Fusion Patrol

In this episode of Fusion Patrol, the Kenneth and Eugene review The Invaders episode “The Experiment,” which features guest star Roddy McDowall as the son of an astrophysicist targeted by alien brainwashing. The discussion highlights the story’s strong Cold War influences, noting how the plot mirrors spy thrillers like The Manchurian Candidate by effectively substituting aliens for Soviet agents.

This week Simon and Eugene look at the last nugget of the Disney-BBC Doctor Who deal, the War Between the Land and the Sea where they discuss parallels between the modern UNIT and Torchwood, whether Kate Lethbridge-Stewart is the true heir to the Brigadier, and Eugene explains why the naming of Homo Aqua is as inappropriate as the naming of the Silurians.

This week Fusion Patrol looks at Buck Rogers in the 25th Century – Season 1, Episode 11, Cosmic Whiz Kid as John and Eugene discuss— Buck sidelined while Wilma saves the day Cross-promotion stunt casting with Gary Coleman Ray Walston as an unconvincing villain The timeline and age math that do not work Aldebaran 2 as a lawless world with municipal androids and no police Cosmic Whiz Kid Airdate: November 15, 1979 Runtime: 60 minutes Starring: Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Tim O’Connor Guest Stars: Gary Coleman, Ray Walston Director: Leslie H. Martinson Writer: Alan Brennert (teleplay), Anne Collins (story) Synopsis: When child genius and President of the planet Genesia Hieronymous Fox is kidnapped by criminal Roderick Zale, his bodyguard seeks help from Earth’s Defense Directorate. Buck Rogers is pulled from a planned vacation and teams up with Lieutenant Dia Cyrton to rescue Fox from Aldebaran II before Zale can use him as leverage for political gain.

This week Fusion Patrol looks at The Andromeda Strain as Ben and Eugene discuss hard science fiction tension built from plausible medical and military technology; human errors, prejudice, and design flaws that nearly trigger nuclear catastrophe; Nostalgic enthusiasm for long‑forgotten light pen computer interfaces; and a strangely prominent topless corpse and its clash with the film’s G‑rated reputation. THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN
Release Date: March 12, 1971
Runtime: 131 minutes
Starring: Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson, Kate Reid
Director: Robert Wise
Writer: Nelson Gidding
Synopsis: After a government satellite crashes in a small New Mexico town, nearly all residents die instantly from a mysterious extraterrestrial organism. An elite team of scientists is assembled in a secret underground facility to isolate the virus and determine why an elderly man and an infant were the only survivors. They must race against time and a nuclear self-destruct mechanism to neutralize the threat before it causes a global pandemic.

This week we look at “Bugs: Jewel Control” as Simon and Eugene discuss electricity billing, Beckett’s impressive Chinese reading capabilities, and whether Bugs is part of the same universe as Torchwood and whether it shares some of the same strengths and flaws. Jewel Control “Airdate: ” August 29, 1998 “Runtime:” 50 “Starring: ” Jaye Griffiths, Jesse Birdsall, Steven Houghton “Guest Stars: ” Naoko Mori “Director: “John Stroud “Writer: “Colin Brake “Synopsis: ” A Colombian emerald baron plans to use an ancient Continuation of Government facility to take control of the world’s jewel market. The team is alerted when Colombian gangster Diaz enters the country and has a connection to an old friend of Ros’.

This week Fusion Patrol looks at “The Invaders: Beachhead” as Kenneth and Eugene discuss— Every aspect of the David Vincent’s life being systematically destroyed, Uncertainty about who is alien and who is actually human, Unreliable pinky gestures and Creator Larry Cohen’s intended symbolism of the aliens’ extended pinky, and they posit whether anyone would notice the difference between Bud’s and Kelly’s Diner Beachhead Airdate: January 10, 1967 Runtime: 51 minutes Starring: Roy Thinnes Guest Stars: Diane Baker, J.D. Cannon, James Daly Director: Joseph Sargent Writer: Anthony Wilson (teleplay), Larry Cohen (story & creator) Synopsis: Architect David Vincent, tired from a late-night drive, stumbles upon an alien landing in a remote town. Unable to convince anyone of what he’s seen, Vincent finds his life unraveling as he obsesses over the mysterious invaders hiding in plain sight.

