UFO episode reviews... [spoilers]
- Thread starter Klaus
- Start date
Klaus, when is the next review going up?
An excellent review, Klaus.
As an aside, the novelization of UFO started with this episode, but from Foster's perspective. In addition to bringing in a new male lead it makes for a good introduction to the basic concepts of UFO,
As an aside, the novelization of UFO started with this episode, but from Foster's perspective. In addition to bringing in a new male lead it makes for a good introduction to the basic concepts of UFO,
...work is finally being done. Sorry for the delays, but RL has kept me hopping and I had to reset-up my media stuff after finally going HD.
The "Survivor" review is nearly half-done and I should have it up late tonight after work.
I'd really like to thank everyone who has pestered me about this, I appreciate the support!
The "Survivor" review is nearly half-done and I should have it up late tonight after work.
I'd really like to thank everyone who has pestered me about this, I appreciate the support!
Last edited:
^Looking forward to it. 
A few years back I put forward the thought that the short-lived series Threshold was in some ways a remake in that it focused on a top-secret organization fighting alien invasion while the rest of the world was oblivious. Both shows touched on the personal and emotional impact of the world (moreso UFO than Threshold). Both shows had the leaders of the groups having to make tragic choices (in Threshold, Carla Gugino's character orders a passenger airliner shot down; in UFO Straker has to make some pretty drastic choices, too - I won't say what because I don't want to spoil). UFO was the far better show, but I did catch enough similarities to suggest that whomever wrote up Threshold had seen Anderson's show.
I remember a few years before Ed Bishop died there was some talk of a remake series in Australia. Sadly it didn't go anywhere...
I think UFO is a great show, and it's a shame that the programmers of the time -- particularly those in America -- didn't know how to handle the show. It had Gerry Anderson's name on it and so they assumed it would be a kid's show. And then they got hit with episodes like "The Responsibility Seat" and "Confetti Check A-OK" and they seemed to implode. Some episodes didn't get aired in some areas until nearly 4 years after they were filmed.
Alex
OK sorry again for the long delay folks and thanks for your support… this episode has re-fired my enthusiasm and I should have a much faster pace now.
Another classic episode, one of my vivid memories from watching it as a wee sprout… and one which raises some fascinating questions as well. As I have now come to expect from this show, we got a lot beyond just the action situation.
------
“Survival”
We open with a UFO approaching the Moon, but do not see any of the typical SHADO response. A shot of the sun peeking over the lunar horizon leads us to believe they’re using it as a shield of some kind -- perhaps hiding in the interference? – and the saucer drops down to a few meters off the ground and slowly glides along between hills.
A long pan shot of the surface [looking great as usual, the moonscapes on this show always rock] closes in to an alien on the surface in one of their spiffy red suits, moving carefully into position and toting a nifty-looking silver rifle.
We close on a window in one of Moonbase’s outer spheres, and in a nice cut, straight to an exploding balloon. Bill Grant, an evidently fun-loving member of SHADO, has just popped the balloon with his cigarette (!), saying that he has one more day to go before returning to Earth, his favorite planet.
We pull back to see another balloon floating near the ceiling adorned with a crude marker portrait and the label “STRAKER”, and a bemused Paul Foster sitting behind.
As Paul sits down Paul says they’ll really miss having someone like him around to break things up a bit, and they banter about all the women waiting for him back home [Paul says a hundred and Dale claim no more than eight or ninety] – which is why he can’t stay and entertain them some more.
Cut to the alien, zeroing in on their window – he fires, and a tiny hole is punched in the window as we hear the hiss of escaping air.
The camera pans across the room to Bill and Paul, playing cards and [rather incredibly] oblivious to the sound of the shot hitting and the hissing. As the crack spiderwebs larger Bill wins the hand, and Paul gets up to get them some more coffee. As he returns with the cups he sees the window, and we get a nice shot of the Straker balloon swelling as the pressure drops. Alarm klaxons begin to hoot as automatic systems are tripped as the window blows out completely and starts to suck things across the room. Paul is able to get to the door since he was up getting the coffee, but Bill gets tumbled ass-over-teakettle and is caught in the gale. The door is closing automatically, and Paul can only watch in horror as Bill flails futilely while the door closes between them.
The Straker balloon finally pops as the last of the air exits and Bill slumps to the floor with papers and debris settling around him, and the UFO title rolls over his body.
