REGULAR
CAST
PRODUCTION
CREDITS
|
|
REGULAR |
William Jordan | Major Jake Gatlin USAF |
| Caskey Swaim | Sgt. Harry Fitz USAF | ||
| Aldine King | Libby Virdon (Secretary) | ||
| Edward Winter | Capt. Ben Ryan (Season 2) | ||
|
PRODUCTION |
Executive Producer | Jack Webb | |
| Producer | Cnl. William T. Coleman | ||
| Creator | Harold Jack Bloom | ||
| Music | Nelson Riddle |
|
Broadcast History |
February 19, 1978 to July 5, 1979 |
NBC |
26 episodes |
60 minutes |
SERIES PREMISE
Project:
U.F.O. centered around the United States Air Force's "Project
Bluebook", which was formed to determine whether or not UFO's posed any
threat whatsoever to our national security.
Each week, Major Jake Gatlin, and Sgt. Harry Fitz would
travel the country to interview people who had purported UFO close encounters.
Some were outright hoaxes, but some were logged officially as 'unknowns'. Gatlin
and Fitz even had a sighting of their own!
The series ran
a season-and-a-half for a total of 26 hour-long episodes (that's about 48
minutes without commercials). The ratings at the outset were actually very good,
some of the highest for any science-fiction show ever aired! This success did
not last long as the series was pulled from the schedule by NBC before the end
of the second season.
The show is
currently available in syndication from Worldvision. It is rather odd, then,
that no station has picked it up for a run since it left the network in 1979.
The show has also been seen in syndication from Lorimar Telepictures more
recently.
Season One
|
SIGHTING 4001 |
The Washington D.C. Incident |
Aired February 19, 1978 |
|
|
At a farm in North central Virginia, Gatlin
and Fitz meet Martha Carlyle, a deeply religious woman, who says she saw
an alien craft hover over her home and front yard. Martha explains how a
robot like creature emerged from the craft and took some soil samples as
well as communicated with her, telling her that there was nothing to fear.
Nearby, a U.S. Air Force pilot sights a UFO and gives chase until, over
Washington D.C., he suddenly plummets to his death. Gatlin and Fitz must
comfort his grieving widow and somehow explain what he may have
encountered up there. Other sightings investigated include those of a farm
family in eastern Kentucky, a truck driver in Charleston, West Virginia
and a commercial airline pilot who was flying out of Kansas City. Guest Cast: Anne Schedeen, Len Wayland, Frances Reid, Linwood McCarthy, Hoke Howell, John Findlater Writer: Harold Jack Bloom Director: Richard Quine |
|
SIGHTING 4002 |
The Joshua Flats Incident |
Aired February 26, 1978 |
|
|
After several prominent citizens of Joshua
Flats report seeing a U.F.O., Air Force investigators turn, after
getting nowhere with the adults, to a frightened 11-year old boy. Gatlin
and Fitz try to investigate the reported sightings, but are hindered by
curious sightseers and townspeople who are reluctant to reveal any
information. Trying to determine whether or not the sightings were a hoax,
Gatlin and Fitz surmise that the answer might lie with young Pauley
Ramirez, if he would only break his silence. Guest Cast: Jim Davis, Barbara Luna, Mills Watson, David Yanez, Colby Chester, Olan Soule, Parley Baer Writer: Robert Leeds Director: Harold Jack Bloom |
|
SIGHTING 4003 |
The Fremont Incident |
Aired March 12, 1978 |
|
|
A Police officer is ridiculed by his friends
and fellow officers when he reports seeing a strange alien craft land and
2 astronaut like beings emerge from it. Gatlin and Fitz arrive to
investigate Robert Lee Armstrong's sighting, but meanwhile they must also
deal with Henry Marsden, a hardware salesman, who claims that the Air
Force was trying to shoot down a UFO, and that part of the UFO fell
through his roof. Marsden plans to file a suit against the Air Force for
damage and the pain and suffering of his wife who fell and injured her
