Soldier
Two soldiers rush into a man-to-man fight to the death in the future – but a freak electrical discharge sends one of them plunging back through time to the 20th century. The soldier mistakes a newspaper man’s knife for a weapon and guns him down, immediately drawing attention to himself. Police arrive at the scene and a fierce fight ensues – only to end abruptly when the soldier collapses in sudden pain. A criminal psychiatrist, Kagan, is asked to examine the soldier, with whom no one has been able to communicate since his arrest. Kagan finally breaks through and discovers the true nature – and origin – of his charge, he begins trying to coach him on the ways of life during peacetime. Just as the soldier is adjusting to the life of a human being, his enemy finds a way back to 20th century Earth, still seeking nothing less than the destruction of his mortal foe, regardless of who gets in the way.
written by Harlan Ellison
directed by Gerd Oswald
music by Harry Lubin
Cast: Lloyd Nolan (Kagan), Michael Ansara (Qarlo), Tim O’Connor (Tanner), Ralph Hart (Loren), Jill Hill (Toni), Allen Jaffe (Enemy), Marlowe Jensen (Sgt. Berry), Catherine McLeod (Abby Kagan), Ted Stanhope (Doctor)
Notes: After the release of the thematically similar movie The Terminator, writer Harlan Ellison filed a lawsuit against writer/director James Cameron over that movie’s similarities to this episode, leading to the on-screen credit in The Terminator acknowledging Ellison’s original story.
LogBook entry by Earl Green
Cast: Michael Aldridge (Professor Young), Patsy Rowlands (Mrs. Young), Phil Daniels (Raven), Shirley Cheriton (Naomi Grant), James Kerry (Bill Telford), Roger Milner (Ticket Collector)
which was eliminated – at least by name – by the British government in 1982, after existing for most of the 20th century. Ireland similarly abolished borstals (by name, if not necessarily by practice) in the 1960s; the only remaining borstals in operation in the 21st century are in India.
Jessica Marlowe arrives at space station Omega 76 to begin a tour of duty as the station’s second-in-command under uptight Captain Glenn, whose previous second-in-command left under mysterious (and much-gossiped-about) circumstances. She meets the station’s other personnel and spouses in rapid succession, including Ted and his wife Misty, the latter of whom has an oddly distant relationship with both her husband and their daughter, and Steve and Donna, both eager to move on to a better posting than Omega 76. Jessica, unable to have children of her own, quickly befriends Ted and his daughter, as Misty grows jealous of her presence. Glenn continually questions Jessica’s fitness for duty and her every suggestion, until she realizes that his relationship with her predecessor was more than just professional. She finds that her feelings for one of her new crewmates is entering that territory as well.
Victor Togunde (James), Jonny Jay (Trucker), Mike Stoyanov (Dr. Bot), Susan Currie (Steve’s Mom), Hart Keathley (Donna’s Baby), Anna Sophie Burglund (Star Angel), Sam Pancake (Saul), Katherine Ann McGregor (Janice), Julia E.L. Wood (Susan), Phillip Agresta (Crew Member), Kevin Beltz (Crew Member), Billy Brooks (Crew Member), Dan Burks (Crew Member), Melodi Hallenbeck (Crew Member), Marianne Heath (Crew Member), Matthew Horn (Crew Member), Shannon Jones (Crew Member), Alexander Koehne (Crew Member), Ilana Marks (Crew Member), Ken Koyasu Park (Crew Member), Jack Plotnick (Crew Member), Rachel Ward (Crew Member), Garrett Watts (Crew Member)