Paul Birch
Cannonball (1958)
Season 1
The Cannonball TV show was a 30 minute Canadian adventure/drama series that aired on CBC and in syndication in the U.S. It was about the lives of truckers Mike Malone and Jerry Austin as they moved freight throughout Canada and the United States.
Released Oct. 6, 1958
Episode 30 min
None+
S1E1 - The Runaway Truck
This pilot episode sets the premise: ""Cannonball"" is the adventures of 2 truck drivers who haul freight across the highways of the United States and Canada. The main character is Mike Malone; providing the family atmosphere are his wife Mary, and his son Butch, and his daughter Ginny. Mike's truck-drivin' buddy is Jerry Austin. This episode, Mike has to stop a runaway truck.
Oct. 6, 1958, midnight
S1E2 - Pills
Truck drivers doing long hauls often use caffeine pills to stay alert. The highway patrol puts out a warning that some truckstops are selling stay-awake pills that can be real killers. When Mike and Jerry turn a bottle of this stuff over to the authorities, it leads to the breakup of this dangerous pill racket.
Oct. 13, 1958, midnight
S1E3 - Willy
Mike and Jerry pick up a hitchhiker named Willy who has gotten into trouble.
Oct. 20, 1958, midnight
S1E4 - Sights on Safety
When Mike and Jerry are under pressure to deliver a load in a big hurry, a near-accident makes them learn that they must keep their Sights on Safety.
Oct. 27, 1958, midnight
S1E5 - The Iron Lung
Mike and Jerry deliver a cargo consisting of an iron lung to help a polio patient.
Nov. 3, 1958, midnight
S1E6 - The Big Ambulance
Mike Malone loves truckstop food, and has meals and snacks on a long haul. When Mike gets some stomach pains, Jerry thinks it's just indigestion. But it turns out to be more serious, and Mike winds up taking a trip in an ambulance.
Nov. 10, 1958, midnight
S1E7 - Hostage
Mike and Jerry intercede when a hostage is taken at a truckstop, and diffuse what could turn out to be a dangerous situation.
Nov. 17, 1958, midnight
S1E8 - Small Cargo
Mike and Jerry are taking some freight on a long haul, but when they look in the back of their truck they find out they've also got some small cargo-- 2 frightened youngsters as stowaways. It seems they're running away from their uncle, who is on the wrong side of the law. Mike makes sure their evil uncle never hurts the kids again.
Dec. 1, 1958, midnight
S1E9 - The Green-Eyed Monster
Jerry is just like one of the family at Mike Malone's house. But since Jerry is more like a buddy to Mike's kids Butch and Ginny, while sometimes Mike has to be a strict father, Mike begins to feel his kids like Jerry better than him. However, everything's fine by the end of the show, and they're all one big, happy family again.
Dec. 8, 1958, midnight
S1E10 - Moose Hunt
There are some funny complications when Mike and Jerry are trucking during moose hunting season.
Dec. 15, 1958, midnight
S1E11 - Shock
There's a new parts manager for C & A Transport: Ben Handley. Mike and Jerry wind up taking Ben along on a run; Ben doesn't seem to know much about trucks or mechanics, and he seems to have an alcohol problem. But when they come across a bad traffic accident on the road, Ben Handley gives first aid to the injured motorist-- long ago, Handley had been a doctor. Later, Mike gets Handley a job as a C & A company doctor.
[goof: it would help make the show more authentic if the doc knew how to pronounce the word ""defibrillator"" correctly.]
Dec. 29, 1958, midnight
S1E12 - Nitro Haul
Mike and Jerry have a dangerous load this time, nitro glycerin to be used by a fuel company drilling for oil.
Jan. 5, 1959, midnight
S1E13 - The Girl at Joe's Place
While out on the road doing a long haul, Mike and Jerry stop at Joe's place for coffee. Mike is a happily married man, but Jerry is single and looking. Jerry falls for the pretty waitress, May, and they become romantically involved. But Jerry doesn't know that May has a past that she is not telling him about.
Jan. 12, 1959, midnight
S1E14 - The Attack
When Mike and Jerry haul some valuable cargo, they find themselves under attack by some would-be hijackers.
Jan. 19, 1959, midnight
S1E15 - Sauce for the Goose
Mike and Jerry wind up hauling some high-powered fuel for an airplane called the Flying Goose.
[Airplanes named ""Goose"": Eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes once had his Hughes Aircraft Company make the ""Spruce Goose""-- the largest wood-constructed and the largest wingspan airplane ever built. Originally designed in 1942, it was powered by 8 Pratt & Whitney 3,000 horsepower engines. Howard Hughes piloted the Spruce Goose on its only flight: Nov. 2, 1947, in Long Beach Harbor, Los Angeles.]
Jan. 26, 1959, midnight
S1E16 - Mark Time
A fellow truck driver at C & A, Frank Peters, is going through a rough time-- first his son died, and then his wife left him. This causes him to miss work, and not do a good job when he does work. When Frank gets fired, and C & A assigns his freight to Mike Malone, Frank blames Mike for his problems. But Mike's son Butch tells Frank how Mike helped him all he could, and covered for him at work; it was Frank's poor job performance that got him canned. Frank decides to accept responsibility for his own actions, and turns his life around.
Feb. 2, 1959, midnight
S1E17 - The Dog
Mike and Jerry find a stray dog on the road and try to find its rightful owner.
