BBC 1 premieres the fourth and final episode of the short-run series The Nightmare Man, written by former Doctor Who script editor Robert Holmes, directed by ’70s Doctor Who director Douglas Camfield, and starring many faces familiar to fans of that series. Not intended to be an ongoing series, this one-off four-part serial is commissioned to fill a gap in the BBC’s summer schedule. 
Without warning, Colonel Howard appears in full battledress and declares martial law, claiming that backup is on the way and that the island’s civilian population now answers to him. Inskip, skeptical, tries to phone the mainland for confirmation, only to discover that the line has been cut. Gaffikin and Fiona are ordered to assist the Colonel, who turns out not to be an officer of the British Army at all, but a Soviet operative working under a stolen identity – as are all of his newly-arrived men. They are here to retrieve the Vodyanoi, an experimental submarine with a symbiotic link to its pilot. That pilot became disconnected from the sub when it ran aground, resulting in the murderous creature stalking the island now. Colonel Howard – revealed to be Colonel Vladimir Kornilov – wishes to clean up the mess for the locals and leave without any further international incident, but even his expertise may not be enough to end the bloodlust of the Vodyanoi’s demented pilot.
written by Robert Holmes
based on the novel “Child Of Vodyanoi” by David Wiltshire
directed by Douglas Camfield
music by Robert StewartCast: James Warwick (Michael Gaffikin), Jonathan Newth (Colonel Howard), Celia Imrie (Fiona Patterson), Maurice Roeves (Inspector Inskip), Tom Watson (Dr. Goudry), James Cosmo (Sergeant Carch), Jeffrey Stewart (Drummond), Robert Vowles (Lieutenant Carey), Pat Gorman (The Killer)
LogBook entry by Earl Green