A pair of space-suited astronauts led by Mark Bradley are putting the finishing touches on replacing the window [with Bill’s body covered with a sheet], and as soon as the room repressurizes Foster comes in and picks up the lighter he’d tossed to him just before the window blew out. He looks morosely at it and tells them he wants the port reconstructed and the cause figured out.
We then see an odd-looking rocket on the Moonbase launchpad, and cut inside as Paul recites Grant’s name and “killed in the line of duty, April 12, 1981”.
Paul solemnly presses the button and the craft blasts off, including a rare brief matte shot of it on a console in front of him with the engines firing. The upper stage bearing Bill’s body separates and drifts silently into space as the music goes ominous – and the camera cuts back down to the surface to remind us that the UFO is still parked there.
Cut to Bradley handing Paul the reconstructed window-glass, clearly showing the hole, and proclaiming “There’s your answer.”
In a nice shot, we zoom in to the glass and then back out to reveal Straker now holding it, with Foster and Alec Freeman in his office at SHADO HQ. Paul says they’ve calculated the projectile came from a group of rocks near Moonbase, and that it contains at least one material unknown on earth. Straker seems skeptical that a UFO would slip in undetected and launch a lone sniper attack, but Paul notes that three days before a massive meteor storm temporarily blinded their sensors, potentially allowing a saucer to slip through – but not lasting long enough for it to get away again. Paul is convinced that there is still a UFO landed on the Moon and has ordered the Interceptors to do seek-and-destroy sweeps, with no results so far.
Straker plans to go back to the Moon with Paul the next day, and tells Alec to gather all the data they have on UFO disintegration in Earth’s atmosphere – and tells Paul to have the Interceptors continue to seek the downed alien craft, but not to attack it. Paul is eager to get revenge on Grant’s killers, but Straker says that while he liked Bill too [which seems a little unusual given the old man’s hard-ass ways, Bill must have been a genuinely funny dude], this is an opportunity not to be missed. Since SHADO scientists believe that an interaction with the air makes the UFOs so short-lived on Earth, if Foster is right this is a priceless chance to capture one intact on the Moon, where the lack of an atmosphere would presumably keep it whole. Knowing Paul is still upset over Bill’s death, he tells him to go unwind since the next lunar launch window is tomorrow. Foster says he’ll leave an address, but Straker dryly says he probably knows where he’ll be.
Paul drives to an apartment complex [in the orange “Straker” car, not the lovely lilac model he sometimes drives] and goes in, where we cut to a nice blonde in the shower with a happenin’ rock-and-roll tune blaring.
She dons a robe in reply to the doorbell and delightedly lets Paul in, bearing flowers. She complains that he didn’t call and she looks a mess, and he kisses her like a man who’s just seen a friend die and is about to ship off to the Moon for a while.
Cut to Paul and Straker driving to the rocket the next morning, and a very interesting line from the boss. Looking at Paul reclined and reticent in the passenger seat, Straker says “Well Foster, you’ll be home in time for supper.” Looking a bit quizzical, Paul asks “Home?”, and Straker simply replies “Moonbase”.
One shuttle-launch-and-flight-to-the-Moon montage later, we see Lt. Harrington telling Lt. Barry to have the pilots get the aerial photos together, as that’s the first thing he’ll want to see – and Straker bustles in, correcting her that the photos are the 2nd thing he’ll want after a cup of coffee.
Straker then tells Barry that he saw her father last month and told him that she’s “settling in extremely well”, and indeed asks to have to the recon photos readied for him to examine – and reminds Harrington that he takes cream and sugar.
The photos have indeed revealed the UFO’s position, and they decide to send two moonmobiles. Bradley will pilot one and Foster the other, and though Straker initially says that as Moonbase commander Paul should stay, he explains that since he was the one who had to watch Bill Grant’s face as he died he needs to be out there.
As the hoppers close on the target a nervous Straker back at Moonbase tells Foster to get out at the first sign of trouble and they’ll have Interceptors just blast the area, but Paul says they’ll be fine. They cross the terminator into shadow, then stop short, leaving the mobiles to cross the last ridge on foot. Paul climbs the hill, peering through his rifle’s scope to get a good look and then reports their find to Straker, noting it shows no sign of life and is emitting no radiation. The only thing to do is go in closer, and Paul takes point with the others to follow – noting that if they see any aliens they’re to be considered expendable. It’s the UFO itself they’re after. The teams move carefully closer, and then the UFO abruptly starts to glow – and shoots energy-blasts in their direction! Bradley reports that they are under attack, and Straker orders a launch.
