Practically every sci-fi show I can think of has had a plot taken from The Most Dangerous Game (its influence in television and film is tremendous) and "Capture", early into the only season of Logan's Run, is no different. Logan and Jessica are taken prisoner by Francis and fellow Sandman Benjamin, but this is short-lived: while Benjamin is unsuccessful in "doing away with" Rem, Jessica is kidnapped by human hunters, Borden (Horst Bucholz) and wife Irene (Mary Woronov!) while Francis and Logan are asleep. Having them believe that mutants kidnapped Jessica, taking her to a fictitious swamp for slave labor, Borden prepares Francis and Logan for the great hunt on his wilderness property. Irene says she will hunt Jessica after hubby is finished with the Sandmen. Let's just say that it doesn't go according to Borden and Irene's plans. This premise of "humans hunting humans" always has appealed to me because it usually delivers plenty of action and suspense. You always wonder how those being hunted will figure out ways to escape what seem like impossible odds. The hunter knows the property in every way while the quarry is on unfamiliar terrain. Traps present themselves and the quarry must determine how to escape them. The hunter has superior firepower so those hunted will have to use ingenuity and smarts to outmaneuver him. The hunters need to be well cast with the right kind of cold-bloodedness and desire for the thrill of the hunt, totally immune to the immorality of their bloodshed. Bucholz and especially Woronov (as sexy and deliciously devious as you could ask for) fit the bill; you can see that they thrive on their victims' fear and/ belief in a possible survival. Important also is that Francis and Logan once again (as they in future episodes) address Carousel and Sanctuary, both sharing differing views on the philosophy of the City of Domes and freedom on the outside. Logan and Jessica both know that if they are returned to the Dome City, they will be reprogrammed and forced by control to tell the citizenry that there is no Sanctuary and that outside is too dangerous for habitation. You know, time and again, the show would establish, as it does in "Capture", how often runners meet gruesome fates on the outside, finding themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time (Irene shows Jessica "trophies" kept of their kills of runners; a delight shows in Irene's eyes as she presents the necklace crosses to Jessica). It does prove that Francis is correct in saying that outside does produce challenges and danger to anyone who ventures out of the confines of the Domed City. Regarding the plot of the hunt, it all goes as expected with Logan and Francis (with eventual help from Jessica and Rem) using cunning and brains to escape pit and cage traps, while also using their strength in numbers to advantage even though Borden has knowledge of the area: Borden's ego and eventually his rage (Irene suffers a tragic fate by his own gun) get the best of him. The run continues
Review of Capture
