Reunited: Trapped on "Logan's Run!"

We grew up loving the 1976 sci-fi thriller Logan's Run. In fact, it was a huge childhood fave of mine that I still occasionally like to revisit.  The story line (of a post-apocalyptic society in which people are only permitted to live - in a general state of pleasure - until they turn 30) was exciting, scary and titillating enough to this 9 year-old that I was near ecstatic when I found out that there was going to be a resultant weekly TV series version. (Hey, there were all sorts of leftover sets, props and costumes on hand that could be put to good use.)

Michael York played Logan, a sandman whose tasks included chasing down anyone who was over-30 and did not submit to the ceremony of "Carousel," in which a chance at rebirth was possible, but more often ended in death. He "ran" when his own time was taken from him, joined on his adventure by fellow runner Jessica, played by Jenny Agutter.

Sadly, I was left bewildered when the characters I'd come to know were no longer essayed by York and Agutter. In their place were a couple of young performers who bore no physical resemblance to their big-screen counterparts. The role of Logan was now performed by Gregory Harrison (who I would soon enough come to adore in other things) and his fellow runner Jessica was played by Heather Menzies. At least I knew her from her childhood role as Luisa von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1965), a much-beloved movie of mine.

Menzies was rather blatantly styled to resemble then-white-hot Farrah Fawcett, who had a small supporting role in Logan's Run, thus combining the attributes of two women into one.

Harrison was, and is, cute as a bug, but he shared almost nothing in common with the lithe, "veddy-British" York. And at this point had only scratched the surface of a screen career, unlike the then-in-demand York.

Following the series' pilot, the story focused on Harrison and Menzies struggling in the barren outside world, always looking for "Sanctuary," the promised land of all runners. The second episode found our duo surrounded by sand and rock formations with no available water.

Little do they know that they're being watched by a pair of glitzily-dressed strangers. Linden Chiles (an actor who only occasionally dabbled in sci-fi; more often portraying businessmen and lawyers) and Leslie Parrish portrayed these folks. Parrish, an actress most often used decoratively, had figured in a memorable episode of Star Trek as a crewmember who is coveted by a Greek-godlike alien.

 

Miraculously, Harrison and Menzies find a sumptuous oasis nestled in the desert and immediately hop in the water, cooling off and drinking it simultaneously.

Soon enough, they are greeted by a fellow runner who tells them that they are within striking distance of Sanctuary.

 

They are taken there and shown the "idyllic" location, complete with swans in the surrounding lake. (Not sure where this was filmed, but this is the damnedest-looking place one could think of... and I don't think it was a "set" specifically constructed for this show, but perhaps it was.)

Parrish and Chiles form the welcoming committee and show the weary couple to their quarters.

Once inside, Menzies is given a new dress "just like one she had" at the City of Domes and then is presented with an old friend of hers, a runner whose fate she was unsure of.

The old pal is played by Lawrence Casey.

Harrison can't help noticing how cozy the two are after seeing one another again and finds the whole thing rather suspect. He is also alarmed by the fact that there is a video book in their room turned to the precise page that he left his own on before fleeing the city!

Some of you may recall Casey from his days on The Rat Patrol, a WWII desert adventure series. His delicate Nordic features had taken a beating from the scorching Nevada sun. Not to seem unkind, but he was only 36 here! Having retired in 1992, he is 81 today.

There is just nothing like 1960s & '70s sci-fi when it comes to the slinky, often hilarious, costuming. I love it all so much, no matter how tacky or humiliating. And the sets, too!

These two lunkheaded guards filled out their tights pretty nicely, especially the one on the right.

But I digress. The title of this post is not "Guest Who" as I sometimes do. It's "Reunited." Thus, I have deliberately avoided letting you see the face of one of the episode's key guests. I'm rotten that way... Ha ha!  (Though I know that most of you will never ever see this program anyway!) It concerns the runner who met up with Harrison and Menzies at the tropical oasis.

Surely you've got it now...

Yes, this is Angela Cartwright. She had earned her sci-fi stripes on the series Lost in Space, but this was a reunion for her with Menzies as Cartwright had portrayed her younger sister Brigitta in the aforementioned The Sound of Music. 

Rare is the person who has never seen this enduring blockbuster (though they are out there!)

I couldn't love Eleanor Parker's face here any more if I tried. I also love the composition in this frame.

The actors who portrayed the Von Trapp children in the hit movie formed a close bond and a lifelong association with one another.

Many, many times over the years, often on anniversaries of the movie's release, the "kids" would be reunited for another round of photos and reminiscences.

And, every so often, such as here, they might get to work with one another again. Of course, most of the Von Trapp children moved out of the biz upon adulthood. But the ones who continued to act would sometimes find him or herself working again with their on-screen sibling.

As a regular costar, this was certainly Menzies' show and, thus, Cartwright had a less prominent role to fulfill.

Dig that "futuristic" '70s decor!

But it did at least give them the opportunity to perform together again, not to mention spend time with each other during the shooting schedule.

And Cartwright figured rather importantly in the finale of the episode, too.

This program ought to have been quite a draw for "leg men" out there! Parrish, who was then about 42, still had hers. She would retire from the screen altogether, though, the year after this. She'd just wed author Richard Bach and was always heavily invested in sociopolitical and environmental issues. She's still with us today at 86.

Her cohort on this episode, Chiles, continued to act in countless television projects and low-budget movies. He died in 2013 at age 80 after making the fateful decision to ascend a roof, which resulted in a deadly fall.

Menzies worked less frequently after this brief series was canceled. She had wed TV actor Robert Urich in 1975 and most often popped up in his hit shows. He bravely fought cancer before being claimed at only age 55 in 2002. Sadly, she later faced cancer herself and it was a shock when she died in 2017 at age 68. Harrison is a favorite here and has long had his very own tribute. Also up for the role of Logan was one Nicholas Hammond, Friedrich in The Sound of Music. Soon after, though, he landed the leading role in the short-lived The Amazing Spider-Man. (And he guested on Logan, too! Maybe sometime I'll take a look at that as well.)

Surely it was a treat for these fine, "feathered" friends (see what I did there?) to get to work together again. Cartwright opted to work less and less as adulthood took hold. Having married in 1976, she preferred to focus on motherhood to her two children as well as her lifelong interest in photography. Now 69, she periodically pops up with a cameo role in various incarnations of her old Lost in Space series.

Friends for more than 50 years.

The End! (I know... butt I just couldn't resist...!)