The Merchandise GuideVideo: US Laserdisc
Compiled by Martin Willey
The Merchandise Guide
Machine or man? Alpha encounters one of the strangest mysteries of the universe-a living machine.
The strangest object ever seen by man appears in the space sky - a huge spacecraft of some sort, but breaking every known law of aerospace propulsion. From it comes a voice. It is friendly, but appealing for help and for permission to land and, when given this permission, requests a visit from Commander Koenig (Martin Landau), Dr. Helena Russell (Barbara Bain) and Professor Bergman (Barry Morse).
Admitted to the craft, they find themselves in a room which is half a globe in shape with a floor kept level by gyroscopic action. As they stare at the complex mechanism all around them, they are probed by an intense ray of light. Lying on a couch is an extraordinarily ancient man (Leo McKern) looking almost dead except for his bright and searching eyes. He introduces himself as "Companion" and addresses the mysterious voice as "Gwent." Gwent is the machine. And the reason for his approach to Alpha is to be found in a long list of urgent requirements. His relationship with Companion is one of affection and bantering, cynical criticism. Companion tells his visitors: "I have always been his Companion. I've grown old in his service. Companions die, but Gwent goes on. Forever."
Gwent dismisses Helena's appeal for Companion to be taken to Alpha for treatment; he is obviously desperately ill but still loyal to his master. And he dies. Gwent is immediately beside himself with rage and sorrow, and back on Alpha they see the machine rise and twist in what seems to be agonized contortions.
Koenig and Helena are then told that they will have to take the place of Companion. They are helplessly in Gwent's grip until Koenig realizes that Gwent possesses the equivalent of all the senses except for sight and that, because his energy is running out, he is weakening. Attempts to attack the machine from Alpha are repelled, and there is no alternative but for the essential supplies to be delivered. But by deliberately smashing a vital component, Koenig weakens Gwent even more and at last learns from the man-machine that he comes from a planet on which he was a scientist and has built this machine as an extension of himself, programming his entire personality into it, combining it with the superior ability of a computer's brain, all the might and power of such a machine. It has eventually taken him over completely. Now the same fate threatens Koenig and Dr. Russell.
MARTIN LANDAU as John Koenig
BARBARA BAIN as Dr. Helena Russell
BARRY MORSE as Professor Bergman
Guest Star: LEO McKERN as Companion
Prentis Hancock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Morrow
Clifton Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Kano
Zienia Merton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sandra Benes
Anton Phillips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Mathias
Nick Tate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alan Carter
Producer: Sylvia Anderson Executive Producer: Gerry Anderson
Screenplay by: Anthony Terpiloff and Elizabeth Barrows
Moon City Costumes Designed by: Rudi Gernreich Directed by: David Tomblin
Series Created by: Gerry and Sylvia Anderson
Color/Approx. Running Time: 52 Minutes
Past and future overlap as Moonbase Alpha personnel land on a duplicate moon and discover... themselves.
Moonbase Alpha experiences an eerie phenomenon as the moon accelerates and travels millions of miles in a few seconds. During this time it seems to duplicate itself - as does everyone on it! All seem to find themselves in totally different parts of space.
Main Mission's Regina Kesslann (Judy Geeson) is affected most severely. Unconscious and whimpering as things appear to return to normal, she gradually awakens to a troubled condition, in which she claims to have seen two moons and the sun - not seen since their moon was blasted out of Earth's orbit - and that wherever she was the others were too. But they were all dead! She now believes that she is married to Alan Carter (Nick Tate) , who hardly knows her. Regina is convinced that she is living in her own future and that the present is the past, in which disaster has destroyed them all . She is trying to warn Dr. Russell (Barbara Bain) of something but doesn't know precisely what it is. Russell, Commander Koenig (Martin Landau) and Professor Bergman (Barry Morse) are unable to make sense of Regina's report, but are forced to consider it as more than a space hallucination when the woman dies and X-rays show that she has two separate brains!
Miraculously they find themselves once again in Earth's orbit and hope arises anew that they can return home at last. Attempts to make contact with Earth are in vain and, suddenly, the second moon is seen, radiating Alpha's own signals. Somehow they have caught up with themselves. Koenig and Carter set out in an Eagle to investigate and land on the duplicate moon, where they discover... themselves!
MARTIN LANDAU as John Koenig
BARBARA BAIN as Dr. Helena Russell
BARRY MORSE as Professor Bergman
Guest Star: JUDY GEESON as Regina Kesslann
Prentis Hancock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Morrow
Clifton Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Kano
Zienia Merton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sandra Benes
Anton Phillips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Mathias
Nick Tate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alan Carter
Producer: Sylvia Anderson Executive Producer: Gerry Anderson Screenplay by: Johnny Byrne
Story Consultant: Christopher Penfold Moon City Costumes Designed by: Rudi Gernreich
Directed by: David Tomblin Series Created by: Gerry and Sylvia Anderson
Color/Approx. Running Time: 52 Minutes
Copyright Martin Willey. Thanks to James Poll.