GEMINI MAN (1976 TV show)

 

Ben Murphy as the bedenimed biker and Intersect special agent Sam Casey, aka the Gemini Man, in Gemini Man (© Michael Caffey/Alan Crosland Jr/Alan J. Levy/Harve Bennett Productions/Universal Television/NBC – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

Back in the 1970s, I watched virtually every sci-fi show on TV here in the UK, but somehow managed to miss Gemini Man, starring Ben Murphy (already known to me from the excellent comedy Western series Alias Smith and Jones, in which he played outlaw Kid Curry).

Directed by Michael Caffey, Alan Crosland Jr, and Alan J. Levy, originally screened in 1976 by NBC in the States ( by the BBC in the UK), and conceived as a modern-day take on the famous 1897 novel The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells, Gemini Man focuses upon US secret agent/bedenimed biker Sam Casey (played by Ben Murphy) who, following a near-fatal nuclear-related accident that rendered him invisible and life-saving surgery to reverse this dramatic effect, is able with the aid of a special DNA-stabilising wristwatch to remain visible. However, if he presses one of its special buttons, he can become invisible again, for up to 15 minutes every day – but for no more than 15 minutes every day, otherwise he would vanish forever and die.

 

Sam Casey (Ben Murphy) and Dr Abby Lawrence (Katherine Crawford), from Gemini Man (© Michael Caffey/Alan Crosland Jr/Alan J. Levy/Harve Bennett Productions/Universal Television/NBC – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

Sam is dubbed the Gemini Man by his boss Leonard Driscoll (William Sylvester), and, assisted by brilliant scientist Dr Abby Lawrence (Katherine Crawford) who invented his unique wristwatch, he is now able to undergo extra-special assignments for Intersect, the high-tech US government think tank where they all work, that no ordinary agent, lacking Sam's extraordinary, top-secret ability of invisibility, could possibly hope to accomplish.

I knew about this intriguing show, and had even seen the official Gemini Man hardback annual on sale at Christmas 1976-1977 (a copy of which I recently purchased, in excellent secondhand condition, and only four decades late!), following the show's TV screening earlier that year by the BBC. (Speaking of which: there was also a BBC-authorised Gemini Man colouring book on sale in 1976, not to mention a BBC-authorised Gemini Man fun sticker book, and even a Gemini Man LP album, released by Power Records, but I regret to say that I don't own any of these!)

 

Front and back covers of the Universal City Studios-authorized 1977 Gemini Man annual, and front cover of the BBC-authorised Gemini Man colouring book (© Michael Caffey/Alan Crosland Jr/Alan J. Levy/Harve Bennett Productions/Universal Television/NBC/Universal City Studios, Inc./Brown Watson/BBC – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

Yet for reasons entirely unknown to me, I never got around to watching any of its single season of eleven 50-minute episodes. Nor even its feature-length pilot episode. Perhaps it clashed with some other series that I or my parents were watching on another TV channel?

Tragically, however, Gemini Man was never repeated in the UK, so I never did get the chance to watch it – until 15 May 2020, that is, when to my surprise and delight I discovered that all eleven episodes of this show (plus the pilot, in which Driscoll is played not by William Sylvester but instead by Richard A. Dysart) were currently available to watch free of charge on YouTube!

 

Cover of the Gemini Man LP record (© Michael Caffey/Alan Crosland Jr/Alan J. Levy/Harve Bennett Productions/Universal Television/NBC/Power Records – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

So I swiftly downloaded the full set as MP4 files, in case they were subsequently taken down from YouTube, which often happens. Now, after a mere 44 years' delay I could finally view them all, and at my leisure. I'd read that Gemini Man didn't get good reviews at the time (especially not in the States, explaining why only 5 episodes were screened there before the show was cancelled, whereas all eleven were screened in the UK), which almost guaranteed that I'd like it!

