The metal device used by the astronaut at 1:46 on the DVD
may be a protractor, used to measure angles.
The astronauts have a patch on the left breast of their
flight suits that appears to be a representation of Earth
with satellite orbits depicted around it and the acronym IAC
(later seen to stand for International Astrophysical
Commission--a fictional institution).
The headset the astronaut wears at 2:03 on the DVD has a
clear earpiece covering his entire left ear. These type of
headsets are seen in use occasionally throughout the series.
The piece of space junk identified for destruction by the astronauts
at the beginning of the episode is said to be Vostok 2,
launched June 13, 1965. There was a manned Soviet capsule
called Vostok 2, but it was launched in 1961, and
successfully returned to Earth a day later. Also, the Vostok
series of space capsules were spherical, not conical as seen
in this episode. Most likely the producers simply wanted to
use a spacecraft name that would be recognizable to viewers
of the time (1969-70).
The depiction of the Apollo 8 stage floating in orbit is a
pretty accurate representation of the real Saturn V rocket
stage casing. The date of its launch given by the astronaut
here is also accurate. Apollo 8 launched on December 21,
1968, a trip to orbit the moon and return, with the crew of
Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell,
and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders.
As the camera pans up the exterior of the IAC building at
5:51 on the DVD, a person's head can be seen peeking out
from behind a window curtain of the building at the
production crew below! (At 15:46, the same shot is repeated
as a still, noticeable because the person's head is still
visible in the window; the shot appears again in
"Court Martial" and
"Close
Up".)
At 6:35 on the DVD, Freeman and an
associate are setting up what
appears to be something similar to
Star Trek's 3-dimensional
chess game in the Leisure Sphere!
The game is also seen (with different chess pieces) in
"The Man Who
Came Back". |
 |
 |
UFO
3-dimensional chess |
Star Trek
3-dimensional chess |
This episode marks the first appearance of Paul Foster as a
Colonel and commander of Moonbase. As the series progresses,
Moonbase seems to be variously commanded by Foster,
Lt. Ellis, Lt. Barry, and others, without explanation. I suppose as Colonel, Foster
is the official commander, but others fill in when he's
on leave or away on other missions for SHADO. In later
episodes, Skydiver 1 is also seen with different captains,
suggesting that SHADO rotates its personnel, perhaps so as
to not become too dependent on any one person in any
position...except Commander Straker, of course!
The control panel of the lunar module has a label reading
"COMPUTOR" on it. "Computor" is a now-obsolete version of
"computer".
At 11:43 on the DVD, the UFO limpet that detaches from the
old Apollo 8 stage casts a shadow that looks similar to a
spider on a web.

"Washington Square" is the code phrase for a ban on all
orbital flights.
At 21:54 on the DVD, in the cockpit of the lunar module, an
unexplained shadow appears briefly in the upper left corner
of the screen; probably cast by a member of the production
crew.
Looking at the analysis of Foster's nearly disastrous flight
in the lunar module, Straker sees evidence of the UFO limpet
that caused the errant flight characteristics, saying,
"Looks like an SPS rocket of some sort." He's probably
referring to the SPS (Service Propulsion System) rockets
used on the service modules of the Apollo program 1968-1972.
Foster wears a light-purple jacket during his and Straker's
meeting in Henderson's office. But, during the drive back
from there, he appears to be wearing a brownish one!
As Captain Carlin grips the control sticks of Sky 1 at 46:58
on the DVD, notice that he is wearing a ring on the little
finger of his left hand that appears to have the letters
"PG" on it. These are the initials of the actor, Peter
Gordeno! I guess the producers let him continue to wear it
as the character he plays since the "G" looks close enough
to a "C" that they could be the initials of Captain Peter
Carlin!

MEMORABLE DIALOG
you've already swung the commission against it.wav
I'm not going to swap dollar signs with you.wav
when James Henderson calls.wav
I won't take no for an answer.wav
let's be
kind.wav
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Episode Studies