Dr. Catherine Gale uses her credentials and contacts to go undercover at a research facility that's developing a supercomputer named Plato - a device that the British Government is hoping to use for its missile defense system. But her first day there, Cathy discovers that one of the scientists has been killed, and that there is a lot of intrigue over the project manager: the young, cocky and very foolish Dr. James Kearns (Anthony Booth).
Dr. Kearns is called the "boy wonder" by his colleagues, but a better nick-name might be "the boy menace". He hangs around with shady characters who try to compromise him. In fact, whatever James can do to endanger an already fragile project, he will do. He believes his mathematical abilities will see him through whatever troubles he manufactures. Dr. Gale splits her time between trying to keep Dr. Kearns out of trouble of his own making, and discovering who is trying to kill the Plato scientists.
This in media res episode is pretty much dominated by Dr. Cathy Gale. She fends off advances from Dr. Kearns and a crooked operator, named Broster (Allan McClelland); she knocks out henchmen, and she pretty much solves the mystery. Steed does appear between "flights" from the Middle East, but even Broster has more screen time.
It's a good Martin Woodhouse teleplay. Classify it as more science fiction than spy-fi. He does a great job in detailing the make-up of Plato, and provides top supporting characters. Dr. Kearns character is one of the best in the series, and the characters of Janet, Clarissa and Broster also have some meaty lines and scenes. Even the throwaway Dr. Farrow has an interesting background.
Kim Mills directs this piece, and she seems to have a very big budget on this one. Not only does she have the Plato set (Kudos to Jim Goddard, the Production Designer), but there seems to be a film camera involved in several shots. The tones and grayscale involved, as well as the depth of field and some rack shots show that although this might have been edited on tape, it was more than likely shot with a film camera. If it was shot on studio video cameras that were available at the time, then let me tip my hat - she did a much better job than anyone else could have done. (I tried tracking down who was the cameraman for this show - that would have instantly revealed if it was a video shoot or film shoot. But for some strange reason, no credit was given to the cameraman.) If there is a film camera involved in this, it was shot in the one camera style.
Another sign of the big budget is the wardrobe worn by Cathy Gale. I don't know if she was wearing runway clothing to appeal to Dr. Kearns (more than likely she was wearing them to attract a male audience), but she goes through maybe ten outfit changes and they are all very pricey. It was some pretty big tags for an anthropologist.
What detracts from the episode? The pacing is off - but that could be due to the production experimenting with a new camera.
Dr. Kearns is called the "boy wonder" by his colleagues, but a better nick-name might be "the boy menace". He hangs around with shady characters who try to compromise him. In fact, whatever James can do to endanger an already fragile project, he will do. He believes his mathematical abilities will see him through whatever troubles he manufactures. Dr. Gale splits her time between trying to keep Dr. Kearns out of trouble of his own making, and discovering who is trying to kill the Plato scientists.
This in media res episode is pretty much dominated by Dr. Cathy Gale. She fends off advances from Dr. Kearns and a crooked operator, named Broster (Allan McClelland); she knocks out henchmen, and she pretty much solves the mystery. Steed does appear between "flights" from the Middle East, but even Broster has more screen time.
It's a good Martin Woodhouse teleplay. Classify it as more science fiction than spy-fi. He does a great job in detailing the make-up of Plato, and provides top supporting characters. Dr. Kearns character is one of the best in the series, and the characters of Janet, Clarissa and Broster also have some meaty lines and scenes. Even the throwaway Dr. Farrow has an interesting background.
Kim Mills directs this piece, and she seems to have a very big budget on this one. Not only does she have the Plato set (Kudos to Jim Goddard, the Production Designer), but there seems to be a film camera involved in several shots. The tones and grayscale involved, as well as the depth of field and some rack shots show that although this might have been edited on tape, it was more than likely shot with a film camera. If it was shot on studio video cameras that were available at the time, then let me tip my hat - she did a much better job than anyone else could have done. (I tried tracking down who was the cameraman for this show - that would have instantly revealed if it was a video shoot or film shoot. But for some strange reason, no credit was given to the cameraman.) If there is a film camera involved in this, it was shot in the one camera style.
Another sign of the big budget is the wardrobe worn by Cathy Gale. I don't know if she was wearing runway clothing to appeal to Dr. Kearns (more than likely she was wearing them to attract a male audience), but she goes through maybe ten outfit changes and they are all very pricey. It was some pretty big tags for an anthropologist.
What detracts from the episode? The pacing is off - but that could be due to the production experimenting with a new camera.
