The Metamorph

• written by Johnny Byrne
• directed by Charles Crichton
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: In the wake of an encounter with another space warp, Moonbase Alpha is badly in need of titanium to repair the base's life support systems. An Eagle is sent to do a mineral survey of the nearest planet, but after detecting titanium and heading back to the moon, the Eagle is intercepted by a glowing orb of light that originated from the planet's surface. A being identifying himself as Mentor of the planet Psychon contacts Moonbase Alpha and offers peace, if Koenig can prove that his crew can be trusted. Koenig personally leads a second expedition to Psychon, but to his horror discovers that the first Eagle is not the only spacecraft to have come to a tragic end on the planet's surface. He also finds that the crews of the other crashed ships have been reconditioned to serve as slave laborers for Mentor's race of psychopaths, their stolen mental energy used to power the Psychons' central computer. Koenig is forced to choose between his crew's extinction or servitude, but he plays a card that Mentor doesn't expect, setting into motion the destruction of Psychon itself. Maya survives the carnage, but can she ever trust Koenig and the other humans?
• Season Two Regular Cast: Martin Landau (Commander John Koenig), Barbara Bain (Dr. Helena Russell), Catherine Schell (Maya)
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Brian Blessed (Mentor), Anouska Hempel (Annette Fraser), John Hug (Bill Fraser), Gerard Paquis (Lew Picard), Peter Porteous (Petrov), Nick Brimble (Ray Torens), Anton Phillips (Dr. Mathias)
• Originally broadcast: 4 September 1976

The Exiles

• written by Donald James
• directed by Ray Austin
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: The Moon drifts through a dense cluster of stars, though it escapes being drawn in by their gravity. But it doesn't escape the approach of several conical objects which appear to be on a direct heading for Moonbase Alpha. Two Eagles are launched, and Koenig and Dr. Russell perform a spacewalk to retrieve one of the coffin-like objects. The projectile contains a young humanoid male in suspended animation, who, when revived, asks Koenig to save his people. The commander, however, isn't so sure - Alpha's life support capacity is already stretched to its limits. But if Koenig doesn't act, his visitor says that the gravity of the stellar cluster will tear the remaining pods apart. Koenig stuns his own staff by declining the mission of mercy, but soon it becomes apparent that his visitor won't take no for an answer.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Peter Duncan (Cantar), Stacy Dorning (Zova), Margaret Inglis (Mirella), Anthony Beckett (Stal), Peggy Ledger (Old Lady), Anton Phillips (Dr. Mathias)
• Originally broadcast: 11 September 1976

Journey To Where

• written by Donald James
• directed by Tom Clegg
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: Moonbase Alpha receives a transmission directed specifically toward it - and it appears to originate from Earth. The voice from Earth claims that the year there is now 2029, and that the technology is available on Earth to bring the Alpha crew home. Though skeptical, Koenig agrees to give the project a try. As the crew works toward building a device to return them to 21st century Earth, they learn that things have changed on Earth - it's become a barren planet with sealed, domed cities and more earthquakes than before. After a successful test of the long-range transport system, Commander Koenig, Dr. Russell and Tony volunteer to be the first live test subjects, but when a freak earthquake strikes the domed city that the Alpha crew is attempting to reach, they find themselves in a jungle and they don't even know if it's on Earth.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Freddie Jones (Dr. Logan), Isla Blair (Carla), Jeffery Kissoon (Dr. Ben Vincent), Yasuko Nagazumi (Yasko), Roger Bizley (MacDonald), Laurence Harrington (Jackson), Norwich Duff (1st Operative, Texas), Peggy Page (The Old Crone)
• Notes: Recognize the "test package" sent to Earth by Alpha? It's a repainted model of the atmosphere-spewing probe from The Last Sunset.
• Originally broadcast: 18 September 1976

One Moment Of Humanity

• written by Tony Barwick
• directed by Charles Crichton
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: A power loss cripples Moonbase Alpha and freezes the crew as a humanoid woman materializes in the command center. Claiming to be curious about humanity, she abducts Dr. Russell and Tony Verdeschi with a promise to return them unharmed. Despite this, Koenig begins making rescue preparations as soon as the Moonbase's uninvited visitor leaves. Dr. Russell and Tony find themselves on an alien world when lifelike robots have turned the tables on their former masters; the humans are now the underclass, and they advise Russell not to employ violence in any form. The robots are trying to learn about human emotions, hoping to understand the link between hate and the urge to kill...and if their test subjects do display that emotion, the robots will finally learn how to ultimately subdue the humans.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Billie Whitelaw (Zamara), Leigh Lawson (Zarl), Geoffrey Bayldon (Number Eight)
• Originally broadcast: 25 September 1976

