by Mark Murton

Original Air Date: February 24, 1977

Starring: The Felix Team

Directed by: Alf Kjellin

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains spoilers for this episode!

Synopsis: The travellers arrive in a new Time Zone and encounter a fugitive from a community inhabited solely by children (adults having extinguished themselves in a war) led by the tyrannical teenager Alpha (Mark Lambert) who views the travellers as a threat to his authority.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Sil-L, the tuxedo cat with whom Liana (Katie Saylor) communicates, is notably absent when the group materialise in their latest location (though they do all carry large bags so presumably Sil-L is in Liana’s). They come across some Greek ruins and set up camp for the night. Varian (Jared Martin) and Fred (Carl Franklin) find an exhausted young boy, Sigma (Bobby Eilbacher), and take him back to the camp where Liana is sitting by the fire stroking Sil-L (who is more interested in the food that has been place there to keep the cat actor from running off).

Liana moves across to the new arrival while Sil-L prefers to keep feeding.

They bed down for the night with Sil-L sitting contentedly near Liana.

During the night, Sigma wakes and runs off. Scott (Ike Eisenmann) sees him go and follows. The next morning the others awake and realise Scott and Sigma are gone.

They go in search of the boys who have been captured and imprisoned by the group from which Sigma escaped. The cowardly Willaway (Roddy McDowall) opts to remain at the campsite “in case Scott comes back; we wouldn’t want him to think we’ve gone off and left him,” enabling him to continue exploring the ruins. He is interrupted by the arrival of a group of Alpha’s followers who quickly overpower him. Sil-L is sitting among the ruins and reacts to the struggle between Willoway and the boys.

And that’s the last we see of Sil-L in this episode. In the final scene the cat is once again nowhere to be seen as the group (with their large bags) move off and disappear in the blue ball of light.

Final Mewsings: Why put a cat in a show if you’re barely going to feature them?

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