Space: 1999
Encyclopedia
Space: 1999 is a British
science-fiction television
series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and sending it and the 311 inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha
hurtling uncontrollably into space. The series was the last production by the partnership of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and was the most expensive series ever produced for television up to that time.
in the early Sixties and including the famed marionette fantasy series Stingray
, Fireball XL5
, Thunderbirds
, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
, Joe 90
and The Secret Service
, as well as the live-action alien-invasion drama UFO
. Space: 1999 owes much of the visual design to pre-production work for the never-made second series of UFO, which would have been set primarily on the Moon and featured a more extensive Moonbase.
Space: 1999 drew a great deal of visual inspiration (and technical expertise) from the Stanley Kubrick
film 2001: A Space Odyssey
. The programme's special effects director Brian Johnson
had previously worked on both Thunderbirds
(as Brian Johncock) and 2001.
, Earth's Space Research Centre on the Moon, following a scientific cataclysm. Humanity had been storing its nuclear waste in vast disposal sites on the far side
of the Moon. Due to an unknown form of magnetic radiation, the accumulated waste reaches critical mass and, on 13 September 1999, detonates in a massive thermonuclear explosion. The force of the blast propels the Moon like an enormous booster rocket, hurling it out of Earth orbit and into deep space at colossal speed, thus stranding the 311 personnel stationed on Alpha. The runaway Moon, in effect, becomes the 'spacecraft' on which the protagonists travel, searching for a new home. During their interstellar journey, the Alphans encounter a vast array of alien civilizations, dystopian societies, and mind-bending phenomena previously unseen by humanity.
The concept of traveling through space to encounter aliens and strange worlds is similar to Lost In Space
and Star Trek
, although the programme's visual aesthetic was heavily influenced by 2001: A Space Odyssey
. In another nod to Kubrick's film, the first series of Space: 1999 explored mystical and metaphysical themes, offered little exposition or explanation of plot points. The inhabitants of Alpha were unwilling travelers, and represented present-day Earthmen cast adrift in a vast, unexplainable universe where Earth-bound logic and laws of nature no longer operated. Several episodes hinted that the Moon's journey was influenced (and perhaps initiated) by a 'mysterious unknown force', which was guiding the Alphans toward an ultimate destiny.
The second series centered more on more simplified 'action-oriented' plots (à la Star Trek
), with a deliberate aim at the American audience, and there was no further mention of the 'mysterious unknown force'.
') which was used in the Mission: Impossible
TV series which both lead stars had starred in previously. This was followed by a title sequence that managed to convey prestige for its two main stars Landau and Bain (both separately billed as 'starring'), and to give the audience some thirty-plus fast cut shots of the forthcoming episode. The second series eliminated this montage. The programme would then offer four ten-to twelve-minute long acts (allowing for commercial breaks in America) and finish with a short and often lighthearted 'epilogue' scene.
In 2004, American science fiction screenwriter Ronald D. Moore
stated the style of the first season's opening credits of Space: 1999 inspired the opening credit sequence for his acclaimed remake of Battlestar Galactica
.
and Barbara Bain
, who were in fact married at the time and had previously appeared together in Mission: Impossible. In an effort to appeal to the huge American television market, perhaps to sell the series to one of the major networks, Landau and Bain were cast at the insistence of Lew Grade
against the strong objections of Sylvia Anderson, who wanted British actors. Also appearing as regular cast members were Barry Morse
(as Professor Victor Bergman
in the first season) and Catherine Schell
(as the alien Maya
in the second season). The programme also brought Australian actor Nick Tate
to public attention. Roy Dotrice
appeared in the first episode as Commissioner Simmons, and at the end of the episode it appeared that he would be a regular character, however by the second (transmitted) episode the character had vanished without a trace, only to appear partway through the first season in the episode "Earthbound
", his only other appearance on the show (in which the character is permanently written out).
, Joan Collins
, Peter Cushing
, Judy Geeson
, Julian Glover
, Ian McShane
, Leo McKern
, Billie Whitelaw
, Richard Johnson
, Patrick Troughton
, Peter Bowles
, Sarah Douglas
, David Prowse
, Isla Blair
, Stuart Damon
and Brian Blessed
. (Blair, Damon and Blessed each appeared in two different episodes portraying two different characters.)
Catherine Schell
had guest-starred as a different character in the Year One episode 'Guardian of Piri' before moving into the role of Maya
during the second series.
In 1972, Sir Lew Grade, head of ITC Entertainment
, proposed financing a second series of the Century 21 production UFO
to show-runners Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Grade had one stipulation: the new series would be set primarily on the Moon within the environs of an expanded SHADO Moonbase; the ratings indicated the Moon-centric episodes had proved more popular with the viewers. The Andersons and their team would quickly revamp the production, flashing ahead nearly twenty years for UFO: 1999 with Commander Ed Straker and the forces of SHADO fighting their alien foes from a large new Moonbase facility.
However, toward the end of its run, UFO experienced a drop in ratings in both America and the UK; nervous ITC executives in both countries began to question the financial viability of the new series, and support for the project collapsed. In the meantime, Production Designer Keith Wilson
and the art department, had made considerable progress in envisioning the look and design of the new series. Their work was then shelved for the foreseeable future.
Anderson would not let the project die; he approached Grade's number two in New York, Abe Mandell, with the proposal for taking the research and development done for UFO: 1999 and creating a new science fiction series. Mandell was amenable, but stated he did not want a series set featuring people 'having tea in the Midlands' and forbade any Earth-bound settings. Anderson responded that in the series opener, he would 'blow up the Earth'. Mandell countered that this concept might be off-putting to viewers, to which Anderson replied he would 'blow up the Moon'.
The Andersons reworked UFO: 1999 into a new premise: Commander Steven Maddox controlled the forces of WANDER, Earth's premier defence organisation, from Moon City, a twenty-mile wide installation on the Moon. Maddox would view all aspects of Earth defence from Central Control, a facility at the hub of the base and accessible only by Moon Hopper craft, which would require the correct pass-code to traverse Control's defensive laser barrier. The Commander would also have access to a personal computer called 'Com-Com' (Commander's Computer), which would act as a personal advisor, having been programmed with the Commander's personality and moral sense.
In the half-hour opening episode 'Zero-G' penned by the Andersons, Earth's deep space probes have discovered an advanced extraterrestrial civilisation. Maddox is kidnapped for an interview with the aliens. Angered by humanity's innate hostility and WANDER's defensive posture, they travel to Earth with the intent of isolating mankind within the boundary of Earth's atmosphere. Having judged Maddox a noble example of mankind, they return him unharmed. They then use a beam to reduce the Moon's gravitational influence to zero, sending it careening out of orbit into deep space.
The project continued forward. Group Three Productions (a partnership of the Andersons and production executive Reg Hill) would produce the series; ITC Entertainment and RAI
would provide the funding. Grade, aiming for a US network sale, insisted the series have American leads and employ American writers and directors. George Bellak
, a well-known American television writer, was brought on staff. As stated by series writers Christopher Penfold
and Johnny Byrne, it was Bellak who created and polished the series' defining concepts. Bellak wrote a ninety-minute opening episode entitled 'The Void Ahead' which was a close forerunner of 'Breakaway
'. Bellak also set up a writers' guide defining the three leads, the facilities of the Moonbase and potential storylines.
At this point, the staff seemed to make creative changes that brought the series closer in concept and appearance to 2001: A Space Odyssey
. Even the title Space: 1999 evoked comparison with Kubrick's film. (Before, the title of the new series had greatly varied: Space Journey: 1999, Journey In Space, Menace In Space and Space Invaders—the invaders of the last title being the Earthmen trapped on the runaway Moon.)
For the lead characters of John Koenig and Helena Russell, Gerry Anderson approached the husband-and-wife acting team of Martin Landau
and Barbara Bain
. Landau and Bain were bankable high-profile stars in America after three years on the popular CBS
espionage series Mission: Impossible. Producer Sylvia Anderson let it be known that she would have preferred British lead actors; since Grade insisted on Americans, she would have chosen Robert Culp
(star of the 1960s espionage series I Spy) and Katharine Ross
(co-star of 1960s blockbuster movies The Graduate
and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
). Lee H. Katzin
, a highly-respected American television director with a specialty for pilot episodes, was selected to helm the opening segment and brought into the fold as a primary director for the remainder of the series.
, were represented with a mixture of full-sized props, photographic blow-ups, and detailed scale model
s. Dozens of models for the various alien spaceships and the Mark IX Hawk
from the 'War Games
' episode were built by model maker Martin Bower
, often at several different sizes to account for the intended use.
Rather than relying on blue screen
techniques, à la Star Trek
, Johnson's team often employed a technique that went back to the earliest days of visual effects: spacecraft and planets would be filmed against black backgrounds, with the camera being rewound for each successive element. As long as the various elements did not overlap this produced convincing results. In technical terms, the advantage was that all of the elements were recorded on the original negative, as opposed to blue screen which would have involved several generations of duplication. The disadvantage was that the number of possible angles was more limited; for instance, a spaceship could be seen approaching a planet from the side, but could not move in front of it without the elements overlapping.
Special effects director Brian Johnson
and most of his team went on to work on Ridley Scott
's Alien
, followed by Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
. Many of the spacecraft were designed around their prescribed functionality rather than being glistening starships, adding a sense of realism that was replicated in future science-fiction features.
The uni-sex 'Moon City' uniforms for the first series were created by renowned German fashion designer Rudi Gernreich
, a personal friend of series' star Barbara Bain. Other costumes were designed by Production Designer Keith Wilson
, who was also responsible for set design. Wilson's innovative Moonbase set construction, using four-foot by eight-foot plastic foam-board panels linked together Lego-like into whatever room configuration was required, made for a uniform and realistic appearance for the Alpha interiors (not to mention relatively cheap and quickly assembled). A muted colour pallette and the integration of recognisable equipment and accessories added to the verisimilitude.
For the second series, the Moonbase uniforms were updated having been perceived by some as 'bland'. Coloured decorative stitching and turtleneck collars were added, as were various badges and patches. Red, navy or dark-green jackets also appeared, originally on just the senior staff, then on many of the male extras. The women characters tended to wear skirts and knee high boots throughout the second series, rather than the flared trousers used in Series one. The costumes for series two were designed by Emma Porteous, who later designed the wardrobes for several James Bond
films.
The Alpha interiors were also upgraded for the second year, with the existing stock of wall panels, doors, computer panels, et cetera (along with some bits from other Anderson productions) being assembled for the first time into a standing complex of interconnected sets. (The first series sets had been assembled as needed and the size of the Main Mission/Command Office complex was prohibitive for the construction of a lasting series of rooms.) Vibrant colour was much more evident in this series' Moonbase sets. Futuristic 'science-fiction-y' appearing gadgets and equipment were also more evident (for example, Helena no longer used a stethoscope, but a little bleeping all-purpose medical scanner similar to Dr. McCoy's whistling medical 'Feinberger' on Star Trek
.)
The opening credits for the first series featured a dramatic fanfare composed by long-time Anderson associate Barry Gray
, whose scores for the series were his final compositions for an Anderson production. Gray scored five episodes—'Breakaway
', 'Matter of Life and Death
', 'Black Sun', 'Another Time, Another Place
' and 'The Full Circle'—Vic Elms provided a completely electronic score for 'Ring Around the Moon' and Big Jim Sullivan
performed a one-off sitar composition for 'The Troubled Spirit
'. Library music, classical compositions and score excerpts from earlier Anderson productions augmented the five Gray scores and gave the impression of an expansive musical repertoire.
The second series was scored by jazz-musician and composer Derek Wadsworth
; American producer Fred Freiberger
wanted a more 'driving, searing' score for his new action-adventure format. Wadsworth composed original music for 'The Metamorph
', 'The Exiles
', 'One Moment of Humanity', 'The Taybor' and 'Space Warp
', that music being assembled for reuse in the other episodes to accompany appropriately similar thematic content.
One may note influences of other Anderson shows on the Space: 1999 spacecraft and elements. The cockpit of the Eagle has a slight resemblance to the cockpit of an earlier Anderson Supermarionation
series, Fireball XL5. Thruster and engine sounds also may have had previous use in Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, and Captain Scarlet. Lighting effects for Moonbase Alpha may have come from UFO, as did the concept of the elevating spacecraft launch pad.
The original Moonbase Alpha model reappeared in the public eye after almost 30 years on www.eagletransporter.com when the site gained exclusive access to photomap the model and solicit its sale. Images of the model as it is today can be seen here.
As the November 1973 start date approached, George Bellak fell out with Gerry Anderson over creative issues and left the production. Story consultant Christopher Penfold
acted as head writer, bringing in American writer Edward di Lorenzo
and Irish poet Johnny Byrne as script editors. Penfold reworked Bellak's opening episode into a one-hour draft first re-titled 'Turning Point', then finalised as 'Breakaway'.
One week before live action filming commenced, Visual Effects Supervisor Brian Johnson
and his team began work on the visual effects sequences for the first episode at Bray Studios on 5 November 1973. For the first six weeks, no usable footage resulted until the team discovered a dragging break had affected film speed. Studio rehearsals commenced at Elstree Studios
, Borehamwood on 12 November 1973. During filming of the first episode, it became apparent that the troubled Elstree was under the threat of imminent closure. One weekend, the company itself secretly relocated sets, props, costumes, etc., to the nearby Pinewood Studios
, resulting in a union black-listing of the production.
Scheduled for ten days' filming, 'Breakaway' overran an additional fifteen days. Lee Katzin was a perfectionist and demanded take after take of scenes; even coverage of reaction shots of the background extras required running a whole scene from beginning to end. His two-hour director's cut was assembled and sent to ITC New York for a viewing. Abe Mandell was horrified by the finished product. Anderson re-wrote several key scenes and, after three days of re-shoots, re-edited the pilot into a one-hour episode that appeased the fears of ITC. Katzin was not asked back to the programme after the filming of his second episode 'Black Sun', which also ran over schedule.
