Hello and welcome to Retrospection, a podcast that we take an old TV show and film and see if it should remain in our Orbit I'll be blasted out into space My name's Colin and how can you value life if you do not fear death and I'm Paul and computer is going up in this episode We're looking at Sylvia and Jerry Anderson space in 1999. They follow up to UFO Apparently it was supposed to be another season of UFO, isn't it? Yeah, most of the production designs in this were for originally UFO Were the aliens blasted the Blasted yeah Which was you a secret base or something that's right. Yeah, it's a bit interesting Yeah, I wonder why they changed it cuz space 19 19 wait no UFO was a flock eventually it started off well And then ratings went down a bit like this exactly like space 1999.
Yeah, okay It's a common theme of Anderson shocks mm-hmm, but then you know this one is a silvio and Jerry Anderson Because Sylvia doesn't really get much credit But when they turn them together, we got fireball XL 5 stingray thunderbirds captain Skylotte Joe 90 UFO in space 1999 And Jerry went on his own got space precinct I'm just saying I'm other in all my likes actually, you know, I'm just saying She bought a finger Really an action figure just oh, maybe I'll keep it in the package in it be worse something on that. Oh, well Look like packaging open Put that figure on to well don't put it on display Nobody knows it was who wouldn't matter. That's true. That's true Oh, it's base 19 99 stars Merton land hours commander John Koenig Barbara Bain is dr.
Helena Russell Nick taters Alan Carter zine a Merton is Sandra Benes and Barry Masters professor Victor Bergman There's quite a lot of other people but can't list them all and there's a big change in cast between the first and second season Which isn't saw the shell lose a few people and gain some new ones like Catherine shell is mayor and Barbara Bain and They were married when they did this as well. They were they were and they did you know what they had a deal where each of them had to have equal Screen time in every episode Actually looking at the episodes trying to write that I did read it apparently were both very difficult. Yeah, it kind of comes across on screen I think it doesn't come across very likable does he? Well, he just seems to be angry She seems to feel the need to whisper every line of dialogue that she says But yeah, apparently she was the the harder of the two to please Okay She had a lot of notable guest stars in McShane Brian blessed will see later Christopher Lee John Collins Peter question and a lot of other faces familiar to British TV at the time Yeah, it's a couple in the episodes we're gonna talk about actually yeah Yeah, changes to the second season cause problems including the cast complaining of the poor quality of scripts Yeah, it was Fred Freiberger who was notorious for taking overseas in three of Star Trek, wasn't he?
Yes Yeah, and we all know what a great job we did on that so yeah I mean it seems to be difficult of opinion the cast of Star Trek always said that he was he did well under trying circumstances I'm not sure the cast of space 19 19 I see the same thing about him Well, all the fans apparently was booed off stage at a convention in 2000 really? Mm-hmm. I mean we can only hope to be booed off stage. We saw many buyers on stage That'd be something just to be booed just to be booed.
I'll take that yeah Do you have anything else any of them? Did you see the little fact that Stanley Kubrick was a bit to peeve at the show? I don't know his pube why because it borrowed yeah, apparently threatened legal action at the time saying that the show borrowed too much from 2001 Oh in terms of the look and I can understand that particularly in the first season and the first episode that we're gonna talk about the Open sequence mmm. Yeah, it's very 2001 is yeah without the budget September 13th the year the date that the moon base crashes out of orbit is actually Barbara Baines birthday.
Oh, okay? We already can see you know influences going on there Yeah, the special effects supervisor Brian Johnson was asked to do the effects on Star Wars a new hope but couldn't do it because he was tied to this show Oh You could use me by calling it Star Wars a new hope. We should just say Star Wars shouldn't be I know really That's free me off them for second. Yeah, I I'll bet he was happy about that.
Yeah And so was the guy who did his morning he approved it did yeah, but he did eventually work on Empire Strikes Back so he did kind of get involved in Star Wars eventually The time this was apparently the most expensive produce show on British TV as well I can see that Yeah, you can see where the money is especially in this first episode. We're gonna talk about can you yeah Make you Martin Landau smile Well, I'm not in my dad turned down sparked didn't they I didn't know that either Wow? Yeah, he was originally the first actor to be offered Spock and he turned it down. I can't see him being sparky's too emotional and angry An angry spark.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah Did you read that there were lots of novelizations of episodes that were produced at the time? Yes, yes Yeah, and apparently some of the unused scripts from season one were also turned into original bubbles Yeah, apparently from a better side to make all the changes that he did in season two after just watching eight episodes of season one Well, that's enough to get an opinion, right?
We wouldn't we wouldn't even watch eight would we no three and be like yeah? I know we need to change here Because you know, we know what we're talking about The show was backed extensively by Italian TV, but unfortunately bombed over there That's a shame. I guess that's why all the costumes and the props are Italian and there's a lot of Italian bit that plays in it We're dubbed into English. Yes.
Yes. No, it is not yeah Some of the episodes were also adapted into audio dramas for children on LP. Oh nice Apparently they messed around with the plots quite badly what's making for it to make them fit and make them more kid friendly, okay? Barry Morse didn't get along with Jerry Anderson very much either.
Oh Apparently dislike that production meetings concentrated more on what clothing people would be wearing rather than character development And that's it that's all I've got well, I did my work this week didn't I did you did just let you run with that? Yeah, we have to show was canceled They did compile for feature films made by editing episodes together and these are intended for foreign Vatricle release and some even have new footage although not featuring the main cast so before we start here's the trailer for one of those filmed destination moon base alpha The moon has become a vast complex space station Blasted out of earth water destined to journey forever deeper and deeper into the unknown Destination moon base hour and epic adventure across the universe to experiences beyond the imagination of any earthbound human Nothing is impossible in the vast unshirted dimensions of hyperspace human force and alien intelligence Where human extinction on moon base alpha maybe seconds away Now I remember that I used to have it on the video back in the 80s I don't think the guy doing the trailer scene the film He's just given a script and he's reading it I guess so it's just kind of either you give me or everything I say he's given to me Yeah, that's right. That's right. All these lines not just on the podcast in life generally you do We did yeah, you're a winner We know hey, so we're gonna do the pilot episode and then we'll do the first episode of the second season mm-hmm joy yes Here we go a herb twinkles and we see a majestic celestial balay is the moon passes in front of the earth all right I Talk about surprise then okay on-screen text says the dark side of the moon pink Floyd I knew you're gonna do that.
I know it's a insert Paul yelling pink Floyd September the night from 1999 The future yep far off in the future. Do you remember when 1999 felt like the future? No, I'm not as old as you Yeah, keep telling you something. No, you know, you know, we were kids and you thought that's the only thing I was never We're never gonna see 1999.
We're flying cars by then. That's true. That's true. We're out of the path rather flying cars One of the many lies we close up on a building on the moon called nuclear waste disposal area to a vehicle driven by two astronauts called nods drum and Steiner approached the area they open a laser barrier and report back to moon base dr.
Russell and dr. Bergman I watching them on the monitors as the astronauts begin a manual check that was ordered by Russell on the radiation seals We've got some great sideburns going on. Yeah, I'm kind of going for that. I think in the future.
That's many luck I Dr. Russell contacts an eagle now. She points out that eagles are the spacecraft that they use on moon base a flight I'm just a city earthman and everyone and a gorgeous I'm a great design the nice because they can change them to whatever they want because they have like a cargo area in the middle It can switch out to whatever needs they have yeah, we see that a lot that way in the later in this episode where They they attach different sections to the eagles I always used to enjoy that as a kid. I always used to look forward to see in the different bits that we're gonna be attached to the ships Okay, easily pleased Well, yeah, okay, dr.
