Episode 13: Storm - 4/4/67

Three guys in suits are smoking and watching a filmstrip of a hurricane. One of them describes a hurricane that unpredictably hit Miami and killed 26 people, and goes on to show a really weird boat out in the eye of the hurricane. Dr. Gantley asks where it's registered and the man next to him says it's from St. Matthew beach. He remarks that the boat, as well as the town it's from, miraculously survived the hurricane.

The other fellow thinks he's reading too much into it, but Gantley asks how a storm of this kind could happen in February. He calls up Father Corelli and asks him for a ride to St. Matthew beach. He says he'll meet him at the emergency station while the fellow who was questioning him watches him with a sinister expression.

Ambulance and police sirens wail as a body is loaded into an ambulance as a priest watches. Ed Gantley is walking toward him when a palm tree suddenly falls near him, taking down electric poles that crackle and spark like fireworks have been set off. The priest runs over to him to ask if he's okay, and Gantley suggests they meet in a bar next time. The sinister looking fellow steps out of the bushes and adjusts his collar with his pinky up, as he watches the two walk away.

Starring Roy Thinnes as Architect David Vincent

Guest Stars:
 Joseph Campanella as Father Joe Corelli 

Barbara Luna as Lisa

Written by:
John Kneubuhl

Directed by:

Paul Wendkos

Act I

In the nightmare world in which David Vincent moves, there is seldom reason or logic. And so a hurricane that occurs out of season, that blankets a 600-mile area yet spares a single town - such a storm becomes part of that nightmare world and prompts a phone call to a meteorologist named Gantley and brings Vincent to a fishing town near the Florida Keys.

David arrives at a hotel to request a room and ask for Dr. Gantley. The desk clerk calls Luis over to ask where Dr. Gantley went. Luis said he's out on a boat but he suggests he try reaching him while he has lunch over at Father Corelli's. The desk clerk helpfully indicates the location of the bar behind him, but he asks to see his room. When he leaves, Luis gets on the phone, which he dials with pinky finger extended.

Dr. Gantley is out exploring the mysterious boat that survived the hurricane. He lifts up a tarp and uncovers a metallic piece of equipment while the apparent captain of the boat comes out of the cabin and observes him with killer disc in hand at the ready.  He jumps Gantley and gives him the disc to the neck. Gantley falls dead and crew members emerge to deal with him as the captain covers the equipment.

David is walking to the church and stops to watch some youngsters working on their hot rod parked in front of it as the engine revs. He waits outside the church and checks his watch. Inside, Father Corelli brings a bottle of fiasco style chianti to the table and asks Lisa if Dr. Gantley has called yet. She's absorbed in looking outside the window and doesn't hear him, so he repeats the question, noting that Dr. Gantley is late. She says he hasn't, and he asks her if something's wrong. She says nothing's wrong and that she's just a little tired. He disagrees and says she's tense and has been on edge for a couple of weeks. He asks if she's afraid of something and she says she's alright. He offers to scrape up some money to send her away for awhile. While she promises to take better care of herself, the doorbell rings and he goes to answer it.

He opens the door to David Vincent, who introduces himself and says he's looking for Dr. Gantley. Father Corelli says he was expecting him a half hour ago and invites him inside to wait as the phone begins to ring. He introduces himself and asks if David is working with him. David says they've only talked on the phone. Lisa calls him to the phone and he finds out from Luis that Ed Gantley is dead. David asks how it happened and Father Corelli tells him it was a cerebral hemorrhage and says he has to go.

David tries to stop him and ask about what Gantley found out about the hurricane. Corelli says whatever he found out he kept to himself. He softens his tone and tells David he'll be back in an hour if he'd like to wait for him, and asks Lisa to offer him tea or coffee and keep him comfortable. He leaves and David asks Lisa if Dr. Gantley left any papers or reports around there. She doesn't think so, and suggests he check his room at the Inn. Lisa asks if he knew him very well. She says he was strange in that he was always kidding Father Corelli about religion, but spent hours inside the church every day.

David leaves the house and goes into the church, where a man is playing an organ. The sinister looking alien comes in and locks the doors to the church and the organist stops playing. They both advance on David Vincent who fights them off. When the sinister alien tries to get him with the disc, David manages to press the disc into his chest and make him glow red.

