The Hand of the Goral (26 Mar. 1981)

May contain spoilers - While exploring Deeth, the "Planet of Death," Buck Rogers, Hawk, and Wilma come across a stranded crash victim. His wrecked ship mysteriously disappears after he is ... See full summary »

Director:

David G. Phinney

Writers:

Glen A. Larson (developed for television by), Leslie Stevens (developed for television by),

Stars:

Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Thom Christopher

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Gil Gerard	...	Capt. William "Buck" Rogers
Erin Gray	...	Col. Wilma Deering
Thom Christopher	...	Hawk
Jay Garner	...	Admiral Asimov
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Dr. Goodfellow
John Fujioka	...	Hand of Goral
William Bryant	...	Cowan
Peter Kastner	...	Reardon
Felix Silla	...	Twiki
Mel Blanc	...	Twiki (voice)
Dennis Haysbert	...	Lt. Parsons
Michael Horsley	...	Yeoman James

Storyline

May contain spoilers - While exploring Deeth, the "Planet of Death," Buck Rogers, Hawk, and Wilma come across a stranded crash victim. His wrecked ship mysteriously disappears after he is rescued - the first in a long line of strange happenings. Buck and Hawk must contend with a duplicate of their ship, the Searcher, as well as find a way to release the real Searcher from a snare beam. Their search for the beam's source takes them back to the planet's surface, where they meet an old man who identifies himself as the "Hand of the Goral." He informs them that they have a final test to pass - if they succeed, they will reap the rewards, but if they fail, the Searcher and all aboard will be destroyed.

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Plot Keywords:

25th century | spandex disco jeans | spandex suit

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 1981 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Glen A. Larson Productions, Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Color (technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Dr. Goodfellow spells the planet name as "Deeth", but pronounces it as "Vor"-"Deeth" which is how Buck also pronounces it.

User Reviews

Neat episode

Buck (sound work by Gil Gerard) and Hawk (a fine Thom Christopher) explore the desolate planet of Verdeeth for lost humans. They encounter sole spaceship crash survivor Reardon (a solid performance by Peter Kastner) and take him back on board the Searcher. However, everybody on the Searcher are now duplicates who act totally the opposite of their usual selves. It's up to Buck and Hawk to pass a tough test posed by cunning and devious being the Hand of Goral (an inspired portrayal by John Fujioka) in order to prevent the real Searcher and everyone on board from being destroyed. Director David G. Phinney, working from a crafty and absorbing script by Francis Moss, relates the involving story at a steady pace, builds a considerable amount of suspense, and ably creates and sustains an intriguingly odd and mysterious mood. It's fun to see certain characters behaving with radically different personalities, with especially stand-out contributions by Wilfrid Hyde-White as a brusque and cantankerous Dr. Goodfellow, Erin Gray as a timid, yet flirtatious Wilma Deering, and Jay Garner as a paranoid and tyrannical Admiral Asimov. The tricky plot keeps the viewers on their toes right up until the end. Kudos are also in order for the rousing and spirited score by Stu Phillips. One of the more offbeat and interesting episodes from the second season.