now, stand back, everybody.” Officer Hardy knocks on the door of the box, and says, “This is the police. Would you come out, please?” Getting no response, he prepares to open the door, as everyone watches nervously.

As Officer Hardy opens the door, Jeff and Jodie both remark, “Oh, wow,” as Officer Hardy brings out a cougar on a leash.

“Oh, drat, a cat!” Muffy exclaims.

“Now, Caesar, what are you doing here?” asks Officer Hardy.

Sam explains to Muffy that it’s a cougar, and then asks Officer Hardy if he knows the animal. Officer Hardy explains that Caesar is the station’s mascot, and that he disappeared a few days ago. He wonders how Caesar got to the store. Jodie quickly figures out that Caesar got into the store via the display box, which came from the police station. Jeff then realizes that Caesar got out when they opened the box. Sam then realizes that, being a cougar, Caesar could climb around rather than walking along the floor like a normal intruder. Then Jeff realizes that the climbing is why the alarms never went off.

Sam is delighted. “Hooray, the mystery is solved!”

Jeff, Jodie, Sam, and Muffy then sing the song about the functions of the police, while Officer Hardy sings his own song about his work as a police officer.

Quizzes:

Which police officer is the tallest? (The second from the left) Which police officer is the shortest? (The officer at far right) What part of the shortest officer’s uniform is missing? (His shoes, which are later provided, though too large in size)
Let’s play detective: there are three things wrong with this picture. What are they? (The policeman is facing the wrong way, the horse is wearing boots, and the horse doesn’t have a tail. After the image is corrected, we see that the other officers are in the “wrong” configuration.)
Which of these three words from the nursery rhyme rhymes with “shoe”? (Two. TXL then reads a poem containing words that rhyme with shoe.)
Three things that the police use on duty: a flashlight, a whistle, and a notebook. Which one helps them see in the dark? (The flashlight) What would they use to get someone’s attention by making some noise? (The whistle) Which one helps the police remember important clues? (The notebook. TXL wonders what is in the notebook, which reveals a game of tic-tac-toe in progress.

Today's Special - Advertisement

Today's Special - Footer

Today's Special site © 1997-2024 Schumin Web Design.
Material that is property of TVOntario is being used under the belief that publication of such material here qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law.
This site is not affiliated with TVOntario or any other entity responsible for the creation and/or distribution of Today's Special.

Main Page - Contact Information - Privacy Statement - The Schumin Web