Russell so she contacts an eagle and is transferring dangerous hazardous material and she asked them When will they finish unloading? Bergman comes and how Russell is keeping a fur a check on operation. So we know something's going on, but we're not quite sure why it's so important And it's all very serious, isn't it? Oh, yeah, very very serious.
Yes radiation is a serious matter part I've heard yeah, we see the brain activities of the men outside on these little scanners Bergman points out that so far their brain activity is normal so far says Russell Those little scanners that they're using as well those little handheld scanners like they look a bit nice speaking spell, don't they? Yeah, I guess they do Interesting design in space 1999. I mean it's very 70s futuristic Yeah, but you can see that they really thought about the practicalities of everything. Yeah, yeah And I think there's a bit of a direct line between how they show looks and something like certain motion picture.
They look very similar I mean there's a lot of age going on. Oh, I say yes. Yes, and that changes in the second season. It's more color It does but here we got lots of Beijing lots of clean lines and everything's Everything everything just looks very efficient looking.
Yeah, and the furniture is Italian design They're Italian labs and tabarets and things like that. Mm-hmm. It looks very nice I would look my apartment would look like it if I could get away with it. You should go for it and the flowers as well I'm wearing them right now trip to over in earlier today So we cut to another Eagle leaving earth and this is carrying command a John Koenig and it is a scene reminiscent to 2001 Because a cabin crew member makes a way down the aisle to him and gives him coffee And then a coal comes in from Commissioner Simmons now He informs conic that it orders to take off a moon base have been confirmed when she offered him the coffee He gave her a bit of a look up and down didn't they?
Yeah, I didn't notice that No, I didn't you didn't know what you get okay. Well Koenig is replacing the original commander of moon base Oh, I saw them seem to know him. Don't they come back? Yeah, yeah, he's greeted quite happily.
Yeah, so Koenig's job is to put a man on a planet called meta Yes Simmons shows Koenig a first close-up picture of meta oxygen atmosphere and they think it's supporting life as they know it He says that the meta probe astronaut virus which suddenly comes up in the conversation must not stop them from a man landing on meta Nothing must stop this mission. I'll tell you what what he stopped me anything called a meta probe astronaut virus sounds pretty serious This virus is all getting value, isn't it? Well, it's made up in there. That's why You've spoiled it.
Oh, I'm sorry So Simmons signs off and the pilot of the Eagles shows pictures of the meta probe platform to Koenig and he watches the ship docks with it Now back on the moon the astronauts are finishing their radiation checks. There's no leakage That's always the best kind of leakage no leakage no leaks. You don't want to leave no leak freeze on the lucky well This thing that's racist path Yes Increasing brain activity and that's a Russell others the men to get out of the area Nastram screams and falls over Steiner goes to help him But when our security to bring Nordstrom in Steiner calls for help is not from lashes out at him That's from Gus Berserk and he picks up Steiner and then throws him then Nordstrom runs into the laser barrier. He's Lator fired I don't know what's the word Very good as well.
Yes, yes, it's what you serious Actually, yes, it's much better than the last weightless acting he's always absolutely yeah, yeah, definitely an improvement although stack ups made later, right? Yeah, so it is but where it's not up They just seem to be pretending to be motion moving in slow motion This was obviously filmed normal speed and then slowed down which look better. Yes Yeah, so he collapses and his helmet is smashed and one of his eyes visible is all opaque when they were struggling as well Did you notice that some one of the visors on one of the actors fell back? Yeah, we get worse later So we cut to the opening credits which really emphasizes Matt in Landau's and Barbara planes position in the series because they're the only two that actually get The faces on the opening credits.
They are it's incredibly dramatic, isn't it? Yeah? Yeah, it's very dramatic the stirring and they turn and look at the camera and say obey us It reminded me of an abba video Funky music and this episode flashes on the screen and as the music plays to get clips of the episode I miss that on TV shows. I kind of I like the way space 1999 does it.
I don't like the way you say a show like Hunter does it Yeah, whereas this one just shows you like the action bits with the cool music, but Hunter shows you clips with dialogue Yeah, that is a bit weird. Yeah, although In terms of space 1990, it does make the episode seem to be more exciting than what it actually is Yeah, absolutely And I guess the American idea of that is it probably goes to a commercial after that so like you see that I would have thought that and you like watch that because all that happened in it But but it works right and especially with this theme tune because this thing is fantastic all I would we didn't really mention the music by Barry Gray It's it's great. It's kind of funky. It's funky orchestral, isn't it?
Yes. Yeah, I mean and you can listen to it outside of the show as well And enjoy it. Yeah, make sure that we put other fences and it certainly does Mm-hmm not all the time though, you know, just at the weekend small fences Got my limits. Oh, I know that so that we got shot.
I'm seeing them. I'm seeing them now He has shots of space as the rest of the music continues and then he switches to telling you about how the moon ended up being flung into orbit Which of course in the pilots hasn't actually happened yet Shadowing The dark side of the moon that's right. Yeah as the episode begins we have a shot of the moon and kernigs eagle arriving and we cut to moon Based eagle lands, so what do we think of the effects and the you know, I know we've discussed We love the eagles themselves, but what about the mother work? I think it's on the whole I think it's Really, really good actually it's much better than what we saw in your phone.
Yeah, yeah, but it should be because it's almost 10 years after Isn't it really it's an improvement, but yeah, it's really good. I do like the model work in space 19 I mean, you're a word that you're looking at models and you're aware you're aware that you're looking at Gerry Anderson stuff because it looks like Gerry Anderson stuff Yeah, Derek made it imagine yeah, it looks like very good, but it's still good and and I think it helps that the designs are so good as well. Yeah I It's every time you swear Yeah, so a transport tube takes dr. Bergman to meet Konig mm-hmm.
I'm trying to think I'm pretty sure I've seen this transport tube somewhere else and I can't think were I know what you mean. It does look familiar Yeah, but part of me's wondering whether it just looks familiar because I'm so familiar with the show I don't know maybe maybe so went Bergman and Konig meet they seem to know each other on the first name basis Yeah, but don't we get in? In I presume you've watched first season. Yes Don't we get like an episode where we do see that conic was involved in some kind of project that Bergman was involved in as well?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, which is nice that they did that is yeah And Bergman tells Konig that things are more serious than you've been told people are dying up here the virus infection Yes, the virus infection It's important because I don't Understand the next bit conic enters my base commander meets the leaving commander who's been suspended but since we've taken it quite well He does he's also very well. No, that's why he's annoyed. There's no leakages So it's kind of entities welcome by various people quite if you know him already So he's introduced doing now at Bergman and Konig are alone in his office Konig says well no virus then what is it? Why is he suddenly a word?
It's not a virus mm-hmm Bergman going ah yes virus infection Wouldn't make me go. Oh, it's not a virus infection after all Maybe they because they work together so closely in the past that they can pick on up on each other's little Tels you know trying to tell him something maybe we have all the time. Sorry. Why are you?
All right, I'd like to think that if you were trying to hint at some kind of plague lie But I get it first time oh you would get it first time to plague you'd be like the canary I'd use I was okay I'm okay. Oh pause looking a bit ill hmm No, no, I think you're here. Nothing can kill me patients zero isn't that the one that starts it yeah, but you usually the one that Is everyone else is now I think he's running around good. Well patient zero look at all you guys You know if you got it first are you I would you be the one that why would just you get in it first out live you because you're the one that spreads You have the no you spread it to the next person and they get it you die in and they get it they die You don't you're not even a tull I got that wrong otherwise if patient one died and patient zero is okay They'd be like well, let's just get whatever bloody he's got and examine that Yeah, I didn't I didn't think that very didn't know all right I'll be patient 10,000 patient 10,000 so they just found a cure at patient 999.
