Space: 1999 was acclaimed at the time of its release, but has not held up well over the years. It still delivered a fun space adventure and sci fi TV guilty please, and many have fond memories of the show.
What Is It?
On September 13, 1999, the Moon gets torn out of orbit Earth’s orbit when a nuclear waste dump on the surface erupts in a massive explosion, sending the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha on a journey through the stars. They encounter alien civilizations and cosmic phenomena as they seek a way back or a planet that can become their new home.
Cast: Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Barry Morse, Catherine Schell, Nick Tate, Prentis Hancock,
Zienia Merton, Anton Phillips
Crew: Gerry Anderson (Creator/Executive Producer), Sylvia Anderson (Creator/Executive Producer), Johnny Byrne (Writer), Barry Gray (Composer)
Aired: 1975-77, ITV (Syndicated in the U.S.), 2 Seasons Totaling 48 Episodes
Legacy
This show was a big deal for its time, garnering plenty of media attention and pulling pretty high viewership early on. The special effects were some of the best ever seen on television up to that time, and it brought a similar sense of awe that we had seen in science fiction movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Silent Running. But it played fast and loose with science and delivered slowly-paced episodes that could be confusing at times. The shift in the second season to mostly action-oriented plots did not help, and ultimately the show falls short of being considered a true classic of sci fi TV. But it could be quite enjoyable at times and counts as a genre guilty pleasure.
A Closer Look
This series arrived on the scene in the mid-70s from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson who had created multiple popular Supermarionation sci fi shows in the ’60s like Thunderbirds, Stingray, and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons as well as the 1970 live-action series UFO. The scope for Space:1999 was big with one of the largest budgets a television show had seen at that time, and it rode the wave of Star Trek popularity to television–that show had become a phenomenon in the syndication market after its cancellation by NBC. The special effects were first-rate for the pre-CGI era and the art direction of the show gave it a certain beauty and alien ambiance. It also followed the typically British trend of mixing horror with sci fi elements.
Unfortunately, though, the stories often did not quite match up to the show’s production values. Space: 1999 was already stretching the boundaries of science with its basic premise of the Moon hurtling from star to star each week (and most having an Earth-like planet). The weekly stories pushed suspension of disbelief even further, and the wooden acting and slow pacing did not help matters much. Still, the first season of the show has a certain charm as it approaches 2001: A Space Odyssey headiness with its ambitions, even if the plots easily fall apart upon closer scrutiny.
The show started out strong in the ratings, but had fallen off notably by the end of its first year. It barely survived cancellation and Fred Freiberger–hated by many sci fi fans for allegedly ruining the third season of Star Trek–was brought in to “Americanize” the series. Space: 1999 went through many changes in its second year as it amped up the action and shuffled around the cast (dropping fan favorites like Professor Bergman and Paul Morrow without a word). One of the good additions was Catherine Schell as the alien Maya, but she couldn’t help save the show from the monster-of-the-week formula it mostly followed from that point forward, and it was cancelled after it wrapped up its sophomore year. Space: 1999 had its moments, mostly in its first season, and many who grew up with it still have fond memories of the show. But it has not held up well with time and has since mostly faded as a cult curiosity from a past era.
Cancelled Too Soon?
Yes. This show was originally produced by ITV on the assumption that one of the major American networks would carry it as a first-run series. But ABC, CBS, and NBC (there were only three commercial broadcasters at the time) all passed and it went into syndication instead. Some network affiliates actually aired it in Prime Time, preempting regularly scheduled programming, but that did not last long and it was typically shuffled off to Saturday afternoon schedules by mid-season where it was often preempted by sports. The show was nearly cancelled after its first year, but ITV decided to keep it going and made some major changes (as mentioned above) when all that was really needed was better scheduling. The ratings did not improve, but there were still talks of a third season which would have been only thirteen episodes to keep costs down. That did not happen, though, and the show was cut short at 48 eps which meant that it did not have much life in syndication after its first run.
The Final Episode
In 1999, the fan-produced mini-episode “Message from Moonbase Alpha” made the rounds at several conventions. This was penned by series writer Johnny Byrne, and Zienia Merton reprised her role as Sandra Benes sending a message that the Alphans had left the moon to the planet Terra Alpha. This gave the series a finale of sorts and was included in some of the DVD sets (you can also catch it on YouTube from time to time).
Should It Be Rebooted?
No, this property does not need a reboot. The basic premise of this show is just too far removed from science and there is not really a good way to rework it so that it seems plausible. Better to just do an all-new space-based show than try to bring back this retro series. Despite that, talks of a reboot of the series to be titled Space: 2099 began around 2012. Former V executive producer Jace Hall was attached to the project and had the following to say about it:
Space: 2099‘s goal is not to attempt to re-tell the specific story of Space: 1999. We are not trying to make some “dark and gritty” version of Space: 1999. There is no reason to re-tell the Space: 1999 story since we already have Space: 1999! However, through our new story and presentation, Space: 2099 hopes to re-kindle and remind fans of those memories of a show from 35 years ago, but more importantly help bring back to all science fiction fans that sense of awe, fear and incredible spectacle that is the unknown, unexplored universe. It is important that we endeavor to bring something new and exciting to the table.
There has been no word on the reboot for some time, though, and the website that was set up (www.Space2099TheSeries.com) is no longer active, so it is unclear if it is still moving forward.
The Story Continues
The collection of short stories Shephard Moon was issued with new adventures of the crew of Moonbase: Alpha followed by the novels Resurrection and The Forsaken. The graphic novel Aftershock and Awe revisited the initial breakaway of the Moon including how it affected the people on Earth (and it also altered some history leading up to those events). And Big Finish has put out several audio adventures based on the show that act as a reboot of sorts, though they draw from several of the actual episodes while also offering new adventures.
Interesting Facts
ITC Entertainment had so much confidence in the show that they financed the entire first season in advance (with additional funding from Italian broadcaster RAI). The idea was to sell it to the United States market and they believed that having a completed product would make for an easier sale. However, the U.S. networks preferred to have more control of the shows they aired, and all three of the major broadcasters (ABC, CBS, NBC) rejected it.
If the third season of Space: 1999 had gone forward, there were also plans in the works for a spin-off series focusing on Maya which would have aired concurrently with the parent show. Both would have run for thirteen episodes, though it is not completely clear if Maya would have left Moonbase Alpha or if there would still be a close connection between the two shows.
Retro Toys
Space: 1999 actually produced quite a number of toys, but probably most popular were the die-cast metal Eagle transporters from Dinky Toys. There were two available: the regular transporter with the passenger module and the cargo Eagle with the nuclear waste canisters. The modules could be removed and switched around to each version and these certainly offered hours of fun to young fans of the show.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series has been released on Blu-ray and DVD. It is also currently available to stream for free (with ads) on Tubi TV and on Shout! Factory TV.
Further Reading
Wikipedia
IMDb.com
Destination: Moonbase Alpha
Exploring Space: 1999
