User Reviews

This is a great episode, but the finish was the beginning of the end for the series. David Vincent and Colonel Archie Harmon arrive at a military base with an alien in custody. They place the alien in a holding cell while Harmon leaves to summon his superior officer, General Samuel Arlington Concannon. As Harmon is meeting Concannon, an alien dressed as an Army officer is able to slip a suicide capsule in the other alien's cell. The prisoner disintegrates just as Harmon and Concannon arrive but the alien dressed as the Army officer is shot, and Harmon and Concannon witness this. General Concannon suggests to Vincent and Col. Harmon that there might be a solution to the problem and is willing to negotiate a peaceful settlement with the aliens. Vincent agrees to meet with the alien leader, Ryder, and give the proposal. Ryder cautiously agrees to the meeting, and agrees to have top alien personnel attend as well. General Concannon notifies top military personnel to attend the meeting along with Vincent and his top ally, Edgar Scoville. The general gives each member of the human contingent sealed orders, which the General claims come from higher authorities. Unfortunately, all this turns out to be an elaborate setup. General Concannon, under the guise of a practice bombing, intends to bomb the meeting site, killing all in attendance, including Vincent, Scoville, and the General's military colleagues. Luckily, Col. Harmon tells the General's long-suffering wife, Sara, about his scheme, and Sara tells Vincent. Vincent, Sara, and her son race to the meeting site in the hope that they can contact the General and talk him out of his scheme, a sure suicide mission guaranteed to spark an intergalactic war. In the meantime, Col. Harmon confesses to the General that he dismissed the flight crew and they are the only people on the plane, a B52 bomber. Harmon goes on to tell Concannon that he also told Sara about his plan and that she and their son are on their way to the summit meeting to try to talk him out of it. Enraged, Concannon knocks Harmon out with his gun and takes over the plane. Vincent gets to the meeting place and tells both Scoville and Ryder that Concannon double-crossed them and will bomb the meeting in mere minutes. Ryder allows Vincent to set up communications with the General's plane and Sara pleads with the General not to go through with it. Sara's pleas fall on deaf ears and Concannon cuts off the communication. Vincent apologizes to Sara and asks Ryder if his group can destroy the General's plane. Ryder gives the order and an alien ship is dispatched to intercept and destroy the plane. In the cockpit, Harmon regains consciousness. At that moment, both he and Concannon see the alien ship coming at them. Concannon has a look of absolute, stunned disbelief on his face, and Harmon has a knowing smile on his face, seeing that Concannon is about to fail. Within seconds, the alien spaceship blows up the B52, killing both Concannon and Harmon. Afterward, Vincent and Scoville try to convince Ryder to have a summit meeting with government personnel who are more responsible and less violent than General Concannon. Ryder leaves, unimpressed with their motives. James Daly steals the show here as General Concannon, who shows himself not only as a shoot first, ask questions later warmonger, but one who is also cruel and abusive to Sara and eventually Harmon, who he knocks out on the plane. But, the look on the heretofore fearless Concannon's face of absolute panic when he sees the alien ship coming at his plane is the signal of the General's imminent doom. Again, James Daly's ability to convey the raw emotion of General Concannon's doom leaves no doubt that the General is about to go down hard. Unfortunately, this episode is the one where the series jumps the shark. Why? The original premise was built on David Vincent's lonely quest trying to prove that the alien invasion is underway. When he finally gets some help in the form of the influential Edgar Scoville and some others, Vincent is now reduced to getting Ryder (played with a cool quiet menace by Alfred Ryder) to blow up Concannon's plane, which Ryder easily obliges. Still a great episode.