The beginning of this ep is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO boring! I hate these overlong Shuttle flight sequences!
Its interesting that this episode, filmed in 1969, features a "interracial" relationship, at a time when such plot elements still caused discomfort for some US network execs.
It's not explicitly stated that Lt. Ellis and Bradley are having and affair (it's stated that they're "emotionally" attached). However, most viewers could make the connection. It's surely more daring than Trek's much lauded interracial kiss between Kirk and Uhura a year earlier.
One thing sure has changed since this show was made; the attitude towards smoking. Everyone smokes to relax. The Doctor even offers Marc a cigarette! Straker even has a whiskey dispenser in his office. SHADO obviously doesn't have no smoking and no drinking regulations.
Straker also softens up a bit. Initially, he's very severe. "Don't give me that crud" he snaps at an operative on the phone earlier. By the end, he throws out the initial recommendation for cutting Lt. Ellis and reassigns her back to moonbase.
The ending of the ep is fun. Lt. Ellis (who eases up on overdone eye makeup so she doesn't look so much like Tammy Faye Bakker) enjoyes a glass of wine (vintage 1984) with Bradley. Marc ponders what it will be like in twenty years!(Will computers take over comlpetely?) Well, here we are!
The speed of the UFO is said to be SOL 0.
Sooooooooo, they're not going the speed of light then?
If Bradley is the head of the interceptors, why was he in Interceptor 3 instead of Interceptor 1?
Why would something like Evasive Manuevers be the call of the head of Moonbase instead of the actual pilots???
I was thinking that maybe Ellis was letting the Interceptor be a target in an effort to stop the UFO.
So how come Sky 1 gets a bunch of small missiles that can damage and/or destroy a UFO (depending on the script), but the Interceptors only get one huge honking missile?
KAM: The speed of the UFO is said to be SOL 0.
Sooooooooo, they're not going the speed of light then?
No, it's Sol "0 decimal 8" or 0.8 -- or about roughly 150000 miles per second.
In this ep, it's made clear that Carlin is both commander of SkyDiver and the Sky One pilot. Is this a particularly good idea? The commander should not be leaving the ship like that. Consider a surface aircraft carrier (CV or CVN). Would the skipper be one of the pilots, or even CAG? No.
P.S. Guess who got the first three eps from Netflix this week?
er, John A Lang, hands off their Mine!
seriously..Scottn, can you make some copies please read depressing numbers for my email address
Nope, sorry.
ScottN - P.S. Guess who got the first three eps from Netflix this week?
Abraham Lincoln?
No, that's Rex Hamilton
Why do the aliens wear chains on their spacesuits?
Because It Looks Cool!
It was 1970 after all...
Sorry, 1980!
And they were a groovy shade of red as well.
Hoopy! (Hitchhiker's ref there...)
Or maybe they were kinky? Did they also have whips?
It seemed like the UFO and the interceptor collided and blew up together, so it was surprising to see it survive. Hmm. It survived intact by running over an interceptor, but a small missile from Sky 1 can pierce the hull and send it crashing?
That alien sure died quickly, and just because of a truth drug injected into him.
Typical death on old tv shows...no attempts to ressuscitate the patient.
Nurse; "His heart stopped, Doctor."
Doctor; "Oh, well. He;s dead."
Nurse; "Shall I initiate C.P.R?"
Doctor; "No, he's dead."
Nurse; "But if we try to ressuscitate his heart he'll be revived."
Doctor; "What are you talking about, Nurse? He's dead. He's deceased. He's no more. He has ceased to exist. He's gone to meet his maker. He is an ex-alive alien."
I like this episode and "Close Up," because they feature LT Ellis prominently.