The Seance Spectre
Encyclopedia
"The Seance Spectre" is the twentieth episode of the second series of Space: 1999
(and the forty-fourth overall episode of the programme). The screenplay was written by Donald James
; the director was Peter Medak
. The original title was 'The Mutiny'. The final shooting script is dated 16 September 1976. Live-action filming took place Monday 18 October 1976 through Saturday 30 October 1976.
is operating under strict security protocols. Three weeks ago, a celestial body was sighted and given the code-name 'Tora'. Long-range analysis proved inconclusive, but within twenty-four hours the Moon
will be in range to determine whether it is a habitable planet. Not wanting to raise false hope, John Koenig
has ordered all knowledge of Tora classified. Command Centre is off-limits to all but senior executives and access to the information channels by the general population has been restricted.
In the Recreation Centre, Greg Sanderson is ranting about the restrictions. Once Alpha's finest surface-exploration team leader, he has degenerated into a loud-mouthed malcontent. Controlling his team (Cernik, Stevens and girlfriend Eva) with a Svengali
-like charisma, he presents his latest conspiracy theory—how the Alpha elite are hiding the fact the Moon is approaching a habitable planet. Marching on Command Centre, Sanderson breaks in and stuns the executive staff. As he views Tora, he declares the irregular mass of dust and gas to be a planet. Another 'astro-prediction' will be required to determine its habitability. Locking the door, the four join hands in a séance
-like ring and concentrate...
Koenig and Alan Carter
are flying reconnaissance. Observations show that the Tora formation is shifting position—the mutual attraction between it and the Moon has locked them on a collision course. When Koenig tries to radio in the forecast, there is no response. The four mutineers have slipped into a hypnotic trance and Sanderson's prophesies of a habitable planet drown out the Commander's warning.
Returning to base, Koenig retakes Command Centre and confines Sanderson and company to Medical. Helena Russell
reports the trance was the result of autohypnosis. The underlying cause of their behaviour is 'greensickness': a mental condition in which subconscious tensions are generated by a prolonged existence in an artificial environment. In extreme cases, these tensions manifest a psychological craving for contact with nature, resulting in disorientation and hallucinations. The doctor reckons the team's condition has been exacerbated by their job: month-long survey missions out on the barren lunar wasteland.
The data from Eagle Four's on-board computer shows Tora to be a mass of dust and atmospheric gasses, with electrical storm activity and various precipitations forming a freakish 'weather belt'. The Moon could pass straight through...unless it contains a solid centre. With that threat, Koenig prepares a reconnaissance mission. In the Medical Centre, Sanderson rejects Helena's treatment, assaults the guards and escapes. Confronting Koenig, he insists Tora's true nature has been suppressed to prevent them settling there; as long as the Alphans remain on the wandering Moon, 'Commander Koenig's dictatorship
' is safe.
Koenig is concerned that Sanderson's deluded beliefs could poison the entire community. To dispel rumours of a cover-up, the Commander agrees that the mission will be simulcast to the general population. Also, all data from Tora will be processed by Moonbase Computer. Satisfied, a smug Sanderson is escorted back to the care unit. As Koenig and Maya
depart for Tora, Helena begins treating Sanderson, Cernik and Stevens. Eva is discharged as her ailment is not greensickness and quite untreatable—she is in love with Sanderson. Her misguided loyalty leads her to turn in a false medical-emergency call. After the Medical staff leaves, she incapacitates the guards with an anaesthetic aerosol and frees Sanderson and company.
With eager anticipation, the entire base focuses the survey mission. When approaching Tora, Eagle One links up with Main Computer. At range three, the ship enters the atmosphere belt; Sandra Benes
analyses the data and confirms it to be unbreathable. At range two, instruments display a kinetic reading that could either be an atmospheric vibration...or a gravitational pull. Flying through an opaque haze, Koenig is increasingly concerned by the possibility of a solid central mass.
