Tag: NBC

Categories
Invisible Man

Power Play

The Invisible ManA gunman dressed as a Klae Corporation security guard enters Walter’s office and pulls a gun on him, demanding to know the secret of the Klae Resource. The man, who identifies himself as Pike, is unusually well-informed, claiming to have gotten his information from Morgan Klae himself, but intends to control the world by using the Klae Resource for his own gain. Walter stalls for time, but Pike eventually forces his way into the Westins’ lab and holds them hostage until he learns the truth: one of the two men he’s holding at gunpoint is invisible. But which one? And how can Dan salvage the situation when he’s being watched by a nervous gunman?

written by Leslie Stevens
directed by Alan J. Levi
music by Pete Rugolo

Cast: David McCallum (Dr. Daniel Westin), Melinda Fee (Dr. Kate Westin), Craig Stevens (Walter Carlson), Monte Markham (Pike)

The Invisible ManNote: 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 The Klae Dynasty. (Considering that this is the second episode in a row in which Klae Corporation’s on-site security force has been compromised, one wonders if the Corporation does any kind of background checks.) With only one guest actor, and using only two standing sets, Power Play was an attempt to bring an episode of The Invisible Man in at a very low cost. Though this episode is not a clip show, brief excerpts from the pilot movie, Barnard Wants Out, and Stop When Red Lights Flash are seen on the “computer screens”.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Invisible Man

An Attempt To Save Face

The Invisible ManDan Westin’s old friend, Dr. Nick Maggio, was the man who gave him a new face after Dan became invisible…and now he is summoning Dan and Kate to a hospital in Chicago under mysterious circumstances. When the Westins arrive, Maggio explains that he has been brought in to perform a secret facelift on the chairman of an Eastern Bloc country, but that members of the chairman’s entourage have now sequestered Maggio’s would-be patient away…and are keeping Maggio under round-the-clock guard. Dan goes on an invisible intelligence-gathering mission, learning that there are two rival factions among the chairman’s entourage: one faction wants him returned home without the facelift, and the other wants to assassinate him and blame his death on American doctors. Short on time, a plan is devised to put Dan’s face mask on the chairman to get him out of harm’s way…but the longer it takes to put the plan into action, the more goes wrong with it.

teleplay by James D. Parriott and Leslie Stevens
story by Leslie Stevens
directed by Don Henderson
music by Pete Rugolo

The Invisible ManCast: 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)

Note: Though there are broad (and somewhat stereotypical) hints that the chairman is the leader of the Soviet Union, the script remains vague, not narrowing things down any more than “the Eastern Bloc”. This was the final episode of The Invisible Man to be produced or aired, but was far from the final outing for the concept of an invisible spy. The following year, NBC premiered Gemini Man, a virtually identical series The Invisible Manstarring 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.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Man From Atlantis Movies

Man From Atlantis

Man From AtlantisAn adult, seemingly human, male washes up on the beach among seaweed and other flotsam after a storm, and is rushed to a nearby hospital, where his oddly mottled skin, webbed hands and feet, unusual eyes, and especially his apparent inability to breathe pure oxygen have emergency doctors stymied. Dr. Elizabeth Merrill of the Foundation for Oceanic Research notes the man’s unusual conditions are more akin to sea life than life on land, and suggests returning him to the ocean. Once in the water, his health is restored. A fascinated Dr. Merrill continues to study him, finding that while he tires quickly on land, he has enormous strength under the water, and can dive to depths of tens of thousands of feet. He can also, with intense concentration, exert his willpower onto human beings. She concludes, not entirely jokingly, that he may be the last citizen of the lost underwater civilization of Atlantis.

But when the Navy catches wind of Dr. Merrill’s research, a Navy Admiral begins hatching plans for the unusual man from the sea – given the nondescript human name Mark Harris – to take on hazardous undersea bomb and mine disposal tasks. Mark only reluctantly agrees, but during his first big mission, to locate the wreckage of the lost research submarine Seaquest, he swims to depths unsurvivable by human divers and sees a perfectly intact futuristic sub. Mark boards the sub and returns with it to an undersea mountain base, commanded by Mr. Schubert, a rich ocean salvage man who is using his wealth and various found pieces of secret equipment to plot the end of 20th century civilization…after which he will, naturally, emerge as the new ruler of mankind, promising peace and prosperity (but no free will) to his hand-picked community of scientists. Even an outsider to human society like Mark Harris realizes that Schubert must be stopped at any cost.

