Year: 1981

The Searcher is diverted from its exploration mission to ferry a Zykarian ambassador named Duvoe to a diplomatic summit on the barren planet R-4. In the neutral meeting place called Oasis, Duvoe hopes to prevent an interstellar war before the first shots can be fired. When Dr. Goodfellow craftily convinces Admiral Asimov to let him tag along to get a rare glimpse of R-4’s rumored abundance of mutant life forms, Hawk is assigned to protect him. The shuttle they depart aboard crashes in the wasteland far from Oasis, and Buck and the others escape just before the shuttle sinks into the ground. With no communications gear or power, and over Duvoe’s persistent protests, Buck’s party sets out for Oasis on foot – and Dr. Goodfellow has ample opportunity to witness the mutations of R-4 along the way. In orbit, Admiral Asimov and Zykarian Admiral Zeit grow increasingly suspicious of each other, as Earth is generally believed to be aligned with the Zykarians’ enemies. If word comes from Oasis that Ambassador Duvoe hasn’t reached the negotiations on time, war is inevitable – and Earth will find itself in the middle of the opening volley.

written by Robert & Esther Mitchell
directed by Daniel Haller
music by John Cacavas

Cast: Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers), Erin Gray (Colonel Wilma Deering), Thom Christopher (Hawk), Jay Garner (Admiral Asimov), Wilfred Hyde-White (Dr. Goodfellow), Felix Silla (Twiki), Jeff David (voice of Crichton), Mark Lenard (Ambassador Duvoe), Len Birman (Admiral Zeit), Paul Carr (Lt. Devlin), Donn Whyte (Raka), Felix Silla (Odee-X), Michael Stroka (Rolla), Alex Hyde-White (Technician)

Notes: The late Mark Lenard had already made his mark on SF TV as Spock’s father Sarek in the original Star Trek, and at the time of this episode’s production had recently donned the first lumpy-headed Klingon makeup to portray a member of that race in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Paul Carr, who begins a run as recurring character Lt. Devlin, appeared in the second Star Trek pilot, Where No Man Has Gone Before as Lt. Kelso; Devlin appears to be the nominal second-in-command of the Searcher after Admiral Asimov. Also, the character of Admiral Zeit may be an outcast from another SF TV franchise: he’s wearing Colonial Warrior insignia from Battlestar Galactica, which had been cancelled by this time. Judging by Odee-X’s voice, it would appear that Felix Silla was not only filling Twiki’s suit in the early part of the second season, but providing his voice too.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Buck and Hawk are surveying the surface of a planet which they hope will prove to be suitable for colonization. A freak windstorm forces them to seek shelter in a cave, where they are amazed to find another human being, and an empty grave whose headstone reads “Janovus XXVI.” This, presumably, is the elderly man they have found – but nothing explains the fact that the man knows who Buck is, and appears to have been expecting his arrival. Janovus pronounces Buck the chosen one, and entrusts him with a glowing container which Buck is to pass along to the correct person at the correct time…though he has no idea who or when that will be. The old man then dies. That night, Buck falls asleep and then finds himself back at his family’s house in the 20th century. He continues on through a detailed dream that only ends at the point in his Ranger 3 mission when he was plunged into suspended animation – at which time Hawk awakens Buck. Back aboard Searcher, Crichton can’t penetrate the box with his sensors, and Dr. Goodfellow analyzes some scrolls that belonged to Janovus, discovering references to Guardians of space and time – presumably the ones to whom Buck must deliver the box. Other members of the crew, including Hawk and Admiral Asimov, experience intense hallucinations not unlike Buck’s memories of home – and close proximity to the alien box seems to be the only common factor. The Searcher’s new cargo may drive its deliverers mad before that can rid themselves of it.

written by Paul Schneider & Margaret Schneider
directed by Jack Arnold
music by Bruce Broughton

Cast: Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers), Erin Gray (Colonel Wilma Deering), Thom Christopher (Hawk), Jay Garner (Admiral Asimov), Wilfred Hyde-White (Dr. Goodfellow), Felix Silla (Twiki), Jeff David (voice of Crichton), Harry Townes (Janovus), Rosemary DeCamp (Mrs. Rogers), Paul Carr (Lt. Devlin), Barbara Luna (Koori), Felix Silla (Twiki), Shawn Stevens (Boy), Dennis Haysbert (Helmsman), Vic Perrin (The Guardian), Howard Culver (Mailman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Aliens with the ability to change their appearance to look human infiltrate one of Earth’s most critical strategic defense stations, killing the station’s command crew and taking over. On the Searcher, Buck is bedridden at an inopportune time – an Earth ambassador is about to board the ship before she heads out on a diplomatic assignment. Buck hobbles out of the Searcher’s sick bay to watch the welcoming ceremony, but he see someone other than Ambassador Cabot and his entourage; he later tells Wilma that he saw reptilian creatures instead. Everyone else, however, sees the Ambassador’s party as normal human beings. When Buck suspects that the Searcher’s mission is being compromised, possibly leading to the lizards’ infiltration of all of Earth space, he takes matters into his own hands even though he get his friends to believe his story.

