Episodes

The Mark of Archanon (Year 2 / Episode 8)

ITC Press Release

"SPACE 1999" (Series II) Episode Six: "THE MARK OF ARCHANON." Original ITC press release. SYNOPSIS A sensational find below the Moon's surface....an imprisoned man and his son. Who are they? How did they get there? How long have they been there? And why? __________ A geological survey below the Moon's surface reveals the existence of a metallic cabinet. Inside are two figures, a man and a boy. They must have been there for centuries, yet they are still alive? The prisoners prove to have come from Archanon, the Planet of Peace. The man introduces himself as Pasc (JOHN STANDING) and the boy as his son Etrec (MICHAEL GALLAGHER), claiming that when Good replaced Evil amongst his people, emissaries were sent throughout the Universe. He says he was Commander of such a mission to Earth, but such hatred and violence were found that he and Etrec were the only ones to escape contagion. On returning to their base on the Moon, he and his son were overpowered by those who had caught the Earth's sickness. Because the Archanons could never kill, they were placed in a Statis Cabinet - and it was Pasc's wife Lyra who led the mutineers. But there are soon hints that he is lying. The first of these is when dr. Helena Russell (BARBARA BAIN) examines them and finds the presence of a strange, living virus in Pasc's blood cells, though the same virus is dead, or dormant, in those of his son. When a power unit is taken from the Statis chamber, Pasc realizes to his alarm that the monitor is set to the Archanon frequency and that it will now be known that the captives are free. Already, in fact, the Archanons are sending a lovely representative, Maurna (VERONICA LANG), to the Moon. Pasc makes a bid to escape and reaches an Eagle spacecraft, forcing Helena to accompany him as a hostage. He has had to leave Etrec behind, and he offers Helena's freedom in exchange for his son and permission for the eagle to go. A grim decision has to be taken. When Maurna arrives, she proves to be a descendant of Pasc's wife Lyra and when Lyra (VERONICA LANG) herself materializes from a memory bank in another part of the power unit, it is revealed that Pasc and Etrec were the ones who caught the Earth's sickness and had to be placed in captivity in the hope that one day a cure would be found. Pasc is beyond cure; the only hope for Etrec is for a blood transfusion from another Archanon, which is against their laws. It is Pasc himself who makes the ultimate sacrifice...... __________ NB. All spelling and punctuation as in the original. "SPACE 1999" - SERIES II CAST LIST EPISODE NO. 6 - "THE MARK OF ARCHANON" DIRECTOR: CHARLES CRICHTON KOENIG - MARTIN LANDAU HELENA - BARBARA BAIN MAYA - CATHERINE SCHELL VERDESCHI - TONY ANHOLT CARTER - NICK TATE YASKO - YASUKO NAGAZUMI DR. RAUL NUNEZ - RAUL NEWNEY 1ST OPERATIVE - ANNIE LAMBERT ANDY JOHNSON - JOHN ALKIN PASC - JOHN STANDING EtrEC - MICHAEL GALLAGHER CARSON - ANTHONY FORREST LYRA/MAURNA - VERONICA LANG FRASER - JOHN HUG

Episodes are in production order.