Stop When Red Lights Flash
Passing through the small town of Docker Junction en route to an assignment, the Westins pull up behind a parked and apparently abandoned school bus whose red lights are nonetheless flashing. After confirming that no one is in or near the bus, Daniel drives around it, only to be given a ticket for doing so. Appearing in court that afternoon, Daniel balks at the exorbitant fine announced by the city judge, and grows suspicious when he discovers that the fine can be paid in cash only – no checks. Daniel doesn’t have that kind of cash on him, and he and Kate are promptly thrown in jail; he uses his one phone call to summon help from Walter Carlson at the Klae Institute. Worse yet, the police check the Westins’ vehicle for any signs of “contraband” that could result in an even higher fine, and they discover Daniel’s supply of faces and hands. Is the invisible man’s cover about to be blown by a small-town rigged court scam?
written by Seeleg Lester
directed by Gene Nelson
music by Pete Rugolo
Cast: David McCallum (Dr. Daniel Westin), Melinda Fee (Dr. Kate Westin), Craig Stevens (Walter Carlson), Roger C. Carmel (Judge Jones), Scott Brady (Sheriff Bentley), Frank Aletter (Charles Hooten), Eddie Firestone (Town Lush), Ted Hartley (Craig), Dean Santoro (Benoit), Kasey Rogers (Gert), Pearl Shear (Ethel), Harold Ayer (Jeb), John Furlong (Riley), Donald Elson (Compositor), Kristin Larkin (The Girl)
Notes: Roger C. Carmel is a face well known to Star Trek fans for repeatedly playing interplanetary con man Harry Mudd, a character who had the rare distinction of appearing in both the live action and animated versions of Star Trek.
LogBook entry by Earl Green
Cast: Pernell Roberts (Mike), Susan Brown (Marian), Kate Mulgrew (Susan), Steven Earl Tanner (Jude), John Ventantonio (Marc), David Lewis (Dr. Steiner), Harry Moses (Richard), and Herman
Columbo. She was later a series regular on the late ’80s hospital series Heartbeat, the short-lived early ’90s James Garner series Man Of The People, 2007’s The Black Donnellys, Cartoon Network’s live-action series NTSF:SD:SUV, and most recently was Red in the Netflix series Orange Is The New Black, though anyone reading this site likely knows her best from her seven-year stint as Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager, a role she reprised (with a promotion) in 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis. Alien Lover was a TV movie-of-the-week aired as part of the NBC Mystery Movie, an anthology series that ran from 1973 through 1978, usually leaning on crime/mystery stories, but occasionally dipping into – as was the case here – the paranormal.
Cast: David McCallum (Dr. Daniel Westin), Melinda Fee (Dr. Kate Westin), Craig Stevens (Walter Carlson), Helen Kleeb (Aunt Margaret), John Zee (Arnold), James Blendick (Sanders), Wayne Grace (Baldy), Wayne Taylor (Big Nose), Thom Carney (Mersky), Larry French (Tex), Jim Mills (Lawyer), Ray Ballard (Poker Player), G.J. Mitchell (Carter), Arline Anderson (Teller), Karl Lukas (1st Truck Driver), Mickey Gatlin (2nd Truck Driver), Gene Borkan (Cabbie), James Whitworth (Bruiser)
Cast: David McCallum (Dr. Daniel Westin), Melinda Fee (Dr. Kate Westin), Craig Stevens (Walter Carlson), Nancy Kovack Mehta (Caroline Klae), Farley Granger (Julian Klae), George Murdock (Captain Scopes), Peter Donat (Morgan Klae), Joe Maross (Ryan), Rayford Barnes (Pierce)
Notes: George Murdock would go on to play the recurring role of the doctor aboard the 1970s incarnation of Battlestar Galactica, and would gain further sci-fi infamy as the face of “God” in 1989’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, redeeming himself among Trek fans a year later as Admiral Hansen in the fan-favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation two-parter The Best Of Both Worlds. Peter Donat would resurface as the villain in another cult sci-fi classic, as recurring enemy Dr. Mordecai Sahmbi in the 1990s syndicated series Time Trax.
