The 1970s science-fiction television series Space: 1999 ran for 48 episodes during its original two-year broadcast — 24 episodes in its first series (1973-1976 — start of production to end of broadcast) and 24 in its second series (1976–1977 — start of production to end of broadcast). In addition, a number of compilation films have been produced using material from multiple episodes—some containing additional footage—and a semi-official series denouement was filmed for exhibition at the Breakaway 1999 convention,[1] held in Los Angeles, California in September 1999.
Contents |
Individual episodes are intended to be broadcast in a progressive order so that, for Year One, "Breakaway" should be broadcast first, with "Black Sun" and "Earthbound" being broadcast at an early stage to present the Moon entering a new and different part of space, and the Alphans encountering their first aliens. However, many stations in the United States aired "Dragon's Domain" (production number 23) as the second installment after "Breakaway" in September 1975. In the United Kingdom, "Force of Life" (production number 9) was the follow-up to "Breakaway". The other guidelines are that the episodes should progress to show John Koenig and Helena Russell's relationship develop and blossom. "The Metamorph" should be the first episode of Year Two, followed by the remaining episodes (there is a two-part episode in Year Two) in the order that the days on Russell's status report (which commences each episode) dictates. Regional and national stations aired the series in a wide range of orders. In some cases, this included mixing Year One and Year Two episodes at random.
Original episode airdates below reflect the non-uniform order of Space: 1999 as broadcast worldwide. Space: 1999 premiered on 23 July 1975 in Australia and 4 September 1975 in the UK. The Year Two opener "The Metamorph" was first broadcast on American television in August 1976, several weeks before its British debut on 4 September.
One preferred order is to use the original production order, to account for subtle changes in sets and cast. For Year Two episodes, the number of days since the Moon left Earth orbit is often mentioned in the dialogue, although this number does not always progress consistently. DVD releases have followed this order as well. Another order is suggested by Andrew Kearley on a site that he created as a tribute to and analysis of the series.
| Ep. # | Title | Director[2] | Writer(s)[2] | Original Air Date[3] | Production #[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Breakaway" | Lee H. Katzin | George Bellak | 4 September 1975 | 1 |
| In September 1999, John Koenig reports to Earth's Space Research Centre at Moonbase Alpha as its new commander. A strange infection force is killing some of the Moonbase Alpha crew. Commander John's investigation reveals that the source lies at Area 1 caused by excessive magnetic energy fields. The continuous build up of energy shortly causes massive explosion clusters that knocks the moon off orbit into deep space. | |||||
| 2 | "Matter of Life and Death" | Charles Crichton | Art Wallace & Johnny Byrne | 27 November 1975 | 2 |
| A lush Earth-type planet holds the promise of a new home and a new life for the people of Moonbase Alpha. When the reconnaissance Eagle returns, it carries an unexpected passenger: Helena's husband—who died five years ago. Back from the grave, the mysterious Lee Russell tells the Alphans that only death awaits them on the new planet. The Alphans ignore his warning and unknowingly descend into a world composed of antimatter. | |||||
| 3 | "Black Sun" | Lee H. Katzin | David Weir | 6 November 1975 | 3 |
| The travelling Moon drifts within range of a black sun. Pulled toward certain destruction by its inescapable gravitational force, the Alphans employ desperate measures to stay alive. Amidst controversy, a lifeboat Eagle carries six persons to safety. With only an experimental forcefield protecting the rest of Alpha, the Moon plunges into the black sun. They pass from this reality into a mind-bending realm where space, time and thought are interchangeable. | |||||
| 4 | "Ring Around the Moon" | Ray Austin | Edward di Lorenzo | 15 January 1976 | 4 |