Hopefully well not 999 Wait 9,000 9,999. Oh, yeah Oh, it could be 1,999 but then you'd be patient 1,000 space 19 99 come on. Oh, is that what we watching? So bourbon says it doesn't know what it is it looks like radiation, but there is no radiation Conic says well, you know me well enough.
I'm not going to know that people dying But you can't let the space planet of the century slip through their fingers. There's no merging for error What it sounded like to me I think I thought it said space plan. Okay, it's a weird sentence to me Because the space plan just sounds like he's arranging furniture in a room I Go on. Yeah, it's like we're gonna like here get the shuttle Come on.
You can't go like everything's Italian in there. Oh, yeah, that's Swedish You can't cross the street especially when it's very true. Yeah, that's true Bergman points out that the problem may affect the meta probe and that dr. Russell has some interesting ideas Conic says that Simmons has told him all about it But Bergman reveals that he couldn't know much because the previous moon base commander stopped Russell from sending all of her reports Bergman says conic should talk to her so why is this previous commander been suspended?
He seems to be like playing ball now. They've had this guy who's not gonna play ball. They really made a mistake, right? This commission is Simmons.
He screwed up Yeah, he's true. Yeah, I mean just kept the previous commander. He was just lying his ass off Like he was us right you I got him as you ask you ask you It's gonna be a long night we do this for like two hours We just got along with it. We know My principles mate.
Oh, yeah, pretty sure they're in a drawer somewhere. Okay, let me know when you find them take your heart Okay So we should talk about the gadgets that they have like for unlocking bars and communicators I think that the Little because the communicators have got these little TV screens on them as well. That was probably felt so futuristic at the time in the 70s Right and they're actually practical out there. They look real.
Yeah, they had a giant You don't see it in the show. They had a massive cable coming off them so they could pump the video footage through Great and the great the fact that they have to point the thing at the door to open the doors actually makes a lot of sense Doesn't it because then only certain people with the right control? Yeah? Which it makes perfect sense seems to happen a lot on things like static and the RV or people just walking to people's rooms Oh, yeah, it's worse for it.
Yeah, but for a show that came up with an idea like that That made so much sense like space 1990 but these can control us. They kind of drop the ball in other ways don't they with these big massive Bus ticket printouts that come out of the the computers all the time that they have to read from yeah, I can't just look at screens Yeah, yeah, you know, it seems weird. It's maybe they're just like those people always complain about ebooks and they prefer the real thing It's like all we could read the screens But I just love a big printout and they're like, you know what also paper everywhere on the moon not got a problem We're getting it up here One thing you don't have on the moon trees Do you think that maybe in the 70s a computer printout just sing like a really futuristic idea to the layman? I mean, maybe the moon have trees all over it for not anymore It's just done this computer churning out.
It's one of this covering trees the moon Didn't know that did you at one point? I'm pretty sure there's a reams of it coming out and they're actually bunching it up in there Yeah, it's like showing in the pants to keep warm. I don't care. It's paper Gross on trees But no for the most part I do think that and the guns as well are quite interesting Yes, it's probably one of the few shows where guns look totally unique, right?
I'm not looking at those industrial staple guns Yeah, yeah, that's true. Which I always used to think When I was at primary school we used to make used to play space 1999 And I used to look at my We know it just been on TV right 1970 something and He's like the guns out of stickle bricks Stickle bricks perfect for making the gun for $19.99. I guess so I guess so yeah Yeah, there is not a person of our age that hasn't picked up a staple. Oh, of course In fact if there is someone of our age who hasn't thought it.
I don't want to know if they shouldn't be listening no we don't want them Go away. Oh shit. Oh Oh Right so doctor also says it's not a virus what they have here is an unusual form of brain damage Very unusual and the condition is critical and then conic says oh, so they're not going to recover. Yeah, mate.
That's what critical usually means He's only a command. I mean at the end of that's true in a true now I didn't realize that the two meta probe astronauts had also been infected until later I don't I don't the point where it actually tells you seems to be like you tell you in this this Okay, then I just didn't pick up on it. I was you know dreaming drinking you mean and it means another day yes So he asked about the backup crew Are they clear to fly this mission or she says there as well as the others were and at the night from and died this morning one minute They're completely well the next they've lost control and they die So you know she's saying like I can say yes yes the well at the moment we're having this conversation Mm-hmm next five seconds I could totally change. I'm not saying anything about doctors.
Okay, all right She shows him some brain images and tells him they've got 11 cases and 9 deaths This brain image that she shows him it's some it's just a bit hand-drawn stuff isn't it? It's like paint. It's like that work on glass. Isn't it?
It's like they've done it really yeah It shows a nice little red splodge where the brains exploded. Yeah, so I can't say yes, but you know those are all workers at nuclear disposal to fucker They're all workers at nuclear disposal. So it's inconsistent as a two probe astronauts never went near that site. Mm-hmm.
So the tone so far of this episode Um, it's very reminiscent to me of star cops, isn't it? It's kind of like a funkier star cops. It's very serious very serious It's about a medical problem. I guess you could say not about not about aliens.
No, there's some political intrigue as well Oh, that's gonna change isn't it? Yep later Yeah, so Russell points out that there are more inconsistencies There's no radiation that could ever been reported But what is consistent is that the probe astronauts and the backup crews live the same lives They've been for the same training and the backup crew appears to be okay But she can't guarantee that they won't be infected three days or three months out into deep space Gornick says so you're saying the risk is medically unacceptable. The risk is great. She says but the decision is of course yours.
It's always good to pass the book, isn't it? Yeah Gornick asks to see the men. I'm also taking just sick, right? Now it looks at them through protective glass and they're all scared and blind and they're kind of breathing heavy And then she's yelling the name.
It's just gonna do get up and down. What was What's he expecting at this point? I was waiting to start banging on the window. Yeah, so it's stellar What's he doing?
As Russell's slowly backing away. Yeah, he's like I think he's been affected Gornick goes to the command center meets character. He asks character. The ship is ready to go Catas is all he has to do is give the word and any delay reduces the chance of success No, Alan Carter.
He's a no nonsense Australian pilot, isn't he? He's always angry. He's always yelling at konick This is something we can discuss when we talk about season two's episode But I always find that That the people in space in 1999 are always distrustful of each other And they're always questioning each other and arguing with each other No matter how much stuff they've been through together as the series goes on They still think which I suppose in some ways is is quite unique because it's people acting like actual human beings would I guess I mean, yeah, I can see your point. It doesn't make them seem very heroic at times.
But more human. Yeah, yeah I can see that. Although my feeling is that shali right now everything's going well So they should shouldn't be old distrusting of each other, but then after the accident They should be but then get better as time goes on. I don't know.
But yeah, I see your point Yeah, um, kata says the backup crew will take seven days But then he wants to know what that means there's calculations and coordinates We can't just do it. He wants to know what he's not being told so apparently the deaths of these Pilots and nuclear disposal crews have been kept secret But they're managing to keep it quiet from everybody on the base. That's quite an achievement Especially as I suppose we want over 300 people in the space at this point. Yeah, yeah, yeah All right, you're a gossip that gets around work in about 20 seconds I'm 5000 miles away from you and I forgot about you from your workplace I believe it completely.
Yeah, so what's all got it? Tell the offer. Okay Carnegie replies that it's his job to get the metal probe launched all he wants to know is that the crew ready to go Yeah, we're ready to go. Oh, he's always up for it.
