^To who? Maybe for some people, but not a true lot (and that's why the remake has to be better than the original.) The only thing I like about the original show are the ships, and that's it.
Has Fred Freiberger been misblamed for Season 3 over the years?
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Hey, I'm just reacting (light-heartedly) to the dumping on 1999 that's been going on in this thread. Why so combative? You may not like it. Plenty of people do. It's been a literally life-changing experience for me.
What dumping? I gave the show a fair shake when I revisited it and actually found things I liked. But even with that there's a reason it doesn't have a following anywhere near Star Trek's or TOS for that matter. At its best 1999 could be okay, but the rest isn't even that.
Indeed, I've no issue with any of your comments. But here are some other comments that have appeared in this thread:
"perhaps the worst attempt at a serious sf program I've seen"
"you could say that being worse than year one was no easy task!"
"Space: 1999 was shit from the concept alone and was not that well-acted"
"Space: 1999 was bogus from Day One"
I'm not even sure what this last one is supposed to mean!
All opinions of course, and people are entitled to hold them. But I wanted to offer a few alternative viewpoints.
I happen to disagree, but that's fine. What I don't hold with is the idea that something must be better because it's more popular. (Otherwise I'd be living in some bizarro world where Westlife are better than The Fall!) With all art, the only question has to be, does it speak to me? And by God, does Space: 1999 speak to me.
I really like Star Trek too, incidentally.
This has gone insanely off-topic, for which I apologize. I did think it was interesting the comments that Freiberger has removed the humour from Trek, when conversely he'd transplanted into Space.
Yeah, I said that. So what?
Full disclosure: I still tend to rewatch certain episodes from time to time. It's low priority, and it can get easily interrupted, but that's something that I certainly wouldn't do for a show that held no intrigue.
Perhaps you'd like to look over my reviews again. I think if you skim over that thread to refresh your memory, you'll find that I'm fairly familiar with the show. I can find a lot to like about it from a technical perspective, while finding more not to like about it from the perspective of characters and writing. That's not taking a dump on it.
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To recap here's my revisit of Space: 1999.
First season:
Second season:
I also recall saying that if the show had been cancelled after the first season it might be better remembered. That second season really taints it and collectively you end up with more disappointing outings than decent ones.
First season:
Second season:
I also recall saying that if the show had been cancelled after the first season it might be better remembered. That second season really taints it and collectively you end up with more disappointing outings than decent ones.
I don't understand all the hate for "Space: 1999." At least it was an attempt to give us some fresh new science fiction stories, instead of watching the same 79 Star Trek episodes over and over again. In fact, it was really the only live action space based science fiction series between the end of Star Trek and the premiere of Star Wars, so in some ways it was an oasis for science fiction fans in the mid-70's. I do acknowledge the series had its flaws, i.e., Barbara Bain basically whispering her lines in the first season, but I choose to remember this series fondly. I think if they could have combined the story telling of the first season with the changes Fred Freiberger introduced in the second season, the series would have been stronger overall and perhaps lasted longer.
There was also UFO.
I really liked UFO even with some of its own issues. Back in the day it was my second favourite SF show after TOS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CvURidpkCY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CvURidpkCY
I have to admit, I don't remember "UFO." We only received two channels back then, so if it wasn't on NBC or CBS, I didn't see it.
I can see how it would've been perceived that way by American viewers, but I doubt that was the intent, since it was a British-made show and Doctor Who had been running continuously in the UK since 1963. So to the show's creators and its local audience, there would've been no perception of a science fiction void in the '70s. On the contrary -- ITV deliberately counterprogrammed the show against Doctor Who, which I believe I recently read was the first time it had ever tried running a science-fiction show opposite Who. (And which didn't turn out well, since it only put a dent in Who's ratings for the first week and not so much thereafter.)
In the early to mid 70s, UFO and Space:1999 were valuable entities in the vacuum created by the cancellation of Star Trek in 1969. I'm a big fan of UFO especially. But I think Star Trek had more dramatic appeal and, obviously, more staying power. I am happy that the other shows were produced.
Just for curiosity's sake, I searched on IMDB all sf tv shows with a space setting produced between the end of Star Trek and the begin of Star Wars saga.
UFO (1969 TV Series)
In the year 1980 the Earth is threatened by an alien race who kidnap and kill humans and use them for body parts
Moonbase 3 (1973 Mini-Series)
The adventures of David Caulder and his crew stationed on Moonbase 3 on the moon's surface. In the 21st century...
Phoenix Five (1970 TV Series)
A low-budget science fiction series that followed the adventures of the crew of the galactic patrol ship Phoenix Five...
The Starlost (1973 TV Series)
A group of humans must explore a vast starship in order to find the controls to save it from destruction.
Far Out Space Nuts (1975 TV Series)
The misadventures of two maintenance workers who are accidentally launched into space. (30 mins.)
Space: 1999
The crew of Moonbase Alpha must struggle to survive when a massive explosion throws the Moon from orbit into deep space.
A feladat (1975)
I can't find nothing about this, just this image...
Pirx kalandjai
An Hungarian SF tv show.
The stories are set somewhere in the 21st or 22nd centuries, in which Mankind is starting to colonize the Solar System, has some settlements on the Moon and Mars, and is even beginning the exploration of the other solar systems.
Pirx is a cadet, a pilot, and finally a captain of a merchant spaceship, and the stories relate his life and various things that happen to him during his travels between the Earth, Moon, and Mars.
The Lost Saucer (1975–1976)
A flying saucer lands on modern day earth, and the two characters who fly it, Fi and Fum, invite a young boy and his babysitter to take a little trip with them. Unfortunately, something goes wrong and they end up lost in time. Each episode has them travelling to a different Earth of the future in their efforts to get Jerry and Alice back home.
