episode #90 - The Cheshire Project

episode #11 of 5th season / Air Date: 12/18/77    written by John Meredyth Lucas  directed by Richard Moder

Austin gets reacquainted with yet another old flame, Jenny (Suzanne Somers), a pilot involved in the special project of the title. In this case, the project involves a force field which renders an airplane invisible to radar. As to be expected, something goes wrong during the test flight - Jenny and the airplane either completely disappear or are destroyed in an explosion; no one is certain.  Also, one of those involved in the project (including John Larch and Robert Hogan) is out to make a buck for themselves. Austin goes off in search of Jenny in the desert and comes across a dilapidated air strip.   It's here that the true culprits and the scheme are unveiled.
By this point, it seems like Austin was running into old girlfriends in just about every other episode, though Somers (just before her regular gig started in Three's Company) brings a different kind of charm to her girl pilot role.  There's also a kind of serendipity in her being the female guest star in such a titled episode since she has a Cheshire Cat-kind of-grin and its her part that reflects the title as much as the invisibility gizmo.  The first half of the story suggests that the writers were running low on ideas, because it seems to duplicate the 4th season episode Nightmare in the Sky, in which Farrah-Fawcett guest-starred in a similar role.  However, there are definitely unexpected plot twists in the 2nd half for those thinking that this will simply repeat the earlier episode. Also, Oscar Goldman is still 'away' on some important business in this episode, causing Rudy Wells some nervousness at the start of the story. BoG's Score: 6 out of 10