As the crew come to the realization that everything, even their time in the bathroom, is being monitored by the ground (and to some extent made public), they decide that a revolt is in order. But since they can’t exactly leave the station and go somewhere else, they decide to simply disappear from sight, and suddenly Beadle has to explain why the crew is missing.
written by Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie
directed by Dick Clement
Cast: Christopher Godwin (Mattocks), Carmen Du Sautoy (Foster), Barrie Rutter (Ackroyd), Bruce Boa (Beadle), and Bimbo (himself)
Notes: Astronauts is based on a fictionalized version of the Skylab space station, and its writers may have been inspired by events that took place aboard the real Skylab. The third crew of
American astronauts to visit Skylab staged a mutiny of their own, bringing the schedule of scientific experiments to a halt to get NASA’s attention on the ground until a less grueling schedule could be agreed upon.
LogBook entry by Earl Green