Alpha receives an automated distress signal from the spaceship Daria, telling of a catastrophe that has killed thousands and left hundreds sick and dying. It asks for medical and material aid to save the few remaining survivors. Unable to communicate with the vessel,
	Koenig, Helena, Victor, Alan, Paul, and Bill Lowery go to investigate. as they fly over the twenty mile long, five mile wide ship, they are unable to locate a point of entry. Suddenly the Eagles control systems are "smothered" and they are pulled into a docking area within the ship.
They try to break free, but cannot. They decide to enter the Daria to look for survivors, and a way to release their Eagle. Inside they find several long passages, in various states of ruin. They split up to look around; Koenig and Bergman one way, Carter and Morrow another,
	and Russell and Lowery wait by the Eagle. While the others are gone, Helena discovers a door to another passage covered by wreckage. Lowery manages to unblock the entrance and they enter to take a look. Inside they hear sounds. On further investigation, they see two
frightened little people. The two are unable to speak, but appear to be running from something. Helena tries to calm the female, but the male runs down another corridor, when Lowery attempts to follow, he is struck from behind as he passes through the doorway. Meanwhile,
	John and Victor are met by two spacesuited figures. While trying to figure out if this is some sort of welcome committee, the two figures pull out their weapons and fire! Elsewhere on the ship, Alan and Paul stopped by wreckage blocking the passage that they were searching
and return to the Eagle. Inside they find the small male hiding amongst the seats. They coax him out and try to find out where Helena and Bill went. They convince him to show them where they were taken. Koenig awakens on a bed in a pristine area of the ship and is greeted by
	the lovely Kara. He asks why they were fired upon, when they came in response to the Darians distress call. She explains that the signal was triggered when the all but one of the Daria's nuclear reactors exploded almost nine hundred years ago, and that they unaware
strangers were aboard their ship, and that's why they were fired upon. Koenig asks if they have located the rest of their party. She tells him, they have not, but will search for them. Helena, Lowery, and the mute woman are taken to an alter where they are judged for "purity".
	The female mute is judged as a mutant and forced into a disintegration chamber. Lowery is examined, and when they find he has one finger that is shorter than it should be, he is judged a mutant and forced into the chamber and disintegrated. Kara introduces
Koenig to Neman, the commander of the Daria. They explain that their ship was essentially an "Ark" transporting the survivers of their dying world to a new planet. They offer the Alphans the chance to join them, in exchange for supplies and assistance. Helena is examined,
	and is determined to be clear of physical imperfections, and is to be offered to the God Neman. The "spirits" are summoned to take her to their God, as Alan and Paul are lead to her location by the male mute. The "spirits" arrive and are the same spacesuited figures that
stunned Koenig and Bergman. They grab Helena, and Paul and Alan rush from their hiding place to save her. There is a struggle and one of the "spirits" is stunned. The other forces Helena into a passageway behind the portrait of Neman. Paul manages to leap through before the
	door closes, and follows them. Alan is being held for the murder of the "spirit". When the stun effect wears off, Alan shows his captors that the "spirit" is , in fact, a man, and offers to lead them to expose their false God. While Koenig and Victor check the compatibilty of humans
and Darians, they discover that the Darians do not have any stores of the components necessary to sustain life, and they are using living bodies for food! They confront Kara, who explains that they must survive to preserve the DNA of the "pure" Darians in order to ensure the
	survival of their race. Koenig meets up with Paul who is still in pursuit of Helena. He tells Koenig that the Darians have her. They find Kara and force her at gun-point to show them where the bodies are taken. She takes them and they find Helena unconscious. Kara is able to
revive her and runs off. Alan leads the survivors to the undamaged portion of the ship. They make their way to room with the gene bank. Neman and Kara enter soon after. Hadin is dangerously close to the gene bank and Neman runs towards him. Hadin grabs him and
	tells him that he is no God, then proceeds to toss him through the gene bank. He grabs Kara, and Koenig yells for them to stop. Telling them that the only way they will survive is by working together. Kara asks how they will survive. With the gene bank destroyed,
along with the million years of civilization it represents, she asks what future does her people have. Koenig tells her that the survivors are their future, that they must teach them to live and survive in space, and that they will help them. On the ride back to the base,
	Helena mourns the loss of Bill Lowery. Kano, finally able to get through, asks what happened. Alan tells him to ask again some time. Alan asks Koenig if Alpha was in the same postition as the Darians, would he choose any differently? Koenig responds by telling him to remind him to tell him some time.

This Episode

Random Thoughts

This episode shows Space: 1999's grand scale. Including the largest model built for the series (the Daria) by Martin Bower and Brian Johnson, and three matte paintings to convey the enormous interior of the ship, two showing the interior structures,

and one used to superimpose the cast on a walkway within the undamaged section.

Not to mention the numerous sets showing the different sections of the ship in various states, from pristine, to utter devastation. And one of the largest casts of extras used during the run of the series.

They also tackle serious moral issues in this episode; the question of what price is too high for survival, and the ever-popular theme of eternal life (or possibly just extended life, in this case). I am still unsure how transplant surgery would stop the aging process. I could understand replacing failing organs to prolong life, but I don't see how that would keep them all young and beautiful. But I have to say I am impressed with, what I considered a very daring scene in the body bank. The nude corpses lined up on the table is still a startling image. I am amazed they were allowed to air that scene at all.

They make a strong point of showing that the Darians situation mirrors the Alphans' in many ways, and pose the question "Would they do any differently under the same circumstances?" Would the Alphans resort to cannibalism, if they were unable to produce food to survive? Koenig's cryptic answer at the end of the show sheds no light on the answer, but I imagine that no one really could say for certain what they would do in such an extreme situation without actually experiencing it. It is easy enought to say that one is above that, but would some primitive survival instinct over-ride our delicate sensibilities? "Ask me again some time."

This episode also features some very fine acting. Joan Collins is excellent as Kara. She exudes a sense of aristocracy as one of the few remaining "true" Darians, with total disdain for the poor creatures born of the survivors of the nuclear fallout. She is perfectly aghast when Koenig mentions using the bodies of the Darians for food (they would never use the bodies of true Darians!). She is also convincingly concerned for her own well-being as she tries to revive Helena. She also has an interesting moment at the end of the episode as she sizes up Hadin, potentially the next leader of the Darians. She looks as though she is trying to figure out how she might control him (sex?)

I was slightly shocked at the scene where Koenig raises his hand to strike Kara when he thinks Helena might be dead. This was a very effective moment. It sure seemed to motivate Kara to revive Helena!

Speaking of Helena, she has some great moments as Petros is checking the female mute, Bill Lowery, and herself for physical imperfections. I especially liked the confused, yet slightly relieved look when she is pronounced "Clear!". But she still looks as though she is wondering what is coming next.

Deja View

We see in this episode a few carry-overs from previous episodes in the set design. The "splattered paint" lighted panels from Gwent in "The Infernal Machine", and the diffusing glass panels over the computers in the Darian's computer room were seen on the Setazius in "The Last Enemy".

Wallpaper

Sound Files