The Champions "The Ghost Plane" #1.10 (1968) (TV)

Plain Old Fun, 21 November 2015

The Ghost Plane isn't the best episode I've seen so far, but it sure is a lot of fun. In this episode, The Champions are asked by Western governments to investigate a mysterious high-speed plane encountered off the coast of Hong Kong. Have the Chinese developed a plane that can outdo anything the West can throw up? And is there a connection with a disgruntled English scientist? The Champions are on the trail.

As I indicated, if I used one word to describe The Ghost Plane, it would be fun. Lots of espionage, scientific mumbo-jumbo, a bunch of interesting bad guys, explosives, and a trail that leads from England to Austria to Germany to Albania. Add to that the always rock-solid Andrew Keir, and you've got a nice episode.

The Ghost Plane isn't perfect. One problem I have with this episode really highlights one of the big weaknesses in the entire series. The Champions are too powerful and, as a result, there are often contradictions and plot holes that make no sense. For example, when the two guys put Sharron in the freezer, she could have easily prevented it form happening. We've already seen her fight and defeat tougher opponents. But had she done so, the episode would have ended right there. When the writers gave The Champions their powers, they gave them too much. The Champions would have had real problems with this kind of thing had the series extended past the first season.

7/10