episode #95 - The Lost Island

episode #16 of 5th season / Air Date: 01/30/78    written by Mel Goldberg, Lou Shaw   directed by Cliff Bole

A double-length episode which evokes musings on the popular Bermuda Triangle mystery, though taking place in the Pacific. In the plot, one of our satellites has dropped into the Pacific Ocean somewhere, but even though the location is somewhat pinpointed near Hawaii, a massive search yields no results. That's because the satellite actually fell onto an island which is hidden by an invisibility screen. On this island reside a group of aliens (these are aliens much like the ones from the Bigfoot episodes, meaning that they look just like us). Also on the island is a human scientist who went missing 20 years ago; he has since had a daughter who is half-alien. The big problem here, as Rudy Wells explains, is that the satellite emits radiation which adversely affects animal life, turning it hostile and brutish, with heightened strength. Several young members of the alien sect (including Jared Martin & Anthony Geary, with colorful names like Torg) immediately transform when they find the satellite. Their goal now is to take over the island and perhaps even expand their power beyond the island. The human scientist's daughter tries going to Hawaii to get  a serum and that's where Austin comes in, to help her out.
This was a colorful, though not always exciting adventure. There was also at least one unintentionally humorous moment - at least if seen nowadays - when the first alien guy is transformed. He suddenly acquires over-sized teeth and huge bushy eyebrows as he turns towards his fellow aliens; my first thought was that he quickly applied Halloween make-up to play a joke on his friends, but no - this was intended as a shocking reveal to show his turn to dangerous superhuman. There was probably no other way to do it back then and the change had to be fast in order to propel the story along, but this instantaneous mutation just screams Z movies! I also had trouble grasping the concept of this invisible island - it's also shielded by an electrical field, so why has no one ever ran into this field and caused an investigation? The story slows down some when the girl and Austin are basically vacationing in Hawaii and it becomes almost pointless. This episode seemed like an excuse to film in Hawaii, but it nevertheless lends a special quality to the episode. BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10

the_six_million_dollar_man___5x16___the_lost... by sij137200
The Six Million Dollar Man 5x16:The Lost Island 2 by sij137200
Bionic Trivia: this special episode was double-length and aired the day after the episode Return of DeathProbe, Part 2 on the new air day of Monday, recalling the first 3 telefilms from way back in 1973, so this was just like a Bionic Man TV Movie.