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The Shrinking Spaceman

Synopsis:
Contact with the Scientific Headquarters on Jupiter, which is on the far side of the sun, has been lost and Galasphere 347 is sent to the transmitter relay on Pallas to investigate. The tower has been struck by a meteorite and Husky cuts his hand on a chunk. On returning to Earth, Husky falls ill and his body is found to be shrinking. No cures are found and the only way to prevent the condition worsening is to freeze him. In the meantime, Galasphere 347 is sent on another mission to Jupiter to collect rock samples and while there, Joe is bitten by a snake. Dart and Slim venture into the swamps to find a Lumi Pebble which may be the only cure...

The Shrinking Spaceman
Cast
Captain Larry Dart
Husky
Slim
Colonel Raeburn
Marla
Professor Haggarty
Cassie
Gabbler
Doctor Smith
Doctor Brown
Martian
Joe
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 Dick Vosburgh
Ronnie Stevens
Ronnie Stevens
Murray Kash
Libby Morris
Ronnie Stevens
Libby Morris
Libby Morris
Dick Vosburgh
Ronnie Stevens
Dick Vosburgh
Ronnie Stevens
And The Moral Is:
• I Ain’t Got No Body

Today I Will Be Mostly Learning... :
• You cannot send signals directly to planets on the opposite side of the Sun, but you can relay them via another source.

Slimantics:
• “I cannot comprehend you.”
• “Even with the molung, the atmosphere gives me pulmonary congestion.”

A Venusian Has...:
• The ability to be succinct. To which Slim comments that Venusian women never talk much.

“Don’t Call Me Pop!”:
• “A shrinking disease... hmmm, bejabbers.”

To Coin A Phrase:
• Dart: “As soon as we left the asteroid, we went into the freezer.” Haggarty: “The freezer! Of course..."

Is This A Joke ?:
• Slim thinks Husky is joking when, suffering from the first effects of the cut, he states he is not hungry.

The UGO Needs You‘:
• “A Space Patrol man must put his duty before his personal feelings.”

‘Riding Along In My Monobile... ‘:
• Dart and Slim drive from the hospital to Space Headquarters.

‘I’m An Alien!‘:
• Lumis bark a lot during their mating season.

Continuity:
• Haggarty’s comments and the crews reaction to Gabbler suggests that it is perhaps the first time they have returned to Earth since it learned to speak, indicating it must follow closely behind The Slaves Of Neptune.
• Jupiter is on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth.
• The asteroid Pallas is eight days away from Earth.
• Slim wants to visit Paris and Dart wants to go fishing.
• Joe still has an attachment to Dart.

Plot Device:
• Fortunate that Galasphere 347 is despatched to Jupiter where the only cure happens to be, and for Joe to be stricken by something similar for it to be found.’

Harmony For Strings:
• Husky 'sucking' his finger when its cut. So simple and effective.
• When Slim goes to follow Husky into the freezer, his leg swings out as if to kick the Martian.

Haven’t I Seen... ?:
• The replacement Martian crewmember is the DoctorMall/Professor Zeffer puppet.
• The transmitting tower on Pallas is identical to the one seen in The Fires Of Mercury.

Take A Break:
• Haggarty says "We'll put him in the freezer, then he won't shrink anymore.".

"Jovian snakebite not kill.
Only make me grow down... down.. down."
Joe the Jovian


For Those Of You Just Joining Us... :
• Haggarty refers to his bird-song translating machine, and teaching Gabbler to talk, as does Slim.

Astro Viewer Working:
• The version of the theme opening this episode is different from the 'standard', with a higher pitch to the Galasphere 'theme'. It is first heard on The Swamps Of Jupiter and The Dark Planet
• This is the only story to feature Gabbler but not hear him speak English.
• In The Swamps Of Jupiter, the Lumis are refered to as ‘the only animal life’ on the planet (after the Jovians, we assume), so where do the snakes come from? Were they brought from Earth?
• When Joe is given the crushed Lumi pebble, a small container can be seen in his mouth to catch the liquid.
• We see both types of molung in this episode - the gauze ones on Jupiter, and the standard perspex ones in the asteroid scenes, probably shot later in the production block.

