Year: 1977

Categories
Season 1 Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman In Hollywood

Wonder WomanHollywood calls on the War Department to seek Major Steve Trevor’s expertise in a filmed re-enactment of the war exploits that made him famous. Somewhat to Trevor’s dismay, General Blakenship is more than happy to loan him out as both advisor and actor. Diana accompanies him to Hollywood. At the same time, Drusilla is sent from Paradise Island to summon Diana for an important anniversary celebration among the Amazons, but delivering the message is no simple matter. Someone is trying to kidnap some of Trevor’s co-stars, who also happen to be war heroes, and studio boss Mark Bremer seems remarkably unconcerned about what’s going on…because he’s a German agent planning to take Trevor and his fellow war heroes back to Berlin for trial. Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl must combine forces if they’re to stop the fiendish plot.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Jimmy Sangster
directed by Bruce Bilson
music by Artie Kane

Wonder WomanCast: Lynda Carter (Diana Prince / Wonder Woman), Lyle Waggoner (Major Steve Trevor), Richard Eastham (General Blankenship), Beatrice Colen (Etta Candy), Harris Yulin (Mark Bremer), Robert Hays (Corporal Jim Ames), Chirstopher Norris (Gloria Beverly), Charles Cyphers (Kurt), Alan Bergmann (Director), Carolyn Jones (Queen), Debra Winger (Drusilla), Ross Bickell (Lt. Bill Rand), David Himes (Sht. Harry Willard), Barry Van Dyke (Freddy), Danil Torppe (George), Eric Boles (Roger), Alex Rodine (Destroyer Captain), June Whitley Taylor (Receptionist), Carmen Filpi (Guard)

Wonder WomanNotes: This is the final World War II-era Wonder Woman TV episode, and as such it’s the last we see of Richard Eastham as General Blankenship and Beatrice Colen as Etta Candy. Technically, it’s also the last time we see Major Steve Trevor, but fear not, the second season – set in the 1970s, contemporary with the show’s airdates – introduces us to American intelligence agent Steve Trevor, who looks exactly like his father. This is also the second and final appearance of Debra Winger as Drusilla, and is loaded with some extremely young familiar faces, such as Robert Hays (Airplane!, Wonder WomanStarman) and Barry Van Dyke (Galactica: 1980, Diagnosis Murder). The first season finale also marks the end of Wonder Woman on ABC; though the shift to the 1970s era would probably have happened anyway, ABC’s cold feet at renewing the chronically expensive series gave CBS time to step in and outbid them.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Fantastic Journey, The

Beyond The Mountain

The Fantastic JourneyVarian, Scott, Liana and Fred arrive in a windswept desert through the portal; shortly afterward, Sil-L, the cat with whom Liana shares a telepathic bond, arrives too. But they soon run into a new problem – a pulsating red cloud, not dissimilar from the green cloud that stranded them on the island. The men wind up in a swamp, surrounded by green-skinned people who seek help for their malaria-stricken leader, while Liana finds herself in a compound populated by attractive people in identical jumpsuits. She meets Professor Willaway, who seems to rule over these people, and he is instantly smitten with Liana, deciding that she must stay to marry him, whether she wants to or not. All of his “sons” and companions turn out to be androids, originally built by the species that has been forced into the swamp; Willaway, a radical scientist from 1963, reprogrammed all of the androids to serve him. But his desire for human companionship is driving him from radical to treacherous. When Fred, Varian and Scott leave the swamp and find their way to Willaway’s village, Varian quickly realizes that their inquiries about Liana’s whereabouts are being answered with lies. And no longer hampered by their leader’s health, the beings who created the androids are now returning to reclaim what is rightfully theirs, leaving Willaway to seek refuge with Varian’s group.

The Fantastic Journeywritten by Harold Livingston
directed by Irving J. Moore
music by Robert Prince

Cast: Jared Martin (Varian), Carl Franklin (Fred Walters), Ike Eisenmann (Scott Jordan), Katie Saylor (Liana), Roddy McDowall (Willaway), John David Carson (Cyrus), Marj Dusay (Rachel), Lester Fletcher (Chef), Frank Coresntino (Toren), Joseph Della Sorte (Aren), Ron Burke (Robert), Brian Patrick Clarke (Daniel), Bud Kenneally (Veteran), Crofton Hardester (Michael), The Felix Team (Sil-L)

