Mondbasis Alpha 1

The first science fiction work I ever saw was Space:1999, and i was six. Italian Tv had co-produced the stuff so it was aired around 6pm, not a very appropriate slot to broadcast scenes of people burned alive by their commander's lasergun... I probably had nightmares about it, but missing a single episode was out of the question. I got to see some first season episodes some twenty years later and I appreciated the show even more. I don't recall much of the second season apart Maya and Tony, so let me concentrate on the first one.

The electronic soundtrack and the opening credits (a kind of "Pulp Fiction" style guitar alternated with an orchestral version of the same theme) were very original, as it was the look of the Eagles: they are solid transport spacecrafts but at the same time one can see their pilots from the outside, so that Eagles seem vulnerable... well, they are, most of the time. Base Alpha is a large, well lit and comfortable place (some stylish seventies furniture, too) which is home and prison at the same time.

Anyway the most peculiar aspect is the atmosphere in Moonbase Alpha: The crew is shocked for what happened to them, unprepared to deal with the future, they don't agree with each other, they make mistakes, they often prefer not to show much emotion. No "Space as the last frontier" rhetoric, here. Space is cold and mistakes are lethal. That increases the realism even if 1999 is well past. Action progresses like a slowly unfolding bad dream.

Don't believe people complaining about bad acting. They just expect things that Space:1999 wasn't going to offer. The actors performed well. For example, Commander Koenig (the symbolism in the name is evident) is waiting for the "black sun" to swallow the base, he's talking with Prof. Bergman. He's about to break into tears but manages to restrain himself so that his eyes show only a little trace of what he's feeling underneath: A very good performance from Martin Landau, nearly impossible to find in better rated SF series/movies.

OK, after reading a few posts, I had to include one as well. I too was a charter watcher of space 1999, back when the 20th century was but just 3/4 through. I was excited because the Moonbase Alpha was obviously inspired by the Moonbase in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Of course Space 1999 was no 2001, so my expectations were met with disappointment. Early in the first Season my dad came in while "Dragon's Domain" was airing. We both frowned when the tentacled monster came in, seemed every bit as childish as one of those "Lost in Space" episodes with a monster on the prowl, and my dad asked to change the channel, arguing that that show could have been made by any idiot! As much as I hated agreeing with with him I felt the same way, and changed the channel to a nature program. Neither one of us were aware that episode was directed by Charles Crichton (who died in 1999) the man behind the British classic "The Lavender Hill Mob" in 1951 and later "A Fish called Wanda" in 1987!

I continued to watch this show and few weeks later my dad plopped down on the couch for "The Black Sun". This time we were both deeply moved with the same awe and wonder of Kubrick's 2001. To me this type of stuff is science fiction at it's best (Everything Disney's "The Black Hole" should have been). Space 1999 was a mixed bag for me; some of the shows like the one where they became prehistoric cavemen, really sucked, while others were highly imaginative. Several episodes later my dad sat in on another viewing and after awhile, exclaimed that "it's a much more beautifully made show than that one by Desilu!" (referring to "Star Trek").

Space 1999 came out at a time when television was in an interesting era. 1975 yielded a record worst season; the most embarrassing new TV shows to premier and disappear in a single season. Many dreadful sitcoms including one set in a prison (On the Rocks) clearly revealed the desperate state of affairs the entertainment industry was in at the time. Meanwhile an offbeat show featuring never-before-imagined live comedy sketches premiered one late Saturday night and television would never be the same again!

Space 1999 was another attempt to give the audiences something new and I'm glad it lasted as long as it did. Shortly after it's American premier, Barbra Bain appeared on "The Tonight Show" and explained to Johnny Carson why this series was syndicated for broadcast on local channels rather than network television. Producer Gerry Anderson had offered it to the networks who guaranteed only 13 air dates with more to follow...........if the Nielsen ratings were high enough. With 26 episodes already in the can, the only package Gerry would consider was a full season, which the networks balked at. So the big budget show ended up on KHJ channel 9 here in Los Angeles, and after a full season, lasted another round. Some new changes included women in skirts instead the the pantsuits And lovely transmute alien Catherine Schell added some eye candy to the show. Also more humorous overtones were introduced.

Some of these episodes remain with me today, including one where they retrieve an early unmanned Earth spacecraft with the help of a scientist who had engineered the propulsion system; the notorious Quella drive, which was responsible for massive destruction and loss of life including aliens which dispatched scouts to follow and exact revenge upon the planet of origin (Earth).

