Nelson finds the Seaview empty... except for Sharkey... who says the Admiral ordered him to meet him there. But Nelson can't remember this. Next thing, Crane comes aboard... and is hell-bent on trying to MURDER Crane. Why? WHY? And Nelson refuses to answer any of Sharkey's questions, which make HIS actions suspect as well.
This one had me guessing. Were foreign saboteurs and/or brainwashing involved? Alien invaders? SOMETHING ELSE? A near-empty Seaview had been done before (and a similar scenario played out on "The Mark Of Gideon" episode of STAR TREK), as had a story about Crane being brainwashed.
What set this apart was the remarkably better-than-usual directing by Leonard J. Horn (who, among many other credits, did "The Zanti Misfits" on THE OUTER LIMITS-- aaaugh!!!), and, the opportunity for Terry Becker to REALLY do a tour-de-force bit of acting. Sharkey hasn't always been the most likable crewman onboard The Seaview, too often using his position in "middle-management" (heh) to boss around more-intelligent men he outranks. But for once, we got to see him thoughtful, concerned, clever (well, not too much of that), and even powerfully-emotional, all in one story.
The solution to this madness I found a BIT disappointing, but that didn't take away from this being one of the more intense episodes in a show outright notorious for being the TV drama equivalent of a ROLLER COASTER. By the time each hour is over, you're EXHAUSTED, making watching this show ONE episode a week about all my nerves can handle!
I saw at least 2 sets I'd never seen before-- one was the supposed "engine room" which was full of computers (the last time they set up the ship for automatic control, they put the computers on the bridge), and the room where Crane & Nelson have their climactic fight at the end, with an OPEN floor for diving into (or being pushed into) the ocean. I suppose they built these with the money they saved on the regular cast, all of whom were given the week off-- EVEN Chip-- apparently, this was the ONLY episode out of 110 he was missing from!
Man, was that woman's pre-recorded announcements irritating! I'm glad I don't have that kind of thing in MY old car. Sue England also did the voice of the evil female robot in 2 different episodes of LOST IN SPACE.
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