The Catacombs The Production Guide
Script To Screen: Breakaway
by Martin Willey

Script To Screen

Void Ahead was renamed as Turning Point in a draft dated 5 November, 1973. Bergman's opening narration is gone, the MTU is now the Eagle, and other names are the final versions. Here is the same script page 3 as the Void Ahead script. The exposition is reduced a little, making the scenes shorter and tense. None of this appears in the episode, but it was filmed. Firstly, Morrow calls Helena and Bergman to announce Koenig's ETA. You can hear the original studio soundtrack here. When we see Koenig on the Eagle, he is watching an Earth newscast, with Shane Rimmer playing the newscaster; the original studio soundtrack is here.

Note this script has estimated timings for the shots- 5 seconds for the effects shot of the Eagle, 1 minute for Koenig listening to the newscaster.

3

3 CONTD.

On the T.V. screen they watch him walk away towards
another radiation counter. A picture of Main Mission
Controller Paul Morrow comes up on a T.V. screen.
Helena and Bergman turn towards it as Morrow speaks.

MORROW

Dr. Russell, Professor Bergman -
Commander Koenig's E.T.A. is in
thirty minutes ... at 23-35.

HELENA

(to Communications Post)

Thanks, Paul.

(she turns back to Bergman)

I hope he's the right man.

Bergman has a look of confidence.

4 EXT. SPACE SKY. SFX. (0.05) 4

An Eagle, with passenger module, approaches the Moon.

5 INT. EAGLE PASSENGER MODULE. (1.00) 5

Commander John Koenig is in the uniform of Alpha Base
Commander. He sits watching a television screen set
into the back of the seats in front of him. He is
perhaps forty - intense, intelligent, and somewhat
preoccupied now as he watches the newscast from an
American commercial T.V. station on earth.

NEWSCASTER

It was announced today that the
two probe astronauts of the Meta
mission have contracted a mild
viral infection during training.
Lunar Commissioner Simmonds
reported, however that the long-
prepared for space mission to
Meta would be delayed no more than
forty-eight hours. Commissioner
Simmonds, can you now tell us
little more about Meta ...

Koenig looks up as a Stewardess approaches with re-
freshments.

STEWARDESS

Commander, touchdown at Moonbase
Alpha will be at 23-35 lunar time.

CONTINUED: