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The Planet Of Light

Synopsis:
A strange spaceship appears near Galasphere 347 and two glowing lifeforms introduce themselves as Lumina from the star system of Sirius. They invite Dart and Slim to travel back with them for a chance to see their planet but on Lumen, Dart’s airline is ruptured and he loses most of his oxygen. His only hope of survival is to enter the ‘cave of death’ where oxygen producing ‘blister plants’ may sustain him...

The Planet Of Light
Cast
Captain Larry Dart
Husky
Slim
Colonel Raeburn
Marla
Professor Haggarty
Cassie
Gabbler
Lumina One
Lumina Two
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 Dick Vosburgh
Ronnie Stevens
Ronnie Stevens
Murray Kash
Libby Morris
Ronnie Stevens
Libby Morris
Libby Morris
Ronnie Stevens
Libby Morris
And The Moral Is:
• You Can’t Always Look On The Bright Side

Today I Will Be Mostly Learning... :
• The star Sirius is 26 times hotter than the Sun.

Huskyisms:
• “What a lot of space there is.”
• “If that's a cat, I'll eat my space helmet.”

Slimantics:
• “The Luminas seem perturbed.”
• “I find the extra oxygen exhilarating.”
• “That is news of excellent receiving.”
• “It would be calamitous if I broke my cylinder now.”

Gabblings:
• "Of course you were right! You're the head of Space Patrol, and you're always right! Right right right right right right right!"

A Venusian Has...:
• Very little knowledge of space... “It is strange to think a star in our sky is really the sun for another solar system."

“Don’t Call Me Pop!”:
• Haggarty is given the difficult task of making visits possible in the future for the Lumina

Is This A Joke ?:
• Raeburn: “Talking lights ?”

Riding Along In My Monobile... ‘:
• Raeburn visits Haggarty.

The UGO Needs You‘:
• “Space Patrol men are explorers... ...it’s their job to learn as much about the universe as possible.”

‘I’m An Alien!‘:
• The Lumina are silicon based, crystalline life forms that get their energy from the light of their sun Sirius.
• This is their first visit to our system and oxygen is poisonous to them. They communicate telepathically.
• Their ships travel so fast the journey only takes hours, but like the Lumina they also require recharging by the light of Sirius.

Ooh, Bitch... :
• Gabbler’s extreme sarcasm at the deceased Lumina cat.

Continuity:
• Galasphere 347 has been in space for six months.
• There is no direct indication where they are patrolling but Dart tells Husky to head for Pluto should he run into difficulty, suggesting the outer solar system.

Plot Device:
• Somewhat convenient that there are oxygen bearing (and containing) plants on a wholly alien world.

Haven’t I Seen... ?:
• The Lumina ship was previously seen as a Neptunian ship in 'The Planet Of Thought'.
• The noise of the Lumina communicating between themselves is the sound of the Loomis.
• The Lumina themselves appear to be short sections of a diagonally patterned tubing that decorates more than a few of the sets in the series.
• The sheets of ice in the tunnels Dart explores are obviously polythene sheets.

Take A Break:
• Having led Dart and Slim to the 'Cave of Death', their Lumina guide decides to follow but pauses, saying "No, it is too dangerous. I will wait here."

"How stupid I am! Oxygen means life to you."
Lumina


For Those Of You Just Joining Us... :
• Praised by Gabbler, Raeburn comments that for once he's glad Haggarty taught him to speak.

Astro Viewer Working:
• The version of the theme opening this episode is the 'standard' version heard through most of the series, but lacks the atmospheric backing as the Galasphere approaches Earth, as with The Fires Of Mercury. This is also the only episode other than those of the first production block to feature any variation to the theme.
• The Lumina are realised on screen in a number of ways. In some shots they are obviously being filmed at the same time as the puppets, at others they are superimposed seperately. A third method seems to involve a combination whereby the puppets are filmed, then the film is rewound and the glowing Lumina are filmed on the same set in darkness.
• Also, in some shots, the two Lumina who visit Galasphere 347 seem linked together.

Hoorah!:
• There are some nice implications about the order of life on Lumen, such as crystalline soil.

Boo!:
• The Lumina sound like Slim in an echo chamber and initially claim that there is no oxygen on their planet.

Computer Central:
• First screened: September 30th 1963 (Tyne Tees)
• Running time: 24 minutes 14 seconds
• BFCC Classified - 22nd September 1998
• VHS - Volume 5
• DVD - Complete Series Box Set, Disk 4

Listings
• London, November 21st 1963:
Dart and Slim visit Lumen, a planet with no oxygen in its atmosphere. The Earth men need oxygen to survive but the gas means death to the people of Lumen.

Brahms & List
• The Planet Of Life: The Viewer, Scotland.

Ready To Lift ?:
Again we have a nicely realised alien lifeform - the ideas hold up reasonably well and the story is quite good despite the convenient ‘blister plants’. A pity the Lumina are never seen or refered to again.






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.'