Saturday Night is the 14th episode of the 9th Season of Walker, Texas Ranger. It aired February 10, 2001.
Local crooner Frank Bishop is the proud owner of a nightclub known as Frank’s Spot, but when he opened it for business, he borrowed money from Sonny Martone, an enforcer for a crime boss named Tony Ferrelli. Bishop was about to have his loan paid off, but even after everything is paid for, the Ferrelli gang insists that he give them ownership of the club by Saturday night. In their money laundering operation, it’s not just Frank's club the Ferrelli organization plans to take over— they plan to take over pretty much every business in all of North Texas, legitimate or not. Bishop, refusing to bend the rules, enlists the Rangers’ help to save his club and put Ferrelli and his gang away for good.
Tropes seen in this episode:
- Acid Pool: This is what the Ferrelli Crime Family and their enforcers use on their victims if they refuse to do business with them. Ollie Olmedo becomes its first victim during the prologue of the episode and the third victim to take an acid bath that month overall, Trivette nearly ends up in it while disguised as a pimp named Luther while the real Luther flees Dallas to Miami (lucky thing Eddie Coburn doesn’t know what Luther looks like, and much to Trivette’s chagrin, his gun was dropped in it), and a possible fourth victim overall nearly ends up taking an acid bath until he is rescued by Gage and Sydney and Eddie Coburn is arrested, but he refuses to talk.
- And Your Little Dog, Too!: Ferrelli is even willing to hurt Frank’s family if he doesn’t give in to his demands.
- Anyone Can Die: So far, in this episode, the only person killed is a small-time bookie named Ollie Olmedo. He was the first victim of the episode overall to be bumped off by Ferrelli and his gang, having been dropped in a vat of acid, and he was the third guy that month to be given the acid bath, with two others having faced that same fate offscreen.
- Big Bad: Tony Ferrelli.
- Co-Dragons: Sonny Martone, Billy Ferrelli, Eddie Coburn, Chachi, Satch, Al, Paulie Bannon and Carlos Gower. According to the feds, Sonny is second-in-command of the gang, while Gower, Bannon and Billy are three of its underbosses (Billy being the younger brother of Tony). Chachi and Satch run the prostitution game for the crime family, which is why they want to claim ownership of Frank’s club, since they need a cash-heavy business for their money laundering. Eddie Coburn dishes out the punishments to those who say "no" by giving them an acid bath. While Sonny is the main target for the Rangers in helping Frank save his club, Walker, wanting to put the whole organization away, has a much bigger target in mind: Tony Ferrelli.
- Contrived Clumsiness: While Sydney is planting a Hidden Wire in Sonny’s office, Gage sees him come back inside and intentionally spills drinks on Sonny to distract him. Sydney escapes the office in time before Sonny could catch on.
- Hidden Wire: Frank is insisting on wearing a wire to help the Rangers bust Tony Ferrelli and his gang, while Gage and Sydney infiltrate the club as, respectively, a bartender and a cocktail waitress. In addition to Frank’s hidden wire, they also have some bugs to plant, too: one in the bar, one in Frank’s dressing room, one for the VIP Table and one for Sonny’s office (able to quickly do so while Sonny steps out for a moment and Gage needs to distract him should he return). Al notices the hidden wire Frank was wearing and was about to tell Sonny, but Gage and Sydney arrested him before he could. Frank didn’t have to do it, but he wanted to for himself, for his club and for his family.
- I Don't Like the Sound of That Place: .38 Special, a bar named for a gun, where Trivette meets up with a few johns and prostitutes while posing as Luther, but his disguise doesn’t last very long, since a criminal he busted three years prior for drug charges recognized him and wants revenge. Trivette ends up arresting him again for assault.
- The Infiltration: Sydney and Gage are sent in undercover at the club as a cocktail waitress named Donna and a bartender named Joey, respectively, while Frank agrees to wear a wire to try to bust the Ferrellis. Pretty fitting, since Gage worked as a bartender to pay his way through college and he knows the ins and outs of tending bar when quizzed by Sonny.
- Laser-Guided Karma: With Frank's testimony against Sonny for extortion, and the entire gang for money laundering, the Tony and his organization are put away for life.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: After the threats he and his family faced from Ferrelli and his gang, Frank is willing to risk his life and to help the Rangers bust them all. When Al enters his dressing room and catches him wearing a wire, he gets some assistance from Gage to take him down before he could tell Sonny what was going on.
- The Mafia: The Ferrelli Organization to a "T"!
- Papa Wolf: Frank to a “T” when the Ferrelli gang threatens to harm his wife, Denise and daughter, Roberta, who is bound for college in the fall, demanding that Tony leave his family out of his problem.
- Read the Fine Print / Tricked into Signing: When Frank opened his club, Sonny Martone lent him money to keep it in business, but Frank failed to look at the small print. Frank was desperate and signed the contract, and now, the club is doing turn-away business. That weekend before the episode began was Frank’s final payment, but the Ferrelli gang still wants to take over the club.
- Shame If Something Happened: The threat Tony Ferrelli and his gang make against Frank’s wife and daughter one night before a show when Sonny pays a visit, which prompts Walker to look into what the Ferrelli gang has planned for him.
- Shout-Out: When Trivette meets a few prostitutes and johns at a bar known as the .38 Special, this exchange occurs:John: You know, you missed your calling. You should've been a comedian.
Trivette: Yeah, well, Eddie Murphy talked me out of it. He said pimping pays better. - Siblings in Crime: Tony and Billy Ferrelli. The elder brother is the big boss of the Ferrelli organization while the younger is one of three underbosses.
- Special Guest:
- Shown in the Episode Title Card: Frank Stallone as Frank Bishop, John Mariano as Sonny Martone (one of the enforcers of the Ferrelli gang), Billy Sly Williams as Luthor (a pimp who escaped from the Ferrelli gang to Miami, with Trivette undercover assuming his identity), Rick Aiello as Chachi (one of the enforcers of the Ferrelli gang), Denise Gentile as Ellen Bishop (the wife of Frank Bishop) and Tony Lo Bianco as Tony Ferrelli (the big boss of the Ferrelli crime gang and the principal Big Bad of the episode).
- Big Band: Clark Barrios, Bob Burnham, Fred Domulot, Mark Bennett Ellis, Dennis Greller, Dalton Hagler, Bob Heller, Ken Moskowitz, Kim Platko, Chris Rottmayer, Rose Rottmayer, Jay Saunders, James Sims, Marilyn Turney, Gary Underwood, Paul Vesco
- Title Drop: Frank’s song, not to mention the deadline Ferrelli’s gang gives him to sign over ownership of the club to them.
- Unwilling Suspension: Ferrelli and his goons tie the victim's hands behind their backs and hang them by their ankles when they lower them into the Acid Pool.
