The Full Circle
Encyclopedia
"The Full Circle" is the fifteenth episode of the first series of Space: 1999
. The screenplay was written by Jesse Lasky, Jnr
and Pat Silver; the director was Bob Kellett
. The final shooting script is dated 17 September 1974. Live-action filming took place Tuesday, 24 September 1974 through Tuesday, 8 October 1974.
is passing within range of a habitable planet the Alpha staff have code-named 'Retha'—an anagram of 'Earth'. A six-man team is dispatched for a preliminary survey. After several hours, radio contact is lost and Eagle Six fails to return on schedule. Flight telemetry shows all ship's systems operating normally, and a worried John Koenig
orders it flown back to Moonbase Alpha
by remote control. He, Victor Bergman
and Helena Russell
go to meet the mystery vessel. They can find no one aboard...until Helena spies a primitive stone axe and a hairy hand nearly hidden behind a seat in the passenger module.
A closer look reveals the sole occupant—the dead body of a Stone-Age
man. While the bizarre corpse is taken to Medical for a post mortem, Koenig plans a rescue mission. He will lead a search party on the ground, while Alan Carter
will overfly the area in Eagle Two in a search pattern centred on the initial landing site. Sandra Benes
will accompany him to make a detailed photographic scan. Bergman is left in command of Alpha. As the rescue ships depart, the professor is concerned—there are just three days remaining to sort out the mystery and, if fortunate, complete Operation Exodus before the Moon travels out of range.
Eagle One sets down at the first expedition's landing site, a clearing in a sub-tropical forest. As Carter begins the aerial search, he notes a few pockets of mist through breaks in the forest canopy, but no sign of people—Alphan or otherwise. While the support team reconnoitres the immediate area, Koenig and Helena drive off in a moon buggy
, following a series of trail-markers left by the reconnaissance party. Entering the forest, they leave the vehicle and continue on foot.
At a swampy watering hole
, they are brought up short by the tracks of a gigantic animal in the boggy soil. Helena perceives movement in the foliage on the far side of the pool and thinks they are being watched. Koenig fires a stun-gun blast into the water to frighten off who or what is in hiding. Hours later, the trail-markers lead them down a ravine
blanketed by a dense mist. The surrounding forest is eerily silent as they are obscured by swirling vapour...
The support party finds nothing in the area adjacent to the clearing. They follow the trail and, by sunset, have reached the ravine. The Eagle One co-pilot reports to Carter that they are approaching an area of mist and hope to catch up with Koenig before dark. They, too, walk down the narrow passage and into the mist...
On Moonbase, Bergman attempts to call Koenig, but gets no response. Carter reports that he, too, is unable to contact the Commander. At their geographic latitude, the night will last only two hours; Carter decides to land and commence searching for the others at daybreak. Sandra claims to see something moving in the fading light, but Carter cannot confirm her sighting. As he brings the ship down next to Eagle One and they settle in for the night, a trio of cavemen watches from the bushes outside.
The next morning, Sandra awakens to find herself alone; Carter has left early to scout the area. He has reached Koenig's moon buggy when Sandra calls to express her concern. He jokes that all her fussing will make her boyfriend Paul Morrow
jealous. Signing off, he follows the markers, but veers from the designated trail to take a short-cut through the tall grass—and falls head-first into a camouflaged pit. Sandra calls again, but receives no answer. Nervous, she contacts Alpha. Morrow consoles her with the news that Bergman is flying down to lead a new search-and-rescue mission.
The unconscious Carter comes to, trapped at the bottom of a ten-foot-deep pit. After failed attempts to climb out, he begins to dig hand- and foot-holds into the soft clay walls with a large stone. His work is interrupted by the arrival of the three cavemen. Their spear-carrying leader leaps on Carter like a wild animal. In the ensuing brawl, the astronaut is beaten senseless. As the caveman raises his spear to finish him off, he is startled by the buzzing ring-tone of Carter's commlock. Fumbling with the device, the spear-man activates it and sees Sandra's image on the tiny TV monitor. After minutes of no one responding, she stops calling, her sudden ‘absence’ angering the spear-man. He clambers out of the pit using a tree trunk lowered by his comrades and shambles off toward the Eagles.