neck. During their travels, Gatlin tells Fitz about the
time he sighted a silvery disc and chased it in a B-25 bomber. He explains
that he closed to within one-eighth of a mile of the object, which was 60
feet in diameter and 10 feet thick at its center. This incident is based
on an actual sighting by series producer Col. William T. Coleman, which
took place in 1954 and still remains an unexplained sighting to this day. Guest Cast: Rod Perry, Frank Aletter, Herbert Rudley, Kim Hamilton, Gary Crosby, Rod Cameron, Paul Tuerpe, Don Ross Writers: Donald L. Gold & Lester Wm. Burke Director: Sig Nuefeld |
|
SIGHTING 4004 |
The Howard Crossing Incident |
Aired March 19, 1978 |
|
|
Rancher, Frederick Carlson and his family are
assaulted by alien creatures after a glowing white ball crashes to the
ground near their ranch. Carlson and his son try to defend their family, but
learn
that the aliens are impervious to earthly weapons. Elsewhere, Gatlin and
Fitz investigate a woman's report that her husband invested $5,000 in
a flying saucer factory. Guest Cast: Leif Erickson, Maggie King, Claude Johnson, Ezra Stone, Virginia Gregg, Lou Frizzel, Malachai Throne, Richard Derr, Jack Ging, Peggy Webber Writers: Donald L. Gold & Lester Wm. Burke Director: Robert Leeds |
|
SIGHTING 4005 |
The Medicine Bow Incident |
Aired March 26, 1978 |
|
|
Capt. Ed Mason and co-pilot Brad Everett are
flying Mid-America Flight 54, twenty miles north of Laramie, Wyoming, when
a UFO passes over their plane. The boomerang-shaped vehicle hovers several
miles in front of them, turns and approaches them head on, then chases the
commercial airliner. Meanwhile, Gus Shaftner is running for a local
political office in Medicine Bow, Wyoming, and he claims the Air Force is
covering up the fact that he was attacked by aliens while a passenger
aboard a UFO. Guest Cast: Paul Picerni, Edward Winter, Kenneth Mars, Anthony Eisley, Darrel Larson, Joan Freeman Writer: Sean Blaine Director: Dennis Donnelly |
|
SIGHTING 4006 |
The Nevada Desert Incident |
Aired April 2, 1978 |
|
|
When an Air Force Lieutenant sees four
metallic flying objects and a huge mother ship, he reports the sighting
but finds that his claims have jeopardized both his career and his
marriage. He sticks to his story that, while alone at dawn in the desert,
he was stranded when his car stalled. While checking the engine, he saw
four glowing, disk-shaped objects hanging in the sky. Then they took off
in different directions, followed by a large mother ship. But, upon
reporting his sighting, he finds his wife doesn't believe him, and his
father-in-law, a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, is sitting in judgment
on a hearing board. Guest Cast: Scott Hylands, Andrew Duggan, Adrienne LaRussa, Buck Young, Hank Brandt, Donna Douglas, Robert Patten Writer: Robert Blees Director: Robert Leeds |
|
SIGHTING 4007 |
The Forest City Incident |
Aired April 9, 1978 |
|
|
Jerry Daniels and Clay Munson, high school
seniors in the well-to-do suburb of Forest City, are parked with their
dates in the woods when they see a reddish-orange light and hear a
deafening noise. While their girlfriends wait in the car, Jerry and Clay
search the woods until they find the UFO, a large, saucer-shaped vehicle
hovering in the area. When Gatlin and Fitz investigate, they encounter a
high school principal who is afraid of bad publicity and a Police
Lieutenant who wants the boys arrested. The Blue Book team also talks to
Stu Hadley, a Forest City citizen who claims to have photographed a flying
saucer while on a duck hunting trip. Guest Cast: Stephen Hudis, Michael Francis Blake, Tim Donnelly, Don Dubbins, Skip Homier, Stacy Keach Sr., Cynthia Eilbacher, Deborah Donnelly, Christopher Woods, Sam Edwards, Vic Perrin, Radames Pera Writer: Donald L. Gold Director: Dennis Donnelly |
