"This request is for Ralph, from your Star Admirer... This is all news radio coming to you from Palmdale... Coming to you live from Palmdale..."

This episode is one of my all time favourites. Theres some great comedy and interaction between the characters in this one, and best of all, the mysterious green guys make a reappearance. The meeting in the desert with the dead guy who gives them an impossible task to accomplish, the ship arriving, and Ralph pursuing the green guys for another instruction book is just great. Watching Bill and Ralph crumble under the pressure, and particularly Ralph losing his grip in the face of constant public ridicule (it's interesting that William Katt really did hate the suit and must have helped him when he had to parade around in it) and this difficult task from the green guys is really great. They bicker and argue with each other like a married couple, but you get the feeling that they're coming together as a team.

The one thing that really annoyed me about the DVD release of this episode though, was the missing song "Eve of Destruction". The song is referenced in dialog by the actors, and is supposed to feature a lot because of the green guys sending Ralph the song as a message on the radio all the time. Instead, they replaced it with this pathetic soft rock filler that has none of the urgency or seriousness of the original song. I really wish they had made a little more effort to secure the licensing for the original songs in this series, because when they're missing it's a real loss. This show had some great music, and the loss of Rocket Man and Space Oddity in the last season, and some songs in this season is a real disappointment. I'd have happily paid more for the set to have had the original songs in it.

Still it's a great episode and still one of the best.

Plot Synopsis:

At Twin Palms military base an alarm goes off when the Spoilsport defense system malfunctions and prepares to launch nuclear missiles at the USSR. Technicians scramble to stop the system, but at the last minute it aborts, and resets, preparing to launch all its missiles in 24 hours.

Ralph is at school speaking with Pam on a payphone. She is away on a court case, and Ralph really misses her. When he hangs up he receives a mysterious collect phone call. Ralph pays the money but hangs up. As he's driving away his car is broadsided by the Villicana Piranha, Tony's latest get-rick-quick scheme. Tony plans to race the Guy Under The Bridge for pink slips, and then open a used-car lot selling all the cars he wins. As Ralph is looking at the car, Tony's radio retunes itself and the announcer dedicates the song Eve of Destruction to Ralph from You Know Who in Palmdale. Ralph keeps hearing the message, and the mention of Palmdale. He contacts Bill and tells them they need to go to Palmdale to meet with the green guys. Bill gets a dressing down from Carlisle about his behaviour and unkempt appearance, and then loses one of his cases. The military take away Bill's missing persons case: the search for Charles Ratner, a computer specialist.
At the base, one of the technicians is electrocuted after he tries to disable the Spoilsport computer system. His captain reports his death, then drives off to continue attempting to stop the missile launches. As he leaves, the dead guy suddenly sits up.

Driving out in the desert, Bill is ready to go home because there is no sign of the green guys. Ralph gives him a hard time about being afraid of the spaceship, when they drive past the dead guy from the base. Bill speeds up when they pass the dead guy again further down the road. The next time, the dead guy appears in front of the car and Bill stops abruptly. The dead guy delivers the message that Ralph has to stop the Spoilsport system from launching its nuclear missiles and starting World War III, otherwise there will be nothing left of the Earth but ash and dust. Dead guy then turns and walks off into the desert, when the spaceship comes down and picks him up. Ralph chases after the ship but is deflected back by the ships forcefield.

Bill explains that the Spoilsport system was built in the 50s, and in the event of a nuclear war, would hold back some missiles, then after the nuclear strike, the system would automatically launch is remaining missiles at the USSR as they are trying to dig themselves out of the rubble winning the war for the US. Ralph and Bill are both in agreement that they system is appalling. They have to get home but Bill's car is dead, so Bill makes Ralph fly him out. As usual they crash around a lot in the desert, until they are forced to hitchhike home.

Ralph arrives home to find Tony racing the Guy Under The Bridge in his neighbourhood. Tony loses the Piranha to GUTB, but Bill intervenes and gets the car back for Tony. Bill then commandeers the car for his and Ralph's use. They drive to the FBI offices to see if they can locate the Spoilsport base. Bill figures if he starts poking around in the computers the Spoilsport people might come for him and take him to the base. Bill sets off alarms in the computers, and the military quickly arrive and take him away. Ralph gets trapped in an elevator, but finally manages to fly up the elevator shaft to the roof. Unfortunately they get away clean with Bill.

Ralph decides to look up Charles Ratners address, figuring they might be connected. He drives to his house and when Charles partner answers the door, and promptly slams it shut again, Ralph breaks the door down. He tries to get a holograph on Charles and hopefully Bill but fails, and Ralph starts to come unglued because of all the pressure. When he flops down on Charles keyboard to have a bit of a cry, the suit starts to holograph on Charles at the Twin Palms military base. Ralph takes off in the Piranha.

At the base, Bill is being interrogated by the base commander, and it turns out he abducted Charles Ratner and forced him to reprogram the system so it will launch the missiles. He figures the US is losing against the USSR, and its time to make a decisive pre-emptive strike against the Russians. He drugs Bill, but when Bill starts ranting about aliens, spaceships, and dead guys, the commander figures he's mentally unbalanced.

Ralph arrives at the base and quickly rescues Bill. Unfortunately Bill is no use to anybody due to the drugs. Ralph heads up the tunnel to the computer centre, smashes through the wall, and stops the commander. Ralph tries to get Charles to undo the changes to the computer system, but he can't do it in time. Ralph rips out the main terminal, stopping the computer from launching all the missiles. Unfortunately the signal went out to one missile, and so Ralph flies back up the tunnel to the launchpad, and pushes the missile back into the bunker where it detonates. However, he has saved the planet from destruction.

Later, when Bill returns the car to Tony, he receives a ticket from a cop for driving a noisy vehicle. Ralph and Bill receive another message from the aliens thanking them for their efforts.