Airdate:
10/25/79
What’s so important about
recovering a stolen America freighter, Buck wants to know, especially after two
cadets died in the failed attempt. The thieves are actually gunrunners,
threatening the earth with nerve gas as a vendetta against being nearly burned
alive by a attack by Wilma Deering, long before Buck entered the picture. Also
pissed at Wilma: the elder members of the Fighting 69th, led by Noah
Cooper (Peter Graves), whom she grounded when they failed their physicals due
to old age. Noah and his gang accept the offer to fly into an asteroid belt and
thwart the villainous plot, which Buck and Wilma conduct ground operations that
includes the rescue of an orphaned girl now suffering under the captivity of
evil Roxanne Trent, whose severed hand is replaced with a powerful metal claw.
With mission accomplished, the 69th is reinstated to active duty,
the girl reunited with her parents.
So-so heart-warmer is abetted by
he presence of always-reliable Peter Graves, who at this point is only a few
months away from his career-changing role in Airplane! (and comedy, as well as airplane disaster films, would
never be the same again). Villains here are more campy than creepy, and the
story of the mute girl is never given the dramatic weight is deserves. It would
be awhile before we get another geriatric space adventure – that would be Clint
Eastwood’s Space Cowboys – let’s hope
we don’t have as long to wait for someone else to tap into this underexplored
genre!
Are we so immature these days that we could never title a serious episode with the number "69" in it?
1 comment:
I like the way Alicia (played by Katherine Wiberg) was able to use her and Buck's knowledge of sign language (aka Hand Talking) to arrange the jail break!
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