1954's "Gog" served as the last of the Ivan Tors OSI trilogy (Office of Scientific Investigation) before going into television with SCIENCE FICTION THEATER, preceded by "The Magnetic Monster" and "Riders to the Stars," the only one shot in 3-D though rarely exhibited in that format at the tail end of its brief craze. In color like "Riders" and bringing back both Herbert Marshall and Michael Fox, the latter's death early on establishing the pattern of experiments going horribly wrong, the scientists seemingly killed accidentally at an underground facility conducting tests on safety in space travel. OSI sends security expert Dr. David Sheppard (Richard Egan) to answer the summons from project chief Dr. Van Ness (Herbert Marshall), who admits that the controls are operated by robots programmed by computer but fears a human saboteur. At the midway point we're introduced to NOVAC (Nuclear Operative Variable Automatic Computer) and the two robots, Gog and Magog, both designed to pilot ships in space. Unfortunately, no further mayhem occurs until the final half hour when the list of victims grows swiftly, Sheppard learning of a mysterious aircraft using radio waves to ensure the project's failure. As sadly lacking in drama as its predecessors, Herbert Marshall again a reliable presence, John Wengraf and William Schallert among the doomed.
Review of Gog
