7TV Campaign: Into The Breach

(With thanks to Doc Neodynium for this excellent write-up)


The Man From S.P.A.C.E. versus Spy Force UK

S.P.A.C.E. Men: Soldier, Redstone, Technician (foreground), Atlas (background), Soldier AND T.I.T.A.N.

Spy Force UK: Major Erskine, Landrover with Driver (background), Jill Steward and Technician

The nefarious VOSTOK had stolen a C-130 containing parts of a new upper stage booster vital to a NASA Mars mission. Luckily they were forced down but not before dumping the cargo. Fortunately S.P.A.C.E. was nearby and raced to the scene.  With T.I.T.A.N. unavailable due to “technical issues”, it fell to John Redstone and Franz Atlas to save the day.  

Redstone and Atlas infiltrate Spy Force UK's deployment zone

British organisation Spy Force UK, led by Colonel Cato, were also attempting to secure the booster, ostensibly on behalf of their US allies, but also to have the opportunity of taking a look for themselves.

A cordon was created around the industrial site and two components were quickly secured by S.P.A.C.E..  Redstone then managed to power-run from shadow to shadow to rescue a third. 

Redstone makes a break for the fence whilst Spy Force UK are distracted

Realising they were losing the initiative to the Americans, Spyforce UK's landrover  breached the cordon, from whence a mysterious fur clad woman dived out to take one of the components. Meanwhile Cato and his driver also debussed and took an apparent short cut around what appeared to be some kind of vat containing a  (thankfully harmless) chemical in order to retrieve another booster component,  but disaster struck as both slipped in! 

"I'd love to help you out, Major, but it'd ruin my anorak..."

Erskine and his driver swim for it, whilst Redstone looks smugly on

While they were swum for the edge, Atlas tried to take aim at the driver but his conscience stopped him from firing.  Meanwhile John leapt over a fence in a single bound to secure the final component.  With the majority of the booster secure in US hands, and US reinforcements drawing closer,  Spy Force UK withdrew. Victory was S.P.A.C.E.’s and without a shot fired (just)!

Production
The episode was filmed in an abandoned industrial complex. While considered a ratings success, the show was marred with several major flaws. In the original cut, there was a scene in which an unnamed technician played by Mark Bacomill grabbed a component of the booster and run behind a crate. NASA, who thought the episode would run too short, introduced a scene where this same technician met a wandering boy and explained the importance of space. Bacomill's performance convinced the show’s writers to expand the role, and technician Matt Juno was born, a blond farm boy who had studied hard to get a job in NASA. The increased pay for Bacomill (for what was seen as corny acting by other extras playing soldiers) resulted in extras walking off the production. This increased costs for the next episode, though one additional extra was hired.

Character Update
Matt Juno (played by Mark Bacomill)
DOB: 25/09/1951     Height: 5’7     Weight: 160lb     Gender: Male
Affiliation:  NASA     Rank: Level 3 Tech     From: Concord, California

Raised on a farm in Concord, Matthew Luke Juno was a normal American kid with a dream, a dream to be a scientist.  Despite a humble upbringing, he studied hard and never got into trouble, managing to gain a scholarship at Yale.  As part of his course he was transferred to Whitesands as a contractor to work on T.I.T.A.N, then on to Cape Canaveral to assist R.I.S.T. and Dr Atlas. When T.I.T.A.N was transferred to S.P.A.C.E., it made sense for Juno to be transferred in, given his technical knowledge of both John Redstone and T.I.T.A.N..

Trivia:  The urban myth that the malfunctioning booster's sound effect was ripped from Lou Reed’s experimental track “Metal Machine Music Part 2” is just that: a myth. Whilst similar, this episode aired three years before Reed’s track was randomly generated.

Trivia: One of the extras who left was a young Lorrie Fishbone who later described the show as “worthless propaganda”.