The Fantastic JourneyNotes: Actor Brian Patrick Clarke is credited as “Brain.” Roddy McDowall joins the show in this episode, playing a part that was written specifically to attract him to the show. His genre credits already included the Planet Of The Apes films and their short-lived TV spinoff. Writer Harold Livingston also penned episodes of Mission: Impossible, Future Cop, The Six Million Dollar Man and the William Shatner series Barbary Coast, but his most famous genre gig was, of course, the unenviable job of coming up with a coherent script for Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, a job Livingston didn’t relish as it put him into conflict with Gene Roddenberry (Livingston later claimed that his rewrites were being rewritten and sabotaged by Roddenberry). This episode is contains rare references to the pilot, with Fred comparing the red cloud to the green one in the Bermuda Triangle, and Varian noting that the traveling party is almost as large as the original group of shipwreck survivors. Sil-L conveniently hides for almost the entire duration of the episode, appearing only at the beginning and the end; presumably he was marking his territory in Willaway’s outdoor planters the rest of the time.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Children Of The Stones

Full Circle

Children Of The StonesAdam and Matthew’s attempt to escape Millbury has failed, and they awaken in Hendrick’s home, presumably captives until their own dinner date with destiny. The father and son frantically brainstorm ways to avoid becoming brainwashed like everyone else they’ve met in Millbury, and devise a way to throw off Hendrick’s meticulous timing in order to avoid the stone circles lining up with the black hole Hendrick discovered. In the showdown between Brake’s astrophysical science and Hendrick’s strange brand of Pagan science, there’s only one uncertainty: whether or not Adam and Matthew Brake will survive with their free will intact.

written by Jeremy Burnham and Trevor Ray
directed by Peter Graham Scott
music by Sidney Sager

Children Of The StonesCast: Iain Cuthbertson (Hendrick), Gareth Thomas (Adam), Peter Demin (Matthew), Veronica Strong (Margaret), Katharine Levy (Sandra), Ruth Dunning (Mrs. Crabtree), John Woodnutt (Link)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Fantastic Journey, The

Children Of The Gods

The Fantastic JourneyVarian and the other travelers find what appear to be Greek ruins of a kind that Willaway thinks are at least 3,000 years old. They set up camp for the night, but trouble soon finds them: a young boy races over a hill and collapses near a stream, sweaty and exhausted. Even Scott can’t get the boy to talk about what he’s running from. When the boy tries to sneak away from the ruins, Scott follows him and they are both captured by older boys and brought back to an underground command center. A young man named “Alpha” rules here, and serves up harsh punishment to anyone who defies his style of ruling by fear. Adults long ago extinguished themselves in a war, and Alpha has discovered a cache of advanced weapons left over from that conflict. Willaway is caught entering a temple at the ruins, and Alpha sentences him to death. With his friends’ lives in the balance, Scott challenges Alpha to a duel, with the survivor earning the right to lead.

The Fantastic Journeywritten by Leonard Katzman
directed by Alf Kjellin
music by Robert Prince

Cast: Jared Martin (Varian), Carl Franklin (Fred Walters), Ike Eisenmann (Scott Jordan), Katie Saylor (Liana), Roddy McDowall (Willaway), Mark Lambert (Alpha), Bobby Eilbacher (Sigma), Cosie Costa (Delta), Stanley Clay (Beta), Richard Natoli (Gamma), Al A. Eisenmann (Omega), Michael Baldwin (Rho), The Felix Team (Sil-L)

Notes: This is the first TV gig that IMDB shows for actor Cosie Costa, who did guest shots on numerous ’70s and ’80s shows, including Galactica 1980. One of his last entries for Costa in that same internet-based trove of showbiz knowledge is an appearance in the first season of Babylon 5.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Classic Season 14 Doctor Who

The Talons of Weng-Chiang

Doctor WhoThe Doctor brings Leela to Victorian-era London to give her some exposure to what he considers civilization, though things quickly become less than civilized when a Chinese man makes an attempt on the Doctor’s life. Relations between the natives of London and the city’s growing Chinese population are equally strained elsewhere, as allegations of kidnapping surround stage magician Li H’sen Chang during his residence at a local theater, run by Henry Gordon Jago. Numerous men confront Chang with accusations that he hypnotized their wives and ladyfriends during his magic show – and every woman disappeared shortly afterward. The Doctor investigates Chang’s magic show and discovers that the magician is using more than sleight-of-hand to accomplish his amazing feats – he is receiving technological help too advanced for the Victorian era, in exchange for which Chang is performing murderous services for his master – from the future.

