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Guide to the
first series


 

Space: 1999 was an attempt to put 2001 on television. The influence of Kubrick's masterpiece cannot be overstated. Even the title is practically the same! So many elements of the first series derive from that movie: from the design of the Moonbase to the brightly coloured spacesuits; the style of the special effects (not surprising given Brian Johnson's association with 2001); the underplayed characterizations; the depiction of humans forced to confront the mysteries of outer space head on, at the mercy of inconceivable higher powers who shape their destiny.

These borrowings, whether conscious or unconscious, are by no means a bad thing - if you're going to steal, you should steal from the best! 2001 completely changed the look of science fiction forever, and redefined people's conception of outer space. Interpolating from the state of the space programme in 1968, Kubrick and Clarke presented a (then) feasible vision of what it would be like 33 years in the future: the space station, the shuttles, the moonbase, the Jupiter exploration ship. By the time Space: 1999 came along, those predictions were starting to look a little too optimistic - the curtailment of the Apollo programme had set back everything that NASA might have hoped to achieve by the century's end.

This didn't stop Space: 1999 from picking up the setting of 2001 virtually intact, and thereby presenting a future far more advanced than we could reasonably hope to expect. (And then to compound it, they go and create even more far-fetched ideas, like laser beam weapons...) However, setting it in 1999 ensures that the series is still happening within the twentieth century, and within the lifetime of most of the viewing audience - which might help them to feel some connection with the series characters. How would you cope if you were thrust out into the unknown...?


The exterior design of Moonbase Alpha is very similar to that of Clavius Base in 2001. Once we get inside the base, things are different. We only see the briefest glimpse of the interior of Clavius - the conference room where Floyd briefs the scientists. With Alpha being the regular setting of Space: 1999, obviously we get to see a lot more of the interior.
The centerpiece of Moonbase Alpha is the fantastic Main Mission set. Unlike a lot of tv sets, you get a real sense of scale - the high walls, the windows overlooking the lunar surface, the steps up to the observation gallery, the doors that slide open to reveal Koenig's office and conference room - you can see right through from one end to the other. The sleek futurism of the set hasn't really dated - even the plastic desklamps and moulded garden furniture seem to fit in with the design statement rather than being the cheap cost-cutting measure they obviously were. There are a few oddities here and there - nearly every control panel and computer bank has a clock in it - and always an old fashioned clock with hands, with the more expected digital display alongside it. This seems like a redundant duplication of systems.



For all its splendour, Main Mission falls down in its depiction of computer technology. Fortunately, it's a few steps ahead of SHADO HQ in UFO, with its seriously dated banks of whirling tape spools. The white and black wall units of Main Mission still suggest the processor units of a large-scale mainframe computer, and we don't get to see the precise nature of its data storage, so there's nothing to laugh at there. And whilst a complex like Alpha would need a mainframe to run the environmental systems and maintain back-up data storage, it's the user interface that seems wrong to a modern eye. The desks in Main Mission have a keyboard but no monitor or mouse. In the modern office environment, each desk has its own pc, connected to a network server - although with the latest moves towards thin client terminals, Alpha's workstations look less unlikely now than they might have even a year ago - I'm still worried by the absence of monitors though! Space: 1999 was made at a time before the computer became accepted as a useful office tool, and was still seen as a remote and powerful technological monster - good fictional examples are The Forbin Project, Demon Seed, Doctor Who's WOTAN - and of course, 2001's HAL. The Alphans regard their Computer (a proper noun, notice - and just the singular) with the sort of reverence afforded the oracles of myth. It dispenses its information like divine gifts, as messages on the big screen or tickertape print-outs - and often only the high priest (i.e. Kano) is allowed to have full communion with it. As the series goes on, we learn that Computer is temperamental, even capricious - an artificial intelligence certainly, and one with extremely bizarre personality sub-routines! (The influence of HAL 9000 again, obviously.) I'll look at instances of Computer's strange behaviour under the relevant episodes.

Other aspects of Alpha's technology seem more feasible. The communication system provides a tv monitor on every wall, desk and corridor post. In an age where video-conferencing is a reality, this seems quite a reasonable prediction. (It would be nice if the monitors were colour and flat screen, but you can't have everything.) The personal commlocks could also work in reality. Though such a device may not yet be widely available, the basic technology could easily be achieved today - it would just be a case of adapting a mobile phone to carry a video signal. Within the confines of the Moonbase, we can presume that a transceiver network picks up all commlock signals and directs them to the correct recipient. For longer range communications (from out on the lunar surface, or indeed from other planets), the signals are probably transferred via satellites, just like mobile phone calls. We're told in several episodes that Alpha has orbital satellites - this could well be one of their functions. (Did the satellites go with the Moon when it blasted out of orbit? Or would they have been destroyed by the g-forces, and replacements have to subsequently be launched? We're never told...) The "lock" function of the commlock is also pretty commonplace today. We've all seen electronic remote controls for opening garage doors, or swipe cards to let authorised personnel into secure areas of corporate buildings. Combining such everyday functions in a single device is practical, and a good design decision.

In 2001, the scientists of Clavius Base dress in civilian clothes - just plain suits (although to indicate it's the future, the tie seems to have gone out of fashion). Space: 1999 kits the Alphans out in simple but starkly effective costumes, designed by the famous fashion designer Rudi Gernreich. A clever touch is the colour-coded sleeve indicating which department the wearer is assigned to. However, the very fact that they're in uniform leads us to ask exactly what kind of base Alpha is. 2001 clearly has a scientific research base manned by civilian scientists, which is just the sort of set-up we can expect when NASA and the ESA get round to finally building one. Moonbase Alpha seems to be more military in nature. Koenig is designated the Commander, not the base director. Similarly, Alan Carter has the rank of Captain - although no one else seems to hold a military rank. Significantly perhaps, both Koenig and Carter are astronauts - and Space: 1999 was produced at a time when astronauts were almost exclusively recruited from the ranks of the military. However, they were seconded to NASA, a civilian organization answerable only to the American congress. Is Space: 1999 suggesting that in its future, the military would retain closer control over the space programme? That the scientists working on Alpha are seconded to the military rather than the other way around? There is certainly evidence of a strong military aspect to the space programme - in the episode War Games, we see the Hawk fighter and a massive space bomber. We're never explicitly told how the whole set-up works, but it remains an oddity of the show. (This is one thing that 2001 got right - the astronauts on the Jupiter mission are scientists first and foremost.) Having said all that, it's worth noting that even a visiting politician like Commissioner Simmonds has to wear the uniform when on Alpha - so it could be a protective measure, to preserve a sterile or anti-static environment in the base.


Which leads us to the spacecraft of Space: 1999. Moonbase Alpha is equipped with a fleet of Eagles, which function as shuttles, freighters, rescue ships - any number of different uses, for which a particular module can be utilized. The Eagle is a triumph of design, and far more realistic than any of the outrageous craft Derek Meddings dreamt up for the earlier Anderson shows. The modular design - cockpit at the front, engines at the back, held together by a framework of girders to which the specific mission module is attached - is practical and actually similar to real proposed space freighter designs.
The basic shape is not aerodynamic, which is fine for operating in the vacuum of the lunar surface - but it doesn't explain how the Eagles are able to handle so well in the atmospheres of different planets. Or even how they achieve re-entry without any obvious sign of a heat shield... The Eagle design is also the basis for all the other Earth spacecraft that appear in the series, which lends a certain degree of conformity and believability to the development of the space programme.


The look of Space: 1999 is quite a departure from the earlier Anderson shows. Long-term collaborators Bob Bell (production design) and Derek Meddings (special effects) had moved on to other projects, both being replaced by their former assistants. Keith Wilson and Brian Johnson bring a completely new visual style with them. This was complemented by the talents of brilliant directors like Charles Crichton (the Ealing veteran) and David Tomblin (formerly producer of The Prisoner), who obviously relished the opportunities afforded them by the show's budget (at the time, the biggest in the history of British television) to produce some quite astonishing visuals. There really is nothing else quite like it.


And then there's the cast. Martin Landau and Barbara Bain were deliberately cast as audience-grabbers - a cynical reasoning, but it paid off in this case. The cast were criticised at the time for being wooden, for not being "human" characters like those in Star Trek (which was the only major sci-fi show people had at the time to compare with Space: 1999). Nowadays, we can see that Captain Kirk is a comic charicature (and William Shatner is generally regarded as one of the hammiest actors of all time)... Martin Landau plays Koenig with great subtlety and intelligence, a man under the most overwhelming pressure, struggling to keep 311 people alive in the face of unimaginable dangers. I believe Landau is one of the finest actors in the world. (You can see how he went on to win an Oscar).

Barbara Bain is another matter entirely. Whereas Landau's acting is nowadays accepted as just being incredibly ahead of its time, Bain is still routinely criticised for her woodenness. As a matter of fact, I don't think she's all that bad. (Let's not forget that she's an Emmy award-winning actress.) Her decision to play Helena Russell as a totally professional and dispassionate doctor probably doesn't help her cause - which is a shame as it's a bold move, stripping her character of the traditional, feminine caring qualities that would normally define such a role. Outside of the medical centre, she doesn't get many opportunities to do much - since the scripts tend to favour Koenig, but she certainly has a few great moments, which I'll discuss relevant to the individual episodes.

The third lead is Barry Morse as Professor Victor Bergman. His function seems to be two-fold. Firstly he provides scientific information, which mostly involves pointing to diagrams and explaining to the others what's going on. His second role is to provide the humanity at the centre of Moonbase Alpha. He acts as a counterbalance to the tense and hard-nosed Koenig and the emotionally repressed Helena. Despite claiming to be a pure scientist who knows nothing about God, he has the most metaphysical and spiritual philosophy of any character. He also seems to distrust computers and over-reliance on technology. Morse imbues the character with real warmth and subtle humour.

The other regular actors portray the heads of the different Alpha sections, and prove to be adequate in their roles. I'll discuss any outstanding contributions they make to specific episodes in the individual reviews. I should however mention Nick Tate who plays chief astronaut Alan Carter. One of the most popular characters with the viewing audience, the part was originally conceived as an Italian. Originally cast in a minor role, Tate impressed director Lee Katzin with his energy and aggression, and was promoted, the character being changed to a hot-headed Australian to suit the actor.



With Landau, Bain and Morse heading the cast, it's clear that the Andersons were trying to fill Space: 1999 with star names. This is reflected in the guest stars recruited for the various episodes: Roy Dotrice, Richard Johnson, Christopher Lee, Judy Geeson, Peter Cushing, Ian McShane, Julian Glover, Jeremy Kemp, Margaret Leighton, Brian Blessed, Peter Bowles, Anthony Valentine, Leo McKern, Joan Collins, Douglas Wilmer, Liza Harrow. There can't ever have been such a gathering of acting talent on the same series before or since.

This incredible combination of factors conspired to produce the most spectacular, awesome and spellbinding series in the history of British television...


 


First series

Twenty-four 60 minute episodes
An ITC RAI co-production produced by GROUP THREE
Created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson

Producer: Sylvia Anderson
Executive producer: Gerry Anderson
Story consultant: Christopher Penfold
Script Editors: Edward di Lorenzo, Johnny Byrne

Moon City Costumes designed by Rudi Gernreich
Music by Barry Gray

Special Effects: Brian Johnson
Production Designer: Keith Wilson
Director of Photography: Frank Watts BSC

Regular Cast: Martin Landau (Commander John Koenig)
Barbara Bain (Doctor Helena Russell)
Barry Morse (Professor Victor Bergman)
Prentis Hancock (Paul Morrow)
Clifton Jones (David Kano)
Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes)
Anton Phillips (Doctor Mathias)
Nick Tate (Alan Carter)

For individual episode reviews
go to list of first series episodes


Guide to the second series

About the Episode guide

Introduction to Space: 1999

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Created by Andrew Kearley.
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