| A technician falls under an alien influence, accessing classified information before mysteriously dying. Soon after, the Moon is stopped in space by the powerful rays of an alien spacecraft. Trapped by the unseen beings from the planet Triton, the Alphans try to communicate. The aliens only interest in Alpha is the data held in its computers—information they now plan to obtain through the possessed eyes of their next agent: Helena Russell. | |||||
| 5 | "Earthbound" | Charles Crichton | Anthony Terpiloff | 4 December 1975 | 5 |
| An alien spacecraft crash lands on the Moon, its passengers refugees from a dying world. As their destination is Earth, they generously offer to take one person with them when they depart. As the Alphans examine the alien suspended animation process to certify it safe for a human being, the scheming Commissioner Simmonds takes steps to insure he is the lucky individual chosen—even if it means destroying Alpha. | |||||
| 6 | "Another Time, Another Place" | David Tomblin | Johnny Byrne | 18 December 1975 | 6 |
| After an encounter with a space-time anomaly, the Alphans find their Moon back in the Solar System on a course to re-enter Earth orbit. The celebration ends when it becomes apparent some holocaust has obliterated all human civilisation. The mystery deepens when they discover a duplicate Moon already in orbit and a duplicate Moonbase Alpha lying empty and deserted. While exploring the Earth surface, Koenig and company make the most shocking discovery of all. | |||||
| 7 | "Missing Link" | Ray Austin | Edward di Lorenzo | 22 January 1976 | 7 |
| Abducted from a crashed Eagle, John Koenig finds himself trapped on the planet Zenno, in the home of an alien scientist and his beautiful daughter. At an evolutionary state two million years beyond Earthmen, the aliens consider Koenig an example of primitive man—their missing link. Faced with the threat of being treated like an experimental animal for the rest of his life, Koenig uses a most unexpected weapon to confound his captor: love. | |||||
| 8 | "Guardian of Piri" | Charles Crichton | Christopher Penfold | 13 November 1975 | 8 |
| Strange events befuddle the Alphans as they approach the planet Piri. When exploring its lifeless surface, Koenig encounters the seductive servant of the mysterious Guardian of Piri. She offers the wayward Alphans a new life of eternal peace and perfection under the dominion of the Guardian. Realising the deadly truth behind the peace of Piri, Koenig struggles to free his people from the Guardian's insidious influence. | |||||
| 9 | "Force of Life" | David Tomblin | Johnny Byrne | 11 September 1975 | 9 |
| The body of Anton Zoref is invaded by a life-force from space. The man soon manifests an uncontrollable ability to absorb heat. As the Alphans struggle to understand this mysterious force, Zoref's need becomes insatiable. Driven by instinct, he makes his way to the greatest source of heat on Alpha—the Nuclear Generating Plant. Koenig and company must stop Zoref before he intentionally causes a nuclear explosion. | |||||
| 10 | "Alpha Child" | Ray Austin | Christopher Penfold | 16 October 1975 | 10 |
| The Alphans celebrate the arrival of the first child born on the Moon . The blessed event turns sour when the infant grows into a five-year-old child in a matter of minutes. While the Alphans struggle to accept this unsettling development, they do not notice that little Jackie Crawford is much more than he seems. When hostile spaceships approach the base, John Koenig is too late in realising the aliens have an agent installed on Alpha. | |||||
| 11 | "The Last Sunset" | Charles Crichton | Christopher Penfold | 1 January 1976 | 11 |
| When reconnaissance Eagles begin surveying a habitable planet, anonymous alien benfactors provide the wandering Moon with a breathable atmosphere. The Alphans rejoice as they realise they have a wonderful new home in their own backyard. Preparations are made to settle and begin building a new civilisation outside of Alpha. Koenig, though, is suspicious of the aliens' motives, wondering how long this generous gift will last. | |||||
| 12 | "Voyager's Return" | Bob Kellett | Johnny Byrne | 9 October 1975 | 12 |
