episode #71 - Death Probe, Part II

episode #14 of 4th season / Air Date: 1/16/77 written by Steven E. de Souza directed by Richard Moder

The first act details Austin's battle with the Death Probe in which he definitely comes out on the losing end. In fact, to emphasize the probe's power, this shows Austin running away from the machine after it damages his bionic arm. This was indeed unusual - in the past, when Austin would face something like a powerful robot (Day of the Robot, Bigfoot or the Fembots), he would still be able to stand up to the foe, certainly not flee like an injured puppy. We get more info on how impervious this probe is: it was made to withstand the 900-degree temperature on Venus, but even a special thermal bomb which burns at 3,000 degrees doesn't stop it. A special bazooka with a missile that has a tip made of the same substance as the probe doesn't stop it. At one point, it's mentioned that even a nuclear bomb is not a surefire solution - the probe looks like a small tank so, up to this point, I just figured bigger tanks should be able to contain it... but, I guess not .