Isn't he? Yeah, yeah, he's always wants to fly off into danger He does he loves it. Yeah, back in conics office Simmons places a colon asks for his first impressions Oh, no I'm not Finally Garnik tells him there was another death he tells Simmons about Rosal's theory Simmons says that Rosal is wrong about her findings And he's going to send the top medical team to look into it Garnik tells him well hold it he says he needs to double check there's no radiation leak Simmons points out that the two astronauts never even went in the waste disposal site Garnik says nine men have died and I need to find out why he tells Simmons to stop sending any more atomic waste Now Simmons says can't do that a lot of waste. It's one of the biggest problems on earth At first come on his adamant, but then he says well, let's trade you stop sending up the waste and I'll get your metal probe launch Simmons agrees to a temporary delay I mean, let's face it Don't think the topic waste on the moon seems like a kind of thing that wouldn't be we're not too far away from really You know, yeah, I can see that as a plan.
Yeah, someone came up with that tomorrow and I say someone and we all know who I'm talking about Yep, we're doing it. We're not surprised It wasn't surprised. I agree with you totally. Yeah Yeah Conic wants to know why Simmons lied to him about the men and the ideas of an infection Simmons says they have to keep any ideas a failure away Or the whole funding for the project would end so he's dripping with bureaucracy and Self-service, isn't he's a washroom Yes a wash.
Yeah Conic a contacts palm tells me it's going to check the waste disposal site himself and wants to volunteers Everyone's like Yes, a very fine mustache. Yeah, are you thinking? What mustache? Yeah?
No, no, wait. What? No, I'm a stache. That's just shadow.
Yeah, you'll get surprised when you see me because you can't really see it on skype That's that's not a moustache. That's the ghost of a moustache That's a moustache that's passed out to the other side. I keep it trim. Yeah, that's the kind of moustache I need a Ouija boat to contact Well, is it still the most active?
It's attached to a beard No, so it's a beard Well, no, I still almost I take it back. He's still almost out. Yeah. Yeah, just like dirt Where's your face?
So we cut to an eagle approaching the site now Collins is the pilot Bergman is with Koenigarck Conic guards is equal to go closer if I over disposal waste site one because apparently disposal waste site one is a Point where they can visual point that you can see and use it to turn to ours disposal waste site to and they don't use one anymore It's been abandoned got to say as well that some what you think about the cockpit of the eagle. It's a nice design. Isn't it looks very practical? Yes, it's good And I like the fact that they've they dirk and the blast because of the Sun I would imagine but it also means they don't have to bother like Projecting anything on the outside.
Yeah, obviously, but I mean the just in terms of the instruments and the controls They look like something that would actually work. Yeah, it looks based off an airplane design and then escalated to be a spaceship design Yeah, it looks good. Koenig tells Collins to fly a little over over disposal waste site one just you know For shoots and giggles take a look at it, which he does and then he move on to area two Now Collins starts to feel a little it's on his face. He's got a switch.
Yeah, he has a stomach problem not quite sure Could be could be pales. I don't like this bit. Why I don't like people feeling with their eyes in things. Oh, okay Oh, yeah, you know, yeah, don't know Don't like eyes.
Oh, don't do that So we cut to the eagle landing and the three men entered disposal site center two astronauts are outside performing the check No leaks are detected at the first point now. I'm still not sure why Koenig is risking two more men's life when people have done this before This is all new to him doesn't it? Yeah, I have to see it even though Russell and Bergman have already done all this stuff It's not real unless I see it wasn't even have to be there himself. Yeah, yeah, he does that a lot now behind them Collins is clearly having problems He's sweating.
He's pulling at his eyes Finally no leak is reported Koenig tells the two astronauts to quickly get out of there now Did you notice this is going back to your crash? I mean as a slow motion jump into the moon boggy one of the astronauts helmet completely comes off I don't know probably a bit about yeah, I didn't notice and then when he played it back to slide down the like When I'm filming again, so just cut it really quickly. Yeah, yeah, we do it because they're all about budget, right? That's it production time.
Yeah, keep moving. Yep Bergman says that proves radiation out there is within safe limits so much for dr. Russell's theory says Koenig now I don't remember Russell having a theory about the nuclear waste disposal site. They already checked it and found no leaks They do that a lot in the show though.
I don't know they kind of make leaps and then yeah, and then justify by saying that someone said something They didn't actually say yeah, it's like a workplace thing. It's just from Russell under the boss Russell's very blown out. I was like wait, I didn't have a theory about this Why are you not that we would do that obviously well, no, but how it done to me though, so you know, oh Yeah, so whatever affected the two astronauts and the nine men wasn't from there Mm-hmm. Can't start saying he needs to get out of here and screams it Bergman and Koenig turn to look at him and find you're suffering from the whatever it is the twitch yeah Collins pushes Bergman aside and hits Koenig and then bashes his helmet against the glass window which breaks on first impact Yeah, it's not very thick is it?
Yeah, I want to offer windows on the moon, right? Yeah, you need to get some what's that guy that is to do the the adverts for double glazing when we were kids Remember you stories like a feather. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, just like a helicopter as well They called and then you got inside and you couldn't hear the helicopter. That's the one what was windows called?
Don't know women nice if you've got to know we just came to me Answers on a postcat to any of our listeners. Yes, please. I want to know and it's not the round-seal guy You know, it'll just come to me in the middle of something and I'll blur it out. Yeah, just blurty down the next podcast with no connection Everest that's it Was Everest To them I'm sure this is going They ever reach the top Glazing podcast Let's just go through our favorite top five favorite windows I think Everest is the other one Is the top of the part Okay, so now to you all right conic shouts to him don't do it you'll kill us all and he try and stop him security enters But instantly knocked over by conic some unreasonable into conic grabs the gun and stuns Collins They drag him out of the room just before the window explodes and the atmosphere is sucked out Back in base conic odders the record of all the flights made by the metacrew on the training missions against other eagles and the other crew who have the Honors and find any correlation mm-hmm back in his office He puts a call into Russell and I said update now Russell doesn't answer because she's with one of the men that has just died Yes, he's passed on in sick Bay Russell has the computer to confirm that last report and the computer says I love he's dead Which I don't understand why she's asking the computer to confirm that guys died the lack of breathing and pulse would give it away But they seem to ask computer everything I don't know maybe it's a statement on the society that they live in that they're now Dependent on the computer it could be a nice a note that I might seriously yeah Switches up She switches off his life support Coronig reveals to care that the men have died so now care to is let into what's going on So apparently you know everyone's been lied to an f-command wanted to think that it's just a temporary setback Mm-hmm Carter then like immediately asks about the probe Yeah, he's like oh, it's like nine people have died.
Yeah, but what about the probe? Yeah, he's angry. Yeah, but right now conic is on the concerned about why those men died Codex it's in his apartment It is well it is home it's his apartment and moon based of all got apartments on the enterprise people are the Purple Terms and you feel all good right macho tough guy be up sailing down the window tomorrow tomorrow Go and exit in his quarters again and ruminates on everything that has happened these orders people dying and he tries to figure out What to do he ponders that the giant leap for mankind is starting to look like a stumble in the dark good line Yes later conic is shown the flight recorders are the eagle and that there was a blackout as it went over waste disposal one Go and it wants measurements of disposal one for the last few days and you remember that Collins took the same route earlier It's a turning point commonly used because it's a clear landmark for disposal to and a training cruise use it to Go and it points out that he has Collins do a low fly past that very morning Can I just ask hmm? Why did they have those big lamps over all the computer consoles?
Because I've got all that paper Need to light up the papers that could read at the screens of fire and all you're going you're thinking why are they over screens Because then the screens illuminated anyway because of all that paper But they haven't got screens happening. We're eating they need really lamps at the paper Okay, okay, but those those lamps are Italian design by the way, they're very nice lamps. Yeah, you can buy them Shouldn't you pep look at one can you yes? That all all of those kind of things are actual objects.