Feb. 9, 1959, midnight
S1E18 - Butch
Mike's son Butch has been getting some poor grades in school. Mike has to be strict with him. Later, they patch things up and Butch says he wants to be a trucker when he grows up.
Feb. 16, 1959, midnight
S1E19 - Fallout
Mike has a really hot load to haul this week: radioactive Iridium-192, which is used principally in industry, to detect small cracks in large metal pipes pumping liquids. The stuff is potentially deadly if it fell out of the protective lead box it's in. Mike delivers the load in good condition, and on time.
[scientific note: Iridium-192 is a radioisotope with a half-life of 72 days. So after 72 days, only 1/2 is still radioactive; after another 72 days, only 1/4; then 1/8th, and so on.]
Feb. 23, 1959, midnight
S1E20 - The Necklace
When a valuable necklace turns up missing, Mike and Jerry retrace their route to find out who could have taken it.
March 2, 1959, midnight
S1E21 - Undercover
Mike can't believe it when Jerry is accused of stealing on the job, and gets fired. Even stranger is the fact that Mike can't get any explanations from the managers at C & A, or Jerry himself. Mike does some investigating, and finds out Jerry is really working undercover to catch the ones who have been stealing freight from C & A.
March 9, 1959, midnight
S1E22 - Nanette
An old girlfriend of Jerry's, named Nanette, shows up and wants to get together with Jerry again.
March 16, 1959, midnight
S1E23 - Big Buck
Big Buck Harris is an independent trucker, and they are sometimes at odds with the truckers from C & A. Big Buck is also an incorrigible practical joker. After Big Buck puts one over on Mike and Jerry, they decide to get even-- and it's Mike and Jerry who get the last laugh.
March 23, 1959, midnight
S1E24 - The Little Old Man
When Mike and Jerry come across a little old man on the road, it turns out he has a past that surprises both of them.
March 30, 1959, midnight
S1E25 - Marooned
When Mike and Jerry's truck breaks down in a desolate region of Canada, they find themselves marooned.
April 6, 1959, midnight
S1E26 - Lil's Place
There are many welcome truckstops along the highways, but when Mike and Jerry pull into Lil's place, a surprise awaits them.
April 13, 1959, midnight
S1E27 - Vendetta
Mike Malone served in the military during WWII. Mike had to discipline one of his men who kept shooting at enemy soldiers after they had already surrendered. Now a sailor who fits the description of that guy is looking for Mike, and it seems he might be out to settle an old score.
April 20, 1959, midnight
S1E28 - The Girl Reporter
When a new girl reporter for the newspaper wants to do a story on truckers, Mike and Jerry wind up getting unwanted publicity.
April 27, 1959, midnight
S1E29 - The Has-Been
Mike and Jerry pick up a hitchhiker on the road; the guy is big, like a wrestler. When they have a meal at a truckstop, they run into a boxer, and find out the hitchhiker is a former boxer himself. The boxer calls the hitchhiker a has-been, and challenges him to a fight.
May 4, 1959, midnight
S1E30 - Flying Dutchman
Mike and Jerry have a valuable load to haul this time: fur pelts. To make matters worse, there's a gang of thieves on the road. No sooner do they start their long haul, than there's a bullet in one of the 18 wheels on their rig. Mike and Jerry fight a treacherous gang and road hazards, but as always deliver the haul in good condition and on time.
May 11, 1959, midnight
S1E31 - Roadeo
In order to show off their skills, just like cowboys have a Rodeo, truck drivers have a Roadeo. Mike has already won the annual competition twice, and this year he wants Jerry to enter. Mike believes it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. However, not everyone believes in sportsmanship; one of the contestants is only interested in winning the prize money, and will stoop to sabotaging the other trucks in order to win.
May 18, 1959, midnight
S1E32 - Trip to Buffalo
Mike and Jerry make a scenic haul through Niagara Falls and wind up in Buffalo, New York.
May 25, 1959, midnight
S1E33 - Wild Party
In a change-of-pace episode, Mike and Jerry haul some equipment for a band, and after the gig a wild party ensues.
June 1, 1959, midnight
S1E34 - Ginny
Mike Malone puts the pedal to the metal to get home in time for Ginny's 10th birthday.
June 8, 1959, midnight
S1E35 - Racket
Mike and Jerry always have a steady paycheck by working for C & A trucking. One day they find out how rough some independent truckers have it, they learn of a crooked racket trying to exert protection money from them. Mike and Jerry work with the independent truckers to put the racketeers out of commission.
June 15, 1959, midnight
S1E36 - Driving School
After Jerry gets a couple of traffic tickets, and has a near-miss on the road, he is faced with having to take driving school.
June 22, 1959, midnight
S1E37 - Eye Witness
Mike and Jerry become eyewitnesses to a killing. They are determined to testify in court as to what they saw-- but in the meantime, Mike and Jerry wind up on the hit list of the gangsters. Mike and Jerry finally testify, and put the entire gang behind bars.
June 29, 1959, midnight
S1E38 - Snake Eyes
Some unscrupulous businessmen want Mike and Jerry to haul gambling equipment for them, but their scheme turns up snake eyes: a loser.
July 6, 1959, midnight
Network: CBC (CA)
Episode Runtime: 30 min.
Season Runtime: 30 min.
Released: Oct. 6, 1958
Last Air Date: July 6, 1959, midnight
Status: Ended
Certification: NR
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