|
SIGHTING 4008 |
The Desert Springs Incident |
Aired April 23, 1978 |
|
|
Gatlin and Fitz investigate the case of
elderly Emma Smith, who claims that she has been offered a trip to Venus
by 2 aliens. She says they promise to take her to her husband, who has
been missing for 3 years. But the Blue Book team discover it is only a
hoax by 2 con artists who are trying to bilk the widow out of her life
savings. Elsewhere, a writer and his friend tell Gatlin and Fitz that they
and their dates saw an immense UFO pursuing them as they rode down from
the top of a mountain in an aerial tram at a California resort in Desert
Springs. Theatrical agent Dave Chapman and motion picture writer Mike
Kirby try to convince the Blue Book team that they observed a vehicle,
over 100 feet in diameter with a red-hot underside, that appeared to be
trying to attack the tram. When the power fails and the couples are
trapped halfway down the mountain, the UFO bathes them in an intense white
light, then leaves. Looking over the site where the craft appeared, the
Blue Book team find inconclusive evidence of the sighting, but doubt the
veracity of Kirby and Chapman when they announce in the newspapers that
their UFO encounter is to be made into a major motion picture, something
they will both benefit from. Guest Cast: Buckley Norris, Jack Sheldon, Peggy Webber, Joseph Ruskin, Darlene Duralia, Dana House Writer: Donald L. Gold Director: Robert Leeds |
|
SIGHTING 4009 |
The French Incident |
Aired April 30, 1978 |
|
|
John Tanner, son of Presidential envoy
Carleton Tanner, is driving with his French-born wife, Michelle, in the
small village of Brebeuf, France when they see an other-worldly vehicle
hovering on a cushion of light. As Michelle watches in horror, an alien
figure beckons to her husband, and he disappears inside the vehicle.
Because the abducted man was the son of a Presidential envoy, Gatlin and
Fitz are ordered by the White House to investigate the incident. Working
with French authorities, the Blue Book team try to find physical evidence
to prove the vehicle really hovered over Brebeuf, and also find an
explanation for Tanner's disappearance. Guest Cast: Jacques Aubuchon, Eric Braeden, Maria Grimm, Morgan Woodward, Kip Niven, Writer: Donald L. Gold Director: Sigmond Nuefeld |
|
SIGHTING 4010 |
The Waterford Incident |
Aired May 7, 1978 |
|
|
A strange sighting is reported by several
students at Waterford Military Academy, headed by Col. Max Delany. The
boys claim a saucer flew over their school, discharging strands of an
'angel hair' substance that turned their hands green when they touched it,
and the military school becomes enveloped in a strange web-like substance
left behind by the UFO. Gatlin and Fitz investigate the incident, and also
a case told to them by astronomer Dr. Virginia Paulson, who puts them in
touch with Darryl Biggs, a young man who sighted a triangular-shaped
vehicle in the woods while hunting. Afraid of losing his job because of
his bizarre story, Biggs reluctantly tells Gatlin and Fitz how an
unearthly alien robot emerged from the ship and attacked him. Guest Cast: Craig Stevens, Anthony Geary, Shane Sinutko, S. Newton Anderson, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Howard Culver, Winter Horton Writer: Michael Donovan Director: Dennis Donnelly |
|
SIGHTING 4011 |
The Doll House Incident |
Aired May 20, 1978 |
|
|
Carl Youngstrom, a caretaker for Senatorial
candidate Frederick Flanagan, is working on a doll house for his
grand-daughter when his room is filled with the 'heavenly glow' of an
alien craft. Stepping outside to investigate, Youngstrom is confronted by
2 aliens who hand over an alabaster jug they wish filled with water. In
exchange, they offer a lotus-shaped loaf of bread which they want him to
eat. He saves part of it as physical evidence of the encounter to show
