Ep 107 The Plot to Kill a City, Part 2 October 18, 1979

Director: Dick Lowry
Writer(s): Alan Brennert
Guest Star(s):
Seton Kellogg.... Frank Groshin
Jolen Quince .... John Quade
Varek .... Anthony James
Sherese .... Nancy DeCarl
Joella Cameron .... Markie Post
Marcos Marcilka .... Robert Tessier
Barnard "Barney" Smith ....James Sloyan
Richard Selvan .... James McEachin
Hartsteen .... Whitney Rydbeck
Ticket Clerk .... Gwen Mitchell
Katrina .... Nonice Williams
1st Cop .... John Furlong
Full list of Cast and Crew

Oh good, at least Buck has some sense to ask how they can believe some guys word that they have never met before. I mean seriously, it's two against one. But I guess you can never be too paranoid. Buck pulls out his third Black Light Bomb and manages to escape with Joella. Now, I always get the feeling that the black smoke or whatever, makes it impossible for the bad guys to see, allowing our hero to slip past them. However our hero would also be unable to see, and would feel pretty stupid trying to feel for the door when the blackness cleared. Luckily, Buck is too smart for be blinded by his own devices, and escapes once again. While the League of Death chase after Buck and Joella, Barney takes the opportunity to rob Kelloggs hotel room.

Downstairs, in what looks like the hotels parking garage, Buck and Joella are being chased by the League of Death. Buck turns to fire and with his shear strength is able to hold onto his blaster as Quince tries to pull it out of his hands with his mind. Bang, Piggy goes down. Ha. His mind powers where no match for Bucks

physical strength. Buck now activates some sort of robot (No. 13) and hurls it down the hallway at his pursuers, who turn tail and run away in fear at the approaching...thing making sucky noises. Buck and Joella split up. They plan to meet in the Main Terminal in the Spaceport in 10 minutes. What Buck's plan was, who really knows, but he is captured by Varek and brought back to Kellogg's Hotel room where they plan to interrogate him. Sherese asks if he works for the Stellar Authorities, whom I assume it was who arrested Buck in part one of The Plot to Kill a City. She has some sort of injection tool that contains a chemical which affects the Thalamic region of the Brain causing immense pain. Before the chemical is injected, Buck confesses he is someone named Aron Wist, his secondary cover name. The only way that could Quince could heard of Aron Wist, is that the Directorate has been using that name for years, when ever they need an cover for one of their agents. They would just swap out the agents photo each time and maintain the identity.

Kellogg contacts his informant that the Directorate with his transmitter case to validate Buck's new cover. Kellogg refers to Dr. Huer as Elias Huer. Is this the first time we learn Huer's first name? Why would Kellogg use his first and last name as opposed to just calling him Dr. Huer like everyone else? Perhaps the two knew each other a long time ago, before Huer was a Doctor, and they where on a first name basis. There may be a interesting back story there. Buck has only 30 minutes before they will know if Aron Wist is who he says he is. That means that Buck is going to be at least 20 minutes late to meet up with Joella at the Main Terminal. What does she think when he doesn't show? Will she just sit on a bench and read the paper waiting?

Wilma brings Markos to Dr. Huers office where Markos tells them they will be all blown to bits in a short time. Believing he is lying, Dr Huer instructs the Stellar Police to take him to Dr. Nowlan to probe his mind. Seems rather invasive to me. I mean, if I wasn't on the Directorate's side, I would think that their methods and treatment of prisoners sometimes seems just as inhumane as any bad guys. It's great seeing Markos' face when Wilma tells him that when the city is blown up, he would be killed in the blast as well. It does seem that the idea had not dawned on him.

Mr. Hartsteen, entering Data room 4, sends a photo of Aron Wist to Kellogg's transmitter, confirming Buck's cover. Sherese wants to kill him anyways, but both Kellogg and Quince want him to join the League

instead. So they agree that Buck will fly with Quince to Earth. Hartsteen's new job is to make sure that Huer has no idea on what they are planning. A job that Hartsteen is sure to be very dangerous. Not sure how, but it sounds dangerous now that he said it would be. Kellogg gives Hartseen 20 minutes to get back to him. Buck is now going to be at least 40 minutes late in meeting up with Joella. Hartsteen plants a listening devise under Huer's desk to determine if Huer suspects anything. Instead, he learns that Aron Wist is a fictional bad guy, wich he quickly passes to Kellogg. Hartsteen, plans on catching a shuttle to New Phoenix to escape the blast zone. An account has been set up there for Hartsteen, where his money is waiting for him. Or at least so he is told.

Back at the Spaceport; "Flight 723 to Altair V now boarding at Gate 20..." repeats over the P.A. system. Joella notices Barney, who is trying to leave with a Starfighter docked in Hanger 9, that he purchased with the few hundred thousand credits of tainted (fraudulent?) money that Kellogg gave him. "Arriving passenger Dr. Adam Strange from Alpha Centauri, please report to the reservation desk." "Flight 82? to Thanagar, Thimble(?) and Tantless(?) IV ready for departure" is heard over the P.A. system as Kellogg and Varek enter the Spaceport. Buck is cornered, with his cover blown, Joella takes a page out of Buck's handbook, and pushes a robot at Quince, knocking him to the ground allowing Buck to escape once again. Buck finds his way into a Hanger to evade the League of Death. The set appears to be the exact same set as Earth's Directorate Hanger, but with some large red crates placed here and there, and filmed from the opposite direction.

Buck is once again cornered inside one of these red crates, where only Varek can enter. Buck pulls out a little hand pistol that looks identical to the one Sherese was using (was it her pistol?). We get to see a good closeup of the gun as Buck increases its power in hopes to stop Varek. Unable to shoot Varek, Buck's gun is taken from him. Now why Buck couldn't shoot Varek now that he was solid again to take the pistol, I don't know. Anyways, Varek shoots a fourth shot at the wall behind Buck to make Kellogg and the others believe Varek shot Buck. Strange that they would think that particular shot meant Buck's death after the last three shots could have meant Varek's death. But Varek allows Buck to live, and takes off his mask. Oh, not as scary as I had imagined. I mean, they described earlier that he didn't have a face left, but it just looks like he has a bad case of burns, boils, and scabbing. Buck hiding in the rafters above Varek hands Sherese the pistol Buck had. Perhaps when Buck ran into Sherese a little earlier, when he dashed off, he swiped her pistol from her. Another possibility, is that the pistol was Buck's all along (same one he used to stun Sherese in the beginning) and Varek handed it to Sherese because he knows she likes to collect trinkets (blasters) from her enemies.

