BIONIC WOMAN, THE: DOOMSDAY IS TOMORROW {PART 1 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
One in this spin-off series of “The Six Million Dollar Man,” featuring tennis pro Jaime Sommers, who is given superhuman abilities after being cybernetically reconstructed following a serious accident.
The elderly Dr. Elijah Cooper, inventor of a powerful cobalt-based nuclear weapon, overrides television broadcasts worldwide in order to deliver a message, and first demonstrates the efficacy of his cobalt bomb by detonating it in a remote Pacific testing area. He claims to have invented a device which could destroy all life on earth and asks that the United Nations send a select group of scientists from around the world to his laboratory so that they can confirm his assertion. Rudy is among the scientists whom Dr. Cooper requests; Dr. Cooper warns against military attack, as it could set off his doomsday device. The United Nations confers and decides to honor Dr. Cooper’s request, and Oscar is put in charge of handling the situation. One United Nations representative, Mr. Satari, is opposed to their vote and seems unconcerned with the supposed threat of Dr. Cooper’s device.
Jaime is sent in undercover to pose as the French physicist requested by Dr. Cooper and stop him from putting the world in peril. Jaime enters Dr. Cooper’s compound along with Rudy; Rudy notes that it is the largest government research facility in the United States. They enter and are sent to a waiting room, but Jaime leaves to sneak around the facility. She enters the laboratory and runs into Dr. Cooper, who is eager to discuss nuclear mechanics with her. She manages to surreptitiously alert Rudy, who talks her through it from the other room, which she hears with the aid of her bionic ear. The other scientists, Dr. Kurosawa of Japan and Dr. Evtuhov of the Soviet Union, arrive and are greeted by Dr. Cooper, Rudy, and Jaime. Dr. Kurosawa and Dr. Evtuhov are furious at Dr. Cooper’s actions, but he calms them down. Jaime runs into trouble when Dr. Evtuhov reveals that he met the woman she is impersonating the previous year, but Jaime deflects suspicion for the moment.
Dr. Cooper reveals that his doomsday device functions by encasing his cobalt bomb in an isotope he discovered, Athenium-J, which has a 500-year half-life and extreme radioactive toxicity. Such a detonation would create a barrier of radioactive particles in the upper atmosphere, flooding the planet with intense radiation and killing all life on the surface. The device has already been constructed and is being stored in a vault deep within the research facility. He reveals that the purpose of the creation of his device is to “blackmail” the global superpowers into declaring world peace; he further explains that the only trigger for his device would be the detonation of a nuclear weapon as an act of warfare. The assembled scientists doubt that such a plan could work, especially since Dr. Cooper’s wishes may not be respected by all of the world’s governments. However, Dr. Cooper has another failsafe in the form of ALEX, an artificial intelligence which he programmed into the computer systems of the research facility. He sets ALEX in charge of the facility and to the task of defending and, if necessary, activating the doomsday device. Dr. Cooper then releases the speechless scientists.
In response to this, the United Nations issues a temporary ban on all nuclear testing worldwide to give them time to assess the situation. Mr. Satari calls Oscar to tell him that he doesn’t support the United Nations’ decision, since his country has deemed the entire decision to be a “superpower plot” to impinge on the rights of third-world countries. His country intends to go forward with their nuclear testing, including an atmospheric bomb detonation in a few hours, thus triggering the doomsday device. Rudy says that they have to somehow disarm the doomsday device before Satari’s nation can set off their bomb. However, ALEX has activated the facility’s defenses, which prevent all entry by air and would necessitate massive loss of life if stormed by troops. Jaime offers to go in herself to try to slip past the defenses and disable the main computer memory banks, which may prevent the device from going off.
Jaime manages to run through the facility’s outer perimeter, dodging explosions being set off by automated artillery. She falls into a trench and finds herself in the company of Dr. Evtuhov, who has been carefully making his way through the perimeter himself. He reveals that he is actually Dmitri Muscov, a special operative sent by the Soviet Union to try to disable the doomsday device. Despite their animosity towards each other, they agree to cooperate in order to accomplish their goal. The two of them continue making their way to the facility as Dmitri disables a laser weapon firing upon them. Jaime consults with Oscar and Rudy, who advise her to cooperate with Dmitri for the time being, although Oscar is concerned about the possibility of revealing the existence of their bionic technology to the Soviets. Dmitri is amazed at Jaime’s seemingly impossible feats of strength, but she tries to get him to focus on their mission instead, as only four hours remain until the detonation.
However, when Jaime learns of her timeframe she decides to blow her cover so that she can reach the facility in time, using her bionic abilities to allow herself and Dmitri to scale a cliff quickly. Dmitri is amazed by her bionic enhancements, revealing that the Soviets experimented with bionics on animals but had “tragic” results when attempted with human subjects. Oscar attempts to coordinate the efforts of world leaders as they respond to the crisis. Jaime and Dmitri are faced with another minefield, which Jaime attempts to bypass by using her bionic ear to pinpoint the mines’ electronic signals. However, Dmitri suddenly has a panic attack and claims he cannot go on, as he is experiencing post-traumatic stress from his encounter with a minefield in Manchuria. Jaime convinces him to go on and guides him through the minefield. At the other end, Dmitri’s panic resumes and they find themselves confronted by more laser weaponry. Dmitri pulls her aside as it fires, which triggers an explosion from one of the mines. Jaime carries the injured Dmitri through to the heart of the facility, but he cannot go on and Jaime continues alone.
Jaime enters the facility monitored by ALEX, who questions her as to her identity. She attempts to disable the computer mainframe, but ALEX demonstrates that it can function even if the power to its components is cut off. Jaime finds Dr. Cooper, who is ailing from symptoms stemming from his advanced age. She tells him about the imminent nuclear test, but Dr. Cooper says there is no way to reverse the device. He dies without saying any more. The bomb is detonated and ALEX activates the doomsday device’s systems, leaving six hours before it detonates. An automated message from Dr. Cooper airs over the television, visible to all world leaders, explaining that the doomsday device has been activated. Jaime tells ALEX that she intends to attempt to reach the vault where the device is kept and somehow prevent it from going off, although ALEX declares that it is programmed to stop her. Commercials deleted.
(This is the first of two programs on this asset. For the second, “Bionic Woman, The: Doomsday is Tomorrow [Part 2 of 2], see B:82988)
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: January 19, 1977 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:39:38
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:82987
- GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction; Women's Collection - Drama; Asian American Pacific Islanders Collection
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1976-1978
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Harve Bennett … Executive Producer
- Kenneth Johnson … Producer, Director, Created by, Writer
- Craig Schiller … Associate Producer
- Martin Caidin … Based on the novel "Cyborg" by
- Joe Harnell … Music by
- Jerry Fielding … Theme Music by
- Lindsay Wagner … Cast, Jaime Sommers
- Richard Anderson … Cast, Oscar Goldman
- Martin E. Brooks … Cast, Dr. Rudy Wells
- Lew Ayres … Cast, Dr. Elijah Cooper
- Kenneth O'Brien … Cast, Dr. Victor Evtuhov/Dmitri Muscov
- David Opatoshu … Cast, Mr. Satari
- Sam Chew … Cast, Russ
- James Hong … Cast, Dr. Kurosawa
- Guerin Barry … Voice, ALEX