"The Machine" | |
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Series A for Andromeda Season 1, Episode 2 | |
Air date | October 10th, 1961 |
Writers | Fred Hoyle John Elliot |
Director | Michael Hayes |
Producers | Michael Hayes Norman James |
Starring | Esmond Knight; Patricia Kneale; Peter Halliday; Noel Johnson; Julie Christie |
Episode guide | |
Previous "The Message" |
Next "The Miracle" |
"The Machine" is the second episode of the British science fiction television series A for Andromeda. It was directed by Michael Hayes with a script written by Fred Hoyle and John Elliot. It first aired on the BBC on October 10th, 1961.
Synopsis[]
At the behest of the Ministry of Defence, Doctor John Fleming goes to the London Institute of Electronics where he is allowed to use their computer resources to decode the subspace messages that he picked up at Bouldershaw Fell. There, he meets a young woman named Christine. Working to translate the code, Fleming theorizes that the signals are actually a mathematical set of instructions, which includes designs for the construction of a larger, more complex computer system. The Ministry gives Fleming permission to begin construction on the computer and they set up a military research center at Thorness in Scotland. The computer is activated and begins to output its first set of instructions.
Meanwhile, Fleming's colleague, Dennis Bridger, sells out to an unscrupulous industrialist named Kaufmann, who represents a company known as Intel.
Cast[]
Actor | Role |
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Peter Halliday | Doctor John Fleming |
Esmond Knight | Professor Ernest Reinhart |
Patricia Kneale | Judy Adamson |
Frank Windsor | Dennis Bridger |
Noel Johnson | J.M. Osborne |
Julie Christie | Christine |
Donald Stewart | General Vandenberg |
Geoffrey Lewis | Doctor Geers |
John Hollis | Kaufmann |
Robert S. Young | Commissionaire |
Peter Henchie | Egon |
Frederick Treves | Captain Lovell |
John Nettleton | Harries |
Margaret Denyer | Mrs. Tate-Allen |
Jack Gwillim | Air Commodore Watling |
Ernest Hare | Minister of Science Ratcliff |
Brenda Peters | Secretary |
Anne Hudson | Nurse |
Notes & Trivia[]
- The story is told in flashback from the recollection of Professor Ernest Reinhart.
- This is the first appearance of actress Julie Christie as Christine. This is Christie's first major acting role.
- This episode marks the television debut of actor John Hollis.
Allusions[]
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Bloopers[]
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Quotes[]
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