Turnabout

The travelers’ latest stop brings them to a male-dominated realm, where Liana is kidnapped by the local men. Sil-L returns to the base camp to lead Varian and the others to the futuristic city where Liana has been taken. The thuggish leader of this society is elusive when asked about Liana’s whereabouts, but soon Varian and his fellow travelers have a new problem: all of the men vanish into thin air, sucked into the inner workings of the computerized Complex that controls the city. The women, tired of being treated like slaves, have revolted and reprogrammed the Complex, though the computer immediately starts trying to correct its programming. Liana has been freed, and may now be the only chance her fellow travelers have to survive in a society that is now harshly dominated by women.

written by D.C. Fontana and Ken Kolb
directed by Victor French
music by Robert Prince

Cast: Jared Martin (Varian), Carl Franklin (Fred Walters), Ike Eisenmann (Scott Jordan), Katie Saylor (Liana), Roddy McDowall (Willaway), Joan Collins (Halyana), Paul Mantee (Morgan), Julie Cobb (Adrea), Beverly Todd (Conell), Charles Walker II (Orbil), Amy Joyce (Masel), The Felix Team (Sil-L)

Notes: Despite her seemingly pivotal role in the story, Liana isn’t seen much in this episode, reportedly due to actress Katie Saylor’s illness at the time. Joan Collins was still the queen of the guest stars at this point in her career, having already appeared in Star Trek, Space: 1999 and the first segment of the Hammer Studios film version of Tales From The Crypt; Dynasty was still four years away. Guest star Julie Cobb was married to episode director Victor French at the time of production. The Complex’s “robot” minions are a familiar prop: they’re the lower half of a studio camera pedestal, complete with casters to ensure smooth “dolly” movement of the camera across a studio floor… minus, of course, the upper half of the pedestal and the camera, making it unrecognizable to anyone who doesn’t work in a studio. Studio camera pedestals were also turned into robots on Quark.