Scheduled for a twelve-month shoot, the twenty-four episodes took fifteen months to complete, with the production experiencing as many hazards as their fictional creations. Britain's mandatory three-day work week and the unplugging of the National Grid during the coal shortages of the early 1970s did not delay filming (as Pinewood had its own generators), but it affected film processing (the lab was an off-site contractor).
Group Three's commitment to its financial partner, Italian broadcasting company RAI
, to include Italian actors in the cast also had to be addressed. Originally, two supporting roles were intended for Italian actors; with the casting of Nick Tate
and Zienia Merton
in those roles, a solution had to be worked out. Four of the later episodes produced ('The Troubled Spirit
', 'Space Brain', 'Dragon's Domain' and 'The Testament of Arkadia
') featured Italian guest artists.
The necessity to telex story outlines and scripts to New York for approval caused further production delays. The incessant re-writing this brought about eventually caused Christopher Penfold
to resign during the shooting of 'Space Brain', after completing his writing commitment with the script 'Dragon's Domain'. In a later interview, Johnny Byrne stated that "one episode they (New York) would ask us to speed things up, forcing us to cut out character development; then the next episode, they asked for more character moments, which would slow down the action; then they would complain there weren't enough pretty girls in another." Years later, Byrne and Penfold would agree that the process they worked under made 'good scripts less than they had been' and forced them to waste time re-writing 'bad scripts to make them acceptable'. Byrne remained until the end of production; his last task writing filler scenes for the desperately short 'The Last Enemy
' and a re-shoot for the troublesome 'Space Brain'. The scenes re-mounted for 'The Last Enemy' concluded principal photography on 28 February 1975.
stations but was not simulcast nationally until a screening run on BBC2 in 1998-1999. The initial screenings in two of the most major TV regions was opposite the second episode of the 13th season of BBC1's perennial sci-fi series Doctor Who
, and although the ratings for 'Terror of the Zygons
' fell by 2.3 million viewers from the first episode of the story, the audience response was such that while Doctor Whos ratings for the season climbed to well over 12 million, its commercial rival's audience and appreciation fell throughout the run to the disappointment of all concerned.
In the United States, efforts to sell the series to one of the three networks for the 1974-1975 or 1975-1976 television seasons failed. The networks were uninterested in a project over which they had no creative control, being presented with the accomplished fact of twenty-four completed episodes. (Actually, Mandell had secured a 'handshake' agreement with a network executive in 1974, but after the man's termination, all his projects were abandoned.) Undaunted, Abe Mandell created what he called his own 'Space: 1999 Network' and sold the completed program into first-run syndication
directly to local stations. Much of the publicity mentioned the then-staggering three million pound budget: as a part of the American promotion effort, a glossy magazine-sized brochure was produced, touting Space: 1999 as the 'Six-and-a-Half Million Dollar Series' (an allusion to the then-popular American programme The Six Million Dollar Man
) featuring American stars, American writers and American directors.
In the months leading to the beginning of the fall (autumn), 1975 television season (in the U.S., September is traditionally the month in which new TV series begin), Landau and Bain participated in special preview screenings in select cities. Landau is said to have personally contacted editors of the widely read and influential TV Guide
magazine in some markets to secure coverage of Space: 1999 in its pages upon learning of ITC's somewhat poor promotional efforts.
While most of the U.S. stations that aired Space: 1999 were independent (such as powerful Chicago station WGN-TV
, Louisville
station WDRB-TV, Los Angeles station KHJ-TV
, and New York City's WPIX-TV), a handful were affiliated with the major networks (such as Charlotte, N.C.'s WSOC-TV
, at the time a strong NBC
affiliate, and Fresno's KFSN-TV
, at the time a CBS affiliate) and sometimes pre-empted regular network programming to show episodes of the series; most U.S. stations broadcast the episodes in the weekday evening hour just before prime time or on weekends. The series was broadcast in 96 countries, mostly from 1975 to 1979. However, it aired in its entirety in very few countries. Often there were long gaps between first run and rerun or even within first run.
It was shown in Italy as Spazio: 1999, Argentina, Puerto Rico
, Dominican Republic
, Guatemala, francophone Canada, and France as Cosmos: 1999, Denmark as Månebase Alpha, Brazil and Portugal as Espaço: 1999, Germany as Mondbasis Alpha 1, Sweden as Månbas Alpha, Poland as Kosmos 1999 (1977–1979), Finland as Avaruusasema Alfa, Greece as Διάστημα 1999 (1989-1990), Hungary as Alfa Holdbázis, Spain, Chile
, Venezuela
, and Colombia
as Espacio: 1999, Mexico as Odisea 1999, Turkey as Uzay 1999 and South Africa as Alpha 1999 (1976, dubbed into Afrikaans
).
Countries where the show was popular include Yugoslavia
, Poland, Ethiopia
, South Africa, Turkey
, Iran
, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Peru
, Japan, Malaysia, Canada, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore
, South Korea and Taiwan
. One of the first previews of the series was in Australia on the Seven Network
in July 1975, but the station later split the first series into two seasons. The second season was shown in 1979.
In the UK, the episodes of the show's second season were shown sporadically over a period of a couple of years, starting in 1976 while the last episodes were still in production. In some regions the final first-run episodes appeared in 1978, more than a year after they were produced; in other regions of the UK, the second series was never shown.
In Canada, CBC Television
was the broadcaster of Space: 1999 from 1975 into the 1980s. The first season in 1975-1976 was shown regionally on some CBC owned-and-operated stations, the airtime varying. With the start of the second season in September 1976, CBC Television upgraded Space: 1999 to full-network status, airing it Saturdays on all CBC owned-and-operated stations, with affiliated, privately-owned stations also offering the show on Saturdays. Most of the country saw Space: 1999 at 5 p.m. on Saturdays, a notable exception being the Atlantic Provinces in which it was broadcast at 6 or 6:30 p.m. (their time) or - as was the case in the summers - sometime earlier in the afternoon to accommodate live sports coverage, the airing of which crossed into or totally over the usual Space: 1999 airtime. After the 1976-1977 broadcast year (in which second season episodes were run and rerun), the show's ratings were sufficiently high for CBC Television to give the first season a full-network airing - and with further repeats - in 1977-1978. The French-language CBC Television, Radio-Canada, showed Cosmos: 1999 several times (both seasons) between 1975 and 1980, first on Mondays (1975–1976), then on Saturdays (1976–1977), then on Mondays (1979), and finally on Wednesdays (1979–1980). Radio-Canada on its website is currently including Cosmos 1999 in a Vintage Series free webcast.
Response to the series varied; some critics praised it as a classic, citing the fantastic production values and multi-layered storytelling (‘Space: 1999 is like Star Trek shot full of methedrine. It is the most flashy, gorgeous sci-fi trip ever to appear on TV...’ and ‘Space: 1999 is a visually stunning, space-age morality play...’); others panned it for poor plotting and wooden acting, especially on the part of Barbara Bain (‘the plots and characterisation on Space: 1999 have been primitive...’ and ‘A disappointing collage of wooden characters, boring dialogue and incomprehensible plots...’).
Isaac Asimov
criticised the scientific accuracy of the series by pointing out that any explosion capable of knocking the Moon out of its orbit would actually blow it apart, and even if it did leave orbit it would take thousands of years to reach the nearest star. (He also praised the programme for its superbly accurate representation of movement in the low gravity environment of the Moon and for its clinical, realistic production design.) Gerry and Sylvia Anderson were surprised and disappointed that the public (and critics) never granted them the 'suspension of disbelief' given to other science-fiction programmes.
to develop his first-series format story 'The Exiles'.
The largest stumbling block for the staff had been having all material vetted by ITC's New York office. ITC's compromise was to hire a high-profile American staff writer-producer. At this time, Sylvia Anderson left her role as producer and Gerry Anderson's wife when they formally separated (and subsequently divorced). Fred Freiberger
, whom Gerry Anderson had considered for the writing position, was then brought on board to help guide the series as a producer and acted as show-runner. Freiberger had produced the third and final season of Star Trek
in 1968–1969 and eight episodes of the first season of The Wild Wild West
(including one in which Martin Landau guest-starred) before being dismissed. Immediately after Space: 1999 he would go on to produce what would be the final season of The Six Million Dollar Man
. His writing credits included Slattery's People
, The Iron Horse, All in the Family
, Petrocelli
, and Starsky and Hutch
. Though Anderson and Grade were satisfied with this choice, Abe Mandell had concerns about why he was unemployed and available at the time.
Then ITC Entertainment
President Sir Lew Grade
abruptly cancelled the series' production in late 1975 when ratings in the United States had dropped during the later autumn months of the year. Grade had already been disappointed by the lack of an American network broadcast sale. Gerry Anderson and Fred Freiberger rallied and pitched the idea of a new series with the addition of the alien Maya
. The argument was that an alien character on Moonbase Alpha would shake up the dynamic of interaction on the Moonbase and regain viewer interest in the United States. On the strength of Anderson and Freiberger's proposal of adding an alien character from the planet Psychon named Maya who could transform into any lifeform in the blink of an eye, Mandell approved a renewal of the series for a second year.
In addition to the alien Maya character, to be played by Catherine Schell
, were numerous other changes for what was branded as Year Two. The most visible change was the absence of Professor Bergman
(Barry Morse
). Morse's departure was due to a salary dispute, but he later claimed that he was glad to leave, and he had told Anderson: "I would rather play with grown-ups for a while." With Morse gone, the role of the boffin on Alpha was filled completely by Maya, whose people's science was far in advance of mankind's. Also, her character was conceived to be able to provide 'outside observation of human behaviour' as had been provided by the character of Mr. Spock
on Star Trek
. Maya shared Spock's logical approach to problem-solving and advanced intelligence, but differed in that she was a charming, fully emotional person. Most importantly, however, her Psychon abilities as a metamorph with the power of "molecular transformation" allowed her to convert herself into any living thing for an hour at a time, were designed to add a certain 'wow' factor to the newly-revamped series. Maya had an impish sense of humour. When love-interest Tony Verdeschi
offered her some of his home-brewed beer, Maya tried it, then turned herself into Mister Hyde. Schell had previously guest-starred as the Servant of the Guardian in the Year One episode 'Guardian of Piri'.
In addition to Bergman, Year One supporting characters Paul Morrow
(Prentis Hancock
), David Kano
(Clifton Jones
) and Tanya Alexander
(Suzanne Roquette
) were also removed from the cast (Paul and Tanya's disappearance is explained in the Powys Media book The Forsaken by John Kenneth Muir). Dr. Bob Mathias
(Anton Phillips
) was present in the first two Year Two episodes, was mentioned in the third episode, and then also disappeared without a trace. His character was replaced by several recurring physicians. Alan Carter
(Nick Tate
) was to have been written out of the series, but he had become so popular with fans that he remained. Sandra Benes
(Zienia Merton
) remained with the series in an on-again off-again association, but her name was shortened to "Sahn" and the character only appeared in a fraction of the episodes, albeit more prominently in some episodes than in many of those of the first series.
Along with Maya, Tony Anholt
was added to the cast in Year Two as Security Chief Tony Verdeschi
, a character who neither appeared nor was ever mentioned in Year One. His character was designed to serve primarily as a secondary male action hero, and became a romantic interest for Maya.
No on-screen explanations were offered for the cast changes. One scene in 'The Metamorph
' mentioning Bergman's death was scripted and filmed, but cut from the final edit. The Moonbase Alpha Technical Manual produced by Starlog
magazine picks up this explanation, stating Bergman died due to a faulty spacesuit per the scripted scene. Likewise, it was mentioned in this publication that Morrow and Kano had died in an Eagle crash between seasons, and explained that Dr. Mathias, supposedly Alpha's psychiatrist
(although he seems to be more Russell's assistant) was on sabbatical doing research. Fred Freiberger felt that these characters were one-dimensional and had no fan support; he told Nick Tate that the audience would not remember them and that, as far as he was concerned, they were just 'somewhere else' on Alpha, lost in the crowd of three hundred other people.
Other changes included the main titles
and theme music
. The montage of events from "Breakaway
" and the episode about to unfold featured in Year One was dropped in favour of a special-effects sequence depicting the Moon
being blown out of orbit into space. With Morse gone, Schell was featured in his place as a regular alongside Landau and Bain, and all three were depicted in action-oriented images as opposed to the mannequin
-like stances Landau and Bain had assumed in the Year One main titles. New series composer Derek Wadsworth
's new theme dropped Barry Gray
's alternation between stately, orchestral passages and funky rhythmic ones in favour of a more consistently contemporary piece.
Rudi Gernreich
's minimalist costume was considerably modified from the original unisex
design to include an optional skirt
for women and much more detail work on the tunic
portion, including turtleneck collars, coloured stitching, patches and photo ID badges. In addition, colourful jackets – generally red, blue or green – became part of most characters' ensembles.
The expansive Main Mission set, with its balcony
and windows revealing the lunar surface, was replaced by a more compact Command Centre, supposedly deep underground. (Once again, this change was explained in the Year Two Writers' Bible and Technical Manual as necessary for security, but never shared with viewers). Medical Centre, Generator Section, Life Support and the Alphans' living quarters became smaller, while the interior of the Eagle command module was updated with additional buttons, flashing lights and television monitors, while the Eagle also lost a section of corridor (the galley/storage area) between the passenger module and the cockpit. (This was to accommodate its placement on Pinewood Soundstage 'L', with the other standing Alpha sets; the Eagle was permanently affixed to the boarding tube/travel tube set and jammed between the travel-tube reception area and the Medical Centre.)
