Infinity Magazine Issue 9

2018·44.1 MB·English

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OUT 23RD APRIL
BRAND NEW EXTRAS:
INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTOPHER CROWE PRODUCER & WRITER OF THREE OF THE FOUR SEGMENTS
COMMENTARY BY MONDO DIGITAL’S NATHANIEL THOMPSON
BOOKLET INCLUDES:
‘ANATOMY OF AN URBAN LEGEND FILM’ ESSAY BY DR MIKEL KOVEN
‘SCORING NIGHTMARES’ AN INTERVIEW WITH CRAIG SAFAN (COMPOSER)
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INFINITY ISSUE 9 - £3.99
Cover art by Peter Wallbank (www.petewallbankart.com)
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08: POWERS OF DARKNESS
Robert Fairclough remembers the powerful and
controversial thriller series, The Omega Factor.
14: STILL LOST IN SPACE
Jon Abbott picks the last seventeen of his thirty best
episodes from a legendary Irwin Allen sci-fi series
19: AUSTIN’S POWERS
Mark Phillips assembles the parts that made The Six
Million Dollar Man an iconic 1970s superhero.
26: THE DAMNED OF DORSET
26
Howard Hughes investigates the south coast of
England the background for Joseph Losey’s cult 1961
46 50 sci-fi movie, The Damned…
40: MODEL BEHAVIOUR
Andy Pearson’s last column on Batman model kits
was so well received that he’s bat with another…
42: A GENT AMONG AGENTS
Ian Millsted looks back at the radio, TV and feature
film career of Dick Barton - Special Agent!
46: THE LIGHTER SIDE OF DARTH
Calum Waddell catches up with the most notorious
villain in film history, Darth Vader, aka Dave Prowse.
56 62 50: THREEPENNY SPACE OPERA
Martin Ruddock charts the story of Dan Dare - Pilot of
the Future, a thoroughly British hero…
56: SCI-FI SERIAL THRILLERS
From Buck Rogers to King of the Rocketmen, the
classic movie serials that inspired Star Wars!
62: LOOKING IN ON LOOK-IN
Richard Molesworth takes an affectionate
look back at the The Junior TVTimes…
HG Editor: Allan Bryce Web Master: [email protected]
SN Design & Production: Kevin Coward Website: ww.infinitymagazine.co.uk
06: INFINITY NEWS ROUND-UP
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[email protected] © Copyright 2018 Ghoulish Publishing Ltd. 67: NEXT ISSUE PREVIEW INFINITY 3
WELCOME TO THE SCIENCE-
FICTION FIELD OF DREAMS.…
S
o here we are with issue 9 of Infinity, which As a chap of a certain age myself, I know that we live
means we have reached the end of our first in a time where ageism is a big deal. Finding myself
year of publication. When we started I was short of work some years ago when I was involved in
told: “You must have taken leave of your editing DVD World magazine, I asked if there were
senses, putting out a new print any freelance opportunities available writing ‘laddish’
science-fiction magazine when the big boys have features for Front magazine, which had the same
already cornered the market.” But I replied, “Don’t publisher. “You’re too old.” they told me. Maybe I was,
worry Mum, you remember how I used to stand up to but with all due respect (well, not really), the stuff they
the big boys in the playground?” were publishing was, in my opinion, unfunny sub-Viz
Anyway, I am delighted to say that even though at crap from kids who thought the ‘F’ word was the modern
first we were afraid and we were petrified, like day equivalent of a Noel Coward witticism.
Gloria Gaynor we have survived, and now When I got my talented daughter Amber a
we’re back to outer space with a magazine work experience gig on the mag, they had
that celebrates old stuff as much as it her running out for coffee and sandwiches
does new. Nostalgia may not be what it and never gave her the chance to write
used to be, but many of our readers have anything. She is now a respected journalist
been saying they get the same kick out of on The Times, and as for Front… well, look
finding the latest Infinity on the newstands them up in the old news file.
as they did their favourite comics back in the But what I’m trying to say here is that writing
days when sixpence would buy you The Valiant, is not a career where people need to be pensioned
four Blackjacks, and a pack of sweet cigarettes. Happy off. I positively welcome older Infinity writers as much
times indeed. as I welcome older Infinity readers, and younger
When I embarked on this new venture as a sister writers too, because our doors are open for people
publication to our long-established bedrock, The Dark who are good at what they do, and knowledgeable and
Side, my one trepidation was that I would not have enthusiastic on the subjects that we all love. It’s not
enough great writers onboard to consistently deliver rocket science, although it can be.
the kind of high quality genre writing that would be The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and as long
needed to grow a readership. Make no mistake, good as we can produce a magazine that looks and reads
writing is what any successful publication is about. so well then we will carry on, to Infinity and beyond.
