episode #76 - U-509

episode #19 of 4th season / Air Date: 2/20/77 written by Michael Wagner directed by Phil Bondelli

The title refers to one of those German subs from WW2 - - only this one is still active; it was salvaged by a disgruntled former British commander (Guy Dolman) and is now being used to threaten the east coast of the U.S. the villain wants 20 million dollars or it's 20 million dead. How can he threaten the U.S. with an ancient sub? There is toxic nerve gas on board, developed by the Germans towards the end of the world war - or is there? Austin goes in while the sub rests on the bottom of 300 feet of ocean; only he can open the top hatch in that kind of water pressure. Then it's action and tension in the claustrophobic atmosphere of the sub's interior against a crew of about half-a-dozen.
This was a slightly off-the-wall kind of episode; first, it's highly unlikely that the villains would be able to get the sub back into working order after finding it at the bottom of the ocean somewhere, rusting away for 30+ years. This seems a story written around stock footage of a WW2 movie (not sure which) like The Enemy Below (1957). This does have a strong guest cast, led by Dolman and William Sylvester (of 2001 fame) as a U.S. general who would return in the 5th season. All the scenes inside the dark submarine are well done. Austin does a lot of metal bending in this one and a couple of the swabbies probably thought he was some sea spirit. BoG' Score: 6.5 out of 10

Star Trek TOS actor alert:
one of the confederates in the sub is played by Steve Sandor; he played an alien gladiator in The Gamesters of Triskelion