The sombre mood created in Year One by the effective use of light and shadow in the filming of Moonbase Alpha interiors was abandoned in favour of a generally brighter cinematography, and even the lettering used in signage and costuming—most noticeable on spacesuits and Eagle Transporter doors—changed to a simpler, less futuristic style.
Production Designer Keith Wilson
stated in an interview in Destination: Moonbase Alpha that he was always being ordered by Producer Fred Freiberger
to make sets smaller, taking away the expansive (and expensive) feeling of the first series' interiors. Freiberger was very budget-conscious and, despite press releases to the contrary, the production team was working with less money this series. If there had been a budget increase, the 'stagflation
' economy of the seventies would have canceled it out. When interviewed, many of the actors state they were asked to accept less money, including Landau and Bain (who were the only ones with enough clout to be able to refuse).
Freiberger emphasised action-adventure in Year Two stories to the exclusion of metaphysical
themes explored in Year One. Of Year One, he commented, "They were doing the show as an English show, where there was no story, with the people standing around and talking. In the first show I did, I stressed action as well as character development, along with strong story content, to prove that 1999 could stand up to the American concept of what an action-adventure show should be." Since Year One was quite serious in tone, one of Frieberger's ways to accomplish this objective was to inject humor into Year Two stories whenever possible, but much of it seemed to the more vocal fans to be forced, especially at the conclusion of an episode, where the Alphans were seen as jovial and light-hearted despite whatever violent or tragic events may have previously befallen them.
Members of the Space: 1999 cast were disenchanted with the scripts. Martin Landau: "They changed it because a bunch of American minds got into the act and they decided to do many things they felt were commercial. Fred Freiberger helped in some respects, but, overall, I don't think he helped the show, I think he brought a much more ordinary, mundane approach to the series." One particular episode ('All That Glisters
', which dealt with the threat of an intelligent rock) was of such allegedly deficient quality that it sparked a confrontation between Freiberger and the cast. Landau disliked the story so strongly that he wrote the following notes on his copy of the script: 'All the credibility we're building up is totally forsaken in this script!'; '...Story is told poorly!'; and 'The character of Koenig takes a terrible beating in this script—We're all shmucks!' Anholt revealed that, 'the more the cast complained about a script's flaws, the more intractable and unyielding Freiberger became.' Dissatisfaction on Landau's part about scripts was not new to Year Two, though. Sylvia Anderson remembers that he often voiced criticisms of scripts during production of the first series.
With the last-minute renewal from Grade, the production team hit the ground running. Byrne's script 'The Biological Soul', involving the Alphans' encounter with the unstable Mentor of the planet Psychon and his biological computer 'Psyche' which drew sustenance from the mental energy of intelligent beings, was re-written to include the new character Maya
and the rest of the format changes. Production began on 26 January 1976 and was scheduled to last a mere ten months due to the already-late renewal order.
To fulfil the scheduling requirement, Freiberger came up with the 'double-up script' solution. During 'double-up' instalments, two first-unit production teams would film two episodes simultaneously. Landau and some of the supporting cast would be given expanded roles and would film an episode on location or sets constructed for that story in Pinewood's Soundstage 'M' while Bain and the remaining supporting cast (also in expanded roles) would film their episode in the standing Alpha sets on Soundstage 'L'. Landau and Bain would then be given minor roles in the opposing episodes. This cost- and time-saving measure was used to complete eight stories: 'The Rules of Luton'/'The Mark of Archanon
', 'The AB Chrysalis'/'Catacombs of the Moon', 'A Matter of Balance'/'Space Warp
' and 'Devil's Planet
'/'Dorzak'. A ninth episode, 'The Beta Cloud', was intentionally scripted with only one-day's worth of work for the Landaus to allow their planned holiday to the French Riviera not to delay the series' production; the four supporting cast members (Schell, Anholt, Tate and Merton) were the recipients of much greater than usual exposure.
Relations between new producer Freiberger and the Year One veterans were strained. Landau complained about stories he felt were light-weight or absurd when compared to the previous year's efforts. His feelings can be summed up from comments written on the cover of a script: "I'm not going out on a limb for this show because I'm not in accord with what you're (Freiberger) doing as a result... etc. I don't think I even want to do the promos -- I don't want to push the show any more as I have in the past. It's not my idea of what the show should be. It's embarrassing to me if I am not the star of it and in the way I feel it should be . This year should be more important to it, not less important to it... I might as well work less hard in all of them." Johnny Byrne has gone on record saying that Freiberger was a good man and good producer, but not good for Space: 1999. He had gotten them a second year after the cancellation, but the changes he made did not benefit the programme.
Principal photography came to an end on 23 December 1976 with 'The Dorcons
'. An article regarding a third series was printed in the trade papers: "Now entrenched in its successful second season boom, ITC is looking forward to a third season with more fantastic events and additions, although mum's the word at the studio. They will only say that Maya and Miss Schell will be kept in and that the budget may be raised again, But that's all until final preparations and an official announcement are made."
in Canada, airing in English in a family viewing period, late Saturday afternoons before the hockey
broadcasts, with a mostly undisrupted run and rerun of all 24 episodes from September 1976 through September 1977. And Year Two episodes ran in French Canada-wide during the same broadcast year, in early evening on Saturdays. Ratings were sufficient for a full additional year's transmission of Year One in the English CBC Saturday programming slot in 1977-1978. Episodes of both Year One and Year Two were repeated regionally in Canada in English and French through the early-to-mid-1980s. YTV Canada broadcast both seasons with reportedly good ratings in 1990-1992, in a late Saturday afternoon airtime closely matching that of the CBC English network in the 1970s.
In contrast to its airing on the CBC, the presentation of Year Two was not as consistent elsewhere in the world. In certain UK regions, some Year Two episodes did not air until nearly two years after they were produced, while the regional ITV station HTV (serving Wales and West of England) did not pick the series up until 1984, and then only showed nineteen out of the twenty-four episodes from series two (the last episodes were not screened in Wales until the series was broadcast by Bravo on the Sky Satellite network in the mid 1990s). Plans were nevertheless put in place for a third season, but still dropping ratings and fewer syndication and commercial sponsor sales contributed to the series' cancellation. Landau faulted Lew Grade
's foray into film production; the projected budget for the third season was, coincidentally, equivalent to the advertising budget for Raise the Titanic, and some commentators have suggested that it came down to one or the other. However, since Raise the Titanic did not start principal photography until 1979 (and was not advertised or released until the following year), it is more likely that money which ITC might have allocated to a third season of Space: 1999 instead paid for the production of the company's Return of the Saint
television series.
Fan and critics' responses to the new series varied. Some missed the mystical plotlines, feature-film ambiance and the 'British-ness' of the first series. Others embraced the new characters, down-to-earth characterisations and pulsing action beats. Comparisons with Star Trek
were inevitable and used by both camps to show how the series had been either saved or destroyed by the format change.
". However, during production of the later episodes of the second series, plans for the shape of the third year began to develop:
Filmed on 29 August 1999, 'Message From Moonbase Alpha' is a fan-produced mini-episode made with the co-operation and involvement of Space: 1999 script editor Johnny Byrne, who penned the script. Filmed inside a private house on a remarkable working replica of a small section of the Main Mission set and utilising the original prop of Koenig's Command Center desk and Sandra Benes
's original Year Two Alpha uniform, the short film was first shown at the Space: 1999 Breakaway Convention in Los Angeles, California on 13 September 1999—the day the events in episode 1 of the series were supposed to take place. With the permission of (then) copyright owners Carlton Media International, the film included brief clips from seven episodes to illustrate the deserted Moonbase Alpha
and the Alphans' exodus to planet Terra Alpha. Previously unused footage shot for the Year Two title sequence and 'The Last Enemy' was used to create a sequence showing the Moon being affected by a gravitational disturbance and thrown into an unknown solar system. Short excerpts from 12 other episodes appeared in a montage as Sandra Benes recalls her life on Alpha.
The seven minute film features Zienia Merton
reprising her role as Sandra Benes
delivering a final message to Earth as the only crew member left on Moonbase Alpha while a massive exodus to a habitable planet, Terra Alpha, takes place with the rest of the crew. This basically gave the series the finality it never had in its initial run.
Modified versions of 'Message From Moonbase Alpha' are available on the Space: 1999 Bonus Disk in the U.S. and Canada, and on a DVD bonus disc in France and in Italy. The original version appears as a bonus feature on the Space:1999/UFO - The Documentaries DVD produced by Fanderson
.
Around the same time 'Message From Moonbase Alpha' was being filmed, Johnny Byrne and Christopher Penfold
attempted to revive the franchise as a movie series, similar to the way Star Trek
had been revived cinematically in the late 1970s. The first film would have picked up the story several years after the series ended, and would have featured a heavily-redesigned Moonbase Alpha
. Ultimately the project failed, and nothing came of it.
is an experimental offering currently in production by Retcon Studios that hopes to bridge the original series (albeit modified for today's standards) with a sequel set thirty to forty years into the timeline's future.
In 2005, Network DVD
reissued Series One in the UK as a Special Edition seven-disc boxset. For this release, to coincide with the series' 30th Anniversary, each episode was digitally restored by creating new 35mm film elements (a new interpositive
made from the original negative which is then used to make further copies). High Definition digital transfers were then made from the interpositives using a state-of-the-art Philips Spirit DataCine
. Each frame was digitally cleaned up and colour-balanced, and the image was then processed with noise reduction (to reduce the film grain) before then being manually cleaned up to remove any remaining scratches and flaws. This vastly improved the picture quality in comparison to the previous DVD releases, however the restoration process has actually made some of the space scenes (that involve special effects and model work) less realistic due to increased brightness and contrast (a comparison can be viewed here). This boxset also included a new set of extra features that were not on the Carlton DVD releases, including featurettes on "Concept & Creation" and "Special Effects & Design" (edited from an earlier "Fanderson
" documentary made in 1996), as well as a two-part Clapperboard
special on Gerry Anderson from 1975, and also a brand new 70-minute documentary entitled "These Episodes" in which Anderson, Christopher Penfold, Johnny Byrne, Zienia Merton and David Lane reflect on the making of key episodes from the first series. Also included in the set are two booklets: a 24-page Episode Guide for the first series, and a 32-page "Production Notes" booklet. The audio options are Dolby Digital 5.1 for all episodes, with original mono for most episodes, and also a "music only" option for most episodes. There are also audio commentaries by Gerry Anderson on the episodes "Breakaway" and "Dragon's Domain", and text commentaries available on the episodes "The Last Sunset" and "Space Brain".
Network DVD began a similar restoration process for Series Two in 2007, but this has yet to materialise and there is no current scheduled release date.
A&E Home Video
has released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 in various incarnations. It was initially released in 8-volume sets between 2001-2002. On 24 September 2002, a 16-disc "Mega Set" boxset featuring all 48 episodes of the series was released. On 31 July 2007, A&E released Space: 1999 - Complete Series, 30th Anniversary Edition. This is essentially the same as the 2002 "mega set" release (and does not use the 2005 hi-def remasters), but does includes a special bonus disc full of extra features.
Network DVD
released Series One on Blu-ray in the UK on 1 November 2010, and simultaneously re-released their Special Edition DVD box set of Series One with new artwork at the same time. Season One was released on Blu-ray in the U.S. on 2 November 2010 by A&E Home Entertainment.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
science-fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and sending it and the 311 inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha
Moonbase Alpha
Moonbase Alpha is a fictional moon base and the main setting in the science fiction television series Space: 1999.-Moonbase Alpha:Located in the Moon crater Plato and constructed out of quarried rock and ores, Moonbase Alpha is four kilometres in diameter and extends up to one kilometre in areas...
hurtling uncontrollably into space. The series was the last production by the partnership of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and was the most expensive series ever produced for television up to that time.
Overview
Space: 1999 is the last in a long line of science-fiction series that the Andersons produced as a working partnership, beginning with SupercarSupercar (TV series)
Supercar was a children's TV show produced by Gerry Anderson and Arthur Provis's AP Films for ATV and ITC Entertainment. 39 episodes were produced between 1961 and 1962, and it was Anderson's first half-hour series. In the UK it was seen on ITV and in the US in syndication...
in the early Sixties and including the famed marionette fantasy series Stingray
Stingray (TV series)
Stingray is a children's marionette television show, created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by AP Films for ATV and ITC Entertainment from 1964–65. Its 39 half-hour episodes were originally screened on ITV in the UK and in syndication in the USA. The scriptwriters included Gerry and...
, Fireball XL5
Fireball XL5
Fireball XL5 is a science fiction-themed children's television show following the missions of spaceship Fireball XL5, commanded by Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol...
, Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
, Joe 90
Joe 90
Joe 90 is a late-1960s British science-fiction television series documenting the exploits of a nine-year-old boy, Joe McClaine, who embarks on a double life as a schoolboy turned spy when his scientist father invents a pioneering machine capable of duplicating and transferring expert knowledge and...
and The Secret Service
The Secret Service
The Secret Service is a British children's espionage television series, made as a Century 21 production for ITC Entertainment and broadcast in 1969...
, as well as the live-action alien-invasion drama UFO
UFO (TV series)
UFO is a 1970-1971 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth, created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.UFO first aired in the UK and Canada...
. Space: 1999 owes much of the visual design to pre-production work for the never-made second series of UFO, which would have been set primarily on the Moon and featured a more extensive Moonbase.
Space: 1999 drew a great deal of visual inspiration (and technical expertise) from the Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
film 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
. The programme's special effects director Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson (special effects)
-Biography:Johnson's work on Space: 1999 set the tone for the Star Wars films to follow. George Lucas visited Johnson during the series production because he was so impressed with his work. Lucas asked Johnson to supervise the special effects for the first film but his prior commitment to Year 2 of...
had previously worked on both Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
(as Brian Johncock) and 2001.
