Month: October 1976

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Ark II

The Robot

Ark IIThe Ark II crew enjoys a little bit of downtime. For Jonah, Ruth and Adam, this means fishing, though they’re slightly annoyed that their expert fisherman, Samuel, is spending his free time inside the Ark, working on his hobby project, a huge robot named Alpha-1 (or, to Samuel, “Alphie”). When toxic gas is detected in the air, and Jonah and his friends see strange behavior in people exposed to the gas, the vacation is over. Jonah orders Samuel to shut Alphie down because there’s serious work to be done. Alphie has other ideas, however, and escapes from the Ark. Now Jonah has to contend with a toxic gas and an escaped robot on the loose, either one of which could do serious harm.

The Slaveswritten by Chuck Menville and Len Janson
directed by Ted Post
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael and Horta-Mahana

Cast: Terry Lester (Jonah), Jean Marie Hon (Ruth), Jose Flores (Samuel), Al Dunlap (Brant), Elizabeth Cheshire (Nestra), Lou Scheimer (voice of Adam / voice of Alphie)

Notes: If Alphie looks familiar, it’s because he’s as close as anything in Ark II gets to being a genuine sci-fi icon: he’s better known as “Robby the Robot,” an invention of MGM’s prop shop for the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet. He has appeared in dozens of other productions since, including Lost In Space, Twilight Zone, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Ark II’s Filmation stablemate Space Academy.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Classic Season 14 Doctor Who

The Hand of Fear

Doctor WhoThe TARDIS arrives in a desolate, rocky landscape – which the Doctor and Sarah realize, only too late, is actually a rock quarry. Sirens go off to signal imminent blasting, and the time travelers fail to get far enough away from the blast. The Doctor and Sarah survive, but Sarah finds something unusual and perhaps even alien: something which appears to be a petrified severed hand. Though she was only slightly injured by the blast at the quarry, Sarah soon begins to exhibit strange and dangerous behavior, even walking into the core of a nuclear reactor. As it turns out, she has been possessed by an entity known as Eldrad, whose quest for revenge upon her native world of Kastria is boundless – and who won’t hesitate to sacrifice the lives of everyone around her to achieve that aim.

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Bob Baker & Dave Martin
directed by Lennie Mayne
music by Dudley Simpson

Guest Cast: Roy Pattison (Zazzka), Roy Skelton (Rokon), David Purcell (Abbott), Renu Setna (Intern), Rex Robinson (Dr. Carter), Robin Hargreave (Guard), Glyn Houston (Professor Watson), Frances Pidgeon (Miss Jackson), Roy Boyd (Driscoll), John Cannon (Elgin), Judith Paris (Eldrad), Stephen Thorne (Eldrad), Libby Ritchie (Hospital Nurse)

Broadcast from October 2 through 23, 1976

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

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Season 2 Space: 1999

Brian The Brain

Space: 1999A gravitational force draws the Moon off of its course. Moonbase Alpha’s computer, which has already been acting strangely, can find no signs of whatever may be causing the anomaly. Koenig orders a full-scale evacuation, and another spacecraft approaches the Moon – an early version of the same Eagles used by Koenig and his crew. A voice hails them from that Eagle, introducing himself as the ship’s captain, but when the Eagle lands at Moonbase Alpha, there’s no sign of the Eagle’s crew – and the captain’s voice is coming from a mobile computer which christens itself Brian. Detaching himself from his Eagle’s control console, Brian pays a visit to Moonbase Alpha, making wisecracks at the crew and earning their trust. But while giving Koenig and Dr. Russell a tour of his Eagle, Brian takes off with them inside – threatening to kill them unless they help him acquire a new power source.

Order the DVDswritten by Jack Ronder
directed by Kevin Connor
music by Derek Wadsworth

Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Bernard Cribbins (voice of Brian / Captain Michael), John Hug (Fraser), Marc Zuber (Security lieutenant), Michael Sharvell-Martin (Brian robot), Annie Lambert (First operative), Yasuko Nagazumi (Yasko)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Electra Woman & Dyna Girl

Glitter Rock – Part 2

Electra Woman & Dyna GirlElectra Woman, Dyna Girl and King Alex escape from Glitter Rock’s trap, but they still haven’t recovered the jewel from the king’s key. Glitter Rock plans to use the rare gem to power a satellite that he will launch into orbit, broadcasting his mind-controlling rock ‘n’ roll to the entire world. After King Alex saves them from that mind control, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl fly the Electra Plane into the stratosphere to intercept the satellite.

