Alpha Child

The crew of Moonbase Alpha pause work to celebrate the arrival of the first child born on the Moon since it broke away from Earth. It is the son of Sue Crawford and her husband Jack, a technician in one of Alpha's nuclear plants who died in an accident several months earlier. Unknown to the Alphans, a sphere of light is watching the Moon from space. Joy turns to astonishment when, in a matter of seconds, the newborn matures into a boy of six. Sue's son is deaf and mute but very curious about Alpha's technology. Uncertain whether his accelerated growth was caused by their artificial environment or is the result of an external force, the Alphans do their best to raise the boy, whom they name Jackie. Professor Bergman and Captain Carter take a particular interest in his upbringing, with Carter becoming a father-like figure to him. Commander Koenig, however, knows there is far more to Jackie than meets the eye. Sue is terrified of her child and is kept sedated in Medical. Jackie develops a hypnotic power that enables him to control the Alphans' actions. Meanwhile, the sphere of light transforms into a spacecraft and approaches the Moon. It is soon joined by several other craft, and they all hold position over Alpha. Carter launches the Eagle squadron to defend the base, but the spacecraft fire energy beams that render the pilots unconscious and force the Eagles to land. Jackie becomes unresponsive and is rushed to Medical, where he is found to be undergoing another rapid growth spurt. Koenig takes a team out onto the lunar surface to shoot down the invaders using high-powered laser weapons. In Medical, Jackie is now an adult. Finding his voice, he introduces himself as Jarak, the new commander of Moonbase Alpha. Using his psychic abilities, he forces Dr Russell to call Koenig, ordering him to abort the laser attack. He murders Sue and immediately resurrects her as his consort, Rena. After disarming Alpha's security guards, Jarak and Rena explain their presence on the Moon. They are fugitives from a race of beings who can take over the bodies of other species at moments of birth and death. Having objected to their society's imposed genetic conformity, they are leading 120 of their kind in search of a people to hide in. The Alphans will make ideal hosts. Combining their powers, Jarak and Rena begin choking the Alphans to death so their compatriots in the spaceships above can claim their new home. They are interrupted when a battlecruiser belonging to their pursuers arrives and shoots down the ships. Having lost their psychic grip on the Alphans, Jarak and Rena seal themselves in Medical. Jarak requests political asylum, but his radio conversation with Koenig is cut short when the cruiser projects a beam of light at Alpha. Koenig and the other Alphans break in to find Sue tearfully cradling the newborn Jackie. There is no sign of Jarak and Rena. Russell supposes they surrendered, but Koenig suspects they were taken by force. ==Regular cast==

The story idea came from Gerry Anderson, Space: 1999s executive producer, who was inspired by the science fiction novel The Midwich Cuckoos. Originally written by Edward di Lorenzo, the script was heavily revised by series story consultant Christopher Penfold. The completed episode credits Penfold as the sole writer. In di Lorenzo's script, Jackie's mother's first name was Cynthia. "Alpha Child" was filmed at Pinewood Studios between 5 and 22 July 1974. According to Anderson, more than 100 boys were considered for the role. The look of the alien battlecruiser was influenced by the design of Discovery 1 in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The cruiser model reappeared in several later episodes of Space: 1999. The episode first aired on 14 October 1975 in the United States. In the UK, it was first shown by Associated and Yorkshire Television on 16 October 1975. ==Reception==

"Alpha Child" drew a mixed critical response. SciFiNow magazine gave the episode 4 out of 5, calling it "a surprising and twist-laden take on the 'star child' story" and "a genuinely pleasant surprise". John Kenneth Muir commented that the shots of the overgrown infant Jackie in his baby incubator are an "unforgettable image of terror". He praised the strong lighting of Jackie/Jarak's eyes, writing that it compellingly conveys the character's burgeoning psychic powers. However, he thought the episode was let down by the reveal of Jarak: "[T]he unexpected arrival of alien ships, the distraction of the space battles, and the unnecessary metamorphosis of Jackie into a grown man, all diminish the claustrophobic atmosphere of the story." SFX magazine graded the episode "B-minus", commenting that it becomes "a bit so-so" once Jackie reaches adulthood. Video Watchdog regarded it as "the nadir" of Space: 1999s first series, stating that the story "starts off silly, then turns excruciatingly stupid with a particularly vapid denouement." DreamWatch Bulletin gave the episode 7 out of 10, calling it "average". The magazine remarked that Glover plays Jarak "as well as can be expected in a pair of silver shorts and a wig borrowed from I, Claudius." According to TV Zone, Glover's performance "raises the unimaginative script from the mundane." Muir compared Jackie to both Damien Thorn, the antichrist in the Omen films, and the parasitic aliens of Village of the Damned. He also noted plot similarities with ''Rosemary's Baby. Muir speculated that "Alpha Child" may have influenced the Star Trek episode, pointing out that the latter was originally devised for Star Trek: Phase II'' around 1976 or 1977, no more than one to two years after "Alpha Child" first aired. ==References==