Destination: Moonbase Alpha (66 page)

The plot of the episode is paper-thin, and the extended string of Maya’s transformations merely highlights the inherent weaknesses of the concept. While there are no thought-provoking issues to be contemplated here, the near total focus on action remains entertaining, even while it highlights what might be considered the dichotomy of Year Two: that what appealed most to children watching in the 1970s is now what appeals least to an adult audience decades later.

Rating:
5.5/10

2.16

A MATTER OF BALANCE

Screenplay by Pip and Jane Baker

Directed by Charles Crichton

Selected Broadcast Dates:

UK              LWT:

             
Date: 11 December 1976.               Time: 10.55 am

             
Granada:

             
Date: 7 August 1977.

US
              KRON (San Francisco):

             
Date: 15 January 1977.               Time: 7.00 pm

Credited Cast: Martin Landau
(John Koenig),
Barbara Bain
(Helena Russell),
Catherine Schell
(Maya),
Tony Anholt
(Tony Verdeschi),
John Hug
(Bill Fraser),
Nicholas Campbell
(Eddie Collins),
Brian Osborne
(Chris Potter)

Guest Stars: Lynne Frederick
(Shermeen Williams),
Stuart Wilson
(Vindrus)

Uncredited Cast: Robert Reeves
(Operative Peter Reeves),
Jenny Cresswell
(Alphan),
Olive Greg
(Whispers)

Plot:
On the planet Sunim, an anti-matter being called Vindrus lures Shermeen Williams into his plot to free his race from their imprisonment in an alternate universe. But for each of Vindrus’s people who cross over into our universe, someone must be sent back in order to keep the balance between the matter and anti-matter universes.

Quotes:

• Helena
  :
  ‘As Chief Medical Officer, I must retain my sanity.’
  
• Maya:
  ‘Commander? You shuddered, but not from cold.’
  
• Koenig:
  ‘It’s almost as if a ghost had … I had a superstitious grandmother.’
  
• Maya:
  ‘Well, if you want to knock on wood, there’s plenty of that around.’
  
• Tony:
  ‘The proper flow to the proper time to the proper place: that’s the trick.’
  
• Vindrus:
  ‘Because nature has to be kept in balance. For every one who crosses over into your world, one of you must cross into ours.’
  

On-screen Date:
1,702 days since leaving Earth orbit.

Filming Dates:
Friday 6 August – Tuesday 24 August 1976

Commentary:

Martin Landau:
[Landau was extremely unhappy with this episode. He wrote the following comments on his copy of the script – possibly as notes to himself in preparation for a confrontation with Fred Freiberger: note his use of ‘you’re’. He also seems to be criticising the ‘double-up’ process, and his minimal appearance in some episodes.] ‘I’m not going out on a limb for this show because I’m not in accord with what you’re doing as a result … etc. I don’t think I even want to do the promos – I don’t want to push the show any more as I have in the past. It’s not my idea of what the show should be. It’s embarrassing to me if I am not the star of it and in the way I feel it should be. This year should be more important to it, not less important to it … I might as well work less hard in all of them.’

John Hug:
‘We were talking about how the uniforms fit … Some of us had to wear jockstraps – they didn’t want any big bulges. We were covered up with badges, trying to make the uniforms more interesting. They were not very comfortable. There were the big flares. I didn’t mind them; you just didn’t want bits of yourself hanging out.

‘Stuart Wilson [Vindrus] was … slightly embarrassed by his costume. It was one of those things where you sort of bite your lip and think, “I’m getting paid for this. I’m doing three days on this and then I’m going to go away, to my pay cheque.” The costume was rather unfortunate, wasn’t it?’

Bloopers:
When Vindrus first appears in Shermeen’s room, the clapperboard is briefly visible in the lower right of the image. This blooper was edited out of the A&E DVD release, but still appears in other versions.

When Vindrus appears to Shermeen in Hydroponics, the first shot of him is actually from his earlier appearance in Shermeen’s quarters.

Watch the Thaed monster: in one scene, the actor moves in such a way that the head-mask lifts up and separates from the body of the costume.

Observations:
The name Sunim is ‘minus’ spelt backwards, and the monster that guards the temple on Sunim is called Thaed – which is (almost) ‘death’ spelt backwards.

Numerous props re-appear in this episode, including the ‘stained glass’ panels from Year One’s ‘Mission of the Darians’ and an air capsule from ‘The Last Sunset’. The obelisks around the temple on Sunim will later be used in both ‘Devil’s Planet’ and ‘The Dorcons’.

Review:
‘A Matter of Balance’ is another ‘double-up’ episode, which was filmed on location while the Alpha sets were being used for ‘Space Warp’. It is also one of the cheapest-looking episodes of the series, and perhaps partly because of this, it is almost invariably given less credit than it actually deserves. Its shortcomings are probably attributable to the ‘double-up’ procedure having split the talented cast and crew in two directions and weakened the overall ensemble abilities of the team. Admittedly some of the ‘double-up’ episodes were successes (such as ‘The AB Chrysalis’), but most were not.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances in which this show was filmed, the plot and ideas are somewhat thought-provoking. The treatment of anti-matter, although scientifically ridiculous, is interesting and plausibly presented.