written by Lee H. Katzin
directed by Mayo Simon
music by Fred Karlin

Man From AtlantisCast: Patrick Duffy (Mark Harris), Belinda J. Montgomery (Dr. Elizabeth Merrill), Dean Santoro (Ernie Smith), Art Lund (Admiral Dewey Pierce), Victor Buono (Mr. Schubert), Lawrence Pressman (Commander Phil Roth), Mark Jenkins (Lt. Ainsley), Steve Franken (Doctor), Joshua Bryant (Dr. Doug Berkley), Allen Case (Lt. Commander Johnson), Virginia Gregg (Whale Scientist), Curt Lowens (Emil), Charles Davis (British Scientist), Lilyan Chauvin (French Scientist), Vincent Milana (American Scientist), Alex Rodine (Russian Scientist), Philip Baker Hall (George), Marguerite DeLain (First Receptionist), Trudy Marshall (Woman at party), Michael J. London (Popeye), Robert Dore (Diver), Michael Watson (Diver), Connie Izay (First Nurse), Judd Laurance (Intern), Jim Chandler (Man on beach), Patricia Anderson (Second Receptionist), Akemi Kikumura (Third Receptionist), Larry Holt (Ambulance Diver), Peter Weiss (Test Lab Assistant), Robert Phalen (Habitat Technician), Maralyn Thoma (Second Nurse), Phillip Roye (Intern), Cheryl Robinson (X-Ray Technician), Scott Stevenson (Boy on beach), Philip Tanzini (Boy at phone booth)

Man From AtlantisNotes: Scenes from the pilot movie were filmed aboard the U.S. Navy dive ship Elk River IX-501. Executive producers Herbert F. Solow and Robert Justman were veterans of the original Star Trek series, though Solow was now working under his own banner, Solow Productions, at this point, since Desilu had long since transformed into Paramount Pictures’ TV division. This was the first of four feature-length TV movies-of-the-week introducing the Man From Atlantis characters and concept; the ratings success of these movies would guarantee the concept an additional, but brief, single season of hour-long episodes in the 1977-78 prime time season.

Man From AtlantisAt roughly the same time as the initial movie aired, NBC (the network home of Man From Atlantis) was also airing the short-lived fantasy series The Fantastic Journey, which involved an island that may or may not have been Atlantis. This was more of a coincidence than anything: “unexplained paranormal phemomena” were all the rage in the 1970s, whether the lost city of Atlantis, ESP/telepathy, UFO sightings, or stories of crystals vibrating with energy. That the missing research vessel was named Seaquest – same as the advanced sub from the 1990s NBC series of the same name – is also a coincidence, though those wishing to connect some unlikely dots in fan fiction are welcome to do so.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Man From Atlantis Movies

Man From Atlantis II: The Death Scouts

Man From AtlantisThe disappearance of scuba divers and sightings of strange coloration and other phenomena at sea attracts the attention of the Institute for Oceanic Research, where “Mark Harris” is still being studied by Dr. Elizabeth Merrill. One of the divers turns up dead, while the other two resurface, now with physical similarities to Mark, including a dependence on being underwater, webbed hands, and other powers. They quickly prove to be dangerous, even to Mark himself. He finds their base – a submerged spacecraft from another planet – containing evidence that they are from the same place as him. Once captured, they admit this as well, and claim to be among the last survivors of Mark’s home planet, adrift and looking for a new home to colonize. Torn between the promise of learning more about his origins, or maintaining the trust of his new human allies, Mark faces an agonizing choice.

written by Robert Lewin
directed by Marc Daniels
music by Fred Karlin

Man From AtlantisCast: Patrick Duffy (Mark Harris), Belinda J. Montgomery (Dr. Elizabeth Merrill), Kenneth Tigar (Dr. Miller Simon), Alan Fudge (C.W. Crawford), Tiffany Bolling (Lioa), Burr DeBenning (Xos), Stanley Clay (Boy), Alan Mandell (Grant Stockwood), Annette Cardona (Ginny Mendoza), Hank Stohl (Sub Captain Wes), Russell L. Arms (Medical Examiner), Arch Archambault (Second Officer), Michael J. London (Air Lock Man), Vincent Deadrick (Herb Wayland), Maurice Hill (Lou), Joel Lawrence (Hot Tub Manager), Maralyn Thoma (Myrtle), Dick Winslow (Fish Store Clerk)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Quark

