Year: 1977

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
Space Academy

The Phantom Planet

Space AcademyOn Space Academy, Commander Gampu urges his cadets to monitor the asteroid Proteus IX-B. Instruments and scanners pointed in that direction have spotted a ghostly planet that appears and disappears at random. But Chris and the others have a more serious mission to the asteroid: to eliminate its hazard to the spacelanes, they’re ordered to demolish it with explosives. When the Seeker lands there, the shaking of the ground indicates that the asteroid may be too unstable to plant demolition charges safely. And then Laura and Adrian spot a ghost – one who wants them to follow it through a wall of solid rock.

written by Samuel A. Peeples
directed by Ezra Stone
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael and Horta-Mahana

Cast: Jonathan Harris (Commander Gampu), Pamelyn Ferdin (Laura), Ric Carrott (Chris), Ty Henderson (Paul), Maggie Cooper (Adrian), Brian Tochi (Tee Gar), Eric Greene (Loki), Peepo (himself)

Space AcademyNotes: Timed and themed for broadcast just before Halloween 1977, The Phantom Planet is a highly unusual episode of Space Academy, trading in shaky “science” for psychic phenomena (complete with a seance and the Gentry siblings taking a walk on the astral plane). The ghost of Proteus IX-B appears and disappears with a sound effect that would later become the familiar sound of another Saturday morning series: Pac-Man powering up with power pellets. The term “oraco” appears here, and from context it would seem to be analogous to “yes sir” or “I’m on it” (the actual script, included in the Space Academy DVD set, offers no definition). Also ill-defined is the nature of Chris and Laura’s astral walk: if they can do that, why bother to send the Seeker anywhere? And if their physical bodies aren’t at risk, why worry about what’s happened to their spirit forms on the asteroid?

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Classic Season 15 Doctor Who

Image Of The Fendahl

Doctor WhoThe TARDIS is sidetracked by a time anomaly, depositing the Doctor and Leela near a secluded priory which has been serving as the laboratory of Dr. Fendelman and his colleagues. The object of the scientists’ study is what appears to be a human skull…which, according to dating, originated over eight million years before homo sapiens existed on Earth. But Fendelman isn’t sharing the whole story with his fellow scientists – in fact, one of them has unknowningly become a channel through which something sinister is emerging. The Doctor tries to intervene as the body count mounts in the countryside, but Fendelman has his well-armed security guards lock the Doctor away. The Doctor recognizes the threat as one from Gallifreyan folklore: the Fendahl, a gestalt entity, was exiled by the Time Lords, its world time-looped for twelve million years. Fendelman knows that the skull is alien, and hopes that studying it will reveal new insights into the origins of man. But Fendelman’s trusted assistant has other designs on the alien artifact, plans which involve black magic. And somewhere between science and black magic, the Fendahl will gain the power it needs to strike.

Download this episodewritten by Chris Boucher
directed by George Spenton-Foster
music by Dudley Simpson

Guest Cast: Wanda Ventham (Thea Ransome), Denis Lill (Dr. Fendelman), Edward Arthur (Colby), Scott Fredericks (Max Stael), Edward Evans (Moss), Derek Martin (Mitchell), Daphne Heard (Martha Tyler), Graham Simpson (Hiker), Geoffrey Hinsliff (Jack Tyler), David Elliott, Roy Pearce (Security Guards)

Broadcast from October 29 through November 19, 1977

LogBook entry & review by Earl Green

Categories
Season 2

The Immunity Syndrome

Space: 1999An expedition to a promisingly Earthlike planet goes awry when Verdeschi hears a member of his team screaming in agony on the surface. After wrestling the man to the ground, Verdeschi himself is overpowered by a pulsing light and goes missing himself – demonstrating a sudden burst of strength powerful enough to crush his comlock with his bare hands. Koenig and his team subdue Tony and retrieve him a few hours later and lift off to rush him back to the moon via Eagle, but a team left behind on the planet falls victim to a mysterious and sudden failure of equipment. And so does Koenig’s Eagle, which is forced to violently crash-land after its electronics fail and its outer skin and components turn brittle – and as the Eagle plunges to the ground, sensors on Moonbase Alpha register an increase in advanced technology on the surface. Koenig calls Alpha, unsure if he’s being heard, and tells his crew to stay put – there seems to be no way to land on this planet without giving up all chances of leaving. Naturally, Dr. Russell and Maya – despite hearing the warning – begin making plans to go there immediately.