[cont.]
Another classic episode, one of my vivid memories from watching it as a wee sprout… and one which raises some fascinating questions as well. As I have now come to expect from this show, we got a lot beyond just the action situation.
------
“Survival”
We open with a UFO approaching the Moon, but do not see any of the typical SHADO response. A shot of the sun peeking over the lunar horizon leads us to believe they’re using it as a shield of some kind -- perhaps hiding in the interference? – and the saucer drops down to a few meters off the ground and slowly glides along between hills.
A long pan shot of the surface [looking great as usual, the moonscapes on this show always rock] closes in to an alien on the surface in one of their spiffy red suits, moving carefully into position and toting a nifty-looking silver rifle.
We close on a window in one of Moonbase’s outer spheres, and in a nice cut, straight to an exploding balloon. Bill Grant, an evidently fun-loving member of SHADO, has just popped the balloon with his cigarette (!), saying that he has one more day to go before returning to Earth, his favorite planet.
We pull back to see another balloon floating near the ceiling adorned with a crude marker portrait and the label “STRAKER”, and a bemused Paul Foster sitting behind.
As Paul sits down Paul says they’ll really miss having someone like him around to break things up a bit, and they banter about all the women waiting for him back home [Paul says a hundred and Dale claim no more than eight or ninety] – which is why he can’t stay and entertain them some more.
Cut to the alien, zeroing in on their window – he fires, and a tiny hole is punched in the window as we hear the hiss of escaping air.
The camera pans across the room to Bill and Paul, playing cards and [rather incredibly] oblivious to the sound of the shot hitting and the hissing. As the crack spiderwebs larger Bill wins the hand, and Paul gets up to get them some more coffee. As he returns with the cups he sees the window, and we get a nice shot of the Straker balloon swelling as the pressure drops. Alarm klaxons begin to hoot as automatic systems are tripped as the window blows out completely and starts to suck things across the room. Paul is able to get to the door since he was up getting the coffee, but Bill gets tumbled ass-over-teakettle and is caught in the gale. The door is closing automatically, and Paul can only watch in horror as Bill flails futilely while the door closes between them.
The Straker balloon finally pops as the last of the air exits and Bill slumps to the floor with papers and debris settling around him, and the UFO title rolls over his body.
A pair of space-suited astronauts led by Mark Bradley are putting the finishing touches on replacing the window [with Bill’s body covered with a sheet], and as soon as the room repressurizes Foster comes in and picks up the lighter he’d tossed to him just before the window blew out. He looks morosely at it and tells them he wants the port reconstructed and the cause figured out.
We then see an odd-looking rocket on the Moonbase launchpad, and cut inside as Paul recites Grant’s name and “killed in the line of duty, April 12, 1981”.
Paul solemnly presses the button and the craft blasts off, including a rare brief matte shot of it on a console in front of him with the engines firing. The upper stage bearing Bill’s body separates and drifts silently into space as the music goes ominous – and the camera cuts back down to the surface to remind us that the UFO is still parked there.
Cut to Bradley handing Paul the reconstructed window-glass, clearly showing the hole, and proclaiming “There’s your answer.”
In a nice shot, we zoom in to the glass and then back out to reveal Straker now holding it, with Foster and Alec Freeman in his office at SHADO HQ. Paul says they’ve calculated the projectile came from a group of rocks near Moonbase, and that it contains at least one material unknown on earth. Straker seems skeptical that a UFO would slip in undetected and launch a lone sniper attack, but Paul notes that three days before a massive meteor storm temporarily blinded their sensors, potentially allowing a saucer to slip through – but not lasting long enough for it to get away again. Paul is convinced that there is still a UFO landed on the Moon and has ordered the Interceptors to do seek-and-destroy sweeps, with no results so far.
Straker plans to go back to the Moon with Paul the next day, and tells Alec to gather all the data they have on UFO disintegration in Earth’s atmosphere – and tells Paul to have the Interceptors continue to seek the downed alien craft, but not to attack it. Paul is eager to get revenge on Grant’s killers, but Straker says that while he liked Bill too [which seems a little unusual given the old man’s hard-ass ways, Bill must have been a genuinely funny dude], this is an opportunity not to be missed. Since SHADO scientists believe that an interaction with the air makes the UFOs so short-lived on Earth, if Foster is right this is a priceless chance to capture one intact on the Moon, where the lack of an atmosphere would presumably keep it whole. Knowing Paul is still upset over Bill’s death, he tells him to go unwind since the next lunar launch window is tomorrow. Foster says he’ll leave an address, but Straker dryly says he probably knows where he’ll be.
