Space: 1999
263344
225692768
2008-07-14T22:51:17Z
66.172.106.3
/* Rise and fall of Year 2 */
{{Infobox Television
| show_name = Space: 1999
| image = [[Image:Space1999 Year1 Title.jpg|250px]]
| caption = Title card from ''Space: 1999'''s first season
| format = [[Science fiction]] <br> [[Adventure]]
| runtime = 52 minutes
| creator = [[Gerry Anderson]]<br/>[[Sylvia Anderson]]
| starring = [[Martin Landau]]<br/>[[Barbara Bain]]
| country = [[United Kingdom]]
| original_network = [[Associated TeleVision|ATV]]
| first_aired = [[September 4]], [[1975]]
| last_aired = [[May 7]], [[1978]]
| camera = 35 mm
| picture_format = 1.33:1
| audio_format = mono
| developer =
| executive_producer =
| starring = [[Martin Landau]]<br>
[[Barbara Bain]]<br>
[[Nick Tate]]<br>
[[Zienia Merton]]<br>
[[Sarah Bullen]]<br>
[[Catherine Schell]]<br>
[[Anton Phillips]]<br>
[[Barry Morse]]<br>
[[Quentin Pierre]]<br>
[[Prentis Hancock]]<br>
[[Clifton Jones]]<br>
[[Tony Anholt]]<br>
[[Andy Dempsey]]<br>
[[Tony Allyn]]
| narrated =
| opentheme = [[Barry Gray]], [[Derek Wadsworth]]
| endtheme = [[Barry Gray]], [[Derek Wadsworth]] (Reprise)
| network =
| first_run =
| num_episodes = 48
| list_episodes = List of Space: 1999 episodes
| imdb_id = 0072564
| tv_com_id = 4026
}}
'''''Space: 1999''''' ([[ITC Entertainment]], 1975-77) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Science fiction on television|science-fiction television]] series. In the series, nuclear waste from earth is stored on the moon. The waste explodes in a catastrophic accident on September 13, 1999, which knocks the moon out of its orbit and sends it and the 311 inhabitants of [[Moonbase Alpha]] hurtling uncontrollably into outer space. The series was the last produced by the partnership of [[Gerry Anderson#Space:1999|Gerry and Sylvia Anderson]], famous for the TV series ''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]'', ''[[Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons]]'', ''[[Fireball XL5]]'', and ''[[UFO (TV series)|UFO]]''.
==Series overview==
''Space: 1999'' was the first attempt since the demise of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' in 1969 at producing a large-scale weekly science fiction series, and the show drew a great deal of visual inspiration (and technical expertise) from the [[Stanley Kubrick]] classic ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]''. The show's special effects director [[Brian Johnson (special effects)|Brian Johnson]] had previously worked on both ''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]'' (as Brian Johncock) and ''2001''.
''Space: 1999'' is the last in a long line of successful science-fiction series that the Andersons produced as a working partnership, beginning with ''[[Supercar (TV series)|Supercar]]'' in the early Sixties and including the famed marionette fantasy series ''[[Stingray (TV series)|Stingray]]'', ''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]'', ''[[Captain Scarlet]]'', and ''[[Joe 90]]'', as well as the gritty live-action alien-invasion drama ''[[UFO (TV series)|UFO]]''. ''Space: 1999'' owes much of the visual design to pre-production work for the never-made second series of ''UFO'', which would have featured a more extensive Moonbase.
''Space: 1999'' has since become a [[cult classic]] and is available on [[DVD]].
===Special effects, set design, costumes and music===
The [[special effects]] in the show were highly regarded. The show featured many well designed and intricate [[scale model]]s including the ''[[Space 1999 Eagle|Eagle]]'' and the ''[[Space 1999 moon buggy|Moon Buggy]]''. Dozens of models for the various alien spaceships, along with the ''[[Mark IX Hawk]]'' from the ''"War Games"'' episode, were built by model maker [[Martin Bower]], who would later also work on ''Alien'', the 1980 production of ''[[Flash Gordon (film)|Flash Gordon]]'', and ''[[Outland (film)|Outland]]''.