Order the DVDswritten by Johnny Byrne
directed by Bob Brooks
music by Derek Wadsworth

Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Nadim Sawalha (Zoran), Karl Held (Travis), Sam Dastor (Dr. Ed Spencer), John Hug (Fraser), Hal Galili (Voice), Alibe Parsons (Alibe), Walter Space: 1999McMonagle (Les Johnson), Roy Boyd (Joe Lustig)

Notes: As seen on a computer screen, Verdeschi’s vital information is as follows: full name – Anthony Dean Verdeschi; graduated B.A. Honors, University of Rome, 1990; Ph.D, Cambridge, England, 1993; birthplace, Rome, Italy. According to Dr. Russell’s log entry, this episode takes places over 2300 days after the events of Breakaway – meaning that by this point, the series has chronicled over six years of the moon’s misadventures.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Logan's Run

Half Life

Logan's RunLogan’s hovercraft is ensnared in a net, and primitive humans surround them with 20th century weapons. A different group of people arrives with more sophisticated weapons, driving the primitives away. This new group’s leader introduces his people as Positives, and calls the others Negatives; he offers Logan and his friends shelter from the Negatives. But once inside the Positives’ community, Logan, Rem and Jessica notice that the faces they’re seeing among the Positives are the same faces they saw among their Negative attackers – the very same people. It’s only when the Positives hypnotize Jessica and subject her to their “processing” that the disturbing truth comes to light: the Positive’s processing splits its subjects into two people, one gentle and happy, the other aggressive and operating purely on instinct. But can the two aspects of Jessica be reunited in one body?

Download this episodewritten by Shimon Wincelberg
directed by Steven Stern
music by Jerrold Immel

Logan's RunGuest Cast: William Smith (Patron / Modok), Len Birman (Positive 14 / Brawn), Kim Cattrall (Rama II), Jeanne Sorel (Rama I), Betty Jinnette (Woman-Positive), John Gowans (Engineer-Scientist)

Notes: The Positives’ processing equipment apparently uses the same sound effect as the viewscreen of the Enterprise from the original Star Trek.

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
Incredible Hulk Season 1

The Incredible Hulk (pilot)

The Incredible HulkScientist David Bruce Banner is recovering from the traumatic loss of his wife in a car accident, while continuing his work into untapping the barely-used potential strength of the human body. As he interviews and runs tests on numerous ordinary individuals who have achieved amazing adrenaline-fueled feats in moments of crisis, Banner is disturbed by the fact that he was unable to save his own wife. When his research leads to what seems like a dead end, a desperate Banner intentionally irradiates himself with gamma radiation. The first noticeable effect is that it leaves Banner impatient and easily angered. But when his frustration peaks and he becomes furious, Banner mutates into an enormous, bemuscled green beast with superhuman strength. Despite this, his instincts to preserve life lead him to try to save a drowning girl, but when her father fires a rifle at Banner, he is powerless to do anything but attack the man. When Banner’s rage subsides, he reverts to normal, with only vague memories of what he did in his altered state.

Banner confides his experiences – as much as he can remember – to his lab associate, and they begin trying to replicate his transformation under controlled laboratory conditions. Reporter Jack McGee, who has been hounding Banner and his staff for a story on their research, is snooping around when Banner transforms into the Hulk yet again during a catastrophic lab accident. Banner, even in his transformed state, is unable to save the life of his lab associate, and goes into hiding; while McGee sees Banner’s mutated form, he believes Banner has also died in the inferno. McGee decides that he will pursue the enormous green creature, which he has dubbed “the incredible hulk” in the resulting front-page story, to chronicle its capture and execution for murder. Banner is forced to let the world think he is dead and goes on the run.

Download this episode via Amazonwritten by Kenneth Johnson
directed by Kenneth Johnson
music by Joe Harnell

The Incredible HulkCast: Bill Bixby (David Bruce Banner), Susan Sullivan (Elaina Marks), Jack Colvin (Jack McGee), Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk), Susan Batson (Mrs. Maier), Mario Ballo (Mr. Bram), Eric Server (Policeman), Charles Siebert (Ben), Terrance Lock (Young Man), June Whitley Taylor (Woman), George Brenlin (Man at Lake), Jake Mitchell (Jerry), William Larsen (Minister), Olivia Barash (Girl at Lake), Eric Deon (B.J.)

