UFO Episode Discussions: SURVIVAL

Hi all,

Okay, our 2 weeks for discussing the UFO episode CONFLICT has come &
gone, so it's now time to move onto our next episode -- SURVIVAL! So
anyone who's
got the time to watch and/or comment on this episode, please do!

--
Marc Martin, [hidden email]

This was a very nice episode and a good commentary on War. When two
different soldiers working for seperate governments are put into a
position where they are taken out of the war and SURVIVAL is the only
thing on their minds, they can become friends, and in fact join
forces to survive. This concept was also done years later in a movie
called Enemy Mine.

I thought the opening with the pressure leak and the expanding
balloon was quite imaginative and suspenseful. I think this is
representative of many UFO episodes, suspense, thought provoking,
great effects and good character interaction. I prefer the
earthbound episodes but this one stands out as one of my favorite
moondbase shows.



> Hi all,
>
> Okay, our 2 weeks for discussing the UFO episode CONFLICT has come
&
> gone, so it's now time to move onto our next episode -- SURVIVAL!
So
> anyone who's
> got the time to watch and/or comment on this episode, please do!
>
> --
> Marc Martin, marc@u...

--- In SHADO@y..., Marc Martin <marc@u...> wrote:

> Okay, our 2 weeks for discussing the UFO episode CONFLICT has come &
> gone, so it's now time to move onto our next episode -- SURVIVAL!

SURVIVAL. Great Episode. The old story of enemies isolated from their
units and forced to work together to survive. (Nice analysis by
fbifellow). The alien is not a faceless enemy but is humanized (Or
humanOID-ized in this case) The alien actually is the one that does
most of the help during their time on the surface. Foster comes to
feel compassion for the alien in spite of the fact that he has killed
his good friend. So much so that he feels regret when the alien is
killed.

Now for nitpicks (you didn't think I wouldn't did you)?

When the leisure sphere decompresses. Foster is holding the hatch open
for Brown. But the wind is blowing the wrong way!! If the sphere hes
lost pressure the wind would be blowing at Foster from behind.

When the camera zooms onto Brown's body after the sphere is
depressurized, you can see him breathing very slowly as the UFO title
appears on the screen. If you run the video at FF this becomes
obvious.

I still think the air supply looks WAY too small for such an extended
stay outside. Perhaps they carry O-2 in liquid or solid form, but I
don't see how without a lot of heavy and bulky cryo equipment. (In the
movie Doppelganger, Kane makes reference to an "Oxygen Ingot" during
prelaunch. They have basically the same suits as SHADO personnel)

When FOster's air runs low the alien gives him air from a mysterious
module that he splices into Foster's suit. But the aliens breathe
liquid, so why would he have the air? Perhaps they carry it for their
victims to keep them alive until they take their organs?

The alien strings a line so Foster can cross a ravine. How does the
alien get across? Perhaps it is narrow enough to jump across easily,
but Foster can't because he is incapacitated? Also that attachment
the aliem makes would pull free under horizontal tension (look at it
and see). When Foster crosses, the other side pulls free just as he
swings to safety. But if you look closely, the rope pulls taut again
briefly when he releases it.


Great episode: A+


ttfn
Teresa

CONTENTS DELETED

Two great points, I too wondered why the alien had air to give
Foster, I didnt notice the air flowing the wrong way in that
sequence, but your right, unless I dont totally understand physics
that is!


> > Okay, our 2 weeks for discussing the UFO episode CONFLICT has
come &
> > gone, so it's now time to move onto our next episode --
SURVIVAL!
>
> SURVIVAL. Great Episode. The old story of enemies isolated from
their
> units and forced to work together to survive. (Nice analysis by
> fbifellow). The alien is not a faceless enemy but is humanized (Or
> humanOID-ized in this case) The alien actually is the one that does
> most of the help during their time on the surface. Foster comes to
> feel compassion for the alien in spite of the fact that he has
killed
> his good friend. So much so that he feels regret when the alien is
> killed.
>
> Now for nitpicks (you didn't think I wouldn't did you)?
>
> When the leisure sphere decompresses. Foster is holding the hatch
open
> for Brown. But the wind is blowing the wrong way!! If the sphere
hes
> lost pressure the wind would be blowing at Foster from behind.
>
> When the camera zooms onto Brown's body after the sphere is
> depressurized, you can see him breathing very slowly as the UFO
title
> appears on the screen. If you run the video at FF this becomes
> obvious.
>
> I still think the air supply looks WAY too small for such an
extended
> stay outside. Perhaps they carry O-2 in liquid or solid form, but I
> don't see how without a lot of heavy and bulky cryo equipment. (In
the
> movie Doppelganger, Kane makes reference to an "Oxygen Ingot"
during
> prelaunch. They have basically the same suits as SHADO personnel)
>
> When FOster's air runs low the alien gives him air from a
mysterious
> module that he splices into Foster's suit. But the aliens breathe
> liquid, so why would he have the air? Perhaps they carry it for
their
> victims to keep them alive until they take their organs?
>
> The alien strings a line so Foster can cross a ravine. How does the
> alien get across? Perhaps it is narrow enough to jump across
easily,
> but Foster can't because he is incapacitated? Also that attachment
> the aliem makes would pull free under horizontal tension (look at
it
> and see). When Foster crosses, the other side pulls free just as he
> swings to safety. But if you look closely, the rope pulls taut
again
> briefly when he releases it.
>
>
> Great episode: A+
>
>
> ttfn
> Teresa