Order the DVDDownload this episodewritten by Robert Holmes
directed by David Maloney
music by Dudley Simpson

Guest Cast: John Bennett (Li H’sen Chang), Deep Roy (Mr. Sin), Michael Spice (Weng-Chiang / Greel), Trevor Baxter (Professor Litefoot), Christopher Benjamin (Henry Gordon Jago), Tony Then (Lee), Alan Butler (Buller), Chris Gannon (Casey), John Wu (Coolie), Conrad Asquith (PC Quick), David McKail (Sergeant Kyle), Patsy Smart (Ghoul), Judith Lloyd (Teresa), Vaune Craig-Raymond (Cleaning Woman), Peggy Lister (Singer), Vincent Wong (Ho), Stuart Fell (Giant rat)

Original Title: The Talons Of Greel

Broadcast from February 26 through April 2, 1977

LogBook entry & review 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
Future Cop

Fighting O’Haven

Future CopThe murder of an up-and-coming prize fighter (after he fails to take a dive during a rigged fight he was intended to lose) hits close to home for Cleaver and Bundy, but when Haven demonstrate his superior strength and agility in a couple of incidents on the beat, they realize they can give the rookie his first undercover assignment. Cleaver has to handle this delicately, as Haven can barely convincingly act human, let alone play the part of an Irish boxer. But Haven’s abilities make his boxing “career” explode quickly, and he too is approached to take a dive. When he misunderstands that instruction, it puts him (and his two undercover “trainers”) in serious danger.

Order the complete series on DVDwritten by Mann Rubin
directed by Robert Douglas
music by J.J. Johnson

Future CopCast: Ernest Borgnine (Cleaver), Michael Shannon (Haven), John Amos (Bundy), Irene Tsu (Dr. Tingley), Herbert Nelson (Chief Skaggs), Michael V. Gazzo (Charlie Willis), Rod McCarty (Jack Cassey), Steve Gravers (Kurtz), Angela May (Waitress), Mwako Cumbuka (Gang Leader #1), Stan Shaw (Ollie Dawson), Jesse Emmett (Man), Morris Buchanan (Airport Security Man), Wally Rose (Referee #1), Gene LeBell (Referee #2), Jimmy Joyce (Bartender), Giles Douglas (Reporter #1), Dorothy Dells (Reporter #2), Darren Dublin (Reporter #3), Victoria Carroll (Woman), Jim Healy (TV Commentator)

Future CopNotes: Herbert Nelson appears here in a very different role from the somewhat Gepetto-like android programmer he played in the pilot. (It had been nearly a year since the broadcast of the pilot, and there was no home video market for television in 1976-77, so it was unlikely that anyone would notice.)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Fantastic Journey, The

A Dream Of Conquest

The Fantastic JourneyThe travelers arrive just in time to witness the brutal capture of an ape-like animal by guards in futuristic armor. Varian and the others are captured, but when they’re taken to the leader of the human hunters, Tarrant, he orders their release. The travelers are invited to rest in Tarrant’s compound, where they find a power struggle brewing; the actual leader of these humans is a dying man named Luther, who Fred later discovers has been poisoned. Willaway inveigles his way into Tarrant’s inner circle, offering his scientific expertise in a program to develop advanced weapons, but when Tarrant suspects that Willaway is double-crossing him, he locks him up. Fred devises an antidote to Luther’s poisoning, which could interfere with Tarrant’s plans to seize control without the limitations of being a mere interim leader. Now Varian, Fred and the other travelers are real obstacles to Tarrant’s power grab, and must be eliminated.

The Fantastic Journeyteleplay by Michael Michaelian
story by Bruce Lansbury
directed by Vincent McEveety
music by Dirk DeBenedictis

Cast: Jared Martin (Varian), Carl Franklin (Fred Walters), Ike Eisenmann (Scott Jordan), Katie Saylor (Liana), Roddy McDowall (Willaway), John Saxon (Tarrant), Morgan Paull (Argon), Lenore Stevens (Lara), Robert Patten (Luther), Johnny Doran (Nikki), The Felix Team (Sil-L), Bobby Porter (Neffring)

Notes: The first pre-empted episode of the show’s brief run (and not the last), this was the first episode to feature a new narration over the main title music, a request ordered by NBC to try to explain the show’s backstory and characters to new viewers who hadn’t tuned in for earlier episodes:

  • Lost in the Devil’s Triangle, trapped in a dimension with beings from the future and from other worlds, a party of adventurers journeys through zones of time back to their own time.
    Varian, a man from the 23rd century, possessing awesome powers.
    From 1977, Fred, a young doctor just out of medical school.
    Scott Jordan, the 13-year-old son of a famous scientist.
    Liana, daughter of an Atlantean father and an extraterrestrial mother.
    And Jonathan Willaway, rebel scientist from the 1960s.
    Together they face the frightening unknown on… the Fantastic Journey.

