So far, nothing but jungle:
How about you, Wilma? Picking up anything on infrascan?
Negative, Buck: Just appears to be another out-of-the-way planet that time forgot:
Uh, shouldn't Dr: Goodfellow have some information for us by now?
I'll check:
Searcher, this is Captain Rogers:
You got anything for us yet? Over:
[Man] Admiral, Captain Rogers requesting communication:
Thank you, Parsons: Put Captain Rogers on the vid-screen:
[Asimov] Dr: Goodfellow has just completed his review of that ancient star chart:
Ah, yes, dear boy:
I'll tell you something: I got into the chart here:
The planet you're now surveying was once inhabited: : :
By a highly advanced race known as the Goral:
The Goral were indigenous to that planet:
That is, until they left their world in a strange mass exodus:
Oh, it must've been 10,000 years ago:
- Does that planet have a name? - A name? I should say it has, Buck:
It's called Vor-Deeth: D-double E-T-H:
Vor-Deeth? That's right: Crichton was good enough to translate it for me:
Apparently, it means "Planet of Death:"
Oh, terrific: You got any other cheery information for us?
Buck:
Hold on, Doctor: We got some visual contact: Looks like some kind of ruins:
Ruins, did you say? Ooh! Splendid!
Positively splendid, Buck: Now, I'll tell you what: Go down:
For heaven's sake, go down, take a look, won't you? Yes:
It's entirely possible that the Goral... [Wilma] Buck?
My photon sensor registers an energy reading:
It's got to mean that a fusion-powered ship is nearby:
We've got visual contact on it, Wilma:
Searcher, we got a wrecked ship below: We're going down:
All right, Buck, but be cautious:
The name of that planet doesn't exactly fill me with confidence:
Don't worry, Admiral, we will: Rogers out:
It's pretty badly banged up:
Took some fancy flying to set this thing down in a clearing this size:
I'll say:
It's an E: D: S: -104:
Hello! Is anybody here?
By Gideon's trumpet, a human voice!
I never thought anyone would show up:
I heard your engines, but I thought it was a flyby:
The name's Reardon: I fly interplanetary:
Quadrant 8: I've been here nearly three weeks:
We'd better get you aboard the Searcher: We can't do anything for you down here:
Let's take him to my starfighter: I'll take him upstairs,
and that way, you two can finish the survey: Okay:
Thank you very much: It's very kind of you:
I'd about given up hope:
All you all right, Mr: Reardon?
Fine, thanks:
Let's take a look at those ruins while we still got some light left, all right?
[Hawk] The ship: [Buck] It's gone: Vanished:
Perhaps we have mistakenly come to another clearing:
No, this is the right clearing, all right: There's no doubt about that:
Everything is gone... the ship,
the shelter, the campfire,
everything:
Vanished:
[Man Narrating] In the year 1987,
NASA launched the last of America's deep space probes:
Aboard this compact starship,
a lone astronaut, Captain William "Buck'"Rogers,
was to experience cosmic forces beyond all comprehension:
In a freak mishap, his life-support systems were frozen: : :
By temperatures beyond imagination:
Ranger 3 was blown out of its planned trajectory: : :
Into an orbit 1,000 times more vast,
an orbit which was to return Buck Rogers to Earth: : :
500 years later:
What could possibly have caused Reardon's shuttle to disappear?
I don't know: Maybe we'll find out further on:
Wait a minute:
Listen:
There's not a sound:
Not an animal, not a bird:
Nothing:
Not even the wind:
It is as though the planet were keeping quiet: : :
Better to listen to us:
It is astounding:
Ten thousand years old:
Must have been quite a place in its heyday:
I wonder why they left:
Perhaps a plague:
Could be:
Wait a minute: What's that over there?
A religious symbol?
[Buck] Well, they could be:
These markings remind me of Egyptian hieroglyphics:
I'm gonna holograph this for Dr: Goodfellow:
He can tell us what these hieroglyphics are saying: Buck:
What? Over there:
Looks like it might have been a temple at one time:
I will see:
[Beeping]
Hawk!
Buck!
