It's similar, but definitely not Alpha. Alpha is depicted to deliberately evoke the 2001 base.
Space 1999!!!
- Thread starter LaxScrutiny
- Start date
Though if you're building in a crater the circular design makes sense.
Can't remember much about the moonbase in 2001 but Alpha was supposed to be at the bottom of a crater (The Last Sunset) but none of the effects shots seem to match the description).
Plus putting it down crater doesn't strike me as a good idea when you've got flight traffic coming and going.
It's a good idea for the same reason as having most of the base underground.
The sides of the crater will protect from cosmic rays and meteorites within a given angle. (Not everything comes straight down.) Put Alpha on a mountaintop and it's fully exposed. If anything, I'm surprised there is so much of Alpha exposed topside. For my design I'd be thinking a conning tower and the launchpads.
In terms of the flight traffic, >90% of the time there is no reason for traffic. Where are they going to go? (Even when they were in Earth orbit.) Cosmic rays are a constant.
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Well, this appears to be the most recently active discussion of Space: 1999, so what the heck. The last year or two have had more interesting Space: 1999 and UFO developments than we've had in ages.
As mentioned around here earlier, Big Finish has its audio reboots of both shows, which have their strengths and their weaknesses; they're a long way from being as good as BF's Torchwood and B7 ranges but they show signs of potential, assuming they last longer than the Prisoner audio series did. They're a weird mix of original stories and (sometimes drastically changed) adaptations of TV episodes.
In the world of books...
As mentioned around here earlier, Big Finish has its audio reboots of both shows, which have their strengths and their weaknesses; they're a long way from being as good as BF's Torchwood and B7 ranges but they show signs of potential, assuming they last longer than the Prisoner audio series did. They're a weird mix of original stories and (sometimes drastically changed) adaptations of TV episodes.
In the world of books...
- Space: 1999 has a lovely new Moonbase Alpha Technical Manual (with the occasional subtle UFO connection) and the UFO SHADO Technical Manual should be out soon.
- The old UK UFO comic strips have been collected in two big hardcover books.
- There's a colourfully illustrated nonfiction coffee table book, Space: 1999: The Vault.
- There's two books looking at the production of Space: 1999 and the unused or dramatically changed early scripts: To Everything That Might Have Been: The Lost Universe of Space: 1999, a nonfiction book drawing on a lot of recently found production documents for a look behind the scenes, and the forthcoming "Maybe There": The Lost Stories From Space: 1999, which is a series of prose adaptations of scripts that weren't used or changed dramatically before reaching the TV screen.
- Even Powys Media's line of Space: 1999 novels hasn't completely faded away. They not too long ago put out their big monster omnibus revision of the original Y1 novelizations as a ridiculously overpriced hardcover that I won't bother getting any time soon, they did a reprint of the previously too rare E.C. Tubb alt-universe Space: 1999 novel Earthfall, and they claim to still be working on the book or books that will wrap up the series.
You could have seen it ages ago on YouTube for free...I just saw Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's final collaboration pop up on Amazon Prime. Going to start binging. It'll make me feel like a teenager again.
The rise in interest is probably due to them both being on Amazon Prime.
Moreso a fan of the Anderson's Thunderbirds, Fireball XL5, Captain Scarlet etc. Would be great to soon have continuations of those terrific series.I just saw Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's final collaboration pop up on Amazon Prime. Going to start binging. It'll make me feel like a teenager again.
Hoping they pick up UFO, Stingray, Fireball XL5, and Captain Scarlet soon too. (I have Thunderbird on the shelf somewhere.)
"Anything can happen in the next half hour!"
Big Finish audio have done a number of audios for Thurnderbirds, Terrahawks, Captain Scarlett (with Wayne Forrester who voiced in the lead in the 2000s remake) and Stingray.
Mainly they've adapted tie-in works from when the shows originally aired rather than brand new material.
Plus their reimaging of UFO and Space:1999.
Not sure if they're quite what you're looking for, but they have done CGI animated reboots of both Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds.
Indeed - the Scarlet one is a bit patchy and falls prey to the Uncanny Valley with the CGI, but worth checking out. Thunderbirds Are Go is excellent. The opening sequence of the pilot two-parter had me blubbing because it so conjures the spirit of International Rescue - a billionaire decided on genuine altruism and this is the result.
Neither are continuations, though - they're reboots or retcons (Scarlet completely rejigs his origin story in the first eps, Thunderbirds makes some changes to the characters and timeline).
Powys Media has just released Odysseus Wept, which apparently wraps up the ongoing Space: 1999 storyline. Powys still has at least a couple of other books in the works, including Apocrypha. a collection of old stories from annuals and whatnot, but any other books set in the Powys Space: 1999 continuity will be set before Odysseus Wept. There are links to the Lulu order pages for the hardcover or trade paperback editions at the Powys facebook group.
I wouldn't recommend starting with this one if you haven't read the previous Powys books. They've developed a rather complicated continuity, despite there being only around ten previous books in the main Powys line.
Meanwhile, Big Finish announced that no more UFO audios are planned due to licencing issues. Space: 1999 seems to be continuing for now.
I wouldn't recommend starting with this one if you haven't read the previous Powys books. They've developed a rather complicated continuity, despite there being only around ten previous books in the main Powys line.
Meanwhile, Big Finish announced that no more UFO audios are planned due to licencing issues. Space: 1999 seems to be continuing for now.
Speaking of licencing issues, if you were thinking about getting some of the Powys Media Space: 1999 novels, you'll have to hope some used copies show up on eBay. Mateo Latosa announced on the Powys group on Facebook that the licence was pulled effective immediately. Because their books are produced by Lulu's print on demand operation, there is no stock of unsold copies floating around.