The alien organist comes to and knocks David down and begins to strangle him on the organ. The kids working on their hot rod outside have turned off the motor and notice the organ is playing one long note. David breaks free, but the alien grabs a large candlestick and pummels him with it, leaving him lying unconscious on the organ. The alien grabs the disc that fell and advances on David just as the boys start banging on the church doors to see what's wrong. The alien escapes and the boys break in and help David up off the floor.

There are quite a few deformed pinky aliens in this episode. Perhaps this was an area aliens first began to colonize. David should have burned up with the alien he was holding onto when he turned the disc on him. I guess we should be glad he didn't. What's the deal with Father Corelli shacking up with a cute young girl? After the past two episodes, I think we should be suspicious of anyone who is wearing red. People who wear red in this show tend to collude with the aliens. So, the aliens have acquired a device to make hurricanes in their latest misguided scheme to take over Earth. How will David Vincent stop them this time?

Act II

A doctor is talking with Father Corelli as two officers depart in a sheriff's car. He tells him that David has a concussion and he should keep him quiet for a few days. Corelli asks if he can return, but he says he's delivering a baby that afternoon. He says he's sorry about Dr. Gantley as he knew they were very close.

Father Corelli walks back to the house. Inside the church, an alien twists a knob on a memorial plaque on the wall and it opens out to reveal a panel with colorfully lit buttons, the typical alien daisy wheel configuration, and a view screen that begins to glow red after the alien presses buttons and flicks switches.

Dr. MacLeuen pulls over and gets out of his car as he sees Luis walking out on the pier. He calls to him and asks why everything is so quiet and says he hopes they're not in for another storm. The doctor goes to make his house call and Luis gets into a motorboat and drives off.

Lisa is setting the table again and Father Corelli asks her to make David some fresh tea. She stops him to tell him that before he got there, David was saying crazy things. He tells her he won't be himself for awhile and not to worry. She goes to make him fresh tea and pulls out a gold box to remove some tablets and put them in the teapot.

Father Corelli is checking on David, who is sweaty and lying in bed with a washcloth over his forehead. He asks Father Corelli to help him go look in the church and he asks why. He says Dr. Gantley spent a lot of time there. He asks what Gantley was doing out on the water that morning and what he was looking for, just as Lisa arrives with a tray at the door, unseen by either of them. Father Corelli says he was looking for the Lydia J, a fishing boat caught in the eye of the hurricane. David asks who owns the boat, and Corelli tells him it belongs to Luis Perez. He asks how long Luis has been here and Corelli says almost a year. He asks Corelli how long he's been pastor and he tells him three months. Corelli doesn't understand what he's getting at.

Lisa walks in with the tea and David asks again for Corelli to help him get to the church. He insists he drink some tea, which he does as Lisa watches him. They begin to leave the room when Corelli notices the barometer on the wall is falling. David asks him to wait and says he'll give him the explanation he asked for. He says he'd think him insane if he told him that Gantley was murdered because he found something in the church to do with the hurricanes, but if so then why did they try to kill him when he entered his church.

Corelli asks who 'they' are and David tells him they are beings from another planet dedicated to their destruction. He asks what they look like and David says they look like us, except some have a deformity of their hands. David gets woozy and Corelli helps him lay back down and says they'll talk about it later that night when he's feeling better. David sips more drugged tea and goes nighty night.

He tells Lisa he's going to the Inn and says he's worried about leaving her alone with Mr. Vincent, but she tells him not to worry.

Out on Luis' boat, the crew is uncovering the weather control device and one of them starts pushing buttons, turning knobs and flicking switches until it starts making that alien shoop-shoop sound. The same sound can be heard from the view screen on the control panel in the church. Luis gets in his motorboat and takes off while the device glows red and spurts out blue rays. Lightning appears above the boat as thunder rolls and clouds amass.

David opens his eyes but everything is fuzzy around the edges as he holds his head in pain and the ticking of the clock seems loud. He picks up the cup of tea in slow motion and tosses it as he falls to the ground in front of the door and reaches for the knob.