Ten minutes out from Retha, Bergman calls Sandra from Eagle Three. She is so relieved she does not even mind David Kano
's chauvinistic request for her to prepare lunch. After laying out the meal, she opens the hatch to observe their arrival—and is surprised by the spear-man standing directly outside. He darts into the ship. Manhandled, she is carried off by her savage assailant. Carter comes to and climbs out of the pit using the trunk left by the cavemen. He makes for the landing site as Eagle Three sets down. Bergman and Kano enter Eagle Two to find only their lunch waiting for them. Of Sandra, there is no sign...except for evidence of a struggle in the galley.
Sandra and her captor arrive at the caves that house a small tribe of cave-people. As the curious adults (there are no children) crowd around her, she attracts the attention of the caveman chief. After a brief scuffle with the spear-man, the chief claims Sandra for himself and drags her into his private lair, followed by his protesting mate. They lean in close to observe her, and Sandra shrieks. Either she is going mad or the chief and his cave-wife—despite weather-beaten faces, rotten teeth and unkempt hair—are dead ringers for Koenig and Helena.
That night, the spear-man steals across the cave to see Sandra. He presents her with a leopard
skin, which she refuses. His offer becomes more vigorous and, in his attempt to make her to wear the skin, he tears off her uniform tunic. Her screams wake the chief, who charges out to do battle with the presumptuous spear-man. A vicious struggle ends with the chief lifting the spear-man over his head and hurling him into the fire pit. As the victor claims his prize, his mate—also the tribe's medicine woman—tends to the spear-man's burns.
The chief finds Sandra has fashioned the pelt into a serviceable garment. He stalks her with amorous intent, but is distracted by the shiny medical monitor on her wrist. She takes this opportunity to bash him in the head with a rock and slip away into the night. The cave-wife, sensing something amiss, finds her mate alone, battered and insensate. Wailing, she gestures with Sandra's tunic—stained with his blood—and sends the men out to hunt down the escapee.
Morning finds Bergman and party searching the forest. As they approach the mystery ravine, Carter grabs the moon buggy's control stick and swerves just before they enter the wall of mist. He reckons it must be involved in the disappearances. Everyone has passed this way, entered the mist and vanished. They opt to go around; on the other side, they come across the cave and hear a moaning dirge
. The cave chief stands swaying before a shallow grave, half-dead and covered with gore, as his mate prepares him for burial.
The arrival of the Alpha party disrupts the funeral ritual. The women hide as the chief clumsily charges at the intruders. Bergman, struck by the uncanny resemblance of the wounded chief to John Koenig, prevents Carter from shooting him. Startled by the laser blast, the chief runs off. Carter goes ballistic when he finds Sandra's blood-stained tunic. He vows to search the entire network of caves for her—and God help the savages if she has been harmed.
Bergman and Kano take off after the chief, the professor convinced the resemblance is more than a coincidence. Tracks lead into the ravine and the men go round each way. Meeting up on the other side, they are shocked to find Koenig, sporting an ugly head contusion, sprawled unconscious on the ground just beyond the curtain of mist. Fearing cerebral haemorrhage, Bergman rushes Koenig up to Alpha; fortunately, it is nothing more serious than severe concussion. When the Commander regains consciousness, a relieved Bergman makes light of his suspicion of the cave chief being Koenig.
Space: 1999
Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
. The screenplay was written by Jesse Lasky, Jnr
Jesse L. Lasky, Jr.
Jesse Louis Lasky, Jr. was an American screenwriter.-Family:Jesse Louis Lasky, Jr. was the son of film pioneer, Jesse Lasky, Sr.. Jesse Jr...
and Pat Silver; the director was Bob Kellett
Bob Kellett
Bob Kellett is an English film director, film producer and screenwriter.-Filmography:*Tightrope to Terror...
. The final shooting script is dated 17 September 1974. Live-action filming took place Tuesday, 24 September 1974 through Tuesday, 8 October 1974.
