Tag: ABC

The unexplained disappearance of two astronauts conducting a survey on the surface of the moon brings the prospect of further moonwalks to a halt. Caulder orders no further moonwalks in the survey area, which infuriates seismologist Dr. Heinz Laubenthal, whose studies have concentrated on that very area – though he refuses to say why he’s so interested in it. A mysterious accident depressurizes the seismology lab, exposing it to cold vacuum and killing Laubenthal; rumors begin to run rampant that his experiments on the moon’s surface may have awakened some previously undiscovered life form which is now seeking revenge. Other moonbases pick up on the rumor and a siege mentality quickly sets in. Caulder decides to lift his ban on exploration in Mare Frigoris and personally investigate what’s going on – but if something or someone evil is behind the disappearances, even he may not survive this mission.

written by John Brason
directed by Ken Hannam
music by Dudley Simpson

Cast: Donald Houston (David Caulder), Ralph Bates (Michel Lebrun), Fiona Gaunt (Helen Smith), Barry Lowe (Tom Hill), John Hallam (Peter Conway), Tom Kempinski (Stephen Partness), Peter Miles (Heinz Laubenthal), Garrick Hagon (Bruno Ponti), Dennis de Marne (Guido Mirandelli), Jurgen Anderson (Per Bengison), John Moreno (Alan Benavente), Derek Anders (Dr. Andrew Robertson), Robert La Bassiere (Bill Jackson), Anthony Chinn (Cheng), Christine Bradwell (Ingrid), Cy Town (Technician), Ken Haward (Foreman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Rejected for a seat on Britain’s expensive, high-profile manned mission to Venus, astronaut Adam Blaney is stuck on Moonbase 3, heading up a research team – and, whether he consciously knows it or not, deliberately putting their experiments and their careers in jeopardy. One of his scientists worries about the state of his marriage since his wife remains on Earth, and the other is hesitant to jeopardize her career, worried that she’s washed up due to her age. Dr. Caulder, under strict orders to rush research whose potential revenue is needed to fund Moonbase 3, tries to keep Blaney and his team on task. Moonbase psychologist Helen Smith becomes a counselor to this team, but she fails to detect Blaney at the center of all of these problems; when he ends up starting a relationship with her, she’s even more blinded to the potential trouble. It’s only when she’s at the mercy of the vacuum of space that she realizes that refusing his advances could bring out a more dangerous side of him.

written by John Lucarotti
directed by Christopher Barry
music by Dudley Simpson

Cast: Donald Houston (David Caulder), Ralph Bates (Michel Lebrun), Fiona Gaunt (Helen Smith), Barry Lowe (Tom Hill), Edward Brayshaw (Adam Blaney), Ann Ridler (Kate Weyman), Malcolm Reynolds (Bill Knight), Nancie Wait (Dodi Knight), Peter Bathurst (Director General), Joanna Ross (Jane), Anne Rosenfeld (Lisa), Oliver Ford-Davies (Astronaut)

Original Title: The Gentle Rain

Notes: Moonbase 3 had already predicted the existence of a European Union (with Britain as a member nation), and here it identifies the currency of this body as the “eurodollar”; where Moonbase 3 is experiencing a budget crunch, Caulder complains that the American and Russian-funded Moonbases are blessed with far deeper pockets. Although the term that inspired this episode’s title, “Achilles’ heel,” includes a possessive apostrophe, the episode’s title does not include the apostrophe and is chronicled here as such. Writer John Lucarotti (1926-1994) was one of the earliest group of freelance writers to pen Doctor Who scripts in the 1960s, including the well-regarded historical story The Aztecs. All of his Doctor Who contributions aired in the 1960s, which makes his participation here a bit of a coincidence, since the then-current team of producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks – both serving in the same capacities for Moonbase 3 – had not worked with Lucarotti on any produced Doctor Who stories. Actor Oliver Ford-Davies, making an early career appearance here as a nameless astronaut, is now better known to genre fans at Sio Bibble, governor of Naboo and advisor to Queen Amidala, in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Talk of massive cuts to Moonbase 3’s budget loom, as does a visit from Dr. Hauser, a member of the Moonbase’s Earthbound appropriations committee. Caulder ramps up the pressure on his resident researchers to come up with a breakthrough – any breakthrough – to impress Hauser and save the Moonbase’s funding. One scientist is on the cusp of just such a major discovery, as he tries to perfect a process by which an incredibly strong but lightweight metal, normally something which can only be formed in microgravity, can be replicated under Earth’s gravity. Another scientist’s experiments into a new energy source are promising, but inconclusive. Both of them already feel isolated from the small community manning Moonbase 3, and the pressure to produce a major breakthrough manifests itself differently in each of them. The metal experiment produces a resounding success before Hauser’s eyes, but Caulder is surprised to see a major breakthrough in the energy experiments as well – but when he discovers that the seemingly successful experiment was faked, he has to decide whether or not to keep that a secret from Hauser.

written by John Brason
directed by Ken Hannam
music by Dudley Simpson

Cast: Donald Houston (David Caulder), Ralph Bates (Michel Lebrun), Fiona Gaunt (Helen Smith), Barry Lowe (Tom Hill), John Hallam (Peter Conway), Tom Kempinski (Stephen Partness), Madhav Sharma (Rao), John Moreno (Juan Benavenie), Garrick Hagon (Bruno Ponti), Victor Beaumont (Franz Hauser), Jonathan Sweet (Walters), Patsy Trench (Jenny), Edmund Pegge (Macadam), Christine Bradwell (Ingrid), Cy Town (Technician)

Notes: Cy Town, seen here as a nameless Moonbase technician, has graced many an episode of the BBC’s much more familiar SF series, Doctor Who – even though his face usually isn’t seen during his many stints as a Dalek operator.

LogBook entry by Earl Green