I recall liking this episode very much when I was younger, but upon subsequent viewings, it gets weaker and weaker. If the androids learn from example, why didn't they manufacture stun guns and shoot all the Alphans when Alan shoots the female android on Alpha? And really, when Koenig knows that he's being preyed upon, do you think all it would take is one little kiss between the male android and Helena to make him go ballistic? The dancing is almost laughable (although Bain does have some pretty shapely leg!) The costumes scream "1976!" and the acting, especially by Lee Lawson (who really should have pumped up the pecs a little before taking his shirt off for TV) is lame. The sloppiness of Year 2 production is showcased in the final scenes of this episode when, after the androids are defeated, one of the "Numbers" takes her mask off -- and it's an actress who played one of the operatives in Command Center! I mean, couldn't the producers have paid some street person $5 and a hot meal to take a mask off?

I liked this episode when I was younger, too. Now viewing it, all I can say is that, even though Barbara Bain is (was) a very attractive woman, she was in DESPERATE need of either a girdle or another yard of material for that dress.

One of the weakest points of the 'learn by example' idea is that these robots were created by the humanoids. Now, surely somewhere, in their computer banks, they would have had historical records, technical journals etc. Study a few wars, read up on how to make guns, explosives etc. I mean, you can get some of this stuff (and worse) on the internet, so it's not inconceivable it would be stored somewhere.

I don't know Barb F...Bain in that dress kinda gives me a hard-on, if I must say so...

Well if you must say it JB, you must.
>

A hard-on? Ya know, that's really more information than I need. JB, I think your name says it all ;)

Just saw this episode, and couldn't help but wonder, if Helena and Tony were on a complete replica of Moonbase Alpha, couldn't she have changed into a more practical outfit while they were waiting around anyway? Or did she forsee the dance sequence coming up?

I think the wardrobe people saw the dance number coming up Adam

The whole dance sequence was way overdone...laughable really.

Yeah, I mean why a DANCE? How did that tie in to the whole "Othello" theme? Why not just have Zarl grab her and kiss her or whatever?

I suppose they had to make the scene artsy-craftsy, Anon. Rape really isn't a topic for family viewing.

Koenig seems to have a very short fuse, even when told what the robots are up to. Hell, all Zarl does is does Helena a couple of times and do some half baked dance steps and he looks like he's ready to nuke the planet...

Zarl "does Helena a couple of times"? Well, no wonder Koenig is mad!

Hell, meant to type 'touch Helena a couple of times', unless there's a Directors cut out there.

Personally, it (The Dance Sequence) was quite exciting to this person, when London Weekend Television (in the U.K) first showed this episode at 11:30 on a Saturday Morning "The Kiddie Slot" ! (OOER....!)
"Aaaaaaarrrgh, The Hormone rush....!"

did they have guns? I dig chicks with guns. Especially space-chicks with guns.

sounds like JimmyV appreciates this episode on the same level as JoBlow

This episode was LAME! And the music was REALLY bad! The music in Season 2 really needs to go!

So far I have only seen these 3 episodes and both my wife and I are missing the First Season.

Man, relationships work fast on Alpha - John and Helena weren't really an item in Season 1, and Tony and Maya are an item in the third episode. I remember thinking it would be really cool to be in love with a beautiful alien woman when I was kid and saw these episodes for the first time, but talk about lack of character development in a show.

BTW: How did they get back to Alpha after the computer went dead?

As for Tony and Maya's relationship, it seemed more credible to me when I first saw this ep originally, simply, because it was aired as the sixth episode. By that time, a playful and affectionate relationship had already been established (for example, in Journey to Where). But needless to say, today's programs feature better character development. Even in classic Trek, the characterizations weren't as fully developed as they were in the later series.

i thought that dance wasn't great , but i have seen worse dancing since then. such as on American Idol, Clay Aiken in red leather trying do an Elvis or John Peter Lewis in season 3. it could have been worse Helena's partner could have been William Hung."She Bangs,She Bangs".

One Moment of Humanity's epilogue (which was filmed) was deleted from the final edit. It gave the ep more of a Star Trek feel. In it, Number 8 tells Koenig that he and the other Vegans will have to live on the planet's surface. Carter arrives in an Eagle to recover the Alphans and, finally, Koenig and Helena discuss Zarl's aggressively masculine qualities. Perhaps, the ep was better without the epilogue.

SFX Comments:
This episode involves no new model effects (just some stock footage from "Death's Other Dominion"), but some of the live action "effects" manage to be cheesy. In particular; the green acrylic panel ( in front of the Vegan control room) makes a poor substitute for an animated force field. The only time an 'animated' field is shown is when Tony fires his stun gun towards the control room.

On the Alpha replica, Zarl and Zamara hide behind a scrim on a wall panel in Command Center. It's also cheesily done. Whoever let Keith Wilson get a hold of some scrims for the second season (used for "hole in the wall" viewscreens and force fields in "Devil's Planet" and "The Metamorph") should be ashamed. If this story was done today, that replica Alpha would be more plausibly described as being a virtual reality recreation. That would be a lot more credible than actually building a replica of Alpha as suggested in this ep.

This story did feature one line which has quite a different effect on kids and adults. Back as a kid, I cringed when Zamara snapped at Zarl (dancing with Helena);"Make love to Her!" Now, of course, I think it's kinda cute.

oh, so they did have guns. That's cool. Did any chicks have them?

Helena had a stun gun on that abandoned Alpha. She needed some way to amuse herself. Perhaps target practice at a photo of Yasko!

man, Helena was a lovely lady. Esp with a gun. I bet her late husband took her to a range a lot when they were younger, and in love. I bet she was a crack shot. Drill a Dorcon at fifty paces, she could. Totally hot.

Two confusing things; Koenig is livid when Zarl dances with Helena and gently touches her thigh or whatever-- Zarl is an android! he doesn't have sexual feelings for Helena! She might as well be dancing with a mannequin! Why is he jealous of a robot, and a robot that's not even in the same league as TNG's Data?
Secondly, Helena gradually seemed to fall under Zarl's control-- so was this a power of Zarl's or was Helena actually thinking, 'He's kinda cute and this might be interesting.' ?

I guess Koenig acted like a lot of guys would when they see the woman they love being touched by another guy, kick butt first, ask questions later.

A few more nits:

On the Alpha replica, why didn't Tony see the sedative package on the coffee tray? Wouldn't he wonder how it got there?

And why would Helena think that Tony would be dumb enough to put the sedative in her coffee and then leave the packet there where she could find it?

When Maya changed into a parrot, the androids never noticed she was missing.

This episode reminded me of several Star Trek episodes. The teaser was similar to the "Spock's Brain" teaser (alien woman materializes on board and looks around at everybody while they're immobilized); the ending was similar to the ending of "Requiem for Methuselah" (an android gains emotions and dies as a result); and the Alpha replica was similar to the Enterprise replica in "The Mark of Gideon" (even with the aliens spying on them from inside the replica). All of these are third season episodes, when Freiberger was the producer.

Correction: Helena found the sedative packet on the table, apparently taken out of her medical pack nearby, which actually makes Tony even more dumb.

LOOK even more dumb, I should say.

These robots reminded me of the new BSG cylons..

This one was real turkey, IMO.

Yes, another example of aliens going to incredible time and effort to 'trick' the Alphans into voluntarily giving up some thing that could have easily been taken from them in 5 minutes.

At least in 'Bringers of Wonder' they added the conceit that the aliens weren't physically capable of taking it themselves.

Yeah, this plot got used a lot in Season Two.