The Fantastic JourneyThe narration was performed by actor Mike Road, who had provided the voice of the Source in the show’s first two episodes.

Actor John Saxon was a mainstay of TV and film in the ’70s, often cast as a villain, with appearances in Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Kung Fu, Fantasy Island, Gunsmoke, The Rockford Files, Starsky & Hutch, and many, many others; on the big screen, Saxon appeared in Enter The Dragon opposite Bruce Lee, A Nightmare On Elm Street 3, and Battle Beyond The Stars; two years before his appearance here, he had co-starred as the criminal mastermind trying to shake off Joe Don Baker in the movie that formed the core of one of Mystery Science Theater 3000‘s most famous “experiments,” Mitchell. 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; mere months after his appearance here, he’d make the first of his many appearances in the metal suit of Andy the robot in the Buck Henry SF spoof Quark, a series with an even shorter run than The Fantastic Journey.

Vincent McEveety directed several key episodes of the original Star Trek, including Miri, Balance Of Terror and The Spectre Of The Gun, along with dozens of episodes of Gunsmoke, The Untouchables and Simon & Simon, and a few episodes of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century.

The Fantastic JourneyThe “futuristic” model of the Alpha 2 spaceship from Scott’s future is indeed from the future… a few years in the future. It’s a model of the Space Shuttle, attached to its external tank with solid rocket boosters, with an exotic red-and-white paint job. Though the Shuttle’s design was well known in 1977 (if Scott was the child of someone who moved in scientific circles, he really should’ve recognized it), the test orbiter Enterprise was only just getting off the ground for proving flights to test the Shuttle’s ability to glide to a safe, unpowered landing at the time that The Fantastic Journey was on the air. The first Space Shuttle launch wouldn’t happen until 1981. Also, the highly advanced futuristic audio surveillance equipment used by Tarrant’s underlings has a prominently-positioned, highly advanced futuristic parallel port. As the first mass-market home computers didn’t arrive until later in 1977, this would’ve been an exotic piece of equipment to most TV viewers.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
1954-75: Showa Series Godzilla

Godzilla Vs. MechaGodzilla

GodzillaDuring a ceremonial dance on Okinawa, a woman faints after experiencing visions of monsters destroying a city. Masahiko, a reporter sent to cover the ceremony, later visits a cave and discovers a radioactive metal, which later analysis reveals is Space Titanium. Meanwhile, his brother, who is developing a marina, finds another cave containing ancient artifacts, apparently honoring an ancient god, King Caesar. Paintings on the wall predict an attack by a monster that will destroy the world, but two other monsters will save the world.

Mainland Japan is being rocked by a series of earthquakes, with a “moving epicenter,” and Godzilla emerges from a volcanic eruption at Mount Fuji. His roar, however has a strange metallic sound. As he begins his rampage, Anguirus attacks. The two battle, but Godzilla seriously wounds the spiked creature, who retreats to fight another day. Godzilla marches off. At the scene of the battle more of the Space Titanium is found.

Godzilla is crashing through an industrial sector in Tokyo, destroying oil storage tanks and pipelines. Suddenly, a second Godzilla appears. The two thrash around, destroying more of the industrial sector, when the skin is ripped from one of the Godzillas. It is a cyborg made of Space Titanium, and is controlled by aliens. MechaGodzilla launches missiles from its fingertips and lasers from its eyes. Godzilla uses his nuclear breath. Both are injured. Godzilla retreats to the ocean and MechaGodzilla is recalled by his controllers.

While investigating the cave on Okinawa, Professor Miyajima, his daughter, Eiko, and Masahiko are grabbed by the ape-like aliens from the “Third Planet of the Black Hole,” who have taken human form. They demand that Miyajima help repair MechaGodzilla, and threatens to kill the others unless he complies. Meanwhile, on a remote island Godzilla is recovering from his wounds.