The Incredible HulkNotes: Using only the characters of Bruce Banner and the Hulk from Marvel’s Incredible Hulk comics, the TV incarnation of the character is the creation of Kenneth Johnson, who had created the Six Million Dollar Man spinoff The Bionic Woman, and would go on to create such genre classics as V and Alien Nation. Johnson was not a fan of the original comics, and as such didn’t fight CBS over such requested changes as altering Bruce Banner’s name to David Bruce Banner (on the grounds that network executives felt the name “Bruce” was “too gay-ish”). Johnson wanted a few other changes – such as Banner turning into a red Hulk rather than a green one – that were vetoed by Marvel. Unlike his unsatisfactory experiences with the TV adaptation of Spider-Man, however, Stan Lee was happy with the TV Hulk, feeling that the changes made were necessary to make the character work in a teleivision context. Arnold Schwarzenegger auditioned for the role of the Hulk, but was deemed too short for the role.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Space Academy

Planet Of Fire

Space AcademyTee Gar shows off his new invention, the cryotron, which will reduce the temperature of hot, uninhabitable worlds to make them safe for colonization. A small-scale laboratory test yields encouraging results – encouraging enough for Tee Gar to take a break and go on vacation with Loki and Peepo in tow. But Tee Gar also takes the cryotron, intending to perform an unannounced test on a world where no life is known to exist. At the same time, Commander Gampu and the others discover that Tee Gar unwittingly used an unstable element in the cryotron: anything frozen with it will, given time, explode.

written by Susan Dworski and Peter Packer
directed by Arthur H. Nadel
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael and Horta-Mahana

Space AcademyCast: Jonathan Harris (Commander Gampu), Pamelyn Ferdin (Laura), Ric Carrott (Chris), Ty Henderson (Paul), Maggie Cooper (Adrian), Brian Tochi (Tee Gar), Eric Greene (Loki), Peepo (himself), Don Pedro Colley (Dramon)

Notes: Don Pedro Colley appeared in THX-1138, Beneath The Planet Of The Apes and the 1993 direct-to-video feature (and future MST3K fodder) Quest Of The Delta Knights.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Logan's Run

Crypt

Logan's RunLogan, Jessica and Rem explore the ruins of a crumbling city, and are surprised to see a sign of activity – a building with a red warning light, still flashing. When they step inside, a recorded message begins playing, informing them of a chamber in the building’s lower levels, containing cryogenic units that hold six of the most brilliant people the old world had to offer – and all of them are supposedly infected with a deadly disease. A serum to cure these people was developed, but only after they were frozen – and not before the war killed anyone who could have revived them. The building is unstable, and as Logan and his friends try to reach the cryochamber, some of the serum is lost, leaving only enough to cure three people – and yet all six of the cryogenic chambers open simultaneously, their locking mechanisms damaged. Now Logan and the others are faced with six people who want the cure, and only enough serum for half of them. One of the survivors turns up dead, but not from the plague – Rem believes he has been murdered. It quickly becomes apparent that one of these brilliant minds is prepared to do whatever it takes to even the odds of being cured.

Download this episodeteleplay by Al Hayes
story by Harlan Ellison
directed by Michael Caffey
music from stock music library

Guest Cast: Christopher Stone (David Pera), Ellen Weston (Rachel Greenhill), Soon-Teck Oh (Dexter Kim), Neva Patterson (Victoria Mackie), Liam Sullivan (Frederick Lyman), Adrienne LaRussa (Sylvia Reyna), Peggy McCay (Dr. Mildred Krim), Richard Roat (Man on video screen)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Man From Atlantis Season 1

Shoot-Out At Land’s End

Man From AtlantisAs the Cetacean participates in routine monitoring of an undersea volcano, Mark feels a sharp, stabbing pain in one shoulder, and is determined to find out why, leaving the sub to head for nearby land. He meets locals at a settlement who seem to think they know him (except they think his name is Billy), discovering an entire island still operating by the rules of the wild west. Mark soon meets “Billy” himself, his near-identical twin, who became a hired gun on this island after he was found alone on the beach. Mark is convinced that Billy is exactly like him, but his ability to feel whatever pain Billy feels could become a fatal liability when Billy is cornered by a lynch mob.

written by Luther Murdoch
directed by Barry Crane
music by Fred Karlin

Man From AtlantisCast: Patrick Duffy (Mark Harris / Billy), Belinda J. Montgomery (Dr. Elizabeth Merrill), Alan Fudge (C.W. Crawford), Pernell Roberts (Clint Hollister), Jamie Smith Jackson (Bettina Washburn), Noble Willingham (Artemis Washburn), Tasha Martell (Carla), Bill Zuckert (Virgil), Richard Laurance Williams (Jomo), J. Victor Lopez (Chuey), Jean Marie Hon (Jane), Anson Downes (Allen)

