Summary[]
The episode opens up with a chase between ATVs. After several minutes the man being hunted is ran aground in a pond. He is quickly surrounded by bald headed men. After being told that “ Jesus loves him” the lone woman in the group start singing Onward Christian Soldiers. The man makes a break for it but is quickly chased down.
The scene cuts to LA. At Whitney High School teachers Ralph Hinkly and Rick are talking about the special education class. Ralph can’t seem to get through to them but still wants to try. Rick says that it’s hopeless.
Ralph goes in to the classroom and Tony and Cyler are fighting. They break it up and while Ralph tries to teach the class Tony is rude to the point of threatening him. Ralph suggests that they go in to the gym to fight it but first he has arranged a geological trip.
Taking a van into the desert Ralph and the class stop at a dinner. Bill Maxwell is sitting at the counter when Tony notices him. Tony antagonize him to the point where he draws a knife just as Bill draws his gun. Ralph leads Tony away and tries to apologize but Bill won’t have it.
As night falls Ralph and the class heads in to the dessert. The van breaks down and Ralph goes for gas. On the highway he is nearly run down by a car. The driver turns out to be Bill who claims he lost control of the car. Unseen by them lights in the sky are drawing near. Soon the car begins to behave strangely and Ralph and Bill see the spaceship. The aliens speak to them through the car radio. They state that they wish for Ralph and Bill to work for them and to Ralph to accept the suit. The man who was chased is beamed down and puts the box containing the suit in the trunk of the car. The man is revealed to be Bill’s partner; John Mackie, who has been shot and killed. John is beamed aboard the ship and it takes off.
Ralph retrieves the package and Bill leaves him. Ralph heads back to the van but the instruction book falls out as he walks. The van starts up soon after he gets back. Rhonda comes onto Ralph but he gently rejects her.
Meanwhile, Nelson Coley is talking with Vice President Adam Taft. Nelson funded Taft’s campaign and is now having him appeared on TV to remake his image. Taft is reluctant but Nelson insists. Taft is seen making a speech on the TV as Ralph comes home to pay the babysitter. He then goes up to check on his son; Kevin.
Ralph calls Pamela Davidson; his lawyer, and they discuss his custody case with his ex wife; Alicia, overKevin.
The next day while Kevin has breakfast and watches the Super Friends Ralph tried on suit. Later, Ralph goes to school where the principal tells him Bill is in the bathroom.
Ralph and Bill talk. Bill wants to be the one in control in the partnership but Ralph resists him. He also tells Bill that he lost the instruction book.
Ralph and Tony have a boxing match in the gym which ends in a draw. Afterwards Tony begrudgingly apologizes for the way he acted.
Ralph drives off for a custody hearing while being followed by a man. After getting in to a traffic jam Ralph darts in to a gas station restroom and changes in to the suit. He attempts to fly to the hearing but loses control and crashes in to a billboard. The police arrive on the scene and take him to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. While there he has a holographic vision of Bill being kidnapped by the group of bald men; Gabriel’s Army. Pam arrives at the hospital and Ralph uses the powers of the suit to break out. They drive off in Pam’s car. As they drive Pam then Ralph confess their feelings for each other. Ralph uses the information he receives from the vision to track Bill to Nelson’s mansion and he breaks in. He rescues Bill and they escape. After driving some distance Ralph stops and demonstrates his powers to Pam.
They return home and discuss the situation. Suddenly the news breaks on the TV of riots in LA. Learning that the President and the Vice President will be in the area the three head out to meet Shackleford; the head of the National Guard in the area leaving Ralph’s students to baby sit Kevin.
They meet Shackleford who turns out to be involve in the plan and captures them taking them back to the mansion.
The Taft calls the President asking him to pick him up. Their plan is to assassinate the President and have Taft replace him with Nelson in control. Ralph, Pam, and Bill escape and Ralph flies up and warns the President’s chopper away.
Ralph lands and defeats many of Gabriel’s Army. The rest flee but Bill and Pam hold the leaders prisoner. As the police approach the mansion Ralph flies off to avoid being seen.
The next night Ralph and Pam meet Bill who tells Ralph that he did a good job. The ship appears and through the radio the aliens congratulate Ralph and tell him next time that he should use the power of invisibility. They fly off and as they do so Ralph yells at them that he lost the instruction book.
Original Music[]
Help Me, Rhonda
Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love
(uncredited)
Believe It or Not
Written by Mike Post & Stephen Geyer
Performed by Joey Scarbury
(theme song)
Space Oddity
Written by David Bowie
Performed by Joey Scarbury
Rocket Man
Written by Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Performed by Joey Scarbury
Onward, Christian Soldiers
(uncredited)
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Lyrics by Sabine Baring-Gould
America the Beautiful
(uncredited)
Music by Samuel A. Ward
Goofs[]
Both Bill's and Ralph's cars have disappearing/reappearing rear-view mirrors. It's most obvious during the first UFO encounter and later when Ralph is trying to get past a traffic jam on his way to court.
When Hinkley and Maxwell are trapped in the car, Maxwell is not wearing his suit jacket. However when the alien ship is hovering over them, the scene cuts back and forth from the ship to the car several times and in some of the shots of the car, Maxwell is wearing the suit jacket.
In the pilot, when Ralph grabs Pam and turns toward the wall to show her the vision, she just sees the wall. In future episodes, when he grabbed Bill to show him, Bill could see the vision.
During the pilot, Pam is wearing a pair of high heels. When she, Ralph, and Bill are captured, you can see that she has switched into a pair of sneakers. A few minutes later, when the three break out of their cell, she is back in a pair of heels.
When Bill's late partner is "beamed up" to the ship after leaving the suit box in the trunk, the box is still under his arm. It appears the "beam down" footage was just reused.
When the students enter the diner, Maxwell is sitting at the counter with a plate of pie. The camera angle changes and the plate is gone. The camera angle changes again and the plate is back.
The driver's window in Maxwell's car is rolled down when he almost hits Hinkley. A fem minutes later when they jump in the car to get away from the UFO, the window is rolled up.
Towards the end of the pilot when Ralph and Tony are talking in the gym, Ralph passes Tony the basketball. When the focus shifts back to Ralph he is holding the ball. Then it goes back to Tony, who once again has the ball.
When Ralph is flying around the President's helicopter, the video is flipped. When Ralph is holding one light, several times he's shown holding it in what appears to be his right hand. His wristwatch can be seen on the same arm he's holding the light, and Ralph wears his watch on his left wrist.
Cast[]
- William Katt as Ralph Hinkley
Guest Cast[]
- Richard Herd as Adam Taft