Fusion Patrol

Our look at the Star Cops TV series comes to an end with the ninth and final episode, Little Green Men and Other Martians.  The Star Cops are on the frontier of a bold new expansion, to the planet Mars, but how will the discovery of life on Mars impact that?

John and Eugene discuss. 

Synopsis:

On Mars, a survey teams finds something extraordinary.  Soon, investigative reporter Daniel Larwood arrives on the moon.  He and Kenzy know each other, she was his former journalism student, but she has become disenchanted with him.

On a shuttle, two pilots are taking a picture of a Martian.

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There’s something up on the moon.  Alexi wants Spring to put the boot on Larwood.  An important curator, Dr. Philpott, for the Holdy museum is coming to meet with Alexi and it’s all top secret.  Not too top secret though, as there are rumors that life has been found on Mars.  Alexi must go to Earth to make a report.

A customs officer alert Colin to a strange find – a figurine that was hidden amongst surveying charges on the outgoing freighter to Mars.

Later, a pilot is killed when her shuttle crashes.  Kenzy and Anna Shoun find drugs amongst her personal effects in the wreckage.  It’s also discovered that, although she was a legit qualified pilot, there is no record of her arriving on the moon.

Larwood goes to meet someone clandestinely, but when he does, the man has been murdered, dying in his arms.  He, too, was a qualified pilot that was not recorded as arriving on the moon.

Spring has a chat with traffic control.  Things are going nuts there.  There’s an approaching window for Mars launches and things are really hectic.  In fact, Spring knows this all too well, as he will be on an outbound flight to Mars in his efforts to bring the Star Cops further into the frontier.  Traffic control was allowing the pilot to fly because they were freelance and had legit credentials.  They didn’t bother to check to see if they were on the moon legally because… why would they?

When Kenzy sees Colin’s artifact, she identifies is as probably a genuine Mayan sculpture – rare and worth of fortune, although why someone wants to smuggle it to Mars is a curiosity.

Colin has been following up on the drug case.  Customs doesn’t bother to check outgoing parcels heading to Earth because… why would they?  Colin has figured out that someone is making designer drugs on the moon and sending them back to Earth.  He finds them and, while bringing them back in, applies a bit of pressure until they crack and confess – but they had nothing to do with the deaths of the two pilots.

All the while, someone on the moon is searching the quarters of the dead pilots, the flight controller and Larwood.  They’re looking for something small.

Ms. Caxton, reporter, has arrived to interview Dr. Philpott.  It’s time to let the cat out of the bag, a Martian was found and is being brought back to the moon, then to Earth.  The Holdy museum has absolute unconditional rights to it and will not let it be seen by the public for two years.  During that time, it will be analyzed by scientists under the strictest of media blackouts.  It’s a bit strange why they won’t release pictures, though.  There was a rumor that someone was trying to sell pictures of it.

Spring puts Kenzy on watching the case with the smuggled artifact, which they put back in order to capture the culprit.  She is taken unawares and knocked unconscious.  Later, the artifact is packed with explosives.  It is on the same freighter Spring will be taking to Mars.

Spring leaves, and shortly after takeoff, the freighter explodes killing all on board.

The Star Cops are devastated, especially Kenzy, who decides to solve that case.  She goes to Alexi, who has recently returned to the moon and when she tells him about the two pilots being dead, he reveals the secret to her:  The pilots arrived unannounced on a Mars freighter that carried the Martian.  It was landed somewhere on the surface of the moon.  This was to avoid the media circus that would happen when the expected freighter arrived.  He drives her out to freighter, parked on the surface, which explodes as they arrive.  Someone is cleaning up the evidence, but what is the crime?

That night, someone breaks into Star Cops HQ and searches for something.  Kenzy surprises them in the act, and then, so does Larwood and Spring – who isn’t dead after all.  The villain is Philpot and he’s willing to blow up that section of the base to avoid capture.  A struggle ensues, he is overpowered, and the bomb defused.

