The Continuity GuideMoonbase Guide
Nuclear Disposal Areas
by Martin Willey
The Continuity Guide
The monitoring depot provides a base for operations at Nuclear Disposal Area 2. Typical crew would include 2-4 astronauts, plus 2 medical/security staff. The distinctive circular building has an attached launch pad.
Notice the unusual curved corridor, the illuminated panels (far plainer than those on Moonbase Alpha), and the unusual door with window.
The windows of the studio set closely match the circular model, but the corners on the far side of the studio windows extend out.
The Monitoring Depot is on a raised mound to one corner of Area 2. Two other depots are just visible on the opposite sides of Area 2. Presumably there are four, one at each corner of the disposal area. Some may be unmanned monitoring and flight control information (Eagle flights would require DME/VOR stations/ ILS localizers). The crews may move to the depot closest to the active side of Area 2.
There were two smaller buildings (in scale with the 22 inch Eagle) and one large building (in scale with the 44 inch Eagle).
Eagles land on a "T"-shaped pad. The view through the window of the Eagle landing shows the boarding tube on the opposite side. The later view when Area 2 starts to explode shows the boarding tube on the side closer to the depot. The view from the windows would look down on the pad.
The curved corridor in the centre of the Depot.
The front panel, with the 4 screens, is the same as in Main Mission, rather than the more standard 3 screen version seen in Medical and computer centres.
The backdrop painting shows the laser fence (we seem to be approximately at ground height, not raised like the model building, and relatively close). A large rock face is visible right and on the left windows.
Unusually the door has a window.
The sequences were originally scheduled for Wednesday 12th December, but slipped back to Friday 21st and Thursday 27th December (around the Christmas holiday). It then moved to Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th January 1974. We don't have definitive filming dates, but close-ups of screens were filmed on Friday 11th January, the last day of main filming.
Significant parts were re-filmed later, with Collins having the new style spacesuit collar, and the computer panels changing, showing the set was rebuilt. The front panel is always the same computer panels, so all shots probably came from the initial filming.
In the opening scenes, Bergman and Helena were joined by Gundlach, head of the depot, played by Michael Sheard (shown on set here). He was cut entirely, and many of the shots of Bergman and Helena were re-shot without him. Also originally Collins was named Carter and played by Nick Tate.
Left: original filming, with cloth collar and different computer panels. Right: re-shoot, with corrugated collar, new computer configuration and longer hair.
Front wall. This view is flattened, and the windows show the disposal area lights rather than large rock walls on the left. The left computer panel is conjectural- we don't see that corner.
Side wall. This is the initial computer configuration (seen clearly in the Collins scenes); many of the shots showing Bergman from the start of the episode have a different pattern of panels.
Opposite side wall. This is the later computer configuration, seen clearly in shots of Helena and Bergman from the opening sequence. We don't see much of the original configuration, but it can be briefly seen when the window explodes at the end of the Collins sequence.
Back wall and door. Left computer configuration is the first version, but it looks similar or the same in the later version. The right computer configuration is the second version, and is only glimpsed partially for the first version.
Copyright Martin Willey