Really powerful stuff this show could sometimes be! Like Saturday Night Live, and "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (another syndicated series that came a couple months later which creator Norman Lear said "The show the networks couldn't handle"), Space 1999 was part of a golden era when television was experimenting with new ideas. SNL live took the crown for television and a couple years later "Star Wars" got it for the silver screen, redefining to most what science fiction should be (in that case a western!) But Space 1999 aimed much higher IMHO, seeking out what science fiction can be!

Prior to this show I was a sometimes watcher a previous Gerry Anderson show: "U.F.O." and I really liked his feature "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun" It's too bad creatively in science fiction today is in itself a science.............of just how much money the dam thing is going to make!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could go on & on about this show, as others have, but I don't need to cover old ground--those of us who saw this show as youngsters when it first came out, well... it was an amazing & hypnotic thing.

If you like ST:TOS, Dr. Who, in general any sci-fi from the 60s or 70s, this will be familiar territory for you, and I think a happy place to visit.

One thing I didn't see mentioned that fascinates me about the show: most of the alien planets & landscapes were *hand painted* by guest abstract artist--and they amaze. When combined with model work far superior to UFO or Thunderbirds, the alien vistas were, for wont of a better word, painterly.

Some of it is campy. The acting is inconsistent. Sometimes the science is bad & there are too many 'psychic' episodes, but I have the entire series and it's one of my favorite possessions.

Slightly related, incredibly obscure reference that won't help anyone: Once a friend of mine met a fellow who was a big Peter Hammill fan, who had never heard the VDGG album 'Still Life' but had just bought it and was carrying it around. When he gleaned this from the gentlemen, he told him, "My god man, why are you just standing there--go home and listen to that CD!" If you are a fan of (as these things go) smart, complicated, visually striking vintage SF TV & you haven't seen Space 1999--go and buy it & watch it--you're in for a treat--and there are enough episodes you can spend pretty much 48 hours straight with it before you run out of content... I'm a little envious of you.

The hands down best Gerry Anderson TV series ever made. Better than all his puppet shows put together.

Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Barry Morse, great music cues, eagle miniature effects, disaster plot lines, The Beta Cloud, more great music cues...this series is a knockout!

Here are some series highlights...

EPISODE ONE: BREAKAWAY: Shades of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) with a new commander taking over things, shades of a disaster movie, shades of Lost In Space (1965), but best of all - that Barry Gray score!

EPISODE TWO: MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH: This episode has a highly touching scene where the music steals the scene. Barbara Bain glares out of a moonbase window at a distant planet, the commander walks up to her, note the music playing here...a simply outstanding work of art!

BLACK SUN: Very memorable work of art. It resembles 2001 in general presentation. I have made an estimated 100 viewings of this hour. Knockout acting from Barry Morse, Landau and Bain.

COLLISION COURSE: This plays like a disaster movie and for that reason it is well worth a look. Some great moments here.

WAR GAMES: Great battle scenes in space filmed with great music playing over it.

SPACE BRAIN: Someone let the washing machine go for too long and this also happened in Land of the Giants episode Brainwash. Great music and disaster...again!

YEAR TWO OPENER: THE METAMORPH: What a start! What a teaser! I was at the edge of my seat in the 1970s!

THE MARK OF ARCHANON: Attention Australian fans! Alan Carter lets out a few Aussie terms and ideas that make this one a Down Under treat!

SEEDS OF DESTRUCTION: Landau goes nuts, which bring back memories of 1960s Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea when the leads would also go nuts.

THE BETA CLOUD: This episode is reviewed by me in detail on this site...the second best episode of the whole series!

SPACE WARP: Great space warp start, great monster, great eagle action.

THE BRINGERS OF WONDER: Two-parter. Out-of-control Landau in out-of-control eagle.

THE SEANCE SPECTRE: Dust planet eagle effects coated with action music.

DORZAK: "Is being Australian important?" asks an alien. "It is to me" responds Alan Carter.

Another outstanding 1970s science fiction TV series was Filmation's Ark II.

I have been a huge fan of Space:1999 since I was about 5 years old (yes, really) But whereas at that age it was mostly the special effects, and the Eagles that grabbed my attention, as time went by; I started to realize that most of the first season episodes were imbued with a metaphysical element that had totally escaped me before. I think this is by far the most well-conceived science-fiction series ever, and that the cast was not only diverse and representative but also acted very well. In some important ways Space; 1999 (having caught me at a most impressionable age) helped shape many of my thoughts on the future of humanity - and on the relevancy of Science-Fiction to our increasingly globalized culture - an absolute novelty back in 1975. My last words on this wonderful series: Please don't miss it!