The Production Guide
Script To Screen: Earthbound
by Martin Willey

Script To Screen

• Script: Travel Tube
• Script: Breaking eggs
• Script: Trade off
• Filming Corridor
• Filming Power
• Filming Spaceship
• Filming Main Mission

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After six days of shooting, mostly in the spaceship set on M stage, the crew moved back to L stage for Main Mission scenes on Monday 25th March, and would continue to film there for six days, finishing on Monday 1st April. Wednesday was the 9th day of shooting, and the second on the Main Mission set. It was second extended day for this episode (the first was Thursday 21st March, when the Eagle scenes were filmed after the spaceship scenes).

On Monday and Tuesday they had got through most of the early scenes in Main Mission. Today they will press on with other Main Mission/office scenes. This is an ambitious schedule, and indeed it would take three more days after this one to finish them.

The first new scene is 57. Koenig goes to Kano: "Kano. I want Computer programmed to select one person from Alpha to return to Earth. The answer's to be confidential and in code." In the script, Koenig gives Kano a piece of paper, presumably the criteria that the computer should use. The script specifies a "survival list" which is this piece of paper, but the scene is filmed without it. Bergman then appears on a screen to call Koenig back to the spaceship.

Next is scene 60. Koenig returns from the ship, dejected, and Alan tries to cheer him up by pointing the direction of Earth ("it's thataway"). They then watch the big screen, showing the ship and the efforts inside to revive Helena. Mathias calls him back. The call sheet is uncertain whether Mathias will appear on screen A at the front of Main Mission, or the desk monitor- they used screen A, while in scene 57, they put Bergman on the desk monitor.

We skip forward to scene 63, the lengthy scene when Koenig sees Kano's list has 3 names. Privately, Simmonds demands he takes the place, but is interrupted as Helena, Zantor and Bergman arrive. Simmonds steals Koenig's commlock. The script and call sheet specifies Koenig has a commlock stand (like Bergman uses in Black Sun), but there has never been one on his desk before, and he just places it on the top of the desk.

In scene 51, Zantor and the Kaldorians present the eggs to the Alphans. This scene had been scheduled later because it was in the command office set, and they had intended to concentrate on the Main Mission set first before they moved to it. This is the last scene for the Kaldorians apart from Zantor; all their later scenes, in the spaceship, have already been filmed.

Note the eggs are "breakaway" props, because in scene 51B, to be filmed on Thursday, Simmonds will toss his up, and it will fall and break on the floor (as described in the script).

Publicity and behind the scenes photos from scene 51, shot on Wednesday 27th March, 1974.

On Wednesday or Thursday, the heads of ATV came to visit the production. The visit is not mentioned on the call sheets for these days.

Many scenes were scheduled for today but filmed over the next three days.