something interesting to note on this episode is that the guy inside the costume of the robot is none other than David Prowse.

And if you look closely in one of the scenes as the bug-eyed monster is walking down the hall, you can actually see his platform shoes. Groovy, man!

Maybe this episode has just aged more than most, but surely even in the 70s they could have come up with a more convincing monster than that!

And when Maya turned into a bee, she certainly took her time getting into the robot's ear, didn't she?! The life support capsule's been removed, everyone's collapsing from cold and lack of oxygen but she takes a good few circuits round the room before she even lands on the robot's ear, and even then she takes her time getting inside! Then again, once she started crawling around inside and short-circuiting his wiring, I commented, "That's one tough bee to take that number of electric shocks and still be fine!"

I also found myself wondering how the Alphans have ever survived this long. OK so the base wasn't intended to be hurtling through space, but even so you'd have thought they'd have had a few more security measures around the all-essential life support core. Certainly you wouldn't expect just anyone to be able to simply pull it out of the wall!!

"Earthbound" has the same problem, when Commissioner Simmonds waltzes right into the control room, neatly removes the core, and uses it to hold the whole base hostage.

If you look closly at the inside of the brain you can see a Renault logo.

Yu're joking right?? I'll have to check my tape for that.

I spotted this stright away when watching this on BBC2 a while back. (I hope I've the right episode, It certainly had Maya turning into a fly & enter a creature's brain.)

The novelisation of this episode was......unusual. Maya turned into a 'Love creature' that sent bolts of 'love energy' at the creature. A more gory part was security guards getting torn to bits.
Not an episode that you would show to highlight the good points of the series.

This episode is only good for looking at the details of the sets as the characters (those not "sick") rush wily-nily through the hallways. Why does Tony flood the lab with chlorine, send Maya inside, trap the creature inside the chlorine-filled lab--and THEN blast the window open, releasing the chlorine into Alpha's SEALED atmospheric system?!?!! Geez, Verdeschi, this oxygen has to last us a while longer! Why didn't he give MAYA the rocket launcher?! Come to think of it, why didn't Tony leave the door to the pressure chamber CLOSED once he'd trapped the creature inside? Did he really have to look inside to make sure it was there? Once he had the bugger, even if the pressure didn't affect it, at least it was contained! And what the #$#$!! was that diamond shape at the center of the cloud? One word answer to all these inanities--Frieberger!

As I noted in a post elsewhere I think its a reasonable assumption this one was thrown together at the last minute.

In this episode, Tony orders the computer to open all doors only on HIS voice command. Later, we see Fraser open a store room door (to get some equipment) by pressing a button. Does Fraser know something we don't?

In "Seed of Destruction", Verdeschi comments that (because of the fake Koenig undermining his authority) his being Chief of Security is a joke. That would apply to quite a few episodes, not just this one. An Eagle returns to Alpha, ignoring all attempts to contact it. Not once does he say anything like "Answer or we'll take action" but he just stands there and lets it land without trying to stop it.

In "Seed of Destruction" Tony remarks that his being Head of Security is a joke (because of the fake Koenig undermining his authority), but that could just as easily apply to this episode, if not most other episodes. An Eagle returns from a reconnasance mission and doesn't reply to any messages. Tony is concerened but still he dithers while it gets closer to Alpha. It's his fault that the beast in the Eagle has landed and is tearing up Alpha!

In this episode, as well as many of the others, especially where Koenig's appearance is minimal and Verdeschi takes the lead, I've always thought that as Security chief, he does the work of two men. Shame it's Laurel and Hardy!

Its great that whenever he gives the command to 'Run away!', he's always the first one off the scene

True Kinggodzillak...I'm surprised he doesn't trample all over poor Frasier a couple of times.

I reviewed a tape of this one recently. Wow…this is just awful. I can appreciate the efforts made to shoot this episode but most of them are misdirected, and that series 2 jazz music makes this one feel extra campy. I can't nitpick this one; the whole episode is one big nit.