Larwood had gotten wind of a connection between Philpott and the surveyor that discovered the “Martian” artifact on Mars.  The Holdy spent a ludicrous amount of money to get it, and Philpott engineered it so there would be a complete ban on anyone seeing it until he was rich and long-gone.  The pilots on the freighter decided they could get a bit of money by taking a picture of the artifact and selling it to the press.  For this Philpott killed them.  The artifact was a genuine Mayan figurine, similar to the one that Colin discovered being smuggled to Mars.  It had been planted (and found) by the surveyor on Mars.  They knew the ancient astronauts angle would play big since many people believe the Mayans were influenced by ancient astronauts.  A genuine Mayan figurine found on Mars would be irresistible.

Spring, as he was boarding the shuttle, got an idea of what was happening and didn’t board.  Instead, he waited after dark to see if the culprit would try to burgle they headquarters to find the picture.  It was there, hidden in an ID card for one of the dead pilots.

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It is the year 1992, at 9:25 PM GMT on Halloween eve when an innocuous bit of reality TV goes out on the BBC looking at the spooky goings on at a purportedly haunted house in Northolt, London.  As the night wears on, the events get stranger and stranger and they begin to spill out all over the country.  It is the first National Seance.

Simon, a big fan, and Eugene, who has never seen it before, discuss Ghostwatch.

Synopsis:

Ghostwatch was a live broadcast on Halloween 1992, airing at 9:25PM on BBC 1, featuring veteran television presenters Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene, and Mike Smith.  Oh, and also Craig Charles was along for the ride.

This documentary program is framed around live haunted house sitting by presenter Sarah Greene.  The house, located on Foxhill Rd has been the scene of a months-long investigation by psychic investigators.  For the live broadcast, the BBC have equipped the house with remote cameras, motion sensors, temperature detectors and has a hand-held broadcast camera that can also function as a thermographic camera.

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The inhabitants of the house, divorcee Pamela Early, and her two children Suzanne and Kim, have been experiencing many strange things.  Thumping in the night, dishes broken, mysterious “presences” in the rooms, and, most disturbingly, strange scratches that appear on Suzanne.

Sarah, her cameraman, and soundman will spend the night in the house hoping to capture ghostly phenomena on video.

In the studio, Michale Parkinson hosts the program, along with Mike Smith who is in the telephone call in center taking calls from the British public on their hostly experiences.

Joining Parkinson on commentary is Dr. Lin Pascoe, psychic researcher who has been working on the case and also written a book on the subject, Angels of the Odd.  Remote from New York is Alan Demescu from CSICOP, an organization that investigates claims of the paranormal from a skeptical perspective.

Little happens for the first scheduled portion of the program, with mostly background, interviews with neighbors and phone-in callers taking up the time; however, an unusual pattern develops. Many of the callers identified a mysterious figure in some of the footage.  Footage that even Dr. Pascoe doesn’t see anything in and dismisses as the human mind seeking patterns.

Strange things begin happening, and when strong thumping begins, the ever-watching of the eye catches the culprit.  Suzanne has slipped off and is making the noises because that’s what you wanted to hear, she says!

The fraud exposed on national television, it looks as it there is little more to say, except that both Mrs. Early and Dr. Pascoe are adamant that this cannot be all there is.  The things they’ve seen cannot be explained by Suzanne faking things all along.

All across Britain, callers are contacting the program with bizarre stories of things that are happening right now.  Their clocks, like those in the house, have all stopped at 9:30.  Things are breaking, cats are screaming, blood is appearing on walls.  It seems mass hysteria is setting in.

As things continue to get worse in the house, with unseen cats screaming, more thumps and things breaking, and Suzanne falling into some form of stupor, her face and hands covered by scratches, the program stays on the air, interrupting the next scheduled program.

Electronics start to go haywire in the house, leading to a breakdown in communities with the studio shortly after the open up the boarded-up glory hole is opened and it appears that the soundman is injured, but soon the feed, if not the sound, returns and things look back to normal in the house.

A caller calls in, he was a social worker in the 1960s and he knows the tragic untold story of a secret “renter” who lived in the house.  A disturbed child molester that should have never been let loose.  He had delusions of a woman haunting him, and in the end, he hung himself with the owners were away on holiday.  Twelve days later they returned to find his body, eaten by the household cats that were trapped inside with him.  His injuries much like those described by the callers that saw the mysterious figure in the videotape.

