Planet 46

Pilot episodes are rarely the best examples of any series, and Planet 46 is no exception. During the 1960s, an 18-minute edit of this episode was available to buy on 8mm film, and this shorter version is a much more efficient telling of the story. By contrast, the full length episode suffers from padding and expository dialogue typical of pilot episode scene-setting.

Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s storyline is somewhat lacking in logic: there is no attempt to explain the Subterrains’ attack on Earth, and Professor Matic’s threat to the Subterrain Chief to “destroy your planet” is typical of these early series, wherein alien threats are usually settled by missiles or at gunpoint. Later, in Stingray, Alan Fennell would go some way towards setting the record straight, with peaceful solutions to several stories.

The script and direction are somewhat strained in places, and there is already too much procedural jargon, most notably in the scenes where XL5 prepares to intercept the Planetomic missile: “Master guidance system UHF. G rate two.” There is an attempt to convey the length of time Fireball travels through space to reach Planet 46: a scene in the XL5 lounge and a montage of characters sleeping while Robert pilots the ship. To modern audiences this must seem an unnecessary longeur, and the episode in general is held back by too many such scenes.

Visual inconsistencies that would be addressed in later episodes include shots of Fireball Junior undocking and the absence of both landing legs and pyrotechnic effects on the large Junior model.

Once Fireball reaches Planet 46, the pace improves considerably, with Steve’s crossing of the lake of fire, a sequence that is handled remarkably well (though the combination of two Barry Gray themes in the background results in some oddly dissonant music here).

Viewing the episode on a modern large screen TV reveals many flaws in the models, such as blistering paint on Steve’s jetmobile and Fireball Junior. These would be less evident in later episodes. As the production team’s first attempt at alien characters, the Subterrains are remarkably effective, and would provide a blueprint for subsequent races. A surviving face section from one of the characters shows them to have had metallic green skin and red eyes.

Planet 46 does its job in establishing the series characters and hardware, but the story itself is so routine it could be comfortably condensed into a two-page comic strip.