In
“Now You See It,” a criminal posing as Rick Mason (Brian Cutler) steals a
top-secret weather control device from government lab.
Almost immediately, Rick is arrested for the
crime. He is concerned, not only for his
freedom, but because the weather control device could wreak havoc.
Mrs.
Thomas (Joanna Cameron) and Rennie (Ronalda Douglas) attempt to clear Rick’s
name, but it isn’t easy.
To
help, they recruit three local youngsters: “The Super Sleuths.”
These Super Sleuths include the magician,
Ranji (himself), a street-wise kid, Feather (Craig Wasson), and an Asian
martial arts expert, C.J. (Evan Kim).
But
when the Super Sleuths get into trouble, the mighty Isis is needed. And she brings assistance: Captain Marvel (John
Davey).
At
the end of the day however, the weather control device remains in the hands of
criminals…
The
last two-part story of Secrets of Isis (1975 – 1976) commences with this week’s
“Now You See It.”
It’s
a bit of an odd story.
For one thing, it plays a lot like the pilot for a new series,
featuring heavily the aforementioned “Super Sleuths.”
A very young Craig Wasson --star of Body
Double (1984) and A Nightmare on Elm Street III: Dream Warriors (1987) -- plays streetwise
“Feather.” And fans of V (1983) will
recognize Evan Kim.
The
upshot, however, is that Isis feels more like a guest star on her own series
than a regular character this week.
The
second oddity involves Rick Mason.
He is
a high school teacher and a bit of an amiable bumbler, as we have seen over the
course of twenty-or so half-hour episodes at this point. And yet here, he is a brilliant scientist
toiling on a top secret weather control device for the U.S. government.
His work for the government has never even
been mentioned before this episode! More
to the point, it’s not entirely believable, at this juncture, that his
laid-back 1970s groovy teacher is a genius capable of constructing a weather control
device.
“Now
You See It,” is also another cross-over episode with Filmation’s brother
series, Shazam! Here, Captain Marvel
pinch hits, helping Isis when she is over-worked by the always-in-danger Super
Sleuths.
Next
week: the final Isis episode: “Now You Don’t.”
John maybe this episode with the Super Sleuths was a potential Filmation pilot for the Super Sleuths. Like when Laverne & Shirley were on an episode of Happy Days, then got their own series.
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