The device is still firing from the boat and it's really cooking up a storm as David emerges from his room and sees Lisa meeting with the guy who beat him into tomorrow with a holy candlestick. He stumbles down the stairs and makes for the phone. He picks up the receiver but passes out on the ground before he can use it. Lisa finds him and hangs it up, and then rips the cord out of the wall for good measure.

David Vincent is on drugs. The church seems like a dumb place for the aliens to house the control panel to their weather device. These guys aren't the brightest tools in the universe though. Let's hope Father Corelli will be able to rescue David Vincent in the next act. By the way, the device on the boat was pretty cool in action. It must have been especially impressive to viewing audiences in 1967 who were still enjoying the newness of TV programs in color.

Act III

Father Corelli arrives at the Inn and asks Luis if there are any more reports on the storm as folks bustle around getting extra cots and sheets ready. The doctor shows up to check on the available medical supplies and Corelli tells him that David believes the hurricanes are caused by beings from another planet and asks him to look at him. Dr. MacLeuen says he can't leave and there's little he can do for him anyway, and suggests he take him to a hospital, but he should go before the storm hits. Luis and a friend offer to go with him and Corelli goes to call Lisa and tell her they're coming. He notes that the phone is dead and they leave.

Lisa is putting more tablets into a glass of water for David, who is lying unconscious on the couch. She calls his name and offers him water. She brings it to his lips, but he turns his head away. He says he saw her talking to one of the men who attacked him in the church just before he passed out. He tells her to get the police on the phone. She insists there was no man and that she's been all alone. She tries again to get him to drink the drugged water and he is adamant that he saw the man.

He pushes her off him and knocks the glass out of her hands. She tells him he'll have to eat or drink something sooner or later, and she can wait. He says they put her there and tells her he's not going to drink the water and be driven insane. She explains that only the first effects are like insanity but after a glass or two it'll be more dreamlike.

He asks what will happen to Washington, New York and Boston, and says that this is just the beginning and it'll be other cities next time. He then asks what will happen to Father Joe, but she says they wouldn't hurt him since he's been such a good camouflage since he came to take over their church. He asks about it being 'their' church and she explains it was abandoned four months ago, so she and Luis took it. She comes at him with another glass of water, saying she's getting impatient, and tries to force it on him, but he easily deflects it. They struggle and he tosses her to the couch just as Father Corelli walks in with the alien support team.

She adds to the drama by crying fake tears, and Father Corelli runs to her and asks what happened. He sees that the bodice of her dress has been torn. He storms over to David and curses him as he backhands him and knocks him down. An alien picks him up and Corelli stops himself from punching him with his balled fist. He apologizes for hitting him, saying he's a sick man, and asks if he has anything to say. David sees Luis hold up a disc behind Corelli and says no. He asks the alien guys to take him to the Sheriff's substation up the road.

The aliens surround David Vincent as they lead him out to the car. Luis watches them go and then enters the church where the alien continues to man the controls in the red glow of the panel. They watch a quaint plastic tornado shaped device spinning on the Florida portion of a map.

I love the alien technology. Just because it looks antiquated doesn't mean it's not advanced. They do enjoy their knobs and switches and colorful lights. So it may be their church, but I still say it's a dumb place to keep a weaponized weather controller. They could have at least put it in the basement of the church. This exemplifies why they've made little progress in their plans to take over Earth. We can bet the church will be going into self destruct mode by the end of Act IV. It should set their plans back another year or more if past history rings true.

Act IV

The storm is really in swing as the aliens who've got David Vincent encounter a roadblock. They stop and ask what's wrong and the cop says they can't get through. They say they've got to get David to a hospital and the cop recognizes him as the fellow who got beat up at the church. He tells him that the men with him are going to kill him. The driver says he's really sick and points to his temple. He asks the cop if he made up getting beat up at the church and the driver tells him to check with Father Joe. The cop says he knows them and that they wouldn't hurt him, but David counters that if he is sick then the cops should get him to a hospital. The cop agrees and takes David from the car. The aliens look defeated.