Brian The Brain

• written by Jack Ronder
• directed by Kevin Connor
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: A gravitational force draws the Moon off of its course. Moonbase Alpha's computer, which has already been acting strangely, can find no signs of whatever may be causing the anomaly. Koenig orders a full-scale evacuation, and another spacecraft approaches the Moon - an early version of the same Eagles used by Koenig and his crew. A voice hails them from that Eagle, introducing himself as the ship's captain, but when the Eagle lands at Moonbase Alpha, there's no sign of the Eagle's crew - and the captain's voice is coming from a mobile computer which christens itself Brian. Detaching himself from his Eagle's control console, Brian pays a visit to Moonbase Alpha, making wisecracks at the crew and earning their trust. But while giving Koenig and Dr. Russell a tour of his Eagle, Brian takes off with them inside - threatening to kill them unless they help him acquire a new power source.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Bernard Cribbins (voice of Brian / Captain Michael), John Hug (Fraser), Marc Zuber (Security lieutenant), Michael Sharvell-Martin (Brian robot), Annie Lambert (First operative), Yasuko Nagazumi (Yasko)
• Originally broadcast: 2 October 1976

New Adam, New Eve

• written by Terence Feely
• directed by Charles Crichton
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: As the Moon approaches a blue planet, the female crewmembers of Moonbase Alpha begin to feel strange effects. A robed man appears on the screen, and then in the middle of the Main Mission, claiming to be the being who created humanity. A skeptical Koenig asks the seemingly human being, Magus, to demonstrate his power by sending the Moon back to Earth, but Magus instead offers a new Earth. When Koenig, Dr. Russell, Tony and Maya go to investigate the planet's surface, Magus makes that offer a demand: the landing party is to stay in his new garden of Eden, mate and produce offspring. But Magus has even decided who will be mated to whom, pairing Koenig with Maya and Tony with Dr. Russell. To force the issue, Magus even makes the Eagle vanish from its landing site. When they discover that there are male-female pair of other species stranded on the planet as well, Koenig and his crew are attacked by Magus. Cut off from any contact with Alpha, Koenig and the others must figure out how to unmask their new would-be god.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Guy Rolfe (Magus), Bernard Kay
• Originally broadcast: 9 October 1976

The Mark Of Archanon

• written by Lew Schwartz
• directed by Charles Crichton
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: Alan Carter and a Moonbase Alpha geologist are mining much-needed minerals from beneath the moon's own surface, and his expedition makes an astonishing find - two humanoid figures, perfectly preserved in some sort of suspended animation chamber. Alan touches the device and receives a nearly fatal shock. Dr. Russell and Tony Verdeschi arrive to take charge, but before any progress can be made in reviving the two mystery men, a cave-in occurs, forcing Tony and Alan to break into the chamber and rescue the two men before they're crushed. As they recover quickly, Maya recognizes the rescued father and son as natives of Archanon, a planet whose residents are renowned for spreading peace across the galaxy. But the crew finds out too late that Pasc, the elder alien, has a disease unique to the Archanons, a disorder which results in violent impulses and actions. Worse yet, there's every indication that Pasc has passed the disease on to his son.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), John Standing (Pasc), Michael Gallagher (Etrec), Veronica Lang (Lyra / Maurna), John Alkin (Johnson), John Hug (Fraser), Anthony Forrest (Carson), Raul Newey (Dr. Raul Nunez), Yasuko Nagazumi (Yasko)
• Originally broadcast: 16 October 1976

The Rules Of Luton

• written by Charles Woodgrove
• directed by Val Guest
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: Koenig, Tony Verdeschi and Maya are en route to explore an Earthlike world when their Eagle develops an oxygen leak. Koenig sends Verdeschi back to pick up a different Eagle, while he and Maya explore the planet. Maya spots edible vegetation, but when Maya picks and flower Koenig bites into a handful of berries, they hear screams - and a voice proclaims them guilty of murder. Cutting off the explorers' contact with Moonbase Alpha, the voices claim to be the Judges of Luton, and force Koenig and Maya to fight a trio of previous transgressors. Koenig and Maya evade the three hulking aliens for as long as possible, and then Koenig tries to convince them not to fight - a potential truce to which the Judges take exception.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), David Jackson (Alien Strong), Godfrey James (Alien Transporter), Roy Marsden (Alien Invisible), Yasuko Nagazumi (Yasko)
• Notes: David Jackson went on to star, a year and a half later, as one of Blake's 7; in later interviews, he likened the experience to "acting with a tent over your head." Koenig reveals that he was married on Earth, but his wife was a casualty of a catastrophic global war; Dr. Russell reminds him of her.
• Originally broadcast: 21 October 1976