Paul drives to an apartment complex [in the orange “Straker” car, not the lovely lilac model he sometimes drives] and goes in, where we cut to a nice blonde in the shower with a happenin’ rock-and-roll tune blaring.
She dons a robe in reply to the doorbell and delightedly lets Paul in, bearing flowers. She complains that he didn’t call and she looks a mess, and he kisses her like a man who’s just seen a friend die and is about to ship off to the Moon for a while.
Cut to Paul and Straker driving to the rocket the next morning, and a very interesting line from the boss. Looking at Paul reclined and reticent in the passenger seat, Straker says “Well Foster, you’ll be home in time for supper.” Looking a bit quizzical, Paul asks “Home?”, and Straker simply replies “Moonbase”.
One shuttle-launch-and-flight-to-the-Moon montage later, we see Lt. Harrington telling Lt. Barry to have the pilots get the aerial photos together, as that’s the first thing he’ll want to see – and Straker bustles in, correcting her that the photos are the 2nd thing he’ll want after a cup of coffee.
Straker then tells Barry that he saw her father last month and told him that she’s “settling in extremely well”, and indeed asks to have to the recon photos readied for him to examine – and reminds Harrington that he takes cream and sugar.
The photos have indeed revealed the UFO’s position, and they decide to send two moonmobiles. Bradley will pilot one and Foster the other, and though Straker initially says that as Moonbase commander Paul should stay, he explains that since he was the one who had to watch Bill Grant’s face as he died he needs to be out there.
As the hoppers close on the target a nervous Straker back at Moonbase tells Foster to get out at the first sign of trouble and they’ll have Interceptors just blast the area, but Paul says they’ll be fine. They cross the terminator into shadow, then stop short, leaving the mobiles to cross the last ridge on foot. Paul climbs the hill, peering through his rifle’s scope to get a good look and then reports their find to Straker, noting it shows no sign of life and is emitting no radiation. The only thing to do is go in closer, and Paul takes point with the others to follow – noting that if they see any aliens they’re to be considered expendable. It’s the UFO itself they’re after. The teams move carefully closer, and then the UFO abruptly starts to glow – and shoots energy-blasts in their direction! Bradley reports that they are under attack, and Straker orders a launch.
[cont.]
Last edited:
[cont.]
One Interceptor launch sequence later [plus some nifty additional targeting-computer-type counters and blinkies] the boys are still pinned down… Foster decides to try to get back to a moonmobile to get them clear faster, but a near miss injures his leg and knocks out his radio. Bradley realizes something has gone wrong with Paul and orders them back as the Interceptors spot the UFO trying to take off – and Straker has to order them to fire. The UFO is hit and trails that lovely orange smoke [hanging nicely in the lunar vacuum
] as it crashes back to the surface, taking out one of the moonmobiles in a spectacular explosion – the one Bradley and Straker think Paul was on.
Back at Moonbase, Bradley suggests that perhaps Foster was thrown clear and survived, but Straker thinks there is no chance he’s alive.
On the surface, Paul wakes up and realizes that his radio is out, and begins limping his way across the lunar surface. After refreshing his air supply from a backup cartridge and checking his map, Paul is surprised by a gun-barrel pressed to his back and the unsmiling face of the alien sniper!
Straker and Freeman consider the situation via videolink, both upset at Paul’s death, and Straker say he’ll need to stay a couple of days until a new Moonbase commander can be appointed., but there is one thing he can do for Straker… be the one to go tell Paul’s girlfriend that he’s gone. Freeman agrees and goes to visit her...
Back on the Moon Paul is limping along as the alien’s prisoner before collapsing in exhaustion. The alien points out that his air gauge is nearing empty, and Paul sees the opportunity to grab his gun [which the alien had taken and was carrying] and succeeds in doing so. He trains it on his opponent, who calmly opens his hand and reveals that he has the ammo and the gun is unloaded, at which Paul slumps in defeat.
At Moonbase Straker comes to see Bradley in his quarters [am I the only one who thinks the combination of inflatable plastic furniture and constant smoking is a bad one?] to discuss the future.