Hartsteen is preparing to leave for the day, when he is arrested by the Stellar Authorities. Theo was onto him before he made the call to Kellogg. Now crazy man is going to detention. Buck is trying to make a subspace call to Earth, but the woman at the desk informs him that he needs two forms to ID. Annoyed, Buck walks off and runs into Joella, who says she hasn't had this much fun in months.This is the same line that Quince used when the League was testing Buck when he first arrived. "Flight 723 to Altair V..." "Flight 731 to Ariquis (?) is to depart in 12 minutes" Kellogg, Sherese, and Quince fly off in Scorpion Fighters and head to Earth. By the time they arrive at Earth, Buck and Joella are entering Hanger 9, where Barney is with his newly purchased Starfighter. "Flight 262 to Regulus V now boarding at Gate 42" "Flight 666 to Lavas Planet will be leaving from Gate 6 in 30 minutes" I assume that his last P.A. announcement was a joke, referring to the sign of the devil going to a planet that is all lava. Joella takes Buck to Barney who is still prepping his Starfighter. With Barney's ID Plate, Buck and Joella take the fighter to Earth, leaving Barney behind.

The League of Death find Mr. Selvan playing in the park with his two children, in his uniform. I guess he isn't

one who likes to leave work at work when he is off duty. Why did the costume department make his engineering outfit make him look like he is in the armed forces? With the threat to his family, Selvan agrees to help the League of Death enter the plant. Course if he knew they plan on wiping out the entire city, he would realize that he wasn't saving his family from harm by agreeing to help, but putting them in harms way. The irony. Buck comes out of the Stargate, still unused to its effects. He contacts the Directorate, informing them that he is 40 minutes away. Wasn't the Stargate 20 minutes from Earth when Buck first entered it in Argus ship?

The three Scorpion fighters plan to land a few kilometers away, along the plants Northern perimeter. Varek is flying with Kellogg, and Selvan is flying with Quince. Sherese is flying alone, and for some reason, the only one wearing a helmet. Well, the League lands and with a touch of Selvan's right hand to the upper right hand corner of the door, he lets the L.O.D. into the plant.

The first security baffle is able to determine how many people have entered by how many heart beats it

detects. Presumably, each person who enters would have to do so one at a time, or all would have to place their hands on the door at once for clearance. As they all enter at once, the alarms are sounded and five maintenance androids all armed, cut off their path. The androids tell them that they are in violation of statue 0605 in an...Kellogg fires something that hits all the androids (except the one in the middle) at once, blowing their circuits. They press on, undeterred.

Buck helps Joella out of the 4-Seater Thunder Fighter, which is a continuity error, as they were flying the standard 2-Seater Starfighter. Wilma runs up to Buck relieved he is still alive. Buck introduces Joella to Twiki and Theo, who appeared out of nowhere, and they walk off as Twiki makes his attraction to Joella obvious. Three Starfighters are powered up and ready for Buck, Wilma and Lt. Murphy.

The second security obstacle they encounter back at the plant is a Neutronium Vault Door. A door that would be impossible for the L.O.D. to get through. But with Quince's mind powers he rips the door off its hinges. Why have Varek walk through the door and open from the other side, when you can use telekinesis to bust the door down? The Third security feature are defense lasers that are triggered by the slightest change of air density.

Varek does in fact set the lasers off, but with his molecular density changed, he his unharmed. Which leads them to their final security defense. A 50-50 choice of which button to push. The bottom button allows access to the main control room, the top button releases a potent paralytic nerve gas. Kellogg threatens Selvan again that their "associate" would harm his family if he did not provide the information to which was the correct button to push. Who this associate is, we have no idea. It probably was an empty threat, because the last time Kellogg mentioned that his associate would harm his children, he was referring to Varek. Since Varek is with them now, and we have not seen anyone else, I speculate that there is no associate. Selvan, unlike Buck, is not good at hiding his feelings, and Sherese is able to sense that he is lying about which button to push.

The automated signal has been going off for the last 20 minutes and apparently no one has noticed it until Buck and Wilma where headed to the plant already. Huer and the Stellar Authorities are 10 minutes away and are ahead of Buck and Wilma. The Plant itself is only manned by Maintenance Androids, who also double as guards. All the plants controls are operated by remote technicians at the Energy Directorate. Everything else is computerized. So, where does Selvan fit in? Is he the only one who actually visits the plant? Selvan finally learns that their plan is to wipe out the whole city. He knocks Kellogg to the ground and quickly starts to undo the commands that Kellogg has started that would cause the bottle of antimatter to erode. Kellogg tells Selvan that no one touches him, no one. The price for doing so is death. My thoughts instantly goes to Danny Vermin from Johnny Dangerously. Kellogg commands Varek to kill Selvan, but Varek refuses. Thus begins the fight. Sherese shoots Selvan, and Kellogg shoots Varek with some devise on his belt, temporarily stunning him. Sherese then shoots the main computer, setting off the alarm. "Alert, Alert, this is a Code 5 Emergency" Kellogg calculates that it will be only 5 minutes before a chain reaction begins destroying all of New Chicago. Which I guess then that all three of them will be able to run out of the plant, run to their ships, prepare them for flight, and clear 77 miles in less than 5 minutes. That's not much room for error. Their plan then is to rendezvous on Sutter's World in 36 hours, where they will claim credit for the destruction.

Dr Huer and two Stellar police arrive at the plant first, while Buck, Wilma and Murphy are just 30 seconds behind. Unfortunately, by the time Huer and company arrived, the assassins had already taken off. Luckily Buck, Wilma and the Murphy had not landed yet, so they were able to pursue them as they were leaving the scene. By the time Huer reaches Selvan, who survived being shot, two minutes and 30 seconds had passed since the L.O.D. had left. With only two minutes left, it is decided that Varek will enter the chamber and attempt to stop the terminal reaction.

