Jonny Quest (1964)/Terror Island

Terror Island
Season 1, Episode 24
Airdate	February 25, 1965
Written by
Directed by
← 1x23 The House of the Seven Gargoyles	1x25 → Monsters in the Monastery
Jonny Quest (1964) — Season One

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Terror Island is the twenty-fourth episode of the first season of Jonny Quest.

Guest Stars:

Plot Overview

Dr. Quest is kidnapped by a rival scientist who needs help with his experiments to create giant (crab, spider, and lizard) creatures at a secret laboratory compound in Hong Kong.

Notes

THIS IS A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE EPISODE (with spoilers)

At a secret laboratory complex on Moy Tu Island, a Chinese lab assistant is terrified by a giant crab mutation that crashes its way through a set of steel doors to escape the main research area. The trembling man unloads an automatic pistol into the van-sized thing, but to no effect. He can only flee for his life, as the monster plows through an exterior wall to reach freedom. Outside, a para-military looking guard (in fatigue uniform) is attacked by the mutation and dragged off screaming in one of it's giant claws. Other guards open up with rifle fire, but again to no effect. The monster plods relentlessly on, to disappear beneath the waters of Hong Kong Harbor.

In the nearby city of Hong Kong, the Quest party is apparently on vacation as they ride along the city streets in a pair of pedi-cabs (bicycle-powered rickshaws). Dr, Quest, the imminent American scientist, occupies one cab with Quest family bodyguard, Race Bannon. The Doctor's son, Jonny, drives the other with his adopted Indian brother, Hadji, and the real driver on board. The boy loses control, however, and runs the contraption off the end of a pier into the sea.

The whole party is soon traversing Hong Kong harbor in the Quest hydrofoil speedboat. Dr. Quest is none too happy with the two drenched boys as they ride out to the Quest research schooner, which lies at anchor out in the bay. Once on board ship, Jonny is grounded for his stunt (having cost his father the price of one pedi-cab), but it seems as though he may get a reprieve before the Chinese New Year celebration.

That night, the entire Quest party (including their pet dog, Bandit) is, indeed, present back on shore for the New Year's street festival - complete with fireworks, noisemakers and a Chinese parade dragon. Bandit gets the shock of his life when he sniffs too close to a lit string of firecrackers.

Later, they all enjoy dinner at a local restaurant, where a pretty Chinese camera girl snaps a souvenir picture for them. The photographer, however, turns out to harbor a more sinister motive. Before passing the polaroid on to her customers, she shows it to a pair of Chinese thugs, who lurk outside the window (for the purposes of identifying Dr. Quest).

Late that night, the entire Quest party sleeps soundly aboard their research schooner, when the two thugs (now clad in diver's wetsuit) swim silently up, pushing an idle motorboat before them. They slip furtively aboard the Quest vessel. Dr. Quest is abducted from his bed as Race, aroused from sleep by the growling dog, springs alert in the next-door cabin. But it's already too late. The motorboat engine roars to life outside the window and the kidnappers speed away with their victim before the bodyguard can react. The boys are awakened, also, and a note is found to warn that the Doctor will be killed if the police are brought in.

Race takes the hydrofoil to a nearby junk that serves as a houseboat. It is the home of his old flame, Jade. A rather mercenary spirited adventuress in her own right, the exotic beauty seems to have some kind of underworld connections. She agrees to help Race find Dr. Quest - but for a price.

Jade is soon out in her sports-car, combing the streets of Hong Kong for information. Several contacts come up empty, before she ends up in a seedy apartment with a petty criminal. Using a bit of bribe money and the threat of a gun, Jade persuades her Chinese informant to reveal what he knows: Dr. Quest has been kidnapped by Chu Sing Ling and taken to the private island of Moy Tu.

At the secret laboratory compound on Moy Tu island, Dr. Quest is, indeed, the prisoner of Chu Sing Ling (though he is being treated more like a guest). The apparently affable Dr. Chu explains his work by revealing a pair of cages, containing a giant lizard mutation and a giant spider - both created by exposure to his newly formulated bacteria. The American scientist notices, however, that his Chinese colleague is not taking the proper precautions: contamination from the bacteria culture is draining off into the local lagoon. This, as it turns out, is the very problem that the hostage has been brought in to solve. Dr. Quest, of course, will have nothing to do with this monstrous experiment.