Premise
The premise of Space: 1999 centres on the plight of the inhabitants of Moonbase AlphaMoonbase Alpha
Moonbase Alpha is a fictional moon base and the main setting in the science fiction television series Space: 1999.-Moonbase Alpha:Located in the Moon crater Plato and constructed out of quarried rock and ores, Moonbase Alpha is four kilometres in diameter and extends up to one kilometre in areas...
, Earth's Space Research Centre on the Moon, following a scientific cataclysm. Humanity had been storing its nuclear waste in vast disposal sites on the far side
Far side of the Moon
The far side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that is permanently turned away, and is not visible from the surface of the Earth. The far hemisphere was first photographed by the Soviet Luna 3 probe in 1959, and was first directly observed by human eyes when the Apollo 8 mission orbited the Moon...
of the Moon. Due to an unknown form of magnetic radiation, the accumulated waste reaches critical mass and, on 13 September 1999, detonates in a massive thermonuclear explosion. The force of the blast propels the Moon like an enormous booster rocket, hurling it out of Earth orbit and into deep space at colossal speed, thus stranding the 311 personnel stationed on Alpha. The runaway Moon, in effect, becomes the 'spacecraft' on which the protagonists travel, searching for a new home. During their interstellar journey, the Alphans encounter a vast array of alien civilizations, dystopian societies, and mind-bending phenomena previously unseen by humanity.
The concept of traveling through space to encounter aliens and strange worlds is similar to Lost In Space
Lost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
and Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, although the programme's visual aesthetic was heavily influenced by 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
. In another nod to Kubrick's film, the first series of Space: 1999 explored mystical and metaphysical themes, offered little exposition or explanation of plot points. The inhabitants of Alpha were unwilling travelers, and represented present-day Earthmen cast adrift in a vast, unexplainable universe where Earth-bound logic and laws of nature no longer operated. Several episodes hinted that the Moon's journey was influenced (and perhaps initiated) by a 'mysterious unknown force', which was guiding the Alphans toward an ultimate destiny.
The second series centered more on more simplified 'action-oriented' plots (à la Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
), with a deliberate aim at the American audience, and there was no further mention of the 'mysterious unknown force'.
Episodes
The programme was produced in two series, each comprising twenty-four episodes. The first series was produced from November 1973 to February 1975; the second series was produced from January 1976 to December 1976. The programme was produced in Britain for worldwide distribution and broadcast.Format
In common with many Lew Grade presentations vying to break into the American market, the first series of Space: 1999 used a 'teaser' intro (sometimes called a 'hook' or 'cold openCold open
A cold open in a television program or movie is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning or opening of the show, before the title sequence or opening credits are shown...
') which was used in the Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
TV series which both lead stars had starred in previously. This was followed by a title sequence that managed to convey prestige for its two main stars Landau and Bain (both separately billed as 'starring'), and to give the audience some thirty-plus fast cut shots of the forthcoming episode. The second series eliminated this montage. The programme would then offer four ten-to twelve-minute long acts (allowing for commercial breaks in America) and finish with a short and often lighthearted 'epilogue' scene.
In 2004, American science fiction screenwriter Ronald D. Moore
Ronald D. Moore
Ronald Dowl Moore is an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his work on Star Trek and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, for which he won a Peabody Award for creative excellence in 2005 and an Emmy Award in 2008.-Early life and...
stated the style of the first season's opening credits of Space: 1999 inspired the opening credit sequence for his acclaimed remake of Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
.
Principal cast
The headline stars of Space: 1999 were American actors Martin LandauMartin Landau
Martin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
and Barbara Bain
Barbara Bain
Millicent Fogel , known professionally as Barbara Bain, is an American actress.-Early life:Bain was born in Chicago. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in sociology. She moved to New York City, where she was a dancer and high fashion model. Bain studied with...
, who were in fact married at the time and had previously appeared together in Mission: Impossible. In an effort to appeal to the huge American television market, perhaps to sell the series to one of the major networks, Landau and Bain were cast at the insistence of Lew Grade
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
against the strong objections of Sylvia Anderson, who wanted British actors. Also appearing as regular cast members were Barry Morse
Barry Morse
Herbert "Barry" Morse was an Anglo-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio best known for his roles in the ABC television series The Fugitive and the British sci-fi drama Space: 1999...
(as Professor Victor Bergman
Victor Bergman
Professor Victor Bergman is the name of a recurring character on the UK science fiction television series Space: 1999. The role was portrayed by actor Barry Morse.-Character Biography:...
in the first season) and Catherine Schell
Catherine Schell
Katherina Freiin Schell von Bauschlott is an Hungarian-born actress best known for her work on British televison.Schell rose to fame in various British film and television productions in the 1960s and 1970s...
(as the alien Maya
Maya (Space: 1999)
Maya is a fictional character who appeared in the second series of the science fiction television program Space: 1999. Played by actress Catherine Schell , Maya was introduced in the second series opener 'The Metamorph'...
in the second season). The programme also brought Australian actor Nick Tate
Nick Tate
Nicholas John "Nick" Tate is an Australian actor best known for his role as Eagle pilot Alan Carter in both seasons of the 1970s science fiction television series Space: 1999, as well as for playing the role of Gordon Hamilton's errant brother James in the 1980's soap opera "Sons and...
to public attention. Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice, OBE is a British actor known for his Tony Award-winning Broadway performance in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten.-Life and career:...
appeared in the first episode as Commissioner Simmons, and at the end of the episode it appeared that he would be a regular character, however by the second (transmitted) episode the character had vanished without a trace, only to appear partway through the first season in the episode "Earthbound
Earthbound (Space: 1999)
"Earthbound" is the fifth episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by Anthony Terpiloff; the director was Charles Crichton. The final shooting script is undated...
", his only other appearance on the show (in which the character is permanently written out).
| Actor | Role | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Landau Martin Landau Martin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999... |
Commander John Koenig John Koenig John Koenig is a fictional character from the television series Space: 1999. He was played by Martin Landau. He is American, apparently in his early forties.-Character Biography:... , leader of Moonbase Alpha (Year 1 & 2) |
(47 episodes, 1975–1977) |
| Barbara Bain Barbara Bain Millicent Fogel , known professionally as Barbara Bain, is an American actress.-Early life:Bain was born in Chicago. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in sociology. She moved to New York City, where she was a dancer and high fashion model. Bain studied with... |
Doctor Helena Russell Helena Russell Helena Russell is a fictional character from the television series Space: 1999. She was played by Barbara Bain. She is American and apparently in her mid-thirties.... , head of Medical Section (Year 1 & 2) |
(48 episodes, 1975–1977) |
| Nick Tate Nick Tate Nicholas John "Nick" Tate is an Australian actor best known for his role as Eagle pilot Alan Carter in both seasons of the 1970s science fiction television series Space: 1999, as well as for playing the role of Gordon Hamilton's errant brother James in the 1980's soap opera "Sons and... |
Alan Carter, third in command, chief pilot (Year 1 & 2) | (45 episodes, 1975–1977) |
| Zienia Merton Zienia Merton Zienia Merton is a British actress born in Burma. Her mother was Burmese, and her father half English, half French. She was raised in Singapore, Borneo, Portugal, and England.... |
Sandra Benes Sandra Benes Sandra Benes is a recurring character in the British science-fiction television series Space: 1999. She is of Western European/Burmese origin and is in her late twenties. Her role was played by actress Zienia Merton.-Character Biography:... , data analyst (Year 1 & 2) |
(37 episodes, 1975–1977, 1999) |
| Catherine Schell Catherine Schell Katherina Freiin Schell von Bauschlott is an Hungarian-born actress best known for her work on British televison.Schell rose to fame in various British film and television productions in the 1960s and 1970s... |
Maya Maya (Space: 1999) Maya is a fictional character who appeared in the second series of the science fiction television program Space: 1999. Played by actress Catherine Schell , Maya was introduced in the second series opener 'The Metamorph'... , science officer (Year 2) |
(24 episodes, 1976–1977) |
| Anton Phillips Anton Phillips Anton Phillips is an actor who found success appearing in British television. He remains best known for his role as Dr. Bob Mathias in the science fiction series Space 1999.-Early life and education:... |
Doctor Bob Mathias Bob Mathias (Space: 1999) Bob Mathias is a fictional character from the British science-fiction television series Space: 1999. He is played by actor Anton Phillips.-Character Biography:... , Helena's deputy (Year 1 & 2) |
(24 episodes, 1975–1976) |
| Barry Morse Barry Morse Herbert "Barry" Morse was an Anglo-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio best known for his roles in the ABC television series The Fugitive and the British sci-fi drama Space: 1999... |
Professor Victor Bergman Victor Bergman Professor Victor Bergman is the name of a recurring character on the UK science fiction television series Space: 1999. The role was portrayed by actor Barry Morse.-Character Biography:... , science adviser (Year 1) |
(24 episodes, 1975–1976) |
| Prentis Hancock Prentis Hancock Prentis Hancock is a British actor, best known for his television roles.He was a regular cast member of the first season of science fiction series Space: 1999 as Paul Morrow, and also appeared in a number of Doctor Who stories throughout the 1970s - Spearhead from Space and Planet of the Daleks... |
Paul Morrow Paul Morrow Paul Morrow is a fictional character who first appeared in 'Breakaway', the premiere episode of the science fiction television show Space: 1999, and was portrayed by Prentis Hancock. He is a British national who appears to be in his early thirties.... , second in command, Main Mission controller and base (Year 1) executive officer Executive officer An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:... |
(23 episodes, 1975–1976) |
| Clifton Jones Clifton Jones Clifton Jones is an actor, mostly known for his roles on British television.His most prominent role is probably that of David Kano during the first season of the science fiction series Space: 1999.... |
David Kano, computer operations officer (Year 1) | (23 episodes, 1975–1976) |
| Tony Anholt Tony Anholt Anthony "Tony" Anholt was a British actor best known for his roles as Security Chief Tony Verdeschi in the second season of Gerry Anderson's television series Space: 1999 , Paul Buchet in The Protectors and as Charles Frere in the highly-successful BBC drama series Howards' Way .Anholt was... |
Tony Verdeschi Tony Verdeschi Tony Verdeschi is a fictional character who first appeared in the second series of the science fiction television series Space: 1999. He is in his early thirties.... , second in command, head of Security and Command Center controller (Year 2) |
(23 episodes, 1976–1977) |
| Suzanne Roquette Suzanne Roquette Suzanne Roquette is an actress, who remains best known for her role as Tanya Alexander in the science fiction television series Space 1999.... |
Tanya Alexander Tanya Alexander Tanya Alexander is the name of a semi-recurring character on the UK science fiction television series Space: 1999. The role was portrayed by German actress Suzanne Roquette.-Character Biography:... , base operations officer (Year 1) |
(19 episodes, 1975–1976) |
| John Hug | Bill Fraser, Eagle pilot (Year 2) | (9 episodes, 1976–1977) |
| Jeffery Kissoon | Dr. Ben Vincent, deputy medical officer (Year 2) | (7 episodes, 1976–1977) |
Guest appearances
Over the course of its two series the programme featured guest appearances by many notable actors including Christopher LeeChristopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
, Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
, Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
, Judy Geeson
Judy Geeson
Judith Amanda "Judy" Geeson is an English actor.-Early life:Geeson was born in Arundel, Sussex, England on 10 September 1948. She came from a middle class family; her father edited the National Coal Board magazine. Her sister, Sally Geeson, is also an actress and is known for her roles in British...
, Julian Glover
Julian Glover
Julian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in...
, Ian McShane
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
, Leo McKern
Leo McKern
Reginald "Leo" McKern, AO was an Australian-born British actor who appeared in numerous British and Australian television programmes and movies, and more than 200 stage roles.-Early life:...
, Billie Whitelaw
Billie Whitelaw
Billie Honor Whitelaw, CBE is an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and is regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works...
, Richard Johnson
Richard Johnson (actor)
Richard Johnson is an English actor, writer and producer, who starred in several British films of the 1960s and has also had a distinguished stage career. He most recently appeared in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.-Life and career:...
, Patrick Troughton
Patrick Troughton
Patrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
, Peter Bowles
Peter Bowles
-Early life:Bowles was born in London, England, the son of Sarah Jane and Herbert Reginald Bowles. His father was a chauffeur and butler at a stately home in Warwickshire; but, upon the outbreak of World War II, he was seconded to work as an engineer at Rolls-Royce and moved the family to Nottingham...
, Sarah Douglas
Sarah Douglas
Sarah Douglas is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the Kryptonian supervillain Ursa in the first two Superman movies , and for her role as Pamela Lynch in the 1980s primetime drama series Falcon Crest .-Early life:Douglas was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire, the...
, David Prowse
David Prowse
David Prowse, MBE is an English former bodybuilder, weightlifter and actor, most widely known for playing the role of Darth Vader in physical form. In Britain, he is also remembered as having played the Green Cross Code man...
, Isla Blair
Isla Blair
Isla Blair is an India-born actress of British descent. She made her first stage appearance in 1963 as Philia in the London debut of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and her first credited film appearance in the 1965 horror film Dr. Terror's House of Horrors.- Biography :Isla Blair...
, Stuart Damon
Stuart Damon
Stuart Damon is an American actor. He is known for thirty years of portraying the character Dr. Alan Quartermaine on the American soap opera General Hospital, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1999....
and Brian Blessed
Brian Blessed
Brian Blessed is an English actor, known for his sonorous voice and "hearty, king-sized portrayals".-Early life:The son of William Blessed, a socialist miner, and Hilda Wall, Blessed was born in the town of Goldthorpe, West Riding of Yorkshire, England...
. (Blair, Damon and Blessed each appeared in two different episodes portraying two different characters.)
