Terence Feely was a writer who contributed two of the most audaciously interesting and visually arresting episodes of ITC series UFO (TIMELASH) and THE PRISONER (THE GIRL WHO WAS DEATH), but he outdoes himself here with perhaps the most outrageous conceit I've ever seen in ITC series history. It's hard to discuss it here without giving away this two-parter's big twist, but suffice to say, as usual things are not as they seem in the Feely universe. *sigh* okay, there's no way to discuss this without broaching it, so spoilers a'borning....
Things begin inauspiciously with an unexplained Koenig wig out and Eagle crash into a nuclear waste dump. Koenig's atypical, almost inebriated state of mind is oddly unexplained and makes for a thin episode intro. If justified, it could have bolstered his fellow Alphans' doubts about his Kevin McCarthyesque accusation against the Earth expedition they soon encounter, but Koenig's initial irrationality is never really taken up again. Also unexplored is why Koenig is able to see the true identities of the expeditioneers. Again, with a little more work, Koenig's initially seeming irrationality and later unexplained clarity could have been better integrated into the plot, but I fear the constraints of television production scheduling interfered. (My solution: give him an illness at the start of the episode and put him on some exotic drug that causes everyone to think he is hallucinating but in fact the drug becomes his justification for being the only one to see properly. Alas, they didn't come up with this angle.) However... the ridiculous audacity of what's really at work in this outing is ironically one of its strengths. The fact that the "Earthmen" are, in fact, squiggly Sigmund and the Sea Monster aliens might be nonsensical to watch, but when we learn why they are there, for once it is logical and chilling. Further, the justification for their careful and subtle manipulation of the moon base inhabitants' actions with this elaborate masquerade is a pure pleasure to watch. In short, a good back-story can justify a multitude of sinful implausibilities, and the second episode of BRINGERS OF WONDER, in particular, has a lot of great mind games that play with perceptions and reality and make us largely forgive the visual wackiness of the aliens and their crazy plan.
As someone long interested in sleight of hand and playing with expectations, I found the sequences involving alien manipulations of Alan Carter, etal attacking Koenig and Maya and tricking other crewmen into adjusting the radiation controls, etc. by messing with their perceptions to be very entertaining and clever.
In short, this is an episode which appears to be utterly stupid shock value sci-fi horror on the surface but the more you watch (particularly in the second part of BRINGERS OF WONDER), the more there is to enjoy. In particular, Alan Carter's apparent return to earth (and the reality behind it) and the alien leader's climactic appeal to a hoodwinked crewman who finally sees the truth at the end about the value of fantasy over reality are two real highlights from the entire 48 episodes. Get past the drool-slobbering, slimy Naugahyde-tentacled surface and I suspect you may find hidden beauty and depth in this farcical but deceptively clever ride.
Things begin inauspiciously with an unexplained Koenig wig out and Eagle crash into a nuclear waste dump. Koenig's atypical, almost inebriated state of mind is oddly unexplained and makes for a thin episode intro. If justified, it could have bolstered his fellow Alphans' doubts about his Kevin McCarthyesque accusation against the Earth expedition they soon encounter, but Koenig's initial irrationality is never really taken up again. Also unexplored is why Koenig is able to see the true identities of the expeditioneers. Again, with a little more work, Koenig's initially seeming irrationality and later unexplained clarity could have been better integrated into the plot, but I fear the constraints of television production scheduling interfered. (My solution: give him an illness at the start of the episode and put him on some exotic drug that causes everyone to think he is hallucinating but in fact the drug becomes his justification for being the only one to see properly. Alas, they didn't come up with this angle.) However... the ridiculous audacity of what's really at work in this outing is ironically one of its strengths. The fact that the "Earthmen" are, in fact, squiggly Sigmund and the Sea Monster aliens might be nonsensical to watch, but when we learn why they are there, for once it is logical and chilling. Further, the justification for their careful and subtle manipulation of the moon base inhabitants' actions with this elaborate masquerade is a pure pleasure to watch. In short, a good back-story can justify a multitude of sinful implausibilities, and the second episode of BRINGERS OF WONDER, in particular, has a lot of great mind games that play with perceptions and reality and make us largely forgive the visual wackiness of the aliens and their crazy plan.
As someone long interested in sleight of hand and playing with expectations, I found the sequences involving alien manipulations of Alan Carter, etal attacking Koenig and Maya and tricking other crewmen into adjusting the radiation controls, etc. by messing with their perceptions to be very entertaining and clever.
In short, this is an episode which appears to be utterly stupid shock value sci-fi horror on the surface but the more you watch (particularly in the second part of BRINGERS OF WONDER), the more there is to enjoy. In particular, Alan Carter's apparent return to earth (and the reality behind it) and the alien leader's climactic appeal to a hoodwinked crewman who finally sees the truth at the end about the value of fantasy over reality are two real highlights from the entire 48 episodes. Get past the drool-slobbering, slimy Naugahyde-tentacled surface and I suspect you may find hidden beauty and depth in this farcical but deceptively clever ride.