It looked... I thought you disappeared:
The same thing happened to you, Buck:
It's obvious that there are forces at work here that we don't understand:
Remember,
it is called the "Planet of Death:"
I think we better head back up to the Searcher and have a little chat with Reardon:
He said he's been down here for three weeks:
Maybe he can give us some clue as to what to expect down here:
Attention!
I am well aware that calling a ship's assembly like this is most unusual:
But then most unusual problems demand unusual remedies:
It has come to my attention: : :
That certain members of this crew: : :
Have engaged in disloyal...
No: Let me amend that...
in treacherous activities!
Well, let me assure you of one thing, ladies and gentlemen:
Those of you have engaged in these treasonous schemes: : :
Will be exposed and punished:
In the past, I've used a light hand,
allowing all to have their say:
Oh, yes: Quite often, I've simply smiled away my disagreements:
But now,
with certain opinions manifesting themselves into devious actions,
I am taking a firm control on the helm!
Chief Petty Officer Cowan, front and center:!
Sir!
Wilma, what in the devil's going on down there?
It's been like this since I got back:
The admiral is convinced that some of the crew are plotting a mutiny:
What? That's impossible:
Did you or did you not have the conn at 0800 hours today?
Yes, sir, I did:
And isn't it true that this ship deviated from its course by a factor of three degrees: : :
For almost one full minute during that time?
Sir, there was a minor malfunction in the plasma gyros:
We had it corrected in no time and resumed our proper course: It was all routine:
I'll tell you what's routine, mister!
You steered this ship from her true course: : :
In a deliberate attempt to sabotage our mission:
Sabotage? That's enough out of you, Cowan:!
Lieutenant Parsons! Yes, sir:
Take charge of the prisoner:
Chief Petty Officer Cowan is to remain under close arrest in the brig: : :
Until further word from me:! Yes, sir:
I don't believe this is happening:
Cowan is completely trustworthy: He wouldn't sabotage the ship:
Take him away: The admiral must be losing his mind:
Parsons is acting like some kind of two-bit tyrant:
It's totally unlike him:
But what could be responsible for such a bizarre transformation?
I don't know: It's hard to say:
But we came back to see if Reardon had anything useful he could tell us:
I still think that's the best place to start: Let's go:
[Asimov] Don't think for a moment that you can lie to me and get away with it:
Mr: Miller, I have reason to believe: : :
That you have conspired to tamper with the fusion drive of this ship:
Now, if my suspicions are sustained, I won't wait for a formal hearing:
I'll have you summarily executed: Guards, take him away:!
Why, good afternoon, Captain Rogers, Hawk:
I trust your excursion to Vor-Deeth was a pleasant one:
Crichton, I can't believe this: You're actually being courteous today?
But why shouldn't I be, sir?
After all, a robot owes his human masters every measure of respect:
[Chuckles] You mean you are acknowledging that we are your masters?
You created us, did you not?
- How about you, Twiki? - What do you mean, how about me?
Are we playing guessing games?
Twiki, are you all right? What do you care?
What do any of you care?
Since when have you humans been overly concerned about how I feel?
All I am is a mechanical servant:
Now if you'll excuse me, I've been summoned to the bridge:
The admiral probably expects me to fix him a cup of tea: : :
Or something equally important:
Ha! I don't know what they want me to do: Always asking me to do something:
Have a most pleasant day:
[Twiki] Twiki do this, Twiki, do that: It's discrimination, if you ask me:
I think they're both out of their heads:
Incredible: Their personalities are completely transformed:
Yeah, I think we better get to that sick bay as quickly as possible:
No, Captain, I can't say I'm surprised at any of it:
And what you're telling me about my ship disappearing: : :
Is nothing compared to some of the strange things I saw on that blasted planet: What sort of things?
- Well, ghosts for one thing: - Ghosts?
That's the only thing I can think of to call them:
Unless you want to say "visions:"
But that seems like splitting hairs, if you ask me:
Things would...
Things would appear and disappear:
Even the sun seemed to come up from a different direction each morning:
I tell you: The planet is cursed:
And if you ask me,
that's what's causing the strange behavior you've been seeing here in your ship:
Are you suggesting that that planet exerts a supernatural force: : :
That causes people to see things and to behave strangely?