| The automated Earth space probe Voyager One is approaching the Moon. With its radioactive exhaust certain to extinguish all life on Moonbase, the Alphans desperately try to gain control and shut down its engines. Help comes from an unexpected source when the probe's designer is found living on Alpha under an assumed name. However, Voyager is being followed by alien ships seeking revenge for the damage caused to their planets by the deadly probe. | |||||
| 13 | "Collision Course" | Ray Austin | Anthony Terpiloff | 18 September 1975 | 13 |
| The Moon is found to be on a collision course with an enormous planet. While the Alphans implement a desperate plan to avoid the devastating impact, Koenig encounters Arra, the Queen of Atheria. The aged monarch proclaims the collision is a preordained event and must occur for her people to evolve to a higher plane of existence. Now Koenig must convince his colleages to have faith and do nothing in the face of apparent destruction. | |||||
| 14 | "Death's Other Dominion" | Charles Crichton | Anthony Terpiloff & Elizabeth Barrows | 2 October 1975 | 14 |
| On a frozen planet, the Alphans encounter shipwrecked humans from a lost expedition. The expatriates from Earth enjoy an idyllic existence—especially as they have been made immortal by some unknown agent and have lived there for over 880 years. They invite the wayward Alphans to join them in paradise. But dissidents reveal all is not at it seems, teaching Koenig that immortality can exact a terrible cost. | |||||
| 15 | "The Full Circle" | Bob Kellett | Jesse Lasky Jnr. & Pat Silver | 11 December 1975 | 15 |
| When exploring a lush habitable planet, the Alphans are deeply concerned when members of the survey party begin vanishing without a trace. Are they the victims of an indigenous tribe of Stone-Age humanoids living nearby? The mystery deepens when a dead caveman is found to have capped teeth. Others soon notice the primitive cave chief and his mate bear an uncanny resemblance to the missing John Koenig and Helena Russell. | |||||
| 16 | "End of Eternity" | Ray Austin | Johnny Byrne | 20 November 1975 | 16 |
| The Alphans unwittingly maim an alien they find trapped within an asteroid. On bringing him to Alpha, they discover his fatal wounds have miraculously healed. The indestructible Balor is a scientist who has discovered the secret of immortality. Also a psychopath, he plans to spend eternity practicing the art of pain and torture—with the Alphans as his subjects. To save themselves, the Alphans must figure out how to kill an unkillable man. | |||||
| 17 | "War Games" | Charles Crichton | Christopher Penfold | 25 September 1975 | 17 |
| When approaching an inhabited planet, the Alphans are suddenly pounced upon by warships. In an unprovoked attack, Moonbase Alpha is devastated by Earth-style Hawk fighters. With 128 dead and Alpha unable to sustain life, Koenig and Helena appeal to the aliens for mercy. The aliens proclaim the Earthmen to be an invading virus—with no right to exist. A battle for survival begins in a world where the mind has mastery over matter and nothing is what it seems. | |||||
| 18 | "The Last Enemy" | Bob Kellett | Bob Kellett | 19 February 1976 | 18 |
| The Moon approaches a solar system with two habitable planets on opposites sides of its sun. The Alphans find themselves caught in a cross fire when warships from both worlds trespass on the Moon—firing missles not on Moonbase, but at their opponents' planets. After taking in a seductive refugee from a destroyed gunship, the Alphans discover they have drifted into the middle of a literal war of the sexes. | |||||
| 19 | "The Troubled Spirit" | Ray Austin | Johnny Byrne | 5 February 1976 | 19 |
| An innocent experiment turns deadly. Dan Mateo, hoping to unlock the secret of communication with plants, unleashes a killing force from the depths of his own mind. This macabre spectre seeks vengeance for Mateo's horrible death—which has not yet occurred. Bridging the span between science and the supernatural, the Alphans hope to break the cycle and exorcise the ghost without killing the man. | |||||
| 20 | "Space Brain" | Charles Crichton | Christopher Penfold | 29 January 1976 | 20 |