Catherine Schell
Catherine Schell
Katherina Freiin Schell von Bauschlott is an Hungarian-born actress best known for her work on British televison.Schell rose to fame in various British film and television productions in the 1960s and 1970s...
had guest-starred as a different character in the Year One episode 'Guardian of Piri' before moving into the role of Maya
Maya (Space: 1999)
Maya is a fictional character who appeared in the second series of the science fiction television program Space: 1999. Played by actress Catherine Schell , Maya was introduced in the second series opener 'The Metamorph'...
during the second series.
Conception and development
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
, proposed financing a second series of the Century 21 production UFO
UFO (TV series)
UFO is a 1970-1971 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth, created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.UFO first aired in the UK and Canada...
to show-runners Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Grade had one stipulation: the new series would be set primarily on the Moon within the environs of an expanded SHADO Moonbase; the ratings indicated the Moon-centric episodes had proved more popular with the viewers. The Andersons and their team would quickly revamp the production, flashing ahead nearly twenty years for UFO: 1999 with Commander Ed Straker and the forces of SHADO fighting their alien foes from a large new Moonbase facility.
However, toward the end of its run, UFO experienced a drop in ratings in both America and the UK; nervous ITC executives in both countries began to question the financial viability of the new series, and support for the project collapsed. In the meantime, Production Designer Keith Wilson
Keith Wilson (production designer)
Keith George Wilson was an award-winning production designer who began work at AP Films, working as art assistant on Fireball XL5 and many other Gerry Anderson productions to follow. As a production designer he created all the futuristic sets for Space: 1999 and Star Maidens...
and the art department, had made considerable progress in envisioning the look and design of the new series. Their work was then shelved for the foreseeable future.
Anderson would not let the project die; he approached Grade's number two in New York, Abe Mandell, with the proposal for taking the research and development done for UFO: 1999 and creating a new science fiction series. Mandell was amenable, but stated he did not want a series set featuring people 'having tea in the Midlands' and forbade any Earth-bound settings. Anderson responded that in the series opener, he would 'blow up the Earth'. Mandell countered that this concept might be off-putting to viewers, to which Anderson replied he would 'blow up the Moon'.
The Andersons reworked UFO: 1999 into a new premise: Commander Steven Maddox controlled the forces of WANDER, Earth's premier defence organisation, from Moon City, a twenty-mile wide installation on the Moon. Maddox would view all aspects of Earth defence from Central Control, a facility at the hub of the base and accessible only by Moon Hopper craft, which would require the correct pass-code to traverse Control's defensive laser barrier. The Commander would also have access to a personal computer called 'Com-Com' (Commander's Computer), which would act as a personal advisor, having been programmed with the Commander's personality and moral sense.
In the half-hour opening episode 'Zero-G' penned by the Andersons, Earth's deep space probes have discovered an advanced extraterrestrial civilisation. Maddox is kidnapped for an interview with the aliens. Angered by humanity's innate hostility and WANDER's defensive posture, they travel to Earth with the intent of isolating mankind within the boundary of Earth's atmosphere. Having judged Maddox a noble example of mankind, they return him unharmed. They then use a beam to reduce the Moon's gravitational influence to zero, sending it careening out of orbit into deep space.
The project continued forward. Group Three Productions (a partnership of the Andersons and production executive Reg Hill) would produce the series; ITC Entertainment and RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
would provide the funding. Grade, aiming for a US network sale, insisted the series have American leads and employ American writers and directors. George Bellak
George Bellak
George Bellak is an American television writer who has written episodes of Thriller , The Defenders and Cannon . He was a winner of Writers Guild of America Award....
, a well-known American television writer, was brought on staff. As stated by series writers Christopher Penfold
Christopher Penfold
Christopher Penfold is an English scriptwriter and editor.Television shows that he has worked on include Pathfinders, Take Me High, The Tripods, One by One, All Creatures Great and Small, EastEnders, Casualty and Midsomer Murders.Penfold is perhaps most well-known for being one of the brains behind...
and Johnny Byrne, it was Bellak who created and polished the series' defining concepts. Bellak wrote a ninety-minute opening episode entitled 'The Void Ahead' which was a close forerunner of 'Breakaway
Breakaway (Space: 1999)
"Breakaway" is the first episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by George Bellak ; the director was Lee H. Katzin. Previous titles include 'Zero-G', 'The Void Ahead' and 'Turning Point'. The final shooting script is dated 22 November 1973...
'. Bellak also set up a writers' guide defining the three leads, the facilities of the Moonbase and potential storylines.
At this point, the staff seemed to make creative changes that brought the series closer in concept and appearance to 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
. Even the title Space: 1999 evoked comparison with Kubrick's film. (Before, the title of the new series had greatly varied: Space Journey: 1999, Journey In Space, Menace In Space and Space Invaders—the invaders of the last title being the Earthmen trapped on the runaway Moon.)
For the lead characters of John Koenig and Helena Russell, Gerry Anderson approached the husband-and-wife acting team of Martin Landau
Martin Landau
Martin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
and Barbara Bain
Barbara Bain
Millicent Fogel , known professionally as Barbara Bain, is an American actress.-Early life:Bain was born in Chicago. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in sociology. She moved to New York City, where she was a dancer and high fashion model. Bain studied with...
. Landau and Bain were bankable high-profile stars in America after three years on the popular CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
espionage series Mission: Impossible. Producer Sylvia Anderson let it be known that she would have preferred British lead actors; since Grade insisted on Americans, she would have chosen Robert Culp
Robert Culp
Robert Martin Culp was an American actor, scriptwriter, voice actor and director, widely known for his work in television. Culp first earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on I Spy , the espionage series in which he and co-star Bill Cosby played a pair of secret agents...
(star of the 1960s espionage series I Spy) and Katharine Ross
Katharine Ross
Katharine Juliet Ross is an American film and stage actress. Trained at the San Francisco Workshop, she is perhaps best known for her role as Elaine Robinson in the 1967 film The Graduate, opposite Dustin Hoffman, which won her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and her role...
(co-star of 1960s blockbuster movies The Graduate
The Graduate
The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...
and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman...
). Lee H. Katzin
Lee H. Katzin
Lee H. Katzin was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, and became a TV director in the late 1960s, including episodes for Bonanza, Mission: Impossible and Police Story. He also directed the 1971 movie, Le Mans....
, a highly-respected American television director with a specialty for pilot episodes, was selected to helm the opening segment and brought into the fold as a primary director for the remainder of the series.
Visual effects, set design, costumes and music
The show's vehicles, including the Eagle space shuttle and the Moon BuggySpace 1999 moon buggy
The Moon Buggy is a fictional vehicle in Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's TV series Space: 1999. It is Moonbase Alpha's all purpose land vehicle...
, were represented with a mixture of full-sized props, photographic blow-ups, and detailed scale model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
s. Dozens of models for the various alien spaceships and the Mark IX Hawk
Mark IX Hawk
The Mark IX Hawk is a fictional spacecraft in the Space: 1999 television series. They are apparently designed specifically for combat, and are fast, maneuverable, and well-armed...
from the 'War Games
War Games (Space: 1999)
"War Games" is the seventeenth episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by Christopher Penfold; the director was Charles Crichton. The final shooting script is dated 15 October 1974...
' episode were built by model maker Martin Bower
Martin Bower
Martin Bower is a model maker and designer of special effects miniatures for both film and television. His credits include the television series Space: 1999 and the films Alien , Flash Gordon and Outland...
, often at several different sizes to account for the intended use.
Rather than relying on blue screen
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
techniques, à la Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, Johnson's team often employed a technique that went back to the earliest days of visual effects: spacecraft and planets would be filmed against black backgrounds, with the camera being rewound for each successive element. As long as the various elements did not overlap this produced convincing results. In technical terms, the advantage was that all of the elements were recorded on the original negative, as opposed to blue screen which would have involved several generations of duplication. The disadvantage was that the number of possible angles was more limited; for instance, a spaceship could be seen approaching a planet from the side, but could not move in front of it without the elements overlapping.
Special effects director Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson (special effects)
-Biography:Johnson's work on Space: 1999 set the tone for the Star Wars films to follow. George Lucas visited Johnson during the series production because he was so impressed with his work. Lucas asked Johnson to supervise the special effects for the first film but his prior commitment to Year 2 of...
and most of his team went on to work on Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
's Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
, followed by Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
. Many of the spacecraft were designed around their prescribed functionality rather than being glistening starships, adding a sense of realism that was replicated in future science-fiction features.
The uni-sex 'Moon City' uniforms for the first series were created by renowned German fashion designer Rudi Gernreich
Rudi Gernreich
Rudi Gernreich was a Austrian-born American fashion designer and gay activist.-Biography:Born in Vienna, Gernreich fled Austria at age 16 due to Nazism, and later migrated to the United States, settling in Los Angeles, California...
, a personal friend of series' star Barbara Bain. Other costumes were designed by Production Designer Keith Wilson
Keith Wilson (production designer)
Keith George Wilson was an award-winning production designer who began work at AP Films, working as art assistant on Fireball XL5 and many other Gerry Anderson productions to follow. As a production designer he created all the futuristic sets for Space: 1999 and Star Maidens...
, who was also responsible for set design. Wilson's innovative Moonbase set construction, using four-foot by eight-foot plastic foam-board panels linked together Lego-like into whatever room configuration was required, made for a uniform and realistic appearance for the Alpha interiors (not to mention relatively cheap and quickly assembled). A muted colour pallette and the integration of recognisable equipment and accessories added to the verisimilitude.
For the second series, the Moonbase uniforms were updated having been perceived by some as 'bland'. Coloured decorative stitching and turtleneck collars were added, as were various badges and patches. Red, navy or dark-green jackets also appeared, originally on just the senior staff, then on many of the male extras. The women characters tended to wear skirts and knee high boots throughout the second series, rather than the flared trousers used in Series one. The costumes for series two were designed by Emma Porteous, who later designed the wardrobes for several James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films.
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
.)
The opening credits for the first series featured a dramatic fanfare composed by long-time Anderson associate Barry Gray
Barry Gray
Barry Gray was a British musician and composer who is best known for his work for Gerry Anderson.-Life:...
, whose scores for the series were his final compositions for an Anderson production. Gray scored five episodes—'Breakaway
Breakaway (Space: 1999)
"Breakaway" is the first episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by George Bellak ; the director was Lee H. Katzin. Previous titles include 'Zero-G', 'The Void Ahead' and 'Turning Point'. The final shooting script is dated 22 November 1973...
', 'Matter of Life and Death
Matter of Life and Death (Space: 1999)
"Matter of Life and Death" is the second episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by Art Wallace and Johnny Byrne; the director was Charles Crichton. The original title was 'Siren Planet'. The final shooting script is dated 8 January 1974...
', 'Black Sun', 'Another Time, Another Place
Another Time, Another Place (Space: 1999)
"Another Time, Another Place" is the sixth episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne; the director was David Tomblin. The final shooting script is dated 20 January 1974, with blue-page amendments dated 25 January and 1 April 1974. Live-action filming...
' and 'The Full Circle'—Vic Elms provided a completely electronic score for 'Ring Around the Moon' and Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan is an English musician, whose career started in 1959. He is best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, Sullivan was one of the most "in-demand" studio musicians in the UK, and performed in more than one thousand charting singles over his career...
performed a one-off sitar composition for 'The Troubled Spirit
The Troubled Spirit
"The Troubled Spirit" is the nineteenth episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne; the director was Ray Austin. The final shooting script is dated 11 November 1974...
'. Library music, classical compositions and score excerpts from earlier Anderson productions augmented the five Gray scores and gave the impression of an expansive musical repertoire.
The second series was scored by jazz-musician and composer Derek Wadsworth
Derek Wadsworth
Derek Wadsworth was a British jazz trombonist, session musician, composer and arranger....
; American producer Fred Freiberger
Fred Freiberger
Fred Freiberger was an American film and television screenwriter and television producer, with a career spanning four decades including The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Star Trek, and Space: 1999...
wanted a more 'driving, searing' score for his new action-adventure format. Wadsworth composed original music for 'The Metamorph
The Metamorph
"The Metamorph" is the first episode of the second series of Space: 1999 . The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne; the director was Charles Crichton. Previous titles were 'The Biological Soul' and 'The Biological Computer'. The final shooting script is dated 19 January 1976...
', 'The Exiles
The Exiles
"The Exiles" is a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury. It was originally published as "The Mad Wizards of Mars" in Maclean's on 15 September 1949 and was reprinted the following year by Fantasy Fiction, Inc...
', 'One Moment of Humanity', 'The Taybor' and 'Space Warp
Space Warp
Space Warp is a fixed shooter arcade game released by Century in 1983.-Gameplay:The game begin with one single shot ship and by destroying various enemy, it is possible to dock with other ships , until a maximum of 3 docked ships obtaining improved fire ratio....
', that music being assembled for reuse in the other episodes to accompany appropriately similar thematic content.
One may note influences of other Anderson shows on the Space: 1999 spacecraft and elements. The cockpit of the Eagle has a slight resemblance to the cockpit of an earlier Anderson Supermarionation
Supermarionation
Supermarionation is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films. It was used extensively in the company's numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced action-adventure series, the most famous of which was Thunderbirds...
series, Fireball XL5. Thruster and engine sounds also may have had previous use in Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, and Captain Scarlet. Lighting effects for Moonbase Alpha may have come from UFO, as did the concept of the elevating spacecraft launch pad.
The original Moonbase Alpha model reappeared in the public eye after almost 30 years on www.eagletransporter.com when the site gained exclusive access to photomap the model and solicit its sale. Images of the model as it is today can be seen here.
Production of Series One
Christopher Penfold
Christopher Penfold is an English scriptwriter and editor.Television shows that he has worked on include Pathfinders, Take Me High, The Tripods, One by One, All Creatures Great and Small, EastEnders, Casualty and Midsomer Murders.Penfold is perhaps most well-known for being one of the brains behind...
acted as head writer, bringing in American writer Edward di Lorenzo
Edward di Lorenzo
Edward di Lorenzo is a screenwriter with a cult following among fans of Gerry Anderson's science fiction TV series Space: 1999.He also wrote for series Miami Vice and The Wild Wild West...
and Irish poet Johnny Byrne as script editors. Penfold reworked Bellak's opening episode into a one-hour draft first re-titled 'Turning Point', then finalised as 'Breakaway'.
