THE POWER WITHIN (1979)
TV-Movie
Article 2640 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-28-2008
Posting Date: 11-4-2008
Directed by John Llewellyn Moxey
Featuring Art Hindle, Ed Binns, Joseph Rassulo
Country: USA

A stunt flyer is struck by lightning and becomes superhuman with the ability to shoot electricity from his fingertips. However, his power has a life-sapping effect on him, and he has to have a special watch-like device installed on his body to keep him alive. However, some spies believe he contains the secret of eternal life…

Can you say “failed TV pilot” once again? Yes, I know I’m a little bit hard on these TV-Movies, but I have to admit that I’ve never been charmed by the form, and the utterly routine plot with the usual TV-Movie contrivances on this one does little to win me over. I was initially impressed with the rousing score until I saw the year of this movie and realized that it was just faux John Williams. Some of the stunts are fairly decent, but I have to admit I’d gladly trade the stunts for a decent script. It might have made it into a series, but I doubt that the series would have been more than just passable. The cast also includes David Hedison and Dick Sargent.