At Space Station Delta, the starship Altares is preparing for an unprecedented mission: the first manned interstellar mission, utilizing a photonic drive that will create a time dilation effect relative to Earth; any messages the Altares crew sends back from Alpha Centauri will reach the descendants of the mission controllers who helped launch the ship. The Altares is crewed by two families, and even the children are fully trained in the technical and scientific aspects of the mission.
written by Johnny Byrne
The Keeper Of Traken and the character of Nyssa), Into Infinity was made between the first and second seasons of Space: 1999. As the Altares plunges into the event horizon of the black hole toward the end of the show, a psychedelic sequence ensues which eerily anticipates – in great detail – the bizzaro ending of the 1979 Disney movie The Black Hole. The producers of the later movie were aiming for something cerebral, quasi-spiritual and ambiguous a la 2001: a space odyssey, but the similarities in the hallucinatory sequences near the end of Into Infinity and The Black Hole are striking.
Note: Airing over a month after the previous episode, Power Play features an unusual amount of continuity for an episode of a 1970s series: Pike learned of the Klae Resource from Morgan Klae, who was committed after his part in the attempted kidnapping depicted in 
Cast: David McCallum (Dr. Daniel Westin), Melinda Fee (Dr. Kate Westin), Craig Stevens (Walter Carlson), Charles Aidman (Dr. Nick Maggio), Terry Kiser (Petra Kolchak), Oscar Homolka (Chairman), Ina Balin (Katrina Storoff), Gene Dynarski (Vasil), Julie Rogers (Wendy), Sid McCoy (Anestheseologist), W.T. Zacha (Sergei), Karen Cobb (Nurse)
starring Ben Murphy, though the method of invisibility was retooled to utilized cheaper special effects. Craig Stevens (1918-2000) continued on to a steady string of guest starring roles through the late 1980s, though he remained best known for having been Peter Gunn. Melinda O. Fee remained active through the early 1990s, and David McCallum is, at the time of this writing, still Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard on NCIS, a role he has played since 2003; he has also appeared in Babylon 5, VR.5, and Jeremiah, and starred in the short-lived cult classic genre series Sapphire & Steel in the late 1970s. Far from being invisible, McCallum has been a fixture of the small screen on both sides of the Atlantic for more than 40 years.
Cast: Robert Culp (Sebastian), Gig Young (Dr. Hamilton), John Hurt (Mitri), James Villiers (Cyon), Majel Barrett (Lilith), Ann Bell (Anitra), Lindy Benson (Third Maid), Sally Farmiloe (Fourth Maid), Angela Grant (Butler), Penny Irving (First Maid), Gordon Jackson (Inspector Cabell), Michael Latimer (Co-Pilot), Vicki Michelle (Second Maid), Jenny Runacre (Sydna)
Notes: A familiar leading man at the movies and on TV, Robert Culp (1930-2010) appeared in such genre fare as The Man From U.N.C.L.E., guest shots as three different characters in the 1960s 
voice of the dragon in the 21st century Merlin series, and appeared as a mysterious iteration of the Doctor during the 50th anniversary year of 
Revered by his students (and by his art teacher girlfriend), college physics professor Nick Conrad’s strong sense of justice lands him in trouble. He’s present during a mob-organized attempted bank robbery, and when two of the three robbers are shot by bank guards, the third runs – until caught by Nick and handed off to the police. This puts Nick in the mob’s crosshairs, and after one of his student lab assistants is killed by a bomb meant for Nick, he himself is attacked by a hit man who has to leave Nick alive to evade capture. Nick is paralyzed from the waist down, and threats on his girlfriend’s life convince him to stand down as the state’s star witness in the bank robbery prosecution. Dejected and confined to a wheelchair, Nick sullenly returns to his classes and his physics research, which finally bears some fruit – metal than can store enough energy to move itself. Nick sets about building himself an exoskeletal, bulletproof suit that will restore his mobility and protect him…and sets about gathering information on his assailants. Nick’s first test of the Exo-Man suit results in the accidental death of a man he intended to deliver to the police, but not due to Nick’s own actions. It also proves to be a very flawed alpha test, as the suit’s speed, battery capacity and oxygen supply prove to be inadequate. Nick returns to the lab to make the necessary improvements, but does he plan to use the Exo-Man suit to help restore law and order…or to take justice into his own (now very powerfully augmented) hands?
