Commander John Koenig (Martin Landau) loses his mind and crashes the ship he's piloting. After his crew saves him, Dr. Helena Russell (Barbara Bain) hooks him up to an experimental machine meant to soothe his fevered brain. Meanwhile, it seems that Moonbase Alpha has finally been found by a rescue team made up of volunteers from earth. But the rescuers that look like long-lost friends, family and lovers to everyone else, look to Koenig like mountainous glowing heaps of gore.
Part one isn't over before the delusional Koenig shouts "Whee!" and "Yippee!" and "I haven't had so much fun since I burned grandma's wig!" while playing the daredevil; shape-shifting science officer Maya (Catherine Schell) changes into a cockroach, two lizard-like space creatures, and some kind of half-ninja, half-swordfighter, complete with a hybrid costume; and the faux rescuers send various crew members walking around in a hypnotized daze, sniffing oxygen and tearing up rooms.
If these Bringers of Wonder really are huge glutinous heaps, how are people putting their arms around them, kissing them, and so forth? And why are we, the audience, seeing these creatures steal sinister looks at one another, if they aren't really human beings capable of such expressions? The answer may lie in part two—but don't bet on it.
Part one isn't over before the delusional Koenig shouts "Whee!" and "Yippee!" and "I haven't had so much fun since I burned grandma's wig!" while playing the daredevil; shape-shifting science officer Maya (Catherine Schell) changes into a cockroach, two lizard-like space creatures, and some kind of half-ninja, half-swordfighter, complete with a hybrid costume; and the faux rescuers send various crew members walking around in a hypnotized daze, sniffing oxygen and tearing up rooms.
If these Bringers of Wonder really are huge glutinous heaps, how are people putting their arms around them, kissing them, and so forth? And why are we, the audience, seeing these creatures steal sinister looks at one another, if they aren't really human beings capable of such expressions? The answer may lie in part two—but don't bet on it.