Story
The MoonMoon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
is passing within range of a habitable planet the Alpha staff have code-named 'Retha'—an anagram of 'Earth'. A six-man team is dispatched for a preliminary survey. After several hours, radio contact is lost and Eagle Six fails to return on schedule. Flight telemetry shows all ship's systems operating normally, and a worried John Koenig
John Koenig
John Koenig is a fictional character from the television series Space: 1999. He was played by Martin Landau. He is American, apparently in his early forties.-Character Biography:...
orders it flown back to Moonbase Alpha
Moonbase Alpha
Moonbase Alpha is a fictional moon base and the main setting in the science fiction television series Space: 1999.-Moonbase Alpha:Located in the Moon crater Plato and constructed out of quarried rock and ores, Moonbase Alpha is four kilometres in diameter and extends up to one kilometre in areas...
by remote control. He, Victor Bergman
Victor Bergman
Professor Victor Bergman is the name of a recurring character on the UK science fiction television series Space: 1999. The role was portrayed by actor Barry Morse.-Character Biography:...
and Helena Russell
Helena Russell
Helena Russell is a fictional character from the television series Space: 1999. She was played by Barbara Bain. She is American and apparently in her mid-thirties....
go to meet the mystery vessel. They can find no one aboard...until Helena spies a primitive stone axe and a hairy hand nearly hidden behind a seat in the passenger module.
A closer look reveals the sole occupant—the dead body of a Stone-Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
man. While the bizarre corpse is taken to Medical for a post mortem, Koenig plans a rescue mission. He will lead a search party on the ground, while Alan Carter
Alan Carter (Space 1999)
Alan Carter is a fictional character from the television series Space: 1999. He was played by Nick Tate. He is of Australian origin and is in his early thirties.-Character biography:...
will overfly the area in Eagle Two in a search pattern centred on the initial landing site. Sandra Benes
Sandra Benes
Sandra Benes is a recurring character in the British science-fiction television series Space: 1999. She is of Western European/Burmese origin and is in her late twenties. Her role was played by actress Zienia Merton.-Character Biography:...
will accompany him to make a detailed photographic scan. Bergman is left in command of Alpha. As the rescue ships depart, the professor is concerned—there are just three days remaining to sort out the mystery and, if fortunate, complete Operation Exodus before the Moon travels out of range.
Eagle One sets down at the first expedition's landing site, a clearing in a sub-tropical forest. As Carter begins the aerial search, he notes a few pockets of mist through breaks in the forest canopy, but no sign of people—Alphan or otherwise. While the support team reconnoitres the immediate area, Koenig and Helena drive off in a moon buggy
Space 1999 moon buggy
The Moon Buggy is a fictional vehicle in Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's TV series Space: 1999. It is Moonbase Alpha's all purpose land vehicle...
, following a series of trail-markers left by the reconnaissance party. Entering the forest, they leave the vehicle and continue on foot.
At a swampy watering hole
Depression (geology)
A depression in geology is a landform sunken or depressed below the surrounding area. Depressions may be formed by various mechanisms.Structural or tectonic related:...
, they are brought up short by the tracks of a gigantic animal in the boggy soil. Helena perceives movement in the foliage on the far side of the pool and thinks they are being watched. Koenig fires a stun-gun blast into the water to frighten off who or what is in hiding. Hours later, the trail-markers lead them down a ravine
Ravine
A ravine is a landform narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a fluvial slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order of twenty to...
blanketed by a dense mist. The surrounding forest is eerily silent as they are obscured by swirling vapour...
The support party finds nothing in the area adjacent to the clearing. They follow the trail and, by sunset, have reached the ravine. The Eagle One co-pilot reports to Carter that they are approaching an area of mist and hope to catch up with Koenig before dark. They, too, walk down the narrow passage and into the mist...
On Moonbase, Bergman attempts to call Koenig, but gets no response. Carter reports that he, too, is unable to contact the Commander. At their geographic latitude, the night will last only two hours; Carter decides to land and commence searching for the others at daybreak. Sandra claims to see something moving in the fading light, but Carter cannot confirm her sighting. As he brings the ship down next to Eagle One and they settle in for the night, a trio of cavemen watches from the bushes outside.
The next morning, Sandra awakens to find herself alone; Carter has left early to scout the area. He has reached Koenig's moon buggy when Sandra calls to express her concern. He jokes that all her fussing will make her boyfriend Paul Morrow
Paul Morrow
Paul Morrow is a fictional character who first appeared in 'Breakaway', the premiere episode of the science fiction television show Space: 1999, and was portrayed by Prentis Hancock. He is a British national who appears to be in his early thirties....
jealous. Signing off, he follows the markers, but veers from the designated trail to take a short-cut through the tall grass—and falls head-first into a camouflaged pit. Sandra calls again, but receives no answer. Nervous, she contacts Alpha. Morrow consoles her with the news that Bergman is flying down to lead a new search-and-rescue mission.