teleplay by Henri Simoun and Lionel E. Siegel
Cast: Steve Lawrence (Mike Post), Char Fontane (Cindy Chappell), Don Stroud (Jack Fisk), Keenan Wynn (Winfield Root), Deborah Benson (Barbara Root), Ron Masak (Fred), Don Meredith (Rick Prince), Vicki Lawrence (Karen Prince), George Hamilton (David Belnik), Stella Stevens (Lucy), Fred Williamson (Al Roberts), Edward Andrews (Harry Flood), Patrick Collins (David Noonan), Harrison Page (George Boone), Robert Alda (Dr. Lewis), Nita Talbot (Rose Casey), Aarika Wells (Gilda), William Nuckols (Wally), Michael DeLano (Lou Atkins), Charlie Brill (Robert), John Karlen (Quinn), Frank R. Christi (Tony Packoe), H.M. Wynant (Fairmont), Anthony Palmer (T.C. Baker), Howard Honig (Sam Howard), Allen Williams (Riley), Parley Baer (Heaton), Sid Conrad (Whittington), Robert Karnes (Martin), Cameron Young (Fenner), Sylvester Words (Porter), Orin Cannon (Stationmaster), Chuck Mitchell (Big Ed), Bert Conway (Workman)
Notes: Intended to be a sort of futuristic version of The Love Boat, Supertrain was a dazzlingly expensive disaster for NBC. It was initially produced, and its pilot directed, by Dan Curtis, producer and director of such TV cult classics as Dark Shadows and the pair of TV movies that led to Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Supertrain’s impressive-for-the-time miniature model work and its matching full-size “futuristic train” standing sets made it the most expensive television series in history to date, but its plunging post-pilot-movie ratings saw NBC pulling the plug after multiple attempts to retool and reschedule. This by itself would’ve simply been expensive, but when paired with the extravagant money that NBC put on the table for the U.S. broadcast rights to the 1980 Summer Olympics (a cost it then had to eat when the United States boycotted the Olympics, held that year in Moscow), it nearly bankrupted the network. 
Had Supertrain run to a full season, the expense involved in the sets and miniatures would have been amortized over the budgets of 20-odd episodes. As it is, the show lasted ten hours, meaning that fully half a million dollars of each episode’s budget was spent on those sets and effects. The custom model footage shows Supertrain running on wider-gauge tracks than a standard railroad, though many of the railroad POV shots were obviously filmed on a normal-gauge railroad. Additionally, though the “running firefight atop the cars of a moving train” is a staple of American TV and cinema, the tornado-speed movement of Supertrain should make such a scenario physically impossible (unless, of course, the script calls for it). Supertrain!
Cast: Edward Andrews (Harry Flood), Patrick Collins (David Noonan), Harrison Page (George Boone), Robert Alda (Dr. Lewis), Nita Talbot (Rose Casey), Aarika Wells (Gilda), William Nuckols (Wally), Michael DeLano (Lou Atkins), Charlie Brill (Robert), Dick Van Dyke (Waldo Chase), Larry Linville (Jack Nordoff), Barbara Rhoades (Myra Nordoff), Keith Mitchell (Rodney), Rachel Jacobs (Daphne), Byron Morrow (Farrell), Lou Krugman (Cabbie), Valorie Armstrong (Airline Employee), Al Hansen (Motor Cop), Anthony Palmer (T.C. Baker), Cameron Young (Fenner), Frank McCarthy (Detective), Jack O’Leary (Salesman), Kenneth White (Tex), Casey Brown (Stewardess), Fritz Reed (The Maitre’d), Lee Stein (Young Man), Bill Smillie (Chicago Cabby), Mary Ellen O’Neill (Cleaning Lady), Don Delaney (Waiter), Alfred Mariorenzi (Desk Sergeant)
Notes: The second episode is a marked improvement over the first, if only for the (guest) star power on display, and the fact that it’s only an hour long. Dick Van Dyke needed no introduction to TV audiences, having starred in his own sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke show, from 1961 through 1966. After several years of steady work, most recently (at the time) a stint on the Carol Burnett Show, he was exploring both comedic and dramatic guest roles in prime time, and this one was distinctly unnerving. Opposite Van Dyke is Larry Linville (1939-2000), one of the founding cast members of the long-running sitcom M*A*S*H, on which he played the uptight Major Frank Burns from 1972 through 1977. The episode’s title comes from the Anglicized lyrics to “Auld Lang Syne”. Supertrain!