It was reported that the original scripting ran way too short for the time allotted, so the long drawn-out scenes of Fraser setting up the electrical barrier and Tony/Maya using the laser cannon were added to pad out the running time. Perhaps thats why the 'diamond' scene's outcome is so unsatisfying.

So, contrary to the Beta Cloud, Freiberger wasnt "in error - you have very little time!"

Most agree that this one is about the nadir, but the part about Tony opening the pressure chamber (actually, thats where all the Alphans' safe-deposit boxes are located) to see if the rubber-suit is dead has got to be the worst. Why open it again in any event? Uh, because then the ep would be over :/

Probably to save on having to rig the door up for the creature to rip it off.

guess so! Makes me wonder, also, why a 'pressure chamber' has to have a 4-foot thick steel door that looks like it was stolen from NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain. I remember Star Trek's pressure chamber from the Khan (Botany Bay) episode looking like a cardboard washing machine

Wasn't that door part of the old Nuclear Generating area set from Force of Life in Season 1?

Yup.

Best episode of the entire series, bar none. Why couldn't they ALL have been like this?

The above post is either evidence of extreme sarcasm or the effect of mind bending drugs.

actually, I have a thing for giant, glowing, indestructable diamonds hanging in space.

LMan, the entire set of Star Trek looked like it was pieced together with cardboard and chicken wire.

neutron, you are one funny dude!

/////something interesting to note on this episode is that the guy inside the costume of the robot is none other than David Prowse. ///

another thing interesting to note on this episode is it sucks.

I keep hearing the bit about David Prowse being in the suit in this episode. And I always think - SO???? At the time he was a guy working for scale, who had to pay the rent by dressing up in platform shoes and a hairy monster suit. Who cares what he did afterward? Dressing up like Darth Vader didn't exactly jump start his career now did it?

Does anyone know what Prowse actually says when he receives that swift blow to the goolies with Tony's fire extinguisher?

He probably says "Yep this is what I've always wanted to do. Yes sir! My career is about to peak!"

I'm thinking something along the lines of "UGH! %$#(*W&$#&@)&$(#&@)$&#!!!!!!!

The book The Complete Gerry Anderson also spots the Renault logo.

dave prowse says "oh God!" when he gets a fire extinguisher in the goolies. do monsters believe in god?

i felt sorry for the cloud...it only wanted to survive

I felt sorry for viewers being subjected to another "Freddie" story!

dat critter in da story wuz mighty hard to get rid of, reminds me of when we tried to get rid of dat dang rabid coon out of bubba's moonshine shack!

There is a total lack of continuity in the depiction of the cloud. Its appearance changes from scene to scene. In the beginning, it looks like an explosion. Midway through, it has a 'milky' appearance. At the end, it looks like a nebula.

its moods change, just like us. No need to be hatin' !

...so the Beta cloud is a sort of galactic mood ring?

More a barometer of bad writing.

day-yum, dat Fry-Burger whittled some good pap fo de peeps! TOTAL shout-out to us n the cheepseats, no sheezy biz! Man done bring de PROPS! Yo to my DAWG!

This episode is the ultimate trash. It's so bad that even Beta Cloud seem good when compared with this pile.

And stop making fun of Yasko. I'm in love with her :-)

Beta Cloud=All that Glisters

All that Glisters=Solid Gold

2 questions:

1. Does Yasko come to the conventions?

2. ..and if she does, do people lisp at her?

This episode tarnishes my memories of a great series. Bad story, even worse acting, and bug eyed monsters in rubber suits. To say the least, not their best effort.

Loved the kung fu pajamas!

Why would beings that live in a cloud need a mechanical life support device?

And the 70's porn music was great too! I missed some of the dialogue when Tony was in one of the travel tubes, and I asked my wife where he was going. She said apparently to the Alpha porn store based on the music! Great Line!

Best line - Sarcasm, in your position, is hardly your best line of defense! Definitely.