All That Glisters

• written by Keith Miles
• directed by Ray Austin
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: A planet is detected with traces of minerals vital to Moonbase Alpha's survival, and the command staff takes a survey Eagle down to explore the surface. What they don't expect to find is a large, glowing mineral deposit. They cut off a sample and return to the Eagle with it, but during routine examination, it emits a bright life and Tony falls to the floor, dead. Commander Koenig's first instinct is to leave the planet immediately, though Maya and Dr. Russell feel that the key to learning what happened to Tony, or perhaps reviving him, lies with further study of the rock sample. As Koenig leads the survey team back out to the surface, Dr. Russell is stunned when Tony rises and walks out of the Eagle, returning a short while later with another chunk of the glowing rock. The survey teams rushes back to the Eagle, where power has been drained and contact has been lost with Moonbase Alpha. When Koenig moves to remove the new sample, it seems to attack him too, though not fatally. With time running out, Koenig is now convinced that not only is the rock a life form, but it's been subtly guiding the mission from the start.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Patrick Mower (Dave Reilly)
• Originally broadcast: 28 October 1976

The Taybor

• written by Thorn Keyes
• directed by Bob Brooks
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: Small glowing objects appear all over the station, and the first two people to touch them are blinded. Not long afterward, a booming voice contacts the Moonbase, bellowing "Ahoy there, Moonbase Alpha!" Moments after requesting permission to land (and not really getting it), a large orange spacecraft appears on the moon's surface, followed by the appearance of its rotund captain, identifying himself as a trader named the Taybor, in Alpha's command center. It is clear that the Taybor has been monitoring Koenig and his crew for some time, as he seems to know quite a bit about them, and even invites himself to stay for dinner. During that meal, Tony Verdeschi finally finds an admirer of his home-brewed beer in the crew's guest, and when his tongue is a bit loosened, the Taybor reveals that his craft is capable of making hyperspace jumps, a technology that intrigues Koenig. The commander tries to barter with the Taybor for passage to Earth for the entire crew, but the trader wants only one thing in exchange - Maya.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Willoughby Goddard (The Taybor), Jeffrey Kissoon (Dr. Ben Vincent), John Hug (Fraser), Yasuko Nagazumo (Yasko), Larraine Humphrys (Karen), Rita Webb (Slatternly Woman), Mel Taylor (Andrews)
• Originally broadcast: 4 November 1976

Seed Of Destruction

• written by John Goldsmith
• directed by Derek Connor
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: A few asteroids of unknown composition appear near the moon, and even Moonbase Alpha's scanners can't determine what they're made of or where they came from. Commander Koenig and Alan Carter pay a visit to one of the asteroids, but their Eagle develops a fault, leaving Koenig to explore a nearby cave on his own while Carter stays behind to conduct repairs. Koenig is exploring the mirrored halls of an artificial structure beneath the asteroid surface when he is attacked by a creature who is his own mirror image. Koenig's doppelganger returns to the Eagle, which lifts off and returns to Alpha, where he orders the destruction of the asteroid. But when Maya questions how the commander came to this conclusion without extensive study, he orders her confined to quarters. Verdeschi and Dr. Russell begin to suspect that something has taken over the commander's mind or replaced him, but by the time they can convince other key members of the crew to act, it's too late.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Jeffery Kissoon (Dr. Ben Vincent), Martha Nairn (Female operative), Jack Klaff (Guard), James Leith (Guard), Albin Pahernik (Creature)
• Originally broadcast: 11 November 1976