Hoorah!:
• Dart’s gamma gun, when firing on the snake, uses an optical effect - a kind of electrical discharge.
• A real snake is used when Joe is bitten.
• It is a curious character aspect, for a children’s series, to suggest that Husky’s appetite isn’t limited to just food, as he hungers for the company of Marla, Cassie or ‘a pretty nurse’!

The Jungles Of Jupiter

Boo!:
• Husky’s condition apparently doesn’t affect his face, only his body. So for the duration of the episode he is bedridden with only his head visible.
• The pebble the Lumi offers Dart changes from being football sized to egg sized.

Computer Central:
• First screened: April 21st 1963 (ABC Midlands)
• Running time: 25 minutes 12 seconds
• This episode was possibly one of the first to be filmed, allowing the completion of The Swamps Of Jupiter from the original pilot film.
• BFCC Classified - 26th February 1998
• VHS - Volume 2
• DVD - Complete Series Box Set, Disk 1

Listings
• London, August 1st 1963:
While Larry Dart and his crew are visiting the asteroid Pallas, Husky cuts his finger on a meteorite fragment. On returning to Earth the unfortunate Martian contracts an unheard of disease and begins to shrink.

Ready To Lift ?:
What could have been quite a silly episode is handled reasonably well, with the scenes of Husky frozen as an only means of halting the shrinking being somewhat moving.






On to the next episode
Episode Guide Series One
The Swamps Of Jupiter
The Wandering Asteroid
The Dark Planet
The Slaves Of Neptune
The Fires Of Mercury
The Shrinking Spaceman
The Robot Revolution
The Cloud Of Death
The Rings Of Saturn
Volcanoes Of Venus
Mystery On The Moon
The Miracle Tree Of Saturn
The Forgers
Episode Guide Series One
Episode Guide Series Two
Episode Guide Series Two
We close on the blazing sun in space before fading to a view of ringed planet Saturn. A gyroscope-like ship, enclosed in a flickering bubble of energy, speeds past us and beyond accompanied by almost musical radiophonic tones. We see it pass the Moon before spinning away to the twilight of the Earth's curved horizon... As we hear a grinding rhythmic electronic score, we see scenes of a futuristic city under a dramatic sky. Some buildings and antennae rotate, light pours from other structures as bullet-shaped and spherical vehicles move rapidly back and forth... 'This is Earth - the year 2100. New York is the headquarters of Space Patrol and men from Earth, Mars and Venus live and work there as guardians of peace. This is the story of those men, whose courage and daring make the universe safe for us all.'
We close on the blazing sun in space before fading to a view of ringed planet Saturn. A gyroscope-like ship, enclosed in a flickering bubble of energy, speeds past us and beyond accompanied by almost musical radiophonic tones. We see it pass the Moon before spinning away to the twilight of the Earth's curved horizon... As we hear a grinding rhythmic electronic score, we see scenes of a futuristic city under a dramatic sky. Some buildings and antennae rotate, light pours from other structures as bullet-shaped and spherical vehicles move rapidly back and forth... 'This is Earth - the year 2100. New York is the headquarters of Space Patrol and men from Earth, Mars and Venus live and work there as guardians of peace. This is the story of those men, whose courage and daring make the universe safe for us all.'
We close on the blazing sun in space before fading to a view of ringed planet Saturn. A gyroscope-like ship, enclosed in a flickering bubble of energy, speeds past us and beyond accompanied by almost musical radiophonic tones. We see it pass the Moon before spinning away to the twilight of the Earth's curved horizon... As we hear a grinding rhythmic electronic score, we see scenes of a futuristic city under a dramatic sky. Some buildings and antennae rotate, light pours from other structures as bullet-shaped and spherical vehicles move rapidly back and forth... 'This is Earth - the year 2100. New York is the headquarters of Space Patrol and men from Earth, Mars and Venus live and work there as guardians of peace. This is the story of those men, whose courage and daring make the universe safe for us all.'