Quark (Pilot)

QuarkA United Galaxy Sanitation Patrol vessel commanded by Adam Quark makes its garbage-collection rounds in deep space, seldom – if ever – encountering anything that remotely resembles adventure or danger. Quark’s crew includes Gene/Jean, who has a full set of male and female chromosomes and abruptly lurches between extremes of masculinity and femininity, the voluptuous clones Betty and Betty, a cowardly robot named Andy, and crankly science officer O.B. Mudd, who’s itching for a transfer off of Quark’s ship. On space station Perma One, the hub of the space fleet that protects the United Galaxy, a catastrophic space explosion is detected, hurling a gigantic cloud of living protein into space, consuming everything in its path… including any and all life. Perma One’s chief bureaucrat, Otto Palindrome, consults with the enigmatic Head of the United Galaxy, and reaches only one conclusion: Adam Quark and his crew are the perfect people to undertake a mission to stop the cloud before it can consume all life in the universe. The one drawback to which Quark might object is that it’s a suicide mission. But Palindrome and the Head have that angle covered too: they’ll just neglect to mention that minor detail to Quark.

written by Buck Henry
directed by Peter H. Hunt
music by Perry Botkin, Jr.

Cast: Richard Benjamin (Adam Quark), Timothy Thomerson (Gene/Jean), Douglas V. Fowley (O.B. Mudd), Tricia Barnett (Betty), Cibbie Barnett (Betty), Conrad Janis (Otto Palindrome), Alan Caillou (The Head), Misty Rowe (Interface), Bobby Porter (Andy)

QuarkNotes: Buck Henry, the creator and head writer of Get Smart, devised Quark as a satirical answer to Star Trek and other recent SF shows, and to drive the point home the series frequently used the well-known sound effects from the original Star Trek. Tim Thomerson, as Gene/Jean, would become a well-known fixture in movies and TV from the ’70s onward, racking up a mind-boggling list of mainstream credits; among his genre gigs were two episodes as has-been warrior Meleager on Xena: Warrior Princess, the short-lived Richard Dean Anderson/John de Lancie UPN steampunk series Legend, Sliders, Lois & Clark, and the first episode of Babylon 5 spinoff Crusade. The first episode of Quark ran to a half-hour with commercials, and aired as a one-off comedy on NBC; response was favorable enough for a series to be green-lighted, though it wouldn’t premiere until nine months later, by which time another science fiction saga that debuted mere days after Quark’s broadcast premiere would provide the show’s writers with a whole new target for satire.

Categories
Man From Atlantis Movies

Man From Atlantis III: Killer Spores

Man From AtlantisMark Harris participates in an emergency mission to retrieve a space probe splashing down after a three-year mission. But when it hits water, it emits a screaming sound that affects Mark the most; when he swims out to it, he describes objects like blue coins covering the probe. Mark comes into contact with one of the blue objects and begins behaving strangely, experiencing brief periods of what humans would describe as madness. He then begins describing life forms that have come to Earth aboard the space probe…but only by regaining his senses can Mark help them leave again.

written by John D.F. Black
directed by Reza Badiyi
music by Fred Karlin

Man From AtlantisCast: Patrick Duffy (Mark Harris), Belinda J. Montgomery (Dr. Elizabeth Merrill), Kenneth Tigar (Dr. Miller Simon), Alan Fudge (C.W. Crawford), Fred Beir (Sub Captain Bracey), Brad David (Paramedic), Carole Demas (Ginny Mendoza), Ivan Bonar (Edwin Shirley), James B. Sikking (Captain Manzone), Erik Holland (Highway Patrolman), James R. Parkes (Highway Patrolman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
TV Movies

Spectre

SpectreDr. “Ham” Hamilton is summoned to the home of his friend and colleague, investigator William Sebastian, where he learns that Sebastian’s latest criminal investigation extends into truly otherworldly territory. Sebastian’s torso is scarred, and he has no detectable heartbeat: the work, he claims, of the devil. A visit from an attractive woman quickly turns horrifying when Sebastian reveals her to be a succubus attempting to thwart his investigation into the unusual behavior of a British business tycoon named Cyon. Sebastian needs Hamilton’s help, and is even willing to do him a favor in exchange: Sebastian’s mysterious assistant Lilith uses a form of magic to cure the doctor of his alcoholism almost instantly.

