The Machines Strike Back (12 Dec. 1965)

Admiral Nelson is under pressure when a drone sub system he pioneered malfunctions and fires three missiles at New York City. The race is on to establish what went wrong and how to stop it happening again.

Director:

Nathan Juran

Writers:

Irwin Allen (creator), John Hawkins,

Stars:

Richard Basehart, David Hedison, Roger C. Carmel

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Richard Basehart	...	Admiral Nelson
David Hedison	...	Captain Crane
Roger C. Carmel	...	Admiral Halder
Françoise Ruggieri	...	Capt. Verna Trober
Terry Becker	...	Chief Sharkey
Allan Hunt	...	Riley
Del Monroe	...	Kowalski
Arch Whiting	...	Sparks
John Gallaudet	...	Admiral Johnson
Bert Remsen	...	Senator Kimberly (as Bert Ramsen)
Alfred Shelly	...	Murphy (as Al Shelly)
Robert Dowdell	...	Chip Morton (as Bob Dowdell)

Storyline

Admiral Nelson is under pressure when a drone sub system he pioneered malfunctions and fires three missiles at New York City. The race is on to establish what went wrong and how to stop it happening again.

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Genres:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 December 1965 (USA)

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cambridge Productions, Irwin Allen Productions, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

This Episode: A Two Scene Wonder

A drone submarine fires missiles at New York city and Seaview is called into action.

If you have followed my IMDb Voyage reviews you will of picked up on the fact that I regard Richard Basehart as an all-mighty part of this series and I pay close attention to how he is seen and heard on the screen. So with that in mind you will understand that I would be a little bothered when the very short Basehart is constantly paired up with the very tall Carmel in The Machines Strike Back. Many would not give a crap about this casting "issue" but it bugs me to the point that it damages the entertainment value of this hour.

I also don't know what to think when Carmel suddenly comes out with a forced line like "It seems we have a disaster". When watching this bit I almost get the feeling that Irwin Allen suddenly jumped on the set, walked up to Carmel and said "Hey, can you say this...".

Despite some bumpy moments, The Machines Strike Back begins with a great teaser where we get out first look at the yellow drone submarine and it ends well with Nelson having a poetic one minute talk to his boss about the events that took place in the hour. A two scene wonder.