Re-Watching Space: 1999

[Christopher]

I did love the design of the guns they used, and I haven't watched the series in a while but I do remember one episode you can see a hand off camera handing someone their gun which was supposed to have just materialized out of nothing.

Which might not have been visible in the original broadcast. Older TVs had slightly rounded frames that covered up the extreme edges of the picture, because CRT images often had rough or distorted edges. So it was assumed that things right on the edge of the frame wouldn't be seen. But these days, our HDTVs and digital video windows display the whole image, so we occasionally see things along the edges that were originally hidden.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Which might not have been visible in the original broadcast. Older TVs had slightly rounded frames that covered up the extreme edges of the picture, because CRT images often had rough or distorted edges. So it was assumed that things right on the edge of the frame wouldn't be seen. But these days, our HDTVs and digital video windows display the whole image, so we occasionally see things along the edges that were originally hidden.

My version of the set has all the episodes in the original 4:3 and yet that one episode you still slightly see that off stage hand. I think it's more that on a PC screen or widescreen TV the straight edges of the picture are more visible as it sits in the centre of the screen. There's a list of bloopers somewhere that mentions you can see it even when it was originally broadcast. I'll hunt around.

Couldn't find that one but did find some goofs

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072564/goofs?ref_=tt_ql_trv_2

More detailed list

https://www.moviemistakes.com/tv11547

 

[Christopher]

My version of the set has all the episodes in the original 4:3 and yet that one episode you still slightly see that off stage hand.

It's not about aspect ratio. Widening the aspect ratio obviously can't add more information than was in the original image. Again, I'm saying that the actual physical frame of TV sets covered the outer edges of the rectangular 4:3 image. It's called "overscan." Since old CRTs were unreliable in their positioning and size of the image when they projected it, the projection area on the front of the CRT was made larger than the actual picture area, and so the TV cabinet's picture frame would cut off the outer edges of the picture area so viewers wouldn't see the edges or the blank space beyond them. So it was understood that most sets would cut off at least part of the outer edges of the image, that they'd be part of the projected image but physically hidden behind the curved edges of the screen. So ideally you'd want to keep mike booms or grips' hands out of the frame because at least some sets would show the whole image, but as long as it was really near the edge, it wasn't a critical problem.

Today, though, we have digital broadcasts that require no such margin for error, so our screens display the entire image all the way to the edges, and thus such intrusions are easier to notice.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

It's not about aspect ratio. Widening the aspect ratio obviously can't add more information than was in the original image. Again, I'm saying that the actual physical frame of TV sets covered the outer edges of the rectangular 4:3 image. It's called "overscan." Since old CRTs were unreliable in their positioning and size of the image when they projected it, the projection area on the front of the CRT was made larger than the actual picture area, and so the TV cabinet's picture frame would cut off the outer edges of the picture area so viewers wouldn't see the edges or the blank space beyond them. So it was understood that most sets would cut off at least part of the outer edges of the image, that they'd be part of the projected image but physically hidden behind the curved edges of the screen. So ideally you'd want to keep mike booms or grips' hands out of the frame because at least some sets would show the whole image, but as long as it was really near the edge, it wasn't a critical problem.

Today, though, we have digital broadcasts that require no such margin for error, so our screens display the entire image all the way to the edges, and thus such intrusions are easier to notice.

Ah....... I see.

 

[Marc]

On the subject of Eagle numbers,

but how many people can jam into one in case of emergency?

Probably not many otherwise

Spoiler

in Black Sun they would have been able to have more than 6 people plus Carter in the cockpit

 

[Skipper]

In Brekway Koenig arrives on the Moon on a passenger Eagle which seems can carry more than 6 people.

 

[Mr Awe]

The Eagles are a great design... as long as you don't think about the details. They share a fundamental flaw with Trek shuttlecraft, in that they have no airlock between the pressurized interior and the vacuum of space. Also, the extendable docking tunnel on the miniature corresponds to nothing in the interior set. It just magically materializes out of nowhere when it's needed.

True, but upon exiting and entering the passenger compartment, they'd often tell whoever was in the command module to depressurize or repressurize. So, they tried. I just rewatched the series and that stood out. Basically, the passenger compartment was the air lock!

 

[Mr Awe]

CometTV did a marathon of the first season last Friday the 13th to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the moon getting blown out of orbit in 'Breakaway'.
After re-watching the pilot episode I've come to think that the whole Meta Probe/Planet Meta could have been excised from the plot as being extraneous as it's never followed up on in subsequent episodes. Or maybe it could have been altered to be the first mission to Mars.
Also, Roy Dotrice has to have the worst haircut I've ever seen. Most of the haircuts seem unprofessional. (Yes, I know it was the 70s and long hair was in fashion and that Moonbase Alpha was more of a civilian rather than military operation, I just would liked to have seen a little more 'short back and sides'. I'm reminded of the ever-lengthening hair of the U.N.I.T. soldiers in the Jon Pertwee era of Doctor Who.)