written by Dick Robbins and Duane Poole
directed by Chuck Liotta
music not credited

Electra Woman & Dyna GirlCast: Deidre Hall (Lori / Electra Woman), Judy Strangis (Judy / Dyna Girl), Norman Alden (Frank Heflin), John Mark Robinson (Glitter Rock), Jeff David (Side Man), Michael Blodgett (King Alex)

Notes: The “satellite” is clearly a plastic model of an Apollo lunar lander; a similar model was used heavily in another Krofft series, Far-Out Space Nuts, which had aired the previous fall on CBS.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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4th Doctor Doctor Who The Audio Dramas

Exploration Earth: The Time Machine

Doctor Who: Exploration Earth / Genesis of the DaleksThe TARDIS tumbles backward billions of years, alarming the Doctor and Sarah. But the Doctor is able to show Sarah the origins of her planet, from the formation of the solar system to the beginnings of life itself. But they’re not the only visitors from another time there – an alien named Megron has arrived to bring chaos to the young planet Earth, possibly even to disrupt the history of human evolution.

Order this CDwritten by Bernard Venables
music by Dick Mills

Cast: Tom Baker (The Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), John Westbrook (Megron)

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green

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Star Maidens

The Trial

Star MaidensOn Medusa, while Fulvia is on Earth trying to recapture Adam and Shem, Rudi has been forced into the menial role of most the planet’s men and begins hatching a plan to escape. Liz, under the watchful eye of Octavia, is unable to help him. When Rudi decides to free some of the Medusan men at the same time he makes his escape attempt, he’s suddenly public enemy number one among the female ruling class. What he’s unprepared for, however, is how easily his fellow escapees surrender again when Octvaia demands it.

Star Maidenswritten by Ian Stuart Black
directed by Wolfgang Storch
music by Berry Lipmann

Cast: Lisa Harrow (Liz), Gareth Thomas (Shem), Christian Quadflieg (Rudi), Christiane Kruger (Octavia), Dawn Addams (Clara), Roland Astor (Troy), Clare Russell (Clara’s Assistant), Annette Lynton (Clara’s Assistant), Ann Maj Brit (Octavia’s Assistant), Susie Baker (Blonde Guard)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Gemini Man

Sam Casey, Sam Casey

Gemini ManSam almost misses going on vacation because he can’t find his wallet, which subsequently turns up in Intersect’s parking lot…but what he doesn’t know is that the wallet was stolen and bugged by an organization trying to infiltrate Intersect to assassinate Driscoll. On his vacation, Sam is drugged and left for dead; at Intersect, Sam appears, baffling Driscoll and Abby with his behavior. The real Sam escapes his predicament and places and emergency call to Driscoll, proving that the “Sam Casey” at Intersect is an impostor, surgically altered to look exactly like Sam. To get to the bottom of these events, Sam must impersonate his impersonator.

written by James D. Parriott
directed by Michael Caffey
music by Lee Holdridge & Mark Snow

Gemini ManCast: Ben Murphy (Sam Casey), Katherine Crawford (Abby Lawrence), William Sylvester (Leonard Driscoll), Nancy Malone (Armistead), Tony Young (Tanner), Jo Ann Pflug (Susi), Howard Stone (Robbins), Pamela Shoop (Barby), Mickey Morton (Alf), Leslie Moonves (Guard), Joan Crosby (Dora)

Notes: Abby refers to the health spa as a “fat farm”, a distinctly ’70s derogatory term for any health retreat specializing in weight loss. This episode of Gemini Man is one of the earliest scoring Gemini Manefforts by future X-Files composer Mark Snow. And yes, that’s Les Moonves, also early in his Hollywood career, in one of his few acting appearances before embarking on a very different career trajectory that would see him become the president of the CBS network. He also had minor acting roles in Barbary Coast and The Six Million Dollar Man.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Ark II

Omega

Ark IIJonah brings the Ark II to a screeching halt when he sees an old man laying in the dust. This man has escaped from a society that was thriving only three weeks ago, until the reactivation of a 21st century computer led to the entire community falling under the computer’s mind control. The computer, called Omega, has a much easier time taking over the minds of the young, but with more time and effort it can control anyone’s mind. Marcus is the last holdout, and his granddaughter is already under Omega’s control. Jonah makes it his mission to free these people by deactivating Omega at any price… but before he can even start, Omega already has control over Samuel.

