The Troubled Spirit
| "The Troubled Spirit" | |
|---|---|
| Space: 1999 episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 19 |
| Directed by | Ray Austin |
| Written by | Johnny Byrne |
| Original air date | 5 February 1976 |
"The Troubled Spirit" is the nineteenth episode of the first season of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne; the director was Ray Austin. The final shooting script is dated 11 November 1974. Live-action filming took place Wednesday 20 November 1974 through Wednesday 4 December 1974.
As the Moon drifts through empty space, the off-duty personnel of Moonbase Alpha gather in the Recreation Section for an evening of music. Playing to a full house, the solo artist performs a haunting piece on a sitar. The concert is simulcast throughout the base, the eerie melody providing the appropriate atmosphere to an unusual gathering in Hydroponic Unit Two. There, Doctor Dan Mateo and three colleagues are in the midst of an unorthodox experiment. Linked to a transmitting apparatus by electrodes, the four botanists sit holding hands around a table...giving the proceedings the appearance of a scientific séance.
Working from the premise that humans have an innate affinity with plants, Mateo has discovered that botanical life emits electrical waves analogous to those produced by the human brain. In tonight's experiment, the Italian botanist hopes to isolate these brain-wave patterns in his own mind, amplify them using the combined mental powers of the group, transmit them at plants sitting on the table and measure the response. The ultimate goal is to establish communication between humans and plants.
As the group concentrates, Mateo slips into a trance-state. He is soon moaning and writhing like a trapped animal. While the others trade anxious glances, Doctor James Warren, head of Hydroponics, enters the unit and witnesses their activity. Incensed, the elderly scientist begins tearing the electrodes from their wrists. When the circle is broken, Mateo spasms in agony and crumples to the floor. Suddenly, the lights dim and a freezing wind blows across the workroom, through the beds of cultivated plants and out the hatch...continuing until it has penetrated every section of Alpha.
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