Meanwhile, Race returns to the junk and finds that Jade is still gone (though she has left a message promising to free Dr. Quest - again, for a price). Her Chinese housekeeper, Kowloom, informs him that the adventuress has gone to Moy Tu Island. Race, too, is soon on his way to Moy Tu after a quick refueling stop back at the schooner. Jonny and Hadji want to accompany the bodyguard, but are refused.

Back in the laboratory, Dr. Quest has been tied to a chair before the monster cages as Dr. Chu sets the bars to open automatically at a specified time. This is an attempt to force the American's agreement to work with Chu Sing Ling - but Dr. Quest remains steadfast in his refusal.

On a deserted stretch of beach outside, Race pulls the hydrofoil ashore - only to find that Jonny and Hadji have stowed away on board with Bandit. Ordering the boys to stay with the boat, the bodyguard creeps off into the forest with a light machine gun. There, he witnesses a giant crab mutation locked in a fight to the death with a giant spider. Hearing the clash of monsters, Bandit leaps out of the hydrofoil and runs off, barking, into the foliage. Jonny and Hadji chase after him.

Race infiltrates the laboratory complex to enter a barracks area, guarded by armed workers in Chinese peasant dress. He is able to sneak up on two of these and knock them unconscious before he is discovered by other such guards. The whole complex is soon alerted. Race, however, fights his way through Chu Sing Ling's forces with small arms fire and hand grenades. Jonny and Hadji arrive on the scene and discover Bandit cowering beneath a parked bulldozer.

The sounds of battle can be heard inside the laboratory, where Chu Sing Ling (with his protective security force) seems unconcerned. Dr. Quest remains bound up in front of the monster cages, still refusing to cooperate with his captor.

Meanwhile, Race tries to jimmy his way through a security gate into the main compound with a crowbar. He can't break the lock, but Jonny soon arrives in the bulldozer (with Hadji and Bandit on board) to plow right through the fence. Again, the boys are ordered to remain outside as the bodyguard proceeds to the laboratory building.

In the laboratory, Dr. Quest's time has run out. The monster cages are about to open and Chu Sing Ling prepares to leave the captive American to his fate - when Race Bannon appears in the doorway with his light machine gun. He forces Dr. Chu to release Benton, but a guard gets the drop on him from behind. Jade arrives on the scene just in time to knock the guard out with a pistol whip. But it's already too late. The monster cages open and Chu Sing Ling jumps through the plate glass window to get away. Dr. Quest, Race, and Jade, however, have their line of escape cut off by the monsters...and the laboratory door is locked! Just as all seems lost, Jonny comes crashing through the wall in the bulldozer (with Hadji and Bandit on board). This causes a portion of the ceiling to collapse, killing the giant creatures.

The Quest party and Jade fight their way out of the compound on the bulldozer. Unable to reach their hydrofoil, however, they decide to steal a motorboat from the facility docks.

Fleeing the island by speedboat, the escapees are chased by Chu Sing Ling and his men in another speedboat, which bears down on them with a light artillery gun. Suddenly, another giant lizard rises from the water like Godzilla in front of Dr. Chu's boat. The pursuit craft turns about in blind flight and runs aground, but the monster reptile (walking upright like a tyrannosaurus) wades ashore to follow. Chu Sing Ling flees on foot - only to come up against the fence of his own facility's power station. The towering monster closes in on the terrified man, but gets caught up and electrocuted in the transformer's high tension lines. This causes a power surge that blows up the generator station, along with Chu Sing Ling.

Now home free, the escapees continue on in their stolen motorboat. Jade brings up the matter of her payment, but Race mollifies her for the moment with a passionate kiss. Disgusted at this open display of affection, the two young boys vow to keep all their future debts with the opposite sex on a strictly cash basis.