At 1:45 on the DVD, one of the bin-like structures in the
SHADO control room is labeled "FAST ACCESS (10' BIT) DRUM
STORE, TYPE HM-15". It may be for storage of digital data
tapes on spools.
At 2:00 on the DVD, there appear to be plant specimens
growing in small, clear canisters on the top shelf behind
Straker's desk.
At 3:47 on the DVD, notice that two small yellow and red
wires are seen on the inner clasp of Jo Fraser's purse. This
is Straker's clue that she is recording the interview.
At about 3:53 on the DVD, a glimpse of Ms. Fraser's panties
are seen as she picks her notepad up from her lap. Not that
it's such a big deal since we see her in nothing but her
underwear near the end of the episode.
After the interview, Straker walks Jo from his office to her
car. He should have noticed that she didn't have her purse
with her. Especially considering he'd earlier noticed there
was a microphone built into the clasp to record their
conversation!
Jo drives what appears to be a
Porsche
911 Targa convertible.
Realizing that the reporter may have inadvertently recorded
evidence of SHADO's existence, Straker asks Ms. Ealand to
contact the Global Press Agency to find Jo Fraser.
Global Press Agency appears to be a fictional press
organization.
At 14:18 on the DVD, as Straker takes a break from his
search for Ms. Fraser, he looks at his notebook. The names
of one person and two businesses are listed, with two
crossed off. Presumably these are the leads he's found as to
her location. The name George Grainger is crossed off; the
name does not appear at any other time in the episode and
the relevance to Fraser is not revealed. The next item
crossed off is Apex Garage; presumably Straker found that
Fraser had stopped there at some time during the day. The
next item, which he asks the bartender about, is Grenville
Motel, where he finally does find her. As far as I can tell,
both Apex Garage and Grenville Motel
are fictional establishments created for the script.
This is the first episode in which we see Captain Lew
Waterman commanding Skydiver. Previously, Waterman was only
seen as an Interceptor pilot at Moonbase, while Captain
Peter Carlin was seen in command of Skydiver. In
later episodes there seems to be a rotation of captains aboard Skydiver,
just as there is of commanders at Moonbase.
At 17:25 on the DVD, a production microphone is seen poking
up from the bottom-right corner of the screen.
The unidentified object in the sky that Sky 1 is sent up to
investigate turns out to be just a weather balloon.
Ironically, since the beginning of
modern day UFO sightings in 1947, weather balloons have been
one of the many alleged explanations of what UFO witnesses were actually
seeing.
The scene of Freeman stalking away from Lt. Ford's desk at
19:55 on the DVD is a repeated and extended version of one
seen earlier at 15:40.
The apartment building Jo Fraser lives at, Windermere Hall,
is the
same one at which Foster's girlfriend Tina Duval lives in
"Survival". Fraser lives in apartment 23.
Windermere Hall is a real world apartment complex located in
Stone Grove, Edgware, England.
After Jo drives her car off the road, Straker takes her aboard
his. But, as he drives down the road at 23:33 on the DVD,
it's obvious there is no one in the passenger seat!
As Foster speaks to Freeman on the video link at 25:08 on
the DVD, there appears what I first took to be a mass of
scratch marks on the screen. Later, I
realized it was the reflection of
Foster's silver uniform! |
|
|
At 26:05 on the DVD, Straker and Jo appear to be at the same
restaurant which is later seen in
"The Dalotek Affair" and
"Computer
Affair".
Straker's house, seen for the first time here, has the same
exterior as the one used as Roper's house in
"Flight Path".
Straker has a collection of antique
pistols hanging on the wall in his house. He also has what appears
to be a representation of the thunderbird from the mythology of
a number of Native American tribes; this
may be a bit of an in-joke to the
Andersons' supermarionation series
called Thunderbirds. He
also has a zebra-skin rug on the
floor and another that may be a
razorback (American wild boar). |
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When Straker brings Jo home for dinner, notice that, shortly
after entering his home at 30:47 on the DVD, two place
settings are already on the table before they even arrived!
This episode reveals that there is a
Russian base on the moon about 120
miles east of Moonbase. At 33:17 on the
DVD, we see a shot of the Russian
moon base. Notice in the foreground
is what appears to be a lunar
landing module. |
|
The word "COBATEK" is stenciled on a wall of the Russian
mining vehicle. This may be intended to suggest the name of
a Russian company. If so, it appears to be a fictional one.
The Russian crew of the wayward moon vechicle appear to be
wearing spacesuits identical to the ones worn by SHADO
personnel from Moon Base.
As things begin to turn romantic between Straker and Jo, he
plays some classical music on his home stereo system. The
music sounds like it is "Forest Murmurs" from Act I of the
1876 opera Siegfried by Richard Wagner. A sample of
"Forest Murmurs" can be heard at
Amazon's MP3 store.
During communications, Lt. Ford refers to the moon mobile
sent to intercept the Russian vehicle as M-3. But at
41:55 on the DVD, the mobile is seen to be number 4.
When Foster boards the Russian vehicle at 42:57 on the DVD,
a costuming mix-up occurs, as he is wearing a different
style helmet than he was when in the moon mobile.
Foster finds that the two Russian crewmembers aboard the
mining vehicle are suffering from anoxia. Anoxia is caused
by a low level of oxygen in the bloodstream, resulting in
short term
confusion and forgetfulness in affected individuals. If the oxygen level is not corrected, it can
result in permanent brain damage or death.
At 44:11 on the DVD, Lieutenants Ellis and Harrington are
seen wearing white and silver spacesuits in preparation for
the potential crash of the Russian vehicle into Moonbase.
But at 45:07, the spacesuits are suddenly the standard
yellow and silver seen for most surface excursions.
Then the suit color keeps going back-and-forth between
shots! Notice also that the two women do not wear their
purple wigs while in the spacesuits; yet in the later
episode "Ordeal", Lt. Ellis is seen to retain her wig while
wearing a spacesuit.
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Jo Fraser's criminal past from her police record is left
vague to the viewer, but implies she was after something
from Straker. But what? It's never revealed. Did she (or
someone she was working for) suspect he was more than just
the head of a movie studio?
MEMORABLE DIALOG
the responsibility seat.wav
weather balloon.wav
If there's one thing I hate.wav
substitute vodka for whisky.wav
she didn't have you fooled for a moment.wav
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Episode Studies