My great friend and long-time design collaborator Somebody said that they saw Lee Majors recently and
Kevin Coward can make any feature look amazing, he looked like a million dollars. “Oh dear,” they replied.
but it has to be a good read too or, seriously, what is “He must have really let himself go.” But for all of those
the point of even bothering? But as another Kev once who have supported us in our first year of existence I
said, “If you build it, they will come,” and I have been would like to offer a huge “thank you” and reassure you
delighted to welcome aboard some exceptionally that we will not let the quality drop. Just take a look at
talented scribes who are also knowledgeable fans. what we have for you this issue and I am sure you will
They are literally chomping at the bit to do features see we mean business. Sorry to Lee Majors about that
on their favourite programmes, and it’s often a case of bad joke, by the way, but somebody has to be the fall
them arm-wrestilng each other for it. guy in this editorial. Allan Bryce.
HELP US KEEP UP TO DATE WITH WHAT YOU WANT
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THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
The Infinity team bring you the latest news on what’s happening in the wonderful world of sci-fi and
fantasy, including a report on the recent Devcon fest and news of a great upcoming event for UFO fans!
The day-long event includes screenings in high-definition of episodes.
These are followed by interviews and audience Q&As with guest stars Deborah
THEY’VE REBUILT HIM! Grant (Bouquet Of Barbed Wire, Bergerac, Peak Practice, Not Going Out), David
After much back-and-forthing it seems that the big new blockbuster movie Collings (Doctor Who’s The Robots Of Death, The Professionals, Sapphire And
of The Six Million Dollar Man - now The Six Billion Dollar Man to account for Steel, Blake’s 7), Alan Harris (Space:1999, Star Wars), and UFO director Alan
inflation - is back on again, though the Warner Bros. adaptation of the 1970s Perry. And crowning the day’s celebrations is a special big-screen showing of
TV series won’t hit cinemas until May 31, 2019. the Andersons’ cinema film Doppleganger (aka Journey To The Far Side Of The
Warner bought the rights to the project from the Weinstein Company last Sun) which features several of the actors (eg, Ed Bishop, George Sewell) and
year and bosses at the studio are hoping filming can get underway as quickly props which were to be seen shortly afterwards in UFO.
as possible. Damian Szifron, who penned the adaptation, has jumped onboard The props in the movie included futuristic working vehicles which went on to
as director after replacing Peter Berg, while TWC- Dimension will produce the become the blue SHADO Jeeps in the series, and one of those will be on display
forthcoming film. at SHADO Con 2, courtesy of private collector James Winch. James, one of
Mark Wahlberg will star as astronaut Steve Austin, who in the movie is badly several fans with display tables, is also bringing along models from the show.
injured in the crash of an experimental lifting body aircraft. The space crew Joining him in the display room are fellow private collector Paolo Malaguti
member is “rebuilt”, with both legs and his left eye being replaced with bionic and Graham Bleathman, one of the most prominent illustrators of Gerry
implants that enhance his strength and speed, in a scheme costing six billion Anderson’s shows. Jamie Anderson (son of Gerry) and Fanderson will be among
dollars. Using his enhanced abilities, Steve lands a job working for the Office of the dealers in the traders’ room. Autograph and photograph sessions are other
Scientific Intelligence (OSI) as a secret agent. attractions during the convention at which ticket-buyers will receive a goody
He said of his role: “I’m thrilled to assemble The Six Billion Dollar Man for bag containing gifts including a brochure of the event and top quality artwork.
the big screen. We look forward to creating a Steve Austin for the 21st century.” SHADO Con 2 runs from 10am at the Quad, Derby, on Saturday June 30.