Colonel, I don't know if you'd call it supernatural or not:
But a force, there is: That much I'll swear to:
I think we better go talk to Dr: Goodfellow:
It all seems to be working all right:
That we know is off:
Let's have a look here:
Dr: Goodfellow: Yeah?
Oh, it's you, Buck: Yes, nice to see you and Colonel Deering:
You're looking awfully busy, Doctor:
I'm conducting tests in an effort to account for some of the extraordinary behavior: : :
That's been occurring aboard the ship:
Then you've also noticed the people acting strangely:
I have a feeling that there's something about that planet:
A magnetic field, perhaps:
Something like that interferes with the normal processes of the human brain:
Yes, well, we came up with a similar hypothesis, Doctor:
Unfortunately, I think you should know that Crichton has also been affected:
- Crichton affected? That's impossible: - But it's true, Doctor:
Apparently robots are not immune to whatever's causing the strange behavior:
Do I have to remind you, my dear boy, that Crichton is my own creation:
I made him: I constructed him:
He's utterly impervious to any sort of magnetic interference:
- Buck wasn't questioning any of your... - Wasn't he, indeed!
It may be that I know little about piloting spacecraft: : :
Or tramping about other people's planets:
This is where I commune with elemental forces of nature: : :
And seek to uncover the mysteries of creation:
Now if you'll excuse me, I'll finish my work:
[Sighs]
I must continue my efforts to probe the secrets of Vor-Deeth:
It is obvious the doctor will be of little help to us:
Yeah: He's as flaky as the admiral, which puts us back to square one:
[Wilma] Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Go back to Vor-Deeth, find out what it is on that planet: : :
That's affecting this ship? Exactly:
I'm sorry, Captain Rogers: This part of the ship has been sealed off: Admiral's orders:
Yes, well, we're not exactly sure that the admiral is in complete control of his faculties, so if you'll just...
If you come any further, I'm gonna have to use this, sir:
Huh:
Cowan, what are you doing out of the brig?
Let's go: What's the meaning of this?
Drop the weapon, Hawk: Drop it this instant:
Now, what happened here, James?
Captain Rogers refused to obey my order to halt, sir:
I told him you'd ordered this part of the ship sealed off:
Do you have an explanation, Captain, for deliberate disobedience to one of my orders?
Admiral, somewhere down on that planet... I see:
Apparently, whatever is causing the mutinous behavior amongst the crew: : :
Has affected you as well, Captain, and both of you:
Disarm them: Escort them to Captain Rogers's cabin:
See that they remain there until further orders:
We could have overcome the guards:
I know: I thought about that myself:
I just thought we needed some time to decide:
Buck, what is it?
Your cabins and mine, they're identical, aren't they?
Yes, except for the furnishings:
I see it:
Yes: The viewport is off center:
The viewport's changed, but take a look outside:
Our orbit has changed:
- The Omega quadrant is no longer visible: - Then the ship has moved:
I'm not sure what happened,
but it was off our port bow before we left to survey Vor-Deeth:
It's not there now: I don't know what happened, but...
But what would account for the new star reading?
I don't think we're on board the real Searcher:
Buck, that's just a little hard to believe:
Is it? Then how do you account for the fact that the interior has changed?
And the fact that all the people on board this ship are acting so totally out of character?
What if we're on board a fake?
A very clever but nonetheless imperfect fake:
But we piloted the shuttle here ourselves,
and Wilma flew here in her own ship:
Anything clever enough to fabricate a copy of the Searcher: : :
Is certainly clever enough to throw our instruments out of adjustment: : :
And make us believe we're landing on the real Searcher:
If the ship is a fake, what about the people on it?
They're fakes as well:
Robots, androids: I don't know what they are, but they're fakes:
We can't worry about that right now: The first thing we have to do is get out of this room:
Yes, but how do we get past the guard?
If you gentlemen will go along with it, I think I have an idea:
[Wilma Screams] Let me go:! Let go, you...
Help me! They're trying to take over the ship! Release her! Stand back!
You're under confinement:
Well done, Colonel: Hated to do that:
Yeah, right: Let's go:
Buck, if your hypothesis is correct, is that how we've been tricked, aboard a fake Searcher?
