Guardian of Piri
| Original Title |
Nobody's Perfect |
| Spain |
Guardián de Piri |
Guardian Of Piri | 25 Nov 1976 |
| France/Canada |
Le gardien du Piri |
The Guardian Of The Piri |
6 Nov 1976 |
| Germany |
Das Glück der Träumenden |
The Happiness Of Dreaming |
29 Jan 1978 |
| Italy |
Il Pianeta Incantato |
The Enchanted Planet |
15 Jul 1976 |
| Japan |
Temptation of the Space Paradise
|
22 May 1977 |
| Portugal |
O Guardião de Piri |
Guardian of Piri |
19 Feb 1977 |
| Sweden |
Paradiset |
The Paradise |
29 Dec 1977 |
| South Africa | Bewaker Van Piri |
Awakening of Piri | 27 May 1977 |
| Hungary |
A Pyri bolygó Őre |
Guardian of the planet Piri |
28 Apr 1977 |
| USA (Los Angeles) |
|
|
18 Oct 1975 |
| USA (New York) |
|
|
1 Nov 1975 |
| USA (San Francisco) |
|
|
18 Oct 1975 |
| UK (ATV) |
|
|
13 Nov 1975 |
| UK (LWT) |
|
|
15 Nov 1975 |
A mysterious power from an alien planet takes control of the moon, luring its inhabitants to a paradise of eternal peace but living death. Only one man has the will to resist - Commander Koenig. ITC summary
- Although Chris Penfold is credited as "Story consultant", there is no writer credit. The original story concept for "Nobody's Perfect" is by David Weir, who wrote Black Sun.
- Final storyline titled "Nobody's Perfect" dated 9th April 1974
- Shooting script 29th April 1974. Shooting schedule dated 8 May 1974. Filmed 8 May - 24 May 1974.
- Martin Landau's copy has notations including "every scene has 2,3 or more bumps, adjustments. why is it necessary - it's now past the experimental stage - let's get some writers of dialogue and drama..." and "Koenig is an ass in scene 94... Is he an idiot!" (in Sc 94 Koenig finds the command conference planning the last phase of Operation Exodus and tells them the Guardian is attacking their minds).
- The first use of the Eagle "booster pod", in an obvious continuity error
- Although many Eagles are seen together, there was only one 44inch Eagle at the time of filming. Several different scales of the Eagle are seen in the same shot during the launchings at the end, as well as photo cut-outs. The scene where the two Eagles dock uses only the one Eagle model and some components.
- Shots of many Eagles rising from Alpha, and many Eagles flying to the planet, are reused in War Games
- One shot is a full view of the base with an Eagle being raised on a launch pad. Note the Eagle's engines are towards the boarding tube. This shot was achieved with a large photo of the Moonbase with a hole cut out, through which the larger scale hydraulic launch pad could be seen.
- Large scale Moonbase buildings are used extensively for ground level close-ups of the base. None of these buildings correspond to the full-sized Moonbase model.
- Library Special Effects
- SFX storyboards
- Library track: "Undersea" composed by Chuck Cassey (Chappell Recorded Music Library). This was the only track by Cassey used in the series. Charles Cassey (1933-2016) was assistant conductor of the US Army chorus in the 1950s. His group, the Chuck Cassey Singers, were a backing group on the Jimmy Dean Show in the 1960s. The track is slowed down for this episode.
- At the party the cast sing "Oh Sir Jasper do not touch me", an English rugby song (probably from the 1950s) to the tune of "Glory Glory Hallelujah", aka "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (1861), in turn based on "John Brown's Body" (probably early 1800s).
- The cast sing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". The tune was originally French (composed in 1709), and became popular in Britain in the 19th century. The lyrics are the British version ("and so say all of us"), not the American version ("which nobody can deny")
- ITC Music Cue Sheet
- Connecting the neurons of the brain to electrodes has enabled blind people to have artificial sight, while cochlear implants help people with hearing problems. Devices such as the Stentrode (approved 2020) provide 2-way communication, allowing patients to operate motorised wheelchairs or to type on a screen.