Cast: Edward Andrews (Harry Flood), Patrick Collins (David Noonan), Harrison Page (George Boone), Robert Alda (Dr. Lewis), Nita Talbot (Rose Casey), Aarika Wells (Gilda), William Nuckols (Wally), Michael DeLano (Lou Atkins), Charlie Brill (Robert), Paul Sand (Barney Sweet), Mary Louise Weller (Ali), Michael V. Gazzo (Menkton), Nehemiah Persoff (Max), Steven Franken (Flex), Fred Sadoff (Royal Guard), Kenneth Mars (Turley), Alba Francesca (Theresa), Paul Tuerpe (Royal Subject), Shauna Sullivan (Passenger), Annie Starr (Passenger), David Wiley (Passenger)
Cast: Edward Andrews (Harry Flood), Patrick Collins (David Noonan), Harrison Page (George Boone), Robert Alda (Dr. Lewis), Nita Talbot (Rose Casey), Aarika Wells (Gilda), William Nuckols (Wally), Michael DeLano (Lou Atkins), Charlie Brill (Robert), Loretta Swit (Alice Phillips), Scott Brady (Forbes), Victor Buono (Misto), Roy Thinnes (William Phillips / Eddy Barnes), Billy Barty (Mick), Joe Gieb (Mack), Michael Minor (Passenger), Woody Eney (Passenger), John Shubeck (himself), Kelly Lange (herself), Warren Olney (himself)
Notes: Unusually, Supertrain uses real NBC news reporters in a fictional setting, a practice that always raises discussion among employees and management of a news operation. It’s worth noting that Supertrain was the pet project of NBC’s then-president and CEO, Fred Silverman, who likely had the clout to overcome any such objections from within NBC News. Victor Buono (1938-1982) had recently appeared as the recurring villain, Mr. Schubert, on 
Cast: Edward Andrews (Harry Flood), Patrick Collins (David Noonan), Harrison Page (George Boone), Robert Alda (Dr. Lewis), Nita Talbot (Rose Casey), Aarika Wells (Gilda), William Nuckols (Wally), Michael DeLano (Lou Atkins), Charlie Brill (Robert), Dennis Dugan (Jack Hogarth), Randee Heller (Tammy Tyler), Sylvia Sidney (Agatha), Noah Hathaway (Kid), Timothy Carey (Anderson), Mills Watson (Clyde), Bo Hopkins (O’Toole)
Notes: Noah Hathaway was also, at the time this episode aired, appearing on Battlestar Galactica as Boxey. Dennis Dugan appeared numerous times on Hill Street Blues, Moonlighting, and M*A*S*H, and briefly starred in his own series, Dennis Brockleman, Private Eye, a year before Supertrain premiered. He has since become the director of such movies as Grown Ups, Jack And Jill, and You Don’t Mess With The Zohan. He also directed numerous TV shows in the 1990s, including episodes of NYPD Blue, Picket Fences, and Shasta McNasty. Supertrain!
Cast: Edward Andrews (Harry Flood), Patrick Collins (David Noonan), Harrison Page (George Boone), Robert Alda (Dr. Lewis), Tony Danza (Snelling), Jamie Farr (Peters), James Gregory (Griswald), Bernie Kopell (Marshall), Mako (Kirby), Isabel Sanford (Reba Beeson), Vic Tayback (Tuttle), Joyce DeWitt (Natalie)
montage of previous episodes’ footage, heavily solarized, and a virtual who’s-who of late ’70s TV stars, including Joyce DeWitt (Three’s Company), Jamie Farr (M*A*S*H), Isobel Sanford (The Jeffersons), Bernie Kopell (The Love Boat) and such future household names as Vic Tayback (Alice), Mako and Tony Danza (Who’s The Boss?). This was only Danza’s second appearance on TV. 
Nearly two thirds of the show’s regular cast, many of whom had seldom appeared since the pilot movie, have been jettisoned from the opening credits and from the show itself. Supertrain!