In space the battle of three Starfighters against three Scorpion Fighters ensues. Quince uses his mind control to jam Bucks controls. This however leaves him vulnerable to an attack that comes from Wilma, killing him. Lt Murphy ends up killing Kellogg. What happened to Sherese? I didn't see anyone kill her. Did she fly off? Lt. Murphy tows the debris back to Earth, while Buck and Wilma head back to the plant somehow in only 45 seconds. Buck and Wilma arrive with only 45 seconds left on the clock. So in 4 minutes 15 seconds, the assassins left the plant, entered orbit, battled with Buck, Wilma and

Murphy, where destroyed, then Buck and Wilma were able to reenter Earth's atmosphere, land, and run back to the Main Control Room to watch Varek as he attempts to stop the terminal reaction. With two seconds to go, Varek is able to neutralize the threat. Code 5 is no longer in effect. Varek leaves the chamber and is hit by some matter and antimatter. He instantly falls through the floor to save himself, but was unable to escape injury.

Back in Buck's room, he serves Dr. Huer and Wilma Burgundy Wine to celebrate. Buck was able to make it by taking some fruit that looked like grapes from the hydroponics lab, squeezed them into juice, then Theo hit it with delta radiation to speed up the fermentation. Ahh, here we go. Buck inquires about Sherese. Apparently she did run away before being destroyed. Theo was trying to track her down, unsuccessfully. He states that he is probably halfway to Arcturus by now, which I guess is like saying she is so far away that he doesn't expect to hear from her again. Joella and Twiki come in and it would seem that Joella is fluent in the language of Ambuquads. Everyone laughs. End show. Buck in his Han Solo outfit.

Character Facts learned in this episode

Aron Wist: From the Planet Alpha Centauri. A strictly local assassin (small time). A non existent criminal invented by the Directorate.
Mr. Hartsteen: Cataloger at the Earth Defense Directorate. Has at least a level 9 clearance, and access to the Directorate's data banks. Spy.
Richard Selvan: Engineer at the Energy plant. Son Mateo, Daughter Katrina, Wife Therese, Father-in-law Mateo.
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References to the 20th Century that the 25th does't get: Cought between a rock and a hard place, wine
Favorite Lines: "I like my Thalamic regions just they way they are, thank you" "Remind me to give you a call the next time hell freezes over" -Buck
Easter Eggs: Dr. Adam Strange, Thanagar
Deaths: 2
Miniatures: (3) Scorpion (1) Sled (3) Starfighter

Ep 106 The Plot to Kill a City, Part 1 October 11, 1979

Director: Dick Lowry
Writer(s): Alan Brennert
Guest Star(s):
Rafael Argus .... Victor Argo
Seton Kellogg.... Frank Groshin
Jolen Quince .... John Quade
Varek .... Anthony James
Sherese .... Nancy DeCarl
Joella Cameron .... Markie Post
Marcos Marcilka .... Robert Tessier
Barnard "Barney" Smith ....James Sloyan
Argus On-Board-Computer (Voice) .... ?
Technician .... Mitch Reta
1st Cop .... John Furlong
1st Rowdy .... Richard Reed
Pirate .... Seamon Glass
Woman .... Sena Black
Full list of Cast and Crew

Buck enters a bar and approaches Rafael Argus claiming to be someone (or something?) named Harper 5. Assuming the persona of Harper 5, Buck explains that three months prior Argus had killed his brother, Gleeson. An obvious fabrication, but we cannot be sure if the story was based on some truth. Or perhaps Buck's cover was based on the hope that Argus kills so many people so often that he would not be able to keep track of them, and any name or date Buck thought up could have been true as far as Argus was concerned. Either way, it was enough to get Argus riled up and attacks Buck. With the old shoot-the-chandelier-crash-on-bad-guy routine, Buck knocks Argus out cold. Dr. Huer uses a mind prop to determine that Rafael Argus was about to become a member the League of Interstellar Mercenaries, who specialize in Political Assassinations. Dr. Huer so colorfully describes them as the League of Death. Which I think has a much more sinister ring to it than League of Interstellar Mercenaries. Apparently Morgan Deneva, a member of the league, was killed by Earth's Directorate personal the month prior, and now the League is looking for a new member to replace him, and Rafael Argus was their choice. In addition, the League is now seeking revenge against the Directorate for Deneva's death. The League had already bought off one of the Directorates employees, who has been setting off bombs here and there throughout the building.

Buck is volunteered by Dr. Huer to impersonate Argus, fly to Aldebaran II, infiltrate the League, learn what the League is planning against the Directorate and stop them. Such a dangerous mission, that the odds that either Wilma or Buck will not succeed in their mission is highly probable.

Quince meets Sherese at the local bar. Our first introduction to these villains shows that Sherese takes her job a bit more seriously than Quince. Sherese informs Quince that Kellogg is coming from Tau Ceti, and that Rafael Argus was coming in from Earth. Sherese stops in mid thought and picks up on an old friend of hers, Joella. Sherese develops for the the audience that the two have known each other for a long time when she brings up an old boyfriend, Beechim, from Rigel (same planet that Kellogg is from).

Buck, wearing Argus cloths, flys Argus' ship (N2-453), and flirts with Argus' on-board computer, takes off to the Stargate that will take them to Aldebaran II. The sexy voice of the computer informs Buck that the Stargate is 20 minutes away. The on-board computer calls Buck by Rafael's nickname, Rafe. She alerts him to a Squadron of approaching Police Cruiser Starfighters who intend to capture the infamous Rafael Argus. Buck wants to out run them, but the on-board computer informs him that if he goes any faster he would rupture the star drive. Buck takes a direct hit to his starboard force shield. The computer warns that if they take another hit like that they would be defenseless. She suggest using the Pulsar Cannons, but Buck intends to get of this little jam without firing a shot. Unfortunately, he is captured and taken to a holding cell.

Kellogg comes out of the Spaceport, while the overhead P.A. announces that Flight 723 to Altair IV [Argus' home planet] is leaving from Gate 20 in 15 minutes. Quince meets up with Kellogg and his bodyguard Varek. This little segue permits Kellogg to tell Quince, and the audience at the same time, about Varek and how he is able to walk through walls. Combined with Varek's height, he becomes a very menacing figure.

