The Infernal Machine (Space: 1999)
A cybernetic ship seeks immortality and a new companion.
"The Infernal Machine" is the fourth episode of the first series of *Space: 1999*. Anthony Terpiloff and Elizabeth Barrows wrote the screenplay, and David Tomblin directed. The final shooting script is dated 11 December 1974, with live-action filming taking place from 16 December 1974 to 9 January 1975.
An unidentified, crab-like spacecraft with two rotating sets of legs lands on the Moon near Moonbase Alpha. The alien pilot orders Commander Koenig, Dr Russell, and Professor Bergman to come aboard. They travel by buggy into a vast control centre, where they meet a sickly old man called "Companion," aide to the ship's unseen master, "Gwent." Gwent is not a person but the ship itself—a cybernetic intelligence. It has infiltrated Alpha's computer and demands specific supplies from the base's stores. When Koenig refuses, Gwent threatens Alpha by moving its legs toward the base. Eagles attack, but the ship is invulnerable. The dying Companion reveals he is Gwent's creator, but the intelligence became corrupted and enslaved him. He dies, leaving Gwent distraught.
Gwent tortures Koenig with a pain-inducing light ray to secure his cooperation, then enters a "rest" mode to conserve power. Bergman suspects Gwent came to the Moon seeking a replacement for Companion. Deducing Gwent is blind and frail, Koenig silently transmits code to Alpha to resume the attack. Eagles and laser-equipped tanks assault the ship, but Gwent deploys a punishment beam on the whole base, forcing Koenig's surrender. Gwent will release Bergman once supplies are delivered, but Koenig and Russell will become Companions for life. Alpha switches the Eagle crew for an armed security team led by Captain Carter. Gwent uncovers the ruse, keeps Bergman, and forces Carter's group away. When Koenig's group refuses to assist in refuelling, they are punished again, but the beam is weaker. Koenig taunts Gwent, which reveals its original identity: Delmer Powys Plebus Gwent, a scientist from Zemo who uploaded his personality into a computerised brain. Reasoning Gwent would be destroyed if it used its last strength to destroy Alpha, Koenig smashes the new fuel rod. Gwent realises its quest for immortality has left it empty and isolated, embraces death, and shuts down. Koenig jams a fuel rod fragment into an access port to restore minimal power, allowing escape. Gwent takes off and deliberately crashes into a
- episode_number
- 4 (Series 1)
- air_date
- Not specified in source
- writers
- Anthony Terpiloff and Elizabeth Barrows
- director
- David Tomblin
- guest_star
- Leo McKern as Companion
- production_dates
- Live-action filming 16 December 1974 – 9 January 1975
Lore & Background
The episode was based on the 1934 play The Infernal Machine by Jean Cocteau, itself based on Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus Rex. Terpiloff and Barrows gave the story a science-fiction twist by making the main character a rampaging cybernetic entity. The writers hoped to have Ralph Richardson play the dual role of Gwent and Companion; instead, the role went to Australian actor Leo McKern, best known in the genre for portraying 'Number Two' in The Prisoner.
Model-builder Martin Bower stated the motorized 'Gwent' miniature provided the least happy experience for the Bray Studios' effects crew. With its twin set of rotating legs, it was almost impossible to get a realistic shot of the heavy model rolling across the miniature lunar landscape. At the end of filming, visu
Reader's Guide
The episode is a notable example of the 'supercomputer episode' common in television science fiction, praised by SFX magazine with an 'A-plus' rating and described by reviewer Chris Bentley as 'superior'. John Kenneth Muir considered it just above average, finding the script tonally inconsistent but praising McKern's 'excellent' performance. TV Zone praised the performances and special effects, calling the Gwent ship a 'marvellous' creation and the episode 'a delightful example of science fiction drama'. Video Watchdog found the episode 'unremarkable' apart from McKern's performance, noting 'the ending can be seen a mile away, but the quality of McKern's work holds one's attention throughout'. The episode was adapted in the sixth Year One Space: 1999 novel Astral Quest by John Rankine, published in 1975, which followed the final shooting script and included Morrow rather than the substitute character Winters.
Did You Know?
- The episode was based on the 1934 play The Infernal Machine by Jean Cocteau, which itself was based on Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus Rex.
- Visual effects director Nick Allder destroyed the five-foot-wide Gwent model by throwing it across the studio in frustration after filming.
- Actor Prentis Hancock (Paul Morrow) was replaced by Gary Waldhorn as Winters due to a benign tumour removal during convalescence.
- The episode used an excerpt from the Thunderbirds score, composed by Barry Gray, to score the Alphans' second attack on Gwent.
More in Space: 1999 episodes 1-24
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