THE BLUE PALACE (1974-1976) FORGOTTEN TELEVISION

DAS BLAUE PALAIS (1972-1974) – This German science fiction series is criminally neglected. The title building is where scientists led by Louis Palm (Silvano Tranquilli) conduct interdisciplinary research and investigate unusual phenomena.

The Blue Palace reminded me of the 1972 German television series Alpha Alpha but on a much higher production budget. The Blue Palace resembled old British shows like Doomwatch or the even older Quatermass tv serials. It was also a forerunner of The X-Files, Fringe and similar programs, but hewed closer to reality like Doomwatch rather than use the more fantastic approach of those other shows.

Additional regulars included Lyne Chardonnet as Yvonne Boucher, Jean-Henri Chambois as Professor Manzini, Luminata Iacobescu as Sibilla Jacopescu and Dieter Laser as Enrico Polazzo. Rainer Erler wrote and directed every installment.

The Blue Palace was a series of five 90-minute telefilms. The individual stories are below.

ONE: THE GENIUS (October 15th, 1974) – The international group of scientists at the Blue Palace are pursuing their usual boundary-pushing research while periodically debating the ethics of various projects.

One of their current experiments involves attempts at transferring memory cells from one living organism to another. At present the Blue Palace team is still testing the process on rats but they’re soon faced with evidence that another organization has already been conducting similar experiments on human subjects. 

A mysterious pianist appears on the classical music scene displaying the virtuoso skills reminiscent of another pianist who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. That genius also shocks the Blue Palace team with his incredible scientific prowess in a field whose leading exponent also vanished.

When he also proves to possess the skill of a vanished master painter of the old Japanese school it’s impossible to ignore the implications. Some other power has abducted geniuses from around the world and transferred memory and aptitude cells from them to this multi-talented man. 

But why did they have him reveal himself now of all times? And what unspeakable fate befell the brain cell donors?   

TWO: THE TRAITOR (November 12th, 1974) – Blue Palace scientist Eugen Klopfer (Werner Rundshagen) is working on a research project that, typically, has been assigned to the Palace team to preserve plausible deniability for the governments funding it.

Klopfer is fusing aspects of his laser research with experiments to produce a revolutionary synthetic fertilizer. His work results in an explosion at the Blue Palace one day, prompting Enrico Polazzo to make the secretive Klopfer disclose the full details of what he is up to.   

It turns out the experiments risk setting off a chain reaction that will destroy Earth’s atmosphere. But is that the real aim of the research? Providing the patron governments with a threat many degrees higher than nuclear weapons?   

THREE: THE MEDIUM (December 10th, 1974) – Quantum physicist John Cavington (Edward Meeks) has forced an increasingly reluctant young woman named Petra Roscak to become a test subject at the Blue Palace.

Petra has uncanny precognitive abilities, having foreseen the winning lottery numbers twice and the winners of several horse races. The rest of the Blue Palace team become concerned when the impatient Cavington seems to be erasing the line between using Petra as a test subject and treating her like an expendable human guinea pig.

Petra makes it clear how unbearable Cavington’s tests are becoming but he feels he is on the threshold of a breakthrough and does not relent.

FOUR: IMMORTALITY (October 19th, 1976) – The Blue Palace team is impressed with a research paper by Scottish biologist Ian McKenzie (Udo Vioff). He convincingly argues that he has discovered how to achieve immortality for humanity by modifying our DNA. 

When Blue Palace members travel to England to meet with McKenzie at Cambridge, they learn that he has resigned and his paper has been withdrawn. An investigation leads our regulars to the Scottish castle where a wheelchair-bound and terminally ill McKenzie tells them he and his wife will continue his research in private.

While waiting, the Palace scientists try but fail to duplicate McKenzie’s results. One day, McKenzie’s wife brings them her husband’s final conclusions. A member of the Blue Palace team volunteers to use McKenzie’s process on herself, but there are horrific ramifications. And the question lingers: would altering our DNA trap the human race at our current stage of evolution?

FIVE: THE GIANT (November 16th, 1976) – Enrico Polazzo is making great strides in his development of fully synthetic steel. When his colleagues at the Blue Palace want to stop funding his project over environmental concerns, Polazzo is convinced he can overcome the problems.

The Palace’s powers that be feel otherwise and the plug is pulled. The irascible Polazzo resentfully shops his research around in the private sector and picks up financing from a “giant” multinational corporation called IMT.

When Enrico realizes the problem of toxic side products cannot be overcome after all, he wants to stop IMT from producing his synthetic steel. They don’t care about negative side effects and when he tries fighting back “the giant” sets out to destroy not just Polazzo but the entire Blue Palace organization.

*** I can’t recommend this series highly enough, especially if you enjoyed the Doomwatch series. Rainer Erler won the Best European Science Fiction Screenwriter Award for his work on The Blue Palace, and deservedly so.   

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