At this point they realize that the video they are watching from the house is a recording from earlier in the evening, and when they recover the  feed, the ambulances and police are on the scene, with the soundman being taken away.  The family are mostly out of the house, but not Suzanne, Sarah nor the cameraman.

Things really start to fall apart, as electronics in the studio being to fail.  Dr. Dr. Pascoe realizes that the entire audience of the program, 11 million people, are acting as a sort of country-wide, massive seance, and the apparition is no longer confined to the house.

In the house, using the thermographic camera, the cannot find Suzanne, but they hear her screaming from the glory hole, and as Sarah tries to get in, the door opens, she crawls in and door slams behind her.  The transmission is lost as the studio is a disaster, being evacuated and in complete darkness.

A befuddled Michael Parkinson wanders in the darkness and then, seemingly passed, begins reciting a nursery rhyme as the program goes to black.

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The Raiders are after children again, this time a young boy who has been experimented on by the Orchard.

Kenneth and Eugene discuss Frozen – the episode of Starhunter Redux, not the Disney movie.

Synopsis:

Dr. Devin dreams of white corridors, surgical tables, sinister suited medics and a young boy, Ryan, strapped to the table. As he calls out to the boy, everyone turns and laughs at him with slightly pointy teeth. He awakes in the waiting room of a facility with white corridors, surgical tables, sinister suited medics where his son, Ryan, is strapped to a surgical table.

He is told that he will not be given access to the facility, which he deems not surprising, and that he is banned from all their facilities. “Please sign these papers and leave.” He agrees. It’s all very amicable.

However, the facility’s HR polices and practices are sadly lacking, for Dr. Devin walks out, unescorted and then, once out of sight, goes into the restricted areas, murders one of the sinister surgical medics at his son’s surgical table, takes the boy and leaves. Later, on the shuttle, he has a chat with his dead wife, who is standing there.

On the Trans Utopia, Dante and Lucretia have just imprisoned their old friend Etienne for art theft. He’s playing it straight this time, that is he’s sexually attracted to Lucretia and is trying to get some alone time with her – if you know what I mean. Lucretia is… not interested.

The Trans Utopia picks up a mayday from Devin’s stolen shuttle. It’s being chased by six raiders. They head to the rescue. While en route Etienne escapes, looking for alcohol and Lucretia.

They rescue the pair, but in minutes the raiders arrive and corner them. They want the boy.

Dante tries to barter for information about his son, Travis. They consider his offer. Why do they want the boy so much? He sends Lucretia to ask Devin why.

She doesn’t actually ask him that, but instead hears the story of why they’re on the run. Ryan had a congenital brain disorder, one shared with his mother that proved fatal to her. The Orchard financed Devin’s work into finding a cure, which apparently worked, but gave the boy the ability – while asleep – to, unknowingly and without direction or intent – cause other people to see images of dead people. Dead people who can only say basically what the living person thinks they would say… so really sort of a third-person projection of their own thoughts.

The Orchard wants to use this as a weapon… somehow. All this information about the organization she and her father work for causes her to forget to ask why the raiders are after the boy. (Although, we we do discover it, it doesn’t matter at all.)

Now everyone on the ship starts to see dead people. Lucretia sees her mother, Dante sees his son, Percy sees… herself. Hmmm, this could finally be an interesting wrinkle in Percy’s story. Maybe she’s dead and all a figment of Dante’s twisted, broken mind.

Lucretia tries to contact her father with no success.

The raiders don’t give Dante any info, and they decide to board the Trans Utopia. The first wave is repelled, but the second wave will be lethal. Everyone on board, the crew, Etienne, Devin and Ryan prepare to fight back, when suddenly, Ryan walks out and gives himself up to the raiders. Despite their ferocious track record and Dante’s certainty that the Raiders will destroy them once they have the boy, they apparently don’t because we never see them again.

Also, it wasn’t Ryan, it was apparently an illusion he manifested.

Etienne, it seems, is an Orchard courier and was there to deliver a new communicator to Lucretia because it was feared her old one was compromised, so she lets him go… I think. But he must agree to report back that the boy escaped. Dante takes Devin and Ryan to Titan. Also, Lucretia has something important to tell Dante…. But he doesn’t want to listen.

Simon and Eugene begin and exploration of a new series here for Fusion Patrol.  We start our look at the 1976 ITV series Beasts, by Nigel Kneale.  This anthology series concentrates on… you guessed it… beasts.  But they may not always be the beasts you expect.

First up, Special Offer.  Has the mascot the Briteway supermarket come to life?  Or could it be something more sinister?

Synopsis:

It’s just an ordinary day at Briteway’s, a small chain supermarket location and the manager, Colin Grimley, is giving words of encouragement to one of his employees, Noreen Beale, a mousy, overweight, pimply-faced, teenage girl.  And by “words of encouragement” I mean he’s using his bubbly and effervescent management style to shout at her and explain how stupidly she’s stacking the cans of beans.  While he is singling her out for the bulk of his ire, it is also true that the other employees and customers don’t really like Noreen, either.  He really wants to fire her but as June, his senior underling, points out:  They are desperately understaffed and you can’t fire someone just because you don’t like them

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Lest you think Mr. Grimley is only about shouting at his employees, he’s got a soft spot for the lovely Linda – or you might call it a hard spot.  We know this because he’s enacting a letter-perfect recreation of a “How to conduct inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace” training film with her.

About this time, Noreen starts knocking things over and breaking them.  She claims she didn’t do it, but no one believes her.  When she says she thought she saw an animal, Grimley snidely remarks that it must have been Briteway Billy, the supermarket’s cartoon mascot.  Noreen thinks that’s really funny and says it must be that.

It soon becomes evident to everyone that something is happening.  Products are knocked off shelves, bacon is gnawed, packages burst open.  People, including Grimley see things being moved about by something, but no one, except Noreen, catches a glimpse of “Billy.”  Exhaustive searches of the store find nothing.

Grimley calls in Mr. Liversedge, from Head Office HR, to help with the problem.

Shortly after Noreen sees Grimley and Linda sharing an inappropriate employer/employee moment together, Linda is driven screaming from the store by “Billy” never to be seen again.

Liversedge arrives and Grimley fills him in.  He says he’s sure it’s Noreen and wants to fire her.  Liversedge wants to talk to her.  He takes her across the street to a coffee shop and questions her, kindly.  It’s clear she’s in love with Grimley.

Back in the store, Liversedge starts to convince everyone that Billy isn’t real.  That doesn’t sit well with Noreen and Billy goes wild, destroying things all over the store.  Liversedge has seen the proof now.  This time Noreen says to Billy, “You’ve been very naughty, Billy.”

Grimley wants to fire her now, Liversedge; however, does not want that.  Have you ever heard of a Poltergeist?  Strange ghost-like behavior that always happens around troubled teenagers.  That’s what Liversedge thinks they have here and the girl needs help not firing.  He also knows that sometimes the kids know its them and sometimes they don’t, but he’s sure that Noreen is aware now.

Starting tomorrow, you will all be nice to her, and it’s all going well until a new potential cashier arrives to apply for the job.  Grimley likes the cut of her jib and  engages her in an innuendo-laden job interview process straight out of another corporate training film.

This does not sit well with Noreen and Billy goes ballistic.  Products fall, burst and explode.  The job candidate is rushed out of the store and, in a fit of pique, Grimley fires Noreen on the spot.  He justifies it to Liversedge as a matter of customer safety and to be fair to him, it’s the first competent thing he’s said this whole time.  Customers were in danger.

Later, as one of the customers is explaining to Grimley that it’s good riddance that Noreen is gone, she had the look of evil about her, Billy starts acting up again, causing a can to fly through the window destroying the help wanted sign in the window.  Across the street in the coffee shop, Noreen sits, staring.

Liversedge arrives and goes to talk to her.  Let’s go see your family doctor.  No?  Better idea, I’ll go get him, you sit here.

Grimley, alone in the shop, is tasked with watching her while not letting her see him.  Soon, Billy is knocking things off the shelf and Noreen is standing right outside the door.  In anger, Grimley runs at her, hurling abuse and manhandling her, demanding that she admit that she’s the cause of all the destruction.

…and then things go poorly for Mr. Grimley.  No longer content with just knocking things off shelves and bursting boxes, the cans of food become projectiles, pummeling him to death.

Later, as the body is taken out on a stretcher, Noreen says, “He loved me, really.  He said so.”

