The Crystals

Buck, Wilma and Hawk journey to the volcanic planet of Phibocetes to look for crystals needed to recharge the Searcher’s engines. Dr. Goodfellow believes the crystals can be found here, and Hawk finds one near a mummified humanoid coated with volcanic ash. Buck stays on the planet to begin preparations to mine the crystals as Wilma and Hawk return to the Searcher with the crystal sample, and Buck discovers a human female who seems to have no memory. By the time Wilma and Hawk return with a mining team from the Searcher, Buck has named the girl Laura but hasn’t been able to get her to remember anything else about herself. The Searcher crew members are repeatedly attacked by a large creature which steals the crystals they’ve mined, and sensors show that the being has the same body chemistry as Laura. Crichton discovers evidence that Laura and the creature are of the same race, but one which devolves from a human form into something more like the creature. Both of them share a strange, obsessive attachment to any of the crystals that are unearthed. Crichton also suggests that this could be the result of a virus that may be endangering the entire crew.

written by Robert Mitchell & Esther Mitchell
directed by John Patterson
music by Donald Woods

Cast: Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers), Erin Gray (Colonel Wilma Deering), Thom Christopher (Hawk), Jay Garner (Admiral Asimov), Wilfred Hyde-White (Dr. Goodfellow), Felix Silla (Twiki), Jeff David (voice of Crichton), Amanda Wyss (Laura), Sandy-Alexander Champion (Chief Petty Officer Hall), Alex Hyde-White (Lt. Martin), James Parkes (Kovick), Gary Bolen (Johnson), Leigh C. Kim (Petrie), Hubie Kerns Jr. (Mummy Monster)

Notes: This episode sees – or perhaps hears – the return of Mel Blanc as the voice of Twiki. Guest star Alex Hyde-White, seen here in a very small role, is the son of Wilfred Hyde-White and later appeared as Nightwatch recruiter Pierce Macabee in the Babylon 5 episode In The Shadow Of Z’Ha’Dum, as well as in the role of Reed Richards in an unreleased, Roger Corman-produced 1994 film version of Fantastic Four. Although the junior Hyde-White plays Lt. Martin here, he plays the role of Ensign Moore only two episodes later.