Orbit One Zero

A vintage British sci-fi serial involving the tracking of mysterious signals from space. ‘A glimpse across a weird threshold, on the rim of space where there should be nothing but eternal, frozen darkness. Yet where there was something more...’ Reporter Tom Lambert decides to reinvestigate the bizarre events of a decade earlier concerning the ‘cosmic noise’. Believing the whole truth was never revealed, he tracks down the one man who knows it: retired astrophysics professor Dr Hayward Petrie. Told in flashbacks, the story unfolds from Petrie’s recordings of the time when he experienced things that made him doubt his own sanity... Invited to visit his old colleague Campbell McLaren, who is in charge of a radio telescope on a remote Hebridean island, Petrie asks students Clifford Brown and Elizabeth Ryder to join him. McLaren has been studying cosmic radiation, and has detected an unusual pattern of signals, apparently being transmitted by an intelligence beyond Earth. Arriving on Scara, the trio hear the signals for themselves, and while exploring the island, Clifford and Elizabeth discover a mysterious cylindrical object buried on the beach. What is this peculiar, glowing cylinder, and how is it connected to the radio signals emanating from deep space? As its contents – and awesome capabilities – are revealed, its terrifying purpose becomes clear... First broadcast in 1961 on the BBC Home Service, this six-part space adventure by Peter Elliott Hayes stars Felix Felton as Dr Petrie, David Spenser as Tom Lambert, Graydon Gould as Clifford Brown and Elaine MacNamara as Elizabeth Ryder. Production credits Written by Peter Elliott Hayes Produced by David Davis Cast Dr Petrie – Felix Felton Tom Lambert – David Spenser Clifford Brown – Graydon Gould Elizabeth Ryder – Elaine MacNamara Professor Campbell McLaren – Ian Sadler Peter Garrick – Harold Reese Sir Edward Bancroft – William Fox Mr Morgan/Dr Trevor Hughes – Basil Jones Lord Hetherton – Charles West Police Superintendent – Eric Lugg First broadcast BBC Home Service, 21 April-26 May 1961 © 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd