The Overlord
Original Air Date: November 30, 1984
Written By: David Abramowitz
Directed By: Bruce Seth Green
Produced By: David Latt
Guest Appearances: Michael Champion as Garrison; Sheryl Lee Ralph as Glenna; Robert Thaler as Daniel.
Freedom Network Update: Bangkok falls to the Visitors; rebels successfully fight back the Visitors in Birmingham, Alabama; and the Medal of Valor is awarded to Dr. Harvey Wachman of Kansas City, Missouri, for freeing a dozen boys from a Visitor Youth Camp.
The people of Rawlinsville are being used as slave labor in the local cobalt mine. Cobalt is used to power Visitor weapons and is in high demand for the assault on Earth. However, it is not the Visitors who are in charge of Rawlinsville, because the town is above the frost line in the Red Dust contaminated zone. A man named Garrison has a deal with Diana; she'll pay one gold bar for each ton of cobalt he delivers. He and his gang work the townsfolk relentlessly, eager to make their first shipment. But one feisty woman, Glenna, slips away in search of the Resistance.
Glenna makes her way to the Club Creole looking for Elias Taylor, because she knows he used to be part of the Resistance. He is skeptical of her story at first, but soon agrees that the Resistance must help liberate her town. After some debate between Ham Tyler and Mike Donovan, the group decides to help. Elizabeth joins them despite Kyle Bates's objections.
At Science Frontiers, Julie Parrish shows Nathan Bates her progress on isolating the cobalt power source of the Visitor sidearm. Bates mentions his suspiscions about a mole providing information to the Resistance on the details of his munitions shipments, and all but accuses her of being the spy. Of course, she is indeed making copies of the diskettes that contain Bates's shipping schedules. When another munitions van is ambushed that evening, Bates tells Mr. Chiang to find the proof needed to pin Julie.
On the Mother Ship, a Visitor medic named Kenneth secretly uses a device to communicate with a holographic Amon through the reaches of space. Kenneth recites the covenant, "Xon is the cause for which I would die, but there is no cause for which I would kill," and just then he is discovered and and taken into custody by security guards.
Garrison visits Diana on the Mother Ship, and he wants to change their deal to triple the amount of gold paid for each ton of cobalt. Diana isn't happy about it, but they make arrangements for the first delivery. Before Garrison leaves, Diana shows him something in case he might decide to back out of the deal. Diana reveals a sand-filled cell where Kenneth is captive and forces Garrison to watch while Kenneth is fed to a crivit. Garrison is visibly shaken. (Unlike in Breakout, the crivit shown in this episode does not feature a dorsal fin, but instead appears green and spiny.)
Later, Diana is dressed in slinky evening wear when an Ensign named Daniel drops in. He's been investigating Amon's transmission, and he reports that they've lost the signal, but the source seems to be getting closer. Diana invites him to dine with her, and they share an intimate feast of goldfish, mice, tarantulas, and other assorted delicacies.
Back on Earth, Mr. Chiang breaks into Julie's apartment and finds a floppy disk hidden in a desk. While waiting to show the disk to Nathan Bates at Science Frontiers, Robin Maxwell shows up disguised as a cleaning lady and swaps the diskette with a fake one. When Mr. Chiang loads the disk in front of Nathan and Julie, it's just data about her income tax return. Julie is indignant and dishes out some harsh words to Nathan before storming away.
In Rawlinsville, the team consisting of Ham, Mike, Kyle, Elizabeth, Elias, and Glenna is ready to make their move, but they need a diversion to distract one of Garrison's guards. Elizabeth provides one using her feminine wiles (accompanied by pickup lines she learned from television) to lure the guard away from his post. Glenna frees her associates from the town jail and sets out for the back entrance of the mine. Meanwhile, Ham, Mike, Kyle, and Elias confront Garrison at the mine. Garrison tries to get away, but Glenna and her men have him trapped. Garrison makes a move to harm Glenna, and she guns him down in cold blood. She then demands that the Resistance fighters drop their weapons — it was a setup all along! She's now in control and plans to deliver the cobalt in Garrison's place. Plus, she's expecting a bonus for delivering Donovan and the others.
The Resistance team is thrown into jail, but Ham uses explosives to break them out. They exchange gun fire with Glenna's people, and Elias eventually shoots Glenna to prevent her escape. Elizabeth uses her powers to save Kyle from harm, and soon the freedom fighters are triumphant. They destroy the cobalt shipment as well as the mine itself, and the towns folk are free.
At the delivery rendezvous, Diana and Daniel wait in vain until they learn that the Resistance has foiled their plan. Diana takes out her frustration by shooting Daniel on the spot.
Notes
- The disk containing Julie's tax return data reveals that she lives at 518 West First Street in Los Angeles, and she made $25,000 in that year. After itemized deductions of $7,000 and a surplus of withheld taxes, she is due a refund of $800.