The miniature used for the Stellar Authorities Detention Center is the Flattop ship from Battlestar Galactica) Buck is placed in a cell with Barney, who when Buck introduces himself as Rafael Argus, he pretends not to know him. Playing along, Barney helps Buck escape from the Detention Center. Barney yells for help from the guards and calls Buck an Arcturan, someone who has psychic abilities. Barney accuses Buck (Argus) to have tried to have psychic commune with him. That he tried to get into his head and connect with Barney on a very personal level. The guards take down the shield to separate Barney and Buck, but both prisoners attack and subdue the guards. Buck uses his first Black Light Bomb, and escapes. Buck and Barney are able to make it to Buck's ship without much resistance. Three Police Cruisers are quickly on Buck's tail, but he manages to reach the Stargate before they are able to intercept him.

Wilma's plan is to seduce Quince so he will reveal their plans to her. She is wearing a Pure Denebian silk dress to grab Quince's attention. Quince leaves the woman he was currently flirting with to approach Wilma. She asks if it is true what they say about Telekinetic's, and whispers it in Quince's ear, to which they both laugh and end end up in her room. What is it that they say about Telekinetic's? I am sure it was something very sexual or dirty that they could not say on TV, or at least that is what I think she must  have whispered to Quince, knowing the type of man that he is. He pulls in for a kiss, and Wilma pulls away. She starts to prepare Quince a drink and grabs a syringe, while Quince picks up her overnight bag and just rummages through it. How rude. A closet catches Quince's eye and he opens it to reveal Wilma's subspace transmitter, pistol, and other items so neatly placed, almost as if it was a display case. Strangely enough, Quince isn't concerned about the pistol, he is more curious about the transmitter. As if that was the strangest item in her closet. Wilma takes her opportunity and sticks Quince with a hypodermic needle. The contents of the injection was probably the same stuff Buck used on Velosi's goon in Vegas in Space, 'cause all of the sudden Quince is quite happy and feeling very talkative. Unfortunately, Quince doesn't seem to know much more than the Directorate about the plans. All he is able to provide of any real value was their meeting place, Solar Energy Collector (in the hotel), at 1400 (2:00pm) hours tomorrow (the same day Buck arrives).

(Did you know: the Matt Painting for the spaceport was reused in Star Trek: The Next Generation for Episode 19 Coming of Age in 1988) Buck and Barney arrive at the Spaceport together, and the overhead P.A. is announcing the same Flight 732 to Altair IV is leaving from Gate 20 in 15 minutes. It could have been just a repeated sound bite (more likely) or it could mean that Buck and Barney arrived at the Spaceport at the same time Kellogg was leaving. Hmmm. However this time the P.A. continues with "Government regulations prohibit the transport of sub-humanoid life forms to Aldebaran. For information, contact the Department of Alien Immigration. A reminder that all robots..." Sherese attacks Buck as he exists the Spaceport, flipping him onto his back. In a split second Buck is up on his feet just missing being shot, and stuns Sherese with one shot. Walking off with caution now, Buck is fired on again from above. As he ducks behind the wall, he pulls out his pistol. The camera goes back to Quince, Kellogg, and Varek, then back to Buck who takes out his pistol for the second time. Oops. Continuity error. Quince takes Buck's weapon with his telekinesis, so Buck runs off and encounters Varek. Now, I've always was curious, if someone could change their molecular structure so as to pass through solid objects, as well as objects to pass through them, what keeps them from falling through the floor? Does gravity no longer have any pull on them, or do they simply keep the bottom of their feet solid to remain on the ground? However if their feet were solid, then they wouldn't be able to walk through walls with the rest of his body. So that has to mean that gravity no longer has any force on them, causing them to fly, so to speak. So with no gravity and no solid resistance, they would actually be unable to move at all. Right?

Explosions and sirens are going off back at New Chicago Directorate building. The P.A. announces that Hangers 3, 4 and 9 must be evacuated immediately due to an overload in once of the launch tubes causing the whole hangar system to misfire. Fire control is called to Hangars 7 and 12. Dr. Theolopolis is instructing some maintenance men to sever the input rods to allow a gradual loss of power instead of a instant one. Cutting the last rod, the overload was neutralized. Theo saved the day again. Theo tells Dr. Huer that this overload was no accident and that they have a saboteur in their midst. Now enters the spy in their midst, overseeing his handiwork. Just look at him, standing there in the midst of the chaos he created with a smile on his face. Clearly an bad person.

Sherese invites Joella to the party so she can confirm Rafael Argus identity. I swear I was thinking, "Oh crap,

how's Buck going to get out of this one?". With some quick thinking on Buck's part, Joella quickly falls inline with the story and plays along. Phew. That was a close one. Buck heads out to catch up with the rest of the group down in the hotels substructure. Finally, Markos enters the scene. Wilma, still on target with her mission, is down in the substructure with a audio device allowing her to listen in on the conversation. With all good TV Shows, she is in clear sight of the bad guys, with no real effort to conceal herself. Kellogg finally reveals that he wants to destroy the Terran capital - New Chicago (a city of 10 million people). Course right as Kellogg is going to explain what firepower he plans to use, Sherese detects Wilma's presence. "A woman! A Dangerous woman!" shouts Sherese. I never thought of Wilma as Dangerous, but I guess she was dangerous to their plot to destroy New Chicago.

Buck and Markos run after Wilma. Wilma trips and makes enough noise that Buck and Markos come back and find her. Buck turns the tables on Markos and tries to stun him. Unfortunately the stun feature only works on ones nervous center, and since Markos had all his nerve endings severed, the shot had little to no effect on him. But with a second Black Light Bomb, Buck blinds everyone, but is still able to knock Markos out. Wilma and Markos go to Argus's ship, and Buck says he will be there at 1500 hours. Since it is 1400 hours now, it means he plans to be there in less than an hour. Hope that is enough time to learn how Kellogg plans to destroy New Chicago. Now I have no idea how Wilma was able to carry the unconscious Markos all the way through the Hotel and to Argus's ship by herself. She is like bionic woman.

Theo reports that all systems in Flight Hanger 5 have turned to equilibrium, and Starfighter Patrols are double shifting in Hangers 3 and 7 until repairs can be made. To help find the culprit who set off the explosives, Theo narrows it down to 1,227 employees with a level 9 clearance that had access to the areas bombed.