The devious Sunim people, trapped in an anti-existence, devolving from their advanced form towards a more and more primitive future, are given sufficient detail as an alien race, and their motivations are understandable and believable. The writing is fine for the characters of Koenig, Maya and Verdeschi, although Tony Anholt’s performance in the latter role is slightly stiff through part of the show. Bill Fraser is given a minor and rather bland part, while Helena’s contribution is minimal, albeit well enacted by Barbara Bain. The guest roles are generally sub-par: Nicholas Campbell is weak as Eddie, Shermeen’s neglected boyfriend; Stuart Wilson gives a dubious performance as Vindrus; and Lynne Frederick broadly over-acts as the immature Shermeen, to the point that her very presence is annoying. Shermeen is also problematic as a character, due to her young age. Actress Lynne Frederick was 22 during filming and this episode was dated almost five years after the Moon left Earth orbit, presumably making her character a 17-year-old student at the time of ‘Breakaway’. Was she a particularly gifted young pupil sent to the base for some kind of study programme? This question is not addressed in the episode, and one comes away – rightly or wrongly – with the impression that neither the writers nor the producers gave it the consideration required. An additional problem with the character of Shermeen is the mention that she has been collecting plant samples from every planet Alpha has encountered – yet she’s never been seen before!

The production values, as mentioned, generally look low. The Thaed monster is an especially sorry presentation of a man in a rubber monster mask, while the image of the fox in Maya’s eye before her transformation is obviously a dead and stuffed example of the species. On the positive side, the temple is an excellent site, with an interesting-looking – although very dark – interior.

The direction of this episode is average, and is clearly one of Charles Crichton’s lesser efforts. The script itself is fine – no more nor less than that – and the episode is sufficiently entertaining. There are some moments of grand stupidity, such as when Koenig says to Maya, ‘That structure – obviously built by intelligent life.’ Yes, obviously!

There appear to be no significant moral issues or themes to investigate in this episode, and the overall impression is hollow. However, if undemanding viewers go into this without expecting much more than some simplistic fun, ‘A Matter of Balance’ is a pleasing lightweight piece of ’70s sci-fi.

Rating:
6/10

2.17

THE BRINGERS OF WONDER

Part One

Screenplay by Terence Feely

Directed by Tom Clegg

Selected Broadcast Dates:

UK
              LWT:

             
Date: 15 October 1977.               Time: 11.00 am

             
Granada:

             
Date: 18 September 1977.               Time: 1.15 pm

US
              KRON (San Francisco):

             
Date: 19 February 1977.               Time: 7.00 pm

Credited Cast: Martin Landau
(John Koenig),
Barbara Bain
(Helena Russell),
Catherine Schell
(Maya),
Tony Anholt
(Tony Verdeschi),
Nick Tate
(Alan Carter),
Zienia Merton
(Sandra Benes),
Jeffery Kissoon
(Ben Vincent),
Al Lampert
(Ken Burdett),
Billy J Mitchell
(Professor Hunter),
Earl Robinson
(Sandstrom),
Robert Sheedy
(Henry),
Nicholas Young
(Peter Rockwell),
Albin Pahernik
(Lizard Animal (Maya))

Guest Stars: Toby Robins
(Diana Morris),
Stuart Damon
(Guido Verdeschi),
Jeremy Young
(Jack Bartlett),
Drewe Henley
(Joe Ehrlich),
Patrick Westwood
(Dr Shaw),
Cher Cameron
(Louisa)

Uncredited Cast: David Jackson
(Bringer of Wonder Voice),
Nick Hobbs
(Clive Kander),
Sarah Bullen
(Operative Kate),
Robert Reeves
(Operative Peter Reeves),
Jenny Cresswell
(Operative L Picard),
Glenda Allen
(Operative G Allen),
Peter Brayham
(Security Guard),
Roy Scammel
(Records Lab Space Animal (Maya)),
Okimitsu Fujii
(Kendo Warrior (Maya))

Plot:
The Bringers of Wonder arrive on Alpha, using their telepathic powers to convince the Alphans they are actually a rescue party of friends from Earth. John Koenig is the only one who sees through their deception – but can he convince anybody that he’s not crazy, and that everyone else on Alpha is being deceived?

Quotes:

• Koenig:
  ‘Hallelujah! There are angels everywhere!’
  
• Helena
  :
  ‘Never underestimate the extent of human inventiveness.’
  
• Helena
  :
  ‘Well, you know Diana Morris – she’s like the fifth cavalry. Wherever she plants her flag is home.’
  
• Koenig:
  ‘Would you believe we met at the jazz ballet group at MIT?’
  
• Koenig:
  ‘Diana Morris … well, well. Now, Helena, please don’t even joke about that barracuda.’
  

On-screen Date:
1,912 days since leaving Earth orbit.

Filming Dates:
Wednesday 25 August – Tuesday 28 September 1976

Bloopers:
During Koenig’s erratic flight in Eagle One he is not wearing the chest and backpack of his spacesuit, but when he is rescued both packs are miraculously on him.

Review:
‘The Bringers of Wonder’ Part One is visually dynamic, right from the opening sequence of Koenig’s wild ride in Eagle One and the subsequent spectacle of him being rescued by a couple of silver-suited Alphans amid fire and explosions.