A very long time ago, possibly late 70s or early 80s, I remember seeing a one-off science fiction drama on British BBC TV. It was about an expedition to an alien planet to get help for a space station which was running out of oxygen.
The alien planet was, of course, Earth. The crew were about a centimetre high. It was all live action and I suspect the programme was a showcase for miniature photography. They land their shuttle (which looks very much like a courgette) in someone's garden, and there are various adventures. The ones I remember are:
- encountering some dropped jelly babies and thinking they're idols made by the natives.
- flying around on weirdly insectile flying bikes.
- discovering a discarded battery in a puddle and getting into trouble from the chemicals.
- I think they get attacked by a rat at some point?
Eventually they discover that there's a light-resistent coating on their courgette-ship, and if it gets stripped off then it will generate its own oxygen. They take off to take the good news home, and the programme ended with them approaching the station, floating in space --- which is a tree.
Does anyone know what this is?