Tony Cellini, a member of the Moonbase Alpha crew, suffers from recurring visions that he is under attack. But on this occasion, he finds an axe imbedded in one of the walls of his quarters, convincing him that the attack was real. Cellini is soon detected breaking into one of the Eagle launch pads, and when Carter tries to stop him from stealing an Eagle, Cellini attacks him. Koenig has to stun Cellini to stop the hijack attempt, and Dr. Russell criticizes Cellini’s very presence on Moonbase Alpha. Prior to taking command of the moonbase, Koenig and Cellini were fellow astronauts competing for command of the Ultra Probe, which was the furthest-ranging manned mission of its day. Cellini won the captain’s seat on that mission, but returned over a year later having lost his crew to what he says was a hideous alien creature that boarded the probe – but the black box recorder never confirmed his story, and Cellini was cast aside, saved from discharge by Koenig’s insistence alone. But now Cellini says that the creature that attacked the Ultra Probe and killed his crew is still pursuing him – and when a graveyard of spacecraft is detected, including the jettisoned service module of the Ultra Probe (light years from where that module was actually left behind), it seems like Cellini’s discounted monster story may be terrifyingly real.
written by Christopher Penfold
directed by Charles Crichton
music by Barry Gray
additional music by Vic ElmsGuest Cast: Gianni Garko (Tony Cellini), Douglas Wilmer (Commissioner Dixon), Prentis Hancock (Paul Morrow), Clifton Jones (David Kano), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Anton Phillips (Dr. Mathias), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Barbara Kellerman (Dr. Monique Bouchere), Michael Sheard (Dr. Darwin King), Susan Jameson (Professor Juliet Mackie)
Notes: This is the first instance of Helena Russell doing a log entry in the series; it would become a staple feature of the second season. As of this episode, the Moon left Earth’s orbit 877 days ago.
LogBook entry by Earl Green