Sanderson and his cronies have hidden in a service area of the Computer Section. After Sahn's report, Sanderson protests that Earth's atmosphere is also unsuitable at its outer limits. Koenig must be forced to penetrate further; to do so, he tears several circuit-boards out of a computer processor. When the potential gravity reading appears to fall to zero, Eagle One is cleared to proceed. However, Koenig's piloting instincts tell him something is amiss; approaching range one, he can feel external forces acting on the ship, defying the claim of zero gravity.
A diagnostic of the computer system is conducted and the malfunction is discovered. Tony Verdeschi
aborts the mission...too late. Sanderson chuckles as the Eagle strains against intense gravitational forces, out of control. From out of the mist, a planetary mass appears. The ship crashes, half-buried in a 'swamp' of thick dust and loose rock. The Eagle is in poor shape—hull integrity compromised, voice transmission silenced, oxygen recycling plant damaged—but telemetry shows the engines and guidance system are functional.
Carter establishes a remote link and, under automatic control, blasts the ship free from the surface. However, it is a three-hour flight back to the Moon and only one hour's worth of oxygen
remains. With both spacesuit helmets damaged in the crash, Koenig has an inspiration: Maya can become a source of oxygen by transforming into vegetation. When the ship lands, the emergency crew finds an unconscious Koenig surrounded by a dense thicket—which recedes as Maya ends her third one-hour stint as vegetation. To Helena's relief, Koenig quickly recovers when given oxygen.
After a medical check, Koenig surveys the vandalised computer processor, then contacts the vandal. Sanderson and his band have locked themselves in a travel-tube capsule stopped between stations. Koenig informs them that Tora is a lifeless proto-planet
; they have arrived millions of years too early for the blue skies and green fields seen in their hallucinations. Sanderson balks. The latest astro-prediction has shown that not only is Tora an Earth-type world, but the Moon will be drawn into orbit around it.
With eight hours until collision, the staff brainstorms. With their limited supply of nuclear explosive
s, they can neither destroy Tora nor affect its trajectory. They must alter the Moon's course. Koenig suggests recreating by design the accident which started their mad journey, making the decision to detonate a nuclear-waste disposal site. Computer predicts the abrupt two-degree shift in course required would result in significant damage—and a zero survival rate. Koenig orders an immediate evacuation; if the plan fails, life will continue aboard the fleet of Eagle transporters.
Sanderson interprets Koenig's actions as a ploy to retain his command. For the sake of the community, he and his followers remain in the travel tube—counting on the Commander's concern for their lives to prevent him detonating the waste pits. As he rants on, the others express their growing doubts: Is greensickness distorting their judgment? If the danger is real, what will prevent Koenig from sacrificing their four lives to save the Moon? Is Sanderson any less a dictator than he claims Koenig to be? When the matter is placed to a vote, the result is three-to-one in favour of evacuation. Though taken aback by their defection, Sanderson accedes to majority rule and re-starts the travel unit.
After the evacuation, Koenig and Maya remain to secure Moonbase against the explosion's effects. Just as they are warned that Sanderson never evacuated, the crazed man bursts in on them and guns down Koenig with a stun-blast; threats against Maya's safety keep the others from landing. The self-chosen messiah intends to wait out the two hours twenty-three minutes to the false 'collision'. Attempts to make him see reason—even from Eva—only serve to fuel his rage and he decides Koenig must die for his crimes against the Alphans. He is disarmed by a Maya-transformed reptilian beast, but escapes.
When Koenig recovers, he and Maya quickly seal off and depressurise Alpha, then proceed to the disposal site in Eagle Two. Older and located some distance from Disposal Areas One and Two, it was not involved in the cataclysmic explosion of 1999
. Six concrete-capped shafts store atomic waste ten thousand feet below the surface. One will be blasted open, then an atomic trigger-device introduced and remote-detonated to start the chain reaction. From above, Verdeschi's Eagle Three spots a moon buggy
parked amid the surrounding hills; Sanderson has driven from Alpha and is waiting for them.
