A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)

A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise) is the first episode of the television series Police Squad! It was written and directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker.

Guest Starring

 * Lorne Greene (special guest star)


 * Barbara Tarbuck as Mrs. Twice
 * Terry Wills as Jim Johnson
 * Terrence Beasor as Dr. Roland Zubatsky
 * Russell Shannon as Ralph Twice
 * Jimmy Briscoe as Cop
 * Kathryn Leigh Scott as Sally Decker

Special Guest Star
The special guest star Lorne Greene is introduced during the opening credits. Greene, wearing a trench coat, is thrown from a speeding car. He lands on the ground, then rolls over, wincing in pain and clutching his chest where a knife handle is protruding. He promptly expires in Police Squad! guest star fashion, setting the precedent for the immediate death of all special guest stars in the series.

Plot
Sally Decker (Kathryn Leigh Scott), a teller at the Acme Credit Union, murders her boss so she can steal money to pay her orthodontist the money she owed. She kills a customer and frames him for the murder. The Police Squad unit is called in to investigate the case; Lieutenant Frank Drebin is suspicious about the customer's guilt.

Recurring Gags

 * Tonight's special guest star: Lorne Greene, who is thrown out of a moving car with a knife in his chest, from which he quickly dies.
 * Next week's experiment: Some interesting experiments involving discarded swimwear.
 * Johnny's next customer: A priest wanting information on life after death.
 * Freeze frame gag: Frank Drebin and Ed Hocken laugh over a joke, and struggle to maintain the awkward poses as the credits roll.