- The Marie Celeste reference is to a boat transporting crude alcohol which was abandoned 1000km off Gibralter in 1871. The crew was never found. The ship (commonly known as the Marie Celeste, not the actual name Mary Celeste) quickly became a near mythical symbol of mysterious disappearances. In fact, the reason was obvious: there was evidence of an explosion of alcohol vapour in the hold. This would have made the crew fear the entire cargo would explode.
1 fatality, Sarah Graham.
Alpha Technology:
Eagle 4 (Koenig's final Eagle); 6 (Irving and Davis); 10 (Medical); 24 (Alan); 26 and 27 (named)
- The first use of the "booster pod", featured prominently in The Metamorph. Unfortunately it is an obvious continuity error
- We see another view of the Eagle hangar (unused footage from Breakaway, very similar to a shot in the pilot episode).
- We see the Eagle docking tube. Unlike in Earthbound it does not have a corrugated docking seal.
- The rescue pod is glimpsed at the side of one shot
Piri
Aliens:
We do not know if the Pirians were humanoid (the Pirian girl is constructed for the Alphans).
When Eagle 24 lands, 2 other landed Eagles can be seen in the distance.
Eagle 24 is a normal standard pod- but when it lands on Alpha it has a booster pod
The woman carrying the cases will drop one (a case for 2 inch videotape, over her shoulder) as Koenig moves in front (apparently her shoulder strap breaks).
- Catherine Schell would later return as regular character Maya in Year Two.
-
Gareth Hunt is briefly seen as an Eagle pilot in the end scenes. He was to have been more prominently featured (as Irving), but after a disagreement with director Charles Crichton he left before the episode was completed. He was replaced by Michael Culver. Subsequently he found fame on The New Avengers.
- Crichton emphasises bright primary colours (red, blue) on the brilliantly lit surface. While it is a studio set, the weirdness of it gives it a believability. The set design was inspired by a play Chris Penfold wrote for LWT called Spawn, about a character who filled his garden with sculpture resembling giant frog spawn. The play aired in the Sunday Drama series on 20th August 1977, starring Bryan Marshall and Nicola Pagett, directed by Michael Ferguson.
- The anti-hedonist morality is obvious (note how Koenig takes drugs to stay awake). Immortality (here, literally suspended time) signifies stagnation; change and transience allows for the possibility of progress. Bergman's and Kano's dependence on machines leads them to be the first to be taken.
- The story echoes the Lotus Eaters in Homer's Odyssey book 9; some of Odysseus's crew eat lotus leaves and lose all will to return home.
- Notable performances, especially from Helena, Bergman, Kano, Carter, Mathias. A good portion of humour too.
The original storyline "Nobody's Perfect" contained the following differences:
- When Koenig returns to Alpha after fighting Alan, he goes to Main Mission where he finds Paul alone playing his guitar.
- Bergman and Helena try to take Koenig forceably to Piri, but Koenig takes Mathias and Helena hostage. To stop Bergman shutting down the base, Koenig compromises and releases them.
- Alone on Alpha, Koenig is tempted by a bed that appears in Main Mission, then a drink, then the Pirian girl appears. When he states he will never leave Alpha, she instantly transports him to Piri.
- After the Pirian girl is stunned, the Guardian speaks with the voice of the girl. It realises Piri is more dead than perfect and voluntarily destroys itself. This restores time, transporting all the Alphans except Koenig and Carter back to Alpha, and the two probe pilots, still in their Eagle, which crashes into a pinnacle of spheres. Koenig and Carter return in an Eagle.
- A clip of the Piri surface appears in the Dr Who episode Nightmare Of Eden (1979).
There is an alternative cut of this episode from Martin Landau's tapes, with two small differences.
A close-up shows Kano's computer cable being plugged into his head. One hand pulls the hair back from the socket, a clear wrapper is removed from the cable, and it is plugged into the socket. The Landau version has the same action, but the head socket has holes, and the cable has spikes. The final version has a flat plate.
When Kano is connected to the computer, he relaxes and smiles. In the final cut we see a shot of Mathias, looking concerned (a repeat shot from a few moments earlier). In the Landau version, it is a shot of nurse Jodi Sherwood breaking into a big smile, matching that of Koenig and Helena.
External Links
Episode Guide 
Year 1 - Episode 8 
