Ep 201 Time of the Hawk, Part 1 January 15, 1981

Director: Vincent McEveety

Writer(s): Norman Hudis

Guest Star(s):
Koori .... BarBara Luna
Communication-Probe Officer .... Dennis Haysbert
Flagg .... Lance Le Gault
Pratt .... Sid Haig
Captain of the Freighter.... Kenneth O'Brien
Simmons .... Susan McIver
Thordis .... Andre Harvey
Complete list of Cast and Crew:

Koori and Hawk are flying home (Valley of Eagles) after spending 12 days at the Soaring Place. Unfortunately, when they arrive they find that their entire village have been killed, including Koori's parents. Hawk finds the body of a human, and instantly assumes that they are responsible for this genocide. He vows to kill any and all humans that cross his path. He swears to the ancient god of his people, Make-Make, that he will kill humans until the day they kill him. A few weeks later, on board the Searcher, Admiral Asimov asks Wilma how the Absorption is coming along. The Chief indicated that all solar screens will be recharged by 0900 hours (9:00am) and can start Shakedown at that time. Asimov relieves Wilma who goes in search for Buck. She finds him flirting with Simmons. Wilma puts a stop to that! What's wrong with Twiki's voice? Oh my gosh it is so annoying! I hate it! Argh! Worst change ever. He sounds like Tina from Cruise Ship to the Stars. There needs to be a Special Edition or Fan Edit where they edit Twiki's original voice back into the show. Perhaps someday. Buck catches up to Wilma in the mess hall where we are introduced to Dr. Goodfellow. An elderly man who, for some reason, takes both Wilma and Buck's pulse. Admiral Asimov comes over the PA and requests Buck's presence on the Bridge. Apparently they found something in "Q" quadrant. On the Bridge, Asimov requests the Communication Probe Officer (who is the same actor who played The Guard at gate 23 in A Dream of Jennifer) to put this object on screen. Then he asks if it is a meteor. What? Are you freakin' kidding me? Asimov has not even seen this object and thinks it could be a common meteor but feels that Buck should get to the Bridge right away to take a look? "Hey Buck, we found a Meteor drifting in space, you need to come to the Bridge right-away!" It clearly is a ship. Not a gas cloud, or anything else that you would normally find in space. Least Wilma is the smartest one in the room. Asimov orders the Chief for Plasma Drive to close the gap between them and the ship. Unable to identify the ship, Asimov requests for Crichton's help.

"Who, in the name of Theseus does he think did?" asks Asimov to Dr. Goodfellow about Crichton's belief that humans made him. Crichton finally makes it to the bridge and his expert opinion on the vessel is that it came from an unknown planet. Its design is close in style to those residing in the farthest regions of the Vega quadrant. Crichton suggests that they expand their search to regions beyond Cygnus in the ancient system of Argus (Rafael Argus?). Argus is a star, near the planet Throm. The ship finally comes into range and the Searcher tractor beams it in close enough to board the ship. Buck and Wilma enter the room marked "Capt" and find the Captain of the Freighter trying to stay alive in a spacesuit. Wilma adjusts the room controls making it breathable and removes the Captains helmet. He awakes, tells them he was attacked by a Hawk then dies. Do you think that if Buck and Wilma transported the Captain in his spacesuit on board the Searcher and got proper medical care that he could of survived? So, the Captain claims to be human because the Hawk would not have attacked him otherwise. How did humans get so far away in space, on unknown planets and flying ships of unknown design? Well back on Hawks planet, and in his cave, Koori indicates that humans have been attacking the bird men with furry and death for as long as any can remember. That means a very long time, and with consistency. However later, in the mess hall, Dr. Goodfellow indicates that a bird race is something of legend and conjecture that has been unproven for ages. Doesn't that contradict what Koori just said, or does it contradict what Goodfellow just said? Oh well, time to Rig for Plasma drive. Whatever that means. Now heading for Throm.

Communication-Probe Officer indicates that all star charts beyond Cygnus are very ancient and confusing. But they were able to find the Planet Throm anyways. Invested with the authority by the Galactic Council, Buck takes a shuttle down to the planet alone. The planets Communication Tower radios in to Buck to identify himself as he fly's in the Alpha 4 quadrant. The tower is in the Communications Center in the city-state of Neutralis (named after the cities neutrality no doubt). The Communications engineer indicates that Buck can land via the Guide-Beam. Buck lands and comes up to a group of men who look important. Buck questions Thordis regarding a man named Hawk. How did Buck know Thordis's name, and Hawks? Just then two goons, Flagg and Pratt (same actor who played Spirot in Flight of the War Witch) approach Thordis complaining that their ship is not yet completed. Apparently their ship had excessive laser damage. Thordis points them in Buck's direction. Flagg and Pratt need to be off Throm by tomorrow morning and request the use of Buck's ship to help. Flagg offers 1,000 kroffers to rent the ship for one day. Buck says no. They raise their offer to 2,000. Buck makes an alternative offer. That they tell him where he can find Hawk and he will let them borrow his ship. Flagg refuses and offers to buy the ship for 5,000 kroffers. How does Flagg know that Buck's ship is worth at least 5,000?

