| Moonbase 3 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Title: | Moonbase 3 |
| Format: | Live-action |
| Running time: | 50 min. |
| country: | United Kingdom |
| Network: | BBC One |
| Seasons: | 1 |
| Episodes: | 6 |
| Production | |
| Production company: | British Broadcasting Corporation 20th Century Fox Television |
| Executive producers: | Barry Letts |
| Producers: | Terrance Dicks |
| Principal cast: | Donald Houston; Ralph Bates; Fiona Gaunt; Barry Lowe |
| Air dates | |
| First aired: | September 9th, 1973 |
| Last aired: | October 14th, 1973 |
Moonbase 3 is a British science fiction television miniseries. The show was created by Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts and produced by the BBC. It aired for six installments from September-October, 1973 with each installment running approximately 50 minutes. All six episodes of the show were made available on the Moonbase 3: The Complete Series 2-disc DVD collection. The series starred Donald Houston as Doctor David Caulder, Barry Lowe as Tom Hill, Fiona Gaunt as Doctor Helen Smith and Ralph Bates as Doctor Michel Lebrun. The show was considered a grim and realisitic approach to hard science, which earned it some respect amongst sci-fi enthusiasts, but did not generate a significant amount of popularity to maintain itself as a franchise.
Characters[]
- Doctor David Caulder (Donald Houston)
- Appointed Director of Moonbase 3 following the death of his predecessor, David Caulder is a scientist, academic and administrator.[1] A lecturer at the University of Oxford, he rose to prominence when he was appointed Chancellor of the University during a period of student unrest and managed to calm the situation down, earning him a reputation as a "Welsh wizard".[1] The Director-General of the European space effort describes Caulder as a "militant liberal, passionately committed to the middle of the road".[1] Caulder sees himself as a buffer, who deals with the political aspects of running the moonbase, giving the others the room to perform the vital tasks of keeping Moonbase 3 operations going.[2]
- Doctor Michel Lebrun (Ralph Bates)
- Deputy Director Michel Lebrun is noted for his rigid adherence to the rules and procedures, making him a somewhat inflexible individual who has difficulty understanding the human dimension involved when dealing with other base personnel.[3][3] The Frenchman is slightly resentful of Caulder's appointment to the position of Director, feeling that he has been overlooked for the job though Helen Smith reminds him that he is, perhaps, too young to take up the position at this time.[1] However, when he is ordered to relieve Caulder of command during the attempted rescue of Tom Hill in the episode "Castor and Pollux", he remains loyal to Caulder and carries out the rescue as planned despite his misgivings about the risks.[2]
- Doctor Helen Smith (Fiona Gaunt)
- Helen Smith is the base psychologist responsible for preparing regular psychological record reports (or PSIs), assessing the mental state of all personnel.[1] An expert in behavioural studies in an alien environment – her thesis was titled "Human beings adjust" – she acts as a sounding board, enabling individual crew members to adapt to the situation of life on the Moon.[3] However, she develops a trend of engaging in romantic relationships with her most troubled patients as seen in "Achilles Heel" and "Outsiders". [3][4]
- Tom Hill (Barry Lowe)
- 42 year old Tom Hill is director of operations on the moonbase responsible for flight control and base maintenance.[5][1] An experienced astronaut, he became a minor celebrity six years before the events of the series take place when he rescued an escaped cat from a spacelab.[1] A down-to-earth no-nonsense type, who dislikes having his worked interfered with by management, he generally tries to maintain an informal, casual air, calling all female staff as "love" and calling Lebrun "Mickey boy", a moniker Lebrun hates.[1][3] However, unhappy about the way Caulder conducted the investigation of his predecessor's death in "Departure and Arrival", Hill initially maintains a strictly businesslike relationship with Caulder before their relationship thaws in later episodes.[5]
Episodes[]
| Episode | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1x1 | Departure and Arrival | September 9th, 1973 |
| 1x2 | Behemoth | September 16th, 1973 |
| 1x3 | Achilles Heel | September 23rd, 1973 |
| 1x4 | Outsiders | September 30th, 1973 |
| 1x5 | Castor and Pollux | October 7th, 1973 |
| 1x6 | View of a Dead Planet | October 14th, 1973 |
Notes[]
- Moonbase 3 (TV series) redirects to this page.
- The setting of the series was the Moonbase 3 research facility on Earth's moon in the year 2003.
- Music for the series was composed by Dudley Simpson.
Recommendations[]
See also[]
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Letts, Barry; Dicks, Terrance (Writers) & Hannam, Ken (Director). (1973). "Departure and Arrival" (Television series episode). In Barry Letts (Producer), Moonbase 3. London: BBC One 1973-09-09 19:25
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lucarotti, John (Writer) & Barry, Christopher (Director). (1973). "Castor and Pollux" (Television series episode). In Barry Letts (Producer), Moonbase 3. London: BBC One 1973-10-07 19:25
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Lucarotti, John (Writer) & Barry, Christopher (Director). (1973). "Achilles Heel" (Television series episode). In Barry Letts (Producer), Moonbase 3. London: BBC One 1973-09-23 19:25
- ↑ Brason, John (Writer) & Hannam, Ken (Director). (1973). "Outsiders" (Television series episode). In Barry Letts (Producer), Moonbase 3. London: BBC One 1973-09-30 19:25
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Brason, John (Writer) & Hannam, Ken (Director). (1973). "Outsiders" (Television series episode). In Barry Letts (Producer), Moonbase 3. London: BBC One 1973-09-30 19:25