The Production GuideScript To Screen: The Mark of Archanon
by Martin Willey
The Production Guide
As Act One starts, the Alphans examine the aliens in their cabinet. The script dialogue will be extensively cut or reassigned. Writer Lewis Schwarz (credited as "Lew Schwartz" on screen) was a comedy writer with a background in radio and TV sitcoms, notably The Liver Birds (1969-1979). Producer Fred Freiberger was keen to add humour to the series, but the tone here is too light-hearted, and rewrites will make it much more functional.
Helena's laborious opening joke will go, replaced by a line that was originally Tony's: "Welcome back among the living. You had us worried for a moment.". Andy Johnson loses all his lines and characterisation. In the script it is Johnson who saw Pasc's open eyes, but in the episode it is Alan, and the whole exchange is reduced to one line. Alan Carter is a strong Australian stereotype here ("I've been slugged by an outback kangaroo!"), and his expression "cobber" is set up here (in the episode Alan will only use it with Etrec). We even get a little bit more on "Krom II", confirming it was a planet the Alphans had previously visited, and two Alphans had died there.
Tony never got to say his ponderous line from the script: "Too ornery for a Cobber to be clobbered." This set up a later line, after Alan rescues Etrec from the rockfall, when Tony was to say "You pushing your luck to see how ornery you really are?"
5.
ACT ONE:
FADE IN:
5 INT. CAVERN. 5
The scene as before, but now it is considerably busier
with the ALPHA Emergency Team in action.
HELENA is kneeling beside the unconscious ALAN, checking
him out.
DR. BEN VINCENT is setting up Medical Sensor Equipment
to take readings from the strange metallic cabinet
embedded in the cavern wall.
TONY VERDESCHI is over near the cabinet, inspecting it
minutely, but taking care not to touch it or go too
close. Under his direction a TECHNICIAN is operating
a sonarscope, removing the last films of dust from the
window. The contents can now be clearly seen. They
are a man, whom we shall know as PASC, and a young boy,
ETREC. At the moment they stand upright in their
cabinet, as still as corpses, eyes closed.
HELENA bares ALAN's arm and administers an injection
with a pressure gun. He stirs and groans. JOHNSON is
hovering nearby, eyes HELENA anxiously. She smiles a
little at ALAN as he starts to sit up, JOHNSON assisting
him.
INSHOW CREDITS OVER
HELENA
(to ALAN)
As our Search and Rescue Medical
Team would say after they find one
of our crashed astronauts who has
been lying unconscious on a strange
planet for two days with a broken
arm, contusions, three cracked ribs
and a fractured leg...
"Hey, are you alright?"
ALAN
I feel like I've been slugged by
an outback kangaroo!
HELENA
Only stunned a little, is my
medical diagnosis, Alan.
ALAN
(rueful smile)
Easy for you to say. You don't
have my head.
CONTINUED:
6.
5 CONTD.
ALAN gets to his feet, rubbing his forehead.
They are joined by TONY, who smiles, seeing ALAN back
on his feet.
TONY
Back among the living. You
had us worried for a minute.
ALAN
(grins)
Hate to have disappointed you,
Tony. You come up with anything
yet?
TONY
A lot of questions.
He jerks a thumb towards the sonarscope.
TONY
(to JOHNSON)
You in charge of that thing?
JOHNSON
I am now the sole proprietor
and licensee...
(takes in ALAN
with a smile)
...you might say the hired hand
just quit.
TONY
Will you set it to cut. I want
to see as much of the cabinet
as possible.
JOHNSON
Will do.
He walks off towards the sonarscope. TONY turns to
HELENA.
TONY
Any theories?
HELENA
None yet.
ALAN
Of course I'm just an Eagle jockey,
but could it be some sort of cryogenic
suspended animation set-up?
CONTINUED:
7
5 CONTD. 2
HELENA turns to VINCENT who is monitoring the Medical
Sensors trained on the cabinet. He is watching a small
medical monitor. On it are two straight and steady
lines of light.
HELENA
Ben?
VINCENT presses a button. The lines on the monitor
disappear and are replaced by the words, printed out,
"INTERNAL CABINET TEMPERATURE - 4 degrees C."
HELENA
No. It's cool in there, but
it's well above the cryogenic
temperature range.