The rest of the cast is yet to be announced. Proceeds go to Macmillan Cancer Support. Book online at
www.derbyquad.co.uk/events/shado-con-2.aspx or call the Box Office
IN A MINIATURE VEIN on 01332 290 606.
After his deserved Oscar win for
The Shape of Water, it seems that
Guillermo del Toro’s next project will be
a remake of one of our favourite 1960s
sci-fi flicks, namely Richard Fleischer’s
Fantastic Voyage. Del Toro signed on a
while back to direct 20th Century Fox and
Lightstorm Entertainment’s long-gestating
Fantastic Voyage remake, but he put The
Shape of Water first on his work schedule. Fantastic Voyage has now restarted
its lengthy preparation period to begin production by the autumn of 2018 at
the latest, pushing its release to 2020. In the unlikely even you didn’t know DEVCON PLYMOUTH
already, Fantastic Voyage is about a scientist who is dying of a blood clot. His Bill Mac reports from the recent Devcon sci-fi fest - where even the bad
only chance for survival is for five scientist colleagues to be miniaturised in a weather failed to deter the fans from attending! Take it away, Bill…
ship called the Proteus, and injected into his bloodstream. The 1966 original
P
starred Raquel Welch and Donald Pleasence and utilised impressive full-size lymouth’s Devcon took place on March the 3rd, on the weekend that the
sets, whereas the new film is set to make use of the same 3D technology ‘Beast from the East’ battered the UK with sub-zero temperatures and
James Cameron used for Avatar. The project would unite del Toro with his snowstorms, wreaking havoc on everyone’s travel plans. The night before
longtime friend Cameron, and screenwriter David Goyer (Batman Begins, Man the event my missus was adamant we should not go, as the main A38 road to
of Steel) who penned Blade II. A Fantastic Voyage remake has been stuck in Plymouth had been declared impassable. I said we would see what it was like
development hell for many years, with Roland Emmerich, Paul Greengrass and in the morning. The next day I suggested we take the train but we found the
Shawn Levy attached to direct, and Will Smith and Hugh Jackman to star. Who storm had damaged the lines at Dawlish yet again so it looked doubtful. An
will replace Raquel, we wonder? hour later and we were in our Toyota, gingerly driving down the A38. My wife
was not amused. The whining noise I could hear was not the car’s dodgy radio.
ANDERSON GATHERING All was well, and we got to Plymouth and parked up next to the Guildhall
Fans of the retro future of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s UFO - this summer’s where the Convention was being held. I was pleased to see it looked very busy.
SHADO Con 2 is the event for you! A second convention celebrating the TV It turned out several of the stars and some displays couldn’t make it because
sci-fi classic is being staged at the Quad Cinema in Derby, following the of the weather but most had.
sell-out success of SHADO Con last June. We spoke to Lea, the main organiser, and she told us in view of that she had
66 IINNFFIINNIITTYY
Name of feature
another way to illustrate the project.
In my normal work I have been for
the last twenty five years an advertising
photographer in the toy industry and
children’s publishing. So I decided
on a different route to illustrate my
story. It would include a combination
of Photography , Digital Art and Model
Animation techniques to give the Saga
a strong visual element. One of the
important parts of the project was the
creation of a model submarine to represent the Seastar 5. When I designed it,
at first I followed current submarine design. But it became clear that something
a lot bigger would be needed to give a realistic interpretation in the story to
achieve everything I had planned for the saga.
In America recently I saw that a Trident-carrying submarine was having a
conversion to enable it to carry large drone type aircraft. The Trident is a big
slashed the ticket price on the day to just £3 - a bargain for a day out. The word submarine.I then thought, what if we scale it up to the size of a World War Two
must have got around pretty fast as the place was extremely busy. The displays carrier and give it extra fire power like in a Battle Cruiser?
and stalls were amazing, with every kind of sci-fi comic, book, toy, poster and The combination would be around six hundred feet in real terms and have
DVD you could imagine, along with many collectable TV and film props. I picked plenty of space for all the inside equipment I wanted to include. The final model
up a figurine of my Doctor, the 4th Doctor a la the irascible Tom Baker, as well as ended up being built to over three feet in length, with three separate lighting
a few other bits and pieces which may have included a Dalek thingy. systems. On paper I gave it atomic power, supersonic speed capability ideas
I also paused and chatted to Clem So, an actor who was in Doctor Who with came from real world experiments on supercavitation effects for submarines.