Markos, awake and 100% compliant, is being directed by Wilma by the neck into the Sled. Then she pulls some sort of neck pinch that puts Markos to sleep. Wha? Huh? Why would a martial arts expert not be able to take Wilma on when he awoke? And how did Wilma knock him out with a neck pinch? Did she use her own version of the Vulcan Nerve Pinch? But that cannot be possible since Markos had his nerve endings severed! It doesn't make sense. At least Argus' computer is more resistant to Wilma than Markos was. So, Buck goes back up to the room, where everyone else is waiting for him. Two things come to my mind right now. Why did they have to meet in the Solar Energy Collector to discuss their plans in the first place? There they could be overheard and seen? Not to mention that they all end up discussing the plans in the privacy of Kellogg's hotel room. Couldn't they have had Markos meet them in the room instead of the basement? Second, why has Sherese not picked up on any of Buck's emotions? He was lying about Markos, but Sherese could not detect that. Nor could she detect his lie about being Argus, or his fear that Joella would reveal his true identity. Buck must be really good and shielding his feelings.

Finally, it is revealed that Kellogg intends to use an Antimatter explosion to wipe out New Chicago. The perfect 'Act-of-God' so no one would suspect it was deliberate! Once the League of Death escapes, then they will claim responsibility for it's destruction. The plan is perfect, especially since New Chicago is apparently powered by such a reactor. The antimatter is held in an invisible electromagnetic bottle within the plant. The explosion would atomize 200 sq kilometers (or 77.22 square miles) instantly. Now is that a radius of 77 miles or the diameter? Something tells me that if we were able to create and store enough antimatter to power a large city. The explosion from the combination of so much matter and antimatter may be larger than a 77 square miles. How do they League of Death plan on escaping fast enough to clear the blast radius?

Wilma disables Rafael's on board computer to allow her to power up the engines, to be ready for take off.
Markos is still unconscious. Buck runs to the hotels bar looking Joella. Unfortunately, Sherese received a phone call from Barney, telling her that he has some information that they would find very valuable about Argus. How Barney got their number, or how he knew that Argus (Buck) was meeting with the League is something I guess we don't have to think about. Just accept it. Wilma takes off, and heads back to the Directorate with her prisoner. Buck and Joella are taken back to Kellogg's hotel room, where Barney sells Buck out, telling the League of Death that he met Rafael Argus two years ago on Sutter's World. Of course, we know that Buck's cover has been blown, but as far as the League goes, how do they know that Barney's information is true? Plus they already have one witness that they do know who confirmed that he was Argus. Now, Argus is supposed to be a man who assumes different appearances and names, so why couldn't the Argus that Barney met look different? How do they know that Argus doesn't hire men to impersonate him to maintain his identity? But none of things come to mind for the League, just that he has been called out. Look's like Buck's in trouble now. Where did Buck get that scab on his forehead, above his left eye?

Character Facts learned in this episode

Rafael Argus: From the Planet Altair V. Assumes various names and appearances so no one would have a clear idea of what he looks like. Carries Black Light Bombs that creates a darkness for thirty seconds. Knows Joella Cameron, and even meet Barney two years prior on Sutter's World.
Jolon Quince: IDENT: GAC[7A324] From the Planet Cygnus III. A heavy gravity planet allowing humans to develop telekinetic abilities to survive. However, can only focus on one thing at a time. A flirtatious man, who enjoys the company of women constantly. Has a thing for Denebian silk.
Seton Kellogg: IDENT: KLM[4L623] & CMJ[HB468] From the Planet Rigel IV. Brilliant scientist and strategist. Plans engineered by him have lead to the death of a dozen planetary leaders. Personal Bodyguard is Varek.
Markos Marcilka: IDENT: BLM[3CB47] & DRB[6BH7C] From the Planet Vega 12. Martial arts expert. Had his nerve endings partially severed to reduce his ability to feel pain.
Sherese: IDENT: JLB[K346D] & FHD[M7138] Home planet unknown. She is an Empath.
Varek: Kellogg's personal Body guard. Comes from a planet where the people thought they won a nuclear war. However, the radiation caused the people to be deformed and mutate. Varek can alter his molecular density, allowing him to pass through walls. Varek talks about his people being a proud race, as if they were alien to Buck and the rest of them, but in reality Varek, and his people, where human.
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References to the 20th Century that the 25th does't get: Grilled cheese Sandwich
Favorite Lines: "Fourth floor, Ladies' clothing and lingerie." -Twiki "Don't go getting sentimental on me Barney. I mean, it was fun, but nothing I wanna press into my scrapbook, if you know what I mean" -Buck
Deaths: 0
Miniatures: (3) Police Starfighters (1) Launch Tube (1) Sled (1) Detention Center

Ep 105 Vegas in Space, October 4, 1979

Director: Sigmund Neufeld, Jr.
Writer(s): Anne Collins
Guest Star(s):
Morgan Velosi .... Richard Lynch
Falina Reeding .... Ana Alicia
Major Marla Landers .... Juanin Clay
Tangi .... Pamela Shoop
Hood .... James Luisi
Rita .... Alice Frost
Man .... Ted Chapman
Special Guest Stars:
Amos Armat .... Cesar Romero
Carl Morphus .... Joseph Wiseman
Full list of cast and Crew

The title of Vegas in space gives the audience the imagery of Sin City. Gambling, sex, drugs, crime, all come to my mind when I think of Vegas. The show starts off with Wilma and Buck on a Training exercise, Twelve Star Fighters against 14 Hatchet fighters (same miniatures as the Pirate Ships). It would appear that the entire squadron was "destroyed" before they where able to fight back. Being the last one standing, Buck finally destroys one fighter. Unfortunately he takes a direct hit and is "destroyed" by a drone, ending the drill just after 2 min. 17 seconds of Battle. The Drill was using the targeting computers on the Star Fighters that are once again proving to be useless in battle. Buck is trying to convince Wilma that they need to learn how to shoot without the computer.