There's a fan website called Space: 1999 - The Catacombs that managed to track down the surviving audio of the pilot episode, which adds up to about 15-30 minutes, and pair it with stills to recreate what the missing scenes would have looked like. Most of it is doesn't add much to the episode, but there are one or two nice character moments.

Gerry Anderson tells a funny story about the original cut of the pilot. Apparently, the ITV office in the US wanted an American director so as to create an episode more palatable to Americans and more saleable to American networks. That's a general theme for the series, put particularly a strong demand for the pilot.

I forget who directed the pilot but the original cut was awful. Way over length and slow. Even the ITV US office thought it was horrible. Gerry Anderson personally cut it down to what we saw and all agreed it was a massive improvement.

 

[Mr Awe]

Space: 1999 was my first introduction to SF as a kid! I had not seen it since then until I recently got the Blu Ray set. Fantastic seeing it again in HD. Apparently the show was filmed on 35mm. As a kid I loved this show so much.

Rewatching it as an adult was a treat. Yeah, it wasn't scientifically accurate, but that really wasn't the point. I was impressed with how good the show looked. The Eagles and Moonbase in particular but often the sets for individual episodes were nice. The commlocks and laser guns were nice touches. They also had massive sets in the first season. There's main mission of course. But, the Nuclear Generating Plant in Force of Life was massive and fairly detailed. Space: 1999 had a distinct look that really worked. Both the main cast and supporting cast do a great job. in particular, I'd forgotten what a fantastic character Victor Bergman is. A scientists but not trapped by logic like Spock.

Unfortunately, the stories are usually the weak link. But, I enjoyed them. They seemed to emphasize the SFx over the writing. I loved the characters.

There were the major changes in season two. I won't detail the character changes as possible spoilers. But, when the 2nd season first started, I so wanted to dislike it. But, I really got into it. The added warmth and humor was good. Even the character changes. It was obviously a lower budget series though. Well, technically, I guess they had more money per episode but given the high inflation at the time, they effectively had less. You could see the smaller budget in the reduced scale of the sets and sometimes in the SFx.

It was great rewatching. Interesting exercise seeing what I remember and didn't remember as kid. I mostly didn't remember it. A few scenes here and there. A few plot points. But, mostly new. My main memories were of the Eagles, Moonbase, and characters.

 

[Marc]

There's main mission of course.

the actors loved the Main Mission set but by all accounts it was an pain from a production point of view as it was very time consuming for the crew to light it for a filming.

 

[Mysterion]

A somewhat rainy Saturday morning, so here's three:

A Ring Around the Moon
Meh. Another glowy thing approaches the moon, posses a couple of people and attempts to blow up the base. This one didn't do a whole lot for me.

Earthbound
This is more like it. Most engaging episode since Breakaway so far. Nice to see some resolution to the dangling Simmonds thread. Plus there's freaking Christopher Lee along to give things a nice sense of gravitas. A refreshing lack of the metaphysical stuff that has dominated things to this point - not that that's a bad thing per se, but a nice change of pace. And good to see Simmonds get what he deserves.

Another Time, Another Place
This was interesting. Reminded me slightly of the DSN episode Children of Time. Once again, Barry Morse as Bergman (or maybe as Bergmen?) carries things along nicely. Morse is the best thing going for this series in the acting department. And I like seeing a scientist character not afraid to say when he doesn't have an answer. The only thing that didn't quite sit right was poor Regina having "Two brains". Maybe they could have said "two personalities" or used some other terminology to get the point across. But, enjoyed this episode.

 

[Mysterion]

According to the computer he deserved to get selected anyway.

Yeah, not only can Karma be a real bitch but it's got a real sick sense of humor, too.

 

[Zeta]

I eagerly await your commentary of Dragon’s Domain, the nightmare fuel of my youth.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

the actors loved the Main Mission set but by all accounts it was an pain from a production point of view as it was very time consuming for the crew to light it for a filming.

And Konno loved Computer very much

 

[Mysterion]

And Konno loved Computer very much

Possibly a little too much. But I'm sure he used very good anti-virus software.

 

[Marc]

And Konno loved Computer very much

where's a picard double facepalm when I need one?

 

[Gary Mitchell]

where's a picard double facepalm when I need one?

 

[Mysterion]

^^^^
Well done, Sir.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Koenig looks like me on Monday mornings at the office.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Koenig looks like me on Monday mornings at the office.

That’s Koenig’s Moonday face.