Revisiting Space: 1999...

[Warped9]

Whatever my criticisms of Season 1 it was pretty clear that in many of the stories they were aiming for something different, trying to catch a sensibility similar to the New Age SF lit being written around that time.

But what I just saw was sloppy. And I gotta say I missed Bergman's presence. Is his absence ever explained in the show?

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Sadly, no. No mention of Paul or Kano either.

 

[Andrew_Kearley]

Whatever my criticisms of Season 1 it was pretty clear that in many of the stories they were aiming for something different, trying to catch a sensibility similar to the New Age SF lit being written around that time.

Yeah, that's part of the thing that appeals to me really - that it seems far more literary than any other sci-fi tv show being made at the time - or since!

But what I just saw was sloppy. And I gotta say I missed Bergman's presence. Is his absence ever explained in the show?

And that's one of the better series 2 episodes. It gets a hell of a lot worse from here! They never explain Bergman's absence (or Paul or Kano or Tanya for that matter) - or why the sets and costumes are different - or where Tony came from... There was a line in the Metamorph script to mention in passing that Bergman was killed by a faulty spacesuit seal, but it got cut before it was filmed.

 

[Warped9]

"The Exiles" ***

The Alphans recover two individuals from suspended animation who claim to be refugees.

This was moderately better than the previous episode. It had a better story to tell overall. But whatever nuance and subtlety existed in the first seasons episodes is pretty much gone here. And it was very predictable. That said points for Russell being the one to figure out how to get through Cantor's defences. I also like the idea about showing us a more expanded Moonbase.

I could rationalize some of the new alternate uniforms we see as the Alphans wanting to add some colour and change to their environment. But why start wearing jackets unless the environmental settings have been turned down? And if they have then why wear skirts instead of slacks? It just doesn't make any sense.

While more subtly suggested in the previous season they're now being a lot more overt about Koenig and Russell's relationship although they still seem to pull some punches about it.

I really hate that new opening theme and so much of the music in these episodes is such '70's sci-fi cheese.

Of course, one way to rationalize the differences in Season 2 is to look at it as an alternate timeline or universe where it's always been like this. That said I'd much rather go back to the original continuity.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

^ Pretty much agreed with everything there.

With respect to Derek Wadsworth's music, I think it improves as the season progresses, but yeah, there's a lot going on that screams 70's and that dates it.

 

[Andrew_Kearley]

I really hate that new opening theme and so much of the music in these episodes is such '70's sci-fi cheese.

It's very 70s, but I quite enjoy Wadworth's score in isolation - I like to give the CD a spin from time to time - but I find the music really jarring on the episodes themselves. Even though the series is vastly different stylistically from the first, the jazz-pop element of the music is just a step too far for me. It seems wildly inappropriate. Interestingly, Wadsworth did three different takes on a theme tune - aside from the one they used, there's a really bright and poppy version, and a quite dark and moody one, which I prefer. They picked the one in the middle really.

Of course, one way to rationalize the differences in Season 2 is to look at it as an alternate timeline or universe where it's always been like this. That said I'd much rather go back to the original continuity.

No laughing matter, that's the way I look at it. The two series are incompatible really. As you've already noticed, the first 12 episodes or so actually overlap with the stated dates in series 1 - are we really supposed to think that both sets of events are happening at the same time?

 

[Maurice]

...And I gotta say I missed Bergman's presence. Is his absence ever explained in the show?

A deleted scene for "The Metamorph" apparently alluded to Bergman's fate, as follows:

Tony Verdeschi: I wish Bergman were here. One lousy spacesuit with a faulty helmet and Victor had to be in it.
Sandra Benes: We can't bring him back, Tony.
​

 

[Galileo7]

...They never explain Bergman's absence (or Paul or Kano or Tanya for that matter) - or why the sets and costumes are different - or where Tony came from... There was a line in the Metamorph script to mention in passing that Bergman was killed by a faulty spacesuit seal, but it got cut before it was filmed.

Agree, this all should have been clarified in the first episode of Season 2. It was bad enough that characters were gone and changes were made, but no comment is just wrong.

 

[The Lensman]

are we really supposed to think that both sets of events are happening at the same time?