AB Chrysalis

• written by Tony Barwick
• directed by Val Guest
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: As the moon drifts dangerously close to a planet, Moonbase Alpha's sensors pick up a massive explosion near that world, sending a massive shockwave across the surface of the moon and doing widespread damage to the Moonbase. During a damage survey, Koenig, Carter and Maya discover that a small number of spherical space vessels landed on the moon in a circular pattern, using the explosion to cover their approach. Koenig boards one and is attacked by an auto-defense system. Carter helps him up and they are both scanned in a room full of spherical objects which bounce from platform to platform. After a brief introduction, the spheres provide the two humans with a breathable atmosphere and make voice contact for the first time. Koenig asks the spheres for help in avoiding the planet, but these objects are merely computer servants of a race which is in a transitional evolutionary stage - and can't be contacted. Koenig, Carter and Maya resort to desperate measures...something which may curtail the evolutionary process and give birth to a new race before its development is complete.
• Guest Cast: Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Ina Skriver (A), Sarah Douglas (B), Robert Rietty (Sphere voice), John Hug (Bill Fraser), David Sebastian Bach (Guardian's Brother), Sarah Bullen (Kate), Albin Pahernik (Creature), Yasuko Nagazumi (Yasko)
• Originally broadcast: 18 November 1976

Catacombs Of The Moon

• written by Anthony Terpiloff
• directed by Robert Lynn
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: A mining crew from Alpha searches for terraneum in tunnels dug before the Moonbase's construction. The crew chief, Patrick Osgood, is preoccupied with his wife's imminent need for a heart transplant - and a series of recurring visions of Moonbase Alpha, and his wife, being destroyed by fire. His seemingly irrational fears gain some credibility when the moon enters an area of space where the ambient temperature begins increasing exponentially. Osgood becomes even more irrational, berating Dr. Russell for her "failure" to repair his wife's heart, and as the temperature outside and inside the base climbs, Osgood straps explosives to himself, storms the medical center and kidnaps his own wife. His next stop is the barely-pressurized "catacombs" of the moon, where he insists that faith, not science, will heal her.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), James Laurenson (Patrick Osgood), Pamela Stephenson (Michelle Osgood), Jeffrey Kissoon (Dr. Ben Vincent), Lloyd McGuire (First Engineer), Brendan Price (Security Guard), Alan Hunter (Co-Pilot), Nova Llewellyn (1st Alphan Woman)
• Originally broadcast: 25 November 1976

Space Warp

• written by Charles Woodgrove
• directed by Peter Medak
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: Commander Koenig and Tony Verdeschi depart in an Eagle to board and investigate a derelict starship spotted near the moon's path. At roughly the same time that ship was detected, Maya fell ill, suffering from a high fever and flashbacks of the destruction of her home planet of Psychon. But before Koenig and Verdeschi finish receiving the latest update on Maya's condition, they're horrified when they hear cries of panic from Moonbase Alpha - and watch helplessly as the moon disappears into a space warp. As the Alpha crew recovers from their rough trip, Maya loses control, morphs into a monster, attacks Dr. Russell and escapes from the sick bay. Five light years behind the moon, Koenig and Verdeschi try unsuccessfully to pilot the Eagle into the same wormhole that carried the moon away, unaware that the creature Maya has morphed into may kill the entire crew before they can find a way back.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Jeffery Kissoon (Dr. Ben Vincent), Peter Porteous (Petrov), Tony Osoba (1st Security Guard), John Judd (2nd Security Guard), Trevor Thomas (Refuel Eagle Pilot), Andrew Lodge (Grasshopper)
• Originally broadcast: 2 December 1976

A Matter Of Balance

• written by Pip and Jane Baker
• directed by Charles Crichton
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: Upset when Tony Verdeschi blames her for the failure of his latest beer-brewing experiment, lovestruck young crewmember Shermeen Williams runs off to her quarters, where she sees a vision of a seemingly human face. She reports it to Dr. Russell, who initially dismisses it as a nightmare and puts Shermeen back on duty. But when Shermeen sees the face again, it introduces itself as Vindrus, a man trapped in a universe of antimatter, and it promises her a way to bring her closer to Verdeschi. She follows the instructions given to her by Vindrus, even to the point of disabling a crewmate to take his place on a survey of a nearby planet. This is the world where Vindrus and others like him were banished to the universe of antimatter, and where he intends to return. But for someone in the antimatter universe to cross over to the matter universe, someone from the matter unverse must do the opposite - and Shermeen has allowed herself to be lured into that deadly trap.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Lynne Frederick (Shermeen Williams), Stuart Wilson (Vindrus), John Hug (Bill Fraser), Nicholas Campbell (Eddie Collins), Brian Osborne (Mr. Potter)
• Originally broadcast: 9 December 1976

