Shake Hands with Long Arm John

Shake Hands with Long Arm John
	;
Original Airdate:	February 23, 1988
Episode	Production number 54 of 65
Episode	Airdate number 64 of 65
Previous Episode:	No Drums, No Trumpets
Next Episode:	Strength of the Bear

Episode Information[]

Original airdate: February 23, 1988

Writer: John Shirley

Director: Lou Kachivas

Production number: 54

Broadcast order number:64

Plot[]

Newcomer Long Arm John helps to save Mayor Derringer when Ryder and the Dune Buggy Gang attack the Stratocoach. The Mayor tells BraveStarr to appoint Long Arm as his new deputy, making Fuzz worry about his job.

Moral[]

Handlebar:

"Thanks, Long Arm!"

Thirty/Thirty:

"It must be fun to have an arm like that."

Long Arm John:

"It is fun, but I am always careful to look where I am putting my hands. I don't put them near a stove or electric outlet where I might get burned or shocked or hurt."

BraveStarr:

"That sounds like good advise for our friends at home."

Long Arm John:

"You mean always be careful where and what you touch."

BraveStarr:

"Exactly! You be careful, little partners! Ok? Ok!"

Story Notes[]

This episode introduces Long Arm John and allthough his name is featured prominently in the title, the story actually revolves around Deputy Fuzz and his efforts to stop Dingo Dan. Both Long Arm John and Dingo Dan were scheduled to receive action figures and this episode was written to promote them but Mattel cancelled the toy line before they could be released.

Spirit Animal Powers[]

Eyes of the Hawk - used by BraveStarr to locate the Stratocoach under attack.

Strength of the Bear - BraveStarr used his Strength of the Bear to catch Dingo Dan and his Dune Buggy after a ramp created by a shot from Sara Jane caused it to fly up in the air.

Episode Breakdown[]

Law Protectors[]

Marshal BraveStarr - BraveStarr helped to foil the Dune Buggy Gang's attempted robbery of the Stratocoach and was tasked by the Mayor to round up the escaped gangmembers together with Long Arm John. When he found out the Mayor had fired Deputy Fuzz in his absence, he threatned to resign as well, forcing the Mayor to reconsider.

Deputy Fuzz - Fuzz was unable to help protect the Stratostage when his Prairie Rocket broke down and was tricked into freeing Dingo Dan from prison. Mayor Derringer fired Fuzz on the spot, but the former deputy still managed to trap Dingo Dan inside the Trading Post and got his job back.

Thirty/Thirty - Thirty/Thirty helped foil the attempted robbery of the Stratocoach, joined the posse to hunt down the Dune Buggy Gang and used Sara Jane to derail two of the Gang's Buggies.

Long Arm John - While looking for a job in Fort Kerium, Long Arm John helped defend the Stratostage and joined a posse to round up the Dune Buggy Gang.

Outlaws[]

Ryder - Ryder attempted to rob the Stratostage carrying a load of diamond kerium. When a posse came after him, he used a decoy to slip away. But he was derailed and captured as soon as he entered Fort Kerium.

Dingo Dan - Dingo Dan was captured after a failed attempt to rob the Stratostage, but escaped using his shapeshifting power and began to terrorize Fort Kerium on his Dune Buggy. He was eventually tricked by Deputy Fuzz and trapped inside the Trading Post.

Slither - Was the first member of the Dune Buggy Gang to be derailed during an attempt to rob the Stratostage. He managed to evade being captured for a while long but eventually ended up in a pigsty soon after entering Fort Kerium.

Settlers[]

Mayor Derringer - The Mayor met Long Arm John aboard the Stratocoach and after Long Arm helped to fend off two/thirds of the Dune Buggy Gang, officially redeputized Long Arm to join the posse and bring down the still at large gang members. When Deputy Fuzz mistakingly allowed Dingo Dan to escape, Mayor Derringer fired him. But Fuzz managed to redeem himself and when BraveStarr found out he made the Mayor reconsider.

Handlebar - Handlebar had been neglecting to fix a loose board in the floor at the Trading Post, which gave Fuzz an idea to trap Dingo Dan. Handlebar cooperated in Fuzz's scheme by serving both him and Dingo Dan Sweetwater.

Molly - When the Stratostage was attacked by the Dune Buggy Gang at Bottleneck Pass, Molly showed no sign of surrender. She got aid from a passenger, Long Arm John, and was impressed by his abilities.

Clem Clodhopper (none speaking role) - Clodhopper was a witness to Dingo Dan's wild Dune Buggy riding through Fort Kerium.