[hidden email] wrote:-
> ... But the aliens breathe liquid, so why would he have the air? ...

Oh YAWN, that old misconception again. Aliens don't live on liquid. Fish don't
live on liquid. They live on the ozygen which is dissolved in the liquid.

[hidden email] wrote:-
> Also, by the very nature of the moon, and Moonbase, I would have thought
> portable oxygen masks/bottles would have been part of the base design, in
> case ofdecompression.

Useful if the room gets filled with gas. No use in case of decompression. He
would need a full pressure suit, or some sort of pressurizable refuge.

[hidden email] wrote:

> On Survival, I must admit I don't remember it that well, but is the alien
> that assists Foster the same alien that killed his friend? Why would the
> alien go to all the trouble of concealing himself until he could take a
> potshot at the base, and then later assist the enemy? Later on we see the
> alien in Priorities clearly come to Earth to contact Shado. But mind you, we
> don't know even what his motivations were either, even though his fellow
> aliens killed him.
>

It is the same alien. I think the fact that he helps Foster is
intended to show how even in war, compassion surfaces from time
to time. Easy to dish out death and destruction to a faceless,
abstract enemy - harder when they are alone and helpless in front
of you.

The thing that troubles me most about Survival is the nature of
the alien's mission. He comes all the way to the moon to pop a
little hole in one of Moonbase's windows, killing one person.
Why not take out an entire sphere with a rocket launcher or
something?

James

--- In SHADO@y..., BedsitterOne@a... wrote:
> In a message dated 3/19/01 7:12:36 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> tuttt@a... writes:
>
> << When the camera zooms onto Brown's body after the sphere is
> depressurized, you can see him breathing very slowly as the UFO
> title appears on the screen >>
>
> You actually wanted them to kill the poor actor? Fiend! (chuckle)
>

No, but I wouldn't think the actor to be in such poor physical
condition that he couldn't hold his breath for a mere 20 seconds
(must be all that smoking)

> and kevinlazenby6@a... says :

> Also, by the very nature of the moon, and Moonbase, I would have
> thought portable oxygen masks/bottles would have been part of the
> base design, in case of decompression.>>

Unfortunately oxygen masks would be useless in a vacuum. The pressure
of CO2 leaving the bloodstream would prevent your body from being able
to take in the oxygen. I was thinking of several easy to don OSFA
emergency pressure suits (or bubbles) that would pop out of the wall
at the first sign of pressure loss.

>
> Perhaps so, but I'm of the mind it would be difficult because of
> the psychological aspects of long duty confinements on the base not
> to have windows. (even though they have other features for
> psychological well being, like Central Park and Gay Ellis's figure )

Or Paul Foster with his silver suit unzipped, or Mark Bradley in a
skydiver mesh jersey.

I'm surprised that they didn't at least have double pane windows. Oh
yeah, plot device. (like only three interceptors with only one missile
each)

<snip>
>
> Isn't this the episode where someone's drawn a rather unflattering
> portrait of their boss on a balloon? Does Straker know about this
> rather shocking lack of discipline? (vbg)

obviously not :^). That Brown was quite the artist. I wonder who was
on the other balloon that he popped with his cig. Freeman? Henderson?

[hidden email] wrote:

> In a message dated 3/19/01 7:12:36 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> [hidden email] writes:
>
> << When the camera zooms onto Brown's body after the sphere is
> depressurized, you can see him breathing very slowly as the UFO title
> appears on the screen >>
>
> You actually wanted them to kill the poor actor? Fiend! (chuckle)

Yeah! Fiend! <snicker>

What? No hamster?