Straker notes the importance of Moonbase’s place in the SHADO defense [or should I say defence?
] network, and thus how crucial it is to have the right man commanding it. A fascinating exchange follows, worth quoting at length:
Straker: “I’d like you consider it, Mark.”
Bradley: “Are you offering me the job, sir?”
Straker: [slightly puzzled] “Yes. Does that surprise you?”
Bradley: “Not altogether. And does it surprise you if I say no?”
Straker: “Disappoints me.”
Bradley: “Well you’ve done your duty. You’ve asked, and I’ve given you the ‘no’ you wanted.”
Straker: [puzzled and not happily so] “What do you mean I’ve done my duty?”
Bradley: “Sure, after Foster I’m the senior man, the obvious choice if you like.”
Straker: “So, I offer you the command of Moonbase and you say no. Why?”
Bradley just looks at him.
Straker: [moving closer] “I asked you why.”
Bradley: [standing up and running a finger over his face. “Because of this.”
Straker: [smiles in disbelief] “Don’t give me that. Racial prejudice burned itself out five years ago.”
Bradley: [serious] “How would you know? All right, on the surface maybe. But deep down inside of people it’s still there. Maybe it will never show, maybe it will. But sometime I’m ordering a guy out on a mission, a time the chances are he won’t be coming back…”
Straker: “Look, I’m not offering you some easy number. I don’t care if you’re polka-dot, with red stripes. You’re the best man for the job – now do want it?”
Bradley looks conflicted.
Straker: [insistent] “Do you want it?”
Bradley: “Yes sir, I would like it. But not like this.”
Straker: “No one wanted it like this. Now, get some rest – commander.”
Back on the surface, the alien and Paul are slogging along until Paul again slumps to the ground. The alien sees Paul’s air gauge on “E” and finds his resupply cartridge case empty, and after a quick examination he splices a widget of his own into Paul’s air line, including some nifty white sealing goo.
Paul revives, and the alien starts to draw a diagram in the dirt. Pulling out his map, Paul indicates Moonbase, and the alien points out their current position. It seems the alien is suggesting he go for help, and Paul shakes his head.
Cut to Mark Bradley, taking the long walk in the spiffy silver suit as Moonbase C.O. for the first time. As he still-reluctantly takes the center seat, Lt. Harrington turns and tells him how glad they all are to have him there.
Bradley dispatches a moonmobile to search for any wreckage from the UFO, which Straker notes with interest.
Back on the surface, the alien is securing rock anchors and rigging a line to allow Paul to get across a canyon in their path. He does a dramatic crossing, including a dangling-from-one-hand moment, and gets to the other side just as the anchor gives way and the alien grabs him to safety.
The alien half-carries Foster as they hobble across the lunar surface and the moonmobile swooshes closer. They pause to rest, as even the alien is exhausted, and Paul spots the mobile, exclaiming [though the alien can’t hear him of course] that they’re saved. He waves frantically, and one of the pilots sees him.
Paul signals the alien to wait and goes to meet the search team, who give him a new air cylinder but can’t hear his cries about the alien being a friend because his radio is out. They do the press-helmets-together trick and manage to hear the word “alien” – and just at that point he stands up and they shoot him, of course.
Cut to the coda… Alec Freeman waits outside as Paul tries to explain things to a girlfriend not happy that she was told he was dead but now he’s here and can’t really explain what happened. Though she knows his job entails secrecy, she just can’t take the strain if it’s going to be like this and they break up, both saying they’re sorry.
Back in the car Paul tells Alec he’ll buy him a drink, and as Alec agrees they drive off and the credits roll.
------
*whew* This is an unsettling episode, as much for the questions it leaves unanswered as the ones it does. The central story of Paul and the alien is deliberately-paced but ultimately gripping because of one crucial puzzle – why does the alien help Paul? He was willing to shoot a hole in a Moonbase window and kill whoever was inside, and we know from SHADO’s investigations that they are a dying race, using human organs to offset genetic decay and sterility. Do they nonetheless feel guilty for what they do? Was the sniper “just following orders”? Did his attitude change once he was alone [and presumably doomed] on the Moon after his ship was destroyed, with no one to give him orders or know if he disobeyed? Does he have human organs himself, and if so does that give him some additional perspective and/or guilt perhaps? These questions are all the more poignant because they are unexplored and will never be answered. Given the way this show frequently breaks things down, it is a very interesting choice to have no mention of what happened in the tag. It reminds me of the end of the original Night of the Living Dead, which only adds to the creepiness factor.