Miyajima has finished his repairs to MechaGodzilla. The alien controller throws him into the execution room with Eiko and Masahiko. The room is filled with hot, pressurized steam. Keisuke and an Interpol agent, who has been investigating the aliens, break into the stronghold and rescue the others from the deadly steam.

King Caesar awakens from his ages-long sleep. The aliens send MechaGodzilla after the giant creature, which looks like a giant floppy-eared lion-dog cross with a menacing toothy grin in a stone face.

MechaGodzilla unleashes a laser blast at King Caesar, but the ancient god reflects it back. Caesar hides behind a giant rock when the metal monster fires his finger missiles. The two continue to grapple and Caesar is tossed aside like rag doll, when Godzilla arrives. The King of the Monsters and MechaGodzilla battle while King Caesar recovers. Caesar pulls himself up and MechaGodzila launches a full attack with all of its ordnance. Godzilla is seriously wounded, but manages to shake it off. With new magnetic abilities, Godzilla pulls the metal monster toward him. Godzilla grabs it from behind and Caesar begins smashing at it from the front. Godzilla rips the head off the cyborg, defeating it.

As the alien base explodes, Godzilla returns to the sea and Caesar returns to his slumber.

written by Jun Fukuda and Hiroyashu Yamaura
directed by Jun Fukuda
music by Masaru Sato

Human Cast: Masaaki Daimon (Keisuke Shimizu), Kazuya Aoyama (Masahiko Shimizu), Akihiko Hirata (Professor Hideto Miyajima), Hiromi Matushita (Eiko Miyajima)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, MechaGodzilla, King Caesar, Anguirus

Notes: The city-destroying vision the young woman has at the beginning the movie features King Ghidorah, who is otherwise not seen in the movie.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
Fantastic Journey, The

An Act Of Love

The Fantastic JourneyThe travelers materialize in the shadow of an erupting volcano and immediately seek shelter in a nearby cave. Awoken by a disturbing dream, Varian wanders away from their camp and meets a woman he saw in that dream. When he sees his friends again, Varian has big news: he’s giving up his travels to marry the woman he dreamed of and then met. Scott and the others find this shocking, but they’re not as shocked as Varian is to discover that, as the groom, he’s expected to allow himself to be sacrificed to the volcano to appease the “gods” that govern its eruptions.

The Fantastic Journeywritten by Richard Fielder
directed by Virgil W. Vogel
music by Dirk DeBenedictis

Cast: Jared Martin (Varian), Carl Franklin (Fred Walters), Ike Eisenmann (Scott Jordan), Katie Saylor (Liana), Roddy McDowall (Willaway), Ellen Weston (Maera), Christina Hart (Gwyneth), Jonathan Goldsmith (Zaros), Vic Mohica (Baras), Belinda Balaski (Arla), Jeffrey Byron (Heras), Jerry Daniels (The Guard), The Felix Team (Sil-L)

Notes: For someone who knows that you can’t make a deal with a volcano, Willaway should’ve warned his fellow travelers away from seeking shelter from a volcano in a nearby cave; any cave-like structure in close proximity to an active volcano would be likely to be, or have been formed by, an equally active lava tube – perhaps not the safest structure available.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Future Cop

The Mad Mad Bomber

Future CopA stink bomb goes off in the police precinct, but this means more than Cleaver not getting to enjoy Bundy’s corned beef sandwich; an anonymous note indicates that this was just a test run for something far more dangerous. Haven turns his analytical abilities toward finding hidden clues in the note, and determining the identity of the suspect. But the suspect is growing bolder with each incident, and not all of Haven’s logical deductions are correct: the department is dealing with a random, deranged mind. By the time Haven puts all the clues together, Chief Skaggs is tired of listening to him, and demands that Cleaver return the android to his manufacturer.