Blue Book investigators. Guest Cast: Alf Kjellin, David Hedison, Linda Foster, Marta Kristen, Writer: Robert Blees Director: Robert Leeds |
|
SIGHTING 4012 |
The Rock-And-Hard Place Incident |
Aired May 27, 1978 |
|
|
While dining at a restaurant with Theresa
Ball, Major Gatlin is alerted to a UFO sighting at Wright Patterson Air
Force Base, less than 30 miles away. Within seconds, Gatlin, Fitz and more
than 100 diners have a spectacular sighting of their own as a UFO leaves a
trail of exploding colors over the restaurant. As Gatlin and Fitz probe
the amazing sighting, they find themselves under investigation by the
government. In trying to desperately prove their sighting, they come to a
startling conclusion. |
|
SIGHTING 4013 |
The St. Hillary Incident |
Aired June 4, 1978 |
|
|
In one of Project Blue Book's most
challenging cases, 2 nuns, Sister Lucy and Sister Anne, report they
sighted a UFO and communicated with aliens who left a cryptic message
about their return. After their prolonged encounter with the star-ship on
the grounds of a convent in New Mexico, Sister Lucy Ryker claims to have
communicated with the aliens after she was joined by Sister Anne, who
insisted on learning the identity of the beings in the craft. But they
find that their legs are suddenly immobile and 2 mysterious images appear
before them - a rose and fire. When they report the incident to Project
Blue Book, Sister Lucy is pressured by the Archbishop to deny her claim.
Then tragedy strikes when Sister Anne dies, and Sister Lucy leaves the
church after she is ridiculed by her Archbishop, who insists that she
publicly state that she lied about seeing the craft. Guest Cast: Pamela Franklin, Amzie Strickland, Virginia Gregg, David Watson, Val de Vargas Writer: James E. Moser Director: Robert Leeds |
Season Two
|
SIGHTING 4014 |
The Wild Blue Yonder Incident |
Aired October 19, 1978 |
|
|
Student pilot Kay Galloway sights a UFO
while flying a T-34 and recklessly dives to Earth trying to chase it, and
then faces expulsion from school and humiliation from her fellow students.
Because of the unique configuration of the T-34, Galloway's teacher
doesn't see the UFO, and doesn't believe her story. Accused of buzzing a
restricted area, Galloway is brought before an honor board at school which
could recommend her expulsion. With no other witnesses to her sighting,
Galloway is certain she'll be expelled, not realizing her boyfriend,
Douglas Detwiler, is keeping important information from her and the honor
board. |
|
SIGHTING 4015 |
The Underwater Incident |
Aired September 21, 1978 |
|
|
Capt. Ben Ryan, an ex-fighter pilot, has been
assigned to head the Air Force's Project Blue Book, replacing Major Jake
Gatlin. He is teamed with Harry Fitz who is newly promoted to Tech
Sergeant. When 2 men who run a charter service claim their boat was rammed
by a UFO that streaked out of the sky and crashed below the ocean's
surface, Ryan and Fitz join forces with the Coast Guard and the Pacific
Institute to investigate the incident. While retrieving a sonar buoy which
could provide evidence, marine biologist Eve Summers is trapped
underwater. Ryan and Fitz speed to her rescue and find her lying
unconscious on a stretch of beach unmarked by any tracks or footprints. Guest Cast: Scott Thomas, Caroline McWilliams, Laurette Spang, Allen Case Writers: Steve Downing & Margaret Armen, Alf Harris & Robert Blees Director: John Patterson |
|
SIGHTING 4016 |
The Pipeline Incident |
Aired October 5, 1978 |
|
|
The 3-man crew of an Alaskan cargo plane is
crossing the Yukon border when they see a target closing in on them at an
incredible speed. The brilliant glowing white object performs bizarre
maneuvers and gives chase before disappearing. When Ryan and Fitz
investigate, navigator Tim Jenkins relates the story of the UFO chase.
