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Season 1
- John Paul as Dr. Spencer Quist
- Simon Oates as Dr. John Ridge
- Joby Blanshard as Colin Bradley
- Robert Powell ( ) as Tobias Wren [ 1 ]
- Wendy Hall as Pat Hunnisett [ 1 ]
Doomwatch (1970) [Season 1, Episode 1]
The Plastic Eaters
Shown 09 Feb 70
Tobias Wren (Robert Powell - ) gets hired by a UK Government department that investigates scientific events. His first job is to get evidenced from a plane crash. The original plane crashed because its controls were eaten by a plastic-eating microbe. Unfortunately, when Wren takes a passenger jet home he accidentally contaminates the plane. Will he live long enough to be a series regular, or is he just an expendable one-off guest-star?
Doomwatch (1970) [Season 1, Episode 2]
Friday's Child
Shown 16 Feb 70
Doomwatch (1970) [Season 1, Episode 3]
Burial at Sea
Shown 23 Feb 70
Doomwatch (1970) [Season 1, Episode 4]
Tomorrow, the Rat
Shown 02 Mar 70
This is set in a working-class area of London. A child is attacked by wild rats, reminiscent of the opening scene of Jurassic Park 2 . The main storyline seems to have influenced Michael Crichton a lot, since it is about a genetic engineering experiment that goes wrong when the mutants escape and develop a breeding colony.
Tobias Wren (Robert Powell - ) gets sent to catch one of the rats as a live sample. He discovers the hard way that the rats are smarter than normal, and might be smarter than the men hunting him. As smart rats go, they are not as nice as the Rats of NIHM .
Toby's cow-orker gets an easier assignment, seducing the female biologist suspected of creating the rats. He even debates scientific ethics with her, although he does break Godwin's Law. She is somewhat naive about working for the government, and learns the hard way that the political leaders will happily scapegoat her to cover their own involvement.
This has a serious tone, and a downbeat ending. Quite a change from the American shows that have no consequences for actions.
Doomwatch (1970) [Season 1, Episode 5]
Project Sahara
Shown 09 Mar 70
Tobias Wren (Robert Powell - ) gets suspended from duty on the orders of the Internal Affairs department. He gets investigated by Nigel Stock, best known as Dr Watson in the 1960s Sherlock Holmes movies, who actually turns out to be a competent investigator rather than the bumbling fool that Watson became.
The team's token woman scientist is also investigated. This leads to a 1970s comedy of errors as she keeps a drunken Toby in the spare bedroom while being interviewed by Nigel Stock with her married lover hiding outside.
The IA investigation of Doomwatch has been given priority because the team is investigating Project Sahara, a new super-weapon that can reduce farmland to a desert. This is too horrible for NATO to use, but if the half-Syrian scientist sold it to an Arab government they could achieve peace in the Middle East.
The IA team uses an AI to detect possible leaks. Well, Doomwatch is the name of the supercomputer that the good guys use to detect bad science. The UK Government has done the same thing with a different supercomputer, using data on citizens to predict crime - like in Minority Report . They have decided to start with government employees first, before they go mainstream with the general population.
Doomwatch (1970) [Season 1, Episode 6]
Re-Entry Forbidden
Shown 16 Mar 70
A NASA spacecraft makes an emergency landing in the UK. Since it is now in his jurisdiction, Dr Quist is able to get involved. Especially since he had provided a reference for the token British astronaut.
The British astronaut is jealous of the men his wife spends time with. This turns out to be enough to make him seem paranoid, which then gets diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia. Yes, it all escalates.
Doomwatch (1970) [Season 1, Episode 7]
The Devil's Sweets
Shown 23 Mar 70
The team's token woman, the secretary, is an ex-smoker who takes up smoking again. Since the team has been assigned to investigate whether the government's anti-smoking campaign is working, they have to investigate.
The cigarette manufacturer employs a marking executive (Maurice Roeves - ). He is clearly up to no good.
Doomwatch (1970) [Season 1, Episode 8]
The Red Sky
Shown 06 Apr 70
Quist takes a few days off work, staying with an old friend in a disused lighthouse. The previous occupant went mad and jumped off the cliff, while Quist's friend is now also halucinating. Before long, Quist himself will fall victim too. Yes, this is the old busman's holiday storyline, combined with the team regular in jeopardy trope to increase the stakes.
Tobias Wren (Robert Powell - ) gets called in to investigate. The airfield next door is now run by an aicraft manufacturer, run by Mr Reynolds (Paul Eddington - Yes, Minister). They are developing a hypersonic system for the civilian market, with the intention of taking an hour off the flight time to the USA. Well, this was the era of Concorde.
Doomwatch (1970) [Season 1, Episode 9]
Spectre at the Feast
Shown 13 Apr 70
Doomwatch (1970) [Season 1, Episode 10]
Train and De-train
Shown 20 Apr 70
The team investigate illegal testing of pesticides. Tobias Wren (Robert Powell - ) discovers that his former mentor is chief scientist at the chemical company responsible.
Doomwatch (1970) [Season 1, Episode 11]
The Battery People
Shown 27 Apr 70
As with the previous episode, this story is about scientists trying to secure the food supply to prevent future famins and food shortages. The team investigates a battery chicken farm. The man in charge, Colonel Smithson, has been genetically engineering the livestock - which puts the workers at risk.
Doomwatch (1970) [Season 1, Episode 12]
Hear No Evil
Shown 04 May 70
Doomwatch (1970) [Season 1, Episode 13]
Survival Code
Shown 11 May 70
The TV company re-used its video tapes, so there is currently no saved copy of this episode. It is believed that the climactic ending was reused as the opening scene of the next Season.
