Joyride

Plot

When NASA astronaut Theodore Harris was in space the first time on September 16, 1963, it didn't go quite as planned. Alone in his Mercury capsule, he panicked and aborted the mission when a mysterious violet light penetrated the cockpit and began enveloping his body. In the investigation that followed, no evidence could be found to support his story, leaving a blot on Harris' NASA record and his life in ruins. And now, at age 63, he knows he can never make amends with his estranged wife Madelaine, but he feels that he could clear his name if he could just get back to where he saw the light. When NASA turns him down, Harris is recruited by Carlton Powers, a self-made billionaire who plans to privatize space travel and thinks Harris' presence on the inaugural flight (on his new Daedalus spaceship) will help him sell the service. Harris and Power are joined on the flight by Martin Reese, a skeptical tabloid reporter, Lil Vaughn, an eccentric fashion mogul and Ty and Barbara Chafey, young newlyweds who won a contest to travel on the space plane. But none of the Daedalus passengers know that Harris has reprogrammed the flight plan to take the flight to the site of the close encounter that shattered the young man's life.

Trivia

September 16, 1963 was the date that "The Galaxy Being", the first episode of The Outer Limits, aired on ABC. In both episodes, the protagonist was played by Cliff Robertson.

Cast

Cliff Robertson ... Theodore Harris Andrea Martin ... Lil Vaughn Mackenzie Gray ... Martin Reese Erin Daniels ... Barbara Chafey Adam J. Harrington ... Ty Chafey (as Adam Harrington) Scott Hylands ... Wayne Barry Corbin ... Carlton Powers Peter Bryant ... Commander Sullivan Pamela Perry ... Madelaine Parkhurst G. Patrick Currie ... Young Harris (as Gerry Currie) Lorena Gale ... Committee Member Peter Kelamis ... Brain Wakefield Paul Magel ... Navy Frogman Joanna Piros ... Reporter #1 Kevin Hayes ... Reporter #2