Doomwatch is the nickname for the Department of Measurement of Scientific Work. Under the leadership of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Dr. Spencer Quist, the Doomwatch team struggled, for three seasons, to keep an eye on the environment and supervise government and private sector research in an attempt to prevent pollution and other disasters that might be caused by the misuse of new scientific developments, discoveries and technology. While confronting dangers ranging from a plastic-eating bacteria to a hyper-intelligent species of rats, from mind-destroying sound waves to toxic wastes and genetic mutations, the Doomwatch team always found themselves under the gun, from unsupportive governmental superiors, and openly hostile corporations, and the powerful influences they could wield. The Doomwatch team initially consisted of Quist, former intelligence agent Dr. John Ridge, eager young researcher Toby Wren, technician and computer specialist Colin Bradley, and secretary Pat Hunnisett. During the subsequent seasons there would be a high turnover rate in Doomwatch membership, with only Quist, Ridge, and Bradley surviving all three seasons.