The role of Maya was one of Freddie Freiberger's earliest additions to
the series format (Gerry Anderson would later mention that the idea of having a second female lead to 'support' Barbara Bain
came from Lew Grade) and developed in some interesting ways from the new Producer's initial conception:
We are going to introduce a new character to give the series a charged-up science-fiction overlay.
This character will be an outer-space alien, a sensuous long-limbed, beautiful, amazingly graceful black girl who will have
the ability to transform into other life forms ... This new character has a brain which rivals the average computer in brilliance.
She will become the science officer on Moonbase Alpha.
Schell Game
That a black actress was to portray Maya appears to have remained the intention
for some time, as the character's initial make-up and costume sketches fir Freiberger's initial description quite closely.
In the end, however, a toryuous casting process took place for the part, despite the fact that Catherine Schell was Lew Grade's
choice for the part and was always going to get the role. Barbara Bain was worried about the on screen competition,
and casting sessions were held largely so she was happy that someone's favourite wasn't being parachuted into the part.
In the end Bain had nothing to worry about, as the character of Maya gave Dr Russell someone to play off and their on-screen
chemistry contributed to the rather more relaxed, expressive performance Bain gave in the Year Two episodes.
The final designs were much simplified from earlier notions of jewelled headdresses though
one can see elements of the final design at quite an early stage, especially Maya's v-shaped hairline. Tests were made
with contact lenses, which had white spokes radiating out from the iris. These irritated Catherine Schell's eyes and
were visually distracting, the effect being sostartling as to take attention away from what the character was doing or saying.
The idea of Maya being a scientific genius was not much referred to, avoiding the character
being forced into the role of a Mr Spock-style polymath. Maya was written and played as a normal, fun-loving young woman
who just happens to be able to change her appearance at will. The fact that her father and everyone else she knows is
blown to atoms at the end of The Metamorph seems to have virtually no effect on her sunny disposition. A romance
is quickly set up between her and Tony Verdeschi, though whatever initiates this happens off-screen.