One week before live action filming commenced, Visual Effects Supervisor Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson (special effects)
-Biography:Johnson's work on Space: 1999 set the tone for the Star Wars films to follow. George Lucas visited Johnson during the series production because he was so impressed with his work. Lucas asked Johnson to supervise the special effects for the first film but his prior commitment to Year 2 of...
and his team began work on the visual effects sequences for the first episode at Bray Studios on 5 November 1973. For the first six weeks, no usable footage resulted until the team discovered a dragging break had affected film speed. Studio rehearsals commenced at Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
, Borehamwood on 12 November 1973. During filming of the first episode, it became apparent that the troubled Elstree was under the threat of imminent closure. One weekend, the company itself secretly relocated sets, props, costumes, etc., to the nearby Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
, resulting in a union black-listing of the production.
Scheduled for ten days' filming, 'Breakaway' overran an additional fifteen days. Lee Katzin was a perfectionist and demanded take after take of scenes; even coverage of reaction shots of the background extras required running a whole scene from beginning to end. His two-hour director's cut was assembled and sent to ITC New York for a viewing. Abe Mandell was horrified by the finished product. Anderson re-wrote several key scenes and, after three days of re-shoots, re-edited the pilot into a one-hour episode that appeased the fears of ITC. Katzin was not asked back to the programme after the filming of his second episode 'Black Sun', which also ran over schedule.
Scheduled for a twelve-month shoot, the twenty-four episodes took fifteen months to complete, with the production experiencing as many hazards as their fictional creations. Britain's mandatory three-day work week and the unplugging of the National Grid during the coal shortages of the early 1970s did not delay filming (as Pinewood had its own generators), but it affected film processing (the lab was an off-site contractor).
Group Three's commitment to its financial partner, Italian broadcasting company RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
, to include Italian actors in the cast also had to be addressed. Originally, two supporting roles were intended for Italian actors; with the casting of Nick Tate
Nick Tate
Nicholas John "Nick" Tate is an Australian actor best known for his role as Eagle pilot Alan Carter in both seasons of the 1970s science fiction television series Space: 1999, as well as for playing the role of Gordon Hamilton's errant brother James in the 1980's soap opera "Sons and...
and Zienia Merton
Zienia Merton
Zienia Merton is a British actress born in Burma. Her mother was Burmese, and her father half English, half French. She was raised in Singapore, Borneo, Portugal, and England....
in those roles, a solution had to be worked out. Four of the later episodes produced ('The Troubled Spirit
The Troubled Spirit
"The Troubled Spirit" is the nineteenth episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne; the director was Ray Austin. The final shooting script is dated 11 November 1974...
', 'Space Brain', 'Dragon's Domain' and 'The Testament of Arkadia
The Testament of Arkadia
"The Testament of Arkadia" is the twenty-fourth and final episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne; the director was David Tomblin. The final shooting script is dated 5 February 1975, with a revised final shooting script dated 25 February 1975...
') featured Italian guest artists.
The necessity to telex story outlines and scripts to New York for approval caused further production delays. The incessant re-writing this brought about eventually caused Christopher Penfold
Christopher Penfold
Christopher Penfold is an English scriptwriter and editor.Television shows that he has worked on include Pathfinders, Take Me High, The Tripods, One by One, All Creatures Great and Small, EastEnders, Casualty and Midsomer Murders.Penfold is perhaps most well-known for being one of the brains behind...
to resign during the shooting of 'Space Brain', after completing his writing commitment with the script 'Dragon's Domain'. In a later interview, Johnny Byrne stated that "one episode they (New York) would ask us to speed things up, forcing us to cut out character development; then the next episode, they asked for more character moments, which would slow down the action; then they would complain there weren't enough pretty girls in another." Years later, Byrne and Penfold would agree that the process they worked under made 'good scripts less than they had been' and forced them to waste time re-writing 'bad scripts to make them acceptable'. Byrne remained until the end of production; his last task writing filler scenes for the desperately short 'The Last Enemy
The Last Enemy (Space: 1999 )
"The Last Enemy" is the eighteenth episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by Bob Kellett ; the director was Bob Kellett. Previous titles include 'The Second Sex' and 'The Other Enemy'. The final shooting script is dated 25 October 1974...
' and a re-shoot for the troublesome 'Space Brain'. The scenes re-mounted for 'The Last Enemy' concluded principal photography on 28 February 1975.
Broadcast and reception of Series One
The series premiered in 1975, nearly two years after the start of production. In the United Kingdom the series was originally seen on ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
stations but was not simulcast nationally until a screening run on BBC2 in 1998-1999. The initial screenings in two of the most major TV regions was opposite the second episode of the 13th season of BBC1's perennial sci-fi series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, and although the ratings for 'Terror of the Zygons
Terror of the Zygons
Terror of the Zygons is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 30 August to 20 September 1975...
' fell by 2.3 million viewers from the first episode of the story, the audience response was such that while Doctor Whos ratings for the season climbed to well over 12 million, its commercial rival's audience and appreciation fell throughout the run to the disappointment of all concerned.
In the United States, efforts to sell the series to one of the three networks for the 1974-1975 or 1975-1976 television seasons failed. The networks were uninterested in a project over which they had no creative control, being presented with the accomplished fact of twenty-four completed episodes. (Actually, Mandell had secured a 'handshake' agreement with a network executive in 1974, but after the man's termination, all his projects were abandoned.) Undaunted, Abe Mandell created what he called his own 'Space: 1999 Network' and sold the completed program into first-run syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
directly to local stations. Much of the publicity mentioned the then-staggering three million pound budget: as a part of the American promotion effort, a glossy magazine-sized brochure was produced, touting Space: 1999 as the 'Six-and-a-Half Million Dollar Series' (an allusion to the then-popular American programme The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
) featuring American stars, American writers and American directors.
In the months leading to the beginning of the fall (autumn), 1975 television season (in the U.S., September is traditionally the month in which new TV series begin), Landau and Bain participated in special preview screenings in select cities. Landau is said to have personally contacted editors of the widely read and influential TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
magazine in some markets to secure coverage of Space: 1999 in its pages upon learning of ITC's somewhat poor promotional efforts.
While most of the U.S. stations that aired Space: 1999 were independent (such as powerful Chicago station WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
, Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
station WDRB-TV, Los Angeles station KHJ-TV
KCAL-TV
KCAL-TV, channel 9, is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, USA, owned by the CBS Corporation. KCAL-TV shares its studio facilities with KCBS-TV inside CBS Studio Center in the Studio City section of Los Angeles, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson.-Digital...
, and New York City's WPIX-TV), a handful were affiliated with the major networks (such as Charlotte, N.C.'s WSOC-TV
WSOC-TV
WSOC-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is owned by Cox Enterprises. The station's studio is located at North Tryon and 23rd Streets, just north of Uptown Charlotte, and is shared with sister station WAXN-TV . The transmitter is located just outside...
, at the time a strong NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate, and Fresno's KFSN-TV
KFSN-TV
KFSN-TV, UHF channel 30, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Fresno, California. The station's transmitter is located in Meadow Lakes, California. Its signal covers the Central San Joaquin Valley and the mountain...
, at the time a CBS affiliate) and sometimes pre-empted regular network programming to show episodes of the series; most U.S. stations broadcast the episodes in the weekday evening hour just before prime time or on weekends. The series was broadcast in 96 countries, mostly from 1975 to 1979. However, it aired in its entirety in very few countries. Often there were long gaps between first run and rerun or even within first run.
It was shown in Italy as Spazio: 1999, Argentina, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Guatemala, francophone Canada, and France as Cosmos: 1999, Denmark as Månebase Alpha, Brazil and Portugal as Espaço: 1999, Germany as Mondbasis Alpha 1, Sweden as Månbas Alpha, Poland as Kosmos 1999 (1977–1979), Finland as Avaruusasema Alfa, Greece as Διάστημα 1999 (1989-1990), Hungary as Alfa Holdbázis, Spain, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
as Espacio: 1999, Mexico as Odisea 1999, Turkey as Uzay 1999 and South Africa as Alpha 1999 (1976, dubbed into Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
).
Countries where the show was popular include Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, Poland, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, South Africa, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Japan, Malaysia, Canada, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, South Korea and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. One of the first previews of the series was in Australia on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
in July 1975, but the station later split the first series into two seasons. The second season was shown in 1979.
In the UK, the episodes of the show's second season were shown sporadically over a period of a couple of years, starting in 1976 while the last episodes were still in production. In some regions the final first-run episodes appeared in 1978, more than a year after they were produced; in other regions of the UK, the second series was never shown.
In Canada, CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
was the broadcaster of Space: 1999 from 1975 into the 1980s. The first season in 1975-1976 was shown regionally on some CBC owned-and-operated stations, the airtime varying. With the start of the second season in September 1976, CBC Television upgraded Space: 1999 to full-network status, airing it Saturdays on all CBC owned-and-operated stations, with affiliated, privately-owned stations also offering the show on Saturdays. Most of the country saw Space: 1999 at 5 p.m. on Saturdays, a notable exception being the Atlantic Provinces in which it was broadcast at 6 or 6:30 p.m. (their time) or - as was the case in the summers - sometime earlier in the afternoon to accommodate live sports coverage, the airing of which crossed into or totally over the usual Space: 1999 airtime. After the 1976-1977 broadcast year (in which second season episodes were run and rerun), the show's ratings were sufficiently high for CBC Television to give the first season a full-network airing - and with further repeats - in 1977-1978. The French-language CBC Television, Radio-Canada, showed Cosmos: 1999 several times (both seasons) between 1975 and 1980, first on Mondays (1975–1976), then on Saturdays (1976–1977), then on Mondays (1979), and finally on Wednesdays (1979–1980). Radio-Canada on its website is currently including Cosmos 1999 in a Vintage Series free webcast.
Reception
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
criticised the scientific accuracy of the series by pointing out that any explosion capable of knocking the Moon out of its orbit would actually blow it apart, and even if it did leave orbit it would take thousands of years to reach the nearest star. (He also praised the programme for its superbly accurate representation of movement in the low gravity environment of the Moon and for its clinical, realistic production design.) Gerry and Sylvia Anderson were surprised and disappointed that the public (and critics) never granted them the 'suspension of disbelief' given to other science-fiction programmes.
Cancellation, reprieve and changes
Following the completion of the first series, the production team prepared for a second series to commence production in the autumn of 1975. Gerry Anderson had staff writer Johnny Byrne prepare a critical analysis of the first twenty-four episodes, assessing their strengths and weaknesses in order to mount a new and improved second year. Byrne then commenced writing scripts in an improved first-series format: 'The Biological Soul', 'The Face of Eden', and 'Children of the Gods'. He engaged British writer Donald JamesDonald James
Donald James was the author of the bestselling novels Vadim, Monstrum, The Fortune Teller and The Fall of the Russian Empire as well as non-fiction books such as The Penguin Dictionary of the Third Reich...
to develop his first-series format story 'The Exiles'.
The largest stumbling block for the staff had been having all material vetted by ITC's New York office. ITC's compromise was to hire a high-profile American staff writer-producer. At this time, Sylvia Anderson left her role as producer and Gerry Anderson's wife when they formally separated (and subsequently divorced). Fred Freiberger
Fred Freiberger
Fred Freiberger was an American film and television screenwriter and television producer, with a career spanning four decades including The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Star Trek, and Space: 1999...
, whom Gerry Anderson had considered for the writing position, was then brought on board to help guide the series as a producer and acted as show-runner. Freiberger had produced the third and final season of Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
in 1968–1969 and eight episodes of the first season of The Wild Wild West
The Wild Wild West
The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on CBS for four seasons from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1969....
(including one in which Martin Landau guest-starred) before being dismissed. Immediately after Space: 1999 he would go on to produce what would be the final season of The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
. His writing credits included Slattery's People
Slattery's People
Slattery's People is a 1964-1965 American television series about local politics starring Richard Crenna as title character James Slattery, a state legislator, co-starring Ed Asner and Tol Avery, and featuring Carroll O'Connor and Warren Oates in a couple of episodes each. James E. Moser was...
, The Iron Horse, All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
, Petrocelli
Petrocelli
Petrocelli is an American legal drama which ran for two seasons on NBC from September 11, 1974 to March 31, 1976.-Plot:Tony Petrocelli was an Italian-American Harvard-educated lawyer who grew up in South Boston and gave up the big money and frenetic pace of major-metropolitan life to practice in a...
, and Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC...
. Though Anderson and Grade were satisfied with this choice, Abe Mandell had concerns about why he was unemployed and available at the time.
Then ITC Entertainment
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
President Sir Lew Grade
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
abruptly cancelled the series' production in late 1975 when ratings in the United States had dropped during the later autumn months of the year. Grade had already been disappointed by the lack of an American network broadcast sale. Gerry Anderson and Fred Freiberger rallied and pitched the idea of a new series with the addition of the alien Maya
Maya (Space: 1999)
Maya is a fictional character who appeared in the second series of the science fiction television program Space: 1999. Played by actress Catherine Schell , Maya was introduced in the second series opener 'The Metamorph'...
. The argument was that an alien character on Moonbase Alpha would shake up the dynamic of interaction on the Moonbase and regain viewer interest in the United States. On the strength of Anderson and Freiberger's proposal of adding an alien character from the planet Psychon named Maya who could transform into any lifeform in the blink of an eye, Mandell approved a renewal of the series for a second year.
In addition to the alien Maya character, to be played by Catherine Schell
Catherine Schell
Katherina Freiin Schell von Bauschlott is an Hungarian-born actress best known for her work on British televison.Schell rose to fame in various British film and television productions in the 1960s and 1970s...