The other elephant in the room is another reference to [and doubting of] humanity’s recent racial progress. The tease of racism which surfaced in “Computer Affair” comes out in full, with Bradley doubting the reality of the way in which people have supposedly moved beyond racism. I personally find Straker’s line that “racial prejudice burned itself out five years ago” to be a chilling one once you think about it. “Burned itself out”? How could that happen in only five years [from 1970, when the audience was watching, to this point five years in the past] unless there was some cathartic [and probably catastrophic] incident of mass racial violence that was so horrific it changed world opinion basically overnight? We’ve got to be talking about a 9/11 kind of incident at least, it seems to me. Racism is obviously no longer socially acceptable in any way, shape, or form, at least to judge from Straker’s response, though those who have actually been a victim of it might still suspect what evil lies in the hearts of men. Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been pretty.
This deeper context also casts an interesting light on Ellis and Bradley’s relationship in “Computer Affair”. While society no longer can cast an overt pall over an interracial tryst, there is obviously a background of blood and strife behind their quiet dinner . The psychiatrist’s out-of-the-blue probe during Bradley’s psych test now has an interesting depth as well – is he testing Bradley’s belief in the “official” line of racism’s death, or just probing to see if any overt prejudice has lingered in SHADO’s ranks – or perhaps a little of both?
Straker’s exchange with Lt. Barry about her father is an interesting sidelight – some think there are hints that they have feelings for each other in this and other episodes, and it does show the old man has some kind of softer touch and cares to show his people he thinks they’re doing a good job at least once in a while. It’s not clear if Harrington’s somewhat-shocked look at the exchange reflects on a relationship or just surprise at Straker being kind of human.
And lastly we see another taste of the price SHADO personnel pay for their importance to the planet’s survival, something we’ll see much more of in episodes to come. Foster does not dispute Straker’s assertion that Moonbase is as much of a home as he has, and there is no need to answer his girlfriend’s question of whether his work comes before she does.
It had better.
------
Next up” “Conflict”
Commander Straker campaigns to clean up space junk when it proves to be a threat to SHADO’s operations.
One Interceptor launch sequence later [plus some nifty additional targeting-computer-type counters and blinkies] the boys are still pinned down… Foster decides to try to get back to a moonmobile to get them clear faster, but a near miss injures his leg and knocks out his radio. Bradley realizes something has gone wrong with Paul and orders them back as the Interceptors spot the UFO trying to take off – and Straker has to order them to fire. The UFO is hit and trails that lovely orange smoke [hanging nicely in the lunar vacuum
] as it crashes back to the surface, taking out one of the moonmobiles in a spectacular explosion – the one Bradley and Straker think Paul was on.
Back at Moonbase, Bradley suggests that perhaps Foster was thrown clear and survived, but Straker thinks there is no chance he’s alive.
On the surface, Paul wakes up and realizes that his radio is out, and begins limping his way across the lunar surface. After refreshing his air supply from a backup cartridge and checking his map, Paul is surprised by a gun-barrel pressed to his back and the unsmiling face of the alien sniper!
Straker and Freeman consider the situation via videolink, both upset at Paul’s death, and Straker say he’ll need to stay a couple of days until a new Moonbase commander can be appointed., but there is one thing he can do for Straker… be the one to go tell Paul’s girlfriend that he’s gone. Freeman agrees and goes to visit her...
Back on the Moon Paul is limping along as the alien’s prisoner before collapsing in exhaustion. The alien points out that his air gauge is nearing empty, and Paul sees the opportunity to grab his gun [which the alien had taken and was carrying] and succeeds in doing so. He trains it on his opponent, who calmly opens his hand and reveals that he has the ammo and the gun is unloaded, at which Paul slumps in defeat.
At Moonbase Straker comes to see Bradley in his quarters [am I the only one who thinks the combination of inflatable plastic furniture and constant smoking is a bad one?
] to discuss the future.
Straker notes the importance of Moonbase’s place in the SHADO defense [or should I say defence?
] network, and thus how crucial it is to have the right man commanding it. A fascinating exchange follows, worth quoting at length:Straker: “I’d like you consider it, Mark.”
Bradley: “Are you offering me the job, sir?”
Straker: [slightly puzzled] “Yes. Does that surprise you?”
Bradley: “Not altogether. And does it surprise you if I say no?”