He presses another button. The two straight lines
return. All four look at the screen. The lines remain
steady. HELEN looks inquiringly at VINCENT. He shakes
his head.
VINCENT
Nothing. No sign of life at
any level. No brain activity
...no heart beat.
TONY
Some form of burial, maybe?
HELENA
A bit elaborate for a cemetery,
don't you think? Surrounded by
a strong force field. Who are
they being protected from?
VINCENT
Us?
They have been joined a moment before by JOHNSON.
JOHNSON
I've set the beam. And I've
got news for you. That's no
cemetery.
They stare at him.
JOHNSON
You don't bury people until
they're dead, and the big guy
in there ... he's alive, Doctor.
CONTINUED:
8
5 CONTD. 3
HELENA indicates the medical monitor.
HELENA
Our Sensor doesn't agree with
you, Andy.
JOHNSON
Your Sensor didn't see what I saw.
Just after Mr. Carter went down
I looked up and the big guy was
staring at me. Eyes wide open,
like a snake.
HELENA eyes him thoughtfully, then looks across at
VINCENT. They both look at the medical monitor. The
lines are still steady.
HELENA
Alan, did you see what Andy say
he saw?
JOHNSON
(cutting in)
Wait a minute. You think I
flipped out, or something?
HELENA
I didn't say that. But in
moments of stress the mind
can play strange tricks...
JOHNSON marches over to the metallic cabinet and stands
in front of it. He is joined by TONY, HELENA and ALAN.
JOHNSON
But I saw him! I was looking
straight him! His eyes opened
wide. Like a couple of hot
burning coals.
HELENA
You were under strain. You
thought Mr. Carter had been
killed.
ALAN
(interceding)
Helena, I know he's kind of a
Minerology freak ... but maybe
he did see this character open
his eyes.
CONTINUED
9
5 CONTD. 4
TONY, with sudden recall, points to a strange sign on
the framework of the cabinet.
TONY
Helena. On Krom II, the natives
knew that as the symbol for deadly
danger. They called it Flammon,
the Death-Glow, remember?
HELENA
A sign left by a god-like race to
warn the natives of the places
where their lives would be in
danger, according to their legends.
TONY
(grim recall)
And we lost two men to that legend.
ALAN
(seriously)
So how come I wasn't clobbered dead?
TONY
(giving ALAN back a
couple of his own words)
Too ornery for a Cobber to be
clobbered.
JOHNSON stares balefully at the man in the box.
JOHNSON
He would have been if he'dve had
anything to do with it! There
was murder in his eyes.
A sharp cry from VINCENT at the medical monitor, interrupts.
VINCENT
Helena!
HELENA, TONY, ALAN and JOHNSON cross swiftly to him and
look at the monitor. On it the lines are steady.
VINCENT
A moment ago - I picked up a
heart-beat.
They all look at the monitor again. The lines remain
steady. There is a quickness, a feeling of urgency,
hope for answers, in the tone of their speeches that
follow.
CONTINUED:
The first change to this scene comes in the 21st April line amendments, cutting down Helena's opening joke.
CAST
Delete: 2 Male Archanons (N.S.)
Page 2. Scn.3
Delete: JOHNSON'S speech.
Stage directions to read:
ALAN clambers out of the moonbuggv. JOHNSON follows
him and they walk through narrow gap into the cavern.
Page 5. Scn.5
HELENA's first speech to read:
HELENA
(to ALAN)
As our Search and Rescue
Medical Team would say,
"Hey, are you allright ?"
HELENA'S second speech to read :
HELENA
Nothing you won't be over
in a couple of hours.
Then the following pages are replaced with abbreviated versions of the dialogue.
"THE MARK OF ARCHANON"
21st April 1976.
6.
5. CONTD.
ALAN gets to his feet, rubbing his forehead.
They are joined by TONY, who smiles, seeing ALAN back
on his feet.
TONY
Back among the living. You
had us worried for a minute.
ALAN
(grins)
Hate to have disappointed you,
Tony. You come up with anything
yet?
TONY
A lot of questions.
He jerks a thumb towards the sonarscope.
TONY turns to HELENA.
TONY
Any theories ?
HELENA
None yet.