Later, he mysteriously changes his story about the UFO sighting and claims
he saw a weather balloon, even though Ryan and Fitz know that no weather
balloons were in the area and NORAD picked up the UFO on its radar. Guest Cast: Randolph Mantooth, Cameron Mitchell, Donald May, Brad Dexter, Melodie Johnson Writer: Andrew Burke Director: Robert Leeds |
|
SIGHTING 4017 |
The Devilish Davidson Lights Incident |
Aired September 28, 1978 |
|
|
Dr, Samantha Klein is enjoying a barbecue at
the home of 2 fellow college professors when they sight and photograph 2
strange bluish-green V-shaped UFO's. The California coastal town of
Davidson is abuzz with the news. Ryan and Fitz arrive the following night,
just in time to miss a second mass sighting. While the Blue Book team
investigate the mysterious appearances, the residents of Davidson turn off
their lights to wait for the return of the UFO's. Guest Cast: Kim Hunter, Jared Martin, Jenny Sullivan, Bob Dellgall, Isaac Ruiz Writer: Robert Blees Director: John Patterson |
|
SIGHTING 4018 |
The Incident On The Cliffs |
Aired October 12, 1978 |
|
|
A young woman with a history of mental
illness sees 4 bright blue and white UFO's while standing on a cliff on
the coast of Maine. Lisa Forman waits for the return of the blinding
lights, which spiral around her at incredible speeds. Ready for the
strange visitors, she films them and produces evidence that Project Blue
Book considers to be real. But, Lisa's sighting is refuted by both her
husband and her psychiatrist, despite the film, and matters are
complicated when her daughter, Amy, has a unique UFO sighting of her own. Guest Cast: Trish Stewart, William Reynolds, Kim Richards, Miles Shearer, Writer: Greg Heffernan Director: Robert Leeds |
|
SIGHTING 4019 |
The Believe It Or Not Incident |
Aired October 26, 1978 |
|
|
An engineering student claims he was warned
by a laser blast and musical notes that aliens will take over Earth unless
the world's pollution is not cleaned up. Student Roy Layton tells Blue
Book investigators Ryan and Fitz that he had contact with a 300-foot-long
vehicle ringed by a thousand pulsating lights. he claims that the aliens
told him they have been observing Earth for hundreds of years, and could
breathe easily in the atmosphere at first. Since the increase in
pollution, the aliens have not been able to breathe Earth's air, Layton
says, and they warned him that unless the situation is corrected, they
will take over the planet - by force if necessary. Guest Cast: Mark Slade, Marie Windsor, Anne Lockhart, Olan Soule Writers: Donald L. Gold & George Slavin Director: John Patterson |
|
SIGHTING 4020 |
The Island Incident |
Aired November 30, 1978 |
|
|
Ted Saunders, a brilliant doctor who works
on a small South Pacific island, comes to the attention of Project Blue
Book, after he and 3 island fishermen sight a huge mothership and a
smaller UFO emerging from it. Ryan and Fitz are sent to investigate, but
run into trouble from Manuku, the leader of the island people. The island
people interfere with the investigation and the 3 fishermen change their
story and deny having sighted anything out of the ordinary. Ryan and Fitz
disobey Manuku and fly a helicopter over sacred island grounds to look for
evidence of the sighting. |
|
SIGHTING 4021 |
The Superstition Mountain Incident |
Aired December 7, 1978 |
|
|
Young Charlie Higgins and his girlfriend,
Laurie, are watching an eclipse of the sun when they sight a UFO, which
deposits 2 egg-shaped metallic artifacts inside a mine. Analysis proves
them to be pure magnesium, a form of the metal rarely found on Earth.