The Flieswritten by Bill Danch & Jim Ryan
directed by Hollingsworth Morse
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael and Horta-Mahana

Cast: Terry Lester (Jonah), Jean Marie Hon (Ruth), Jose Flores (Samuel), Harry Townes (Marcus), Helen Hunt (Diana), Lou Scheimer (voice of Adam / voice of Omega)

Notes: Yes, it’s that Helen Hunt (of Mad About You fame), though it’s far from the young actress’ first role – she had been acting professionally for three years by the time of her appearance in Ark II. Veteran character actor Harry Townes was a fixture of the golden age of TV, guest starring in Twilight Zone, The Invaders, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, One Step Beyond, Inner Sanctum and Tales Of Tomorrow. He also appeared in The Outer Limits, the original Star Trek, Planet Of The Apes, Buck Rogers, and The Incredible Hulk. He died in 2001.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Electra Woman & Dyna Girl

The Empress Of Evil – Part 1

Electra Woman & Dyna GirlA cackling woman appears in the Electra-Base, telling Frank that she is the Empress of Evil, and she demands that he summon Electra Woman and Dyna Girl to stand before her. Not surprisingly, they decide to take on the Empress on their own terms, but before they can do so, Dyna Girl vanishes, kidnapped by the Empress and relieved of her wrist communicator. Electra Woman has to go it alone to save her, fully aware that she’s almost certainly walking into a trap.

written by Dick Robbins and Duane Poole
directed by Walter Miller
music not credited

Electra Woman & Dyna GirlCast: Deidre Hall (Lori / Electra Woman), Judy Strangis (Judy / Dyna Girl), Norman Alden (Frank Heflin), Claudette Nevins (The Empress), Jacquelyn Hyde (Lucretia)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 2 Space: 1999

New Adam, New Eve

Space: 1999As the Moon approaches a blue planet, the female crewmembers of Moonbase Alpha begin to feel strange effects. A robed man appears on the screen, and then in the middle of the Main Mission, claiming to be the being who created humanity. A skeptical Koenig asks the seemingly human being, Magus, to demonstrate his power by sending the Moon back to Earth, but Magus instead offers a new Earth. When Koenig, Dr. Russell, Tony and Maya go to investigate the planet’s surface, Magus makes that offer a demand: the landing party is to stay in his new garden of Eden, mate and produce offspring. But Magus has even decided who will be mated to whom, pairing Koenig with Maya and Tony with Dr. Russell. To force the issue, Magus even makes the Eagle vanish from its landing site. When they discover that there are male-female pair of other species stranded on the planet as well, Koenig and his crew are attacked by Magus. Cut off from any contact with Alpha, Koenig and the others must figure out how to unmask their new would-be god.

Order the DVDswritten by Terence Feely
directed by Charles Crichton
music by Derek Wadsworth

Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Guy Rolfe (Magus), Bernard Kay

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 1 Wonder Woman

Beauty On Parade

Wonder WomanA string of sabotage incidents at Fort Russell, Maryland, a vital point in the supply chain for the U.S. war effort, points toward a high-level security breach. Major Trevor believes that a top-secret project is the target, and he and Diana quickly realize that a traveling beauty contest – supposedly to raise the morale of American troops – could be providing perfect cover for the saboteurs. Diana goes undercover, joining the beauty contest, but it’s almost too late before she and Trevor realize that the secret project isn’t the target. President Eisenhower, due to arrive soon at Fort Russell, is the target, and they may be too late to stop someone from assassinating him.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Ron Friedman
directed by Richard Kinon
music by Artie Kane

Wonder WomanCast: Lynda Carter (Diana Prince / Wonder Woman), Lyle Waggoner (Major Steve Trevor), Richard Eastham (General Blankenship), Beatrice Colen (Etta Candy), Anne Francis (Lola Flynn), Dick Van Patten (Jack Wood), William Lanteau (Colonel Flint), Bobby Van (Monty Burns), Jennifer Shaw (Susan), Lindsday Bloom (Tina), Christa Helm (Rita), Paulette Breen (Mitzie), Linda Carpenter (Betsy), Eddie Benton (June), April Tatro (Betty Lou), Derna Wylde (Rosalie), Wayne Grace (Captain), Henry Deas (Stagehand), Bill Adler (Sentry), John David Yarbrough (Lieutenant)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Star Maidens

Test For Love

Star MaidensFollowing his escape attempt, Rudi is assigned to a menial labor detail. When he protests, he gets a quick and painful reminder that men on Medusa have no rights. Aware that she’s been given the freedom to move about freely on Medusa, Liz starts hatching a plan to escape by requesting a job as a commander in Medusa’s space patrol, which would give her access to her own ship. It’s her intention to conveniently have Rudi along as her personal “servant,” but sensing the set-up, Octavia assigns another man to serve Liz instead.