I also discovered and downloaded an official Gemini Man TV movie, Riding With Death, released in 1981, which consists of two Gemini Man episodes that had been deftly spliced together. These are Episode 1, entitled 'Smithereens', and Episode 10, entitled 'Buffalo Bill Rides Again', linked by the appearance in both of them (but in no others) of a C&W-singing trucker character named 'Buffalo' Bill Joe Hickens (played by real-life country singer Jim Stafford), who becomes friends with Sam after saving his life during 'Smithereen', with Sam duly returning the favour in 'Buffalo Bill Rides Again'. Interestingly, this movie also utilizes excerpts from a 1970 American science fiction film entitled Colossus: The Forbin Project, which I've reviewed here.

 

'Buffalo' Bill (Jim Stafford) and Sam Casey (Ben Murphy) in the Gemini Man TV movie Riding With Death (© Michael Caffey/Alan Crosland Jr/Alan J. Levy/Harve Bennett Productions/Universal Television/NBC – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

A couple of days later, on 17 May 2023, I watched the movie-length pilot episode downloaded from YouTube, which proved to be a source of great fun, and great nostalgia, taking me effortlessly back to 1976 when everything felt so much simpler, and nicer. It even drew to a close with a straightforward happy ending – no angst and hang-ups like we find in today's TV shows, instead simply offering some amusing, lighthearted sci fi & spying gimmickry not to be taken seriously, just enjoyed. True, the viewing quality wasn't brilliant but it was serviceable. Consequently, I knew that I was certainly going to enjoy the 11 normal-length episodes now – and sure enough, I did!

Such a shame, then, that Gemini Man has only ever achieved one official home viewing release – namely, a French DVD box set released by Elephant Films, containing the eleven episodes plus the pilot (but not the 1981 movie), with French-language cover descriptions but the original English audio tracks. I spotted three sets for sale on ebay on 19 May 2020, all brand-new but even the cheapest was a hefty £54.99, which I felt unable to justify purchasing, especially as I already had the YouTube versions. So I decided to stick with my downloads, at least for the time being, merci.

 

The French Gemini Man complete DVD box set (© Michael Caffey/Alan Crosland Jr/Alan J. Levy/Harve Bennett Productions/Universal Television/NBC/Elephant Films – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

Fast forward to 21 May 2020, when after much procrastination during the previous few weeks I finally decided to dip my toes into the unknown waters of online trivia quizzes – but only ones that were free to enter, offered cash prizes, and only required a PayPal account (not bank details) to pay any winnings into. So, I entered one such quiz, and ten minutes later my PayPal account had gained £52.63 in winnings, and my DVD collection had duly gained the complete Gemini Man box set. I could get to like online quizzing!

So there is the story of how I made visible in my world at long last the invisible Gemini Man, but it still seems unbelievable to me that this show was originally screened 47 years ago, when I was only 16. Judging from the associated merchandise that was available for it back then, there were high hopes that this sci fi TV show would be a success. Yet although it wasn't, it deserved to be.

 

Sam Casey (Ben Murphy) with his Intersect boss Leonard Driscoll (William Sylvester) and scientist friend/helper Dr Abby Lawrence (Katherine Crawford) (© Michael Caffey/Alan Crosland Jr/Alan J. Levy/Harve Bennett Productions/Universal Television/NBC/Universal City Studios, Inc. – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

As noted earlier, all of the eleven 50-minute Gemini Man episodes, plus the feature-length pilot, and the 1981 TV movie Riding With Death, can currently be accessed on YouTube. So, click here, for example, if you'd like to view the pilot, here if you'd like to view the first of the 50-minute episodes, here if you'd like to view Riding With Death, and here if you'd like to call up all of the episodes in a single YouTube listing.

Finally: to view a complete chronological listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE, and please click HERE to view a complete fully-clickable alphabetical listing of them.

