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The Slaves Of Neptune

Synopsis:
Three ships en route to Pluto have disappeared within a year and Galasphere 347 is despatched to patrol the area beyond Uranus. They are brought out of the freezer when contact with another colony ship is lost. The cause of the disappearances are the Neptunians, led by Tyro, who require slaves to work for them. The crew of Galasphere 347 start to come under the hypnotic influence that has affected the crew of the colony ship but their electromagnetic field protects them. Dart attempts to expand the field to protect the colonists too but it blocks radio communications as well. On reviving, the crew misinterpret what has happened and try to outrun the Galasphere...

The Slaves Of Neptune
Cast
Captain Larry Dart
Husky
Slim
Colonel Raeburn
Marla
Professor Haggarty
Cassie
Gabbler
Tyro
Neptunian
First Martian Colonist
Second Martian Colonist
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 Dick Vosburgh
Ronnie Stevens
Ronnie Stevens
Murray Kash
Libby Morris
Ronnie Stevens
Libby Morris
Libby Morris
Libby Morris
Dick Vosburgh
Dick Vosburgh
Murray Kash
And The Moral Is:
• Lazy People Take Most Pains

Today I Will Be Mostly Learning... :
• Sailors used to communicate by morse code, transmitted by flashing lights (heliographs)

Slimantics:
• “This is nonsensical.”

Raeburnt:
• On being faced with Gabbler for the first time “Tell Dart to boost the meson power and get back as soon as he can. This is an emergency!”

“Don’t Call Me Pop!”:
• Haggarty just happens to be inventing a machine that will convert birdsong into speech, and implants electrodes into the Gabblerdictum’s brain to aid it learn English.

To Coin A Phrase:
• Slim: “We are helpless, like shipwrecked sailors!” Dart: “That’s it Slim! How did sailors communicate in the old days... ?”

Is This A Joke ?‘:
• Dart says he was joking when he tells Husky to teach Gabbler to read or speak.

‘I’m An Alien!‘:
• Neptunians luminesce when communicating telepathically. They also float through the air.
• And as for the Martian colonists... “They’re flashing a light at us... they’re behaving like kids.” Yeah right, and racing a Space Patrol Galasphere isn’t ?

Ooh, Bitch... :
• Dart (of Gabbler): “He talks even more than a woman!”
• “Husky and the Gabblerdictum make a good pair. They’ve both got birdbrains!”

Continuity:
• There has been contact with Neptune in the past but it is off-limits as they are ‘thousands of years more advanced and want nothing to do with us.’
• Tyro knows of Colonel Raeburn and Space Headquarters so the Neptunians must be monitoring Earth in some detail.
• The Gabblerdictum Bird is introduced and taught to speak English by Professor Haggerty.
• The travel time to Neptune is twelve weeks.
• The colonists heading for Pluto are Martian.
• Morse Code is referred to as primitive, but is understood by the Martian colonists.

Haven’t I Seen... ?:
• One of the Martian pilots is Doctor Mall’s assistant from The Swamps Of Jupiter.
• The dome of one of the city buildings is on the colony ship console.

Take A Break:
• As contact with Galasphere 347 is lost, Raeburn asks "What can have happened?".

"We could do with some more stupid Earthmen.
Our slaves are dying and we need more to work for us."
Neptunian


Astro Viewer Working:
• The sound of the Galasphere, both in the titles and in the episode, is significantly different from the other episodes in the series, being higher in pitch and like a bell tinkling.
• We see the first use of the Zergon ray.
• The Neptunian missile launch, like the Galasphere launch sequence, is used many times throughout the series for various missile launches.

Hoorah!:
• The Neptunians glow is a simple but effective way of showing who is speaking telepathically as the puppets mouths do not move, adding to the alienness of them.
• The scenes of the Galasphere expanding its field to encompass the colony ship are also effective, as are those of the missiles detonating against the Galaspheres energy field.
• The end of the first part, with the mystery of the colony ship and the crew of Galasphere 347 succumbing to the Neptunian influence, is a superbly scripted and directed piece - possibly the best in the series.

Boo!:
• The Neptunian missiles all lift off from in front of the same rock, viewed from the same angle.
• How is Slim able to calculate so exactly the range of the Neptunians influence ?
• And why does the Neptunians circular couch rotate ?

Computer Central:
• First screened: April 28th 1963 (Tyne Tees)
• Running time: 24 minutes 9 seconds
• A rare 16mm print of this episode appeared in the early 1980s, and lead to rumours that it had also been available as a Super 8mm by Mountain Films. Video copies of the episode, presumably from the print, have circulated for years.
• BFCC Classified - 24th February 1998
• VHS - Volume 1
• DVD - Complete Series Box Set, Disk 1

Listings
• London, July 19th 1963:
Three space ships have disappeared mysteriously and Dart is instructed to investigate the matter. He and his crew soon find themselves in the grip of strange forces.
• Wales, October 23rd 1963:
Dart and his crew investigate the loss of three space ships last heard of going in the direction of Neptune. Are the crews being compelled to land on the strange planet?

Ready To Lift ?:
A packed episode that dispenses with most of the padding of earlier episodes for mystery and action, and gives the series a regular villain.






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.'