Counterstrike
Entry updated 24 August 2026. Tagged: TV.
UK tv series (1969). BBC. Created by Tony Williamson. Directors include Vere Lorrimer, Viktors Ritelis and Henri Safran. Writers include Anthony Skene. Cast include Sarah Brackett and Jon Finch. Ten 50-minute episodes (one never aired), of which only the first four survive. Black and white.
A civilization from Centaurus is "using up their atmosphere faster than it can be replaced" (see Disaster) so desire a new home: as all those capable of supporting life are already occupied, they have "decided to invade one of the more backward planets, wipe out the natives and take over" – namely, Earth. Simon King (Finch) is "Observer One", a humanoid Alien from the Cygnus constellation sent by the galactic equivalent of the United Nations to stop alien interference on Earth: he and other Observers have prevented an outright Invasion, but the Centaurans respond by infiltrating our world – over the past fifteen years having taken senior positions in business, government, science etc.. This he explains to Mary Scott (Brackett), a doctor who traces him after a botched murder attempt led to a hospital visit and the discovery that his blood was not human. He explains that Centaurans, Cygnians and Earthlings all look alike because of (though phrased differently) parallel Evolution. Mary protests that Earth is being treated as the planetary equivalent of a poorer nation and Simon grudgingly admits that Earth's position does make it an excellent strategic base for anyone planning to dominate the galaxy (see Politics), though denies this is the main reason for the galactic authorities involvement.
The opening episode, "King's Gambit", has a company manufacturing cheap radios which would enable them to control the minds of users; Simon pretends to be a journalist with Social Darwinist inclinations to get the Centauran owners to talk, their subsequent discovery of his identity results in the attempted assassination. Simon needs to get a sample of the radio's crystal to foil their plans, and with Mary's help, succeeds. In the second episode, "Joker One", one of the two north American Observers is murdered and Simon goes there to investigate, though knowing it to be a trap. The victim worked on an international group studying how to deal with Overpopulation: the Centauran member (working with a rabid US General wishing to "clean" the world) want an accident in Berlin to start World War Three, though not to reduce the population, but to eradicate it. This is prevented, with Mary discovering the Cygnian Observers all seem to look alike (though other Cygnians do not). Next, "On Ice" has Simon and Mary arrive at a British Antarctic Base, claiming their plane crashed: they and the staff are isolated by bad weather, with no working transport and the radio out of action. Of the base's five surviving Scientists two are Centaurans who have just sabotaged an expedition onto the ice, killing its three members because one was an Observer. Simon and Mary discover the Centaurans are planning to release a black fungus: as it grows its heat-absorbing qualities will melt the ice, causing rising water levels and temperatures (see Climate Change), wiping out humanity (Simon says they would probably then put an artificial cloud over the Antarctic to reverse the effects).
The fourth episode "Nocturne" has Centaurans learning their planet will die sooner than expected and that Earth is on the verge of making a breakthrough in "mental engineering", a worrying prospect as "we want them to stay as mad as they are" – a saner humanity being harder to wipe out. Shortly after, Simon has a recurring dream – where he meets his dead mother – in which he is murdered by a scientist; as Cygnians do not dream he correctly concludes this was induced by the Centaurans (see Dream Hacking); they also have a viewer with which to watch the dreams. The intent is to persuade him to kill that scientist, who, it turns out, is a "psychoscientist" working on a hallucinogen-like Drug called XL727 which will enable personality control (its moral implications of are not considered). Subsequent episodes include "The Lemming Syndrome", where 143 people at a seaside resort commit apparent Suicide by drowning, the result of a drug dehydrating their bodies and compelling them to immerse themselves in water; "All That Glistens" sees adults suddenly starting to behave like children; and in the "The Mutant" a germ escapes from a biological warfare laboratory, threatening a plague (see Pandemic).
Brackett and Finch give reasonable performances, and there are enough unanswered questions to suggest the backstory might have been expanded had further seasons been commissioned. It quickly becomes apparent that Simon is smarter than the Centaurans, comfortably out-thinking and outmanoeuvring them, which reduces the narrative tension. Nonetheless the first episode sets things up reasonably well and the fourth – though not entirely successful – had some ambition, though it seems to borrow from The Prisoner episode "A. B. and C." (1967), which shared the same writer, Anthony Skene. The most enjoyable is "On Ice" with its "base under siege" scenario, so popular in the then contemporary Patrick Troughton period of Doctor Who. Indeed, Counterstrike almost seems a precursor to the imminent Jon Pertwee era, particularly his first season in 1970, though its direction probably came from Troughton episodes such as "The Invasion" (1968) rather than Counterstrike. It should be noted that, though there are similarities to The Invaders (1967-1968), Williamson first proposed an early version of the show in 1966, with an unbroadcast pilot shot in December 1966. [SP]
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