written by Francis Moss
directed by Barry Crane
music by Herbert D. Woods

Cast: Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers), Erin Gray (Colonel Wilma Deering), Thom Christopher (Hawk), Jay Garner (Admiral Asimov), Wilfred Hyde-White (Dr. Goodfellow), Felix Silla (Twiki), Jeff David (voice of Crichton), Linden Chiles (Ambassador Cabot), Vernon Weddle (Dr. Moray), Kim Hamilton (Lt. Paulton), Paul Carr (Lt. Devlin), Frank Parker (Captain), Barry Cahill (Major Elif), Stacy Keach Sr. (General Kenton), Allan Hunt (Willie)

Notes: Apparently the Earth Defense Directorate has either given way to, or is a part of, a body called the Earth Alliance. The show’s plummeting budget was beginning to show clearly, with a barely-altered electronic zodiac game commonly available in 1980, and a Commodore PET computer, serving as very visible props. Guest star Kim Hamilton, a ubiquitous face of 70s TV, also appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Final Mission.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Searcher encounters a lone life pod in the unlikeliest of places – tumbling helplessly through an asteroid field. The ship’s tractor beam catches the pod before it can collide with something, but the life expectancy of the golden-skinned child within the pod doesn’t grow appreciably when the Searcher itself collides with an asteroid. The ship survives remarkably intact, but it can’t escape the asteroid. The boy insists that he has a companion, trapped on a nearby planet, whose telekinetic powers could easily free the Searcher from its predicament, so Buck and the boy go to search for him. When they track him down, however, they find that he has been enslaved in a village whose superstitious leaders are forcing him to use his abilities to turn ordinary objects into crystal or precious metals. The villagers spot the similar boy with Buck and capture them as well, forcing Hawk to mount a one-man rescue mission.

written by Calvin Clement Sr. & Stephen McPherson
directed by Vincent McEveety
music by Bruce Broughton

Cast: Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers), Erin Gray (Colonel Wilma Deering), Thom Christopher (Hawk), Jay Garner (Admiral Asimov), Wilfred Hyde-White (Dr. Goodfellow), Felix Silla (Twiki), Jeff David (voice of Crichton), David Hollander (Vellus), Russell Wiggins (Relkos), Anthony James (Graff), Diana Chesney (Hag), Richard Wright (Onlooker #1), Arthur Eisner (Onlooker #2), Roger Rose (Marcos), Michael Marsters (Jailer), Bob Elyea (Alphie), Bruce M. Fischer (Loran)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Buck, Wilma and Hawk journey to the volcanic planet of Phibocetes to look for crystals needed to recharge the Searcher’s engines. Dr. Goodfellow believes the crystals can be found here, and Hawk finds one near a mummified humanoid coated with volcanic ash. Buck stays on the planet to begin preparations to mine the crystals as Wilma and Hawk return to the Searcher with the crystal sample, and Buck discovers a human female who seems to have no memory. By the time Wilma and Hawk return with a mining team from the Searcher, Buck has named the girl Laura but hasn’t been able to get her to remember anything else about herself. The Searcher crew members are repeatedly attacked by a large creature which steals the crystals they’ve mined, and sensors show that the being has the same body chemistry as Laura. Crichton discovers evidence that Laura and the creature are of the same race, but one which devolves from a human form into something more like the creature. Both of them share a strange, obsessive attachment to any of the crystals that are unearthed. Crichton also suggests that this could be the result of a virus that may be endangering the entire crew.

written by Robert Mitchell & Esther Mitchell
directed by John Patterson
music by Donald Woods

Cast: Gil Gerard (Buck Rogers), Erin Gray (Colonel Wilma Deering), Thom Christopher (Hawk), Jay Garner (Admiral Asimov), Wilfred Hyde-White (Dr. Goodfellow), Felix Silla (Twiki), Jeff David (voice of Crichton), Amanda Wyss (Laura), Sandy-Alexander Champion (Chief Petty Officer Hall), Alex Hyde-White (Lt. Martin), James Parkes (Kovick), Gary Bolen (Johnson), Leigh C. Kim (Petrie), Hubie Kerns Jr. (Mummy Monster)

Notes: This episode sees – or perhaps hears – the return of Mel Blanc as the voice of Twiki. Guest star Alex Hyde-White, seen here in a very small role, is the son of Wilfred Hyde-White and later appeared as Nightwatch recruiter Pierce Macabee in the Babylon 5 episode In The Shadow Of Z’Ha’Dum, as well as in the role of Reed Richards in an unreleased, Roger Corman-produced 1994 film version of Fantastic Four. Although the junior Hyde-White plays Lt. Martin here, he plays the role of Ensign Moore only two episodes later.

LogBook entry by Earl Green