ALAN
Of course I'm just an Eagle jockey,
but could it be some sort of
cryogenic suspended animation
set-up ?
CONTINUED:
Page 7 was unchanged, and the new page 8 is much shorter.
"THE MARK OF ARCHANON"
21st April 1976.
8.
5. CONTD. 3
HELENA indicates the medical monitor.
HELENA
Our Sensor doesn't agree
with you, Andy.
JOHNSON
But I saw him ! I was looking
straight at him! His eyes
opened wide. Like a couple of
hot burning coals.
HELENA
You were under strain. You
thought Mr. Carter had been
killed.
CONTINUED:
"THE MARK OF ARCHANON"
21st April 1976.
9.
5 CONTD. 4
TONY, with sudden recall, points to a strange sign on
the framework of the cabinet.
TONY
Helena. On Krom II, the natives
knew that as the symbol for deadly
danger. They called it Flammon,
the Death-Glow, remember ?
HELENA
A sign left by a god-like race to
warn the natives of the places
where their lives would be in
danger.
A sharp cry from VINCENT at the medical monitor,
interrupts.
VINCENT
Helena !
HELENA, TONY, ALAN and JOHNSON cross swiftly to him and
look at the monitor. On it the lines are steady.
VINCENT
A moment ago - I picked up a
heart-beat.
They all look at the monitor again. The lines remain
steady. There is a quickness, a feeling of urgency,
hope for answers, in the tone of their speeches that
follow.
CONTINUED:
On the 27th April, there is a third version of page 6. For the first time we get the weird question from Helena "Could the Moon have been inhabited?", a line that will later be given to Tony. Also the dialogue explains why Koenig is not present,
"THE MARK OF ARCHANON"
27th April 1976
6.
5. CONTD.
ALAN gets to his feet, rubbing h1s forehead.
They are joined by TONY, who smiles, seeing ALAN back
on his feet.
TONY
Back among the living. You
had us worried for a minute.
ALAN
(grins)
Hate to have disappointed you,
Tony. You come up with anything
yet ?
TONY
A lot of questions, such as,
where did they come from.
He jerks a thumb towards the sonarscope.
HELENA (shrugs)
Could the moon have been
inhabited at one time ?
TONY
Maybe we can find out.
HELENA
Have you informed John of
the situation ?
TONY
Yasko's been trying to contact
his Eagle. She can't get through...
ALAN
(he's been concentrating
on the problem)
Of course I'm just an Eagle
jockey, but could it be some
sort of cryogenic suspended
animation set-up ?
CONTINUED:
Finally, on 14th May, the day of filming, we have a new pink page condensing three pages into one. Finally Tony has the odd line "Could the Moon have been inhabited in the past?" Even this isn't the final dialogue. The temperature was scripted to appear as text on the monitor, but instead Dr Nunez (Vincent) states it in dialogue. After Nunez says there is no heart beat, Alan states "Well, I saw his eyes open, I tell you. I saw his eyes open", which is adapted from Johnson's line back on page 8 for 21st April.
"THE MARK OF ARCHANON"
14th May, 1976
6/7/8
5 CONTD.
ALAN opens his eyes.
HELENA
Back among the living. You
had us worried for a minute.
ALAN grins weakly. HELENA helps him to his feet ...
he reacts to the cabinet:
TONY is with VINCENT who is monitoring the Medical
Sensors trained on the cabinet. He is watching a small
medical monitor. On it are two straight and steady
lines of light. HELENA and ALAN join them, as:
TONY
Could it be a cryogenic suspended
animation set-up?
VINCENT presses a button. The lines on the monitor
disappear and are replaced by the words, printed out,
"INTERNAL CABINET TEMPERATURE - 4 degrees C."
HELENA
No. It's cool in there, but
it's well above the cryogenic
temperature range.
He presses another button. The two straight lines
return. All four look at the screen. The lines
remain steady. HELENA looks inquiringly at VINCENT.
He shakes his head.
VINCENT
Nothing. No sign of life at
any level. No brain activity
... no heart beat.
TONY
Could the Moon have been inhabited
in the past? Is this some form
of burial?
HELENA
A bit elaborate for a cemetery,
don't you think? Surrounded by
a strong force field. Who are
they being protected from?
CONTINUED:
Copyright Martin Willey