Reed's been put on a diet by his wife, so he's extremely hungry. It's the joke of the episode that Reed wants to take 7 (eat) as soon as possible but radio call after radio call keep delaying the opportunity. If you think you're hungry now Reed, just wait til that wife of yours starts packing her infamous Peanut Butter and Banana sandwiches for your lunch - on a daily basis.
Malloy and Reed respond to a call which finds a business-attired gentleman beating the front lawn of his home to death with a shovel. Well, that's what he would be doing if the lawn were there. It's not, because it's been stolen. Yes, that's right - Grand Theft Real Estate! It comes across as funny, but then too - the incidents seen in Adam-12 episodes are true. The name of the type of grass seeded may have been changed to protect it's innocence. During this segment, Reed goes about questioning anyone nearby in the neighborhood who may have noticed somebody stealing a front yard. He happens upon a neighbor who is grilling ribs on a barbecue. Reed, eyeing the ribs, nearly forgets his reason for being there as his stomach growls out like a Grizzley Bear's. He can hardly contain his drooling at the sight of the sizzling delicacy.
Another segment has Malloy and the starving Reed speaking with a concerned Mother. She snitches on her teenage stepson who she believes is in possession of stolen credit cards. It's off to the neighborhood pool hall where the partners spot the teenager and the evil teenage accomplice who had been influencing him. This teenage accomplice looks to be about 35 years old, but maybe that's make-up to make himself look old enough to have a credit card.
Hold on though! This 35 year old teenager isn't playing games. He's about to provide Reed with a second mouth to feed - in Reed's own face - via a switchblade hidden in his boot. Rookie Reed is caught off guard - as are we, the viewing audience - but seasoned Malloy, who has seen a thing or two, recognizes exactly what the criminal is about to attempt. Way to go, Malloy!
As the day proceeds, Reed manages to scrape up a snack or two here and there. A vending machine at the Station House provides him with numerous non-nourishing candy delights. While shoving that candy down his throat back on patrol, Reed spots someone messing around in a closed used car dealership.
Parking the squad out of view, M & R sneak up on an unaware dude who is sitting in one of the cars on the lot. Making things worse, the keys are in the car. Speaking with the man, the partners learn that he's an ex-con, out of prison on parole. The reason he'd been in the joint? Grand Theft Auto. Malloy, it seems, wants to drive the guy back to prison immediately. The guy says the keys were in the car. Malloy then goes car to car, seeing if any of them have their keys in them. Every car is locked with no keys. Malloy chides the guy with each discovery. Until that is - whoops! There's another car, unlocked with the keys inside.
Upon some further investigation, the partners realize that the car the dude was playing in, is completely blocked in by other cars. Several cars would need to be moved to get this one car off the lot. By the way, the car in question appears to possibly be a 1950's era Jaguar. Being partially hidden behind other cars, it's difficult to be certain of the make. Regardless of what it actually is, it has a classic 50's British classic car look to it.
It's somewhat surprising to have seen Malloy showing disdain and mistrust of the dude in the car and then do a complete 180, deciding the guy's actions might be innocent if not suspicious. Since Reed was the one who spotted the guy in the car, Malloy tells him it's Reed's decision to bust the parolee and send him back to prison, or give him the benefit of the doubt and trust him to go on his new law-abiding way. It's heartwarming to see the man tear-up and show great appreciation when Reed lets him go. This is an excellent scene with great acting (as usual) from Martin Milner and Kent McCord. The actor portraying the ex-car thief is terrific, too. This segment is a true stand-out.
We're treated to a humorous ending segment which takes place back at the Police Station locker room. Malloy tells the previously food-depraved Reed that he'll take him out for a steak dinner. Reed responds with a look of sickly disgust and tells Malloy he couldn't eat another bite. Malloy wonders, what gives? Reed indicates to a nearby bench. Upon it is a pile of snack and candy wrappers. Reed has stuffed himself to a point of near vomiting on a bunch of garbage.
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