Matt Smith and Star Wars: The Force Awakens plus Doctor Strange, Spectre and This is the ability to generate a gas filled liquid membrane around the entire
Guardians of the Galaxy. He was a friendly chap, happy to sign autographs and submarine to reduce drag underwater and couple it with a modified hybrid
swap tales about his many TV and movie appearances. Another interesting hydro /rocket propulsion system for the supersonic mode… which are in
person I met was John Langton who had a stall selling replica movie and TV prop development by navies around the world , the prototypes now being built though
weapons. He had Star Wars Stormtrooper blasters and rifles, Hans Solo’s pistol , are very much smaller than the Seastar 5.
and Deckard’s Blade Runner weapon. These are totally accurate and very good Once the main submarine in the story had been created, it helped a lot when
value - the large Stormtrooper rifle was just £30 …an absolute bargain, but the I created the additional elements for the production as everything else very
wife would have shot me if I had bought it. Check him out online at jflprops.com. neatly started to come together. I sourced my custom made character figurines
Next I gotta mention the Cosplayers, who for me are the heroes/heroines in China , with heads and bodies sculpted to look realistic and custom costumes
and truly make the conventions come alive and range from some kid wearing , also mostly coming from Asia as well. The whole production was assembled in
a home-made mask up to the guys and gals who spend thousands on their my north of England studio over a period of three years. The model landscapes
costumes. They are always friendly, they love to get their pictures taken and were designed by myself and some location photography was done on the
are happy to share the secrets of how they made their kit. Some of them, like Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius , which doubled for my Pacific Ocean Islands.
the Southern Troopers who specialise in Star Wars, are a serious club that help With the digital art effects I had the help of two talented artists , Connor
to charity fundraise. When you chat to them you find some have been used as Magill and Lee Richardson, who designed some of the posters , graphics ,
extras in various Star Wars. The UK Garrison, another Star Wars group, were hired overlays for model vehicles and building effects during the course of production.
to line the red carpet at the UK premiere of The Last Jedi. The project which was first thought to be a promotional item for myself has
I gotta say Lea and her willing band of helpers did a great job and despite moved forward with a life of its own.
everything the ‘Beast from the East’ threw at them they made Devcon a great In 2017 Infinity gave us a helping hand with the publishing of a small news
day out. Under their Events Frontier banner they do more such conventions item for the project. Within days of the issue three of the magazine going on sale
throughout the year in Exeter, Torquay and again in Plymouth - on the 20th of we received a boost in our viewing figures on the project and an introduction to
May. So if you’re travelling to the south west, check them out. Lastly I gotta say America which is still gaining us a lot of attention.
thanks to the missus for trusting me and going with me, I am a chancer and she In the last two years we have showed the project to the public on our web
is a trooper. (A Starship Trooper? Ed) sites over 48,000 have looked at the story saga of six photo story style episodes
on view. The final episodes for the first season of stories are in production
INTO THE ABYSS for a release later in 2018. I think its safe to assume the project has found an
The truth may be out there, but it may also be down there, as Richard Dixon audience and the style of work has gained some acceptance.
reports, giving Infinity readers an update on his exciting sci-fi project, The big question now is where next for the Seastar 5 Invaders From The
Seastar 5 - Invaders From The Abyss. Abyss saga?
A YouTube presentation/animated trailer is planned for early next year and
M
any believe that life here on Earth may have started out there in deep we will see what reaction we get when all eight current episodes are released
space. That the human race one day will find alien life and the centuries for viewing in the near future. In the meantime , thanks for reading about the
old question of whether or not we are alone in the Universe will be project I very much appreciate you looking in on what I have created.
answered. But the answer may be found nearer home in our own Oceans and
the underground caverns of legend. In the dark world of the abyss , a deep sea
race, descendants of the legendary brothers of man , from the ancient continent
of Lemuria have returned from the stars. They are here to reclaim the land
they lost to mankind millennia ago. Standing in their way a secret elite force of
Aquanauts , ready to defend our last frontier with a fleet of supersonic speed
capable submarines, the most advanced machines ever built by man to defend
our world. The fight to survive has started , the threat is real , be ready and
prepare to power up for action… Seastar 5 is Go!
Every story starts somewhere. In my journey to create an original story
project it started back in October 2012. The story would be a science fiction
concept based in the underwater world of the 21st Century.
My initial ideas were inspired by a number of television documentaries in the
Ancient Aliens series on the Discovery and History Channels. With some outline
details written down I thought about the possibility of illustrating the project
in some way. Talking to a few artists it became very clear that it would not be
possible to go down the normal graphic comic book style because of the high
costs involved in the production of this kind of illustration. I would have to find
IINNFFIINNIITTYY 77
POWERS OF DARKNESS
I
n 1972, Nigel Kneale’s drama The
Stone Tape presented a scientific
research team speculating
that ghosts were really psychic
recordings of traumatic events, imprinted
on the environment. A year later, director
William Friedkin’s film version of William Peter
Blatty’s best-selling novel The Exorcist, had
medical professionals conjecturing that a
demonic possession was in fact an individual’s
“delusions that his body has been invaded by
an alien intelligence – a spirit, if you will.”
Both of these modern horror stories
reflected science’s serious engagement with
the paranormal in the 1970s. Notably, by
1979 Henry Gris and William Dick’s book The
New Soviet Psychic Discoveries was making
the remarkable claim that parapsychologists
In 1979, the twilight worlds of the paranormal and in Russia were developing psychic soldiers.
“They saw the simple truth,” Gris reported.
espionage combined in Jack Gerson’s The Omega Factor. “What is weaponry without the person who
pulls the trigger? What if they could control
Robert Fairclough takes a look back at the well- this ‘somebody’? If they can get through to
the mind, the weapon is not important.” Such
remembered – and controversial – thriller series… a scenario formed the basis of ‘Night Games’,
the third episode of Jack Gerson’s thriller
series The Omega Factor. Riding the zeitgeist,
it premiered on 13 June on BBC1 in the same
year that The New Soviet Psychic Discoveries
This image l-r:
John Dorney, Alan was published.
Cox and Louise Gerson’s brainchild was a breakthrough in
Jameson feature
its combination of scientific investigation,
in the popular
new Big Finish espionage and unexplained phenomena.
audio releases Journalist Tom Crane (James Hazeldine), a
of The Omega
Factor gifted psychic, becomes involved with the
government research team
Above:
Department 7, working with
Louise Jameson
with James Dr. Anne Reynolds (Louise
Hazeldine in the Jameson) and the unit’s
original show
enigmatic head, Dr.
Roy Martindale
(John Carlisle) in
their research into
the hidden powers
of the mind. Over
ten enthralling
episodes, Crane
gradually realised
8 INFINITY
STRANGER SCOTTISH THINGS
POWERS OF DARKNESS
This page: ghost stories, like Algernon Blackwood’s John
Scenes from The Silence stories, and just generally anything
Omega Factor.
BBC Scotland’s spooky. Dad used to take it too far sometimes:
paranormal, I remember going to the cinema with him,
Edinburgh-set
when I was only slightly older than a teenager,
drama ran for ten
weekly episodes to see an awful film called It’s Alive (1974),
that a mysterious organisation – Omega – was Occult I’d been ploughing through. There between the 13th which featured a homicidal baby!”
of June and the
harnessing psychic powers in a play for world was also a lot of coverage at that time about 15th of August Because of the tight production schedule,
domination. At the same time, Department the Soviets using ESP in espionage, and the 1979 Gerson was only able to write the first and
7 investigated cases involving telepathy, Freedom of Information Act had revealed last episodes (although he did find time to
past-life regression, poltergeists, mind control that the CIA were also conducting research write a tie-in novel, published at the same
and hauntings, subject matter that, at that into how psychics and mediums could be time as the BBC transmission). The other
time, didn’t often feature in TV drama aimed harnessed for mind control. When we were writers who contributed to The Omega Factor
at a family audience. done chatting, Jack said ‘The paranormal’s were inherited from The Standard, as they’d
always intrigued me too, and I’ve got an idea been lined up to write for its second season –
ACCIDENTAL GENIUS what we could do with it.’ That’s how The Sean Hignett, Eric MacDonald, Nick McCarty,
For such a ground-breaking series, The Omega Omega Factor came about.” Tom Wright and seasoned writer/producer
Factor only came into being by accident. It Luckily for Gallicco, Jack Gerson (1928-2012) Anthony (“Tony”) Read, who’d just vacated
was produced by George Gallicco, in 1978 had a distinguished reputation as a writer of the script editor’s chair on Doctor Who.
consolidating his career as a producer after both novels and television. His TV play Three “The thing I really regretted, because
overseeing The Legend of Robin Hood (1975); Ring Circus, starring John Breslin as a man of the time pressure, was that I had to
before that, he had worked as production with amnesia, moved one critic to proclaim commission so many different writers,
unit manager on Doctor Who (1974-76) and it “the Ur-drama of experimental BBC drama which is not the way I like to work,”
Anna Karenina (1977). “I went up to Scotland in the early 1960s – the founding text of Gallicco admits, while Natasha Gerson
to produce the second run of a series about modernist TV drama.” suggests that “although the episodes are
a newspaper called The Standard,” he reveals With his reputation established, Gerson all very good, perhaps there were too many
today. “When the first series started going out, contributed to This Man Craig (1966-67), other people writing the scripts.”
it just didn’t take off, so BBC Scotland decided The Regiment (1972-73), Sutherland’s Law
that they weren’t going to go ahead with a (1973-76) and also wrote for Scotland’s first A MERRY TRIO
second season. Rod Graham, who was the TV soap opera, the tower block-set High Living Part of a BBC producer’s role in 1978 was
Head of Drama at BBC Scotland, said to me, (1968-71). Among his novels were The Evil to also recruit the main cast. The central
‘What are we gonna do? We’ve got ten slots!’ Thereof (1991) and The Fetch (1993), both of trio Gallicco chose ranged from relative
“One night I was having a drink with Jack which deal with the supernatural. newcomers to the experienced. “I knew
Gerson and we were talking. At the that point “Dad loved the paranormal,” says his Louise Jameson quite well from Doctor Who,
I was really interested in the paranormal daughter Natasha. “I was brought up on a diet in which she’d played Leela, which is why I
– there’s a book by Colin Wilson called The of M.R. James, Sherlock Holmes and all sorts of offered her the part,” Gallicco
INFINITY 9
NROamBEeR oTf FfAeaIRtuCrLeOUGH
This image:
James Hazeldine as The
Omega Factor’s Tom
Crane, on location in
Edinburgh.A well-known
face both on British
Television and on Stage,
he was best known for
his role as Mike “Bayleaf”
Wilson in the ITV drama,
London’s Burning
says. “Jimmy Hazeldine was a brilliant actor. covered in glycerine from the neck up.” Working Whitehouse. In the 1960s they started a
The Omega Factor was one of his first tellys. I on The Omega Factor also had its more humorous ‘clean-up TV’ campaign and were so good at
got to know him very well and I stayed friendly side: “Once, on an Outside Broadcast shoot, I generating press coverage over their concerns
with him and his family long after we finished stood beside a tree for such a long time that they about sex, violence and profanity on television
in Scotland. I’d seen John Carlisle a lot in the forgot about me, and a dog lifted its leg on me – that the BBC, a publicly funded organisation,
theatre and I’d always wanted to work with him. he must have thought that I was the tree.” became sensitive to the NVLA’s criticisms. Doctor
We were all in Glasgow for nearly a year – nine The use of Outside Broadcast video was Who had often been a target of Mrs Whitehouse’s
months. Because of that we became very close.” innovative: most BBC dramas of the time still complaints, a situation which came to a head
“When they asked to see me, I was contracted adhered to the established pattern of studio over the Doctor’s apparent drowning at the end
to a play,” Louise Jameson reveals, “which I then interiors recorded on video, with location scenes of part three of the ‘The Deadly Assassin’ in
had to pay to get out of when I got the part, so committed to 16mm film, while OBV was mainly 1976. BBC Director-General Alisdair Milne issued
I lost my first episode fee… I look back on The used for sporting events. an apology and the offending sequence was
Omega Factor with real fondness. Myself, Jimmy “When I was in London, I started using the new edited on the episode’s master tape. Gallicco
and John were a right little merry trio, I must say. Outside Broadcast cameras on the exteriors for Z had worked on Doctor Who during its most
Jimmy played guitar, so we had a lot of jamming Cars,” Gallicco explains, “which made for a better controversial period, so it was slightly ironic
sessions, went to a lot of night clubs and we all match between interior and exterior material. In that, three years later, his own series should also
gave up smoking at the same time. If you look at, those days, there was always that awful jump in attract Mrs Whitehouse’s ire.