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Routine psychiatric evaluation of people living and working in the hostile moon sounds straightforward and reasonable, but this is Star Cops, so why would you think that? John and Eugene discuss Other People’s Secrets.

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In this episode of Fusion Patrol, we analyze “Doomwatch: Winter Angel,” where Sam’s discovery of suspicious shipping activities leads to a deadly confrontation, unveiling a conspiracy of environmental threats linked to military and corporate interests. We discuss character dynamics, including Dr. Spencer Quist and Dr. Neil Tanner Hill, and the escalation of events involving military intervention and a catastrophic radioactive explosion. The film critiques bureaucracy and corporate negligence while exploring ethical questions surrounding scientific advancement. We conclude by reflecting on the film’s title and its attempt to redefine the “Doomwatch” legacy, highlighting the need for caution in today’s technological landscape.

Our hosts Eugene and John dive into the Star Cops episode, “A Double Life,” providing an exhaustive analysis of the episode’s intriguing plot twists and characterization. They begin by summarizing the essentials: the theft of fertilized embryos belonging to the influential Madame Asadi, a Saudi widow, sets off a series of events that plunge the Star Cops into a high-stakes investigation against a backdrop of political intrigue and personal vendettas.

Throughout the episode, Eugene and John dissect the implications of the embryo theft, examining its impact on Madame Asadi’s legacy and the broader societal coercion that emerges as the Star Cops struggle to navigate the politically charged environment. They highlight the mix of crime-solving and sci-fi elements that make “A Double Life” a compelling narrative, particularly noting how the episode explores themes of cloning and identity, as well as the sophistication—or lack thereof—of future law enforcement methods.

As the conversation unfolds, the hosts share their thoughts on key characters and their motivations, such as Anna Shun, the rookie Star Cop who is forced to confront her own insecurities while enduring Mr. Davis’s abrasive attitude. John praises Anna’s perseverance and creativity in constructing a profile of the assailant, particularly as she faces not just skepticism from her peers but also physical danger. In contrast, they analyze James Bannerman’s complex relationship to the crime, associated not only through genetics but through the evocative backstory of illicit familial bonds that deepen the narrative layers.

Eugene and John also engage in playful speculation regarding the scientific aspects of the episode—pondering the legitimacy of the proposed embryo viability on the Moon and the ethical ramifications of cloning—leading them to discuss broader implications of how the narrative addresses genetic manipulation. The hosts also take a moment to critique the episode’s occasional lapses into dated cultural stereotypes, as they reflect on the portrayal of their Arab characters, comprising a discussion on the historical context of the 1980s.

Moreover, as they venture into the logistics of the narrative, Eugene and John express their confusion at the purported communication blackouts and the set design choices, likening them to theatrical rather than cinematic conventions. Their banter encapsulates the nostalgia of a bygone era in television, all while maintaining a critical eye on how such decisions affect the viewers’ immersion in the universe of Star Cops.

The episode culminates in a discussion of the broader themes of justice and familial loyalty, particularly as they consider Madame Asadi’s ruthless pursuit of her own brand of retribution. They marvel at how the episode ends with a contemplation of future implications related to cloning, leaving a lingering curiosity about how these themes might evolve if the series continued.

Join Eugene and John as they navigate the thrilling yet cerebral universe of Star Cops, weaving through the interconnected narrative threads of personal and societal justice in “A Double Life.” Tune in for their next episode, “Other People’s Secrets,” where they will continue to dissect the series’ unfolding mysteries and character arcs.

Dante and the gang’s latest target, Novak.  A man who is one bad hombre, or so we’re told.  But has he also got a valuable secret?

Kenneth and Eugene discuss The Man Who Sold the World.

Episode Synopsis:

On Pluto, a bounty hunter confronts Mr. Kavon, he accuses him of being Dr. Novak, a wanted criminal, when he insists on a DNA scan to verify his identity, Belle, Kavon’s beautiful assistant, offers him cocktails, then shoots him dead with a gun concealed under the serving tray.

Aboard the Trans-Utopian, Percy is complaining about the food, and her homework, which she hasn’t been doing, but all the witty banter is interrupted by Rudolfo, who’s got a job for them.  Every bounty hunter in the system is after Novak, who they all know is Kavon and that he’s living a high profile life as a metal supplier.  Dante and team are ordered to get there quickly and take the prisoner.

