Deadly Carnival

Mark’s services and unique abilities are called upon to help solve a murder when the body of a distance swimmer, who also happens to be a government informant, floats into the collection tank of a hydroelectric power plant. The victim’s last message indicated that he had been hired by the operator of a local carnival to prepare for a bank robbbery involving disabling the bank’s defenses from within after swimming up through a storm drain. Mark manages to work his way into the carnival with his natural abilities, and is quickly taking into the confidence of Moxie, the carnival operator, who’s planning something bigger than a bank robbery. But with his limited understanding of the dark side of human nature, Mark may not be the best choice for an undercover operation.

written by Larry Alexander
directed by Dennis Donnelly
music by Fred Karlin

Cast: Patrick Duffy (Mark Harris), Alan Fudge (C.W. Crawford), Sharon Farrell (Charlene Baker), Billy Barty (Moxie), Anthony James (Summersday), Sandy Barry (Carnival Attendee), Gino Baffa (Carnival Attendee), Donna Garrett (Student), Sean Morgan (Guard)

Notes: Moxie comments that Mark must have been underwater with no scuba gear for at least three minutes; in real life, that is how long actor Patrick Duffy – an experienced scuba diver in his own right – was able to hold his breath for Mark’s underwater scenes. This episode does not feature the Cetacean or any of its crew, and is not only the final episode of the series’ 13-episode order with NBC, but the only Man From Atlantis story in which the words “Man From Atlantis” are spoken onscreen. Patrick Duffy went on immediately to win the role of Bobby Ewing in the smash hit prime time soap Dallas, a role he played through the early 1990s and returned to in a 21st century revival. Duffy has also written an original novel based on The Man From Atlantis. Alan Fudge went on to guest star in Hill Street Blues, Lou Grant, Knight Rider, The Greatest American Hero, the 1980s Twilight Zone revival, L.A. Law, and Dark Skies; his last acting gig was providing voices for the computer game Star Wars: The Old Republic prior to his death in 2011.