The trip overseas is eventful, with Cyon’s freewheeling younger brother Mitri piloting Cyon’s personal jet. No sooner have Sebastian and Hamilton arrived in London than Sebastian’s contact in the Cyon case literally goes up in flames. Sebastian salvages a book from the scene, hoping that the clues will help him crack the Cyon case. The Cyon mansion is staffed by beautiful young women, and even Mitri admits that his brother’s “personal magnetism” has increased inexplicably. Sebastian and Hamilton discover a buried cavern beneath the Cyon estate, with evidence of human sacrifices, and indications that a very real demon has broken free. The two men begin planning their endgame against who they believe may be the demon Asmodedus, but they must remain wary: the actions of everyone around them may be ploys to keep them from defeating their supernatural enemy.

screenplay by Gene Roddenberry and Samuel A. Peeples
based on an original story by Gene Roddenberry
directed by Clive Donner
music by John Cameron

SpectreCast: 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)

SpectreNotes: 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 Outer Limits series (including the Harlan Ellison-written episode Demon With A Glass Hand), and a starring role in The Greatest American Hero. John Hurt (1940-2017) starred as Caligula in the 1976 BBC-TV production of I, Claudius before gaining big-screen fame as the star of The Elephant Man (1980) and as Winston Smith in the 1984 adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984. He appeared as Ollivander in the Harry Potter movies, provided the Spectrevoice of the dragon in the 21st century Merlin series, and appeared as a mysterious iteration of the Doctor during the 50th anniversary year of Doctor Who (The Name Of The Doctor, Day Of The Doctor). Spectre was one of the final roles for Gig Young, who died in 1978. Director Clive Donner was busy behind the camera on both sides of the Atlantic, having already directed episodes of the 1960s series Danger Man, starring Patrick McGoohan of The Prisoner fame. This was the last of Gene Roddenberry’s 1970s TV pilots before he redirected his attention full-time to reviving Star Trek.

8LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
TV Movies

Exo-Man

Exo-ManRevered 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?

Exo-Manteleplay by Henri Simoun and Lionel E. Siegel
story by Martin Caidin and Henri Simoun
directed by Richard Irving
music by Dana Kaproff

Cast: David Ackroyd (Dr. Nick Conrad), Anne Schedeen (Emily Frost), A. Martinez (Raphael Torres), Jose Ferrer (Kermit Haas), Jack Colvin (Martin), Harry Morgan (Arthur Travis), Donald Moffat (Wallace Rogers), Kevin McCarthy (Kamenski), Richard Narita (Jim Yamaguchi), Jonathan Segal (Eddie Rubinstein), Martin Speer (Ted Kamenski), George Sperdakos (Dr. Garrick), Randy Faustino (Larry), Nick David (Jack), Wina Sturgeon (TV Newswoman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Man From Atlantis Movies

Man From Atlantis IV: The Disappearances

Man From AtlantisThe Foundation prepares for a visit from a wealthy lawyer who has expressed an interest in donating a boat, but their benefactor is very specific in wanting Dr. Merrill to personally inspect the boat. This is a ruse to lure her away from her comrades and kidnap her; she is taken to a remote island compound where Dr. Mary Smith is hatching a scheme to create a special water treatment robbing her subjects of all willpower, and to then launch a rocket to colonize another planet with this obedient population. Mark, impervious to the treated water which overcomes its victims’ minds on touch, must rescue both Dr. Merrill and Dr. Simon and thwart the plan.

teleplay by Walter Murdoch
story by Jerry Sohl
directed by Charles S. Dubin
music by Fred Karlin

Man From AtlantisCast: Patrick Duffy (Mark Harris), Belinda J. Montgomery (Dr. Elizabeth Merrill), Kenneth Tigar (Dr. Miller Simon), Alan Fudge (C.W. Crawford), Darleen Carr (Dr. Mary Smith), Dennis Redfield (Dick Redstone), Pamela Peters Solow (Jane), Fred Beir (Sub Captain Bracey), Paul Mantee (Cetacean Crew), Michael Jay London (Cetacean Crew), Arthur Batanides (Cetacean Crew), Rick Goldman (Cetacean Crew), Bob Minor (Minion), Ric Drasin (Minion), Frank Martone (Minion), James Fraracci (Minion), Jim Morris (Minion), Ernie Hudson (Minion), Anthony Pearson (Minion), Julius Le Flore (Minion), Jim Tarleton (Minion)

