An alien ship crashlands on Moonbase Alpha carrying cryogenic chambers with sleeping humanoid lifeforms known as Kaldorians (led by Christopher Lee!) who had fled their dying planet for Earth, hoping to be accepted so they can live/survive. Crooked politician Commissioner Simmonds (a particularly loathsome Roy Dotrice) is obsessed with getting home to Earth even if it means blackmailing Commander Koenig (Martin Landau) by removing a vital part that keeps the temperature on Moonbase Alpha under control. Lee must endure hippy attire, with long robe and hair colored, and does so by taking his role extremely seriously, speaking all times in a quiet, peaceful tone, very calm and reserved. It is refreshing to have an episode where the aliens are not hostile and do not rush into seeking revenge when Dr. Helena Russell uses a drill to open one of the plastic cryogenic cases containing a Kaldorian, hoping to examine them (they believe the aliens are dead), killing it. Instead, believe it or not, Captain Zandor (Lee) offers one of the Alpha crew a chance to take the place of the Kaldorians' dead comrade, a ride to Earth with a calculated 75 years to enter the planet's orbit. Koenig wants the computer to decide objectively who will take that spot for home but Simmonds, chomping at the bit because he has no place on Alpha due to his status as a beaurocrat, will have none of it. His fate is appropriate and who the computer chooses is just the right bit of irony to close out the episode. There is a strong sequence of suspense where Helena, participating in an experiment to see if humans are compatible in the Kaldorians' cryogenic stasis, could be in danger of succumbing to a severe brain trauma if the process isn't successful. This episode does a swell job of establishing just how everyone feels about Simmonds, considering him a cipher, an annoying nuisance, insufferable and aggravating. The clashes between Koeing and Simmonds further illustrates this.
Review of Earthbound