Oh, yeah, yeah But they're just like fancy Italian designs. Can I get myself a commander cone uniform? Unfortunately, no because I would like one of those second season jackets. Oh really?
Orange thing that you were in there at Tom I told the colors down a little with the big colors and everything oh Lovely what about that one doing where it's looks like a sweater round. Oh, we'll talk about that layer Lovely love all that Sir enter enters with some readings and reveals there's a heat rise area one if the radiation levels are normal Cooney contacts Bergman says they believe they've got a connection They bring waste every one of the few screen this intense heat But no atomic energy which should be impossible and the camera burns out and then the next camera burns out Cooney God is an eagle to go out there. They have to see what's going on. Cooney flies out Well, I mean, you know, he's a hands-on kind of guy, isn't he?
It's just a This fly now as well I always find it inconsistent in this show that sometimes they go out and they're wearing full flights And other times they go apart these eagles and they're just wearing the normal clothes anyway in full flights It's because another gonna have to get out at some point almost like they know what's coming Well, it's been on the mission objective, right? Yeah, but wouldn't you just put a flight suit on anyway? They're gonna be part of the needle. I can't all one in case you suddenly lost oxygen.
Yeah, you think so, you know, sitting there in your slacks Yeah, but maybe they're just like being comfortable. Maybe there's a guy just like to fly tackle out, you know Well, those those 70 slacks with the flurs. They do look very roomy. Yeah, so you know, you know a bigger kind of guy like Tony Giz.
Yeah, you know, he's just like oh, I don't want to be cramped up in a little space suit No, I feel free. Mm-hmm, but he really is wearing the space suit, which is good. Yeah, he's gonna need it Yes, so it's lightning flashes and intense heat Conic is having trouble flying the ship is being hit by the force of the lightning he loses control and it's just a dive The eagle crashes into the moon service conic is knocked out explosions occur on waste disposal site one And then we got to sick bay because Russell is checking conic over. He's been rescued by rescue crew.
Mm-hmm She's annoyed with him because he went out there even though in all that has happened. We need answers not heroes There's a obviously an attraction between Russell and Tony isn't there? There is not not as much as there is in the second season. No, but I know we're going with that, but It does seem like it's organic to me If you if you take this as a certain point and then you see where we are in the second season If they've been traveling in space for that longer time together and their relationship is built over however many months They've been doing that they will be a further point, won't they?
I agree with you, but there is a big change between the weights written in the second season. Yeah, it's almost like the married I know it's a yes, which they are in real life. Yes Bergman is looking at an old monitoring device from area one He was used to record the magnetic output of the artificial gravity over there when the site closed down Yeah, nothing to record But now it's showing a 20-fold increase in the magnetic field before it burned out But says there were wrongs we are obsessed by radiation this device has answered a question It's magnetic energy that is the problem. I mean this thing we get in the control room We get a first call back to Scars of Drakner a very early episode that we did All right, how you really see this comment There's an actor in the background called Christopher Matthews and he plays the main mission tech That is the name of his character.
Mm-hmm. That's what he plays the sky's a dragon Although it's all that stuff in the going on that film. He's got a graphically poor Oh, okay, you remember the guy that went to the castle first and ended up on a hook. I do.
Yes. This is him Okay, and it won't be the first time or the last time I mentioned Scars of Drakner in this podcast. What a joy You for a song so tune I always find that Anderson stuff and hammer stuff the kind of The very similar I the longest encounter channel right yeah Especially when you watch it and you listen to the music in places and some of the music cues you think all that's very hammerish Okay, and then you've got Peter Christian and Christopher Lee turn up so I'm sorry history yeah, so he reposts his findings to chronic Magnetic magnetic energy was causing the brain damage and destroyed the flight equipment about the eagle as each person flew over Area one to make the turn they were affected by it and it was an Accumulative effect. Mm-hmm.
What worries Bergman is that the kind of burnout senior area one could occur at area two you reckon mmm Russell says she won't be responsible for any more men out on the surface in those conditions and conic agrees Conics as they'll quit an eagle to record the magnetic levels and flight via remote control Why don't they always fly to Eagles via remote control? Yeah, you can do that why put people in their wrist and lives Yeah, mmm. Mmm. I don't think they ever do it again They conveniently forget that they can fly things remote control actually no they don't Yeah Always leave a blunder's in The podcast oh yeah, that's just what I podcast need patty Eagle heads out Paul is controlling on the Koenig's artist and so far the readings from the area normal Eagle starts to land But then a magnetic surge wax into it goes out of control the eagle crashes into the surface Gonna tells Paul to contact Commissioner Simmons and pass on emergency code alpha one Conic says it was radiation magnetic radiation and now we're sitting on the biggest bomb that mankind has ever made It's very distracting when you keep saying Paul did this and Paul did that I think it went when did I do that?
I don't remember that you used to be accused of things Now I'm not your honor Commissioner Simmons arrives at moon base and I noticed something he hands over the door device to him mm-hmm And but he doesn't take it so it's like as if he was passing control to Simmons yeah Simmons says that his office tried to contact Koenig, but he was never available. I am now he says and he rolled a treat his accent in this role Isn't he? Yes, yes as I said before he drips with Corruption really personally and lies and they see and bureaucracy Absolutely not it. I can't wait for you to watch him again when we do but in the beast Later blanks blanks was going on to Simmons for the heat is now rising in area two similar to what happens in area one But area two contains a hundred and forty times the amount of weight that area one has it can cause a chain reaction Okay Simmons asked if you could just burn itself out like area one Koenig says there's no chance because they're sitting right on top of it It opens to just break the area up just dry the mass, but we have a limited time An eagle heads out to remove some of the waste and spread it around yep spreading your waste around it's called the sound technique So they're dispersing it's different grid areas So they've had navigation problems with two other ships the magnetic field is affecting them But the heat level is holding Simmons ponders if they have it under control looks promising to him and he wants to issue a communique Koenig says to wait well, he sees a man risking the lies if he goes wrong There won't be any part of issue of communique.
They'll be no survivors suddenly the cold goes out It's all going up Isn't the life at the start of the podcast yeah, but it's a computer. It's going up. That's right. It's your line, right?
Yeah, it's my line Flashes of lightning erupt from area one an eagle is hit and explodes conic aborts the mission all eagles Return to base and explosions rip through the area a blinding flash goes off from the moon and then bases violently shaken people are thrown about Explosions occur and gravity suddenly become stronger from the G-fasters the moon is finally ripped out of orbit I wonder how much corpses went on during this G-force acting probably a lot Just kind of laid around Struggling against nothing yes pretty much said all-stattrex yeah A cat who we've forgotten about is actually already often an eagle and he was supposed to be observing things He can see the moon move out of orbit Konig meanwhile slowly tries to crawl along the floor as Earth moves further away So catuses what happened and he tries to contact the moon base But he's not getting responsible Nobody can reach a communicator because of being pushed back to the grounds by the forces Eventually conic is trying to crawl along the florals catuses contacting moon base and getting no response And he sees the moon moving away from the earth and finally conic makes it to the communicator and he explains the caters No armors G-fasters, but then they set a lesson and Bergman manages to the computer and he starts saying oh yes disposal area one was originally acting like a rocket But now the fastest lessening so the G-fasters are decreasing and as catar watch is the moon starts to slow But it's still moving away and You know the most amazing thing about that whole sequence was the actions I was watching you do which the people Can't see but it was amazing. He was acting in front of my eyes. It was fantastic. It was So what does an island just fly back to earth?