Man From AtlantisNotes: It was not uncommon for 1970s American science fiction series to hew closely to the conventions of TV westerns, especially as many of the TV writers working at the time had been all but weaned on that genre, but this episode of Man Of Atlantis bends over backward to take the western connection to somewhat awkward extremes. Guest star Tasha Martell is better known as actress Arlene Martel (1936-2014); she adopted the stage name Tasha Martell in the 1970s and used it through the early ’90s.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Space Academy

Life Begins At 300

Space AcademyA mission to retrieve the precious mineral zolium goes dangerously wrong when the concentration of toxic zolium gas overwhelms Paul’s life support system, leaving him defenseless on the surface of a remote planetoid. Peepo retrieves Paul and returns him to the Seeker, but the effort almost destroys him as well. Back at Space Academy, an self-assured young cadet named Gina insists that she predicted this outcome, since her knowledge of zolium is more up-to-date than Commander Gampu’s. Convinced that he is at fault for putting Paul’s life in danger, Gampu decides to tender his resignation, shocking the students under his command.

written by Jack Paritz
directed by Arthur H. Nadel
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael and Horta-Mahana

Cast: Jonathan Harris (Commander Gampu), Pamelyn Ferdin (Laura), Ric Carrott (Chris), Ty Henderson (Paul), Maggie Space AcademyCooper (Adrian), Brian Tochi (Tee Gar), Eric Greene (Loki), Peepo (himself), Paula Wagner (Gina Corey)

Notes: Paula Wagner, this episode’s special guest star, only made two filmed appearances as an actress, and this is one of them. She’s better known now as a high-powered producer and one of the co-owners of United Artists, along with Tom Cruise. She’s produced numerous films that Cruise has starred in, including Mission: Impossible, War Of The Worlds, The Last Samurai, and Vanilla Sky.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Season 2 Space: 1999

The Dorcons

Space: 1999The moon nears some kind of drifting artificial satellite in deep space. But when the object is scanned, it blasts through Moonbase Alpha’s shields with a powerful scanning beam of its own, rendering the crew immobile and damaging equipment. The beam settles on Maya, awakening her and subjecting her to extraordinary pain. A Dorcon ship appears and demand that Koenig hand Maya over – or watch his entire crew die. Koenig refuses, and a vicious attack ensues. Alan Carter leads a small fleet of Eagles into combat, but both the Eagles and Alpha suffer heavy damage while the Dorcon ship is virtually untouched. The Dorcons and Psychons are sworn enemies, and the Dorcons have the ability to stop a Psychon transformation in mid-change – and to drain a Psychon’s life force to renew their own. Faced with Alpha’s destruction, Koenig – at Maya’s own insistence – gives up the fight and hands her over to the Dorcons. But an insurrection within the Dorcons’ own ranks could give Maya and the rest of Moonbase Alpha a means of escape.

Order the DVDswritten by Johnny Byrne
directed by Tom Clegg
music by Derek Wadsworth

Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Patrick Troughton (The Archon), Ann Firbank (Consul Verda), Gerry Sundquist (Malic), Alibe Parsons (Alibe), Laurence Harrington (Stewart), Kevan Sheehan (1st Dorcon operative), Michael Halsey (1st Dorcon soldier), Hamish Patrick (Command Center Alphan), Hazel McBridge (Female medical officer)

Notes: The late Patrick Troughton was, of course, best known as the second incarnation of Doctor Who.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Logan's Run

Fear Factor

Logan's RunLogan and his friends happen upon an intact 20th century mansion, home of a group of reclusive scientists who don’t seem to be willing to discuss what they’re studying. Jessica manages to get a little bit more information, though – and after she finds out what experiments are being conducted there, she says that it’s even worse than the City of Domes. Rem and Logan and trapped in an enclosed chamber and battered with fierce winds, and then fireballs are flung at them – but their ordeal is all part of an attempt to gauge how well Logan handles fear. It’s an emotion that the chief scientist wants to eliminate from his own followers – and instill in any potential enemies before they can do him harm. He sees Logan as the perfect fearless template for his new breed of human soldier.

Download this episodewritten by John Sherlock
directed by Gerald Mayer
music by Bruce Broughton

Guest Cast: Ed Nelson (Dr. Rowan), Jared Martin (Dr. Emory Paulson), William Wellman Jr. (Psychiatrist #1), Peter Brandon (Psychiatrist #2), Carl Byrd (Psychiatrist #3), Jay W. Macintosh (The Woman), Sean Fallon Walsh (Guard “A”), Tim Gillin (Guard #1), Thomas Brunelle (Guard #2)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Movies

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind

  • By Dave
  • November 15, 1977

Close Encounters Of The Third KindElectrical worker Roy Neary encounters the bright lights of a UFO as he investigates a town-wide power outage. He, like hundreds of other such witnesses, becomes fascinated to the point of obsession with the visitors, unable to shake visions of a towering mountain from his mind. Despite the government’s public insistence that nothing unusual has occurred, and his family’s embarrassment and discomfort at his behavior, Roy insists that aliens are trying to tell him – and humanity – something important.