Straker: “Disappoints me.”
Bradley: “Well you’ve done your duty. You’ve asked, and I’ve given you the ‘no’ you wanted.”
Straker: [puzzled and not happily so] “What do you mean I’ve done my duty?”
Bradley: “Sure, after Foster I’m the senior man, the obvious choice if you like.”
Straker: “So, I offer you the command of Moonbase and you say no. Why?”
Bradley just looks at him.
Straker: [moving closer] “I asked you why.”
Bradley: [standing up and running a finger over his face. “Because of this.”
Straker: [smiles in disbelief] “Don’t give me that. Racial prejudice burned itself out five years ago.”
Bradley: [serious] “How would you know? All right, on the surface maybe. But deep down inside of people it’s still there. Maybe it will never show, maybe it will. But sometime I’m ordering a guy out on a mission, a time the chances are he won’t be coming back…”
Straker: “Look, I’m not offering you some easy number. I don’t care if you’re polka-dot, with red stripes. You’re the best man for the job – now do want it?”
Bradley looks conflicted.
Straker: [insistent] “Do you want it?”
Bradley: “Yes sir, I would like it. But not like this.”
Straker: “No one wanted it like this. Now, get some rest – commander.”
Back on the surface, the alien and Paul are slogging along until Paul again slumps to the ground. The alien sees Paul’s air gauge on “E” and finds his resupply cartridge case empty, and after a quick examination he splices a widget of his own into Paul’s air line, including some nifty white sealing goo.
Paul revives, and the alien starts to draw a diagram in the dirt. Pulling out his map, Paul indicates Moonbase, and the alien points out their current position. It seems the alien is suggesting he go for help, and Paul shakes his head.
Cut to Mark Bradley, taking the long walk in the spiffy silver suit as Moonbase C.O. for the first time. As he still-reluctantly takes the center seat, Lt. Harrington turns and tells him how glad they all are to have him there.
Bradley dispatches a moonmobile to search for any wreckage from the UFO, which Straker notes with interest.
Back on the surface, the alien is securing rock anchors and rigging a line to allow Paul to get across a canyon in their path. He does a dramatic crossing, including a dangling-from-one-hand moment, and gets to the other side just as the anchor gives way and the alien grabs him to safety.
The alien half-carries Foster as they hobble across the lunar surface and the moonmobile swooshes closer. They pause to rest, as even the alien is exhausted, and Paul spots the mobile, exclaiming [though the alien can’t hear him of course] that they’re saved. He waves frantically, and one of the pilots sees him.
Paul signals the alien to wait and goes to meet the search team, who give him a new air cylinder but can’t hear his cries about the alien being a friend because his radio is out. They do the press-helmets-together trick and manage to hear the word “alien” – and just at that point he stands up and they shoot him, of course.
Cut to the coda… Alec Freeman waits outside as Paul tries to explain things to a girlfriend not happy that she was told he was dead but now he’s here and can’t really explain what happened. Though she knows his job entails secrecy, she just can’t take the strain if it’s going to be like this and they break up, both saying they’re sorry.
Back in the car Paul tells Alec he’ll buy him a drink, and as Alec agrees they drive off and the credits roll.
------
*whew* This is an unsettling episode, as much for the questions it leaves unanswered as the ones it does. The central story of Paul and the alien is deliberately-paced but ultimately gripping because of one crucial puzzle – why does the alien help Paul? He was willing to shoot a hole in a Moonbase window and kill whoever was inside, and we know from SHADO’s investigations that they are a dying race, using human organs to offset genetic decay and sterility. Do they nonetheless feel guilty for what they do? Was the sniper “just following orders”? Did his attitude change once he was alone [and presumably doomed] on the Moon after his ship was destroyed, with no one to give him orders or know if he disobeyed? Does he have human organs himself, and if so does that give him some additional perspective and/or guilt perhaps? These questions are all the more poignant because they are unexplored and will never be answered. Given the way this show frequently breaks things down, it is a very interesting choice to have no mention of what happened in the tag. It reminds me of the end of the original Night of the Living Dead, which only adds to the creepiness factor.