One good thing - at least we had Sandra, not Yasko.

oh yeah? "I'll takphhhh my chancesshhhhpfff in spppphhhffface!"

Here's a question. Why does Maya change into a monster that breathes Chlorine in an ordinary corridor, then stand around while suffering no ill effects from the oxygen rich atmosphere of Alpha?

No different to the scenario in the A-B Chrysalis though eh!?! This episode is the ultimate escapist storyline - Freiberger knew what the masses would respond too, even though it was pure superficial trash!! BUT, can anyone respond and say otherwise???? I doubt it!!!

Probably the best part of this episode is the insane cackle the cloud produces when the laser cannon has no effect on it. Its smartass lines aren't bad either in a totally cheesy sort of way.

The robot is incredibly lame. Sure, it can stand up to various threats, but it apparently has no way of finding the life support core beside the cloud telling it the equivalent of "Go that way, you idiot."

Yasko shoulda lisped it to death.

I really liked this episode as a kid. I'd love to rewatch it, if I manage to find my s2 dvd's

How about that scene where, as the monster gets closer, Tony and Maya start being mushy to each other. All this time, Bill Fraser is standing just a few feet away! I wonder what he was thinking:

Fraser: Gag me, bring on the monster already!

I remember watching this episode when it was new, and thinking to myself, "C'mon, Koenig! Get up and save your base! You're the star of the show and you do nothing but fall asleep and lay there?!"

It really didn't help Landau's character to be portrayed in such an ineffective way, even if to highlight the two newbies, Tony and Maya. Even the other 'star', Barbara Bain, falls ill and is rendered pretty useless.

I just realized that nobody asked the cloud people what happened to their pilot! He was sent out 4 days ago, and the Eagle returned without him. Where is he???

"Anonymous on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 3:09 pm:
This episode is the ultimate trash. It's so bad that even Beta Cloud seem good when compared with this pile."

Somebody got confused! THIS is the Beta Cloud board!

The reason the Landau's had a reduced role here was no doubt caused by the doubling up of episodes. In S2, it was decided, when possible to save time, to shoot two episodes at the same time. Therefore, if a major character had a big role in one of those episodes, they had to have a reduced role in the other.

That is why Koenig was not in the episode, Dorzak, he was filming Devil's Planet at that time (in Dorzak, it was said he was exploring a planet, or something like that). Likewise, all the major supporting characters were absent in Devil's Planet (and no explanations was given for there whereabouts).


I just realized that nobody asked the cloud people what happened to their pilot! He was sent out 4 days ago, and the Eagle returned without him. Where is he???

Given how hostile the beings in the cloud were, file said pilot under "Ensign Deadmeat".

No doubt he was likely a goner, but to not even mention him? So much for caring about anybody beyond the six regulars.

To be fair, they really didn't have time to worry about the pilot's fate. They first had to deal with that big unstoppable monster who was trying to kill the lot of them.

So much for caring about anybody beyond the six regulars.

Well, what about those poor security guards the monster attacks when it arrives on Alpha. Bill Fraser is the only one that seems to give a •••• about them. He says something like "We have to help them." Of course, Tony does no such thing.

Fred Freiburger seemed to import the "Ensign Deadmeat" syndrome from Star Trek. However, he forgot that this was not the Enterprise. If Kirk lost personnel, he could just get replacements at the next Starbase.

Alpha, on the other hand, had no such resources, they were totally on their own. Once personnel were gone, they were GONE.

This story made the top 5 in Network's poll of favourite S2 episodes, prior to their new dvd/Bluray release (today).

Geoff Capp:

The Beta Cloud is a debut for David Prowse - less than a year later, he put on the famous heavy-breathing black helmet and wielded The Force.

David Prowse was acting well before this episode. he appeared in A Clockward Orange, which was made in 1971.

If you mean him playing a non-human, you're wrong again. He played the Minotaur in the 1972 Doctor Who story, The Time Monster.