The Beta Cloud

• written by Charles Woodgrove
• directed by Robert Lynn
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: An expanding luminescent cloud appears in the moon's vicinity, and a mysterious illness sweeps the crew of Moonbase Alpha. The affliction strikes most of the male crewmembers, but not all of them. Commander Koenig is among those rendered helpless, and Tony Verdeschi takes command. Eagle 6, which was on a routine reconaissance mission, returns to the moon without fuel and without a trace of life aboard. But when Verdeschi and a security team board the Eagle, they find a vicious creature that kills everyone it can get its hands on. A mysterious voice contacts Moonbase Alpha and demands that the crew turn off the base's life support. While this ultimatum is delivered, the creature is rampaging through Alpha's corridors. As Tony and a surviving security guard try to lead their unwanted visitor into a trap in the base's vacuum chamber, Dr. Russell falls victim to the debilitating disease. The beast is cutting a deadly path toward Alpha's life support center to do what the crew is unwilling to do. But can they stop it?
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Dave Prowse (The Creature), John Hug (Bill Fraser), Albin Pahernik (Space/Kreno Animal)
• Originally broadcast: 16 December 1976

The Lambda Factor

• written by Terrance Dicks
• directed by Charles Crichton
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: A member of the medical staff is killed in a mysterious phenomenon that also lays waste to the storage section of Moonbase Alpha's sick bay. Commander Koenig irritably orders Verdeschi to begin an investigation, and continues to snap at his crew when an unusual object is spotted ahead of the moon's position in space. And Koenig isn't the only one exhibiting unusual behavior - other crew members are experiencing it, and even equipment - ranging from most of the Eagles, and a power generator in a room that Alan mysteriously becomes trapped in. Now Verdeschi feels he's investigating a murder and systematic sabotage. But when various crew members begin exhibiting apparent signs of telekinesis, the scope of Tony's investigation widens considerably. And while all of this is taking place, the unknown orb of energy draws closer until it engulfs the moon itself.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Deborah Fallender (Carolyn Powell), Jess Conrad (Mark Sanders), Anthomy Stamboulieh (George Crato), Michael Walker (Carl Renton), Gregory de Polnay (Peter Garforth), Lydia Lisle (Sally Martin), Lucinda Curtis (Tessa), Dallas Adams (Sam)
• Originally broadcast: 23 December 1976

The Bringers Of Wonder part 1

• written by Terence Feely
• directed by Tom Clegg
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: During a routine Eagle mission, Koenig - flying solo - seems to lose all control over his emotions. Giggling and yelling, Koenig flies his Eagle right into a nuclear waste dump, critically damaging both himself and his craft. Dr. Russell is left with no choice but to connect him to an experimental device to keep his brain alive - and while the commander is out of commission, a spacecraft is detected on approach to the moon at a speed faster than light. Amazingly, it appears to be a Super-Swift - an upgraded Eagle-style craft that only existed on the drawing board before the moon was blasted out of Earth's orbit. When contact is made with the Super-Swift, Tony Verdeschi is stunned to see that his older brother Guido is apparently commanding a mission to rescue the Alpha crew. The loved ones of many of Alpha's crew are aboard as well. Commander Koenig finally awakens from his treatment, and Dr. Russell tells him the good news...but when he meets the Super-Swift crew, he sees not humans, but amorphous creatures. And he can't understand why his crew is going along with them willingly.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Jeffery Kissoon (Dr. Ben Vincent), Toby Robins (Diana Morris), Stuart Damon (Guido Verdeschi), Jeremy Young (Jack Bartlett), Drewe Henley (Joe Ehrlich), Patrick Westwood (Dr. Shaw), Cher Cameron (Louisa), Al Lampert (Ken Burdett), Billy J. Mitchell (Professor Hunter), Earl Robinson (Sandstrom), Robert Sheedy (Henry), Nichols Young (Peter Rockwell), Albin Pahernik (Lizard Animal)
• Originally broadcast: 4 August 1977