| A reconnaissance Eagle and its crew are crushed to death by the unknown emissions of an enormous energy field in space. When one of Alpha's astronauts is possessed by the anomaly, he tells them the energy field is a sentient space brain, which responded to the threat of the Eagle with antibodies. Discovering the Moon is on a collision course with the Brain, the Alphans make desperate plans to avoid suffering the same fate as the Eagle. | |||||
| 21 | "The Infernal Machine" | David Tomblin | Anthony Terpiloff & Elizabeth Barrows | 8 January 1976 | 21 |
| The Alphans are visited by a bizarre spacecraft, whose request for supplies hides a deeper purpose. The ship, Gwent, is found to be sentient—the attempt of a vain alien genius to live forever. Koenig, Helena and Bermgan discover its outward beneficence is a ruse when they are trapped on board. Powerful, unstable and craving companionship, Gwent intends for the three Alphans to replace its aged, dying creator. | |||||
| 22 | "Mission of the Darians" | Ray Austin | Johnny Byrne | 30 October 1975 | 22 |
| Encountering an enormous derelict spaceship, the Alphans respond to an automated distress signal. Boarding the vessel, the Alphans discover two fractured remains of the once-great civilisation of Daria. One is an urbane elite group which still controls the ship; the other, a tribe which has descended into savagery. The Alphans are appalled when they discover the methods the Darians have employed in the name of survival. | |||||
| 23 | "Dragon's Domain" | Charles Crichton | Christopher Penfold | 23 October 1975 | 23 |
| In 1996, Captain Tony Celllini commanded a space mission which ended in disaster. The sole survivor, he told an outrageous tale of his encounter with an eerie spaceship graveyard and the alien 'dragon' which devoured his crew. Vilified by the entire world, he was left a broken man, believed only by his friend John Koenig. Five years later, the truth is revealed when the Moon approaches the same deadly Sargasso in space. | |||||
| 24 | "The Testament of Arkadia" | David Tomblin | Johnny Byrne | 12 February 1976 | 24 |
| The wandering Moon suddenly changes course and comes to a halt in the vicinity of a dead world. As Moonbase Alpha's power fails, the Alphans only hope for survival is to evacuate to a planet ravaged by a nuclear war in the distant past. While exploring the surface, they discover the shocking truth of the origin of Mankind. Under the influence of a mysterious force, two Alphans fanatically campaign to return life to the home of their ancient ancestors. | |||||
The credited regular cast for Year Two are:
Credited recurring cast for Year Two include:
| Ep. # | Title | Director[2] | Writer(s)[2] | Original Air Date[6] | Production #[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Metamorph" | Charles Crichton | Johnny Byrne | 4 September 1976 | 1 |
| 2 | "The Exiles" | Ray Austin | Donald James | 11 September 1976 | 2 |
| 3 | "One Moment of Humanity" | Charles Crichton | Tony Barwick | 25 September 1976 | 3 |
| 4 | "All That Glisters" | Ray Austin | Keith Miles | 28 October 1976 | 4 |
| 5 | "Journey to Where" | Tom Clegg | Donald James | 18 September 1976 | 5 |
| 6 | "The Taybor" | Bob Brooks | Thom Keyes | 4 November 1976 | 6 |
| 7 | "The Rules of Luton" | Val Guest | "Charles Woodgrove"[7] | 23 October 1976 | 7 |
| 8 | "The Mark of Archanon" | Charles Crichton | Lew Schwarz | 16 October 1976 | 8 |
| 9 | "Brian the Brain" | Kevin Connor | Jack Ronder | 2 October 1976 | 9 |
| 10 | "New Adam, New Eve" | Charles Crichton | Terence Feely | 9 October 1976 | 10 |
| 11 | "Catacombs of the Moon" | Robert Lynn | Anthony Terpiloff | 25 November 1976 | 11 |
| 12 | "The AB Chrysalis" | Val Guest | Tony Barwick | 18 November 1976 | 12 |
| 13 | "Seed of Destruction" | Kevin Connor | John Goldsmith | 11 November 1976 | 13 |
| 14 | "The Beta Cloud" | Robert Lynn | "Charles Woodgrove"[7] | 16 December 1976 | 14 |
| 15 | "Space Warp" | Peter Medak | "Charles Woodgrove"[7] | 2 December 1976 | 15 |
| 16 | "A Matter of Balance" | Charles Crichton | Pip & Jane Baker | 9 December 1976 | |
| 17 | "The Bringers of Wonder, Part One" | Tom Clegg | Terence Feely | 4 August 1977 | 17 |
| 18 | "The Bringers of Wonder, Part Two" | Tom Clegg | Terence Feely | 11 August 1977 | 18 |
| 19 | "The Lambda Factor" | Charles Crichton | Terrance Dicks | 23 December 1976 | 19 |
