fred freiberger : hack or hapless?

[johnnybear]

It was scary indeed! None of the personnel knew if they were going to make it past the next alien phenomena or spaceship attack! In the second series life was much more settled on Alpha and not that many people died! Two in the first episode and then none for a considerable amount of time in the show!
JB

 

[UnknownSample]

Well, a whole planet got destroyed/slaughtered first ep season 2! It was a very silly disaster though, and happened completely offscreen, so it doesn't count...

It bears repeating that that great s1 of Sp99 was entirely Freiberger-free. First chance FF got to get his teeth into the show, though, things got VERY silly, fast. It settled down a bit by the end of s2, though.

 

[johnnybear]

By the time FF got to Bringers of Wonder I think he nailed it, especially with Séance Spectre and the rest of the remaining episodes but it was a little to late to save the show really by then!
JB

 

[johnnybear]

I've just started rewatching series 2 of Space 1999 and I must admit that series 2 isn't bad but not a patch on the first twenty four episodes! It does take a lot of time for it to hit it's stride...
JB

 

[UnknownSample]

I feel like the Sp99 team must have taken charge after awhile, and discouraged FF's involvement at some point...

 

[IanFryer]

Exactly, regarding s1999 s2. He ignored s1 and "fixed" a show that didn't need fixing. The only thing that broke down up to that point was the Andersons' marriage. Sylvia was the producer and left but even prior Gerry was still considering Frieberger for a writer position ( which would have been fine because they could have course corrected after seeing he couldn't write) but instead he made Fred show-runner and when Gerry didn't like the changes Fred was making, he stepped away instead of stopping it (assuming he could have). S2 was terrible from start to finish and although I've outgrown much of my fanboy rigidity since I've gotten older, I will never acknowledge s2 as canon. Instead I imagine not only what could have been in s2, but what if S1999 was instead what it was intended to be...UFO:1999.

OK, this is a *really* late reply, however...
Space: 1999 was basically cancelled after its first season. Lew Grade was never going to bankroll another season on the lines of the first, no matter how much I and many others loved it. Gerry Anderson's solution was to bring in an American producer (Sylvia Anderson was the credited Producer on the first season, but the Anderson's bitter divorce meant they could no longer work together) and rework the series to be less cerebral and hopefully more in tune with what mainstream audiences who enjoyed Charlie's Angels wanted to see. Gerry spoke to a lot of potential Producers in the US, but it was a big ask to expect someone to relocate to England for over a year. Fred Freiberger got the job because he had a lot of relevant experience, was keen and was available. Gerry Anderson said in later interviews that Fred was the best producer who was actually available to take the job. Space: 1999 Year 2 is best regarded as a completely different series to the first season, taking a different approach to the same material.

 

[IanFryer]

During the 1969-70 broadcast season, NBC aired what I gather was a semi-anthology series called Bracken's World in the 10-11pm timeslot on Friday nights. That series remained in that timeslot during the first half of the 1970-71 broadcast season, after which it was cancelled and replaced by a British import called Strange Report, which only lasted 16 episodes. (Honest question -- did any of the ITC imports to the United States in the 1960s last on American network television?)

Secret Agent and The Saint had good runs. Strange Report is an odd one. It was produced in England for ITC by Arena Productions, which had made The Man from UNCLE and Dr Kildare. The plan was for the series to continue after the first 16 episodes, but relocate along with two of its lead actors, Anthony Quayle and Anneke Wills, to the US. The actors didn't go for that idea, so the show ended early. Shame.

 

[1001001]

OK, this is a *really* late reply, however...
Space: 1999 was basically cancelled after its first season. Lew Grade was never going to bankroll another season on the lines of the first, no matter how much I and many others loved it. Gerry Anderson's solution was to bring in an American producer (Sylvia Anderson was the credited Producer on the first season, but the Anderson's bitter divorce meant they could no longer work together) and rework the series to be less cerebral and hopefully more in tune with what mainstream audiences who enjoyed Charlie's Angels wanted to see. Gerry spoke to a lot of potential Producers in the US, but it was a big ask to expect someone to relocate to England for over a year. Fred Freiberger got the job because he had a lot of relevant experience, was keen and was available. Gerry Anderson said in later interviews that Fred was the best producer who was actually available to take the job. Space: 1999 Year 2 is best regarded as a completely different series to the first season, taking a different approach to the same material.

Hello and welcome.

Please take some time to review the rules for posting here pinned at the top of this forum, specifically the one about resurrecting old threads.

This one has been dead for over 8 years. Let’s let it rest in peace.

There is a current thread in this topic here:

When did Fred Freiberger jump the shark?

Was it the scripts? The T&A quote? Kirk in a woman's body? Discuss. . . . . . Happy April Fools Day all.

www.trekbbs.com

Thanks.