If my hypothesis is correct, it's all the more reason for us: : :
To find that hangar deck and get out of here:
That will not be easy with the admiral, or whoever he is, posting guard:
[Asimov On P: A:] Attention, all personnel:
Captain Rogers, Colonel Deering and Hawk have violated confinement:
Find them: They are not to leave this ship:
Use whatever force is necessary:
All right: Steady: Let's go:
Parsons:!
I want some answers, mister, and I want 'em now:!
You won't get away: I didn't ask for your opinion:
I want to know who you are and what's going on with the ship:
[Explosion]
It was a duplicate of some kind:
Buck! I've never seen anything so horrible:
Nothing left but ash:
Too incredible to be true:
I'm willing to bet every creature on this ship is exactly the same way:
We've got to get to the hangar deck, to our ships: I suggest you two stay here:
I will see if a way is clear to the hangar deck: Okay:
Hey, come on, Wilma, pull out of it:
I'm sorry, Buck, for falling apart like that:
I guess I was just shocked seeing that... that thing disintegrate:
Hey, hey, you all right?
I will be:
Just being close to you chases the fears away:
Just hold me, please:
Just hold me close:
I'm so frightened:
Buck, the engine room is clear of guards:
On the real Searcher, there is an access door from there to the hangar deck:
Let's hope whoever or whatever duplicated the Searcher included that little detail:
You all right?
Sure: Okay:
Let's keep our fingers crossed:
There they are!
The emergency access hatch to the launch bay:
- An empty chamber! - It's a trap:! Get back:!
They were waiting for us: It's almost as if they knew our plans:
Maybe they did: What do you mean?
Hawk is the one who suggested we try going through the engine room:
Isn't it a little suspicious that the guards happened to be waiting for us?
You are accusing me? That is absurd:
You said yourself that something strange happened to Hawk: : :
While the two of you were down on Vor-Deeth:
How do you know that the real Hawk wasn't replaced by one of those...
those fakes: : :
During the time that he seemed to disappear?
[Whirring]
You cannot possibly believe what you are saying: You are frightened!
You bet I'm frightened! You're trying to kill both of us!
Wilma, whatever is in your mind... [Man] Right here:! Turn it on:!
Move! Move! It's a photon cannon!
[Wilma Screams]
Wilma! Hawk! Over here, Buck:! Help me:!
I'm pinned! [Screams]
Buck, the cable! High voltage: I can't move: Help me!
- Hawk! - Never mind me: Get to Wilma:
[Screams] Help her out of there:
That cable touches her, she dies:
Buck, please:! Hurry:!
Please:! What are you waiting for?
- Pull her out of there! - Buck, please:! Hurry:!
Pull her out of there:!
Help her before it's too late!
Buck, please!
[Screaming]
How can you ignore her? She's...
[Explosion]
I cannot believe it:
Wilma a fake like the others? How did you know?
Wilma doesn't frighten easily:
She was too upset when she was alone with me and too convinced you were an impostor:
Watch your legs:
Then it was the: : :
Double of Wilma who: : :
Somehow let the others know where we were going:
We're no closer to finding that hangar deck than we were before:
But at least we know where not to look:
Let's go:
[Parsons] Searcher calling Captain Rogers and Hawk:
Come in, please:
Still nothing, sir: And I've tried every voice frequency we've got:
This way:
Let's try this way: Come on:
- The reactor room: - Hangar bay:
Hold on: How do you know that that sign means what it says?
I understand your caution, but we must take the risk:
Hawk, think about it: Nothing has been as it seems:
Let's go:
Buck, Hawk!
Oh, there's no need for that, Hawk: We're on the same side:
[Dr: Goodfellow] Yes, of course we're on the same side, Buck, dear boy:
Listen, listen to me: You know, you were quite right about the influence of that planet:
I was able to synthesize a serum which counteracts its effects:
That was good, wasn't it? Yes: Dr: Goodfellow and I have both been immunized, Buck:
But we need your help to round up the rest of the crew: : :
So that they can be inoculated as well:
Nice try, Admiral:
If that door does lead to the reactor room, the radiation will kill us:
You won't find your way out through there, Rogers: That's the fusion reactor room:
You ever hear the one about the lady and the tiger? No:
Just as well:
[Hawk] The shuttle:! [Buck] We got the lady, not the tiger:
Let's hope it's for real:
Mr: Reardon, what are you doing down here?
