VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA-THE MACHINES STRIKE BACK!

 

THE MACHINES STRIKE BACK!

Writer-John and Ward Hawkins

Dir-Nathan Juran (explaining the tremendous action sequences)

 

Teaser

1976--Seaview's diving bell with Crane and Riley aboard descend to a drone sub (this one numbered 117). Riley sees the aft hatch open up and fire upon the bell with a torpedo. It hits a rock near the bell. The defense mechanisms on the drones aren't supposed to work unless they are going to fire their missiles. The drone is doing just that--it lifts off the bottom with Sharkey unable to deactivate it from Seaview. It rams the bell, hitting it with its nose and then as it passes with its tail. The drone moves up to firing depth and fires the missile out of the sea and into the sky! The diving bell comes up into Seaview. Nelson asks Sharkey to plot its coarse and he does. Ski alerts Nelson in the radio room as Nelson orders Sparks to call Admiral Johnson. The coordinates: New York City.

 

Act One

Nelson believes they should trace the sub rather than just shoot the propellers off it. Senator Kimberly calls on vidscreen--he is angry. He was always against this plan--the unmanned automated defense system of 112 (hey, wait wasn't the drone that went nuts 117--perhaps they don't start at the number--one) drones. Nelson reminds him that in the three years they have been activated there has been no mistake in any of the drones. (Three years? DOOMSDAY seemed to establish the drones in 1973 so three years would be just about right to this episode--1976). Upper New York was hit by a miracle--forests were blazed away and three forest rangers were killed (unlike publicity material and other books that claimed no life was lost--a cover up?). The US Allies have been called for help. Johnson tells Nelson Admiral Halder knows as much as anyone about the drones except for Harry himself. Halder is with Allied East Command and is also called East Command's Vice Admiral Halder. He tells Harry not to be so formal with him--they are old friends--and Harry should call him Alex (his first name). He says he tried to stop the drone from his base. His government will help in any way. Halder wants a beam (?) from Seaview to locate them, refusing the Flying Sub to pick him up. He has his own transport (we never find out what). Halder feeds a new species of fish in a tank, telling his men he likes Seaview, but also tells them that they should continue controlling the drones! Crane briefs two divers--Murphy and Jones--who will go out to the drone. Halder has his female aide, Captain Verna Tabor (or Trober) call his undersea lab where he is controlling the drones. She explains about the divers, calling them frogmen. Soon, she gives Sparks a reel to reel type tape to send and it squeals loudly. Just after, the drone alarms go off--it will self destruct! One of the divers calls--the inspection hatch is...he is cut off as the blasts hit! Seaview shakes wildly!

 

Act Two

Murphy and Jones don't answer---are probably dead. The drone sinks but the tell tale is intact. It is a device which records all command signals given to it and will explain more about why the drone went renegade. Halder tells them they must retrieve it before moisture condensation makes it useless. He wants to go back to his base to work on how to stop the other rogue drones. Kimberly calls Nelson on the radio and squawks so much, that Harry has to make faces and move the receiver away from his ear in comical fashion. The drone telltale is encountering some bottom drift. Sparks sends a second tape for Verna and claims something is wrong with the tape...she responds with, "Or your equipment..."  in snooty fashion. Three other drones--numbered 41, 63, and 89 moved off also! From the door into the back of the control room, Verna listens to the men. Drones move North by Northwest: target: USA. The missile firing systems were designed to not be stopped from without. Seaview follows Drone 41, can block out all command signals from outside using a forcefield, then block out the defense system. Ski helps Sparks set up the sound blocking on the radio shack area and to check the equipment. Crane wants to go to the drone but Nelson tells him he wants him commanding Seaview--it will need expert piloting and maneuvering. The Continental Defense aircraft will have to shoot down the other two drones' missiles (nuclear missiles?). Seaview intercepts two missiles from the drone 41. Crane warns Nelson about the third and that he may be killed. They use the radio jamming forcefield. Nelson says, "Keep it that way and I'll be as safe as if I'm home in bed."  To upset the forcefield and cause soundwaves, Verna pulls a stabilizer switch which rocks Seaview badly! Crane fears Nelson will be killed.

 

Act Three

Crane orders Scott and Ron to secure a panel. Nelson in the drone finds the tell tale. Sparks sends another message from Verna after securing the forcefield jamming. Nelson, back on Seaview, tells Crane that Halder has a Mark 1-10 that can decode the tell tale in ten minutes. Just then, Drone 41 self destructs--meant for Nelson. Chip flies Nelson to the Halder sealab and flies back. Halder tells Nelson, as the Admiral comes in, that it is he directing the drones to attack. Nelson chokes him and Halder's men have to subdue him and hit him down. Nelson is put in a storage room (which looks a lot like the room Crane was held in--in KILLERS OF THE DEEP). Halder visits him and tells him it is not his country which is directing the attack--it is him alone. He is the leader of a revolutionary movement and when his people see his power, they will rally to his cause--otherwise, he'd use the missiles on his own people. Halder sabotaged the drones years ago when he and Harry worked on building them together. Crane calls Halder on scrambler. Halder tells Lee that Nelson already left. Sparks tells Crane about Verna's squealing tapes. Sparks rerecorded them 20 or 30 times. They are code groups. Halder seems to be recording a message for his people or relaying it live: if they do not support him, he will use his power on them. In a short while, they will be able to see the effects of his weapons on Philadelphia, Washington DC, and the New York areas--they will explode in flames in three hours. Only he, he demands, can govern them. 12 drones head for the Atlantic city seaboard. Halder wants Verna back to his base. Riley eyes up her legs as she descends the circle ladder to the nose. Crane takes her back in the Flying Sub and accompanies her inside. Halder smiles, "Ahh, another mouse walks into the trap. Stand very still, captain."

 

Act Four

Halder slaps Crane for calling him a traitor and then has him thrown in with the Admiral, who is mad at Lee for falling into the same trap by coming here willingly. Crane figures the only way they can stop the drones is from the inside: in his jacket he has tools. The transmitter is on the other side of the wall of the storage room they are in (conveniently). Sharkey wants to call East Command, irritated with this cock and bull eyed order not to. Chip asks Sharkey if the Chief wants to make an issue of it---it is Crane's order. Sharkey declines. Crane's tools are used to send a pipe through the wall and he sends gas through the pipe. The gas knocks out the guards and the controllers. Crane uses a tool to torch the wall to make an entrance in. They will have to wait a bit before the vents clear the gas. Seaview: the others watch the clock in what seems like filler material. Nelson and Crane find the controls but Nelson discovers there must be dozens of transmitting rooms. Only the attacking drones are controlled from the room they are in. Nelson will use drone 33 to attack the sealab base. He blows the controls to keep the drone on coarse to the sealab. Halder orders Nelson and Crane killed and sends men after them. Nelson tells Crane, "Stand by to repel boarders."  They use a gas bomb on the men who open the door; then they run down corridors (these look just like the Seaview hallways). Nelson and Crane are also wearing gas mask devices (did Crane have all this on him? Why wasn't the searched?). Despite eluding men, the pair are then surrounded on either side by men pointing guns.

 

Tag

The men order Crane and Nelson to put their guns down. When the men go to take the guns, Crane and Nelson fight them, take the guns and run. Men (techs) abandon their posts in the main room and guards shoot them dead. Crane comes and shoots the guards dead. They run to the open escape hatch door; Halder shoots at them but Nelson blocks his bullets with the door. Crane, already in the hatch, peeks out and shoots Halder in the shoulder. This allows Nelson to get away with him. The Flying Sub lifts off the sealab top. Verna tries to tell Halder the drone is coming but it is too late. The base is blown up as the drone speeds into it. All the other drones return to control. Johnson and Kimberly are talking to Nelson and Crane via Vidphone. The UN will deal with the men who planned this attack...but not with one of them--justice has already been done to him, Nelson says. Nelson feels that one always wonders why a brilliant man like Halder would do something like this. Reparations will be paid through the UN. Johnson tells Nelson, "Keep up the good work, Harry."         

 

REVIEW: Great episode. It is difficult not to want to side with the ideas that Senator Kimberly states---atomic weapons and missiles as a deterrent to war ? While I am not about to try to solve that debate, which has good points to both sides, Kimberly is so irritating in his diatribe against Nelson and the missile idea, one tends to dismiss his anger and arguements--which are really justified.