Aaaaand cue the ponderous music as Commander Koenig stares out the window of Main Mission. Freeze frame and roll credits.

Sorry, I heard your last line in Koenig's voice for some reason.

As for Season 2, I recall enjoying it enough as a kid...but oddly enough I still preferred Season 1 even then. I think it had to do with the music, lighting and generally spookier stories.

Watching the few Season 2 eps I have now, it's just so clear how they tried to liven up the show. Everyone smiles more, especially Russell and Koenig. At times Landau's acting is so over the top it puts Shatner to shame.

The jazz music to....uh....jazz up the action scenes. Literally. It's corny as hell and over blown. I loved the music from Season 1 enough to pick it up on CD....not sure if I want to ever pick up Season 2.

Would like to hear those other themes though.

 

[Warped9]

"One Moment Of Humanity" ***

Helena and Tony are used as pawns to teach robots how to kill.

I swear that if I weren't watching this episode and just listened to the music it would sound as if a '70s era porn film was playing. There's something to it, but it's just generally bad and out of place.

I waffle a bit on this. At its heart I like the story for the most part. I really like seeing Russell having more to do and figuring things out quickly. She comes off somewhat smarter than previous occasions, more appropriate to the character. I like that they didn't overplay the mutual suspicion she and Verdachi were supposed to experience as engineered by the robots.

Two things that knock this episode from my ranking it higher. Firstly was the idea the robots needed to learn how to kill. I really think this was bullshit and a very weak idea conceptually. They should have found a better rationale for how this was all supposed to work. The second thing that didn't work and was just laughable was the so-called seduction scene of Helena Russell. Along with the music it felt almost like a soft '70s era porn scene---it was sooo staged.

This episode reminded me of some third season TOS episodes in the sense of wondering what they might have been like if produced in an earlier season. What might "A Moment Of Humanity" have been like if produced in Season 1?

By the way I really like the episode title.


"The Rules Of Luton" *

Koenig and Maya are pitted against aliens on a verdant world.

OMG!!! Except for a few occasional character moments between Koenig and Maya this is one smelly chunk of bad cheese.

There are only so many ways to say "it stunk" or "it sucked." I've simply got nothing else to say.


"The Mark Of Archanon" *

Two aliens are found buried in stasis under the Moon's surface.

Why do so many of these stories seem like some variation of Star Trek's "Space Seed?" Anyway what we have here is an okay story buried under a lot of sloppy execution. It really comes across as how quickly and cheaply can we get this done.

Martin Landau must have felt fortunate to have been left out of most of. Mind you that "meteor storm" was as cheesy as the rest of it. I'm also learning the order these episodes are on the discs likely aren't the order in which they were written and/or produced. Helena Russell's journal entries are out of whack in terms of the number of days they're out from Earth.


"All That Glitters" *

A Crystalline intelligence tales control of Tony Verdaschi.

It starts out okay, but quickly enough it becomes... A completely alien intelligence, or at least sentience (and I can't even imagine how a crystalline form could evolve that) manages to manipulate people as well as technology and hardware. This episode seemed like they were just thawing weird crap into it just to fill fifty minutes of screen time.

This really is discouraging.

 

[Warped9]

"Journey To Where" ***

Earth makes contact with Moonbase Alpha and sends Koenig, Russell and Carter on a long trip.

At times I felt like I was watching an episode of The Time Tunnel, and I don't mean that in a bad way. The downside is after having watched so much SF over the years you can get pretty good at predicting things. It really didn't take me long to figure out what had happened to Koenig an company.

But overall I found myself being engaged just enough to be interested. I can say that something as simple as better scoring would have helped elevate the episode. The music used here was totally inappropriate.

Initially I found myself doubting it was really Earth they were talking to. Indeed I'm still not really convinced it was. For one thing just how in hell did Earth locate them? And how did they even assume they were still alive? Two big questions not even given a line of dialogue to at least suggest something even remotely credible. And Professor Logan and his associates struck me as dimwits.

I think there was the makings of a better overall result to this story, but it would have needed some decent rewriting and polish. I also can't help but notice that teleportation is a hot new idea to be used whenever possible in the series.

This was a welcome respite in the midst of a collection of less than mediocrity.


"The Taybor" **

An intergalactic trader comes to Alpha to do business.

