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The Human Fish

Synopsis:
The Tula Fish in the Magda Ocean on Venus are evolving at a phenomenal speed and attacking people who venture too close. Galasphere 347 is despatched to investigate and finds a submarine barrier that extends three quarters of the length of the ocean, trapping and concentrating cosmic radiation that is causing the mutations. Dart attempts to destroy the barrier with depth charges but the Tula Fish are developing intelligence and sabotage the first attempt...

Galasphere 347 approaches Asteroid
Cast
Captain Larry Dart
Husky
Slim
Colonel Raeburn
Marla
Professor Haggarty
The Venusian President
Patra
Fisherman
General Smith
Doctor Roberts
President's Aide
Venusian Voice
Operator Voice
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 Dick Vosburgh
Ronnie Stevens
Ronnie Stevens
Murray Kash
Libby Morris
Ronnie Stevens
Dick Vosburgh
Libby Morris
Libby Morris
Dick Vosburgh
Dick Vosburgh
Ronnie Stevens
Ronnie Stevens
Ronnie Stevens
And The Moral Is:
• Not Everyone Likes Fish Fingers.

Today I Will Be Mostly Learning... :
• Evolution takes millions of years.
• Radiation can cause evolutionary change (mutation). This story may have been inspired by stories from Japan of fish 'growing limbs', caused by radiation from the atomic bombs at the end of World War II.
• Sedatives put you to sleep.

Huskyisms:
• “Whenever we go down so fast, I get a funny feeling in the cave of my stomach.”

Slimantics:
• “It would be joyous if we were going to Venus.”

A Venusian Has...:
• Quite extreme solutions. Not Marla, but the Venusian President in this case.

To Coin A Phrase:
• Patra: “No-one can fight against a sedative.” Dart: “That’s it... “

‘I’m An Alien!‘:
• The Tula Fish seem to be evolving tentacles or arms in the millions of years they have inhabited Venus.

Continuity:
• Venus is only a couple of days travel time from Earth.

Harmony For Strings:
• Dart’s encounter with the Tula Fish and the various underwater chases.

"I tell you, those fish had brains!"
Venusian Fisherman


Haven’t I Seen... ?:
• Patra is Gallia with blond hair and a blond moustache.
• The fisherman appears to be Doctor Brown.
• One of the monobile ports can be seen above the bed in the Venusian hospital.

Take A Break:
• Having determined that the Tula fish are normal on the other side of the polydon barrier, Dart says "We must tell the President and Colonel Raeburn." The Galasphere heads for the surface.

Astro Viewer Working:
• We see some nice artwork representations of the evolution of the Tula Fish.

Hoorah!:
• Nice to hear arguments against the use of nuclear weapons for once.
• Dart’s weapon uses an optical effect when shooting the Tula Fish.
• Some underwater shots have a swirling water effect superimposed over them.

Boo!:
• The Galasphere 024 launch is used.
• The close up of the meson power control bears the legend ‘meeson power’.

Computer Central:
• First screened: June 6th 1963 (ABC Midlands)
• Running time: 25 minutes 15 seconds - the longest episode of the series.
• BFCC Classified - 24th September 1998
• VHS - Volume 5
• DVD - Complete Series Box Set, Disk 3

Listings
• London, December 26th 1963:
Dart and his crew are sent to Venus to investigate fish who have become almost human in their behaviour.
• Wales, January 24th 1964:
In the Magda Ocean on Venus, something strange is going on. The fish are evolving rapidly and threaten to take control of the planet.

Ready To Lift ?:
Space Patrol goes eco-friendly! An interesting and gripping episode that fleshes out the planet Venus a little more and highlights the problems with pollution without getting on a soapbox about it. However, the evolutionary science is somewhat horrendous, and the reaction to the developing Tula Fish is a little on the horrific side too. Surely they won’t de-evolve, which must mean they would have to be hunted down and killed ?






On to the next episode
Episode Guide Series One
Episode Guide Series One
The Planet Of Thought
The Glowing Eggs Of Titan
The Planet Of Light
Time Stands Still
Husky Becomes Invisible
The Walking Lake Of Jupiter
The New Planet
The Human Fish
The Invisible Invasion
The Talking Bell
The Buried Spaceship
Message From A Star
Explosion On The Sun
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.'