The other elephant in the room is another reference to [and doubting of] humanity’s recent racial progress. The tease of racism which surfaced in “Computer Affair” comes out in full, with Bradley doubting the reality of the way in which people have supposedly moved beyond racism. I personally find Straker’s line that “racial prejudice burned itself out five years ago” to be a chilling one once you think about it. “Burned itself out”? How could that happen in only five years [from 1970, when the audience was watching, to this point five years in the past] unless there was some cathartic [and probably catastrophic] incident of mass racial violence that was so horrific it changed world opinion basically overnight? We’ve got to be talking about a 9/11 kind of incident at least, it seems to me. Racism is obviously no longer socially acceptable in any way, shape, or form, at least to judge from Straker’s response, though those who have actually been a victim of it might still suspect what evil lies in the hearts of men. Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been pretty.
This deeper context also casts an interesting light on Ellis and Bradley’s relationship in “Computer Affair”. While society no longer can cast an overt pall over an interracial tryst, there is obviously a background of blood and strife behind their quiet dinner . The psychiatrist’s out-of-the-blue probe during Bradley’s psych test now has an interesting depth as well – is he testing Bradley’s belief in the “official” line of racism’s death, or just probing to see if any overt prejudice has lingered in SHADO’s ranks – or perhaps a little of both?
Straker’s exchange with Lt. Barry about her father is an interesting sidelight – some think there are hints that they have feelings for each other in this and other episodes, and it does show the old man has some kind of softer touch and cares to show his people he thinks they’re doing a good job at least once in a while. It’s not clear if Harrington’s somewhat-shocked look at the exchange reflects on a relationship or just surprise at Straker being kind of human.
And lastly we see another taste of the price SHADO personnel pay for their importance to the planet’s survival, something we’ll see much more of in episodes to come. Foster does not dispute Straker’s assertion that Moonbase is as much of a home as he has, and there is no need to answer his girlfriend’s question of whether his work comes before she does.
It had better.
------
Next up” “Conflict”
Commander Straker campaigns to clean up space junk when it proves to be a threat to SHADO’s operations.
Last edited:
Nice review Klaus.
One thing about this episode that bothered me a little was that one episode after Paul Foster joins SHADO, he is already the commander of Moonbase. SHADO must have a really fast intensive training program or they are really short-handed.
One thing about this episode that bothered me a little was that one episode after Paul Foster joins SHADO, he is already the commander of Moonbase. SHADO must have a really fast intensive training program or they are really short-handed.
that might have more to do with production vs airing order.
I thought about mentioning that as it occurred to me as well... but I figured it was a long time in between. I don't recall if there's an explicit date cited in "Exposed" as there is in "Survival".
This site has seven different suggested viewing orders, and apparently the various ITV stations did it differently so there isn't even an "original" broadcast order to follow lol... because of that I decided in both my viewing and reviews to follow the order on my US DVDs, which is close to the production order anyway.
Even more confusingly, owing to the vagaries of TV production, apparently "Exposed", which introduces Paul, was filmed after this one. So I'd not spend too much energy on it lol.
This site has seven different suggested viewing orders
, and apparently the various ITV stations did it differently so there isn't even an "original" broadcast order to follow lol... because of that I decided in both my viewing and reviews to follow the order on my US DVDs, which is close to the production order anyway.Even more confusingly, owing to the vagaries of TV production, apparently "Exposed", which introduces Paul, was filmed after this one. So I'd not spend too much energy on it lol.
I just thought I'd say that on the basis of this thread I've ordered the complete series on DVD. Also I noted in your episode review above a reference to April 12 1981, the twentieth anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's Vostok flight and the exact day that the Space Shuttle Columbia took off for the first time.
I think I remember seeing this one not that long ago. It might have worked a bit better if there was indeed some reason for the alien to spare Foster. A not too bad take on Enemy Mine then?
Yeah, I'd noticed that, too. Kinda cool coincidence, that!
On a side note, I'd been looking at the bios for the cast of Buffy a while back, and now I'll always remember the birthday of Nicholas Brendon (and his twin brother), who played Xander: April 12, 1971! Wedged right in the middle between Yuri Gagarin & STS-1.
Back in the car Paul tells Alec he’ll buy him a drink, and as Alec agrees they drive off and the credits roll.
------
Next up” “Conflict”
Can I suggest maybe breaking with the episode order you're working from, and doing Dalotek Affair next? In many ways it seems to be a second half for Survival - apart from the opening, with Freeman and Foster having that drink in direct follow-on, there's also some deliberate mirroring (in that Foster's job with SHADO and the resultant secrecy costs him a girlfriend in Survival, but leads to him possibly getting a 'new' one in Dalotek).
Similar threads