, were numerous other changes for what was branded as Year Two. The most visible change was the absence of Professor Bergman
Victor Bergman
Professor Victor Bergman is the name of a recurring character on the UK science fiction television series Space: 1999. The role was portrayed by actor Barry Morse.-Character Biography:...
(Barry Morse
Barry Morse
Herbert "Barry" Morse was an Anglo-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio best known for his roles in the ABC television series The Fugitive and the British sci-fi drama Space: 1999...
). Morse's departure was due to a salary dispute, but he later claimed that he was glad to leave, and he had told Anderson: "I would rather play with grown-ups for a while." With Morse gone, the role of the boffin on Alpha was filled completely by Maya, whose people's science was far in advance of mankind's. Also, her character was conceived to be able to provide 'outside observation of human behaviour' as had been provided by the character of Mr. Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
on Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
. Maya shared Spock's logical approach to problem-solving and advanced intelligence, but differed in that she was a charming, fully emotional person. Most importantly, however, her Psychon abilities as a metamorph with the power of "molecular transformation" allowed her to convert herself into any living thing for an hour at a time, were designed to add a certain 'wow' factor to the newly-revamped series. Maya had an impish sense of humour. When love-interest Tony Verdeschi
Tony Verdeschi
Tony Verdeschi is a fictional character who first appeared in the second series of the science fiction television series Space: 1999. He is in his early thirties....
offered her some of his home-brewed beer, Maya tried it, then turned herself into Mister Hyde. Schell had previously guest-starred as the Servant of the Guardian in the Year One episode 'Guardian of Piri'.
In addition to Bergman, Year One supporting characters Paul Morrow
Paul Morrow
Paul Morrow is a fictional character who first appeared in 'Breakaway', the premiere episode of the science fiction television show Space: 1999, and was portrayed by Prentis Hancock. He is a British national who appears to be in his early thirties....
(Prentis Hancock
Prentis Hancock
Prentis Hancock is a British actor, best known for his television roles.He was a regular cast member of the first season of science fiction series Space: 1999 as Paul Morrow, and also appeared in a number of Doctor Who stories throughout the 1970s - Spearhead from Space and Planet of the Daleks...
), David Kano
David Kano (Space 1999)
David Kano is a fictional character who regularly appeared during the first season of the science fiction television series Space: 1999. He is of Jamaican origin and in his mid-thirties. He was played by actor Clifton Jones.-Character biography:...
(Clifton Jones
Clifton Jones
Clifton Jones is an actor, mostly known for his roles on British television.His most prominent role is probably that of David Kano during the first season of the science fiction series Space: 1999....
) and Tanya Alexander
Tanya Alexander
Tanya Alexander is the name of a semi-recurring character on the UK science fiction television series Space: 1999. The role was portrayed by German actress Suzanne Roquette.-Character Biography:...
(Suzanne Roquette
Suzanne Roquette
Suzanne Roquette is an actress, who remains best known for her role as Tanya Alexander in the science fiction television series Space 1999....
) were also removed from the cast (Paul and Tanya's disappearance is explained in the Powys Media book The Forsaken by John Kenneth Muir). Dr. Bob Mathias
Bob Mathias (Space: 1999)
Bob Mathias is a fictional character from the British science-fiction television series Space: 1999. He is played by actor Anton Phillips.-Character Biography:...
(Anton Phillips
Anton Phillips
Anton Phillips is an actor who found success appearing in British television. He remains best known for his role as Dr. Bob Mathias in the science fiction series Space 1999.-Early life and education:...
) was present in the first two Year Two episodes, was mentioned in the third episode, and then also disappeared without a trace. His character was replaced by several recurring physicians. Alan Carter
Alan Carter (Space 1999)
Alan Carter is a fictional character from the television series Space: 1999. He was played by Nick Tate. He is of Australian origin and is in his early thirties.-Character biography:...
(Nick Tate
Nick Tate
Nicholas John "Nick" Tate is an Australian actor best known for his role as Eagle pilot Alan Carter in both seasons of the 1970s science fiction television series Space: 1999, as well as for playing the role of Gordon Hamilton's errant brother James in the 1980's soap opera "Sons and...
) was to have been written out of the series, but he had become so popular with fans that he remained. Sandra Benes
Sandra Benes
Sandra Benes is a recurring character in the British science-fiction television series Space: 1999. She is of Western European/Burmese origin and is in her late twenties. Her role was played by actress Zienia Merton.-Character Biography:...
(Zienia Merton
Zienia Merton
Zienia Merton is a British actress born in Burma. Her mother was Burmese, and her father half English, half French. She was raised in Singapore, Borneo, Portugal, and England....
) remained with the series in an on-again off-again association, but her name was shortened to "Sahn" and the character only appeared in a fraction of the episodes, albeit more prominently in some episodes than in many of those of the first series.
Along with Maya, Tony Anholt
Tony Anholt
Anthony "Tony" Anholt was a British actor best known for his roles as Security Chief Tony Verdeschi in the second season of Gerry Anderson's television series Space: 1999 , Paul Buchet in The Protectors and as Charles Frere in the highly-successful BBC drama series Howards' Way .Anholt was...
was added to the cast in Year Two as Security Chief Tony Verdeschi
Tony Verdeschi
Tony Verdeschi is a fictional character who first appeared in the second series of the science fiction television series Space: 1999. He is in his early thirties....
, a character who neither appeared nor was ever mentioned in Year One. His character was designed to serve primarily as a secondary male action hero, and became a romantic interest for Maya.
No on-screen explanations were offered for the cast changes. One scene in 'The Metamorph
The Metamorph
"The Metamorph" is the first episode of the second series of Space: 1999 . The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne; the director was Charles Crichton. Previous titles were 'The Biological Soul' and 'The Biological Computer'. The final shooting script is dated 19 January 1976...
' mentioning Bergman's death was scripted and filmed, but cut from the final edit. The Moonbase Alpha Technical Manual produced by Starlog
Starlog
Starlog was a monthly science-fiction film magazine published by Starlog Group Inc. The magazine was created by publishers Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs. O'Quinn was the magazine's editor while Jacobs ran the business side of things, dealing with typesetters, engravers and printers. They got...
magazine picks up this explanation, stating Bergman died due to a faulty spacesuit per the scripted scene. Likewise, it was mentioned in this publication that Morrow and Kano had died in an Eagle crash between seasons, and explained that Dr. Mathias, supposedly Alpha's psychiatrist
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
(although he seems to be more Russell's assistant) was on sabbatical doing research. Fred Freiberger felt that these characters were one-dimensional and had no fan support; he told Nick Tate that the audience would not remember them and that, as far as he was concerned, they were just 'somewhere else' on Alpha, lost in the crowd of three hundred other people.
Other changes included the main titles
Opening credits
In a motion picture, television program, or video game, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There...
and theme music
Theme music
Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
. The montage of events from "Breakaway
Breakaway (Space: 1999)
"Breakaway" is the first episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by George Bellak ; the director was Lee H. Katzin. Previous titles include 'Zero-G', 'The Void Ahead' and 'Turning Point'. The final shooting script is dated 22 November 1973...
" and the episode about to unfold featured in Year One was dropped in favour of a special-effects sequence depicting the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
being blown out of orbit into space. With Morse gone, Schell was featured in his place as a regular alongside Landau and Bain, and all three were depicted in action-oriented images as opposed to the mannequin
Mannequin
A mannequin is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing...
-like stances Landau and Bain had assumed in the Year One main titles. New series composer Derek Wadsworth
Derek Wadsworth
Derek Wadsworth was a British jazz trombonist, session musician, composer and arranger....
's new theme dropped Barry Gray
Barry Gray
Barry Gray was a British musician and composer who is best known for his work for Gerry Anderson.-Life:...
's alternation between stately, orchestral passages and funky rhythmic ones in favour of a more consistently contemporary piece.
Rudi Gernreich
Rudi Gernreich
Rudi Gernreich was a Austrian-born American fashion designer and gay activist.-Biography:Born in Vienna, Gernreich fled Austria at age 16 due to Nazism, and later migrated to the United States, settling in Los Angeles, California...
's minimalist costume was considerably modified from the original unisex
Unisex
Unisex stands for the meaning that either gender or sex will be able to, but can also be another term for gender-blindness.The term was coined in the 1962 and was used fairly informally...
design to include an optional skirt
Skirt
A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs.In the western world, skirts are usually considered women's clothing. However, there are exceptions...
for women and much more detail work on the tunic
Tunic
A tunic is any of several types of clothing for the body, of various lengths reaching from the shoulders to somewhere between the hips and the ankles...
portion, including turtleneck collars, coloured stitching, patches and photo ID badges. In addition, colourful jackets – generally red, blue or green – became part of most characters' ensembles.
The expansive Main Mission set, with its balcony
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
and windows revealing the lunar surface, was replaced by a more compact Command Centre, supposedly deep underground. (Once again, this change was explained in the Year Two Writers' Bible and Technical Manual as necessary for security, but never shared with viewers). Medical Centre, Generator Section, Life Support and the Alphans' living quarters became smaller, while the interior of the Eagle command module was updated with additional buttons, flashing lights and television monitors, while the Eagle also lost a section of corridor (the galley/storage area) between the passenger module and the cockpit. (This was to accommodate its placement on Pinewood Soundstage 'L', with the other standing Alpha sets; the Eagle was permanently affixed to the boarding tube/travel tube set and jammed between the travel-tube reception area and the Medical Centre.)
The sombre mood created in Year One by the effective use of light and shadow in the filming of Moonbase Alpha interiors was abandoned in favour of a generally brighter cinematography, and even the lettering used in signage and costuming—most noticeable on spacesuits and Eagle Transporter doors—changed to a simpler, less futuristic style.
Production Designer Keith Wilson
Keith Wilson (production designer)
Keith George Wilson was an award-winning production designer who began work at AP Films, working as art assistant on Fireball XL5 and many other Gerry Anderson productions to follow. As a production designer he created all the futuristic sets for Space: 1999 and Star Maidens...
stated in an interview in Destination: Moonbase Alpha that he was always being ordered by Producer Fred Freiberger
Fred Freiberger
Fred Freiberger was an American film and television screenwriter and television producer, with a career spanning four decades including The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Star Trek, and Space: 1999...
to make sets smaller, taking away the expansive (and expensive) feeling of the first series' interiors. Freiberger was very budget-conscious and, despite press releases to the contrary, the production team was working with less money this series. If there had been a budget increase, the 'stagflation
Stagflation
In economics, stagflation is a situation in which the inflation rate is high and the economic growth rate slows down and unemployment remains steadily high...
' economy of the seventies would have canceled it out. When interviewed, many of the actors state they were asked to accept less money, including Landau and Bain (who were the only ones with enough clout to be able to refuse).
Freiberger emphasised action-adventure in Year Two stories to the exclusion of metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
themes explored in Year One. Of Year One, he commented, "They were doing the show as an English show, where there was no story, with the people standing around and talking. In the first show I did, I stressed action as well as character development, along with strong story content, to prove that 1999 could stand up to the American concept of what an action-adventure show should be." Since Year One was quite serious in tone, one of Frieberger's ways to accomplish this objective was to inject humor into Year Two stories whenever possible, but much of it seemed to the more vocal fans to be forced, especially at the conclusion of an episode, where the Alphans were seen as jovial and light-hearted despite whatever violent or tragic events may have previously befallen them.
Members of the Space: 1999 cast were disenchanted with the scripts. Martin Landau: "They changed it because a bunch of American minds got into the act and they decided to do many things they felt were commercial. Fred Freiberger helped in some respects, but, overall, I don't think he helped the show, I think he brought a much more ordinary, mundane approach to the series." One particular episode ('All That Glisters
All That Glisters (Space: 1999)
"All That Glisters" is the fourth episode of the second series of Space: 1999 . The screenplay was written by Keith Miles; the director was Ray Austin. The final shooting script is dated 9 March 1976...
', which dealt with the threat of an intelligent rock) was of such allegedly deficient quality that it sparked a confrontation between Freiberger and the cast. Landau disliked the story so strongly that he wrote the following notes on his copy of the script: 'All the credibility we're building up is totally forsaken in this script!'; '...Story is told poorly!'; and 'The character of Koenig takes a terrible beating in this script—We're all shmucks!' Anholt revealed that, 'the more the cast complained about a script's flaws, the more intractable and unyielding Freiberger became.' Dissatisfaction on Landau's part about scripts was not new to Year Two, though. Sylvia Anderson remembers that he often voiced criticisms of scripts during production of the first series.
Production of Series Two
Maya (Space: 1999)
Maya is a fictional character who appeared in the second series of the science fiction television program Space: 1999. Played by actress Catherine Schell , Maya was introduced in the second series opener 'The Metamorph'...
and the rest of the format changes. Production began on 26 January 1976 and was scheduled to last a mere ten months due to the already-late renewal order.
To fulfil the scheduling requirement, Freiberger came up with the 'double-up script' solution. During 'double-up' instalments, two first-unit production teams would film two episodes simultaneously. Landau and some of the supporting cast would be given expanded roles and would film an episode on location or sets constructed for that story in Pinewood's Soundstage 'M' while Bain and the remaining supporting cast (also in expanded roles) would film their episode in the standing Alpha sets on Soundstage 'L'. Landau and Bain would then be given minor roles in the opposing episodes. This cost- and time-saving measure was used to complete eight stories: 'The Rules of Luton'/'The Mark of Archanon
The Mark of Archanon
"The Mark of Archanon" is the eighth episode of the second series of Space: 1999 . The screenplay was written by Lew Schwarz; the director was Charles Crichton. The final shooting script is dated 12 April 1976, with amendments dated 21 April, 26 April, 27 April and 28 April 1976...