The Bringers Of Wonder part 2

• written by Terence Feely
• directed by Tom Clegg
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: Restrained by his own crew, Commander Koenig fights to get Tony, Dr. Russell, Maya or anyone to believe him. He claims that the crew is being tricked by blob-like beings capable of telepathically projecting themselves as an image from someone's memory - hence the rescue ship conveniently manned by people known to members of Alpha's crew. Koenig convinces Helena to perform the same experimental brain treatment on her that he underwent, and she too can then see the Moonbase's visitors as they really are. But this revelation is too late - the aliens have set a plan into motion to feed their need for highly-radioactive emissions by exploding the nuclear waste dumps on the moon's far side. Even when Dr. Russell manages to administer a treatment to the entire Moonbase crew, Alan Carter and an alien-influenced team at the nuclear dump is left unaffected - and still doing the aliens' bidding.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Jeffery Kissoon (Dr. Ben Vincent), Toby Robins (Diana Morris), Stuart Damon (Guido Verdeschi), Jeremy Young (Jack Bartlett), Drewe Henley (Joe Ehrlich), Patrick Westwood (Dr. Shaw), Cher Cameron (Louisa), Al Lampert (Ken Burdett), Billy J. Mitchell (Professor Hunter), Earl Robinson (Sandstrom), Robert Sheedy (Henry), Nichols Young (Peter Rockwell), Albin Pahernik (Lizard Animal)
• Originally broadcast: 11 August 1977

The Seance Spectre

• written by Donald James
• directed by Peter Madek
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: The moon approaches a potentially habitable planet, but Commander Koenig, sensitive to having raised false hopes too many times in the past, keeps it a secret from most of Moonbase Alpha's population. This turns out to be an even better decision in hindsight, as Koenig discovers that the planet is on a direct collision course with the wayward moon. But a crewman named Sanderson and his close circle of friends, suspicious of the information blackout, mutiny and take over Alpha's command center. Koenig orders Sanderson and his cohorts confined to the sick bay, and then boards an Eagle with Maya to explore the planet ahead. They find not an Earthlike world, but a planet with a poisonous, turbulent atmosphere that forces a crash-landing. Carter is barely able to bring the Eagle back via remote control, and Koenig decides to deliberately replicate the nuclear blast that shot the moon out of Earth's orbit, hoping it'll divert the moon's course enough to avoid the impending collision. But Sanderson is still convinced of a cover-up - and even when his friends refuse to go against Koenig again, Sanderson is willing to put his life, and everyone else's, on the line to prove his point.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Ken Hutchinson (Greg Sanderson), Carolyn Seymour (Eva), Nigel Pegram (Cernik), James Snell (Stevens), Christopher Asante (Guard)
• Originally broadcast: 18 August 1977

Dorzak

• written by Christopher Penfold
• directed by Val Guest
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: Koenig investigates a belt of large asteroids, large enough that colonization may be possible. While the commander is gone, a spaceship requests permission to land at Moonbase Alpha, and a woman named Sahala begs for medical assistance. But when she arrives, she attacks Maya, leaving her in a coma. Sahala claims that she has the right of revenge for past atrocities committed against her people by a Psychon named Dorzak, not only a shapeshifter but capable of mind control. Maya insists that the Dorzak she knew was a peaceful philosopher, and not the dangerous prisoner that Sahala claims to have in custody.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Lee Montague (Dorzak), Jill Townsend (Sahala), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Yesta), Sam Dastor (Dr. Ed Spencer), Seretta Wilson (Clea), Richard La Parmentier (Ed Malcolm), Yasuko Nagazumi (Yasko), Paul Jerricho (1st security guard), John Judd (2nd security guard)
• Originally broadcast: 25 August 1977

Devil's Planet

• written by Michael Winder
• directed by Tom Clegg
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: Investigating an Earthlike planet, Commander Koenig and junior pilot Blake Maine discover that there's already life there - complete with technologically advanced cities. But upon landing, they discover the grisly sight of a number of dead people - with no injuries visible. Another man appears in some sort of teleportal, staggers out, and dies before their very eyes. Koenig and Maine leave immediately in their Eagle, but a quick visit to that planet's equally habitable moon results in a crash-landing in a jungle. They watch as another man, dressed like the one who died earlier, is hunted down by red-uniformed women. Koenig and Maine interfere with the hunt, and Koenig is captured by the women while his pilot is killed. Now Koenig is the prisoner of Mistress Elizia, a cruel queen who has anticipated everything from an Alphan rescue mission to Koenig's inevitable escape attempts. But the one thing she doesn't anticipate is the possibility that Koenig may prefer death to captivity.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Hildegard Neil (Elizia), Roy Marsden (Krail), Dora Reisser (Interrogator), Cassandra Harris (Sares / Controller), Angus MacInnes (Jelto), Arthur White (Kinano), Michael Dickinson (Blake Maine), John Hug (Fraser), Alibe Parsons (Alibe), Sam Dastor (Dr. Ed Spencer)
• Notes: This is an unusual episode in that Martin Landau is the only member of the regular cast to appear; though scenes of Verdeschi, Maya and Dr. Russell are viewed as Koenig's brain is scanned, all of that footage is from previous episodes.
• Originally broadcast: 1 September 1977