After the sixteen-year-old student from South Dakota finds the magnesium,
he is warned by a gypsy to be careful in telling anyone about the
"Overlords" visit. Ryan and Fitz investigate, but they are
hampered by Clara, the gypsy woman, who warns the investigators not to
interfere with Charlie's sighting, as he had been chosen to carry out the
word of the Overlords. Guest Cast: Josh Albee, Anna Karen, Leslie Ackerman, William Bogart, Dr. Joyce Brothers Writers: Larry Alexander & George F. Slavin Director: Larry Dobkin |
|
SIGHTING 4022 |
The Camouflage Incident |
Aired November 2, 1978 |
|
|
When a UFO attacks 3 prominent businessmen, 1
of them manages to successfully film the craft. Ryan and Fitz talk to the
3 men involved and find 2 of them willing to cooperate, but Charles
Robinson, the man who took home movies of the UFO, mysteriously refuses to
reveal any information or part with the film. The team's search leads them
to citrus grove owner Harold Moon, who also sighted the UFO, and claims to
have a piece of it in his garage. Guest Cast: Michael Strong, Gary Crosby, Normann Burton, Elaine Devry, Henry Jones, Bradley Greene, Barry Cahill Writer: Robert C. Dennis Director: Robert Leeds |
|
SIGHTING 4023 |
The I-Man Incident |
Aired December 28, 1978 |
|
|
A large but extremely delicate UFO hovers
over a 10-year-old girl on a beach and plays her a startling message,
which echoes a signal sent from Earth 15 years before. Young Cindy Harper
was walking along the beach when she sighted the wondrous vehicle that
then played a Morse code message to her. During their investigation, Ryan
and Fitz discover that the Morse code message Cindy is able to duplicate
for them is a faithful reproduction of a signal sent into outer space 15
years before by an astronomer named Lazlo. Guest Cast: Pamelyn Ferdin, Whit Bissell, Malachai Throne Writer: Buck Houghton Director: Richard Moder |
|
SIGHTING 4024 |
The Scoutmaster Incident |
Aired January 4, 1979 |
|
|
A Vietnam veteran with a dark secret has a
dangerous encounter with a UFO, but insists that Project Blue Book is
making too much out of the sighting. High School teacher Andy McMurtry had
been leading a group of Explorer Scouts when they saw the strange lights
and a flaming crash. When Andy went to investigate, he received mysterious
burns from the craft. Ryan and Fitz find Andy a cooperative witness at
first, but then the Vietnam veteran becomes strangely reluctant to reveal
any more information. Guest Cast: Russell Wiggins, Jim B. Smith, Lou Frizzel, Joyce Jamison, Scott Mulhern, Kenneth Tigar, Steve Patrick, Brian Part Writers: Albert Aley & George F. Slavin & Robert Leeds Director: Robert Leeds |
|
SIGHTING 4025 |
The Whitman Tower Incident |
Aired July 12, 1979 |
|
|
Shortly after an air traffic controller at
the Los Angeles Airport spots a mysterious blip on his radar screen,
several residents of a luxury apartment building, known as the Whitman
Tower, are startled by the appearance of a UFO outside their windows. Ryan
and Fitz fly to Los Angeles to question the witnesses and ascertain the
facts in the case. One of the witnesses, Mr. Rashoon, reports he saw only
some red beams of light. The other residents, a family named Ryerson, give
a more detailed description of what they saw. Their version includes the
sighting of 2 beings with horse-shaped heads and medallions around their
necks bearing horse images. Ryan and Fitz next head to San Pedro to search
for additional witnesses and try and separate fact from fiction in this
bizarre case. Guest Cast: Fred Holliday, Linda Foster, Christopher Woods, Vic Perrin Writer: T.S. Cook Director: Rich Greer |
|
SIGHTING 4026 |
The Atlantic Queen Incident |
Aired July 5, 1979 |
|
|
Steve Rollins, Executive Officer of the
luxury liner Atlantic Queen, has a UFO sighting while the ship is
returning home from its latest crossing. Ryan and Fitz are notified and
fly to Boston and are taken by helicopter to the deck of the Atlantic
Queen. Once there, they encounter the ship's Captain, who believes the
Executive Officer has invented the UFO story to further his own career.
That night Ryan and Fitz are visited in their cabin by former tv comic
Ollie Hyers, who provides confirmation of Rollin's story and adds his own
incredible account of a night-time encounter with a visitor from the UFO. |
Episode Guide information was reviewed by Tony
Bell and taken from
Epi-Log Magazine Special # 5.
This episode guide was compiled and constructed by John W. Matthews.
MMI by John Matthews.
Visit The Project UFO Page at http://www.glowingdial.com/p_ufo.htm
E-mail me at glowingdial@yahoo.com