Pink hair? Really?

This seems to be an attempt of the series to do a lighter, more humorous episode. The fact I haven't rated it only a 1 says there is the occasional smirk to be had from it. But that said this is just tiresome to watch. And it's certainly disappointing after having seen the series do better.

I can only imagine what a lot of original fans must have thought seeing the show morph from it's first season form into this. Ouch!


"Brian The Brain" *

The computer of a lost Earth expedition abducts Koenig and Russell.

Don't you just love how primitive Earth ships still manage to get a million light years out into space?

Without question this has to be the worst 1999 episode I've seen to date. It also ranks as one of the worst things I've ever seen in television sci-fi. Words fail me---it's that fucking bad. Like "The Taybor" whoever envisioned this must have been doing some seriously bad drugs. This is painful and embarrassing to watch.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Such badness intrigues me. I wish I could see these.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

The thing is, I think it gets worse.

 

[Warped9]

The thing is, I think it gets worse.

It's sad in a way. Despite my reservations and criticisms I can look at episodes in the first season and even a few from the second and see the makings of something better. In the first season they seemed to be trying for something a bit different than what had been done before. I can see why some could really like it a lot even if I feel the series overall didn't quite make it. But most of what I've seen of the second season, or Series 2 as some think of it, is really a slap in the face to what came before.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

"Mission Of The Darians" *****

A massive miles long spacecraft holds the few remaining survivors of a dying civilization.

I like this one. I think perhaps I'm being a little generous with a 5 rating, but there is a fine story here, not badly told and some big ideas in play. It's not bad when you start out with one helluva kit bash representing a spacecraft tens of miles long. Some nice model work going on here.

This episode reminded me of other stories I've read and watched: the short-lived series The Starlost, David Gerrold's passed over Trek story (which he novelized) called The Galactic Whirlpool, Star Trek's episode "For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky" and TNG's episode "Up The Long Ladder." 1999's flying city is actually a worldship just in a different form.

There are a lot of decently thought out ideas in this story and criticizing it would be in the form of nitpicking. Suffice to say that overall I think this is the best Space: 1999 episode I've seen to date.


"Dragon's Domain" ****

An Alpha crewman is haunted by a terrifying past.

I liked this, particularly with its bit of prehistory. We got to see some Earth politics at work as well as political lack of imagination. But the one BIG logic flaw not really addressed is how did the exact same collection of derelict ships find itself millions of light years from where Cellini had originally encountered them?

Nice touch having Russell reference them 877 days since leaving Earth. Thats almost two-and-a-half years at (we assume) relativistic flight. I like it also because it doesn't take the conceit that the past experiences have all happened within the framework of only one season or one year.

These two episodes define how I view SPACE: 1999, particularly its first season. The show was a Lovecraftan horror that was set in the guise of science-fantasy. "Dragon's Domain" is my favorite episode —*"Black Sun" a close second — of the series. In 1999, space was dangerous, out to kill mankind and often the horrors of the past would revisit those on Moonbase: Alpha.

 

[Warped9]

"New Adam, New Eve" **

A being claiming to be God wants to give humanity a second chance.

Basically a decent enough story could have made of this. Conceptually it's similar to Star Trek's episode "Who Mourns For Adonais?" and watching this many of the written lines could have been interchangeable with those from Star Trek's version. But here it's lacking in nuance. Everything is done roughly and in broad strokes. In the end the all powerful being is nothing but an elaborate magician and misguided conman.

 

[Andrew_Kearley]

Despite my reservations and criticisms I can look at episodes in the first season and even a few from the second and see the makings of something better. In the first season they seemed to be trying for something a bit different than what had been done before. I can see why some could really like it a lot

That'll be me then!

even if I feel the series overall didn't quite make it. But most of what I've seen of the second season, or Series 2 as some think of it, is really a slap in the face to what came before.

That's my real problem with it, and part of the reason why I can only really think of it as a total reboot. (The complete change of setting, characters, music, and the resetting of the timeline are the other factors of course.) If I'd only seen series 2, then I doubt it would have made much of an impression on me. It's a very hokey, generic sci-fi show of its period - but it's very crassly done, lacking the charm and likeable characters of some of its contemporaries.

