Eel Nino

The Santa Ana winds blow an air of mystery into Baywatch. April and Manny are moving sweetly towards a serious relationship. They take out a dory one evening and catch a red tide, both reveling in the new experience. They are about to kiss when they are startled by some movement in the water and find a dead sea lion. Their romantic evening comes to a halt as they bring the sea lion to shore.

After another sea lion is found dead, Mitch is suspicious and brings them to the Aquarium to have it checked out. Dr. Meyers says the sea lions had massive heart failure, probably due to electrocution. She tells Mitch that during an earthquake a tank broke and an electric eel was lost. It was assumed that the eel would not survive in the ocean, but the marks on the sea lion proved that it might have. The marks also show that the eel grew to an enormous size, making its charge even more powerful and dangerous. Mitch rushes back to the beach to start a hunt for the eel before it does any more damage.

Meanwhile, Hobie also has his eye on April. Even though he knows that she likes Manny, he is determined to try for her too. Hobie asks her to go with him to the Cave of Sirens for an afternoon and April agrees, even though Lani warns her against it. Lani believes that April’s decisions are being swayed by the unusual Santa Ana winds. When they are at the caves April tells Hobie that she just wants to be friends, she really likes Manny. Just as they are about to head back to the beach, April feels something brush her leg, they turn and see the eel coming right at them with its jaws ready to snap. They climb onto a rock screaming for help. Luckily, Mitch had already started his search for the eel nearby and reaches them quickly. Trying to protect Hobie and April, Mitch puts himself in the path of the eel and they have a showdown to the death.

Written by…
Gillian Horvath
Directed by…
Douglas Schwartz