Man From AtlantisNotes: Yes, that’s future Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson in a “strong man” bit part, one of his earliest professional acting appearances. This marks the final appearance of Kenneth Tigar as Dr. Miller Simon, a character who vanished in the sweeping changes that take place between the four Man From Atlantis TV movies and the already-greenlit weekly series.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Man From Atlantis Season 1

Melt Down

Man From AtlantisSurprisingly high tides, and a sudden rise in ocean levels measuring at least half a foot, signal a global disaster in the making: something is causing Earth’s north polar ice cap to melt. Worse yet, the White House has received a thinly veiled ransom note indicating that Mark Harris’ old nemesis, Mr. Schubert, is behind the rapid rise of the oceans, and claims that only he can help restore the sea levels. His asking price for this help? Schubert wants Mark to join him.

written by Tom Greene
directed by Virgil Vogel
music by Fred Karlin

Cast: Patrick Duffy (Mark Harris), Belinda J. Montgomery (Dr. Elizabeth Man From AtlantisMerrill), Alan Fudge (C.W. Crawford), Victor Buono (Mr. Schubert), Robert Lussier (Brent), James Brodhead (Trubshawe), Dee Wallace Stone (Hot Dog Stand Owner), Richard Laurance Williams (Jomo), J. Victor Lopez (Chuey), Jean Marie Hon (Jane), Anson Downes (Allen)

Notes: The premiere of Man From Atlantis as a weekly series introduces sweeping changes to the show’s basic concepts; the underfunded Foundation for Oceanic Research of the four TV movies is now apparently very well funded, Man From Atlantisas seen in the new sets for their sub, the Cetacean, as well as their home base. They also have uniforms, and the new bridge layout of the Cetacean is more than just a little bit Star Trek-inspired. New cast member Jean Marie Hon was previously a regular on the Filmation post-apocalyptic Saturday morning series for kids, Ark II.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Man From Atlantis Season 1

The Mudworm

Man From AtlantisMark and the Cetacean crew receive word of an unusual shipwreck on the ocean floor, and set out to investigate. What awaits them is an underwater robot created by Mr. Schubert, who is more than happen for the Cetacean to find it: it descended to a depth at which it no longer obeyed his remote commands, and only the Cetacean has the abiity to retrieve it…if Mark can disarm the robot, which fires an underwater laser at anything that moves. But what was the robot looking for on the ocean floor, and why is Schubert so certain that he’ll be able to get it back?

written by Alan Caillou
directed by Virgil Vogel
music by Fred Karlin

Man From AtlantisCast: Patrick Duffy (Mark Harris), Belinda J. Montgomery (Dr. Elizabeth Merrill), Alan Fudge (C.W. Crawford), Victor Buono (Mr. Schubert), Robert Lussier (Brent), Jack Somack (Encyclopedia Salesman), Duncan Gamble (Cetacean Crewmember), Richard Laurance Williams (Jomo), J. Victor Lopez (Chuey), Jean Marie Hon (Jane), Brandyn Artise (Cetacean Crewmember)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Man From Atlantis Season 1

Hawk Of Mu

Man From AtlantisWhen all electrical power fails in an 80 mile radius near the Foundation for Oceanic Research, Mark and the Cetacean crew investigate, hoping to discover whether or not the phenomenon has a natural cause. Mark stumbles across an ancient artifact known as the Hawk of Mu, supposedly a link to the lost Lemurian civilization of the vanished island of Mu. But the Hawk’s power is already being harnessed for less than peaceful purposes by Mr. Schubert, whose own daughter becomes Mark’s unlikely ally in the fight to stop him.

teleplay by Luther Murdoch
story by David Balkan
directed by Harry Harris
music by Fred Karlin

Man From AtlantisCast: Patrick Duffy (Mark Harris), Belinda J. Montgomery (Dr. Elizabeth Merrill), Alan Fudge (C.W. Crawford), Victor Buono (Mr. Schubert), Robert Lussier (Brent), Sydney Lassick (Constable), Vicky Huxtable (Juliette Schubert), Carole Mallory (Woman), Richard Laurance Williams (Jomo), J. Victor Lopez (Chuey), Jean Marie Hon (Jane), Anson Downes (Allen)

Notes: The makers of Man From Atlantis employed cutting edge computer graphics for the scenes in Schubert’s lab: the computer screen displayed actual graphics from the then-brand-new Apple II computer, which had just been released in June 1977.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Man From Atlantis Season 1