Meanwhile, a military-sponsored research team does believe that someone is out there, and they are desperately trying to figure out how and where to communicate with them and how to keep the information secret. But when the aliens take the son of one of Roy’s fellow witnesses, they risk everything to find the source of their visions…and to make contact.

screenplay by Steven Spielberg
directed by Steven Spielberg
music by John Williams

Close Encounters of the Third Kind/Cast: Richard Dreyfuss (Roy Neary), François Truffaut (Claude Lacombe), Teri Garr (Ronnie Neary), Melinda Dillon (Jillian Guiler), Bob Balaban (David Laughlin), J. Patrick McNamara (Project Leader), Warren J. Kemmerling (Wild Bill), Roberts Blossom (Farmer), Philip Dodds (Jean Claude), Cary Guffey (Barry Guiler), Shawn Bishop (Brad Neary), Adrienne Campbell (Sylvia Neary), Justin Dreyfuss (Toby Neary), Lance Henriksen (Robert), Merrill Connally (Team Leader), George DiCenzo (Major Benchley), Amy Douglass (Implantee), Alexander Lockwood (Implantee), Gene Dynarski (Ike), Mary Gafrey (Mrs. Harris), Norman Bartold (Ohio Tolls), Josef Sommer (Larry Butler), Reverend Michael J. Dyer (Himself), Roger Ernest (Highway Patrolman), Carl Weathers (Military Police), F.J. O’Neil (ARP Project Member), Phil Dodds (ARP Musician), Randy Herman (Returnee #1), Hal Barwood (Returnee #2), Matthew Robbins (Returnee #3), David Anderson (Air Traffic Controller), Richard L. Hawkins (Air Traffic Controller), Craig Shreeve (Air Traffic), Bill Thurman (Air Traffic), Roy E. Richards (Air East Pilot), Gene Rader (Hawker), Eumenio Blanco (Federale), Daniel Núñez (Federale), Chuy Franco (Federale), Luis Contreras (Federale), James Keane (Radio Telescope Team), Dennis McMullen (Radio Telescope Team), Cy Young (Radio Telescope Team), Tom Howard (Radio Telescope Team), Richard Stuart (Truck Dispatcher), Bob Westmoreland (Load Dispatcher), Matt Emery (Special Leader), Galen Thompson (Special Forces), John Dennis Johnston (Special Forces), John Ewing (Dirty Tricks #1), Keith Atkinson (Dirty Tricks #2), Robert Broyles (Dirty Tricks #3), Kirk Raymond (Dirty Tricks #4)

LogBook entry and review by Dave Thomer

Categories
Space Academy

The Cheat

Space AcademyA rare professional argument arises between Chris Gentry and another command cadet, Matt Prentiss. Chris argues that Matt’s behavior on their previous assignment put lives at risk, while Matt claims Chris failed to follow his orders. The hearing presided over by Commander Gampu is cut short by an emergency: an unmanned remote power station on an asteroid has malfunctioned, which threatens all of nearby space with a deadly ion storm. Gampu sends the cadets on a high-risk mission to repair the station’s equipment, and puts Matt Prentiss in charge over Chris’ objections. But when Matt issues orders that puts the team’s lives in jeopardy, will Chris stand by and respect the chain of command, or try to take charge?

written by Robert Specht
directed by George Tyne
music by Yvette Blais & Jeff Michael and Horta-Mahana

Cast: Jonathan Harris (Commander Gampu), Pamelyn Ferdin (Laura), Ric Carrott (Chris), Ty Henderson (Paul), Maggie Cooper (Adrian), Brian Tochi (Tee Gar), Eric Greene (Loki), Peepo (himself), John Berwick (Matt Prentiss)

Space AcademyNotes: The science in this episode is simply off-the-scale bad. The concept of a remote facility beaming power to a planetary body has actually been studied in some depth, but the notion that it could “cause an ion storm” is far-fetched to say the least. And then there’s that bit about crashing an asteroid into another asteroid, resulting in the creation of a new star – making The Cheat a likely contender for the most scientifically inaccurate episode in Space Academy’s brief run. This is also one of very few epiosdes to show Tee Gar performing a martial arts feat, a slightly stereotypical element which was written into the character in the series bible but seldom exploited by the show’s scriptwriters.

LogBook entry by Earl Green