For the curious, Powys published 22 Space: 1999 books and two Prisoner novels, which were also licenced from ITV and seem to be gone:
None of these books are legally available as ebooks; Powys didn't have a licence for that. Unauthorized ebook versions of the 1970s books are circulating in dubious corners of the web, but I've never seen ebooks of the Powys novels. I haven't actually looked, though. I hope someone does get around to it so the books won't be completely lost. They're not all masterpieces but they should still be available to fans who want to read them.
For the curious, Powys published 22 Space: 1999 books and two Prisoner novels, which were also licenced from ITV and seem to be gone:
- Two very large collections of the 1970s novelizations for Year One and Year Two, with some new content and revisions.
- Ten novels starting in Year One, covering the changes between Y1 and Y2, and carrying the story forward years beyond the end of the TV series.
- One short story anthology set in the Powys Space: 1999 continuity.
- One book expanding the first Powys novel with a prequel story and a novelization of the episode it was a sequel to.
- Two nonfiction books about the Powysverse, one a guide to the Powysverse, the other a look behind the scenes at the development of the "big event" novels Omega and Alpha.
- Six reprints of other previously available books: the five original novels published in the 1970s and the rare 2003 Fanderson book with some new EC Tubb adaptations of TV episodes.
- The Prisoner's Dilemma by Jon Blum and Rupert Booth, imho a must read for Prisoner fans, and Miss Freedom by Andrew Cartmel, which was pretty good.
None of these books are legally available as ebooks; Powys didn't have a licence for that. Unauthorized ebook versions of the 1970s books are circulating in dubious corners of the web, but I've never seen ebooks of the Powys novels. I haven't actually looked, though. I hope someone does get around to it so the books won't be completely lost. They're not all masterpieces but they should still be available to fans who want to read them.
When I was on vacation last week, I walked into a used bookstore in Wenatchee and in the graphic novel section they had a hardbound Space: 1999 graphic novel that collected four issues of a Space: 1999 mini series that I had never heard of.
The first issue was a retelling of the pilot episode while the other three dealt with the environmental/political fallout from the moon leaving Earth's orbit.
It also came with a timeline of events leading up to Space: 1999.
One of the items I found interesting is that Kennedy was never assassinated and withdrew troops from Vietnam, leading to an accelerated exploration of Space.
Unfortunately, I didn't buy the book and now the name escapes me.
Maybe someone else knows what I'm talking about?
The first issue was a retelling of the pilot episode while the other three dealt with the environmental/political fallout from the moon leaving Earth's orbit.
It also came with a timeline of events leading up to Space: 1999.
One of the items I found interesting is that Kennedy was never assassinated and withdrew troops from Vietnam, leading to an accelerated exploration of Space.
Unfortunately, I didn't buy the book and now the name escapes me.
Maybe someone else knows what I'm talking about?
Probably Aftershock and Awe. See https://catacombs.space1999.net/main/merc/vmcblam.html. It was first published about ten years ago, and is now being reprinted with its companion volume, To Everything That Was, by the official Gerry Anderson store.
I rewatched the first episode recently with a friend and, gosh, it's slow.
There's a lot of exciting stuff going on in theory and it's only an hour long. But everything is glacially slow. There is never a sense of urgency. I know it was a different time, but really, it was so boring.
And I don't know if it was the director's idea or Barbara Bain's, but the latter's interpretation of a professional scientist is "waxwork". She is scary as she is motionless. At one point I began to check if she blinked. In the end my friend sincerely asked me if in-universe she would be a robot or something and it turns out in later episodes.
But everything is forgiven for the Eagles. Eagles are beautiful. Eagles are DOPE
There's a lot of exciting stuff going on in theory and it's only an hour long. But everything is glacially slow. There is never a sense of urgency. I know it was a different time, but really, it was so boring.
And I don't know if it was the director's idea or Barbara Bain's, but the latter's interpretation of a professional scientist is "waxwork". She is scary as she is motionless. At one point I began to check if she blinked. In the end my friend sincerely asked me if in-universe she would be a robot or something and it turns out in later episodes.
But everything is forgiven for the Eagles. Eagles are beautiful. Eagles are DOPE
Was listening and older Gerry Anderson pod on youtube recently and it featured in interview with Catherine Schell.
Seems that when she came onboard for season 2, there was Kate Mulgrew/Jeri Ryan type situation and that Bain had clauses in her contract on what Schell could and couldn't do (for example never appears as herself and that was discovered when a scene was cut).
Things were professional between the two women, but Catherine really liked Martin Landau and found him great fun to work with.
Ouch.
Wonder is in indication of possible trouble for Big Finish with their licence or whether it's because they're also doing Space:1999 material.
Then again they've also lost their licence for doing UFO which has brought that series to a halt (no details were given though on why though).
Uh sorry, I don't get it. What does it mean that Schell couldn't appear as herself?
she always had to have an alien in appearance even if she just has the eyebrows and sideburns and never appear totally human.
the cut scene had Tony in the medial unit looking at some magazines featuring Catherine Schell doing some modelling and makes a comment leading Maya to turn into Catherine as joke but it wasn’t allowed as per Bain’s contract.
search Gerry Anderson podcast Catherine Schell on YouTube and you should be able to listen to the interview for yourself.
Do you mean the exterior shots on the moon, such as Clavius Base? Those weren't models. They were all hand painted. (ALL of the exterior Moon shots were hand painted, actually.)
Although it is true that Kubrick had all of the interior Discovery sets, such as the centrifuge, destroyed.
Actually, some of them got dumped in a field (like the space station) and were smashed by some punk kids.
It's still on there now.
I wish Moonbase Alpha also came equipped with some Hawks (like those seen in War Games). They were cool too.But everything is forgiven for the Eagles. Eagles are beautiful. Eagles are DOPE
