#space1999

Show: Space 1999

Follows the crew of Moonbase Alpha who struggle to survive when a massive explosion throws the Moon from Earths orbit and out into deep space.

Creators: Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson.

Writers: Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson, Johnny Byrne, Christopher Penfold and Fred Freiberger.

Producers: Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson, Fred Freiberger and F. Sherwin Green.

Composers: Barry Gray and Derek Wadsworth.

From September of 1975, here is a special introduction to the premiere episode of SPACE: 1999, with the two main stars, Martin Landau and Barbara Bain introducing the series! This comes from KRON, Ch. 4, San Francisco.

Space: 1999 2x17 "The Lambda Factor"

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Written by Terrance Dicks. One of the weakest episodes. Most of the decisions made by the characters don’t make much sense. It starts with a mysterious death. A young woman dies violently when she and the room she’s in are torn apart by powerful forces. Koenig and Tony promptly suspect two of her friends - Carolyn and Mark - of murdering her. It seems there was a love triangle thing going on! (Who knew that Koenig was so well up on Moonbase gossip?) But, still, it’s a reach to think such a fantastic death is a simple murder at first glace. Later, more mysterious accidents happen. Alan nearly dies on one. Mark does die in another. Then we learn that a space phenomenon is giving some people on Alpha psychic powers. Which (somehow) leaves only three suspects. A way is found to cut them off from effects of the space phenomena - and, thus, take away their newfound powers. It works! Except… Carolyn still has her powers! This, according to the script, conclusively proves that she’s the murderer. And she is! Next, she goes on a rampage and takes control of the command crew, using her incredible powers to… make them stand very still. Luckily, Koenig is immune and convinces her that nobody hates her and… that defeats her. Promptly, the space phenomenon blows up. So…? Was there a connection between Carolyn and the thing in space or not? The script contradicts itself on this key point. Also, why did Carolyn kill Mark? Whatever about the rival she wanted dead, she seemingly adored Mark. So why kill him after a lover’s spat? And why go after Alan? And what exactly was her endgame? While all this is going on, there’s a dreadful b-story with Koenig being chased by literal ghosts from his past. A plot so bad it almost convinced me the a-story was okay. Almost. 4/10

Space: 1999 2x15 "A Matter of Balance"

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Stuart Wilson, Nicholas Campbell. Too many awful “comedic” scenes drag it down, but this episode has a strong hook and a good pay off. The hook is that one of their own is working against them. Gorgeous Lynne Frederick is Shermeen Williams, a member of the Alpha crew who is conspiring against her friends! A alien has contacted her directly, and she is taking instructions from him. It’s unclear whether she’s under mind-control or not. (But he places other characters under hypnosis later in the story.) Whether she’s responsible or not, it makes for good drama. We’ve never seen Shermeen before, but dialogue leads us to believe she’s a trusted member of the crew. Now, we watch her hiding things from Tony and the others. Frederick is excellent. As is Stuart Wilson as the sinister alien (in the daft outfit). There’s an excursion to a new alien planet, a monster with a memorable design, location filming, and very impressive sets. In the end we learn that it’s all about anti-matter beings crossing over to the universe of matter. Sure. Why not? (That said, the explanation for what anti-matter is doesn’t really make sense.) The comedic scenes are mostly centred on Tony’s beer, and Shermeen’s crush on him. She’s described as a teenager but that makes no sense within the context of the show’s premise so I’m going to ignore it. Several really enjoyable musical cues in this one. This was the first episode I ever saw - on Friday, April 13th, 1979. 8/10

Space: 1999 2x14 "Space Warp"

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Bland. There are two storylines and neither one is particularly interesting. Both are resolved easily at the end. In the first, Maya is inexplicably feverish and she runs amok turning into various monsters. Most of the episode is simply Alan, Helena, and sundry supporting characters alternating between chasing and fighting Maya (i.e. various stuntmen in outlandish alien outfits). Repetitive. The b-story has Koenig and Tony stranded 5 light years away, trying to find their way back to Alpha with tools and information found on a derelict spaceship. The action sequences are very good, if rather pointless. We never feel that anything is at stake. There’s no reason given for Maya’s sudden desire to leave the station and return to her home planet. It’s just an excuse for stunts and explosions. Through it all, the score, the performances and the production values (model work) are top notch. Nick Tate is great, as is Martin Landau with very little screentime. The cast really give it their all, even when there’s scant explanation for what is happening. 6/10