', 'The AB Chrysalis'/'Catacombs of the Moon', 'A Matter of Balance'/'Space Warp
Space Warp
Space Warp is a fixed shooter arcade game released by Century in 1983.-Gameplay:The game begin with one single shot ship and by destroying various enemy, it is possible to dock with other ships , until a maximum of 3 docked ships obtaining improved fire ratio....
' and 'Devil's Planet
Devil's Planet
"Devil's Planet" is the twenty-second episode of the second series of Space: 1999 . The screenplay was written by Michael Winder; the director was Tom Clegg. The original title was 'Devil's Moon'. The final shooting script is dated 9 September 1976...
'/'Dorzak'. A ninth episode, 'The Beta Cloud', was intentionally scripted with only one-day's worth of work for the Landaus to allow their planned holiday to the French Riviera not to delay the series' production; the four supporting cast members (Schell, Anholt, Tate and Merton) were the recipients of much greater than usual exposure.
Relations between new producer Freiberger and the Year One veterans were strained. Landau complained about stories he felt were light-weight or absurd when compared to the previous year's efforts. His feelings can be summed up from comments written on the cover of a script: "I'm not going out on a limb for this show because I'm not in accord with what you're (Freiberger) doing as a result... etc. I don't think I even want to do the promos -- I don't want to push the show any more as I have in the past. It's not my idea of what the show should be. It's embarrassing to me if I am not the star of it and in the way I feel it should be . This year should be more important to it, not less important to it... I might as well work less hard in all of them." Johnny Byrne has gone on record saying that Freiberger was a good man and good producer, but not good for Space: 1999. He had gotten them a second year after the cancellation, but the changes he made did not benefit the programme.
Principal photography came to an end on 23 December 1976 with 'The Dorcons
The Dorcons
"The Dorcons" is the twenty-fourth episode of the second series of Space: 1999 . The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne; the director was Tom Clegg. Original titles were 'Last of the Psychons' and 'Return of the Dorcons'. The final shooting script is dated 17 November 1976...
'. An article regarding a third series was printed in the trade papers: "Now entrenched in its successful second season boom, ITC is looking forward to a third season with more fantastic events and additions, although mum's the word at the studio. They will only say that Maya and Miss Schell will be kept in and that the budget may be raised again, But that's all until final preparations and an official announcement are made."
Broadcast and reception of Series Two
Year Two did nevertheless fare admirably on CBC TelevisionCBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
in Canada, airing in English in a family viewing period, late Saturday afternoons before the hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
broadcasts, with a mostly undisrupted run and rerun of all 24 episodes from September 1976 through September 1977. And Year Two episodes ran in French Canada-wide during the same broadcast year, in early evening on Saturdays. Ratings were sufficient for a full additional year's transmission of Year One in the English CBC Saturday programming slot in 1977-1978. Episodes of both Year One and Year Two were repeated regionally in Canada in English and French through the early-to-mid-1980s. YTV Canada broadcast both seasons with reportedly good ratings in 1990-1992, in a late Saturday afternoon airtime closely matching that of the CBC English network in the 1970s.
In contrast to its airing on the CBC, the presentation of Year Two was not as consistent elsewhere in the world. In certain UK regions, some Year Two episodes did not air until nearly two years after they were produced, while the regional ITV station HTV (serving Wales and West of England) did not pick the series up until 1984, and then only showed nineteen out of the twenty-four episodes from series two (the last episodes were not screened in Wales until the series was broadcast by Bravo on the Sky Satellite network in the mid 1990s). Plans were nevertheless put in place for a third season, but still dropping ratings and fewer syndication and commercial sponsor sales contributed to the series' cancellation. Landau faulted Lew Grade
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
's foray into film production; the projected budget for the third season was, coincidentally, equivalent to the advertising budget for Raise the Titanic, and some commentators have suggested that it came down to one or the other. However, since Raise the Titanic did not start principal photography until 1979 (and was not advertised or released until the following year), it is more likely that money which ITC might have allocated to a third season of Space: 1999 instead paid for the production of the company's Return of the Saint
Return of the Saint
Return of the Saint was a British action-adventure television series that aired for one season in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States...
television series.
Fan and critics' responses to the new series varied. Some missed the mystical plotlines, feature-film ambiance and the 'British-ness' of the first series. Others embraced the new characters, down-to-earth characterisations and pulsing action beats. Comparisons with Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
were inevitable and used by both camps to show how the series had been either saved or destroyed by the format change.
The abortive Year Three
While the third series of Space: 1999 never actually entered production, the producers and studio had originally intended continuing the show. As filming on Year Two came to its conclusion, it became apparent that this was simply not going to happen and the series ended with the episode "The DorconsThe Dorcons
"The Dorcons" is the twenty-fourth episode of the second series of Space: 1999 . The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne; the director was Tom Clegg. Original titles were 'Last of the Psychons' and 'Return of the Dorcons'. The final shooting script is dated 17 November 1976...
". However, during production of the later episodes of the second series, plans for the shape of the third year began to develop:
- The third year would have been far shorter than the previous two, with only 13 episodes. This was intended as a budgetary compromise between the quantity and quality of episodes.
- Maya was considered to be the breakout character of the series, and very early on the producers began grooming her for her own spinoff show, which was at one point intended to run concurrently with series three of Space: 1999. Had this project gone ahead, Maya would have also been absent from Space: 1999. This "Maya" series was also intended to run for 13 episodes a year.
Message From Moonbase Alpha and the aborted cinematic revival
Sandra Benes
Sandra Benes is a recurring character in the British science-fiction television series Space: 1999. She is of Western European/Burmese origin and is in her late twenties. Her role was played by actress Zienia Merton.-Character Biography:...
's original Year Two Alpha uniform, the short film was first shown at the Space: 1999 Breakaway Convention in Los Angeles, California on 13 September 1999—the day the events in episode 1 of the series were supposed to take place. With the permission of (then) copyright owners Carlton Media International, the film included brief clips from seven episodes to illustrate the deserted Moonbase Alpha
Moonbase Alpha
Moonbase Alpha is a fictional moon base and the main setting in the science fiction television series Space: 1999.-Moonbase Alpha:Located in the Moon crater Plato and constructed out of quarried rock and ores, Moonbase Alpha is four kilometres in diameter and extends up to one kilometre in areas...
and the Alphans' exodus to planet Terra Alpha. Previously unused footage shot for the Year Two title sequence and 'The Last Enemy' was used to create a sequence showing the Moon being affected by a gravitational disturbance and thrown into an unknown solar system. Short excerpts from 12 other episodes appeared in a montage as Sandra Benes recalls her life on Alpha.
The seven minute film features Zienia Merton
Zienia Merton
Zienia Merton is a British actress born in Burma. Her mother was Burmese, and her father half English, half French. She was raised in Singapore, Borneo, Portugal, and England....
reprising her role as Sandra Benes
Sandra Benes
Sandra Benes is a recurring character in the British science-fiction television series Space: 1999. She is of Western European/Burmese origin and is in her late twenties. Her role was played by actress Zienia Merton.-Character Biography:...
delivering a final message to Earth as the only crew member left on Moonbase Alpha while a massive exodus to a habitable planet, Terra Alpha, takes place with the rest of the crew. This basically gave the series the finality it never had in its initial run.
Modified versions of 'Message From Moonbase Alpha' are available on the Space: 1999 Bonus Disk in the U.S. and Canada, and on a DVD bonus disc in France and in Italy. The original version appears as a bonus feature on the Space:1999/UFO - The Documentaries DVD produced by Fanderson
Fanderson
Fanderson is the official appreciation society for the works of Gerry Anderson. It is a not-for-profit organisation endorsed by Anderson Entertainment Ltd, Gerry Anderson Productions plc and ITC Entertainment Group Ltd...
.
Around the same time 'Message From Moonbase Alpha' was being filmed, Johnny Byrne and Christopher Penfold
Christopher Penfold
Christopher Penfold is an English scriptwriter and editor.Television shows that he has worked on include Pathfinders, Take Me High, The Tripods, One by One, All Creatures Great and Small, EastEnders, Casualty and Midsomer Murders.Penfold is perhaps most well-known for being one of the brains behind...
attempted to revive the franchise as a movie series, similar to the way Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
had been revived cinematically in the late 1970s. The first film would have picked up the story several years after the series ended, and would have featured a heavily-redesigned Moonbase Alpha
Moonbase Alpha
Moonbase Alpha is a fictional moon base and the main setting in the science fiction television series Space: 1999.-Moonbase Alpha:Located in the Moon crater Plato and constructed out of quarried rock and ores, Moonbase Alpha is four kilometres in diameter and extends up to one kilometre in areas...
. Ultimately the project failed, and nothing came of it.
Space: 2099
Space: 2099Space: 2099
Space: 2099 is an experimental film project undertaken by the creative entity Retcon Studios and spearheaded by film professional Eric Bernard. It is an updated retooling of the 1970s Gerry Anderson television series Space: 1999 with a goal similar to that accomplished with other science-fiction...
is an experimental offering currently in production by Retcon Studios that hopes to bridge the original series (albeit modified for today's standards) with a sequel set thirty to forty years into the timeline's future.
Other media formats
The series has been translated into other media. All the episodes have been adapted in novelisations (except, for some reason, "Earthbound", though this may be because E.C. Tubb was working from a different script of "Breakaway" in which Commissioner Simmons was killed when the Moon was torn out of Earth orbit) and the authors of these works have written a number of original stories. Several comic book series were published and, in the US, a series of audio adaptations were recorded on record albums with the younger audience in mind.Video/DVD/Blu-ray releases
The series was released on home video in the 1990s, with each cassette (or volume) featuring two episodes. In 2001, it was released on DVD in the UK by Carlton Media, both in single disc volumes (each volume contained four episodes) and also as two complete season boxed sets (titled as "Year One" and "Year Two") comprising six discs each. Each DVD also contained various extra features, including a variety of archive production material, memorabilia, and interviews with the cast and crew from the time the series was being made.In 2005, Network DVD
Network DVD
Network DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes...
reissued Series One in the UK as a Special Edition seven-disc boxset. For this release, to coincide with the series' 30th Anniversary, each episode was digitally restored by creating new 35mm film elements (a new interpositive
Interpositive
An interpositive, intermediate positive, IP or master positive is an orange-based motion picture film with a positive image made from the edited camera negative...
made from the original negative which is then used to make further copies). High Definition digital transfers were then made from the interpositives using a state-of-the-art Philips Spirit DataCine
Spirit DataCine
Spirit DataCine is a telecine and/or a motion picture film scanner. This device is able to transfer 16mm and 35mm motion picture film to NTSC or PAL standards or one of many High-definition television standards. With the data transfer option a Spirit DataCine can output DPX data files. The Spirit...
. Each frame was digitally cleaned up and colour-balanced, and the image was then processed with noise reduction (to reduce the film grain) before then being manually cleaned up to remove any remaining scratches and flaws. This vastly improved the picture quality in comparison to the previous DVD releases, however the restoration process has actually made some of the space scenes (that involve special effects and model work) less realistic due to increased brightness and contrast (a comparison can be viewed here). This boxset also included a new set of extra features that were not on the Carlton DVD releases, including featurettes on "Concept & Creation" and "Special Effects & Design" (edited from an earlier "Fanderson
Fanderson
Fanderson is the official appreciation society for the works of Gerry Anderson. It is a not-for-profit organisation endorsed by Anderson Entertainment Ltd, Gerry Anderson Productions plc and ITC Entertainment Group Ltd...
" documentary made in 1996), as well as a two-part Clapperboard
Clapperboard (TV series)
Clapperboard was the name of a 1970s children's television programme, hosted by Chris Kelly which covered the cinema. The show was made by Granada Television for the ITV network, and lasted 254 episodes. It was produced by Muriel Young and was broadcast between April 1972 and January 1982. Young...
special on Gerry Anderson from 1975, and also a brand new 70-minute documentary entitled "These Episodes" in which Anderson, Christopher Penfold, Johnny Byrne, Zienia Merton and David Lane reflect on the making of key episodes from the first series. Also included in the set are two booklets: a 24-page Episode Guide for the first series, and a 32-page "Production Notes" booklet. The audio options are Dolby Digital 5.1 for all episodes, with original mono for most episodes, and also a "music only" option for most episodes. There are also audio commentaries by Gerry Anderson on the episodes "Breakaway" and "Dragon's Domain", and text commentaries available on the episodes "The Last Sunset" and "Space Brain".
Network DVD began a similar restoration process for Series Two in 2007, but this has yet to materialise and there is no current scheduled release date.
A&E Home Video
A&E Television Networks
A&E Television Networks is a U.S. media company that owns a group of television channels available via cable & satellite in the US and abroad...
has released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 in various incarnations. It was initially released in 8-volume sets between 2001-2002. On 24 September 2002, a 16-disc "Mega Set" boxset featuring all 48 episodes of the series was released. On 31 July 2007, A&E released Space: 1999 - Complete Series, 30th Anniversary Edition. This is essentially the same as the 2002 "mega set" release (and does not use the 2005 hi-def remasters), but does includes a special bonus disc full of extra features.
Network DVD
Network DVD
Network DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes...
released Series One on Blu-ray in the UK on 1 November 2010, and simultaneously re-released their Special Edition DVD box set of Series One with new artwork at the same time. Season One was released on Blu-ray in the U.S. on 2 November 2010 by A&E Home Entertainment.
External links
- Eagletransporter.com – the web's premier visual reference resource for Space 1999 Eagle Transporter models and replicas
- Journey to Where Con – Space: 1999 convention in Austin, TX 16–18 July 2010
- The Catacombs – A comprehensive guide to Space:1999
- Space: 2099 – Space:1999 modernising and spinoff
- Space:2099 SciFi World – Eric Bernard interview on The SciFi World
- IO9 – IO9 review of Space: 2099