Special effects director [[Brian Johnson (special effects)|Brian Johnson]] and most of his team went on to work on [[Ridley Scott]]'s ''[[Alien (movie)|Alien]]'', followed by ''[[Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back]]''. Many of the spacecraft were designed around their prescribed functionality rather than being glistening starships, adding a sense of realism that would be replicated in future science-fiction features.
The "moon city uniforms" for the first season were designed by [[Rudi Gernreich]], while other costumes were designed by production designer Keith Wilson, who was also responsible for set design. The opening credits for the first season featured a dramatic fanfare composed by [[Barry Gray]]; it was Gray's final composition for Anderson. The second season was scored by composer [[Derek Wadsworth]].
Unlike the darkly lit sets often used in more modern science fiction, ''Space: 1999'''s [[Moonbase Alpha]] [[set design]] was typically bright, white, acrylic and quite unusual among the science fiction genre, clearly influenced by the futuristic sterility of Kubrick's ''2001'' sets and [[George Lucas]]' subterranean environment in ''[[THX-1138]]''. Signage in a space-age font, rarely seen today but popular in the 1970s, was used throughout the sets to create the impression of a computerized environment. Despite this, the first season was able to generate a moody feel by the use of light and shadow.
===Format===
In common with many Lew Grade presentations vying to break the American market, the first season of ''Space: 1999'' used a teaser, sometimes called the [[cold open]], popular in US action-adventure series. This was followed by an economical title sequence that managed to convey prestige for its two main stars (both separately billed as 'starring'), give the audience some 30 plus fast cut shots of the forthcoming episode, and explain the premise—all in just over a minute. The second season of the series eliminated this montage.
===Casting and guest appearances===
[[Image:Space 1999 cast.jpg|thumb|250px|'''Space 1999 Year 2''' cast]]
The headline stars of ''Space: 1999'' were [[United States|American]] actors [[Martin Landau]] and [[Barbara Bain]], who were married at the time and had previously appeared together in ''[[Mission: Impossible]]''. In an effort to appeal to the huge US television market, perhaps to sell the series to one of the major American networks [http://www.space1999.net/users/catacombs/main/pguide/viu.html], Landau and Bain were cast at the insistence of [[Lew Grade]] against the strong objections of Sylvia Anderson, who wanted British actors. Also appearing as regular cast members were [[Barry Morse]] (as Professor [[Victor Bergman]] in the first season) and [[Catherine Schell]] (as the alien [[Maya (Space: 1999)|Maya]] in the second season). The program also brought [[Australia]]n actor [[Nick Tate]] to public attention. Over the course of its two series the program featured guest appearances by many notables including [[Christopher Lee]], [[Joan Collins]], [[Peter Cushing]], [[Ian McShane]], [[Leo McKern]], [[Patrick Troughton]], [[Sarah Douglas]], [[Stuart Damon]] and [[Brian Blessed]]. (Both Damon and Blessed appeared in two different episodes portraying two different characters.[http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/main/crguide/vcgab.html],[http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/main/crguide/vcgad.html]) [[Roy Dotrice]] appeared in the first episode as Commissioner Simmonds, and at the end of the episode it appeared that he would be a regular character, however by the second episode the character had vanished without a trace, only to appear midway through the first season in the episode "Earthbound", his only other appearance on the show.
===Original broadcast===
The series premiered in 1975, although the first episode had actually been filmed in 1973. Live action was filmed at [[Pinewood Studios]] and special effects at [[Bray Studios (UK)|Bray Studios]]. There were two seasons of 24 episodes each made by Gerry Anderson for [[ITC Entertainment]]. The first season was co-produced by the [[Italy|Italian]] state broadcaster, [[RAI]]. As part of this production agreement, various episodes featured Italian actors in guest-starring roles. In [[United Kingdom|Britain]] the series was originally seen on [[ITV]] stations but never simulcast nationally.
