In this sequel to ‘A for Andromeda’, a team of scientists pursues the alien intelligence to a hostile foreign power.
Following the events of the original serial, scientist John Fleming (Peter Halliday) and Professor Madeleine Dawnay (Mary Morris) learn that the alien intelligence has re-established itself in the Middle Eastern country of Azaran. They are dispatched to investigate, accompanied by the formidable security agent Kaufman (John Hollis). In Azaran, they discover that a new, more advanced version of the synthetic human, Andromeda (Susan Hampshire), is being created under the control of the local military, led by Colonel Salim (Barry Linehan). The team must race against time to understand and thwart the alien’s new agenda, which now poses a global threat.
Mounted a year after the groundbreaking original, this direct sequel continued the story but with significant changes. Susan Hampshire took over the title role from Julie Christie, who had been launched into stardom by the first serial. The production shifted the action from a British research establishment to the fictional nation of Azaran. This change broadened the story’s scope, turning it into a science fiction political thriller concerned with Cold War-style international tensions. Like its predecessor, the serial was broadcast live with telerecordings made for repeats and overseas sales. However, of the six episodes, only a single complete instalment and a few fragments are known to survive in the BBC archives, making a full critical assessment of the programme impossible.
Broadcast: BBC, 6 Episodes, Thursdays, 28 June – 2 August 1962
Written by: Fred Hoyle, John Elliot
Directors: John Elliot, John Knight
Producers: John Elliot, John Knight
Main Cast: Susan Hampshire (Andromeda), Peter Halliday (John Fleming), Mary Morris (Professor Madeleine Dawnay), John Hollis (Kaufman), Barry Linehan (Colonel Salim), Claude Farell (Mlle Gamboule), David Saire (Abu Zeki), Walter Gotell (Professor Neilson)
