The Power Within
proposed series pilot
 
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey
Writers: William Clark & Edward J. Lakso
Original airing: May 11, 1979 (ABC)

Chris Darrow (Art Hindle)
General Tom Darrow  (Edward Binns)
Bill Camelli (Joe Rassulo)
Stephens  (Eric Braeden)
Danton (David Hedison)
Dr. Joanne Miller (Susan Howard)
Captain Ed Holman (Dick Sargent)


Chris Darrow is a daredevil pilot, traveling from one county fair to the next with his partner Bill. One fateful night, he caught in a thunderstorm and struck by lightning. When he awakens, he find he has  superhuman strength and can discharge electricity from his fingertips. With no where else to go, he turns to his estranged father, an Air Force general in charge of a joint military-NASA research facility. 

The General calls in Dr. Joanne Miller who designs a voltage regulator that is disguised as a wristwatch that allows Chris to monitor and control his electrical discharges. The lightning has altered his genetic code and Chris is now walking battery, able to project energy, but at the cost of needing to recharge his body on a regular basis.

All this secret equipment has not escaped the eye of  Captain Ed Holman, the General's XO. Holman is a traitor, hired by a wealthy client to help steal a suspended animation device being tested soon. Holman assumes that Chris is the test subject for the suspended animation device and sends his employer's thugs, Stephens and Danton, to remove the test equipment from Chris, voluntarily or otherwise.

After a battle at the carnival, Chris' newfound powers send the two hirelings fleeing. They decide to kidnap Dr. Miller, assuming that if she's working on the same project as Chris, she's part of the suspended animation team.

Chris discovers his charge is getting low, but with Dr. Miller missing, there's no one to activate the charging equipment. He and Joe take their stunt plane in pursuit, leading to a desperate battle between the bad guys and a rapidly discharging Chris, featuring a scene where David Hedison's character learns not to wear a metal belt buckle when dealing with a man who can discharge electricity.

Dispatching the crooks, Chris and Joe now must race time to get Chris back to the army base so Dr. Miller can talk the General through the recharging process. Now, Chris and Joe will return to the itinerant life of carnival stunt shows, never knowing when or where the General may ask for the help of his son.