The trigger's timer is set for eighteen minutes—the time left before the collision is unavoidable—and Koenig suits up and lopes across the lunar surface to the nearest waste silo. As Sanderson watches from his hiding place, the shaft is blasted open. He targets Koenig's back with a stolen laser rifle...just as he is sighted from the air. Eavesdropping on their frequency, Sanderson is warned. He turns to shoot at Eagle Two, damaging her, just as Maya fires the ship's laser. Sanderson recovers from the near-miss and runs to stop Koenig as he affixes the trigger. The two men tussle, and Koenig ends up hanging by his fingers from the rim of the open shaft. As Sanderson tries to stamp down on his hands, Koenig catches his leg and the mutineer loses his balance and plunges down into the silo.
At eight minutes before detonation, Koenig makes his way back to Eagle Two. Boarding the damaged ship, he finds the command-module hatch jammed. Trapped beneath the damaged pilot's seat, Maya cannot reach the door's manual release. With four minutes remaining, Maya transforms into a Psychon toddler, wriggles free and opens the hatch. Lifting off, Koenig blasts away at full throttle. The final seconds tick away on the trigger and the waste area is consumed in a massive explosion. As the blast-glare dies, they observe the success of the operation as the Moon safely passes Tora.
Days later, Alpha is back to normal and the staff is spending their off-duty time in the theatre and media rooms. To avert future outbreaks of greensickness, Helena has made the viewing of many hours of nature footage mandatory; her theory is saturation with images of trees, meadows and streams will equate nature with boredom. It seems to be a success as everyone is bored stiff—with the exception of Verdeschi and Carter, who get great pleasure out of their nature watch as all their screen-shots include pin-up girl
s.
and draws primarily from the scores of 'The Metamorph
' and 'The Exiles
'.
published in 1977. Significant changes were made to the narrative as the author chose to blend this story with 'Devil's Planet
'. Koenig is off exploring when Sandor and his many followers overrun Command Centre; Verdeschi is the commanding officer in this story as Koenig is missing and presumed dead in the crash on Entra. Sandor and his cronies are rank-and-file Alphans, not surface explorers, and their mutiny is depicted as a workers' revolt; no mention is made of greensickness or its psychology. The story ends with Verdeschi dispatching Sandor and detonating the waste pits. These alterations would be reversed by Butterworth when he reworked the story for the Powys Media omnibus publication Space: 1999—Year Two.
In the 2003 novel The Forsaken written by John Kenneth Muir
, it is stated the events of this story were one of the consequences of the death of the eponymous intelligence depicted in ‘Space Brain’. The Brain protected the proto-planet
Tora, knowing that intelligent life would eventually evolve there; after its death, the protection ceased and the Moon and Tora would almost collide.
Space: 1999
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...
(and the forty-fourth overall episode of the programme). The screenplay was written by Donald James
Donald 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...
; the director was Peter Medak
Peter Medak
Peter Medak is a Hungarian-born film director of British and American films.-Early life:He was born in Budapest, Hungary to a Jewish family, but in 1956 fled his native country for England due to the Hungarian Revolution...
. The original title was 'The Mutiny'. The final shooting script is dated 16 September 1976. Live-action filming took place Monday 18 October 1976 through Saturday 30 October 1976.
Story
It is 2012 days after leaving Earth orbit, and 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...
is operating under strict security protocols. Three weeks ago, a celestial body was sighted and given the code-name 'Tora'. Long-range analysis proved inconclusive, but within twenty-four hours 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...
will be in range to determine whether it is a habitable planet. Not wanting to raise false hope, 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:...
has ordered all knowledge of Tora classified. Command Centre is off-limits to all but senior executives and access to the information channels by the general population has been restricted.