Father Corelli and Lisa are getting ready to go to the Inn and he hands her a flashlight and tells her to go straight to the Inn. He says he'll be along but wants to go to the church first. She asks what for and he says there's something he wants to do. She tries to argue that the wind is worsening and if they don't leave now they won't get there. He says he'll be along in a minute, that he's going to say a prayer for Mr. Vincent, then changes his mind and says he's going to ask forgiveness for treating him so badly. She says he was more than fair with him. He says he's a hypocrite, that it's been easy to say he'll return evil with love, but when confronted with the evil of a sick man, he hits him with rage and hate, and wanted to kill him. She says any man would have felt the same, but he asserts that he is not any man. He goes to leave and she offers to come with him to the church, giving the excuse that she's afraid to go to the Inn herself.

The cop gets out at the Sheriff's station to tell another officer to man the roadblock, when David takes off in his cruiser. Lisa and Corelli make their way through the storm to the church and as Corelli crosses himself, he sees the aliens at the controls. He asks what's going on and Luis points a gun at him. Lisa says she's sorry but she did try to keep him from coming. Luis makes him sit down and he realizes David was right. He asks why his church and why seek him out. Luis explains that Lisa was put in his house to watch him and make sure he didn't find anything out, and if he did, to kill him. Father Corelli knocks the gun and struggles with the alien at the controls. Luis thumps him on the back of the head with the gun. As he rubs his head, Lisa takes the gun and points it at him. He looks up at the crucifix and kneels and prays.

David shows up at the church and is unable to get in the locked doors. He goes around the back and enters through a window. He sees what's going on in the church. Corelli asks when he'll die and Lisa says when Luis is done. She walks around and has her back to the room where David is hiding. Lisa asks Corelli if she included her in his prayers, just as he looks up to see David peering around the corner. He said the prayers were for her. They continue talking about praying and dying as David creeps along the floor. Luis sees him just as he jumps Lisa, causing the gun to fly out of her hand. Corelli picks it up and tells them to get back. As Corelli goes to David, Luis pops a suicide pill and throws his disintegrating body on the control panel, causing the panel to burn up and the boat on the ocean to explode.

Lisa and the other alien go to leave and Corelli tells them to stop. She asks why he doesn't pull the trigger and he says that he will, but she doesn't believe him. She throws his religion back at him, but David tells him not to listen to her and use the gun. She asks if he's a priest or a hypocrite and says she thinks he's a priest. Corelli lowers the gun and they escape. David gets the gun away and fires shots, but Corelli deflects his arm, causing the shots to go astray.

That was a pretty fast acting suicide pill. These aliens are quite apt to self destruct. David Vincent did a nice job escaping his perilous situation. Are we supposed to feel bad about feeling bad that David didn't shoot Lisa and her accomplice?

Epilog

Father Corelli enters his house and tells a smiling David Vincent, sitting on the couch reading a newspaper, that his taxi is there waiting for him. He asks if there's any news about Luis' fishing boat, but Corelli says that it was lost in the storm, though possibly evidence will wash up along the beach in a few days. David says he doubts it since they always disappear. Corelli doesn't understand why the aliens would make the storm hit where they were and put themselves in danger. David says he doesn't know but guesses that after their experience with Gantley, they must have thought another storm bypassing them would arouse more curiosity.

Corelli says he's sorry his search ended the way it did, but that, as a priest, he couldn't let him kill. David says he understands. Corelli tells him he'll pray for his success and for them all. David thanks him and leaves.

Two men - two searchers. The one searches the heaven and the Earth; the other searches in the corridors of the human conscience. The search continues.

Co-Starring: 

Dean Harens as Dr. MacLuen
Carlos Romero as Luis Perez
Simon Scott as Dr. Malcolm Gantley
John McLiam as Hotel Clerk

With:
Paul Comi...Danny
Edward Faulkner...Alien #1
Allen Emerson...Organist
John Mayo...Weatherman

Director of Photography:
 Andrew J. McIntyre

Music by:

Dominic Frontiere 

Another episode where David Vincent takes a beating. The Invaders are getting pretty rough with him, but they still can't quite manage to take him out. Weaponizing the weather is an interesting technique for world domination, though it does seem problematic in that they put themselves at risk, as well as cause a lot of destruction to the world they want to take over. Plans like these make it easy to understand why their own world is dying. 

Look for Lynn Loring, R.G. Armstrong, and Robert Walker, Jr. in next week's episode.