Order the complete series on DVDteleplay by Ken Kolb and Harold Livingston
story by Ken Kolb
directed by Ted Post
music by J.J. Johnson

Future CopCast: Ernest Borgnine (Cleaver), Michael Shannon (Haven), John Amos (Bundy), Irene Tsu (Dr. Tingley), Herbert Nelson (Chief Skaggs), Harry Guardino (Brad Bannock), Albert Salmi (Chief Ross Wheeler), Gerrit Graham (Cliff Yancey), Dennis Bowen (Red), Jack Bannon (Deputy Mayor), Bill Zuckert (Lt. Fisk), Bob Hanley (Roberts), Rick Sawaya (Zack), Mike Lally Sr. (Warehouse Clerk), Bob Golden (Sports Arena Policeman), Paul Schumacher (Desk Sergeant), John Andersonjo (Bramlett), John Kirby (Young Patrolman), Mary Moon (Cindy), Guy Remsen (Shore Patrol Guard #1), Michael Payne (Shore Patrol Guard #2), George Sawaya (Spector), Fred Draper (Lt. Commander), Sharon McGee (Wave)

Future CopNotes: Filmed as a two-part story, The Mad Mad Bomber parts one and two were joined together as an ABC Friday Night Movie. With a script co-written by future Star Trek: The Motion Picture scriptwriter (and Future Cop story editor) Harold Livingston, this is an attempt at a more dramatic, less comedic story than the series’ usual format. George Sawaya, credited with a minor part, is also the series’ stunt coordinator. This episode introduces a voice-over by Ernest Borgnine over the opening credits in an attempt to clarify the series’ premise for new viewers.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
1954-75: Showa Series Godzilla

Terror of MechaGodzilla

GodzillaA submarine is conducting a fruitless search under the ocean for the scattered remains of Mechagodzilla, when it is suddenly attacked and destroyed by a mysterious giant creature. Meanwhile, a pair of aliens are plotting to take control of the Earth, in part because their own planet is falling into the black hole, and also because the people of Earth have not been very good stewards of the planet. They plan to enlist the aid of Shizou Mifune, who has been ostracized and vilified by the scientific community for his outlandish theories. The aliens want him to control the giant beast, the Titanosaurus. As an added incentive, the aliens will put the rebuilt Mechagodzilla at Mifune’s disposal. Meanwhile, biologist Ichinose is also looking for Mifune, who may have information on the beast that destroyed the sub. His daughter, Katsura, though tells him that Mifune is dead.

Katsura tells Ichinose via telephone not to lead another submarine expedition. He insists on going anyway. When she hangs up, one of the aliens shoots Katsura with a laser, and it’s revealed that she had died several years before in a lab experiment, and is now a cyborg. She has a device implanted in her to control Titanosaurus. The alien orders her to direct Titanosaurus to attack the sub. Trying desperately to contact headquarters, Ichinose and the crew turn on all sorts of electronic transmission devices. One, a supersonic beam, causes the monster great pain. The crew escapes and following thier report, government officials order construction of a giant Supersonic Beam Oscillator.

Mifune argues with his cyborg daughter about turning over the planet to the aliens. But he insists he is seeking revenge against all who have mocked him. He releases Titanosaurus on Tokyo. While the Japanese Defense Force wages a fierce battle against the beast, Godzilla arrives to challenge the monster. The aliens plan for the two monsters to fight, with Godzilla defeating the other, but too weak to battle Mechagodzilla. Instead, Titanosaurus retreats.

Ichinose investigates a mountainous area, and is captured by aliens who take him to their base. There he finds Mifune and his cyborg daughter. The aliens flee, taking Ichinose, Mifune and Katsura. Another team of Interpol agents breach the mountain, but not before the aliens unleash Mechagodzilla. The agents lead several captives away, escaping moments before the aliens destroy the base, moving their operations to Mifune’s home.

Mechagodzilla meets with Titanosaurus, and they begin a destructive rampage across Tokyo. Godzilla returns to face the two other monsters. He is knocked over by a strong wind created by Titanosaurus. As he gets up, he is blasted by the eye-lasers of Mechagodzilla. As he falls, Titanosaurus kicks Godzilla over a range of mountains. Not willing to give up, Godzilla continues the fight. But the pummeling and biting of Titanosaurus and the blasting by Mechagodzilla prove to be too much. He collapses in a heap and is dumped into a crevice. His adversaries bury him, and Titanosaurus dances a victory jig on the mound.

A helicopter carrying the just constructed Supersonic Beam Oscillator disrupts the alien control over the beast, confusing it. Mechagodzilla takes aim at the helicopter, but Godzilla rises again and blasts the metal monster with his nuclear breath. The two wage a fierce battle, with Godzilla managing to get within arms reach and begins to pound on the doppelganger.