In the Recreation Centre, Greg Sanderson is ranting about the restrictions. Once Alpha's finest surface-exploration team leader, he has degenerated into a loud-mouthed malcontent. Controlling his team (Cernik, Stevens and girlfriend Eva) with a Svengali
Svengali
Svengali is a fictional character of George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby. Svengali "would either fawn or bully and could be grossly impertinent. He had a kind of cynical humour that was more offensive than amusing and always laughed at the wrong thing, at the wrong time, in the wrong place...
-like charisma, he presents his latest conspiracy theory—how the Alpha elite are hiding the fact the Moon is approaching a habitable planet. Marching on Command Centre, Sanderson breaks in and stuns the executive staff. As he views Tora, he declares the irregular mass of dust and gas to be a planet. Another 'astro-prediction' will be required to determine its habitability. Locking the door, the four join hands in a séance
Séance
A séance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma"...
-like ring and concentrate...
Koenig and 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:...
are flying reconnaissance. Observations show that the Tora formation is shifting position—the mutual attraction between it and the Moon has locked them on a collision course. When Koenig tries to radio in the forecast, there is no response. The four mutineers have slipped into a hypnotic trance and Sanderson's prophesies of a habitable planet drown out the Commander's warning.
Returning to base, Koenig retakes Command Centre and confines Sanderson and company to Medical. 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....
reports the trance was the result of autohypnosis. The underlying cause of their behaviour is 'greensickness': a mental condition in which subconscious tensions are generated by a prolonged existence in an artificial environment. In extreme cases, these tensions manifest a psychological craving for contact with nature, resulting in disorientation and hallucinations. The doctor reckons the team's condition has been exacerbated by their job: month-long survey missions out on the barren lunar wasteland.
The data from Eagle Four's on-board computer shows Tora to be a mass of dust and atmospheric gasses, with electrical storm activity and various precipitations forming a freakish 'weather belt'. The Moon could pass straight through...unless it contains a solid centre. With that threat, Koenig prepares a reconnaissance mission. In the Medical Centre, Sanderson rejects Helena's treatment, assaults the guards and escapes. Confronting Koenig, he insists Tora's true nature has been suppressed to prevent them settling there; as long as the Alphans remain on the wandering Moon, 'Commander Koenig's dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
' is safe.
Koenig is concerned that Sanderson's deluded beliefs could poison the entire community. To dispel rumours of a cover-up, the Commander agrees that the mission will be simulcast to the general population. Also, all data from Tora will be processed by Moonbase Computer. Satisfied, a smug Sanderson is escorted back to the care unit. As Koenig and 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'...
depart for Tora, Helena begins treating Sanderson, Cernik and Stevens. Eva is discharged as her ailment is not greensickness and quite untreatable—she is in love with Sanderson. Her misguided loyalty leads her to turn in a false medical-emergency call. After the Medical staff leaves, she incapacitates the guards with an anaesthetic aerosol and frees Sanderson and company.
With eager anticipation, the entire base focuses the survey mission. When approaching Tora, Eagle One links up with Main Computer. At range three, the ship enters the atmosphere belt; 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:...
analyses the data and confirms it to be unbreathable. At range two, instruments display a kinetic reading that could either be an atmospheric vibration...or a gravitational pull. Flying through an opaque haze, Koenig is increasingly concerned by the possibility of a solid central mass.
Sanderson and his cronies have hidden in a service area of the Computer Section. After Sahn's report, Sanderson protests that Earth's atmosphere is also unsuitable at its outer limits. Koenig must be forced to penetrate further; to do so, he tears several circuit-boards out of a computer processor. When the potential gravity reading appears to fall to zero, Eagle One is cleared to proceed. However, Koenig's piloting instincts tell him something is amiss; approaching range one, he can feel external forces acting on the ship, defying the claim of zero gravity.