This area is off-limits:
And I've been looking all over this ship for you: I'm sorry, Colonel:
I was just getting bored up there in the sick bay:
I thought I'd take myself a little walk:
Well, this is the third time you've decided to take a little walk, Mr: Reardon:
How do you expect that leg to heal if you keep putting your weight on it? I really didn't think I'd hurt it any:
Well, come along before Dr: Goodfellow finds out you've been playing hooky again: Whatever you say, Colonel:
[Hawk] Do you think they will attempt to pursue us?
That's hard to tell, Hawk: No telling what capabilities that fake Searcher has:
But if they do... Buck!
Look:
It disintegrated:
Yeah, just like the fake people who were on board it:
Any word yet? No: Nothing:
Sir, what do you make of this? The photon energy reading's practically off the scope:
Admiral, I realize I have not been asked,
but my sensors indicate: : :
That we have been locked into a snare beam:
What?
It's true, sir: Instruments show us firmly held by a magnetic force 10:
I don't see how that's possible:
Except for Reardon, there was no sign of life on Vor-Deeth:
Possible or not, it's happening:
We're being held prisoner: : : By something:
Searcher, this is Captain Rogers: Do you read me? Over:
Captain Rogers, Admiral:
I knew Buck would be okay:
Buck, where are you? We're on our way back, Admiral:
We... We had a little detour: You mustn't return to the ship:
We've been caught in a snare beam emanating from somewhere on the surface of Vor-Deeth:
We're helpless, Buck: If you come back, you'll be trapped with us:
More trouble from Vor-Deeth:
Yeah: Five will get you 10 that whatever fabricated that fake Searcher: : :
Is also behind that snare beam:
Admiral, we're going down to Vor-Deeth, try to find the source of that beam:
Good idea: Good luck: Searcher out:
According to the coordinates of the tractor beam,
it should be somewhere around here: Buck:
What? The temple:
I might've known: Let's go:
It's hard to see:
I sense a presence:
Yeah, like before: We're being watched:
Enter, masters!
Enter, masters:!
You have done brilliantly so far:
You have passed all the tests but one:
Do not be afraid:
You're on the brink of securing rewards: : :
Beyond your wildest dreams:
- Who are you? - At the moment, I am what you see:
A gray-bearded old man stooped with age: : :
And bent with a burden of 10,000 lonely years:
Why are you holding our ship in a snare beam?
Because: : : [Chuckles]
There is one more test for you to pass:
If you succeed, all will be as you wish:
If you fail, you, your ship: : :
And all in it will be destroyed:
Are you telling us that everything we went through up there,
being misdirected to a fake ship,
meeting fake people who resembled our own friends and shipmates: : :
Was just part of a series of tests?
Precisely:
And you are the first visitors in 10,000 years: : :
To have survived to this point:
You have my deepest admiration, friends,
for the tests the Goral has devised are difficult, are they not?
You have no right to hold a peaceful vessel and its crew: : :
In order to play some silly game:
Release our ship:
Impossible:
Until you have met the final challenge:
But why?
Why do you subject people to such trials? Who are you?
I am: : : The Hand of the Goral:
Their servant, if you wish:
They left me here many eons ago: : :
To protect their planet from intruders: : :
Until the day they returned:
I am a simulacrum,
fashioned like the others you encountered,
fashioned from a substance partly energy, partly matter,
and able to become anything that is wished:
Anything:
[Chuckles] You have done well so far:
You have demonstrated your intelligence and suitability for remaining on this planet: : :
And soon may take your place here in this paradise: : :
As my masters:
So you've fulfilled this role of guarding this planet for over 10,000 years?
Ten thousand years is but a grain of sand: : :
In the hourglass of eternity:
I fulfill my role gladly,
for it is an honor to serve the Goral: : :
And you:
I can provide you with palaces and pleasure domes,
with armies and slaves,
with concubines and viands from a dozen galaxies:
In short, I can gratify your very dream,
your wildest wish: : :
And answers to questions as yet unborn:
Fine: Then our first wish is that you release our ship so we can get away from here:
Master, I regret that is the only wish I cannot grant:
The life of your ship is in your hands, not in mine:
What do you mean?