| 20 | "The Seance Spectre" | Peter Medak | Donald James | 18 August 1977 | 20 |
| 21 | "Dorzak" | Val Guest | Christopher Penfold | 25 August 1977 | 21 |
| 22 | "Devil's Planet" | Tom Clegg | Michael Winder | 1 September 1977 | 22 |
| 23 | "The Immunity Syndrome" | Bob Brooks | Johnny Byrne | 29 October 1977 | 23 |
| 24 | "The Dorcons" | Tom Clegg | Johnny Byrne | 12 November 1977 | 24 |
Four films were assembled from various episodes of Space: 1999 in the 1970s and 1980s. One aim was to provide content for new American and European cable and satellite TV stations (and for theatrical release, which occurred in a number of European countries). The fifth film, Spazio: 1999, was created specifically for theatrical release in Italy. With the exception of Spazio: 1999, the films were released on home video years before individual episodes.
Some American editions of the English-language releases include specially filmed introductions by B-movie actress Sybil Danning. Space: 1999 actors Martin Landau and Barbara Bain were reportedly upset at this re-packaging and launched legal proceedings.[9]
At the Breakaway 1999 convention,[1] held in Los Angeles, California in 1999, a short featurette entitled Message from Moonbase Alpha premiered on 13 September. Produced by fans and written by Space: 1999 script editor Johnny Byrne, the short film features a tearful monologue performed by actress Zienia Merton in character as Sandra Benes.
The premise of the film, set decades after the events of the TV series, is that Moonbase Alpha's life-support systems have finally started to fail. Fortunately, a space warp has propelled the Moon to within range of an Earth-like planet, dubbed Terra Alpha. Following a vote (which was contested by some), Commander John Koenig has made the decision for all inhabitants to evacuate Alpha and settle on the planet before the Moon travels out of range. Sandra states that Operation Exodus is a gamble, as the planet is an unknown factor: the Moon is determined to be entering an orbit of sorts, although it will not return to Terra Alpha for another 25 years.
Meanwhile, Maya has devised a way for Alpha to send a message back to Earth using another space warp. Sandra - the last Alphan to leave the Moon - is given the task of sending it, although it is not known when or if the message will arrive. The film ends with the Meta Probe signal featured at the end of the pilot episode "Breakaway", indicating that the first signal the Alphans receive from space is, in fact, one that they have sent to themselves from the future. The featurette was shot on a small set using design elements from both Years One and Two, and includes character and special effects footage from various episodes, some of which underwent minor alterations.
With the exception of Sandra, the only series characters mentioned in the present tense (meaning that they are still active at the time of arrival at Terra Alpha) are Maya and John Koenig, although Helena Russell also appears in the title sequences. Sandra also eulogises several notable Alphans who are now deceased, including Victor Bergman and Paul Morrow, and also mentions her fiancé Michael and Luke and Anna, as seen in the episode "The Testament of Arkadia".
Byrne devised Message from Moonbase Alpha to permit the possibility of a sequel series. According to Byrne's revival concept, this series would be set about 25 years later, and feature the children of the Alphans who leave Terra Alpha when the Moon and its Moonbase mysteriously return. Although there was some press and fan speculation regarding the proposal at the end of 1999, the series remains undeveloped. Byrne himself died in 2008.
The original arrangement between all the parties involved in the production of Message from Moonbase Alpha and (then) copyright holders of Space: 1999, Carlton Media International, was that the film would be screened once only, at the September 1999 convention. However, it was subsequently shown at other events and made available as a special feature on various DVD releases in the United States, Canada, France and Italy, in both its original and adapted forms, contrary to the wishes of some of those involved in the production.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||