This week Fusion Patrol looks at the 1973 movie Soylent Green as John and Eugene discuss if starving people even care if Soylent Green is people, Charlton Heston’s most human performance in a dystopian film, women treated as apartment “furniture” in a collapsing society, and Edward G. Robinson’s final acting role as his own death scene Soylent Green Release Date: May 9, 1973 Runtime: 97 minutes Starring: Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Edward G. Robinson, Chuck Connors, Joseph Cotten, Brock Peters, Paula Kelly, Stephen Young, Mike Henry, Whit Bissell Director: Richard Fleischer Writer: Stanley R. Greenberg (screenplay), Harry Harrison (novel) Synopsis: In a polluted and overpopulated New York City in the year 2022, detective Robert Thorn uncovers the corporate murder linked to a popular food product called Soylent Green. As Thorn investigates, he discovers the disturbing secret behind the food that sustains the masses, while society teeters on the brink of environmental catastrophe.

This week Fusion Patrol looks at Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, “Planet of the Amazon Women” as John and Eugene discuss Looking “like leftover dinner” as an insult. The proper technique for making a grilled cheese sandwich, which doesn’t involve holding bread over an open flame. Twiki’s use of the phrase “Holy Toledo.” Planet of the Amazon Women Airdate: 1 November 1979 Runtime: 49 minutes Starring: Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Tim O’Connor Guest Stars: Ann Dusenberry, Jay Robinson, Anne Jeffreys Director: Philip Leacock Writer: D.C. Fontana, Richard Fontana Synopsis: Buck is tricked into landing on the planet Zantia, where he is made a prisoner before being sold as a slave to Ariela, the daughter of the planet’s Prime Minister. While living on the planet, Buck learns that all male members of Zantia’s population have become prisoners of war while battling the planet Ruathan.

Simon and Eugene look at Season 4, episode 6 of Bugs — Pandora’s Box. They discuss why you can’t fix a sixth century plague with modern technology, Beckett’s annoying, sexy upstairs neighbor, and why blowing things up is a much better solution to a contagion than containment. Pandora’s Box Airdate: April 8, 1995 Runtime: 50 minutes Starring: Jesse Birdsall, Craig McLachlan, Jaye Griffiths Guest Stars: Michael Jenn, Paul Brightwell, Michael Garland Director: Ken Grieve Writer: Stephen Gallagher Synopsis: The Bugs team investigates the theft of an ancient Arthurian sword from a high-security vault. Unbeknownst to the thieves, the blade carries a lethal, long-dormant biological contagion that threatens to devastate London if not contained. Ed, Ros, and Beckett face a race against time to recover the sword, stop its sale on the black market, and prevent an epidemic.

Kenneth and Eugene discuss the final two parts of Children of the Dog Star, with the episodes Kolob, and Alien Contact. Kolob Airdate: October 6, 1984 Runtime: 24 minutes Starring: Sarah Dunn, Jason Wallace, Hamish Bartle Guest Stars: Roy Billing, Susan Wilson, Catherine Wilkin, Raymond Hawthorne Director: Chris Bailey Writer: Ken Catran Synopsis: Gretchen finally uncovers the source of the strange power emanating from the swamp and learns some of its secrets, with help from Ronny and Bevis. As the children piece together the remains of the alien probe Kolob, they discover its true purpose and must decide whether its abilities should be unleashed, all while local tensions and warnings intensify. Alien Contact Airdate: October 13, 1984 Runtime: 24 minutes Starring: Sarah Dunn, Jason Wallace, Hamish Bartle Guest Stars: Roy Billing, Susan Wilson, Catherine Wilkin, Raymond Hawthorne Director: Chris Bailey Writer: Ken Catran Synopsis: When the alien power behind Kolob grows unstable, Ronny and Gretchen must act before disaster strikes the community. The children establish direct communication with Sirius B, uncovering the probe’s true origins and the reason for its mission on Earth. In the end, they face a difficult decision that will determine the fate of the alien technology and those around them.