The instrument for your ship's destruction has already been placed aboard her: : :
And by a member of your own crew: [Laughs]
Discover him in time, and you will have won all:
Reardon: The man we picked up here was a fake, wasn't he?
And Wilma... the real Wilma... took him on board the Searcher:
And it was he who was able to tell this creature how to duplicate our ship:
[Laughs] You are indeed worthy of admittance to my masters' planet!
Such intuition is a rare thing:
We are sick and tired of playing your stupid game, old man:
I want some answers from you, and I want them now!
How is Reardon going to destroy the ship? How's he gonna do it?
Oh, perhaps not so intelligent after all:
Anger and violence do not provide solutions:
Tell me, old man:
I overestimated you: [Clicking Tongue]
What a pity:
[Explosion]
Gone like the others:
We gotta get back to the ship:
Searcher, this is Captain Rogers: Do you read me? Over:
Yes, Buck: What have you found?
We're returning to the ship, Admiral: You've got a saboteur on board:
It's Reardon: He's an impostor, a fake:
We were tricked into taking him on board the Searcher so he could destroy it:
You've got to find him and stop him:
Where is he? He should be in sick bay,
unless he's taking another one of his little walks:
Sick bay, this is Colonel Deering on the bridge: Is Mr: Reardon there?
[Man] He should be, Colonel: Just a minute:
That's funny: He was here a minute ago, but now he's gone:
I'd better get down there: Let's organize search teams to scour the ship:
Good:
Buck, Reardon's disappeared:
We're starting a search now: How long before you're back?
We're on final approach now, Admiral:
Buck, we have teams out searching the entire ship, but still no sign of Reardon:
The fusion reactor room: It's the most sensitive part of the ship:
No sign of Reardon anywhere: We think he's in the reactor room: Come on:
Well, we know someone's inside:
The green light's on:
- Captain Rogers: - Lieutenant Parsons:
Good to have you back, sir:
I've checked the reactor room for any sign of Reardon, as Colonel Deering ordered:
The place is clean:
Did you check the reactors for any unusual devices?
Yes, sir: Swept them with the magnetometer: Everything's normal:
Looks like your hunch was wrong:
Yeah, yeah:
Well, thank you, Parsons: You better stay here and keep an eye on things:
Yes, sir:
Let's go:
Where to now? I don't know:
Looks like we struck a dead end:
Colonel Deering: Captain Rogers:!
I just searched the supply room:
It was Reardon: He changed himself to look like Parsons:
It's locked: Stand back:
Reardon, we know you're in here: You might as well show yourself and surrender:
Hawk, you see anything?
Nothing, Buck:
It appears as though Reardon has left the reactor room:
- But how? - Perhaps through another door:
What do you mean, another door? You know as well as I do there's only one way out of this reactor room:
Buck?
Where's that detonator? Where is that detonator?
Such a pity: You will leave:
Ten thousand years is a long and lonely vigil: : :
Without company:
[Explosion]
[Hawk] I found it:
Attached to reactor number four:
It is harmless now:
Yeah, just like our friend there:
It is a pity, in a way:
After 10,000 years of waiting, he has failed:
Yeah: Lucky for us he did:
Buck, how did you know it wasn't Wilma?
That must have been a terrible moment not knowing who to save:
Well, there was a difference: A wrongness, if you will:
[Chirping] A wrongness about Wilma? Never!
What exactly do you mean, Buck, a wrongness?
Call it instinct, Doctor: For instance, your double was a caricature of your normal self:
The mad scientist, so to speak:
And you, Admiral, your double was cruel and inhuman like a Captain Bligh:
But what about the fake Wilma?
What was the so-called wrongness about her?
Yes, Buck, what was the imitation Wilma like?
Well, she was so different and so opposite to the way you really are: : :
That I really felt that she or... well, you or whatever... had lost her mind:
Well, how was she opposite?
She was warm and friendly and affectionate:
You... [Giggling]
- Oh, my poor boy! - Why do you say that, Doctor?
Well, it just occurred to me:
You must be under tremendous emotional strain:
Strain? No: Why?
Because when that simulacrum of Wilma was destroyed,
well, you lost the Goral of your dreams, didn't you?
The Goral of your dreams! You lost her!
[All Groaning And Laughing]