Wonder Woman 2.10: Mind Stealers From Outer Space Part One

Airdate: 12/2/77

Andros returns, and this time he’s got bigger fish to fry – or should I say, skrill to fry. That’s the name of a deadly, invasive alien species that have arrived on earth to steal human, a valuable black-market commodity in the rest of the galaxy. Once again, Andros is at odds with the rest of his council, who give him a time limit of 6 days to TCB. Lucklily, he enlists the help of Steve and Wonder Woman; the three of them track down a couple of college students used as Skrill host bodies, and discover that the pernicious intruders are able to store minds in small egg-type devices, which is where the feale student’s mind is being kept. Part One closes with a real threat – the Skrill plant “catnip” in Diana’s apartment to lure Sardor, a big badass alien ogre, to kill her, and thus Wonder Woman, whom they figured out are the same person..

Not what you think.

More crazy interstellar hijinks revisits Andros (from the “Judgment from OuterSpace two-parter), who is now played by a much younger and better looking Dack Rambo. Again he is distrusted by his colleagues and has to go it alone. (Why don’t they listen to this guy – wasn’t he right last time?) The Star Wars influence is clearly evident here, given the show’s two-part format, increased budget for special effects, and the all-too-obvious modeling of the masked, dark-caped, Sardor after Darth Vader. There’s also a bit of the then-just released Close Encounters in here too, especially in the first half when the distrustful authorities cordon off a whole tract of acreage to “investigate” the aliens.

But all told, a good intro to what promises to be a crazy showdown. Given the superhero nature and campy tone of the show, it’s good to see WW face off against some threatening villains for a change.