Medusa (1976– ) (ehi, I liked this!)
TV series of British/German origin, and set in the "present" Earth of the 1970s. A planet from another solar system drifts into Earth's system and is detected by some Earth scientists who investigate. The surface of this planet is no longer habitable and the residents have moved to a high-tech underground city. The society is ruled by the women, who of course, are all beautiful. Men are considered mentally inferior and are divided into two categories: the "adequately intelligent" who are selected by women to act as their personal "domestics" for household chores, and the remainder who are forced to perform menial labor under the supervision of female guards.
Quark (1977– )
The misadventures of an outer space garbage collector and his crew.
Space Academy (1977–1979)
The adventures of the students of an outer space military school.
Doctor Who
...ok... no need of description here
There were also a lot of anime with a space setting, like Battleship Yamato (Star Blazers) or tokusatsu like Ultraman.
UFO (1969 TV Series)
In the year 1980 the Earth is threatened by an alien race who kidnap and kill humans and use them for body parts
Moonbase 3 (1973 Mini-Series)
The adventures of David Caulder and his crew stationed on Moonbase 3 on the moon's surface. In the 21st century...
Phoenix Five (1970 TV Series)
A low-budget science fiction series that followed the adventures of the crew of the galactic patrol ship Phoenix Five...
The Starlost (1973 TV Series)
A group of humans must explore a vast starship in order to find the controls to save it from destruction.
Far Out Space Nuts (1975 TV Series)
The misadventures of two maintenance workers who are accidentally launched into space. (30 mins.)
Space: 1999
The crew of Moonbase Alpha must struggle to survive when a massive explosion throws the Moon from orbit into deep space.
A feladat (1975)
I can't find nothing about this, just this image...
Pirx kalandjai
An Hungarian SF tv show.
The stories are set somewhere in the 21st or 22nd centuries, in which Mankind is starting to colonize the Solar System, has some settlements on the Moon and Mars, and is even beginning the exploration of the other solar systems.
Pirx is a cadet, a pilot, and finally a captain of a merchant spaceship, and the stories relate his life and various things that happen to him during his travels between the Earth, Moon, and Mars.
The Lost Saucer (1975–1976)
A flying saucer lands on modern day earth, and the two characters who fly it, Fi and Fum, invite a young boy and his babysitter to take a little trip with them. Unfortunately, something goes wrong and they end up lost in time. Each episode has them travelling to a different Earth of the future in their efforts to get Jerry and Alice back home.
Medusa (1976– ) (ehi, I liked this!)
TV series of British/German origin, and set in the "present" Earth of the 1970s. A planet from another solar system drifts into Earth's system and is detected by some Earth scientists who investigate. The surface of this planet is no longer habitable and the residents have moved to a high-tech underground city. The society is ruled by the women, who of course, are all beautiful. Men are considered mentally inferior and are divided into two categories: the "adequately intelligent" who are selected by women to act as their personal "domestics" for household chores, and the remainder who are forced to perform menial labor under the supervision of female guards.
Quark (1977– )
The misadventures of an outer space garbage collector and his crew.
Space Academy (1977–1979)
The adventures of the students of an outer space military school.
Doctor Who
...ok... no need of description here
There were also a lot of anime with a space setting, like Battleship Yamato (Star Blazers) or tokusatsu like Ultraman.
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You're right! But there are too many...
And with titles like Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space and Partridge Family 2200 A.D....
A feladat (means "The Task") was a three part film made for Hungarian Television in 1975 and directed by Várkonyi Gabor, based on a 1970 novel by Péter Zsoldos. More a miniseries than a series.
But not all that many space based TV series, which I think was the point. Even UFO's action took place on Earth a good portion of the time. Six Mil was primarily an espionage action series with some dips into Earthbound science fiction. A lot US network science fiction series in the 70's were pretty bland. SFX and sets took a real step backward into the coardboard cheapness (see Logan's Run). 1999 at least looked like a feature film much of the time and was the best looking SF series on TV until Battlestar Galactica hit the airwaves,
I loved 1999, I still do. When it premiered in the states, it ran back to back with Trek reruns and those nights were incredible in my house. My whole family would enjoy both shows. I didn't think about the concept's basic ubsurdity, I just enjoyed a new space series. Both years appealed to me in different ways. To this day, I love the series, while being well aware of its flaws. Trek has a shitload of them too, but I still carry on that love affair as well.
I enjoy most imaginative, fun sci fi TV, from the Irwin Allen stuff through SeaQuest. I'm not particularly picky, it just has to not bore me.
I agree with Warped9 that you shouldn't limit it to space shows. Plenty of science fiction has always been earthbound. And The Six Million Dollar Man featured an astronaut as its main character and often had stories involving manned spaceflight and alien visitors.
Also, Space Academy and Quark don't really qualify as pre-Star Wars. SA was actually able to snap up some of the production team that had just finished doing Star Wars, which was why it had such cool sets and special effects for a low-budget Saturday morning show. And Quark was as much a parody of SW as of Trek and other sci-fi. IIRC, its pilot episode involved the search for something called "The Source," a parody of the Force.
Also, Space Academy and Quark don't really qualify as pre-Star Wars. SA was actually able to snap up some of the production team that had just finished doing Star Wars, which was why it had such cool sets and special effects for a low-budget Saturday morning show. And Quark was as much a parody of SW as of Trek and other sci-fi. IIRC, its pilot episode involved the search for something called "The Source," a parody of the Force.
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