John Drew and Liz Goddard set sail with "Assault on the Princess," which first aired October 6, 1976. Jaime goes undercover as a blackjack dealer aboard the Princess Louise, a floating casino run by a charming rogue named Lucky. Her mission is to find a double agent known only as "the Iceman" and recover a stolen energy cell that could turn the ship into a floating bomb. Their guest is John Champion, co-host of Mission Log: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast, ocean liner enthusiast, and the man behind Lido Deck: A Love Boat Podcast (and its now-legendary April Fool's 200th episode). He's the right person to sort out which ship is which in this one. OSI Historical Data Bank: The world on October 6, 1976: worries about fallout from a foreign nuclear test reaching the East Coast, a haunted house horror film taking the top spot at the box office for one week, and a certain funky song finishing its run at #1. The Bionic Woman aired half an hour early that night so ABC could carry a presidential debate, which put it up against local programming instead of the usual competition. The TV Guide Report: John's issue of TV Guide is back, and the previous owner was consistent: an X next to The Bionic Woman and another next to that week's Six Mil. The hosts agree the second one, "Double Trouble," at least deserved it. Writer Wilton Denmark, a regular on Six Mil, wrote what appears to be his only Bionic Woman script, and Alan Crosland Jr. directs again. The listing credits a long cast, and the hosts point out that not one other woman is in it. The Guest Cast: Ed Nelson plays Lucky, and Liz is not a fan: the name, the necklace, and the earring make three strikes. Vito Scotti returns as Romero from "Fly Jaime," and this time he's playing the same character, not a new one. Steve Kanaly appears years before he became Ray Krebs on Dallas. The hosts also get to Creighton's eye-catching plaid blazer, Romero's fellow gambler, and a card-dealing instructor who may have been a real-life sleight-of-hand man. One Ship, Three Ships: John Champion explains why this fictional ship never quite looks like the same ship twice. The production cut between three vessels: A retired liner working as a restaurant ship near Los Angeles Exterior shots of a real Princess cruise ship much like The Love Boat's Pacific Princess Interiors filmed aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach He points out the Queen Mary's original woodwork and Bakelite handrails, identifies the suite used for Lucky's cabin, and explains why the intimate casino room couldn't have been filmed on the much larger liner. He also praises how quickly Universal's TV production crews could shoot a show on location. Lucky: Rogue or Creep? Lucky gets a lively debate. Liz finds nothing redeemable about him and wants no romance anywhere near Jaime. John Champion sees him as a classic rogue who is better than the crew around him and gets a redemptive moment because the story needs one. A comparison to Han Solo doesn't go over well with Liz. They also discuss the moonlit deck scene and the convenient searchlight that interrupts it. Memorable Moment: Romero Under the Moon: John picks this one himself: Romero's moonlit serenade on deck, which gives Jaime the chance to slip away. The hosts note that the scene is cut from the syndicated version, and they discuss why recurring guest characters like Romero make the bionic world feel more connected. The talk extends to John de Lancie's upcoming return in Six Mil and to Farrah Fawcett's two different roles. Questions from the Bridge: How does Jaime know the ship is exactly 15 degrees off course? Remember the celestial navigation from "Deadly Missiles." Why won't Lucky let the police search his ship when he has to come back to that port? Why doesn't he lock up his crew once Jaime tells him about them? John Champion also explains why a ship at sea is such good territory for drama: it's a self-contained world where everything has to be accounted for, which makes it a lot like a starship. The Ending: All three hosts are surprised by Jaime's emotional final scene with Lucky. Listener Laura shares the original script draft, and its version of the farewell is even more of a stretch. The hosts are relieved when the final dockside goodbye brings back the Jaime they know. Would You Show This One First? Liz and John Champion both say no, though both praise Lindsay Wagner's natural comic touch and the scenes with Vito Scotti. John admits he enjoyed this one more than they did, and he would have loved a Romero trilogy. The Ratings Report: Liz guesses #17 and John Champion goes with "lucky" #13. In fact, "Assault on the Princess" placed #16 for the week. That same week, The Six Million Dollar Man's "Double Trouble" missed the Top 20 entirely. Collectibles Corner: John Champion talks about his collection of Queen Mary deck plans and paper ephemera. He shares two favorite details about the ship's corridors: the curve of the deck, which you can see down the length of the hallway, and the handrails that were added after the maiden voyage. Where to Find Our Guest: Mission Log, Mission Log Live, and the daily Sci-Fi 5 are at podcast.roddenberry.com. John is also on Twitter at @DVDGeeks, where he talks about spies, Bond, U.N.C.L.E., food, ocean liners, and vintage '70s TV. Hashtags: #TheBionicWoman #BionicWoman #LindsayWagner #JaimeSommers #OSIFiles #AssaultOnThePrincess #EdNelson #VitoScotti #SteveKanaly #RichardAnderson #OscarGoldman #QueenMary #OceanLiners #LongBeach #LoveBoat #MissionLog #Roddenberry #ClassicTV #70sTV #Bionics #50thAnniversary #1976