Falina enters her room where she opens two video messages. One from Rita (meaning "Pearl"), her old guardian, whom Falina sent flowers to for her Birthday. Apparently Blooming Flowers are rare. The second his from Mr. Armat, her employer whom she works for as a Digital Programmer, instructing her to go to the shuttle station at that very moment. There she would find her itinerary, already paid for. He says she is in great danger and urges that she needs to leave right away, but at the same time he said that it was better that she was not in when he called. How could he possibly know when she would get back in and see the message? Her shuttle could have left hours, if not days ago. How is it better that she was not in when he called? It clearly was a while since he left the message, 'cause in that time Velosi's Kidnapper was able to locate her, enter her room and wait for her to arrive. Clearly if she had gotten the message sooner, she would have been safer.

Major Landings meets Mr. Armat and lists his business practices to give the audience the information that this is a bad guy. I find it interesting that one of the things that Landings mentions is slave trafficking. Why does this stand out to me, you ask? Well in Planet of the Slave Girls Buck mentions slavery to Major Fields, who acts like she never heard of the word, or understands the concept. So now, we see that slavery is something that is known to at least some government officials. Or maybe it was just a writers error.

Even though Mr. Armat seems to have quite a reputation, and the kind of guy who could snap his fingers and
make something happen, he apparently has no jurisdiction in the city of Sinaloa. That's why he needs Dr. Huer's help and the help of his pilots. He proposes to turn himself in with all the evidence needed to make a conviction, in addition he will also provide information on the Draconian Hatchet Fighters, and why they are impervious the Star Fighters Computer Control Systems. So, I am confused, the Star Fighters Computer Control Systems is supposed to penetrate the Hatchet fighters and do something that would allow the Star Fighters to shoot them? If they didn't know how the Hatchet fighters are capable of doing this, how where they able to create replica fighters to practice on in the beginning of the show?

So Wilma convinces Buck to go with Major Lander's to Sinaloa to play 10 & 11, or what we refer to as Blackjack. I can only assume it's called ten and eleven, because they add up to twenty-one. Sinaloa resides in the Delta solar system, which consists of 12 orbiting man-made cities, one of those twelve is Sinaloa. Sinaloa consists mainly of Hotels, Casinos, Showrooms, and anything revolving around entertainment and gambling. Buck, after hearing Lander's description of Sinaloa, mentions the title of the show, "...A Las Vegas in Space" in the show!

Falina was placed under guard in Generator Sector 3 (take elevator F to the bottom level, through the door at the end), where Velosi goes to meet her. He walks in so slowly to be all that much more frightening to Falina. Like a monster movie as the creature slowly approaches the damsel. Now, his "V" belt buckle represents to the audience his ego, and perhaps even his power over the city. No villain is complete without is personalized belt buckle. Falina is overcome by his power and breaks down simply from his silent stare. Oh how Falina cracks over so little pressure. Best over acted scene ever.

Buck and Marla enter through the security check point with no problems. Sinaloa's overhead recording repeats "Please have your ID's ready at the entry portal. ID cards are required for entry and exit to Sinaloa. Thank you. You are now subject to the laws of Sinaloa. If you have any questions please go to the  pink vid-phone at the end of the concourse, and a paralegal will be happy to answer your questions." Buck sticks his invisible bloby things that I assume are explosives against a wall and a control panel. Marla just describes them as something to help them get in and one to help get them out. Included in their arsenal of gadgets include a detonating devise, that is effective from some distance that they don't mention, a ball for any goons that never gets used, and a devise that will deactivate the exit portals force shield for 10 seconds.

A blue woman from Klosef 3 catches Buck's eye. Marla suggests that the woman is actually a man, and wouldn't be Buck's type. Now, I cannot help but wonder if she was serious, or just teasing Buck. Do the men of Klosef 3 look like women of Earth, and visa-versa? Anyways, Buck changes into something more incognito, meets Tangi, and the two find them selves at the nearest 10&11 table. Marla, pretending to not know Buck, complains that Player 4 (aka Buck) has won 9 games, and only lost 4 since he sat down. She immediately accuses Buck of cheating and rushes off to make a formal complaint. Tangi asks Buck if he is from Klosef 3, so I guess that means Marla was telling the truth. The men look like women, and the women look like men. Velosi takes an interest in Marla, and sicks his goon to watch Buck. Buck is reminiscing about the end of his stint at Edwards. A friend of his, Toby Kaplan, and Buck drove to Las Vegas on Wednesday morning. They partied and gambled all night and drove home Thursday and arrived two minutes late for their 10 o'clock class (meaning they left Vegas between 6 & 7am). From there Buck went off to Huston, and Toby had aspirations to head up the Space and Aeronautics Board. The Edwards Buck is most likely referring to here is Edwards Air Force Base in California. The drive between the two would have taken Buck a little over 3 hours to make the trip. I did a quick search online for an Edwards College, and found St. Edwards University in Austin Texas. If Buck was referring to that Edwards, it would have taken him and Toby nearly 19 hours to drive to Vegas, one way. That isn't enough time to drive there and immediately turn around and get back by 10:02 am the following morning. Which would be a huge geography error for the writers. Buck lost in thought, doesn't hear the 10&11 computer announce his winnings of 400 credits.

Tangi, Tangi, Tangi. She spills out this sob story to Buck, about how she is practically a prisoner there on Sinaloa, and how her employer would never let her go, and how much of a monster he his (Blah, blah blah), all tugging at Bucks heart. Then she throws in the bait "But if, uh--If someone were to offer him enough money. Oh say as much as you've won here [REDFLAG! Altert, run away Buck!]. I bet he'd let me go." Then she tells Buck how grateful she would be with strong inferences that she might show her appreciation in physical ways. Talk about using her feminine charms to get what she wants. They literally just met, and she is asking for all his winnings (which equals 9,732 credits) to pay off her debts. She sounds like a con-artist to me. I have to assume that her desire to leave Sinaloa ties into the beginning of the episode, where Velosi was confronting Tangi about the five complaints he had received in the past four days about her. Perhaps she was intentionally trying to be a bad employee so Velosi would get rid of her. But he corrects her, telling her that there was only one way to leave his employment. His way (which is a bit under explained). With Tangi's proposal to Buck, perhaps "Velosi's Way" is paying him back his investment in Tangi.