The Immunity Syndrome

• written by Johnny Byrne
• directed by Bob Brooks
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: An expedition to a promisingly Earthlike planet goes awry when Verdeschi hears a member of his team screaming in agony on the surface. After wrestling the man to the ground, Verdeschi himself is overpowered by a pulsing light and goes missing himself - demonstrating a sudden burst of strength powerful enough to crush his comlock with his bare hands. Koenig and his team subdue Tony and retrieve him a few hours later and lift off to rush him back to the moon via Eagle, but a team left behind on the planet falls victim to a mysterious and sudden failure of equipment. And so does Koenig's Eagle, which is forced to violently crash-land after its electronics fail and its outer skin and components turn brittle - and as the Eagle plunges to the ground, sensors on Moonbase Alpha register an increase in advanced technology on the surface. Koenig calls Alpha, unsure if he's being heard, and tells his crew to stay put - there seems to be no way to land on this planet without giving up all chances of leaving. Naturally, Dr. Russell and Maya - despite hearing the warning - begin making plans to go there immediately.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Nadim Sawalha (Zoran), Karl Held (Travis), Sam Dastor (Dr. Ed Spencer), John Hug (Fraser), Hal Galili (Voice), Alibe Parsons (Alibe), Walter McMonagle (Les Johnson), Roy Boyd (Joe Lustig)
• Notes: As seen on a computer screen, Verdeschi's vital information is as follows: full name - Anthony Dean Verdeschi; graduated B.A. Honors, University of Rome, 1990; Ph.D, Cambridge, England, 1993; birthplace, Rome, Italy. According to Dr. Russell's log entry, this episode takes places over 2300 days after the events of Breakaway - meaning that by this point, the series has chronicled over six years of the moon's misadventures.
• Originally broadcast: 29 October 1977

The Dorcons

• written by Johnny Byrne
• directed by Tom Clegg
• music by Derek Wadsworth
• Story: The moon nears some kind of drifting artificial satellite in deep space. But when the object is scanned, it blasts through Moonbase Alpha's shields with a powerful scanning beam of its own, rendering the crew immobile and damaging equipment. The beam settles on Maya, awakening her and subjecting her to extraordinary pain. A Dorcon ship appears and demand that Koenig hand Maya over - or watch his entire crew die. Koenig refuses, and a vicious attack ensues. Alan Carter leads a small fleet of Eagles into combat, but both the Eagles and Alpha suffer heavy damage while the Dorcon ship is virtually untouched. The Dorcons and Psychons are sworn enemies, and the Dorcons have the ability to stop a Psychon transformation in mid-change - and to drain a Psychon's life force to renew their own. Faced with Alpha's destruction, Koenig - at Maya's own insistence - gives up the fight and hands her over to the Dorcons. But an insurrection within the Dorcons' own ranks could give Maya and the rest of Moonbase Alpha a means of escape.
• Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Patrick Troughton (The Archon), Ann Firbank (Consul Verda), Gerry Sundquist (Malic), Alibe Parsons (Alibe), Laurence Harrington (Stewart), Kevan Sheehan (1st Dorcon operative), Michael Halsey (1st Dorcon soldier), Hamish Patrick (Command Center Alphan), Hazel McBridge (Female medical officer)
• Notes: The late Patrick Troughton was, of course, best known as the second incarnation of Doctor Who.
• Originally broadcast: 12 November 1977

Message From Moonbase Alpha

• written by Johnny Byrne
• music by Barry Gray
• Story: Some 20 years after the encounter with the Dorcons, Sandra Benes sends a message to Earth - a message that may never get through. She talks of the struggles of Moonbase Alpha's crew, and mentions that a combination of failing systems on the outpost and a promisingly Earthlike world nearby has finally resulted in an all-hands evacuation order. Not all of the crew has survived either. Sandra pleads with anyone who receives her transmission to remember the Alpha crew - even if they are never heard from again.
• Cast: Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes)
• Originally shown to convention audiences in 1999