 

[Warped9]

"The AB Chrysalis" ***

A protective barrier around an alien world threatens to destroy Alpha.

In some respects the feel of this episode harkens back to the first season. Some of the current hokeyness is toned down...until the very end scene anyway. The result is something much more watchable overall.

My only real gripe regards the form of the chlorine breathing aliens: perfectly identical humans. This was disappointing because in other respects I felt there was a decent amount of imagination going on here. Considering what appeared to be advanced looking science and tech on display it would be nice to rationalize the aliens just asking or projecting an image Koenig could relate to, but there's no solid basis for that assumption. I could nitpick about shockwaves not traveling in a vacuum, but I can kind of let that one go and rationalize it as some form of energy pulse or discharge or something rather than an explosion in the conventional sense. I do think it a rather extreme form of warning system, but I suppose if you've got the power to spare and waste...

The other big WTF! was Maya transforming into a chlorine breathing creature---definately another fantastical element. But Maya's transformations have to be taken with a lot of salt just as you have to do the same with Odo from DS9.

On it's own this was watchable even if I think it could have been better with some polishing. But compared to a lot of what else I've seen in Season 2 this is a huge step up.


"Catacombs Of The Moon" *

An Alphan has visions of their destruction while his wife is dying of a diseased heart.

Boring. Just boring. No point to this whatsoever and not even a hint as to what was causing the heat anomaly. And this is such in contrast to the preceding episode. it's as if they were desperate for anything to produce.

Blech!


“Seed Of Destruction” *

A mirror duplicate of Koenig plots the destruction of Alpha.

More bad news. Another version of the "evil twin" so familiar in literature and science fiction. Sometimes you can get a good story out it, but sadly this one is poorly done. What got me most and had my eyes rolling in the back of my head was how thick the characters all seemed to be, how slow they all were to clue in that something was wrong. And when the real Koenig returns I wondered why he bothered to take the time to land rather than just knock out the beam with a laser or even ramming the dish with the Eagle.

This was just stupid.

Sadly some fans could see my reviews as mere bashing when I'm trying like hell to find something good in these episodes. Although I miss the character of Bergman I feel Barry Morse was damned fortunate to have been left out of this.


“The Beta Cloud” *

Life forms hidden within a strange cloud want Alpha's life support system.

Uh...hokay. After unleashing some sort of life draining force upon Alpha the aliens send a robot in the form of an alien creature to finish up their work.

This has got it all: cheap f/x, crappy music more befitting a cheap detective series, cheesy aliens and whatever other sci-fi schlock they can throw into it.

Whereas Season 1 managed to elevate my overall opinion by a good measure Season 2 in general is proving to be worse than I could have expected.


"A Matter Of Balance" *

An alien manipulates a young Alphan to help him and his kind cross over from an antimatter universe.

Teenage tantrums? And teenage crushes? At this point I despair that there's anything remotely worthwhile to see in the remaining batch of episodes.

 

[Warped9]

I have to admit that I've had to periodically skip or fast-forward through parts of the recent batch of episodes, and sometimes rewind a bit to catch something, because they've just been tedious. At this point the series seems to be just going through the motions of throwing anything in front of the camera.

Indeed I will have to try watching "Space Warp" again because last night I was dozing off. Of course part of that might be because it was after midnight when I tried to watch it. What I did catch of it struck me that there should be something of note in the story only all I recall is Koenig and Verdaschi trying to solve some kind of mechanical problem while everyone on Moonbase was chasing Maya who had morphed into some sort of creature, and a very cheesy looking one at that. After seeing some of the creatures costumes on 1999 no one can really say much about Star Trek's Gorn, Horta and other aliens.

 

[Warped9]

"Space Warp" **

A space warp displaces the Moon and strands Koenig and Verdaschi with a derelict ship.

This was like a TNG story with an A and B plot. One plot is Koenig and Verdaschi needing to adapt alien technology to their Eagle to follow the Moon through the space warp. The second plot (boring me to tears) was Maya losing control of her morphing abilities and wreaking havoc throughout the base.

Some nice model work in this episode, but it's not enough to help this story. The only other tantalizing thing is pondering whether the Alphans can learn and adapt any of the alien ship's advanced technology. With these writers, though, I seriously doubt this idea will be followed through.