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There’s going to be a convenient plot complication though, every 28,000 years the Older Anomaly mucks about with Pluto and, by the most staggering of coincidences, the Trans-Utopian will only have 12-18 hours to get in and get out before the never-yet-observed-in-the-recorded-history-of-mankind anomaly hits Pluto.

Lucretia spends her travel time reviewing a Orchard briefing on the history of Callisto and the evil Dr. Novak who performed thousands of unethical and horrific experiments on the population before the Callistan rebels and the Lunar and Martian Alliances teamed up and overthrew the government of Callisto.

They arrive at Pluto and Lucretia is particularly gung-ho to bring Novak to justice.  She was part of the troops that liberated an Callistan concentration camp and has seen the horrors firsthand.

Dante tries a clever ruse and pretends to be a metal buyer to gain access to the environment bubble on Pluto.  Kavon lets him in, but it is the work of a few seconds to check the computer information and realize that the Trans-Utopian isn’t an ore carrier and that Dante is lying.  He sends his goon, Rusty, to kill them, and his hostile AI program, Billy Ray, to disable the Trans-Utopian.

On the Trans-Utopian, Percy dances amongst the broken parts and bric-a-brac of the ship, when Billy Ray arrives. Caravaggio notices, but seemingly does nothing about it for a while, then when he does, he fails and Billy Ray takes over and starts destroying the ship.

Percy sulks about it and asks Billy Ray to leave.  He doesn’t.

On Pluto, Rusty proves to be incompetent at his job as goon and is soon dispensed with, but not in any way incapacitated or restrained, by Dante and Lucretia.

Kavon sends Belle to kill them, and in a remarkably surprising moment of competence, Dante and Lucretia overcome her, too.  This time retraining her, but she is soon set free by Rusty, who I previously mentioned was not restrained.

Confronting Kavon, they force him to take a DNA test to prove he’s Novak.  He isn’t.  But he sure talks like he is.  They decide to take him back to the Trans-Utopian to run a full DNA test on him, although it is unknown to them that Percy is still sulking on the bridge while Billy Ray pilots the ship into the Older Anomaly.

On the surface, Belle and Rusty stage a rescue attempt.  Rusty is killed, then Lucretia is taken hostage, then she escapes and recaptures Kavon.  Dante threatens to kill him but Lucretia is especially keen to take him alive, in fact, the wants him to show her something – and they return to his lair.

Dante strikes up a friendship with Belle, shortly after Kavon inexplicably dumps her and headed off with Lucretia.  Alright, friendship isn’t quite the right the word for it.  Dante assumes that a women spurned is on his side.  She says she isn’t, but he treats her like she is anyway.  A little human kindness and compassion goes a long way.

We can dispense with the literally coyness now, Kavon really is Novak and he was conducting his experiments in an effort to unlock the Divinity Cluster. Dante and belle shows up, then Belle goes to get cocktails.  She shoots Novak with the gun that she keeps under the drinks tray, and she gets killed by the bounty hunters.

They escape without the body.

Meanwhile, Caravaggio, who has spent most of the episode trapped inside a Nintendo GameBoy, asks Percy to turn on his anti-virus program, which she begrudgingly does, and Billy Ray is expunged just in time to come back and pick up Dante and Lucretia.

As they leave, everyone has a little time for a soliloquy.

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In this episode of Fusion Patrol, we analyze the film adaptation of “Doomwatch,” focusing on its narrative, themes, and the characterization of Dr. Del Shaw. The story begins with Shaw’s investigation of an ecological disaster on the isolated island of Balfe, where he faces hostility from locals harboring dark secrets. We dissect Shaw’s chilling discovery of a deceased girl and the ethical implications of his detached scientific approach. The episode evaluates the film’s production values and how it adapts the original series for a broader audience, while addressing critical themes such as environmental degradation and the moral dilemmas of interventionism. We also explore character dynamics and authority figures, situating the film within the broader context of 1970s British cinema and its commentary on governmental negligence and community rights. Join us as we delve into the complexities of “Doomwatch” and its reflection of pressing real-world issues.