John and Eugene talk about the time Buck Rogers met the Scream Queen, Jamie Lee Curtis, and they discuss the Tennessee delicacy, sand squid, as they look at the episode Unchained Woman. Unchained Woman Airdate: November 1, 1979 Runtime: 48 minutes Starring: Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Tim O’Connor, Pamela Hensley, Felix Silla, Mel Blanc Guest Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael DeLano, Walter Hunter Director: Dick Lowry Writer: Michael Bryant Synopsis: Buck Rogers infiltrates a desert prison colony on Zeta Minor to free Jen Burton, a young woman jailed for her boyfriend’s crimes and needed to testify against him. Their perilous escape from the colony is complicated by the relentless pursuit of ‘Hugo,’ a damaged yet unstoppable android. The journey exposes loyalties, betrayal, and the harsh realities of justice in the 25th century.

This week, Ben and Eugene look at the 1956 Japanese Kaiju classic, Rodan!Or, as originally known, Sora no Daikaiju, Radon. Rodan Release Date: December 26, 1956 (Japan), August 6, 1957 (US) Runtime: 74 minutes Starring: Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Akihiko Hirata Director: Ishirô Honda Writer: Takeshi Kimura, Takeo Murata (screenplay), based on story by Ken Kuronuma Synopsis: Mining engineer Shigeru Kawamura investigates the deaths of his colleagues and discovers prehistoric nymphs along with a gigantic flying creature called Rodan. After Rodan terrorizes several towns, authorities attempt to stop the devastating monster in its destructive path. I’m dropping a little detour here into the show notes, not directly about Rodan, but just because you may be interested. “Rodan! The Flying Monster” (1957) as it was billed in the US was distributed in association with King Brothers Productions, who, among other things, went on to produce Gorgo (1961), which is a film we’ll look at soon here on Fusion Patrol.Friend of the show Anthony McKay has done a history of the King Brothers as part of his coverage of Gorgo for the most recently released issue of Little Shoppe of Horrors (Issue #52.)If you’re interested in reading more, in the US, you can purchase it here, and if you’re in the UK, you can find it at Hemlock Books here. (Issue 52 wasn’t yet available on the UK site as of this writing, but should be soon.)(This is not a paid promotion. Anthony provides us with a lot of fascinating background information, and he has written some fascinating articles for LSoH.)

Simon and Eugene look Season 4, Episode 5 of Bugs, Hell and High Water. They discuss how this throws back to earlier Bugs episodes, whether Alex commits the most unethical act seen in the show so far, and if you work on defense contracts and give your computer to a museum, whether you should check what’s on it first. Hell and High Water Airdate: August 8, 1998 Runtime: 48 minutes Starring: Jaye Griffiths, Jesse Birdsall, Steven Houghton, Jan Harvey, Paula Hunt Guest Stars: TBA Director: Brian Grant Writer: Brian Clemens, Colin Brake Synopsis: When a military satellite threatens to crash into Earth, the Bugs team races against time to reach a remote tracking station and prevent global disaster.