Star Maidenswritten by Ian Stuart Black
directed by Freddie Francis
music by Berry Lipmann

Cast: Lisa Harrow (Liz), Christian Quadflieg (Rudi), Christiane Kruger (Octavia), Dawn Addams (Clara), Veronica Lang (Nola), John Wyman (Ercule), Belinda Mayne (Zita), Clare Russell (Clara’s Assistant), Annette Lynton (Clara’s Assistant), Diana Weston (Guard)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Ark II

The Tank

Ark IIAs the Ark is on the move through a valley filled with the remnants of machines of war, Samuel and Adam spot a girl being chased by a ragtag band of scavengers. Jonah and Samuel rush to her aid, but are brought up short by an amazing sight: one of the seemingly abandoned tanks is on the move. The distraction doesn’t stop the scavengers, however: they kidnap the girl, go to her village and demand a heavy ransom – most of that village’s food crops for the next year in exchange for her safe return. Jonah notices that one of the village’s young men is the one who was driving the tank. Jonah and his team offer their help in rescuing the girl, but to do so, Jonah may have to overcome his aversion to using the tank as the weapon is was meant to be.

The Fliesteleplay by Mark Jones & Michael Prescott and Robert Specht
story by Mark Jones & Michael Prescott
directed by Ted Post
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael and Horta-Mahana

Cast: Terry Lester (Jonah), Jean Marie Hon (Ruth), Jose Flores (Samuel), Marhsall Thompson (Baxter), Chris Nelson (Zachery), Tony Ballen (Roman), Bonnie Van Dyke (Jewel), Lou Scheimer (voice of Adam)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Electra Woman & Dyna Girl

The Empress Of Evil – Part 2

Electra Woman & Dyna GirlWith Electra Woman and Dyna Girl out of the way, the Empress of Evil once again invades the Electra-Base, intent on doing away with Frank and the Crime Scope, which would allow her to embark on an unchecked crime spree. When Electra Woman finally frees herself and Dyna Girl from the Empress’ trap, the race is on to stop the Empress from carrying out her plans.

written by Dick Robbins and Duane Poole
directed by Walter Miller
music not credited

Electra Woman & Dyna GirlCast: Deidre Hall (Lori / Electra Woman), Judy Strangis (Judy / Dyna Girl), Norman Alden (Frank Heflin), Claudette Nevins (The Empress), Jacquelyn Hyde (Lucretia)

Notes: Claudette Nevins was also the voices of Judy Franklin and Nova in 1975’s animated series Return To The Planet Of The Apes, and guest starred in (among many others) M*A*S*H, Police Squad, Out Of This World, Lois & Clark, and JAG. Movie appearances included Star Trek: Insurrection and Sleeping With The Enemy.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 2 Space: 1999

The Mark Of Archanon

Space: 1999Alan Carter and a Moonbase Alpha geologist are mining much-needed minerals from beneath the moon’s own surface, and his expedition makes an astonishing find – two humanoid figures, perfectly preserved in some sort of suspended animation chamber. Alan touches the device and receives a nearly fatal shock. Dr. Russell and Tony Verdeschi arrive to take charge, but before any progress can be made in reviving the two mystery men, a cave-in occurs, forcing Tony and Alan to break into the chamber and rescue the two men before they’re crushed. As they recover quickly, Maya recognizes the rescued father and son as natives of Archanon, a planet whose residents are renowned for spreading peace across the galaxy. But the crew finds out too late that Pasc, the elder alien, has a disease unique to the Archanons, a disorder which results in violent impulses and actions. Worse yet, there’s every indication that Pasc has passed the disease on to his son.

Order the DVDswritten by Lew Schwartz
directed by Charles Crichton
music by Derek Wadsworth

Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), John Standing (Pasc), Michael Gallagher (Etrec), Veronica Lang (Lyra / Maurna), John Alkin (Johnson), John Hug (Fraser), Anthony Forrest (Carson), Raul Newey (Dr. Raul Nunez), Yasuko Nagazumi (Yasko)

LogBook entry by Earl Green