Giant

Man From AtlantisInvestigating an unusual underwater vortex with the Cetacean and its crew, Mark discovers a diver unconscious on the ocean floor. The injured man, treasure hunter (and swindler) Jack Muldoon, has been through the vortex, and says there’s dry land, with a wealth of gold, on the other side. Mark convinces Muldoon to guide him through the vortex, discovering an arid desert where water is present, but completely invisible. A giant named Thark uses the water to mine for gold, but the gold Muldoon has gathered has all been stolen from Thark. For both Mark and Muldoon, convincing Thark to close the flow of water is a high-stakes game: Muldoon has a fortune in gold to gain, and if Mark can’t get Thark to help, the world’s oceans may be drained into Thark’ strange realm.

written by Michael Wagner
directed by Richard Benedict
music by Fred Karlin

Man From AtlantisCast: Patrick Duffy (Mark Harris), Belinda J. Montgomery (Dr. Elizabeth Merrill), Alan Fudge (C.W. Crawford), Ted Neeley (Jack Muldoon), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Thark), Richard Laurance Williams (Jomo), J. Victor Lopez (Chuey), Jean Marie Hon (Jane), Anson Downes (Allen)

Notes: At the time of his appearance in Man From Atlantis, NBA all-star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was dividing his time between playing center for the Los Angeles Lakers and, in the off-season, his budding acting career. This was Man From Atlantisonly his third on-screen appearance; his next would be in the 1980 cult classic comedy Airplane!, with later appearances in Diff’rent Strokes, Fletch, Tales From The Darkside, and 21 Jump Street. And it wouldn’t be an American SF series of the ’60s or ’70s without a visit to Vasquez Rocks, “invisible water” and all.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Man From Atlantis Season 1

Man O’ War

Man From AtlantisMark and the Foundation become involved in an international swim meet that is drawing not only athletes from around the world, but diplomats and even the U.S. State Department, when some kind of sea life attacks swimmers. A ransom note is received from “King Neptune” promising to unleash his fury if he isn’t paid a million dollars. Mark investigates and discovers a huge, genetically-modified jellyfish is threatening the swimmers…but this monstrous creature is controlled not by “King Neptune”, but by Mr. Schubert.

written by Larry Alexander
directed by Michael O’Herlihy
music by Fred Karlin

Man From AtlantisCast: Patrick Duffy (Mark Harris), Belinda J. Montgomery (Dr. Elizabeth Merrill), Alan Fudge (C.W. Crawford), Victor Buono (Mr. Schubert), Robert Lussier (Brent), Harvey Jason (Dashki), Gary Owens (Blaise Mullen), Monte Landis (Maitre’d), Hanns Manship (Policeman), Pat Paris (Woman on beach)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Man From Atlantis Season 1

Crystal Water, Sudden Death

Man From AtlantisUnusual activity at sea is a sure sign that Schubert is up to something, and C.W. (at the behest of the Navy) sends the Cetacean to investigate. Mark discovers a crystalline membrane on the sea floor, which can be penetrated to reveal dry land beneath. There, a race of peaceful beings preserve their shrinking, ancient society, and they’re powerless to stop Schubert from enslaving them to mine a valuable crystal indigenous to their island. But as a fellow form of ocean life, Mark may be powerless to stand up to Schubert’s weapons this time.

written by Larry Alexander
directed by David Moessinger
music by Fred Karlin

Man From AtlantisCast: Patrick Duffy (Mark Harris), Belinda J. Montgomery (Dr. Elizabeth Merrill), Alan Fudge (C.W. Crawford), Victor Buono (Mr. Schubert), Rene Auberjonois (Mr. Havergal), Tina Lenert (Click One), Flip Reade (Click Two), Whitney Rydbeck (Click Three), Richard Laurance Williams (Jomo), J. Victor Lopez (Chuey), Penelope Willis (Cetacean Crew), Brandyn Artise (Cetacean Crew), Rozelle Gayle (Conrad)

Man From AtlantisNotes: Director David Moessinger later became a showrunner on numerous popular 1980s TV series, including In The Heat Of The Night, Jake And The Fatman, and Murder, She Wrote; he is the husband of Star Trek: Voyager co-creator Jeri Taylor. Rene Auberjonois was, at this point, one of those “shows up in everything” frequent-flyer guest stars of ’70s series TV; in just three years, he’d land a series regular role on Benson, a decade after which he’d be a regular on a far more coherent SF series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

LogBook entry by Earl Green