A diagnostic of the computer system is conducted and the malfunction is discovered. 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....
aborts the mission...too late. Sanderson chuckles as the Eagle strains against intense gravitational forces, out of control. From out of the mist, a planetary mass appears. The ship crashes, half-buried in a 'swamp' of thick dust and loose rock. The Eagle is in poor shape—hull integrity compromised, voice transmission silenced, oxygen recycling plant damaged—but telemetry shows the engines and guidance system are functional.
Carter establishes a remote link and, under automatic control, blasts the ship free from the surface. However, it is a three-hour flight back to the Moon and only one hour's worth of oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
remains. With both spacesuit helmets damaged in the crash, Koenig has an inspiration: Maya can become a source of oxygen by transforming into vegetation. When the ship lands, the emergency crew finds an unconscious Koenig surrounded by a dense thicket—which recedes as Maya ends her third one-hour stint as vegetation. To Helena's relief, Koenig quickly recovers when given oxygen.
After a medical check, Koenig surveys the vandalised computer processor, then contacts the vandal. Sanderson and his band have locked themselves in a travel-tube capsule stopped between stations. Koenig informs them that Tora is a lifeless proto-planet
Protoplanet
Protoplanets are large planetary embryos that originate within protoplanetary discs and have undergone internal melting to produce differentiated interiors. They are believed to form out of kilometer-sized planetesimals that attract each other gravitationally and collide...
; they have arrived millions of years too early for the blue skies and green fields seen in their hallucinations. Sanderson balks. The latest astro-prediction has shown that not only is Tora an Earth-type world, but the Moon will be drawn into orbit around it.
With eight hours until collision, the staff brainstorms. With their limited supply of nuclear explosive
Nuclear explosive
A nuclear explosive is an explosive device that derives its energy from nuclear reactions. Almost all nuclear explosive devices that have been designed and produced are nuclear weapons intended for warfare....
s, they can neither destroy Tora nor affect its trajectory. They must alter the Moon's course. Koenig suggests recreating by design the accident which started their mad journey, making the decision to detonate a nuclear-waste disposal site. Computer predicts the abrupt two-degree shift in course required would result in significant damage—and a zero survival rate. Koenig orders an immediate evacuation; if the plan fails, life will continue aboard the fleet of Eagle transporters.
Sanderson interprets Koenig's actions as a ploy to retain his command. For the sake of the community, he and his followers remain in the travel tube—counting on the Commander's concern for their lives to prevent him detonating the waste pits. As he rants on, the others express their growing doubts: Is greensickness distorting their judgment? If the danger is real, what will prevent Koenig from sacrificing their four lives to save the Moon? Is Sanderson any less a dictator than he claims Koenig to be? When the matter is placed to a vote, the result is three-to-one in favour of evacuation. Though taken aback by their defection, Sanderson accedes to majority rule and re-starts the travel unit.
After the evacuation, Koenig and Maya remain to secure Moonbase against the explosion's effects. Just as they are warned that Sanderson never evacuated, the crazed man bursts in on them and guns down Koenig with a stun-blast; threats against Maya's safety keep the others from landing. The self-chosen messiah intends to wait out the two hours twenty-three minutes to the false 'collision'. Attempts to make him see reason—even from Eva—only serve to fuel his rage and he decides Koenig must die for his crimes against the Alphans. He is disarmed by a Maya-transformed reptilian beast, but escapes.
When Koenig recovers, he and Maya quickly seal off and depressurise Alpha, then proceed to the disposal site in Eagle Two. Older and located some distance from Disposal Areas One and Two, it was not involved in the cataclysmic explosion of 1999
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...
. Six concrete-capped shafts store atomic waste ten thousand feet below the surface. One will be blasted open, then an atomic trigger-device introduced and remote-detonated to start the chain reaction. From above, Verdeschi's Eagle Three spots a moon buggy
Space 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...
parked amid the surrounding hills; Sanderson has driven from Alpha and is waiting for them.
