Janet Leigh guest stars in Society’s Pet. Written by Ross Hirshom, this episode was first broadcast on 28 November, 1986.

Paul (Robert Hays) and Scott (Christopher Daniel Barnes) are contacted by a private investigator who has been looking for him. It seems Scott’s foster-aunt, Antonia Weyburn (Leigh) has offered Scott a $10,000 inheritance, so the pair decide to investigate.

What they find is a large estate run by a controlling woman who wants to keep Scott there, in a gilded cage of luxury, Scott is momentarily tempted but is determined to stay with his father. Antonia schemes to keep the pair close while she contacts George Fox (Michael Cavanaugh), she wants to turn over Paul and keep Scott for herself.

When Fox arrives, and Antonioa realizes she can’t motivate or control him, not to mention get information out of him, she begins to wonder if she’s made the right call, especially when Fox seizes Scott and sets up a trap for Paul.

Paul is able to have a quiet conversation with Antonia, and reveals his nature to her, showing her what is at risk, and why he and Scott have to get away from Fox. Of course, Antonia comes around and she is able to provide them with a little help so that they are able to escape from Fox yet again.

It’s a familiar story, and by this part of the series, you can already predict the story beats for each episode. It’s too bad that the series wanted to just settle for being episodic in nature instead of taking risks with its narrative, continuity and characters. But that’s not entirely their fault, it was the nature of the format at the time.

Fever was written by Tom Lazarus and was first aired on 5 December, 1986.

Fox gets called in on the carpet and has his alien hunt project shut down due to lack of results, but will that stop him from his obsessive hunt?

Paul somehow picks up a cold, or perhaps something worse that lands him in a local hospital, where the doctor, Ellen Dukow (Marta DuBois), can’t figure out what is wrong with him, or how to treat him. She runs a battery of tests but doesn’t seem to be as compassionate a doctor as she should be. something she discovers working with Paul as he gets increasingly ill.

While Scott worries about his father, Fox, thanks to a co-worker, is still hot on Paul’s trail and could be on the verge of getting the final proof he needs. He arrives at the very hospital Paul is in just as Ellen and Scott figure out how to solve Paul’s illness.

Apparently, Fox gathers enough evidence to get reinstated. I’m not sure exactly what he gathered considering all he had was some blood samples and possibly DNA (wouldn’t that be enough to warrant more? Alien DNA!!).

Still the story ends nicely for Paul and Scott, and the episode resets everything by its end.

My time with the series continues next week as I explore more of Starman: The Complete Series a fantastic extra on John Carpenter’s Starman released as part of Sony’s Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 4, available now.