Buck fights off Velosi's goon, who is subdued and drugged to give Buck Falina's location. To enter the room Falina is being held in, Buck will need one of 4 existing keys from either 0-7, the sanitation module, Thompson, Levine, or Velosi himself. Velosi's key opens everything in the city. Clearly the best choice out the the four. So, that's what Buck and Marla do. They ambush Velosi and his goon in Marla's quarters, and take his key. I love how blasting the electronic controls is the solution to either unlocking or locking a door. Why bother hacking the door, when you can just blast the controls and everything shuts down. Or if you fear of someone escaping a room, just blast the doors and lock them inside. Naturally I would assume that blasting the controls would do one or the other, not both. But I guess if your intent is clear before you pull the trigger, the controls will sense your brain waves and detect weather you want the door to be unlocked or locked by the blast. The science of convenience.

Buck gets cut off by Tangi who now is threatening that if Buck doesn't help her she will turn him in. Clearly a desperate woman, and weather she ment her threat or not, she is now a liability. Marla appears to realize this as she pulls her weapon on Tangi. Buck intervenes and agrees to help Tangi. Handing Tangi his weapon and something else, he dashes off to Section 3 to rescue Falina. Somehow, he was able to climb up the wall and onto a large utility pipe to sneak in closer to Morphus. I'am thinking that he is going to jump onto Morphus, knocking him out, or something. Instead he lands next to him, for what reason I can only speculate was for the safety of the actors. But Buck's landing does look like it hurt.

Buck takes Falina by the arm and escorts her out to the exit portal. The guards spot them and prepare to apprehend them. Buck with his fast thinking uses the detonator to blow up a control panel that he never went near before, send smoke throughout the room, blinding the guards to Buck and Falina's whereabouts. The same shot is used again of Buck pushing the detonator button (nice that they went in order using the same button) to set off the secondary charge. Off they run to the landing bay, and all four escape. Almost.

Four Blue Hatchet fighters appear and begin to attack the Thunder Fighter. Marla just hands Buck the Navigation controls like it was a loose component. But once the fighters begin to shoot, they no longer have time to switch over. Buck does some fancy flying causing the Hatchet Pilots to accidentally destroy themselves, leaving one left for Marla to shoot. The FX shot changes the from the 4-Seater Thunder Fighter to the 2-Seater Canopy Star Fighter. The Hatchet fighters also change from Blue to their standard Rust color. Here we learn that Mr. Armat is most likely the one who is supplying the Draconian's with the Hatchet fighters in the first place. It's a good thing Armat agreed to provide the Earths Directorate the info they needed to defend against them. Mr Armat confesses to Falina that she is his daughter. I cannot help but think of this same revelation in The Empire Strikes Back.
Falina: "My father died in a spice mine"
Armat: "No, I am your Father. You were hidden from the public, because if anyone where to find out that Amos Armat had a child, it would be disastrous for them"
So in the end, Mr. Armat goes home where he awaits authorities, Falina goes back to work but is in therapy for the rest of her life, Tangi is escorted to Bucks quarters to so she can show him how appreciative she is, and Buck is walking on cloud 9 being 9,732 credits richer.

Character Facts learned in this episode

Amos Armat: Moon Base Construction is his cover, but in the underground, he deals with extortion, smuggling illegal weaponry to warring colonies, and Slave trafficking.

Carl Morphus: Can pull memories out of someones subconscious. The chemicals used traumatizes brain tissue permanently.
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References to the 20th Century that the 25th does't get: hit me (blackjack), party pooper, Look's like the fat's not out of the fire yet
Favorite Lines: "I'am to blackjack as a mongoose is to a cobra"  -Buck
Deaths: 4
Miniatures: (1) Starfighter (1) 4-Seater Thunder Fighter (1) Sinaloa, Casino in Space  (4) Blue Hatchet Fighters

Ep 104 Planet of the Slave Girls, Part 2 September 27, 1979

Director: Michael Caffey
Writer(s): Steve Greenberg, Aubrey Soloman & Cory Applebaum
Guest Star(s):
Major Duke Danton (Scout Leader).... David Groh
Governor Tabor Saroyan .... Roddy McDowell
Regis Saroyan (Scout Three) .... Michael Mullins
Ryma (Slave girl) .... Brianne Leary
Dr. Mallory .... MacDonald Carey
Stella Warden (Mallory's assistant).... Karen Carlson
Carl (Voice) .... ?
Major Fields .... Sheila "DeWindt" Wills
Julio .... Don Marshall
Galen .... Robert Dowdell
Special Guest Stars:
Brigadier Gordon .... Buster Crabbe
Kaleel .... Jack Palance
Full list of cast and Crew

Buck and Major Danton crash about 18 kilometers (11.18468 miles) from Colonel Deering’s location. Wilma and Ryma are being escorted to the place where Kaleel puts people who are a threat to him. The guards escorting them seem to be enjoying their job too much, needlessly keep pushing the women, to keep moving, despite that they obviously are. This force from the guards does create a threatening situation for the girls, but it really was just an excuses for Wilma to show off the Judo she learned from Buck, allowing her to escape.

After Twiki solders Carl's broken connectors, Theo asks Mallory to send an light current through Carl’s higher levels of associative circuits. To Dr. Mallory's disbelief, Carl is up and running again. Now they can get started working on an antidote from the sample that Major Field's brought to them. Mallory is such a downer. Having a computer fix another computer is how things are done these days, it seems to have caused humans to loose their basic understanding of computers and electrical components. Any computer can be rebuilt. Just need new parts. Silly Dr. Mallory.

Wilma somehow found some extra slave girl outfit that she changed into. I can only assume that she changed her cloths to blend in. Luckily she was also able to find a large stick that she uses as a club to beat a guard over the head with. I imagine that the blow was just to knock the guard unconscious, however she could have fractured his skull, causing swelling that would end up ultimately killing him. The second question is, where did the stick come from? The Sea of Stone is said to be a place where nothing can grow. Nothing. Meaning no plant life at all. In other words, this stick had to of come from the other side of the planet, then carelessly discarded. Perhaps it was a souvenir from a slave that once worked for Governor Tabor Saroyan, but was sent back to the Nomads for punishment. One of Kaleel's guards confiscated the stick, tossing it to the ground, as they escorted the slave to their doom. I guess that could make sense.

