episode #40 - The Wolf Boy

episode #5 of 3rd season / Air Date: 10/12/75 written by Judy Burns Directed by Jerry London

The show's take on the Tarzan legend or the old Jungle Book adventures features the return of Kuroda (John Fujioka), the Japanese soldier encountered by Steve Austin in the 2nd season's The Last Kamikazi. Kuroda has settled in modern Japan and he's not too happy about his job as a shoe salesman - but, hey, it's a living. Now, Kuroda's boss and benefactor (Teru Shimada) has a new assignment for him: find, if possible, a boy running around with wolves in a forest. Kuroda's first thought is he needs Steve Austin for this; though Oscar Goldman objects (for budget reasons, of all things), Austin has his own reasons; he believes the boy to be the son of a U.S. ambassador and his wife who were killed in that region years ago.
This is a rather wild adventure in more ways than one - the idea that a youth (Buddy Foster) is running around with wild animals probably sounds better if in the 19th century or even a few decades earlier; in the seventies, it seems a bit far-fetched - but then, so are the type of bionics used by Austin. The story appears to be a simple one, about the two men seeking to gain the boy's trust, but there is an added element of revelation and tension as others are sent in to kill the boy. It's also interesting how Kuroda's past and his situation corresponds to the wild boy's - both do not fit in with the modern world. Kuroda's character remains an intriguing one. BoG's Score: 6 out of 10

Bionic Trivia: a few years later, an entire series revolved around a similar wolf boy, called Lucan: