From Newsgroup: rec.arts.drwho.moderated   
   From Address: solar.penguin@gmail.com   
   Subject: Re: Pathfinders in Space   
      
   Visually, the general impression of this episode is of Hartnell-era-   
   style production values, with the same "recorded as if live"   
   approach.  Hardly surprising with Sydney Newman as the man behind them   
   both.  Even the caption naming the writers uses the same font!   
      
   In terms of plot, however, the general impression is that Buchan   
   Island rocket base needs someone like Professor Quatermass to take   
   over and force a bit of no-nonsense common sense into everyone   
   involved in the project.  Sadly, that doesn't happen.   
      
   The episode opens with an all-too-obvious model shot of the Buchan   
   Island rocket base.  The two rockets aren't bad, but the base's   
   buildings are obviously cardboard boxes with windows drawn on with   
   marker pen.  This gives way to a brief clip of location footage that   
   doesn't match up with the model at all.  Then we're into the studio   
   where we remain for the rest of the series.   
      
   Science journalist Conway Henderson (played by Gerald "Kamelion"   
   Flood) arrives to find the base entering a state of maximum security.   
   As well as having his ID checked, something that's apparently never   
   happened to him there before, he has to hand over any matches or   
   cigarette lighters and not even wear metal-tipped shoes because of   
   fire risk.  Despite this, we later see Dr O'Connell, one of the   
   scientists, smoking a pipe, so presumably the fire regulations only   
   apply to those irresponsible, non-scientist types!   
      
   Despite this, Professor Wedgwood's three children Geoffrey, Valerie   
   and Jimmy, are still freely "running loose in the rocket site."   
   Although Jimmy does get stopped offscreen by security guards when he   
   tries to get into one of the actual rockets.   
      
   The professor gathers his children together to tell them that later   
   this evening he'll "be going away for three weeks" on a flight to the   
   moon.  This is the first the children have heard of his plans.   
   There's no mention of what domestic arrangements will be for these 3   
   weeks, where he's left money for food, or anything like that.  But   
   what do you expect from someone who's never even heard of a nanny!   
      
   Still, at least he won't have to worry about the kids wrecking their   
   house with wild parties while he's gone.  Despite being made in 1960,   
   they look as though the teenage revolution of the fifties never   
   happened.  They dress like miniature adults and are very, very polite   
   and well-spoken.  Which, of course, just makes them even more annoying   
   brats than they already are!   
      
   Meanwhile Henderson, the journalist who's presumably been invited   
   there to cover the launch, still doesn't know what's going on at all.   
   The mission control crew aren't telling him anything, due to that   
   maximum security clampdown, but no-one's worried about him just   
   casually strolling around the place, watching and listening to   
   everything.  Luckily the children can't resist giving him clues, and   
   he pieces all it together.  He has quite a nice little speech about   
   the wonder of man going to the moon, which works well because Gerald   
   Flood is possibly the best actor (indeed the only good actor) in the   
   show.   
      
   This is then followed by a didactic educational bit where he tells the   
   children about the origins of the moon.  Interestingly, he explains   
   how it was ejected from the Earth's still-molten crust during   
   planetary formation.  This is all mainstream science nowadays, but   
   very controversial stuff back in 1960, and it's nice to see it being   
   included here.  (Of course, as we all know, just 10 years later   
   Malcolm Hulke had changed his mind and gone back to the "rogue planet"   
   theory just as that was about to be discredited!  Oh well.)   
      
   Professor Wedgwood and his team enter their rocket and take off, all   
   dressed in shirts and sweaters, with no spacesuits to be seen.  The   
   model work for the launch isn't great but better than that in   
   Quatermass 2, since the rocket is lifted from above rather than by a   
   big stick from the side.  But this is followed by a cardboard-cutout   
   animation of the rocket in flight, looking like a cross between   
   Captain Pugwash and Terry Gilliam's animations for Monty Python's   
   Flying Circus!   
      
   The professor's rocket is due to be followed by an unmanned supply   
   rocket with food and fuel for the return journey.  (Nice to see he's   
   remembered food for himself, even if he's leaving his kids to starve   
   for three weeks!)   
      
   But the professor's eldest son Geoffrey is allowed to help fix the   
   broken autopilot, and accidentally leaves his screwdriver on top of   
   the autopilot's casing.  This somehow causes it to short circuit and   
   burn out completely beyond all hope of repair.  (The dialogue implies   
   the screwdriver fell inside the wiring, but it's clearly seen just   
   rolling about on top of the casing when the circuit inside burns out.)   
      
   With no autopilot, and no-one at the base trained to pilot the supply   
   rocket in case of emergency, it looks like curtains for the mission.   
   Professor Wedgwood and his team will have to turn round and head back   
   to Earth.  But then Henderson volunteers to fly it himself.  He was an   
   RAF pilot during his National Service, and in theory flying a rocket   
   can't be that different from flying a plane!   
      
   For a brief moment it looks like common sense is going to prevail as   
   Wedgwood tells him over the radio, "You can't pilot a rocket just on   
   theory."  But then one of his crew, Professor Mary Meadows, says   
   "Isn't that just what we're doing?"  Yes, all three people on the   
   professor's rocket are academic scientists.  Not one of them has any   
   kind of experience as a pilot or engineer at all.   
      
   In addition to Wedgwood and Meadows, the third scientist of the team   
   is Dr O'Connell, the pipe smoker who was unable to go for a few hours   
   without his nicotine fix back at the base, despite all the strict fire   
   regulations.  I hate to imagine how he's going to cope without it for   
   three whole weeks!   
      
   Meanwhile, showing more common sense than he's ever shown in his life   
   before, Wedgwood instructs Henderson to take a couple of trained   
   technicians with him.  Henderson ignores him and decides to take   
   Geoffrey and Jimmy along instead.   
      
   Jimmy smuggles his pet guinea pig Hamlet aboard with him.  Hamlet also   
   accompanied him in his previous "Target Luna" space flight.  You'd   
   think that one one experience of rodent piss and shit floating past   
   his head in zero gravity would be enough to convince him it's a bad   
   idea, but apparently not.  He's obsessed with the creature to a degree   
   that borders on mental illness, and has spent most of the episode   
   showing it to everyone all the time.   
      
   Hamlet isn't the only stowaway.  Valerie, jealous at being left behind   
   because she's a girl, has hidden on board too.  At least she's   
   bothered to get herself a spacesuit, while the others are still   
   dressed in the clothes they've been wearing all day.  And they don't   
   seem to have brought along any change of clothing, so I dread to think   
   what they'll be like when the 3 weeks are up!   
      
   The episode cliffhanger has Valerie collapsing unable to reach a seat   
   to protect herself from the g-force of take off.  Mind you, it's lucky   
   a rocket that's supposed to be unmanned has lots of seats in it   
   anyway!   
      
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