The One With… the humongous runaway machine.
The new Crablogger, a vast self-propelled logging and wood-processing machine, is about to undertake its first job; a straightforward processing run through the South American rainforest. However, the crew is struck down by some truly terrible cooking and the system can only be shut down manually. Filled with highly-explosive fuel, the Crablogger is on a collision course with the village of San Martino and the nearly-complete San Marino Dam! While Scott, Virgil and Brains try to save the unconscious drivers, Lady Penelope is charged with finding Jim Lucas, the creator of the Crablogger and the only other man who knows the complex shutdown procedure, before it's too late.
- Abandon Ship: Virgil and Brains's first job on gaining access to the runaway Crablogger is to administer first aid to the crew and evacuate them as there is no guarantee Lady Penelope will get the shutdown sequence in time to stop the machine before it crashes.
- Awesome, but Impractical: The Crablogger can cut down a tree in seconds and even process said tree into finished materials. However, one of those products will explode if the tank is not emptied regularly.
- Big Dam Plot: The Crablogger threatens to blow up a dam if it is not shut down and emptied in time.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Despite thousands of lives depending on her finding the Crablogger's inventor and retreiving the shutdown procedure from him, Lady Penelope can't help herself to stop along the way to help the victim of a car crash.
- Continuity Nod: Parker's days as a burglar are brought up again when he and Lady Penelope need access to Jim Lucas' house.
- The Food Poisoning Incident: what kicks off the entire plot.
- Hairpin Lockpick: When they finally reach Jim Lucas' house, Parker requests one of Lady Penelope's hairpins to give them access. A Continuity Nod since he used the same trick in "Vault of Death".
- Lethal Chef: Though, more a Lethal Kitchen, than Chef.
- No OSHA Compliance: The Crablogger is an atomic-powered logging machine which will blow up with enough energy to rupture a dam if not emptied regularly and can only be shut down through a complicated procedure that is known by only three men (not to mention, it takes upwards of five minutes to complete the procedure). It makes you wonder who the heck approved of this design and why a red "emergency stop" button was too simple, then anyone could have stopped it should the controllers have been indisposed.
- Runaway Vehicle: The Crablogger.
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Values Dissonance: Let's just say that in the 21st century the idea of a machine that can clear cut whole forests in a day or so is not seen as quite as good a thing as it was in 1966.
