Episode Guide

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• Cast/Sets
• SFX
• Music
• Science
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• Errors
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The Exiles

Mysterious objects in the space sky. In them: humans from another planet, preserved in a frozen state for 300 years. Two who return to consciousness on the moon have a grim story to tell. But can they be trusted? ITC summary

Background

• Draft script featured Year One cast
• Shooting script dated 8 January 1976. Pink page revisions 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th February (Tony is named as Simon Hays throughout).
• Filmed due to start 12th February 1976, but actually began 17th February (The Metamorph over-ran by a week). Filming finished after 12 days on Wednesday 3rd March.
• An additional sequence (of Petrov trapped in an explosion and being rescued by Maya as a gorilla) was filmed by Kevin Connor on June 7th.

SFX

Music

• Original score by Derek Wadsworth, recorded Wednesday 21st April 1976 at Olympic Sound Studios, Barnes.
• ITC Music Cue Sheet

Science

• Stars are so close "we're constantly bathed in a lovely blue light". Suggests intense radiation. Also close stars tend to be young and would disturb the formation of solar systems like that of Golos.
• Why are the cylinders only able to withstand orbital gravity for 36 hours? One explanation may be their orbit is degrading and they will crash into the moon; their "gas points" may be insufficient to escape lunar gravity or correct the orbit.
• "The antigravity effect will return them to their original course". Again the Alphans demonstrate they have antigravity technology. Why didn't they do this before?
• The plastic membrane would not stop cell growth or decay, the causes of ageing. Also it would not be a perfect seal; there must be orifices for eating and breathing. The Alphans also took a blood sample which would have punctured it. Logically if it were broken they would resume normal ageing, not age 10 years a second. How does the ageing Cantar grow a beard?

• The Golos people have psychic powers including telekinesis ("Your life support systems are now tuned to my mental processes"), clairvoyance (viewing a distant scene in their hand), and sympathetic magic (the voodoo ability to cause Helena pain by attacking the sculpture).
• How does the Golos life support system (a small room with two operatives) control an entire planet (which should have abundant air, water and food resources)? Two possible explanations are that it is a sperm bank (as in Mission Of The Darians) or it is a power station (perhaps a fusion reactor).

Continuity

Chronology:

403 days after leaving Earth orbit (Fri 20 Oct 2000)

Alpha Personnel:

0 fatalities.

Alpha Technology:

• The remote Research Station is seen. It is equipped with a laser (see props).
• The EVA packs were used in Space Brain (although the central black cylinder is no longer present). In that episode they did not need buckles.
• It is stated they cannot have children because of the strain on the life support system. This contradicts Alpha Child.
• Solariums are also seen in Force Of Life and The Taybor
• The multi-function hatch is shown; here it activates the "anti-gravity effect".

Eagles:

Eagle 4 ("Rescue"); Recovery Eagle

• The grab arm is seen as a refuelling arm in both Rules Of Luton and Space Warp

Maya transformations:

ape creature, Helena, old hag, panther

Planets:

None (Golos is some distance away)

Aliens:

Cantar, Zova, Ragnar, Mirella, Stal and Mantor from Golos. Humanoids.

Props:

• In a Life Support desk we see the water analyser from Matter Of Life And Death
• The laser control dial is used to control an Eagle laser turret in The Seance Spectre.
• The Golos life support room features the base and domes of Psyche from The Metamorph
• Zova's light grey pyjamas were worn by Regina in Another Time, Another Place

Footage:

• Shot of boosters being added to an Eagle in a hangar are reused from The Metamorph
• Shot of Maya transforming into a panther is seen again in flashback in Devil's Planet
• Pan over Alphan buildings is reused in The A B Chrysalis
• Shot of a corridor explosion and the wreckage inside is reused in The A B Chrysalis
• Shot of two technicians gassing the Golos capsule is reused in Catacombs Of The Moon

Errors

• Cantar's stun is supposed to last an hour. When Tony is stunned he wakes up after about 30 seconds.

Tony is shot by the power station door, and Helena is stunned by Zova next to him. Maya jumps close to the computer panel. When Koenig arrives, Tony and Helena have been moved next to the computer bank. Maya's position has shifted too, as can be seen by the floor markings and the position of her arm. Tony and Helena are unconscious when they leave Alpha. They are awake when they arrive on Golos.

Observations

• The leotards in stretch fabric are very much from 1970s science fiction. When the caskets are opened, Cantar is topless but Zova is wearing Moonbase Alpha-type pyjamas.
• Cantar is a Jewish name meaning "singer of songs".
• Golos has hereditary leaders (Mirella is a descendant of Ragnar). The planet has a population of "millions" which is relatively small (Earth has about 6 billion population). It is "known to us as the Peace Planet", which is similar to Archanon, the Planet of Peace, in Mark Of Archanon.
• Why doesn't Maya/panther guard the laser when Cantar drops it?
• When Peter Duncan joined the children's magazine Blue Peter a sequence of photos of ageing Cantar was shown. Duncan is obviously dubbed to sound more American.
• Duncan was 22, Dorning was 18 when the episode was filmed. The script amendments state they should be called "young boy" and "young girl", suggesting they were intended to be even younger.
• The Decontamination crewman is played by Frank Maher (he has one line: "Commander"). He also appears in a number of publicity shots fighting Helena in Command Center (he has a blue wash over his face, but otherwise wears a standard Alphan blue jumpsuit and white sweater). The other technician was played by Vic Armstrong, a top stuntman best known for the Indiana Jones series.
• The Lambda Factor will expand on the history of the Venus mission which Koenig mentions.

Catherine Schell eats a banana while Ray Austin directs

The deleted scene in which Maya and Helena discuss women's fashion.

Merchandise:

• Novelised in The Space Jackers by Michael Butterworth published by Star (UK paperback), Warner (US), Bastei (Germany) and re-edited in Year Two (Powys, 2006).
• Early script novelised in Earthbound by E C Tubb published by Fanderson (UK, 2003), reprinted by Powys (2022)
• A 12 inch Eagle with Cryogenic Pod and manipulator arm was made by Sixteen 12 in 2018
• UK video: ITC volume 11 (1993)
• UK DVD: Carlton (2001)
• UK Blu-ray: Network (2015)
• US video: Columbia House volume 2 (1997)
• US laserdisc: Image Entertainment volume 14 (1991)
• US DVD: A&E (2002)
• US Blu-ray: Shout! Factory (2019)
• Australia DVD: Magna Pacific (2003)
• Japan DVD: Pioneer (2001)
• France DVD: TF1 (2002)
• Germany video: Polygram volume 2 (1995)
• Germany DVD: EMS (2005)
• Germany DVD: Sunrise Entertainment / Crest (2013)
• Germany Blu-ray (SD): Crest (2012)
• Germany Blu-ray (HD): Fernsehjuwelen (2016)
• Italy DVD: Pulp Video (2004)
• Italy DVD: Collector's Edition Mondo Home (2007)

Links

• Images
  • High Definition Images
  • Publicity Images
• Transcript Copyright Martin Willey
• Script To Screen
• More observations
• Critics comments Chris Bentley, Anthony McKay, John Kenneth Muir et al
• Library Special Effects

External Links

• Ken Scott's episode guide
• Mailing List discussion