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MY FAVORITE MARTIAN {UNAIRED PILOT} (TV)

Summary

One in this comedy series about a Martian stranded on earth living with a newspaper reporter.

Tim O’Hara, a newspaper reporter for the Los Angeles Sun, is sent to cover the test flight of the X-15, an experimental military rocket. His neighbor, Annabelle, is called to wake him up; he is obviously attracted to her, but her mother prevents him from going further. During the test flight, an unidentified flying object is spotted by both the pilot and the radar operator, but the colonel in charge of the flight covers the whole thing up, including shooing away Tim.

As Tim is driving back home, he spots the UFO crash-landing in a nearby ditch. He finds a spacecraft with a man inside. As he checks the man for wounds, he abruptly awakens. The man claims to be from the planet Mars, where he is a professor of anthropology specializing in the study of the planet Earth. He nearly collided with the X-15 while entering Earth’s atmosphere and wound up crashing. Tim carries the fatigued Martian to his car. On the way back home he phones the paper and reports the details of the test flight, including the sighting of a flying saucer and the exact speed of the X-15.

Tim pulls up to his driveway and tries to figure out a way to get the Martin inside unnoticed. The Martian astonishes him by revealing a pair of antennae on his head before turning invisible. Tim carries the now-invisible Martian inside, all the while evading suspicion. The Martian recuperates in Tim’s bed as he asks questions about his knowledge of Earth culture; the Martian claims to have visited Earth many times over a period of centuries, remaining inconspicuous due to his humanlike appearance. The Martian explains that his abilities stem from using the entirety of his brain. He demonstrates the power to read minds.

Annabelle arrives, showing Tim his front-page story about the test flight. The Martian telepathically warns Tim of incoming intruders; they appear immediately thereafter, investigating how Tim learned of the classified information surrounding the X-15 test flight. Tim passes off the Martian as his “Uncle Martin,” visiting him after a long trip. The investigators take Tim away, but not before he leaves a bit of money for “Uncle Martin,” leaving him in Annabelle’s care. They have a talk.

The colonel interrogates Tim as to how he obtained classified information. Tim is imprisoned by Murphy, a federal agent, for his failure to comply. Meanwhile, the Martian retrieves his spacecraft and hides it in a shed. Later, the Martian appears in Tim’s cell and expresses his gratitude for Tim’s help. He helps Tim fabricate a story about receiving military broadcasts on his car radio to explain his acquisition of the classified information. Murphy hears their conversation, but the Martian disappears and they convince him that Tim is a ventriloquist.

The military inspects Tim’s car radio and hear the military band broadcast over it, thanks to the Martian. They take the car radio so their scientists can inspect it, but the Martian uses his powers to surreptitiously remove his gadget from the radio. Afterwards, Tim asks why he wasn’t in on the particulars of the Martian’s plan, but the Martian explains that it would have given their motives away. The Martian notes that he will need rare, expensive, and possibly nonexistent components to repair his spacecraft, and suggests aiding Tim in Las Vegas with the use of his mind-reading abilities to secure the funds. He furthermore suggests that his powers could be useful in Tim’s career as well. The episode ends as they strike up a partnership. Commercials deleted.

Details

  • NETWORK: CBS
  • DATE: November 30, 1962
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:28:23
  • COLOR/B&W: B&W
  • CATALOG ID: B:91631
  • GENRE: Comedy, fantasy/science fiction
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy, fantasy/science fiction; Space aliens
  • SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1963-1966
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Jack Chertok … Producer
  • Sheldon Leonard … Director
  • John L. Greene … Created by, Writer
  • George Greeley … Music by
  • Ray Walston … Cast, The Martian
  • Bill Bixby … Cast, Tim O'Hara
  • Pamela Britton … Cast, Mrs. Brown
  • Ina Victor … Cast, Annabelle
  • Herbert Rudley … Cast, Colonel Whitehead
  • J. Pat O'Malley … Cast, Harry Burns
  • Lee Krieger … Cast, Radarman
  • Marc Towers … Cast, Plainclothes Man
  • Simon Oakland … Cast, Lt. Murphy