#48: The Pyramid

Air Date: 01/14/78  written by Margaret Armen, Alf Harris, Arthur Rowe, and Lionel E. Siegel  Directed by Barry Crane

This was one of several episodes in this season that contained the strong science fiction element of aliens from outer space, a premise popular at the time due to Star Wars, mainly. At the start, NASA is planning to seed the atmosphere with a new invention - sent by missile - which should improve the ozone layer; talk here hints that we will all burn up in a few years when that layer is depleted. Jaime and her new beau, Chris (Christopher Stone), who also works for OSI as a scientist, investigate some kind of signals at the abandoned military base which had been used to prepare for a Japanese attack in WWII. They snoop around just in time for some Inca-styled warrior with a clubbing weapon to awaken and attack them. The other awoken person looks like an elderly man but is an alien with mind powers. He reveals that his people are on their way back in a spaceship to check out Earth and that their ship will explode when it hits the atmosphere and this new stuff that has been spread in it. Since the aliens will look on this as a hostile attack, they will retaliate by destroying all life on Earth. Jaime has six hours to figure out how to warn the approaching alien ship, since the existing communicator is damaged.

This story has some intriguing backstory on the aliens and their relationship with the Incas, who misinterpreted the message of the aliens and the function of the pyramids, resulting in all those bloody sacrifices to the gods. This was also a key episode for Jaime and her new boyfriend, when he spots her using her bionic strength on some debris. He is not repelled or afraid of the revelation, and Chris Stone would go on to be a semi-regular on the show. There's some action when Jaime needs to team up with the warrior (unknown if he is an alien or a trained Earthling), but it's mostly routine. It's a little odd that the old alien finds himself unable to communicate with his fellows due to some kind of breakdown in the alien equipment and a little too pat that the replacement part happens to be part of Jaime's bionics.  BoG's Score: 6 out of 10