Well, maybe maybe it's a different kind of eagle Maybe it's only an eagle of enough fuel to like go into orbit and the moon and walk around Because obviously can't and then manages to get back to the moon Mm-hmm meanwhile back on the moon base the medical teams move in to help the injured and they have a long-range video picture from the satellite of the moon moving From earth they asked the computer they can get back to earth But the computer can answer it because it has no data that's relevant to the situation all it says is human decision required a Future with a thought of a human decision scurs everyone Yeah, it goes back to what you were saying earlier, right? You can see this happening. Can't you? We don't know this feels like we're that far away from it.
Oh, let me just check Google Very good. Yeah, yeah, Google agrees Now as a medical crew moving in character finally arrives and then gives an odd forms up to Bergman. Mm-hmm. Yeah, everything good It is a little bit down there.
Yeah, we moved out of our bit for us people dead and injured, but yeah thumbs up mate Very strange Conic uses the PA to contact everybody on the base attention all sections alpha our moon has been blasted out of orbit We've been completely cut off from planet earth. We have power Environment and therefore what you laughing? I can see it you're doing your additions again. So carry on.
Oh, okay And therefore possibilities of survival if we should try to improvise and return to earth without full resources It is my belief we will fail death far in my judgment. We do not try in other news the jins. Okay Every cloud Yeah, yeah, do we cut to an earth news broadcast talking about the repercussions and the moon being blasted out of our bit? This is weird.
This was weird. Why what was weird about it? Everything just felt natural apart from this bit just felt forced to me although I did like his old friends they had although they're futuristic at the time. Yeah, yeah, why did you feel fast?
I don't like news. I've always got a problem with my news I've always got a problem with news casters in in in films and TV it always feels like a Week shortcut to something even when but you would pick you would try to pick up signals from Really and do you have more problems if it's an actual real newscaster pretend to act? Oh God. Yeah, that's awful.
Okay But the newscaster talks about the fact that they believe there's no survivors on the moon and no chance of a rescue But then a signal starts to break up Paul tries to get it back not you Pick up a different signal. It's meta. I remember that planet that they were trying to reach Maybe that's where our future lyses conic September the 13th 1999 meta signals increasing. Yes, maybe there Great and into a first episode of series this would really make you want to queued in next way, wouldn't it?
Yeah? So that was episode one of season one One of the best except there with the great. Yeah, I'm concerned and so that takes us to season two whole different world So space 1999 season two episode one the metamorph so we open with a new credit sequence and a new theme tune Yeah, but for the first one so do I but it's not terrible. Oh, no, no, it's not horrible I just prefer the first one this one sounds like a 70s cop show.
I thought it's only like they got Rick waitman in Why was it 17 minutes long? I'm sure there's a cut of it somewhere that told an anecdote in the middle of it But the actual credits themselves it's got a lot more action shots Right it has yes, and we lost the on this episode which which is a shame. Yeah, it is yeah, but it's not terrible It's just it's just a shame that it's not as good as as season one. Yep.
I agree So we begin by a new thing that we get which is a log entry by dr. Russell. Yeah, I don't think we see that again Oh, no, she doesn't quite a few times this is I'm only up to second episode in season two. Yeah, she says that it's three hundred and forty two days after leaving Earth orbit No, I say that because Apparently when she says it in other episodes that figure moves around drastically at one point It's one thousand and something days since they left her orbit.
Oh, really? It goes back and forwards It's when you said it sounds like Alan Bennett. It's like gonna go three hundred sixty four days since mother. Oh I really could do with a custard cream right now The mother was angry.
She said you don't like custard creams not on a Tuesday. Oh, we had was pink way if there's and I like a ball body myself, but then all the oxygen went out the room because we're on the moon and the windows crashed and then these aliens appeared Yeah, it was a funny day and the neighbors. Oh, yeah, so anyway, you just reminded me of that So she says that they just survived an encounter with a space warp Apparently, yeah, yeah, that would have been an interesting episode. Why we see that one?
And apparently they've been catapulted six light years from the previous position Wow Uh, no casualties and that the population remains constant at 297 That seems that seems a lot especially as three or four people seem to die per episode Yeah, but a lot of shagging going on Yeah, but they can't so they come out fully form the lake with the babies babies. Yeah. Yeah, I suppose even a baby's technically a person, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, yes, part Yeah, population did create rates.
They don't measure them all after a certain age. Yeah, I was thinking in terms of efficient crewmen, you know Wow, oh, we're people. Yeah, they don't serve any purpose because they're just babies. So you don't count them.
Oh, they do. They're shitting Eat in don't they? Can't sound similar to you, pal I mean, you know, let's be honest. I go to work.
Yeah, and then just do that Yeah, see three four times a day But work in between the other bits. I should really watch what I'm saying people that I know this into this Yeah, but only people have taste Apparently though, um, the light supports machines were damaged in the space walk And they need a rare metal called titanium to fix it Titanium, but they pronounce it titanium sometimes they do titanium titanium Titanium that's very different. That's a very different metal 3. Yes.
Yes. Yes. Don't Madonna wear it in one of the concerts titanium. Yes.
Oh, actually both times Yes, so they send an eagle out flying to a planet that they found on a survey mission to find titanium So in the control room conic and crew and monitoring the mission and we see that they've had the decorators in Wait, what oh, sorry. That means something different Really? Oh, wow. All right.
Okay. I got confused. We talked about for a second Now they've had the decorators in the control room. Oh, okay, because everything's much smaller Yep, and it looks much more like a bridge of a starship.
Doesn't it really? Yes. Yes, a lot more color. Mm-hmm And also the uniforms have changed.
Uh, everyone now seems to be wearing a nice cardigan Yeah, and do you remember when we discussed Just you should because two seconds ago about babies being Barn fully farmed. Yes, that actually appears to be what happens because we have characters we've never seen before we do base work People care reach we do we do because we've lost um Barry Morse's character Victor Bergman. He's gone And he seems to be replaced by a new character um called Tony the set the set sheet is that his name for the set to me what Tony Play play by Tony Tony and Holt Yeah, Tony the character his real name is Tony. Did they name him so that they didn't confuse people because he was an a guy?
I don't know maybe but it's weird that they just introduced people on a moon base that can't be reached by people It is it is maybe just maybe got promoted. Maybe he's been knocking around all that time, but you know, we're just never sorry before Yeah, it's going in the bogs on a Monday Wednesday. It's a judge of command Which is weird because they all kind of treat him like they've known for ages, don't they? Like Tony treats him like he's his best friend.
Yeah, yeah, well, maybe conic spent a lot of time in the toilets I mean, let's be honest. You spend a lot of time in a tire. That's the guy cleaning him. He's your best friend I wonder where you were going with that.
So I'm glad you went where you did. Yeah, no we should talk about the the lack of Barry Morse Okay, there was apparently there was a um a scene that was filmed to explain Bergman's absence Apparently died due to a faulty space suit and then they cut the scene which is kind of irritating It is irritating. I mean I'd like some explanation as to why the guy's not there anymore. It would have been nice I mean, why did they cost it for time?
I think they just felt oh, why bother Probably that tone of ice. I plus fact probably jerry Anderson wasn't his biggest fan either. So So the eagle enters the planet's atmosphere which appears breathable, but uh the the landscape is littered with volcanoes and there doesn't seem to be any life It's quite a nice little planet model. Oh, isn't it?
Yeah, I like volcanoes the way it depends across you like an eruption, don't you? I do. Yeah, yeah, I've heard that So the computer operator who's called Picard Ah, okay. He's related.
She's your university. Yeah, maybe all that'll be nice one. He's like he's great, great, great, great, great, great, great Well, he couldn't be because he's on the moon base and he's gonna have children's or any dyes in the episode. Any dyes?
Yeah, wait, what? Yes, he dies. Don't give it away. So Picard identifies titanium on the planet and conning orders the eagle back to base now because they think I want to do it Yeah, they found all the metal in it.