The unconscious Carter comes to, trapped at the bottom of a ten-foot-deep pit. After failed attempts to climb out, he begins to dig hand- and foot-holds into the soft clay walls with a large stone. His work is interrupted by the arrival of the three cavemen. Their spear-carrying leader leaps on Carter like a wild animal. In the ensuing brawl, the astronaut is beaten senseless. As the caveman raises his spear to finish him off, he is startled by the buzzing ring-tone of Carter's commlock. Fumbling with the device, the spear-man activates it and sees Sandra's image on the tiny TV monitor. After minutes of no one responding, she stops calling, her sudden ‘absence’ angering the spear-man. He clambers out of the pit using a tree trunk lowered by his comrades and shambles off toward the Eagles.
Ten minutes out from Retha, Bergman calls Sandra from Eagle Three. She is so relieved she does not even mind David Kano
David Kano (Space 1999)
David Kano is a fictional character who regularly appeared during the first season of the science fiction television series Space: 1999. He is of Jamaican origin and in his mid-thirties. He was played by actor Clifton Jones.-Character biography:...
's chauvinistic request for her to prepare lunch. After laying out the meal, she opens the hatch to observe their arrival—and is surprised by the spear-man standing directly outside. He darts into the ship. Manhandled, she is carried off by her savage assailant. Carter comes to and climbs out of the pit using the trunk left by the cavemen. He makes for the landing site as Eagle Three sets down. Bergman and Kano enter Eagle Two to find only their lunch waiting for them. Of Sandra, there is no sign...except for evidence of a struggle in the galley.
Sandra and her captor arrive at the caves that house a small tribe of cave-people. As the curious adults (there are no children) crowd around her, she attracts the attention of the caveman chief. After a brief scuffle with the spear-man, the chief claims Sandra for himself and drags her into his private lair, followed by his protesting mate. They lean in close to observe her, and Sandra shrieks. Either she is going mad or the chief and his cave-wife—despite weather-beaten faces, rotten teeth and unkempt hair—are dead ringers for Koenig and Helena.
That night, the spear-man steals across the cave to see Sandra. He presents her with a leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
skin, which she refuses. His offer becomes more vigorous and, in his attempt to make her to wear the skin, he tears off her uniform tunic. Her screams wake the chief, who charges out to do battle with the presumptuous spear-man. A vicious struggle ends with the chief lifting the spear-man over his head and hurling him into the fire pit. As the victor claims his prize, his mate—also the tribe's medicine woman—tends to the spear-man's burns.
The chief finds Sandra has fashioned the pelt into a serviceable garment. He stalks her with amorous intent, but is distracted by the shiny medical monitor on her wrist. She takes this opportunity to bash him in the head with a rock and slip away into the night. The cave-wife, sensing something amiss, finds her mate alone, battered and insensate. Wailing, she gestures with Sandra's tunic—stained with his blood—and sends the men out to hunt down the escapee.
Morning finds Bergman and party searching the forest. As they approach the mystery ravine, Carter grabs the moon buggy's control stick and swerves just before they enter the wall of mist. He reckons it must be involved in the disappearances. Everyone has passed this way, entered the mist and vanished. They opt to go around; on the other side, they come across the cave and hear a moaning dirge
Dirge
A dirge is a somber song expressing mourning or grief, such as would be appropriate for performance at a funeral. A lament. The English word "dirge" is derived from the Latin Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam , the first words of the first antiphon in the Matins of the Office...
. The cave chief stands swaying before a shallow grave, half-dead and covered with gore, as his mate prepares him for burial.
The arrival of the Alpha party disrupts the funeral ritual. The women hide as the chief clumsily charges at the intruders. Bergman, struck by the uncanny resemblance of the wounded chief to John Koenig, prevents Carter from shooting him. Startled by the laser blast, the chief runs off. Carter goes ballistic when he finds Sandra's blood-stained tunic. He vows to search the entire network of caves for her—and God help the savages if she has been harmed.
Bergman and Kano take off after the chief, the professor convinced the resemblance is more than a coincidence. Tracks lead into the ravine and the men go round each way. Meeting up on the other side, they are shocked to find Koenig, sporting an ugly head contusion, sprawled unconscious on the ground just beyond the curtain of mist. Fearing cerebral haemorrhage, Bergman rushes Koenig up to Alpha; fortunately, it is nothing more serious than severe concussion. When the Commander regains consciousness, a relieved Bergman makes light of his suspicion of the cave chief being Koenig.