“The Lambda Factor”

A psychically enhancing space phenomenon affects two Alphans the most: Carolyn Powell, a technician who it turns into a psycho psychic; and Koenig, who is haunted by nightmares of crewmembers he once had to leave behind to die.

Writer: Terrence Dicks

Director: Charles Crichton

Guest Cast

Deborah Fallender as Carolyn Powell

Jess Conrad as Mark Sanders

The back story used in this episode to explain Koenig’s nightmares is originally introduced in “The Exiles” when he explains that he once had to leave his crew behind to die when a plague attacked the Venus space station. As for Carolyn Powell, she’s just one of the background nobodies until the weird cloud turns her into a psychic super-bitch. This episode illustrates well the differences between Year One and Year Two: while Year One would have treated this episode as a gothic horror stories, Year Two standards dumb it down to soap opera material.