Isis: The Lights of Mystery Mountain

"The Lights of Mystery Mountain" is the first episode of season two of the superhero action series Isis. It was directed by Hollingsworth Morse with a script written by Russell Bates. It first aired on CBS on Saturday morning on September 6th, 1975.

Synopsis
Cindy Lee shows her science teacher Andrea Thomas photographs of a U.F.O. that she took out near Mystery Mountain. Also present is school teacher Rick Mason and principal Joshua Barnes. Cindy goes on to explain how two people disappeared recently near where the U.F.O.s had been sighted. All that was left of them was a large, circular burn mark on the ground. Andrea thinks that they should contact the sheriff of Mountain Park, and Joshua tells her that she should take Cindy with her. Cindy is excited at the prospect of exploring this phenomena even further, and goes off to pack and buy more camera film.

Andrea, Cindy and Rick visit Sheriff Harley at Mountain Park City Hall. The Sheriff is interested in Cindy's photos, but is not ready to draw a connection between these alleged U.F.O. sightings and the missing campers. He is not even fully convinced that anyone is actually missing, citing that they may have simply gone home.

Suddenly, two of Cindy's friends, Chick Jeffers and Art Byron, pull up in their convertible. Cindy shows them her pictures of the U.F.O.s and the boys begin to look nervous. Cindy tells them that she is going up Mystery Mountain with Rick and Andrea to look into it. After she leaves, Chick tells Art that "Mister Moss will want to hear about this".

Sheriff Harley brings the three of them up the mountain and shows them one of the circular burn spots. Andrea begins taking soil samples. Harley receives a call from his deputy regarding an abandoned car found on the side of the road. Andrea, Cindy and Rick accompany him, and discover a scorch mark on the ground in front of the car, similar in shape to the burn mark they were just examining. Cindy suddenly hears a strange noise. They all look upwards and see four glowing orbs passing across the skyline. Rick expresses amazement at seeing an actual U.F.O. They begin hiking further up the mountain to get a better look, but Cindy forgets her camera and turns back. When they get to the mountaintop, the glowing lights have disappeared. Realizing that Cindy has not returned, they descend the mountain in search of her. When they reach the car they find a smoldering burn mark on the ground, but no sign of Cindy.

Cindy is safe however. She hitches a ride with Chick and Art who happen to be passing by. Chick asks Cindy to see her photos once again. When Cindy isn't looking, the boys steal the pictures. Their employer Joel Moss pulls up and asks them for the photos. Chick and Art grow uncomfortable with their arrangement, but hand him the photographs regardless. Moss says the photos are useless without the negatives, and tries to pressure Cindy into giving them to him. Chick and Art don't want Cindy involved in their shady dealings, so they drive off with her, leaving Moss standing on the roadside.

They manage to flag down the Sheriff's car and they tell Harley and the others that they had been conspiring with Moss to stage fake U.F.O. sightings. They warn them that Moss is after Cindy to get the negatives. Andrea separates from the group and calls upon the power of Isis. Chanting a rhyming mantra, she begins flying across the sky. When she finds Moss, she uses her elemental mastery to make his car overheat. She then weaves a spell, which convinces Moss that he is being haunted by flying saucers. Moss begs her to help him, but Isis scoffs, declaring that there are no such things as U.F.O.s. Sheriff Harley arrives and arrests Moss. Moss confesses to staging the U.F.O. sightings to scare people into leaving the area. He had discovered a vein of gold running through the mountain and wanted to scare cabin owners into selling him their land so he would be able to mine the gold without prying eyes. Chick and Art show the sheriff the sound equipment and the projector they used to simulate the flying saucer sightings.

As Moss is taken away, Cindy and Rick wonder where Andrea got off to. Isis quickly changes back to her civilian identity, and Cindy and Rick soon find her resting beneath a tree. Cindy muses why Andrea always seems to be missing whenever Isis is around. Andrea responds coyly, saying that she always misses out on all the fun.

Notes & Trivia

 * Isis was created by Russell Bates and developed by Marc Richards. It was produced by Norm Prescott and Lou Scheimer of Filmation Associates.


 * This is the first episode of the series. First appearance of all characters.


 * This episode is included on disc one of the Secrets of Isis: The Complete Series DVD collection by BCI.


 * Executive producer Richard M. Rosenbloom is credited as Dick Rosenbloom in this episode.


 * Actor Kenneth Wolger is credited as Ken Wolger in this episode.


 * Actor Michael Maitland is credited as Mike Maitland in this episode.


 * The Isis television series was later adapted by DC Comics in a short-lived comic book series.


 * The license plates seen on the various vehicles in this episode indicate that the series takes place in California.


 * Mister Moss' first name, Joel, is provided in the end credits only.


 * In one scene, Isis begins to levitate without the use of her traditionally spoken mantra.


 * In addition to control over the elements, Isis can also call upon the wisdom of the Sphinx.


 * Chick's full name is Chick Jeffers. He is credited only as Chick in the episode.