Tomorrow's Tide

An episode that centers on a village of exploited humans used as fisherman - they venture into the shark-saturated ocean with spears, risking their lives for a catch that benefits the ape foreman, Roscoe Lee Brown...

And soon become one of... or, two of them - having to pass dangerous initiations, including swimming under fire, dodging sharks and landing a catch on the spear. Pre-JAWS, this forebodes the shark scare craze that would strike a year later, and has terrific moments and is one of the better episodes: getting down to bare-knuckle action. Galen, in trying to con Browne, has some fun. Even Virdon points out: "I didn't know he was that much of a ham." Character actor John McLiam co-stars as the McGuffin, but it's those sharks that, although obviously stock footage, make things work.

The second of two episodes written for the "Apes" series by Robert Lenski, this one -- like the even better "The Good Seeds" -- provides ample opportunities for Ron Harper and James Naughton to display their manly physiques. In fact, aside from a few scenes in the early going, they spend the entire episode stripped to a pair of shorts which, while not exactly snug, are nonetheless suitable for swimming.

The plot, like "The Good Seeds," succeeds because it substitutes character and story for the usual "chase" ingredients, and like that other episode, it involves the astronauts demonstrating to the apes a "new" form of technology. What's more, this episode benefits from an unusually good supporting cast: John McLiam as Gahto, the ever artful Roscoe Lee Browne as Hurton, and the hammy but enjoyable Jay Robinson as Bandor. Soap-opera actor Jim Storm pops up in a small role as Romar, Soma's husband, and, yes, he gets to go bare-chested, too.