The trigger's timer is set for eighteen minutes—the time left before the collision is unavoidable—and Koenig suits up and lopes across the lunar surface to the nearest waste silo. As Sanderson watches from his hiding place, the shaft is blasted open. He targets Koenig's back with a stolen laser rifle...just as he is sighted from the air. Eavesdropping on their frequency, Sanderson is warned. He turns to shoot at Eagle Two, damaging her, just as Maya fires the ship's laser. Sanderson recovers from the near-miss and runs to stop Koenig as he affixes the trigger. The two men tussle, and Koenig ends up hanging by his fingers from the rim of the open shaft. As Sanderson tries to stamp down on his hands, Koenig catches his leg and the mutineer loses his balance and plunges down into the silo.
At eight minutes before detonation, Koenig makes his way back to Eagle Two. Boarding the damaged ship, he finds the command-module hatch jammed. Trapped beneath the damaged pilot's seat, Maya cannot reach the door's manual release. With four minutes remaining, Maya transforms into a Psychon toddler, wriggles free and opens the hatch. Lifting off, Koenig blasts away at full throttle. The final seconds tick away on the trigger and the waste area is consumed in a massive explosion. As the blast-glare dies, they observe the success of the operation as the Moon safely passes Tora.
Days later, Alpha is back to normal and the staff is spending their off-duty time in the theatre and media rooms. To avert future outbreaks of greensickness, Helena has made the viewing of many hours of nature footage mandatory; her theory is saturation with images of trees, meadows and streams will equate nature with boredom. It seems to be a success as everyone is bored stiff—with the exception of Verdeschi and Carter, who get great pleasure out of their nature watch as all their screen-shots include pin-up girl
Pin-up girl
A pin-up girl, also known as a pin-up model, is a model whose mass-produced pictures see wide appeal as popular culture. Pin-ups are intended for informal display, e.g. meant to be "pinned-up" on a wall...
s.
Starring
- Martin LandauMartin LandauMartin 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 KoenigJohn KoenigJohn 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:... - Barbara BainBarbara BainMillicent 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 RussellHelena RussellHelena 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....
Featuring
- Tony AnholtTony AnholtAnthony "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 VerdeschiTony VerdeschiTony 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.... - Nick TateNick TateNicholas 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...
— Captain Alan CarterAlan 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:... - Zienia MertonZienia MertonZienia 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 BenesSandra BenesSandra 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:...
Also featuring
- Nigel Pegram — Cernik
- James Snell — Stevens
- Christopher Asante — Command Centre Security Guard
Uncredited artists
- Robert Reeves — Peter
- Quentin Pierre — Security Guard One
- Harry FielderHarry FielderHarry Fielder is an English actor and supporting artist who has worked extensively in British films and television since the 1960s.Fielder was born in Islington, London...
— Security Guard Two (George) - Christine White and Candy Wilson — Maya/Child
- Venicia Day — Maya/Bikini Girl (removed from final cut)
Music
The score was re-edited from previous Space: 1999 incidental music tracks composed for the second series by Derek WadsworthDerek Wadsworth
Derek Wadsworth was a British jazz trombonist, session musician, composer and arranger....
and draws primarily from the scores of '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...
' and '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...
'.
Production notes
- The episode carried the working title 'The Mutiny' and had antagonist Greg Sanderson originally named 'Sandor'. A sequence showing Verdeschi and Carter coordinating the personnel and equipment evacuation from two Embarkation Areas was dropped before filming. Filmed but removed from the final cut was the end of the epilogue. After revealing that the two men are looking at pin-up girls, the viewer would have seen Maya transform into the last model to be pictured (portrayed by actress Venicia Day) and walk enticingly across the room. Verdeschi would then humorously have to stop Carter from chatting her up. Also cut for time was exposition about the waste-disposal site. Koenig would have informed Maya that these old nuclear-waste silos were designated Storage Area B-7 and had been set up in the 1980s.
- This episode would feature the final appearance of Zienia MertonZienia MertonZienia 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....