Discovering an armada of ships, Duke and Buck make plans to hijack one of the ships and fly back to Dr. Huer, so they could launch a secret assault before the ships can take off. Buck asks the question that the audience is now asking, wouldn't the Energy Leach bring the ship down just like the Star Fighter? No, of course not, the writers come up with Trans-Light Velocity, that will make him so fast, that the Nomads would never be able to catch him. Now, if Duke was aware of this Trans-Light Velocity, why didn't they use that in the Star Fighter? Would using it have caused them to travel too fast so flying in planet would be impossible? Duke Danton steals a Scorpion Fighter and is in space pretty quickly. However, when we cut back to the same computer graphic of the Energy Leach, his ship is just taking off and clearing the mountains. Back in space is the same FX shot when Stella Warden first approached Vistula. This same shot gets used a couple more times during the end battle scene.

Dr. Huer is only able to provide 6 pilots, plus Twiki and Theo (who volunteered). The pilots consist of Major Fields, retired Brigadier "Flash" Gordon (who also played the original Buck Rogers), two women, and two men. With Major Duke Danton as leader, it makes eight in the squadron They are going to attack Kaleel's 100 Scorpion ships while they were still on the ground and vulnerable. They set out on course 7X490, towards the Stargate. The FX shot of all the ships flying towards the Stargate only shows six out of the eight ships. Where are the other two? In fact, all the FX shots of the Star Fighters only show six ships. The editing room must be recycling film. Anyways, back to the action, Danton states that they will reach Stargate 5 in 12 minutes. Before they enter the gate, Danton instructs the pilots to punch in a new destination, 4807K, to Vistula.

After both Buck and Wilma are captured, they are thrown into the same cell where Ryma is. Awfully convenient for out heroes, don't you think? Don't they have more than one cell? Somewhere along the way Wilma was given a gold headband that she wasn't wearing before. She just keeps picking discarded cloths off the floor, I guess. Buck pulls out the flash grenade that he salvaged from some crazy attackers in the desert. He places it under a rock to shield himself from the blast, as well as to boost him up high enough to a shaft that leads to a cool storage room. This grenade trick I commonly use playing HALO. Throw a couple of frag grenades down, run and jump just as they go off to give yourself that extra boost up to reach high places. If it works for a Spartan, why not Buck? The trick works, and Buck, using some rope he found, manages to escape with the two women.

Kaleel sits in his command room and watches his armada approach the Star Fighters with great pleasure. The screen shot is the almost the same one that is used later for the inside of the Star Fighters, but is just zoomed in to hide the computer console lights and buttons around the screen.

Now outside, Wilma takes out the two guards that are guarding the last two Scorpion fighters still grounded (Buck is in 9-3 and Wilma is in 9-4), while Ryma goes back into the Mountain to rally her people to fight, using the weapons and explosives they have stolen over the past months. Galen (Greek name that means "Calm"), unawares that the two fighters joining the armada late where being piloted by Wilma and Buck, and orders them to rejoin formation via sequence 309. Buck basically tells Galen to piss off, and switches to Danton's radio frequency, Vector 92.4, to let him know that he and Wilama where there to help. Kaleel, back in is viewing room with Stella, counts 8 fighters that are going to attack his armada of 15. I thought there was supposed to be 100 Scorpion fighters, but 15 I think is the same thing right? The view screen shows the 8 Star Fighters, plus 2 Scorpion fighters joining them, making it 10, not 8, against his armada.
Perhaps Kaleel cannot count, or that he doesn't know yet that the two ships joining the squadron are Buck and Wilma. Now we see Buck's football plan come into play, as they use it here to get at Galen. A couple quick FX miniature shots are thrown in that show Pirate Ships instead of the Scorpions, and even a 4-Seater Thunder Fighter instead of the 2-Seater Star fighter. Why make new consistent shots, when you can use some old film, add explosions and no one would notice, right? The pilot is even the same guy for each shot. Even after we seem him brace himself for death, he is back in the next shot. Are these guys clones, or could they not film multiple guys piloting the Scorpions? Duke and the other pilots are able to create an opening in the armada for Buck to fly in and take out Galen. After Galen's death, the entire armada breaks up and retreats. Buck, Wilma, and Danton fly to the surface and arrive pretty quickly, 'cause as soon as Kaleel encounters the first rebel slaves, he also meets up with Buck. How he landed, got out of the ship and ran into the mountain into the exact corridor that he needed to be in to cut off Kaleel is the magic of film, not reality. But it makes good TV.

Tim Robbins noted first film role was a slave extra in the scene where Ryma was convincing her people that now was the time to attack. He has no lines, just has a mean scowl on his face. I tried finding him in more shots, but I think that this was the only clear shot of him. You gotta start somewhere, and how many people can say that they got started on the set of Buck Rogers?

Slaves attack Kaleel before he is able to reach his private cruiser. Being cut off, Kaleel threatens to kill Buck with his touch of death, and everyone seems to let him. Guess Kaleel's fear over the nomads was still too great that they would not interfere. Buck stands up to Kaleel, and Kaleel's power dwindles, allowing him to be taken prisoner. Back on Earth, the Governor of Vistula and his son agree to fix Vistula's problems together, and Buck, Wilma, and Danton walk off together to celebrate their victory. The End.

Character Facts learned in this episode

Major Danton: was instructed by Brigadier Gordon in pulsar cannon 15 years prior. Pulsar cannons's are the guns on the Star Fighters, so I presume that Danton was making a comment then that the Brigadier taught him how to shoot.
Galen: the best military strategist that Earth had. Disappeared from Earth's military seven years ago, when it was learned that Galen would sell his skill to anyone for the right price.
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References to the 20th Century that the 25th does't get: "Who's the Juice?" reference to OJ Simpson
Favorite Lines: "Ah, got away." - Stella Warden, "Ryma! She's still alive. Whatever that's worth." - Deering
Deaths: 14
Miniatures: (2) Pirate Ships (6)Star Fighters (1) 4-Seater Thunder Fighter (1) Launch Tube (15) Scorpion (1) Draconia Set Piece (1) Sled (1) Ardala's Private Shuttle (1) Colonial Shuttle (1) Docking Bay