> Yeah, why each sphere didn't have emergency oxygen is something I didn't
> understand either. Not enough money in Henderson's budget, no doubt--

Probably. <mumble grumble>

> On Survival, I must admit I don't remember it that well, but is the alien
> that assists Foster the same alien that killed his friend? Why would the
> alien go to all the trouble of concealing himself until he could take a
> potshot at the base, and then later assist the enemy? Later on we see the
> alien in Priorities clearly come to Earth to contact Shado. But mind you, we
> don't know even what his motivations were either, even though his fellow
> aliens killed him.
>
> I suppose some of you would tell me it was because Foster was so cute--

<nod nod nodnodnod> {{8-D

> (ahem)
> Isn't this the episode where someone's drawn a rather unflattering portrait
> of their boss on a balloon? Does Straker know about this rather shocking lack
> of discipline? (vbg)

He probably encourages it - releases tension, that sort of thing. If
everyone is united in their dislike of Straker, they're working together
as a team ........

-- Y

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At 14:44 20/03/01 +0000, [hidden email] wrote:
>--- In SHADO@y..., BedsitterOne@a... wrote:
>
> > You actually wanted them to kill the poor actor? Fiend! (chuckle)
> >
>
>No, but I wouldn't think the actor to be in such poor physical
>condition that he couldn't hold his breath for a mere 20 seconds
>(must be all that smoking)

Nonsense, smoking is good for one's health. Preserves one. They smoke
salmon, don't they....


> > and kevinlazenby6@a... says :
>
> > Also, by the very nature of the moon, and Moonbase, I would have
> > thought portable oxygen masks/bottles would have been part of the
> > base design, in case of decompression.>>
>
>Unfortunately oxygen masks would be useless in a vacuum.

Surely the Moon isn't in a vacuum? Outer space may be vacuum-ish, but the
Moon is close to earth still, so there must be *some* atmosphere, even if
very little. No idea as to the pressure on the Moon (I'm sure someone here
knows and will tell us), but I doubt the effect of a bullet would be quite
as drastic as they were in that ep.
What I find most illogical about the whole Moonbase and Moon episodes is
that the gravitational pull of the Moon is less, 1/6th or some such, right,
than Earth's and people would need heavy soles (magnetic ones, and metal on
the Moonbase floor, preferably) to be able to walk about normally. And on
the surface they should leap about the way Armstrong did that day we were
all cloistered to our TV sets in July 1969, watching the first man walk on
the Moon. I'm often sorry for the younger people, who missed that. It was
so terribly exciting... nowadays people walking about in space has become
so common it often doesn't get any attention at all any more.

I would say Moonbase was constructed the way it was, very thick walls,
partly so the Moonbase operatives wouldn't freeze or be too hot, since
temperatures can vary a lot on the Moon surface (from + 100 to - 150 C° I
read somewhere)

CU

Lieve (catching up on email)


Col. Lieve Peten, Commander MarsBase - Mailto:[hidden email]

"That's what life is all about, I guess - The things we never say."
Cmdr. Ed Straker, UFO Series, Subsmash episode.

SHADO/UFO pages : http://shado.simplenet.com/aspects
MarsBase/UFO: http://shado.iwarp.com

Lieve wrote:

> Surely the Moon isn't in a vacuum? Outer space may be
> vacuum-ish, but the Moon is close to earth still, so there
> must be *some* atmosphere, even if very little.

Hi Lieve,

There's next to no atmosphere whatever on the moon - the Earth's
atmosphere runs out after about 50 miles or so, and the
Moon is a couple of hundred thousand miles away. There's
certainly no trace of the Earth's atmosphere at that distance.

> but I doubt the effect of a bullet would be quite as drastic as
> they were in that ep.

Well I'm sure that a hole in a Moonbase sphere would cause it to
depressurise quite quickly so I'd say it would be fairly drastic.

> What I find most illogical about the whole Moonbase and Moon
> episodes is that the gravitational pull of the Moon is less,
> 1/6th or some such, right, than Earth's and people would need
> heavy soles (magnetic ones, and metal on the Moonbase floor,
> preferably) to be able to walk about normally.

Yes, I agree - the only explanation would be that there's some
kind of artificial gravity on Moonbase, but this is never alluded
to.

Cheers
James