Prospectors[]

Old Timer (none speaking role) - Two sacks of Kerium were snatched from Old Timer's hands by the Dune Buggy operated by remote control by Dingo Dan.

Organizations[]

Dune Buggy Gang

Locations[]

New Texas - BraveStarr, Thirty/Thirty and Fuzz were patrolling the desert when the Stratostage was attacked. Although two members of the Dune Buggy Gang escaped, the marshal and his big partner were joined by newcomer Long Arm John to hunt them down.
- Bottleneck Pass - The Stratostage was ambushed by the Dune Buggy Gang at Bottleneck Pass.
- Fort Kerium - Fort Kerium was terrorized by Dingo Dan in his Dune Buggy while BraveStarr and Thirty/Thirty were out searching for the other members of the Dune Buggy Gang.
  - Marshal's Office - Dingo Dan was thrown in a jail cel already occupied by a drunk human sleeping off his inhebriation. Dingo Dan pretended to be the human and escaped.
  - Trading Post - Fuzz managed tricked Dingo Dan into entering the Trading Post and get stuck in the floor thanks to a loose board.
  - Fort Kerium bank - Dingo Dan took the opportunity to try out the Kerium Magnet attached to his Dune Buggy to rob the Bank while on his wild spree across Fort Kerium.

Equipment[]

Optivisor - BraveStarr used his Optivisor to locate Ryder and Slither in their Dune Buggies making a run for it on the New Texas plains.

Kerium-Magnet - Dingo Dan got an oppurtunity to try out the new Kerium-Magnet attachment built into his Dune Buggy while Fort Kerium was virtually unprotected. With the magnet, he managed to retrieve a stack of Kerium bars flying right out of the Bank.

Cuffs - BraveStarr used normal cuffs to stop Ryder from escaping after he had ended up in a pigsty.

Weapons[]

Neutra-Laser - BraveStarr used his Neutra-Laser gun to disconnect the grappling hook cord that Dingo Dan had attached from his Dune Buggy to the Stratostage in order to rob it.

Sara Jane - With a single shot, Thirty/Thirty used his weapon to carve a ramp out of desert rock so that Dingo Dan's Dune Buggy flew into the air for BraveStarr to catch. Later on, Sara Jane was used to destroy Ryder's Dune Buggy as it was about to attack BraveStarr.

Tomahawk - BraveStarr threw his tomahawk at Ryder's Dune Buggy (driven by the buggy's own artificial intelligence) when it was aiming it's guns at Long Arm John. The tomahawk hacked off the gun turret in a single swoop.

Vehicles[]

Stratocoach - Ryder and his Dune Buggy Gang attacked the stratocoach because they were convinced it was carrying a load of diamond kerium. Passenger Long Arm John offered to defend the stage and was soon joined by BraveStarr and Thirty/Thirty.

Turbo-Mule - A Turbo-Mule was attached to the Stratostage to pull it. Long Arm John rode another Mule as part of BraveStarr's posse after he was deputized. A miner was unloading his Turbo-Mule when he was robbed by Dingo Dan's remote control Dune Buggy.

Dune Buggy The Dune Buggy Gang used their buggies in an attempt to rob the Stratostage. Later, Dingo Dan terrorized Fort Kerium with his Dune Buggy using a Kerium-Magnet and controling the buggy by Remote Control. Ryder's Buggy came equiped with a decoy to fool the posse and later dragged Long Arm John behind it grabbing his mechanical arm with a magnet. Deputy Fuzz figured out how to use Dingo Dan's Buggy in order to turn the tide.

Prairie Rocket - Fuzz was out patrolling with BraveStarr and Thirty/Thirty when the Stratostage was under attack. The Prairie Rocket stalled and fell apart on Fuzz, making it impossible for him to join the fight. But once Dingo Dan had been defeated, Fuzz arrived in time to lasso him, riding a completely rebuilt Prairie Rocket, which he referred to as his 'Fuzz-Mobile'.

Species[]

Human

Equestroid

Prairie People

Dingoes

Cyborg

Rigellian

Creatures[]

Pigs

Minerals[]

Kerium - The Stratostage was attacked because it carried a load of Diamond Kerium. Dingo Dan used a Kerium-Magnet to pull giant stacks of Kerium straight out of the Fort Kerium bank. The same magnet was used to attract kerium belonging to settlers and miners to it.

Liquids[]

Sweetwater - Fuzz asked Handlebar to provide him with a glass of sweetwater to lure Dingo Dan into a trap.