. Though receiving greater exposure in her second round of episodes, her continued lack of contract and reduced salary (compared to the first series) had her agent keeping an eye out for other work. Merton was offered a lead role in the Norwegian film Kosmetikkrevolusjonen. Even after receiving the blessings of both Gerry AndersonGerry AndersonGerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
and Fred FreibergerFred FreibergerFred 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 leave, she still hoped to finish out the series; however, constant rescheduling repeatedly extended the Space: 1999 production schedule. Forced to choose, she gambled that there would be no third series and made plans to leave the production for NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The notice from ITCITC EntertainmentThe Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
cancelling the series came soon after, during the filming of this episode. She would be replaced in the final three episodes by American actress Alibe ParsonsAlibe ParsonsAlibe Parsons is an actress who has worked extensively in both film and television.On television, she is best known for her regular role in the 1970s BBC drama Gangsters as Sarah Gant...
playing a new character, Alibe.
- Among the models ogled by Verdeschi and Carter, many will recognise 1970s science-fiction/fantasy genre actress and Navy Rum model Caroline MunroCaroline MunroCaroline Munro is an English actress and model known for her many appearances in horror, science fiction and action films of the 1970s and 1980s.-Early career:...
. Sharp-eyed viewers will also recognise actor James Snell (who portrayed Stevens) from his previous appearance as the doomed Eagle co-pilot Cousteau in the first-series episode 'Space Brain'.
Novelisation
The episode was adapted in the fifth Year Two Space: 1999 novel The Time Fighters by Michael ButterworthMichael Butterworth
Michael Butterworth is a British author and publisher who has written many novels and short stories, particularly in the genre of science fiction...
published in 1977. Significant changes were made to the narrative as the author chose to blend this story with '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...
'. Koenig is off exploring when Sandor and his many followers overrun Command Centre; Verdeschi is the commanding officer in this story as Koenig is missing and presumed dead in the crash on Entra. Sandor and his cronies are rank-and-file Alphans, not surface explorers, and their mutiny is depicted as a workers' revolt; no mention is made of greensickness or its psychology. The story ends with Verdeschi dispatching Sandor and detonating the waste pits. These alterations would be reversed by Butterworth when he reworked the story for the Powys Media omnibus publication Space: 1999—Year Two.
In the 2003 novel The Forsaken written by John Kenneth Muir
John Kenneth Muir
John Kenneth Muir is an American literary critic. He has written twenty-one reference books in the fields of film and television, with a particular accent on the horror and science fiction genres....
, it is stated the events of this story were one of the consequences of the death of the eponymous intelligence depicted in ‘Space Brain’. The Brain protected the proto-planet
Protoplanet
Protoplanets are large planetary embryos that originate within protoplanetary discs and have undergone internal melting to produce differentiated interiors. They are believed to form out of kilometer-sized planetesimals that attract each other gravitationally and collide...
Tora, knowing that intelligent life would eventually evolve there; after its death, the protection ceased and the Moon and Tora would almost collide.
External links
- Space: 1999 - 'The Seance Spectre' - The Catacombs episode guide
- Space: 1999 - 'The Seance Spectre' - Moonbase Alpha's Space: 1999 page
| Last produced: "The Lambda Factor The Lambda Factor "The Lambda Factor" is the nineteenth episode of the second series of Space: 1999 . The screenplay was written by Terrance Dicks; the director was Charles Crichton. The final shooting script is dated 6 August 1976, with amendments dated 2 September, 15 September, 27 September, 28 September, 29... " |
List of Space: 1999 episodes | Next produced: "Dorzak" |
| Last transmitted: "The Bringers of Wonder, Part Two The Bringers of Wonder, Part Two "The Bringers of Wonder, Part Two" is the eighteenth episode of the second series of Space: 1999 . The screenplay was written by Terence Feely; the director was Tom Clegg. The final shooting script is dated 23 June 1976... " |
Next transmitted: "Dorzak" |