Hello and welcome to this not-actually-an-episode of Fusion Patrol. I’m Eugene, and I’m all alone here today. Have you noticed that Fusion Patrol episode numbers just keep getting higher and higher? Here we are at over 750 episodes. Our first episode dropped in April of 2010. That’s over 15 years. That’s like 30 to 60 times longer than many of the TV series that we’ve discussed here on the podcast. Some people would say our discussions are sometimes 30 to 60 times longer than the episodes too. But that’s a different story. 15 years is a long time. And a lot has changed in the world and also in podcasting itself. Listening to what I just said, I realize this might sound like an announcement of something drastic, like the end of the podcast. It is not that. Far from it. I do the podcast for fun, and I have been very fortunate to have a series of great co-hosts who are also doing this for fun. The podcast is still fun for me, so it goes on. But 15 years ago, I was, shock and dismay, younger and also more naive. Podcasting was newer and represented this new non-corporate frontier for creative outlets. And, you know, hindsight’s a wonderful thing. And I can look back and I can see that I was deliriously optimistic in my estimation of the potential audience. Let me give you my thinking. At that time, podcasting represented a vast potential audience devoid of the financial restrictions of commercial TV or radio. I would have worldwide access to people who are, well, let’s just say it, nerds, people who were technically savvy enough to understand and do the podcast thing. These were my people, so to speak. The idea behind Fusion Patrol was based on local meetings in Phoenix of TARDIS and the United Federation of Phoenix, both of which were and still are longstanding local fan clubs that during the 1990s spent a lot of time watching TV shows and then over pizza later on talking about them. But even in the nascent podcast space of the early 2010s, Doctor Who and Star Trek were overrepresented. And therefore, the idea of generally avoiding these shows and concentrating on other, less common shows came about. My thought was that better to be a big splash in a small pond rather than a small splash in a big pond. We’ll come back to that pond later on. But of course, this was also the heyday of old nostalgia programmings getting DVD release. Shows that had been rarely seen in decades were beginning to show up, and programs from international markets were becoming available. So it was fertile ground, I thought. But we are coming to the point of this little dissertation. Slowly, but we’re getting there. Anyway, I was thinking at the time that Fusion Patrol was going to inhabit a niche uncovered by other podcasts, and in retrospect, we have. I have seen so many other podcasts come and go that have tried to muscle into our milieu. In our current structure, we are doing an episode each from three different series and a movie every month. And we’ve still lapped other podcasts. Podcasts dedicated to shows like Blakes 7, Kolchak the Night Stalker, Crime Traveller and others have come, and sometimes they even got there before we started, and then we still beat them to the finish, and sometimes they never even made it to the finish. We at Fusion Patrol are reliable, or as my dad used to say, “Glovers are just damn stubborn.” I do still keep an eye out for these other podcasts because I genuinely like hearing other considered viewpoints. I’ve seen a lot of them come and go, and there’s one seemingly universal constant. There just aren’t enough listeners to justify the expense of the effort. I’ve always assumed that, like me, they expected, and when I say like me, I mean originally, they expected that the audience would prove sufficient to ultimately turn some form of a profit. And I’m not going to lie, you know, when I started out, I really did kind of think, my gosh, There are so many thousands of us in the world that there must be something. And I thought, well, we’ll just build an audience and we’ll see what kind of revenue opportunities make sense. But the sad reality is this is a small pond. There may be billions of potential people, but there aren’t billions of listeners. So as you’ve guessed by now, this is actually about money. So let’s just talk brass tacks. You are probably sick to death of the Patreon/Buy Me a Coffee spiel baked into the end credits. Or if you’re not sick to death, you’ve probably become so inured to it that you just don’t hear it anymore or you skip the end credits. Well, you know, whatever. It’s fine, and whereas you may be sick of it, do you know what I am? I’m embarrassed by it. I am embarrassed to have to ask. And even in this most cursory fashion, every time I hear it, it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and I am embarrassed by it. Nonetheless, let me say, if you are already a Patreon donor, or you’re someone who has donated to us through Buy Me A Coffee, whether one time or repeatedly, we can do this one of two ways. We can go With A Really Big Thank You. Or we can go with the effusive sort of thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. What the hell? We could go with both. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I honestly cannot express how much I appreciate it. I can only liken it to when you’re on a stage and you actually feel the applause from the audience. It is so much more than just money. But I also get that you, many of you, most of you can’t support every podcast you listen to. I support some podcasts on Patreon, but I have to be very selective about it. And I try to send it where I think it will have the most impact with small podcasts. Fusion Patrol had been running for five years before we even got a Patreon account. Over 200 episodes had been published. And I didn’t like the idea of asking then. I still don’t like it now. But at the time, I quipped, with your support, we could continue for another 200 episodes. And here we are, 500 episodes later. In actual dollars, cold, hard, physical cash that I never see because it’s not cash, it’s electronic. But, you know, it’s money. The podcast costs me annually about 750 US dollars or sixty three dollars a month. And I’ve recently been notified of an eight percent increase on some of the hosting costs that’s coming in October. And those costs don’t include like the DVDs and Blu-rays that I purchased to discuss on the show. So, if it’s financially within your means, and you find Fusion Patrol of value, I’m asking you, as sincerely and humbly as I can, if you would consider becoming a Patreon donor. And if you’re one of those people who has a problem with Patreon, and there are plenty of legitimate reasons why you might, you can also donate either one time or monthly by way of Buy Me a Coffee. But wait, there’s more. If you’ve listened this far, I imagine you’re a regular listener. So I would like to put a couple of other ideas out there. We know, and when I say “we,” I mean the podcast industry, that for any population of listeners, there will only be a small percentage who can or will financially support a podcast. It’s a fact of life. We are a small podcast. This is a small pond. The revenue pool cannot be big. It does depend on which shows we’re reviewing at the moment. But generally, generally, we get in the order of about a thousand listens a month, which is not a lot. However, 95% of those are considered impactful, which which just means that the listener listened to at least 75% of the podcast before they gave up. So that’s actually quite good. That means that the people who are listening are listening to the podcast all the way, more or less all the way through. Now, if we had 2,000 listens a month that were 95% impact, that would make the pond bigger. And no, I’m not asking you to listen to each episode twice because that would actually defeat the purpose. But what you could do is to help spread the word. You could review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. You could share it with others. You could boost episodes that you like on social media or forums or wherever you get your nerd flag out. And then finally, I’m going to throw this last one out to you because maybe you’ve got a great idea. I consider Fusion Patrol to have the premiere back catalog of episodes on shows like this, right? Name me any other podcast that has all of Blake 7, Space 1999, Sapphire and Steel, Man from Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica, Doomwatch, Crime Traveller, The Night Stalker, The Fantastic Journey, Firefly, The Omega Factor, The Prisoner, Star Cops, Moonbase 3, so many other shows that we have done in their entirety. And they are all out there. That’s a hell of a back catalog we’ve got out there. And it should be relatively evergreen because is there really that much of a difference between a review of a 50 year old show reviewed today or 10 years ago? But the fact is, virtually no one listens to the old shows. That’s obviously largely due to the way podcasts syndicate and the way search engines searchicate and the fact that the podcast aggregators like Apple Podcasts will only list the last 300 episodes at absolute most. So my question to you is this, can you think of anything that I can do to make them seen And more importantly, seen by the right people in the right context. Because when we’re looking at specific old shows, it’s no longer really about Fusion Patrol, the eclectic podcast on old sci-fi. But it’s something more like Fusion Patrol presents Space 1999 or some such. And I’d like to find a way to make those more seen, more listened to, because there’s somebody out there right now that’s probably thinking, hey, I should do a podcast on Doomwatch. It’s like been there, done that guy. But anyway, it’s a thought. And