Ichinose breaks free of his bonds as agents surround the house. Katsura holds him at gunpoint, but she is shot by one of the agents. As she lies wounded, Ichinose holds her in his arms and declares his love for her. But she confesses that the monster control device is inside her, and she must die to stop their rampage. She kills herself, causing Mechagodzilla to come to a stop. Godzilla rips its head, smashes Mechagodzilla, and drops it into a crevice. The aliens try to flee the planet, but their ships are blasted by Godzilla. The King of the Monsters blasts at Titanosaurus, who falls off a cliff into the ocean. The other giants defeated, Godzilla swims away.

written by Yuki Takayama
directed by Ishiro Honda
music by Akira Ifukabe

Human Cast: Katsuhiko Sasaki (Akira Ichinose), Tomoko Ai (Katsura Mifune), Akihiko Hirata (Dr. Shizou Mifune), Goro Mutsumi (Alien Leader)

Monster Cast: Godzilla, MechaGodzilla, Titanosaurus

Notes: Notes: The English language North American release includes a preamble about the origins of Godzilla, but removed a torture scene, the squishing of a couple of kids, Katsura’s suicide, and some sexual content. Most of these scenes were restored in the new DVD release from Classic Media, although the original English language cut can still be viewed at video.aol.com.
This concludes the Showa Era of Godzilla movies. No further Godzilla movies were produced until 1984.

LogBook entry by Robert Parson

Categories
Fantastic Journey, The

Funhouse

The Fantastic JourneyScott is excited to spot a carnival full of rides in the distance, and against Willaway’s misgivings, Varian agrees that the travelers should investigate. They soon meet the proprietor of the carnival, Marcus Apollonius, who offers the weary travelers a chance to relax and amuse themselves. But the invitation is too good to be true: Marcus and his underlings plan to trap the travelers, and possess their bodies and minds to escape this time zone. Marcus chooses Willaway, and Varian instantly detects that something is different about him and tries to help Willaway expel the evil spirit and regain control. This only angers Marcus, who now decides that the travelers who aren’t chosen as new host bodies are expendable.

The Fantastic Journeywritten by Michael Michaelian
directed by Art Fisher
music by Robert Prince

Cast: Jared Martin (Varian), Carl Franklin (Fred Walters), Ike Eisenmann (Scott Jordan), Katie Saylor (Liana), Roddy McDowall (Willaway), Mel Ferrer (Marcus Apollonius), Mary Frann (Roxanne), Richard Lawson (Barker), Christina Hart (Gwyneth), The Felix Team (Sil-L)

Notes: A vision of Gwyneth, Varian’s doomed wife from An Act Of Love, appears briefly. Considering all the gunfire from the possessed shooting gallery guns and the other mayhem around him, Sil-L again proves that he’s the calmest cat in the universe.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Future Cop

Girl On The Ledge

Future CopA young woman rents a tenth-story hotel room and proceeds to climb out the window to sit on the ledge. As Cleaver and Haven try to track down her family, Bundy risks his own life to try to talk her back inside. Cleaver meets the girl’s mother and is confused by her lack of concern. Her father insists that the district attorney go to talk her down from the ledge. Haven quickly deduces that the people they have met, claiming to be the girl’s parents, are not related to her at all: they’re in the employ of a Chicago crime boss who wants the district attorney to make an appearance in a public place…so he can settle an old grudge.

Order the complete series on DVDwritten by Mann Rubin
directed by Earl Bellamy
music by J.J. Johnson

Future CopCast: Ernest Borgnine (Cleaver), Michael Shannon (Haven), John Amos (Bundy), Irene Tsu (Dr. Tingley), Herbert Nelson (Capt. Skaggs), Katherine Cannon (The Girl), Tracy Reed (Natalie Bundy), Gloria Manon (Darlene Montoya), Robert Symonds (Assistant Chief Joseph), H.M. Wynant (Nick Redmont), Francine York (Sal), Bill Zuckert (Fisk), Steven Marlo (Carl Jadwin), Raymond Singer (Hotel Clerk), Angela May (Peggy), Sarah Kennedy (Marge), Bob Hoy (Pedestrian / Driver), John O’Connell (Bradley), Craig Ludwin (Cummings), Richard Doyle (Ford), Dan Priest (Fire Chief), Joe Bratcher (Dr. Wallace)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Fantastic Journey, The

Turnabout

The Fantastic JourneyThe 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.

The Fantastic Journeywritten 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)

The Fantastic JourneyNotes: 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.

LogBook entry by Earl Green