I think, episode eight (‘Out of Body, Out of Mind’) quality when you cut from the studio to film – ‘Power of Darkness’, The Omega Factor’s fifth
we’re rather snappy with each other!” Today, the texture was so different. The other good thing episode, was transmitted on 11 July 1979. Later
Louise speaks warmly of her co-star Hazeldine, about using the Glasgow OB unit was that it was that evening, the BBC’s Duty Log received a
who died tragically young in 2002. “Jimmy was the same camera crew that worked both in the very blunt call from Whitehouse: “I am almost
very natural, but the word doesn’t feel big enough. studio and on the locations. That meant much lost for words. I want to complain about The
He had a kind of vulnerability that oddly gave him more consistent continuity on the production.” Omega Factor being shown in family viewing
strength. What you saw was what you got.” Gallicco also brought technical experience of time, before nine o’clock. It contained scenes
Speaking about her character, Jameson says, pioneering visual effects to The Omega Factor of hypnosis, the supernatural, and a man
“Anne Reynolds was a grown up. Instead of from Doctor Who. “As on that series, it was a apparently burning to death. This is one of the
running around in skins, I was someone who’d question of experimenting to find the most most disturbing programmes I have ever seen on
been to university, was highly intelligent and effective ones,” he says. “For instance, we used television. I know that you are moving away from
was riding the wave of feminism at that time, so sequences of still photographs in ‘Night Games’ physical violence, but now you are moving into
playing a doctor was really nice! Looking back on – the sudden, quick cutting was very effective, the realms of psychological violence. Incredible!
the series, though, you can still see that Anne’s even though I must admit it was done as a And the programme ended with a violation of
pouring the drinks and serving the food. Even cost-saving exercise.” the Church, with black magic and witchcraft. You
though she drove some of the action, it was still Away from the studio, Gallicco was keen that may quote me when I say that someone must
quite male-led when you analyse it.” the stories should be as authentic as possible, have gone off their heads.”
employing Professor Archie Roy from the Whitehouse later wrote to Patrick Ramsey,
INNOVATIVE PRODUCTION University of Glasgow to vet the scripts. “He the then Controller of BBC Scotland, describing
Despite the male bias, an important role in the was my expert on the paranormal. He’d also The Omega Factor as “thoroughly evil.” She also
recurring cast was Morag, the young girl first written some very good, thriller-type books claimed that certain scenes violated the BBC’s
seen as the assistant to Drexel (Cyril Luckham), about the subject. I wanted to adapt some 1979 code on violence.
the genial villain responsible for the death of of his novels for television, but sadly nothing Talking to Marcus Hearn on the DVD
Crane’s wife. The mute psychic was played by came of that.” Interviewed in the Radio Times commentary for ‘Power of Darkness’, writer
Natasha Gerson. “As it was my father’s series, in the feature ‘Dark Secrets of Department 7’, Tony Read was delightfully unrepentant about
I was so desperate to avoid accusations of Roy unequivocally stated, “I have to accept that arousing Mrs Whitehouse’s anger, although
nepotism,” she stresses, “so I auditioned under telepathy and clairvoyance and hauntings and the episode’s director Eric Davidson conceded
a false name when I went to see Paddy Russell, apparitions do take place. This modern material that “perhaps it was a bit too real… There’s such
the director… Morag was a good part. Although world is only one facet of reality.” a strong element of believability in ‘Powers of
I didn’t get anything to say, I got to watch how Darkness’, and that may well have been what
a lot of things were done in television. It was all TROUBLE WITH THE WHITEHOUSE sent Mary bananas.”
really interesting. In one episode (‘After-Image’), Such a view was bound not to find favour with At the time, Gallicco was apparently unaware
I remember having to sit in a chair at BBC the National Viewers and Listeners’ Association, of the controversy: “Those comments were
Scotland and pretend I was having a baby, a Christian pressure group led by Mrs Mary not passed on to me. I think Rod Graham was
10 INFINITY