Kenneth and Eugene look at episodes 3 and 4 of Children of the Dog Star. Swamp Light Airdate: April 16, 1984 Runtime: 24 minutes Starring: Sarah Dunn, Jeison Wallace, Hamish Bartle, Roy Billing, Susan Wilson, Catherine Wilkin, David McKenzie, Raymond Hawthorne, Anzac Wallace Guest Stars: John Mellor, Whatanui Skipwith, Jim Hickey, Rodney Newman, Dennis Gubb Director: Chris Bailey Writer: Ken Catran Synopsis: Power failures persist at the farm as the daisy rod continues to awaken, drawing Gretchen deeper into its strange lure. Gretchen confides in Ronny about her eerie experiences, while Bevis investigates suspicious activity in the swamp and witnesses mysterious lights—setting the stage for an extraordinary discovery that could unite Māori legend and extraterrestrial mystery. Alien Summons Airdate: April 23, 1984 Runtime: 24 minutes Starring: Sarah Dunn, Jeison Wallace, Hamish Bartle, Roy Billing, Susan Wilson, Catherine Wilkin, Raymond Hawthorne, David McKenzie, Anzac Wallace Guest Stars: John Mellor, Whatanui Skipwith, Jim Hickey, Rodney Newman, Dennis Gubb Director: Chris Bailey Writer: Ken Catran Synopsis: Bevis disappears while investigating the mysterious swamp, prompting a community search. As Gretchen and Ronny realize just how much danger he faces, the children’s discovery of the alien probe brings them closer to uncovering the secrets behind the otherworldly presence and the true purpose of the mysterious daisy rod.

Who’d have thunk it?  Buck Rogers in the 25th Century decides to tackle issues of ageism, the mental anguish of disabilities, and questions of identity as related to the concept of “fixing” a disability.   Or at least, it would have been if the production staff had given this episode much thought. John and Eugene, on the other hand, give this episode way too much thought as they look at the Return of the Fighting 69th. Return of the Fighting 69th Airdate: October 25, 1979 Runtime: 48 minutes Starring: Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Tim O’Connor, Felix Silla, Mel Blanc Guest Stars: Peter Graves, Elizabeth Allen, Robert Quarry, Woody Strode, Eddie Firestone, K.T. Stevens, Katherine Wiberg, Robert Hardy, Duncan McKenzie, Clifford Turknett, Dan Sturkie Director: Jack Arnold Writer: David Carren (teleplay), Robert C. Dille (characters) Synopsis: Buck and Wilma are forced to team up with a legendary squadron of veteran pilots brought out of retirement to stop gunrunners Commander Corliss and Roxanne Trent, who plan to use stolen nerve gas weapons against Earth. When Buck and Wilma are captured, the older aces must overcome their self-doubt and rally for one last daring rescue amid the dangers of an asteroid belt and a heavily-fortified enemy base.

