The final surviving episode of Counterstrike is 'Nocturne', written by Anthony Skene, and it's probably the best of the four extant episodes, benefitting from an ingenious plot, nice direction and a great cast.
'Nocturne' opens with a high-ranking Centauran Inspector arrives with a dire warning for his colleague the Chairman: their home planet is dying faster than anticipated and humans are on the verge of a breakthrough in "mental engineering". He instructs the Chairman that amongst other things, they need to kill lead Observer Simon King. Deciding to kill two birds with one stone, the Inspector and the Chairman thus craft a fiendish and slightly bonkers plan that involves, erm, sneaking into Simon's bedroom at night and giving him suggestive dreams.
'Nocturne' sounds silly and it is, but it's written and acted with such conviction that it papers over this fact with aplomb. The plot twists and turns as the party at which Simon is visited by his mother and alien girlfriend turns out to be a dream, and that his nightmares about being murdered by a man called David Plunkett is part of a scheme by the Centaurans to get Simon to eliminate Plunkett - and then go to prison for murder - before the scientist can make a breakthrough what will threaten Centauran plans.
Of the four surviving Counterstrike episodes, 'Nocturne' boasts Jon Finch's best performance, as Simon grapples with his dreams and we learn that his mother died some years ago. Sarah Brackett is also very good here, and amusingly in Simon's dream Mary is blatantly trying to seduce him, resulting in a slightly outrageous turn from Brackett. There are also good performances from supporting cast members Neil Hallett as the Inspector, John Horsley as the Chairman, and John Abineri as Beavis, whilst Kevin Stoney shifts effortlessly between affable academic to gloating dream villain as Plunkett.
What really stands out about 'Nocturne' however is Cyril Coke's direction, from the opening shots of the Inspector climbing a spiral staircase to the impressively surreal dream sequences. It gives the episode an impressive look and feel that shows what a talented television director could achieve in the nineteen-sixties on a BBC budget. Overall, 'Nocturne' shows Counterstrike at its best - as far as we know. With the final six episodes missing - and the sixth, 'Out of Mine', never even broadcast before it was wiped - and the scripts unavailable, what happens next must sadly remain a mystery unless any of them ever turn up.
'Nocturne' opens with a high-ranking Centauran Inspector arrives with a dire warning for his colleague the Chairman: their home planet is dying faster than anticipated and humans are on the verge of a breakthrough in "mental engineering". He instructs the Chairman that amongst other things, they need to kill lead Observer Simon King. Deciding to kill two birds with one stone, the Inspector and the Chairman thus craft a fiendish and slightly bonkers plan that involves, erm, sneaking into Simon's bedroom at night and giving him suggestive dreams.
'Nocturne' sounds silly and it is, but it's written and acted with such conviction that it papers over this fact with aplomb. The plot twists and turns as the party at which Simon is visited by his mother and alien girlfriend turns out to be a dream, and that his nightmares about being murdered by a man called David Plunkett is part of a scheme by the Centaurans to get Simon to eliminate Plunkett - and then go to prison for murder - before the scientist can make a breakthrough what will threaten Centauran plans.
Of the four surviving Counterstrike episodes, 'Nocturne' boasts Jon Finch's best performance, as Simon grapples with his dreams and we learn that his mother died some years ago. Sarah Brackett is also very good here, and amusingly in Simon's dream Mary is blatantly trying to seduce him, resulting in a slightly outrageous turn from Brackett. There are also good performances from supporting cast members Neil Hallett as the Inspector, John Horsley as the Chairman, and John Abineri as Beavis, whilst Kevin Stoney shifts effortlessly between affable academic to gloating dream villain as Plunkett.
What really stands out about 'Nocturne' however is Cyril Coke's direction, from the opening shots of the Inspector climbing a spiral staircase to the impressively surreal dream sequences. It gives the episode an impressive look and feel that shows what a talented television director could achieve in the nineteen-sixties on a BBC budget. Overall, 'Nocturne' shows Counterstrike at its best - as far as we know. With the final six episodes missing - and the sixth, 'Out of Mine', never even broadcast before it was wiped - and the scripts unavailable, what happens next must sadly remain a mystery unless any of them ever turn up.