Yeah, but suddenly a green glowing orb rises from the planet The pilot's trying to run it, but it gains on them And on the moon conning orders the base to ready for attack Which means that they suddenly have huge cannons that rise out of the ground. They are busy, aren't they in the off-season? Yeah, yeah, and also conics is what is that thing? And a guy without looking at anything says, oh, it's an energy weapon of some kind How does he know this is just making the shit up?
You're a lot of them gone. Oh, yeah could be an alien peach ball for all you know Maybe he's the expert on energy weapons. I'll just green balls green balls You've been an expert to those of you tired No, we talked about blue balls before I've never mentioned green balls. You've not known yet.
You will. Yeah, okay So conning orders evasive action which seems to involve the eagle flying around in a circle for a bit, doesn't it? I've got which appears to be just turning left or right a bit very slowly as well. Yeah Not very invasive not even much action to be honest Well, eventually the green light envelopes the eagle back on the bridge Annette Frazier who I assume is the wife of one of the pilots at this point Yeah, but she's totally new to us because she's never been the show before.
No, exactly Fates in shock Yeah, as I said in my notes woman would never seem before faints. Yeah, but it's a fact that she faints. It's a bit Isn't it you know because she thinks I loved one is dead. Yeah, but she thinks she's telling me it's only if you died Rachel wouldn't faint Probably not She faints because she was when she saw the bill for the party probably let me let's face it though She faints in this because she's a woman.
He's what I'm getting in it. You know, it's it's not very nice is it? No, now this is the second scars of drassner connection Oh, yeah, go on So the the actress that plays um, Annette Frazier in the episode also played Tanya in scars of dracula and she was also a regular in ufo carat and she was in carrion at your convenience and she was in on her Manjoucy secret service as well. Nice.
You pretty much did every british institution father. She did She was all rounder. So the light to the green light takes the eagle back to the planet You're calling is convinced that life must exist on the planet but Picard tells him that the planet is an environmental hell He's gonna say that you're apartment Yes, it's very clean and pristine. I can say yes, but Picard is wrong because they receive a transmission a big booming brine blessed He does No, actually it's a bit subdued in this episode.
I think he's actually very good in it's his second appearance in the series He's gonna episode in the first series as well. Yeah. Yeah, I think he's good in this As I say, it underplays it doesn't underplate for a normal person. It underplays it for a brine blessed.
He does it He does a half blessed. Yes He says that his name is mentor and that he's from the planet Saigon. What do you think the special ability could be then? Needle work.
That's right. I knew it. They look crafty bless his costume maker. What do you think?
It's a little doubt done. He looked a bit like a Christmas ornament, doesn't he? I expected someone to start singing Prince Charming at any moment. It is a bit like that.
Yeah So can you ask why their eagle was attacked as they came in peace? But mental points out that how could he know that especially as the eagle was armed? Yeah, but it was just collecting minerals Mentor explains that they have been filled before by invaders who said that they came in peace But the two eagle pilots are safe and that they're on the planet. This is news that a tossing and turning Mrs.
Frazier finds Comfort in his sick day. She does. Yeah, cuz her loved one is alive. Just just you know captured.
She's a bit of a one note character though, isn't she? That's right. Yeah, it's not great. It's not great.
It's not great writing surprisingly in season two and this is the first episode of season two as well We need to remind people. Yeah, so also All the while mentoring is talking behind him and lion is sitting Patiently listening to everything that's going on Patiently listening. Okay patient lion. Yeah.
Oh, sounds like a book the patient lion. The patient lion. I'm sure I've read that to myself So coning a mental talk and come to a Coning a mental talk and come to some sort of a compromise They're gonna have a wrong debut in space to exchange minerals and pilots Yeah, because they don't really trust each other and one the character says in our past history We've been portrayed to says the man who's never been in the show before Exactly. I found out.
He's a you're gonna refer to him all the time. Yeah. Yeah, the bonus over the show before You know that this guy uh, he's he was a well-known voiceover artist for the BBC I did not know I used to announce programs in between no, I see And later at 8 p.m. The alien will betray us.
That's exactly kind of a voice, doesn't it? Okay Uh, so conny orders an eagle read in and quit with extra booster rockets just in case they need to make a quick getaway Yeah Yeah, that's clever. How are you doing? They might need those.
Yes, it's almost like he read it somewhere Well, so on the planet mentor in his water base control room Water base. He's got a lot of water fixtures going on hasn't he? Oh, okay. Lots of tubes with the colored water floating around.
Ah, I see Yes, he turns to the lion and asks what do you think of these alphons mia? Oh, my uh, my uh, isn't it? Hey, well, it did to me and my uh, you know, potato. I think it's supposed to be my uh, but it depends who's saying it And for the first time we see the new character mia, who is a shapeshifter Yeah, so mia, what do you think?
Well, I don't like her. I mean what I mean is I don't like what she did to the show in that she's used every episode to just solve a problem Because she just changes into an animal that suits the purpose of what they need. Oh, we're trapped on the rubble Turn into a giant man in an ape suit. Oh, we need to get through a small car to turn into a pigeon You know, that's what they did every week from now on I think she changes into every single one of those in this episode as well.
I think so, yeah, well, you might also start as you're going to carry on, don't you? That's true. What's weird though is she says that Uh further tata the earth of transformation, but he doesn't use it. Yeah, nobody else seems to use it either.
Right So what do you do to them forget it? Yeah, I know I know it doesn't make any sense at all does it? No So mia who is mentors daughter, we should say says that she likes the alphons and uh, then she's for some reason threatens to turn into a Coaning, don't she? Yes, she does.
She appears in her eye and We should say that whenever she changes into something we always get shot that zooms in on her eye Yeah, then it seems out and then the jarring sort of throw an animal in I don't know it works. It's kind of a unique way to do it It's okay. It's not the best I've ever seen but it's fine. Well, you know, it's pre-morph in CGI days, isn't it?
So they had to do it some way, so it is yeah, yeah, the mental chastises it by um So you know he didn't teach her the technique of molecular transformation just for a take the piss basically Yeah, yeah, but as you say he taught it, so ever he doesn't seem to be able to do it himself No, because it would come in handy later. It would wouldn't it? Yeah, um Mental talks about how his life's work is um saving the planet and that there's much better that my I wouldn't understand Yeah, yeah, it's a hard job though, right? That's a really tough job.
He gave him that job He gave it to himself, didn't he? He just decided oh, I'm gonna save the planet. Well, then he just tells it to run along there, doesn't he? Yeah, he does that a lot.
Yeah You can tell we're in the 70s, can't he? Yeah, it was just weird because the show is very progressive with the way it features different minorities in positions of control throughout the actual moonbase It is and we never got any feeling of this in the first in the episode previously, did we? No, no, so like everyone was pretty much equal to the jobs and it's very very diverse especially for the 70s But then kind of goes downhill. I mean we didn't have crew members fainting Did we before?
Nope? So back on alpha we get a nice model shot of the extra boost has been fitted onto an eagle and I say that completely sincerely it is a nice model shot Okay, I didn't say to say that I do mean I say that completely sincerely It's true. It got really good. Yeah, it does.
So sick Bay Frasier now recovered from her fainting spell gets ready to return to work I'm coding Now dressed in his bright red pink luminescent jacket that you obviously want to model. Yeah, just just not that color Oh, I like the jacket. No, no, no, I wouldn't go. I like a darker blue version of it.
Even with the big color and the belt. Yeah. Oh, yeah Yeah, everything just different color. All right.
Yeah, I'm just I was the uh, just No, no, it was great. All right, so he together with um, Alan and Dr. Russell bore the eagle along with Picard and set off for the rendezvous while mentor watches from the planet So mentor starts playing with his water features and he answers a ship from the planet. So it's a ship launch, is it?
