Interpretaris, The

1 9 6 6 (Australia)
6 x 30 minute episodes

This short-lived space serial from the Australian ABC was set in the year 3000 when new galaxies in the universe have been explored and colonised. Earth is now at the centre of a peaceful federation of planets under the jurisdiction of the World Council.

The Interpretaris is the flagship of the World Council fleet, with a multinational three-person crew consisting of European Commander Alan De Breck (Stanley Walsh), Australian pilot David Carmichael (Kit Taylor) and Russian Cosmonaut Vera Balovna (Lorraine Bayly). The crew are assisted by a clumsy-looking robotic computeroid named Henry (operated by Gordon Mutch).

The onboard computer (which looked like a mantelpiece clock) was named Alys (voiced by Judi Farr).

The villain of the piece was evil scientist Parta Beno (Ben Gabriel) who had been found guilty by the World Council of imprisoning and shrinking inhabitants of various planets. As punishment, he has been exiled to a remote asteroid.

Even allowing for the fact that the series was made for children, The Interpretaris looks cheap with amateur-looking sets, cheap models and poor effects – and while there are good performances from the cast, the show was clearly produced on a very small budget.

Only six episodes were made by Artransa Park at their Sydney studios. A sequel/spin-off called Vega 4 was produced using the same sets and spaceship models.

Commander Alan De Breck
Stanley Walsh
Vera Boloyna
Lorraine Bayly
David Carmichael
Kit Taylor
Parta Beno
Ben Gabriel
Henry (Computeroid)
Gordon Mutch
Alys (Computer)
Judi Farr
Marsha
Thelma Scott
Zaharls
Laurie Lange
The Commander
Chris Christensen