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From the Forgotten Films of yesterday's entertainment: 1969's Counterstrike -- which premiered on this day (in the United Kingdom) back in 1969 -- seems to have vanished into total obscurity perhaps as quickly as its ten episodes aired. Created by Tony Williamson, the series largely pitted a good alien against bad aliens seeking to conquest our world; and the serial starred Jon Finch, Sarah Brackett, Katie Fitzroy, Fraser Kerr, Barbara Shelley, and others.
According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the series' premise:
"Simon King, an alien agent from the Inter Galactic Council, is sent to Earth on a mission to stop unscrupulous refugees from a dying planet from wiping out Mankind and taking over the planet Earth."
According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the series' premise:
"Simon King, an alien agent from the Inter Galactic Council, is sent to Earth on a mission to stop unscrupulous refugees from a dying planet from wiping out Mankind and taking over the planet Earth."
On this day in 1969 (in the United Kingdom), Counterstrike aired "King's Gambit." Officially, this served as the first episode in the program's only season in original broadcast existence. According to our friends at IMDB.com, here's the plot summary:
"Simon King visits Penfield Electronics Ltd, an inconsequential firm who have invented a radio without transistors. When they attempt to kill him he is forced to recruit a human companion to stop an attempt to takeover the world."
-- EZ
"Simon King visits Penfield Electronics Ltd, an inconsequential firm who have invented a radio without transistors. When they attempt to kill him he is forced to recruit a human companion to stop an attempt to takeover the world."
-- EZ
From Google.com:
Counterstrike is a short-lived British science fiction and espionage series that aired on BBC One in 1969. [1, 2, 3]
Premise and Story
Production and Lost Episodes
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRerRlcBc-U
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterstrike_(1969_TV_series)
[3] https://wearecult.rocks/counterstrike-1
[4] https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1960s/counterstrike/
[5] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063886/
[6] https://fantasiesofpossibility.wordpress.com/2024/07/11/call-me-king-simon-king-counterstrike-a-forgotten-science-fiction-series-from-1969/
[7] https://wearecult.rocks/counterstrike-2
Counterstrike is a short-lived British science fiction and espionage series that aired on BBC One in 1969. [1, 2, 3]
Premise and Story
- Created by Tony Williamson, the show follows an alien agent named Simon King (played by Jon Finch).
- King belongs to the Intergalactic Council and is sent to Earth to protect humanity from an impending invasion by hostile alien forces (the Centaurans).
- Posing as a human journalist, King works alongside a doctor named Mary (Sarah Brackett) who discovers his true extraterrestrial identity.
- The series blended cold-war spy thriller tropes—such as shadowy conspiracies, secret codes, and tech-driven mysteries—with cosmic sci-fi stakes. [1]
Production and Lost Episodes
- Originally conceived and planned around 1966, the show faced delays before finally broadcasting in the autumn of 1969.
- Ten 50-minute episodes were produced, but only nine actually aired during its original run. One episode was pulled for a documentary about the Kray twins and was never rescheduled.
- Today, Counterstrike is considered a largely forgotten and "unlucky" series because most of the master tapes were subsequently wiped or lost from the BBC archives. Only the first four episodes survive today. [3, 6, 7]
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRerRlcBc-U
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterstrike_(1969_TV_series)
[3] https://wearecult.rocks/counterstrike-1
[4] https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1960s/counterstrike/
[5] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063886/
[6] https://fantasiesofpossibility.wordpress.com/2024/07/11/call-me-king-simon-king-counterstrike-a-forgotten-science-fiction-series-from-1969/
[7] https://wearecult.rocks/counterstrike-2
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