It's a big sort of like cheese wedge shaped ship. Yeah, it's a simple design. It works. Okay, but as his approach is the eagle or communication from mentor stops And scans show that the energy is empty.
There's no life forms. It's a double cross Double cross double cross. Oh, okay. Well, he said that he's gonna meet him in exchange The pilots and give them some titanium.
Why is that double cross? I guess it is. I don't know. I'm just not questioning you questioning the phrase itself.
It's not a double double cross. No, it's just a single cross. Yeah, no, it's a cross cross. Why is it all?
The mentorship starts to magnically pull the eagle to the planet. But coning uses all the booster power to somehow pull away and head back to alpha. Right? And we get some interesting g force effects here, don't we?
I don't understand these g force effects. Well, why are they occurring? They're rippling, aren't they? But why?
Especially as nobody rippled when we had the massive g force effects when the moon was pulled away from its orbit in the previous episode. But something's pushing this. I mean, it just looks like someone's blowing wind into the face. It looks like the moon raker when he's in the centrifuge.
Yeah. Yeah, okay. Which is g force as well. So, okay.
Yeah, it just looks odd. I think maybe because the moon raker is spinning around around so you can see why the would be g force, but in this I can't see why there would be that much g force because the pushing away from something, aren't they? Yeah, that's weird. All right.
So on the planet, mental turns his ship into a ball of light and the light envelopes the eagle and takes it down into a crater onto the planet. Why didn't you do that in the first place? Yeah, I suppose though they saw the big ball of light, which they've already seen take out the other eagle. They'd be a bit cautious, wouldn't they?
Would they take a vase of action by slightly moving to the right? Because you know, those ones only go so in way, don't they? That's true. Yeah.
So inside the crater, they find a graveyard of spaceships, including the other eagle. That's right. Yeah. Did you notice that some of these models are models that they used in season one?
Yes, yes. Did. Yeah, nice. Well, cheap.
cheap. Yes. But again, though, it all looks really good. Yeah.
Yeah. The planet does look very, very good. I've no problems with this at all. Mental contacts eagle and pledges to explain everything.
When suddenly one of the pilots jumps into the shot screaming, he's lying. Yeah, he does. Only to be stunned into unconsciousness. Yeah.
Which would make you suspicious at that point. Yeah, but mental just shrugs it off and carries on talking and coning seems to just carry on as I don't think that happened. He's like, yeah, I'm always shooting that guy. The thing is that's what you do, though, isn't it?
If you make a cock up at work and nobody notices, you just carry on as though everything's fine, don't you? There speaks the vice. It's unreal. It's what you do.
Okay. So coning and eagle crew decide to head outside to one of the cave entrances. Right? Meanwhile, mental has a guard placed the unhappy pilot into a chair and they lower down.
What? Oh, the other happy pilot was just like, oh, where's that reaction? No, I guess now, but you just make me say it's a little sad. Well, he's going to be more and happier than a minute.
They put him into a chair and they lower a brain thingy over his head. A brain thingy. Brain thingy goes. Don't blind me with science, Paul.
This is season two of space 1999. Nobody's blind in anyone with science. No, there's no science. You remember those heavy days of black sign episodes in season one?
I do. Oh, long gone. Yeah. So they lower the brain thingy over his head and they use mental uses his water based features.
Two scrumbly. Sounds like he's in a garden center. Oh, he looks like a garden center to scramble his brains. He looks painful.
I believe scrambling brains is we should say me or see none of this, does she? Yeah, no, she's a she's kept in the dark about all the things that are fair for us. She thinks he's a great guy, a nice guy all around her fun to be with great at parties. Not an evil brain scrambling.
Side. Yeah. Nope. Not on that.
So back on the moon base, they can't locate the crew because of some sort of a scanner field. Plot point. So back on moon base, they can't locate the crew because of some kind of scanner field. Plot point, maybe.
Oh, maybe, maybe. Scanners, scanners, transporters, phasers, communicators, always fail in traumatic moments. They do. So what they do is they all seem to just sit down and have a bit of a coffee.
Now, this is quite indicative of where we are in a series, I think, because if you think about it, really, I'm going to get deep. I'm going to get deep. No. It's season one when they had a coffee.
They had proper mugs. They had cups. They had real cups. Season two, we've got disposable plastic cups.
Says it all really. You think life's going to hell in a handbasket? Yeah, they look like the cups that come out of a vending machine. Ah, OK, so no one's making real coffee or the deal with artificial coffee.
I was thinking more in terms of the fact that the show's got a bit cheaper. Oh, I would see. I was still in character and going with the narrative. You're going with the show itself.
I see. It works both ways. Yeah. Yeah.
So, Tony worries that he's a bit concerned that Mrs. Frasier could crack up at any second and he actually uses the words crack up. Yeah, he does. He actually says the newly whites, right?
Crack up. Yeah. Technical term. Yes.
You see why this guy is advanced through the ranks, can't you? It's season one. Yeah, he's just like, oh, I think you're going to crack up. Oh, oh, yeah.
When he was examining a woman, he's like, oh, you know, you're from the love, you got the vapors. Oh, he's very Victorian, is he? Yeah, he is. That's why I moved up.
I'd like, you know, we need, we need someone from the Victorian age. Then he has to land somebody on the moon. They did. They did.
In a big gun that shot a bullet. That's right. That's right. So, kind of getting the correct blood case while Maya walks into the control room where mentor is elated that he's water features are working better than ever.
That's like a personal problem. Right. Yeah. Water features are working OK.
But you're taking the right pills? Yes. Yeah. That's true to the fact that he's had help from one of the alpha pilots using his brain waves.
Yeah. So, I'm going to just let's a believe that the alpha pilot is helping willingly and that hopefully the others will help too. Right. He's a big lion shit.
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So, back in the case, coning in his merry band find lots of titanium laying around and then they stumble into a mine where zombie like aliens of all shapes and sides, he seemed to be working themselves to death.
Now we know what men to men by welcome says coning. Only slightly less camp than one. Now we know what he let by welcome. I like the code of his job with his welcomes.
I'm using, you know, license. Yeah. Yeah. Do you know it?
My way. This is how I would play coning. That's how you OK? Oh.
I say yes. So there's a scream quite a big scream actually. And when they investigate, they find that torrents, the brain scrambled pilot that we saw earlier is working away, a trance like in the mine. He's like a zombie, right?
Yes. Suddenly, coning is hit by an energy beam, which knocks him back. Well, the energy beam is because he tried to touch torrents. He did.
And it hits him and it sends him flying backwards through the air. Yeah. So, God, we're in a very odd helmet and not much else. No, just just a helmet.
No, no, no, no, no, no. He's got very skimpy clothes on, isn't he? Yeah. He raises a weapon, but coning stuns him, which seems to turn him into stone, for some reason.
Yep. Yep. Turn into stone. So mentors, image appears, demanding them to surrender.
Now Picard fires his weapon at the image, but the energy is turned back on him and he's vaporised. Yeah. That's the end of Picard. Oh, I knew him so well.
We spent many a day together. Many an episode enjoyed his back story, his front story, his left and right story. I'll miss him. What was his name again?
Picard. Yeah, you had to think about it. In a very famous future grandson. Oh, OK.
I thought grandsons were on way, isn't it? I'm going backwards, Anna. Oh, that's fine. Grandsons.
But it'd be great, great, great, great, great, great, great. So on and so forth, grandsons. It would be, wouldn't it? Yeah.
So, the crew make a run for it. Only to be captured by the glowing green ball. Oh, you don't want to be captured by the glowing green balls. You're supposed to say it, and I'll put them in your mouth.