This week Ben and Eugene look at the 1960 movie, Village of the Damned, inspired by the 1957 John Wyndham novel, the Midwich Cuckoos.

This week, Simon and Eugene discuss ultrasonic weapons and whether they are as effective at punching holes in concrete as they are at cleaning dental guards, Ross’s suddenly discovered sensitivity to sexism and Alex being patronized for her age, and Eugene introduces his groundbreaking conception of the three eras of Britain. The Two Becketts Airdate: August 1, 1998 Runtime: 48 minutes Starring: Jaye Griffiths, Jesse Birdsall, Steven Houghton, Jan Harvey, Paula Hunt Guest Stars: Stephen Yardley (as Matt Beckett), Nick Brimble, Justine Francesca Glenton Director: Brian Grant Writer: Brian Clemens, Terry Borst, Frank De Palma Synopsis: Beckett’s estranged father turns up after ten years, seeking the team’s help against a powerful gangster. As the case unfolds, family secrets and unresolved anger come to the fore.

This week, Kenneth and Eugene begin their look at a new series here on Fusion Patrol — the 1984 New Zealand production, Children of the Dog Star.This time, the first two installments, The Brass Daisy and Power Stop. The Brass Daisy Airdate: April 2, 1984 Runtime: 24 minutes Starring: Sarah Dunn, Jeison Wallace, Hamish Bartle, Roy Billing, Susan Wilson, Catherine Wilkin, David McKenzie, Raymond Hawthorne, Anzac Wallace Guest Stars: John Mellor, Whatanui Skipwith, Jim Hickey, Jason Nathan, Dennis Gubb Director: Chris Bailey Writer: Ken Catran Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Gretchen arrives at her uncle’s farm for the holidays and quickly befriends local boy Ronny and birdwatcher Bevis. She is drawn to a peculiar brass weathervane atop the barn, but as odd events begin to unfold, the children discover the artifact holds a mysterious power—one that may be linked to legends of Sirius, the Dog Star. Power Stop Airdate: April 9, 1984 Runtime: 24 minutes Starring: Sarah Dunn, Jeison Wallace, Hamish Bartle, Roy Billing, Susan Wilson, Catherine Wilkin, Raymond Hawthorne, David McKenzie, Anzac Wallace Guest Stars: John Mellor, Whatanui Skipwith, Jim Hickey, Jason Nathan, Dennis Gubb Director: Chris Bailey Writer: Ken Catran Synopsis: Gretchen is troubled by strange events involving the brass daisy rod, which seems to cause mysterious power failures around the farm. While racing Ronny, she crashes into the swamp and the kids discover a curious brass artifact, deepening the enigma. Meanwhile, local tensions rise as surveyors plan to develop the tapu swamp, and Ronny’s people warn that the land harbors secrets best left undisturbed.

John and Eugene discuss the time Buck Rogers pits himself again the lamest group of assassins the galaxy can muster, and they ponder the riddle, “Why are they even a threat?” It’s the two-part episode, The Plot to Kill a City. The Plot to Kill a City Airdate: October 11–18, 1979 Runtime: 96 minutes (two-part episode) Starring: Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Tim O’Connor, Felix Silla, Mel Blanc Guest Stars: Frank Gorshin, John Quade, Anthony James, Robert Tessier, Nancy DeCarl, Markie Post, James Sloyan, Michael Delano, William Sanderson, Paul Koslo Director: Dick Lowry Writer: Alan Brennert (teleplay), Robert C. Dille (characters) Synopsis: Buck assumes the identity of a notorious assassin to infiltrate the Legion of Death, a group of super-powered criminals plotting the destruction of New Chicago. As Wilma goes undercover, Buck must outwit the deadly team—including their telekinetic, empath, and mutant members—while racing against time to save the city and expose the conspirators.