January 20 (1979-01-20) – December 9, 1979 (1979-12-09)
Related
Salvage
Salvage 1 is an American science fiction series that was broadcast for 16 episodes (of the 20 produced) on ABC during 1979. The series was based on the pilot film, Salvage, broadcast in early 1979.[1]
Premise
Salvage operator Harry Broderick buys and sells scrap as well as electronics, aircraft and other equipment. Harry constantly has grandiose schemes to make money, sometimes not completely honestly. In the pilot, his dream is to recover equipment left on the Moon during Apollo Program missions[2] for he believes the salvage value will make it a worthwhile venture.[3] In the show's opening title narration, Harry states:
"I wanna build a spaceship, go to the Moon, salvage all the junk that's up there, bring it back, sell it."[4]
He recruits former astronaut Skip Carmichael, who had departed from NASA because his revolutionary but unorthodox space flight theory was considered too risky. Skip leads Harry to Mel Slozar, a genius fuel and explosives expert who had been working as a pyrotechnics expert in the motion picture industry. Mel has formulated an extremely powerful but dangerous monopropellant, monohydrazine, that would enable not only single-stage-to-orbit but single-stage-to-the-Moon and back. FBI agent Jack Klinger is sent to investigate Mel's purchase of large amounts of explosive chemicals. They build a space vehicle named the Vulture and Skip and Mel voyage to the Moon, salvage the equipment and return.
The remainder of the series has the group embarking on various moneymaking ventures that Harry conceives, few of which involve the Vulture despite its prominence in the opening titles.
The Vulture
Harry built a spaceship dubbed the Vulture, made from reclaimed salvage and former NASA parts. A cement mixer, a gasoline tanker trailer, and several surplus rocket engines (bought at auction when the space program was in a slump) became the homemade spaceship.[3] After the pilot, the Vulture was rarely used. One of its engines was destroyed in the second season premiere and it was never used again in subsequent episodes.
Joel Higgins as Addison "Skip" Carmichael, former NASA astronaut.
Trish Stewart as Melanie "Mel" Slozar, who worked with Skip at NASA.
J. Jay Saunders as Mack, a former engineer at NASA and Harry's technical assistant at Jettison.
Richard Jaeckel as FBI agent Jack Klinger (first season only).
Heather McAdam as Michelle Ryan, an orphan that Mel befriends and wants to adopt (second season only).
Jacqueline Scott played Lorene, the office manager at Jettison (who was also Harry's ex-wife) in the pilot, but the character was eliminated in the series.
Episodes
Season 1 (1979)
No. overall
No. in season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
1
1
"Salvage"
Lee Philips
Mike Lloyd Ross
January 20, 1979 (1979-01-20)
2
2
Harry puts together a ragtag team to realize his dream of going to the Moon and salvaging abandoned NASA equipment there.
3
3
"Dark Island"
Gene Nelson
Ruel Fischmann
January 29, 1979 (1979-01-29)
Harry and his crew, who want to obtain dwarf spider monkeys for the San Diego Zoo, end up stranded on a remote island where they discover a giant ape.
4
4
"Shangri-la Lil"
Ron Satlof
Judy Burns
February 5, 1979 (1979-02-05)
During a search for a B-25 bomber to salvage Harry finds a Japanese soldier who is unaware World War II has ended.
5
5
"Shelter Five"
Jim Benson
S : Geoffrey Fischer T : Gerald K. Siegel
February 12, 1979 (1979-02-12)
Harry buys a decommissioned military fallout shelter. An earthquake ruptures a water tank in the shelter, threatening to drown the young daughter of the facility's commanding officer.
6
6
"The Haunting of Manderly Mansion"
Ray Austin
Mike Robe
February 26, 1979 (1979-02-26)
Harry buys a supposedly haunted house to salvage, but the ghost turns out to be an alien stranded on Earth.
An African dictator kidnaps Jack Klinger and demands a U.S. missile, but the U.S. government will not respond to the demand. Harry and his crew work to rescue Klinger.
11
11
"Mermadon"
Ron Satlof
Mike Lloyd Ross
April 16, 1979 (1979-04-16)
Harry befriends a runaway robot programmed to kill anyone believed to be a threat.
12
12
"Up, Up and Away"
Les Green
Robert Swanson
May 14, 1979 (1979-05-14)
Harry survives a plane crash in a remote area, then faces outlaws determined to steal the counterfeit money in the plane.
13
13
"Energy Solution"
Ron Satlof
Richard Chapman & Ruel Fischmann
May 21, 1979 (1979-05-21)
Melanie's plan to create crude oil causes an underground fire.
14
14
"Confederate Gold"
Ray Austin
T : Jack Turley S/T : Robert Swanson
May 28, 1979 (1979-05-28)
Harry and his crew search for Confederate gold, but are captured by local townspeople.
The first season ranked 48th out of 114 shows that season with an average 17.7/26 rating/share.[5]
Season 2 (1979)
No. overall
No. in season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
15
1
"Hard Water: Part 1"
Les Green
Mike Lloyd Ross
November 4, 1979 (1979-11-04)
Harry proposes to tow an iceberg to a drought-stricken island off southern California, but a rival salvage company steals their idea.
16
2
"Hard Water: Part 2"
Les Green
Mike Lloyd Ross
November 11, 1979 (1979-11-11)
Harry's rival bungles the transport of the iceberg so it threatens San Francisco. Harry tries to tow the iceberg to safety before the Navy has to destroy it.
Harry offers his crew a Hawaiian vacation, but Skip and Melanie discover he wants to mine for diamonds inside a dormant volcano.
Six episodes of the second season were produced before ABC cancelled the series.[6] Only the two-part season opener was broadcast. The last four episodes were shown in the early 1990s on The Nostalgia Channel,[7] and overseas in the UK in some ITV regions in 1981.[8][9]
^Appeared only in closing credits of some Salvage 1 episodes after the pilot. Asimov also states in his autobiography, I, Asimov, that he served as an advisor for a few Salvage 1 episodes[10]
References
^Maltin, Leonard, Leonard Maltin’s TV movies and Video Guide, 1991 Edition, page 993, Plume, 1990
^Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 – Present, 7th Edition, Ballantine Books, 1999, page 883.
^ abCasey, Paul I. & Dorsey, Andrea M., APOLLO:A Decade of Achievement, page 6, Js Blume Publishing, 2013}
^Andy Griffith in 'Salvage',The Los Angeles Times, January 20, 1979, page 31