 

Ben Murphy as Sam Casey, the Gemini Man (© Michael Caffey/Alan Crosland Jr/Alan J. Levy/Harve Bennett Productions/Universal Television/NBC/Universal City Studios, Inc. – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

 

MR INDIA

Publicity poster for Mr India on Blu-Ray (© Shekhar Kapur/Narsimha Enterprises)

Two of the most famous and successful of all Bollywood Hindi musicals are Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) and Mr India (1987). I have seen the former movie several times and have it on DVD with English subtitles, but although many years ago I taped Mr India from TV, after gamely watching the first hour or so of it (it is nearly 3 hours long) I had to concede defeat, because its very detailed plot was too confusing without English subtitles. Just over a month ago, however, I saw on ebay the official Mr India DVD, which does have subtitles, so although it was expensive I treated myself, and it arrived not long afterwards. On 4 July 2020, I sat back, pressed 'Play' on my DVD player's remote control, and just three hours later I'd finally watched Mr India, understood it, and enjoyed it immensely. True, the plot has several Grand Canyonesque holes in it, but any movie featuring an invisible super-hero is not to be taken seriously and suspending disbelief is de rigueur, so I didn't and I did.

Directed by Shekhar Kapur, Mr India tells the story of a philanthropic, good-hearted young man named Arun (played by Bollywood megastar Anil Kapoor), who was a street orphan as a child, raising himself in poverty but becoming a skilled violin player, a skill that earns him money as a teacher in adulthood, and helps pay the rent on a big old coastal house where he raises a host of orphans rescued by him from the streets to save them from the miserable childhood and deprivations that he had suffered. Eventually, however, his money runs out so he rents out the room on the top floor to a journalist named Seema (played by Sridevi, popularly dubbed Indian cinema's first female superstar), who is by no means a fan of children in general but grows to like Arun's and Arun himself.

Meanwhile, a Ming the Merciless-type super villain named Mogambo (Amrish Puri) plans to bring India crashing to its knees by flooding it with drugs, weapons, and poisoned food to create anarchy and enable him to proclaim himself King of India, its absolute ruler. However, and for reasons that are never made clear, he desires Arun's house as a base (why that particular one out of the innumerable similar coastal houses in India?), and goes to great lengths to evict him and the children. At the same time, it turns out that Arun's long-dead father was actually a scientist who had been murdered years ago by some of Mogambo's henchmen (explaining why Arun had become a homeless orphan) in a bungled, failed attempt to steal his secret formula for invisibility.

Now, out of the blue, Arun receives covert details from his father's former assistant concerning a special watch that his father had made using his special formula, which when worn and activated by pressing a button will render its wearer invisible until the button is pressed again (the 1970s TV series Gemini Man comes to mind here). So Arun duly sets out to recover the watch, which he does. He then secretly uses it in a series of rescues and other plots against Mogambo's men, referring to himself when in invisible super-hero mode as Mr India. Needless to say, the egomaniacal Mogambo does not take kindly to Mr India's success in thwarting his plans, eventually leading to an action-packed climax that is explosive in every sense!

Threaded through the many twists and turns of this much-tangled tale are several extravagantly staged songs composed by celebrated Indian songwriting duo Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and Pyarelai Ramprasad Sharma, with lyrics by Javed Akhtar. The most famous of these are 'Hawa Hawai' (featuring Seema in disguise as a cabaret-style dancer - click here to watch this scene on YouTube) and (especially) 'Kaante Nahi Kat Te Din Yeh Raat' ('I Love You'), one of the most celebrated of all Bollywood musical songs (click here to watch this scene on YouTube). Its lavish staging features Seema writhing sensually in some hay and getting her clinging sari even more clinging after it becomes soaking wet when she risks catching her death of cold by dancing in a fountain in the rain, as you do, while an invisible Arun as Mr India sings seductively to her but has the good sense not to join her dancing in the fountain or in the rain (incidentally, at this stage in the proceedings Seema has no idea that Arun and Mr India are one and the same person, adding further to the intrigue).

All in all, Mr India is a decidedly surreal and often zany movie, yet well worth sitting through its lengthy running time. But if you don't have three hours to spare right now, why not check out the official Mr India 25^th anniversary trailer by clicking here, which does an awesome job of compressing the entire movie into just under 5 minutes!

And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!