Cosmos 1999

Space: 1999 to me is a truly excellent series. Produced and created by the great Gerry Anderson, it was the most expensive science fiction series of it's time and looks it!! The first Season provided us with some excellent episodes, and some excellent performances from the series leads - Martin Landau, Barbara Bain and Barry Morse. Some of the best episodes of Season One include the wonderfully dark and menacing 'Dragon's Domain', 'The Alpha Child', 'Voyagers Return', 'The Last Enemy', 'Breakaway', 'The War Games', 'Space Brain' and many others. The series writing was, despite the bad press it has often received since, pretty exceptional, although there are a few let downs. Despite the series brilliance occasionally in the Season you will see episodes that suffer from poor pacing - 'The Troubled Spirit' for example, but these episodes are few in number only about 2 or 3 really, so they are easy to overlook, and all series will usually slip up somewhere!!! It is entirely forgivable. I mention this because I am trying to be a reasonable critic to the series, and not just include all the qualities I love about it!! Unfortunately the first season didn't really take off, but a surprisingly generous I.T.C backing allowed a Second Season to be made. I say this because I.T.C's usual concern about how British programmes appealed to the American audience led certain series to have a very short life. Many Gerry Anderson series have been affected by this, The Secret Service seems to be the best example. Due to the marital breakup of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, Gerry had to hire a new producer. He chose Fred Freiberger, ex- producer of the final series of Star Trek. He changed the series already shaky continuity completely and made the show more Action orientated. This idea appealed to some, but Martin Landau has gone on record for saying that although Freiberger may have helped the show in some aspects, his ideas were (in the opinion of Landau) very boring compared to the way that Season One had been produced. Johnny Byrne the series regular script editor has gone on record in saying (in his words) that Season 2 was 'complete rubbish'!, even basing the story 'The Dorcons' on his dislike to the way that Season 2 was produced. Whatever your views on the Second Season (I personally like it very much, although it takes time to adjust to Season 2 compared to Season 1) some classic stories were produced during it's time. 'The Metamorph' introducing Maya a wonderful character that can change into most forms of living matter, played superbly by Catherine Schell, 'The Rules of Luton', 'The Dorcons', 'The Immunity Syndrome', 'The Lambda Factor', 'The Exiles', 'New Adam New Eve' and many others. The second season was arguably though, the most exciting, with upbeat music and lots of action, the flaw being that some of the scripts were pretty poor. Although 'The Beta Cloud' is a good episode in many aspects, the script is admittedly lousy. As he had done in the First Season, excellent Sci-fi writer Johnny Byrne provides some of the best scripts in Season 2, usually much more serious than other stories, obviously refusing to bow down to Freiberger's 'Scooby Doo action' idea as Freiberger himself described it, lots of action with lots of often silly humour. 'The Bringers of Wonder' despite being very exciting is a ludicrous story in places, and 'The Taybor' despite having some good qualities also suffers from this weakness. However overall I feel Season 2 was a good Season, and it is deeply sad that a third season never got past the drawing board stages. However we must be grateful for what we have got. All the episodes are now provided on shiny DVD's for the enjoyment of all who remember or have come to like the series over it's 30 years existence. Season 1 provided us with lavish and menacing stories, often with hidden morales and examples of the failings of human nature and it's fight to survive in a frequently hostile environment. Season 2 provided us with upbeat and exciting stories, exploring often the most bizarre and intriguing aspects of Science fiction 'The Rules of Luton' for example - highly evolved plants!!! Overall an excellent series, one which belongs with all of the Science fiction greats.

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.

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 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!

When I think of Space 1999 I think of South Side Elem School, Schwinn Sting-Ray 5 Speed Bikes, My dad's Navy Blue 1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme & my parents big 25in cabniet model Zenith TV. When this show was on the air it was the hottest thing to hit TV since the original Star Trek. I remember all the toys, the big plastic EAGLES and the walkie talkie communicators and battery powered laser guns. Catherine Schell as MAYA still holds the Sexiest Alien girl ever Trophy in my opinion. I was very sad to learn from this site that Tony Anholt passed away of a brain tumor in July 2002. To this day I am at a loss as to why this series had such a short life. I suspect production costs in the UK sank it. To any of the former cast & crew who may read this, Martin, Barbara, Nick, Catherine, & so many others thanks so much for the memories and for an outstanding job. I own all the DVDs now and show it to friend's kids every now and then and they LOVE IT !