Flagg, Pratt and two more goons show up at Buck's shuttle later that night with the false pretense that they are there to negotiate information for transportation. Buck is one step of ahead of them and gases the four men, throws three out the door, while they are incapacitated, and holds onto Flagg. Buck tries to grab Flagg's collar but fumbles with it a bit. Buck has the upper hand now. Thordis approaches Hawk, who is sitting alone in the market place. Hawk's ship broke the record of most badly damaged ship Throm has ever repaired. I guess that Freighter put up quite a fight. Thordis warns Hawk about Buck looking for him. Buck, went back to town, leaving Flagg all alone, in his ship, sitting in the captains chair to get some things. Buck picked up a dog collar (aren't dogs extinct?) and a grass skirt that he threatens to make Flagg wear while Buck parades him around town, making him the laughing stock of the galaxy. Well the thought of being humiliated like that is enough to make Flagg sing. Hawk hangs out in the Valley of Eagles, a two hour flight, just beyond the second mountain range, North of Neutralis, with his bird-woman. Buck requests Wilma to join him. Dr. Goodfellow hear's about Wilma going out to find Hawk, and insists on joining her. He claims that the discovery of the Bird-People will be as astronomical as the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen. I think the fact that Dr. Goodfellow knows who Tutankhamen is astronomical in of it self considering all first season the writers set up a world that was destroyed by a Holocaust, vaporizing all Earth's known history.

Dr. Goodfellow explains to Wilma that there is substantial evidence that there where bird-people on Earth. The stone carvings on Easter Island in Tahiti still stand to this day. There are carvings, or petroglyphs, of winged men, men with power of flight, and wings ending with fingers. Koori hears the arrival of Wilma's Starfighter. Somehow, she and Goodfellow arrived before Buck. Dr. Goodfellow insists on exploring the cave of Hawk, and the bird-people with no regard to personal safety of himself or Wilma. He sure is a dangerous person to have around during a military mission. He's loud, careless, disobedient, and has a complete disregard to authority. The stone carving of Make-Make, and the petroglyphs on the cave walls are just too overwhelming to Goodfellow. This implication is that the bird-people traveled to Earth long before 1200 AD. Couldn't it have been the other way around? Unbeknownst to Wilma and Goodfellow, a mutant Lycosa tarantula drops a cobweb-net down on top of them. The web has a paralytic effect on the two. Well, our hero finally arrives at the caves, just in time to throw the web-net off Wilma and Goodfellow before the tarantula was able to find its way to its victims. Buck, of course is a lousy shot and misses the slow moving, over-sized arachnid, only to hit it with the second shot. Well, least Buck has some sense and orders Wilma to get rid of Goodfellow.

Buck finds Koori and questions her about Hawk. At first she denies knowing anyone named Hawk, but once Buck calls Hawk half human, all denial goes out the window. After much (or little) talk, Buck kidnaps Koori in an attempt to lure Hawk out of hiding. I guess Wilma took Dr. Goodfellow home on the Shuttle, as Buck is flying Koori in a Starfighter. So, why did Wilma go to the planet? I mean, that whole thing with her and Goodfellow seemed rather pointless, other than to connect Easter Island with Hawks people. Hawk catches up and fires on Buck and Koori. He makes bold claims that he is better than Buck and is no match for him. Buck's technology wont be able to save him against Hawks instincts, refined over eons of evolution. Blah Blah blah. Hawk seems to relay pretty heavily on technology himself, attacking with his ship and all. Hawk and Koori taunt Buck, telling him that his instruments wont help him. Another deviation from Season 1, where Buck's shooting and flying was all instinct and talent. Buck was/is against using the computer of the ship. Buck must have reentered Throm on the other side of the planet as all the mountains are now snow covered. Well, Buck must have impressed Hawk a little, as now they are playing a game of Simon. It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Hawk uses his landing gear to clamp onto Buck's Starfigher, but clamped on to the back, where Koori was sitting. Working together, Hawk crashes both ships in hopes in saving Koori.

To be Continued...

Character Facts learned in this episode

Asimov: Has a ancestor who wrote Robotic Law, Dr. Issac Asimov
Dr. Goodfellow: Built Crichton. Used to ride on the roller slides on Mars as a boy
Crichton: Finds it inconceivable that a human could have had a hand in building him
Hawk: From the Planet Throm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References to the 20th Century that the 25th does't get: 
Favorite quotes: 
Insults from Crichton: "...some overweening ancestor of yours..."
Insults to Crichton: kettle belly, ridiculous lamp post
Easter Eggs: Admiral Asimov is named after the Sci-Fi writer, Issac Asimov
Searcher's Modo: PER ARDUA AD ASTRA "Through Adversity (Struggle) to the Stars"
Deaths: 12
Miniatures: (1) Searcher (1) Starfighter (1) Hawk Fighter (1) Satellite Freighter (1) Colonial Shuttle