Category: Wizards & Warriors

War has broken out between the kingdom of Camarand and Karteia. Prince Erik Greystone and his squire Marko visit King Baaldorf and offers his help in battle; the King sends him to the front lines. Upon hearing that Greystone will be joining the fight, the evil Prince Dirk Blackpool steals a magical monocle from his court wizard, Vector, and holds it hostage. Despite the wizards’ code of honor, which prevents practitioners of magic from killing, Vector is left with no choice but to dispatch a deadly demon at Blackpool’s request. Marko overcomes the demon and bests Blackpool’s younger brother in hand-to-hand combat. But Greystone forgets the cryptic warning given to him by Belldonna, a ghostly image of a beautiful woman that only he can see or hear, and is unable to prevent Blackpool from walking into Castle Baaldorf and kidnapping the Princess Ariel.

written by Don Reo
directed by Richard Colla
music by Lee Holdridge

Cast: Jeff Conaway (Prince Erik Greystone), Walter Olkewicz (Marko), Duncan Regehr (Prince Dirk Blackpool), Julia Duffy (Princess Ariel), Clive Revill (Vector), Ian Wolfe (Wizard Traquill), Julie Payne (Queen Lattinia), Randi Brooks (Bethel), Tim Dunigan (Geoffrey Blackpool), Jay Kerr (Justin Greystone), Thomas Hill (King Baaldorf), Christine de Lisle (Belldonna), George McDaniel (Hook), Robert Alan Browne (General), Phyllis Katz (Cassandra), David Ankrum (Robber), Michael Crabtree (Robber), Elyse Donalson (Woman), M.C. Gainey (Robber), Emerson Hall (Robber), Chuck Hicks, Fred Lerner,
George Marshall Ruge, Steven Strong, Steven Williams

Notes: The Kidnap and The Rescue – originally written as a single script titled The Rescue and then broken up into a two-episode cliffhanger at the request of CBS – were two halves of the pilot episode of Wizards & Warriors, which is the reason for the numerous elements that make little sense when The Unicorn Of Death aired the week before: The Kidnap depicts Prince Erik’s first visit to Castle Baaldorf and his first meeting with Princess Ariel. It also shows Blackpool confiscating Vector’s magical monocle, which he is missing in Unicorn. The Kidnap and The Rescue are also much darker than most of the rest of the series. Battle scenes seen at the beginning of The Kidnap were unused battle footage from the movie Excalibur, which was – handily enough – also produced by Warner Bros. Also be on the lookout for a young M.C. Gainey, who would later play the recurring role of “Mr. Friendly”, one of the Others ruling over the island in Lost.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Greystone’s quest to recover the kidnapped Princess Ariel from Dirk Blackpool isn’t going to plan. And that’s assuming that he even has a plan. Worse yet, the increasingly impatient King Baaldorf is becoming as much of a threat to their health as anything Blackpool has up his sleeve. En route to Blackpool’s castle, by way of Marko’s home town, Greystone discovers that the evil wizard Vector has deployed every trick in the book to stop them from rescuing Ariel. But Vector and Blackpool aren’t counting on Greystone’s sheer determination (or Marko’s ability to strangle a slime monster). And Greystone isn’t counting on Ariel’s sheer indifference at being rescued.

written by Don Reo
directed by James Frawley
music by Lee Holdridge

Cast: Jeff Conaway (Prince Erik Greystone), Walter Olkewicz (Marko), Duncan Regehr (Prince Dirk Blackpool), Julia Duffy (Princess Ariel), Clive Revill (Vector), Ian Wolfe (Wizard Traquill), Thomas Hill (King Baaldorf), Art LaFleur (Michael), Piper Perry (Lucille), Tara Perry (Margaret), Bobby Porter (Lendar), Toru Tanaka (Baaldorf’s Aide)

Notes: Ian Wolfe was always seated in his appearances as the wizard Traquill due to health issues at the time of filming. Bobby Porter, who has a long history as a stunt coordinator working on such shows as The A-Team, Tales From The Crypt, the American version of The Office and both TV episodes and movies in the Planet Of The Apes franchise, had a recurring role in the 1991 remake of Land Of The Lost and wore the metal suit of Andy the robot in the ’70s SF spoof Quark. There’s not a man alive who could strangle a slime monster.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Having survived life and death battles together, Greystone and Princess Ariel move on to something that the prince finds much more stressful: a simple picnic. Ariel has chosen to set up the picnic on the grounds of a haunted castle, and when her dog runs toward the castle, she and Greystone follow and become trapped inside. Naturally, it’s all a carefully laid trap that Vector has arranged, and the evil wizard is so certain that the happy couple is doomed that he begins bargaining with Prince Blackpool for his magical monocle. But with help on the way from Marko, Greystone isn’t ready to give up just yet.

written by Bill Richmond
directed by Bill Bixby
music by Lee Holdridge and Alf Clausen

Cast: Jeff Conaway (Prince Erik Greystone), Walter Olkewicz (Marko), Duncan Regehr (Prince Dirk Blackpool), Julia Duffy (Princess Ariel), Clive Revill (Vector), Julie Payne (Queen Lattinia), Thomas Hill (King Baaldorf)

Notes: This was the first credited composing assignment for Alf Clausen, who would move on to provide music for such shows as Moonlighting and Alf before becoming the resident composer for The Simpsons, scoring all but a handful of that show’s episodes over its 20+ year run.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Prince Blackpool’s sneak attacks have given away to something more aggressive: he has declared open war on Castle Baldorf. Greystone and Marko lead the defense from the front line, only to discover that Blackpool has added ballistic weaponry to his arsenal. Airborne explosives land at the feet of King Baldorf’s army, causing devastating damage, while Blackpool’s men don’t even have to advance. Worse yet, Blackpool’s cannon is sitting atop the Cliffs of Death, a climb that has killed many a man in peacetime. Greystone tries to lead a force of Baldorf’s best men to the cliff face, but Blackpool’s cannon fire drives them into retreat. Greystone and Marko set out to do the job themselves, with a little help from Greystone’s brother Justin – though Greystone worries about whether his brother will even show up. Greystone has a plan to make Blackpool’s cannon backfire, not only destroying the cannon but whatever force is amassed on the Cliffs of Death to fire it. Climbing the Cliffs will be a challenge. Getting back down alive will be nothing short of a miracle.

written by Don Reo
directed by Bill Bixby
music by Lee Holdridge and Alf Clausen

Cast: Jeff Conaway (Prince Erik Greystone), Walter Olkewicz (Marko), Duncan Regehr (Prince Dirk Blackpool), Julia Duffy (Princess Ariel), Clive Revill (Vector), Jay Kerr (Justin), Julie Payne (Queen Lattinia), Thomas Hill (King Baaldorf), Robert Gray (Injured Soldier), Robert Carnegie (Guard #4), Chris Hendrie (Guard #3), Warren Munson (Peasant), Alex Daniels (Blackpool’s Soldier), George Marshall Ruge (Blackpool’s Soldier), Lonnie Wun (Blackpool’s Soldier)

LogBook entry by Earl Green