In the [[United States|US]], efforts to sell the television series to the major networks failed and as a result it was [[television syndication|syndicated]] to local stations. In the months leading to the beginning of the fall ([[autumn]]) 1975 [[Television_season#Seasons.2FSeries|television season]] (in the US, September is traditionally the month in which new TV series begin), Landau and Bain participated in special preview screenings in select cities [http://www.space1999.net/users/catacombs/main/pguide/viu.html]. Landau is said to have personally contacted editors of the widely read and influential [[TV Guide]] magazine in some markets to secure coverage of ''Space: 1999'' in its pages upon learning of ITC's somewhat poor promotional efforts. While most of the US stations that aired ''Space: 1999'' were independent (such as powerful [[Chicago]] station [[WGN-TV]], [[Los Angeles]] station [[KCAL-TV|KHJ-TV]], and [[New York City]]'s [[WPIX-TV]]), a handful were affiliated with the major networks (such as [[San Francisco]]'s [[KRON-TV]], at the time a strong [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC]] affiliate) and sometimes pre-empted regular network programming to show episodes of the series; most US stations broadcast the episodes in the weekday evening hour just before [[prime time]] or on weekends.
The series was broadcast in 96 countries, mostly from 1975-79. However, it aired in its entirety in very few countries. Often there were long gaps between first run and rerun or even within first run, and rarely were episodes shown in a coherent sequence.
It was shown in Italy as ''Spazio: 1999'', [[France]] as ''Cosmos: 1999'', [[Denmark]] as ''Månebase Alpha'', [[Portugal]] (broadcast in 1976 and 1977, it gathered a vast audience) as ''Espaço: 1999'', [[Brazil]] as ''Espaço: 1999'', [[Germany]] as ''Mondbasis Alpha 1'', [[Spain]] as ''Espacio: 1999'', [[Sweden]] as ''Månbas Alpha 1999'', [[Poland]] as ''Kosmos 1999'', [[Finland]] as ''Avaruusasema Alfa'', in [[Argentina]] as ''Cosmos: 1999'', [[Chile]], [[Venezuela]], and [[Colombia]] as ''Espacio: 1999'' and in [[Mexico]] as ''Odisea 1999''. The series was also broadcast in 1976 in [[South Africa]] as ''Alpha 1999'', and was dubbed into [[Afrikaans]].
Countries where the show was popular include [[Poland]], [[Ethiopia]], [[South Africa]], [[Turkey]], [[Greece]], [[the Netherlands]], [[Belgium]], [[Portugal]], [[Japan]], [[Malaysia]], [[Canada]], [[Mexico]], [[Philippines]], [[Singapore]], [[South Korea]] and [[Taiwan]]. One of the first previews of the series was in [[Australia]] on the [[Seven Network]] in July 1975, but the station later split the first series into two seasons. The second season was shown in 1979.
In the UK, the episodes of the show's second season were shown sporadically over a period of a couple of years, starting in 1976 while the last episodes were still in production. In some regions the final first-run episodes appeared in 1978, more than a year after they were produced; in other regions of the UK, the second series was never shown.
The series has recently been broadcast on [[ITV4]] and [[ITV HD]] in the UK and on the Portuguese cable channel [[SIC Radical]].
==Basic premise==
The underlying storyline of ''Space: 1999'' centered on the plight of the inhabitants of [[Moonbase Alpha]] following a calamity on [[September 13]], [[1999]]. A huge nuclear waste dump on the [[Far side (Moon)|far side]] of the Moon detonates in a massive thermonuclear explosion, initiated by the buildup of magnetic radiation which was released, causing a [[nuclear chain reaction]]. The force of the explosion causes the [[Moon]] to be sent hurtling out of [[Earth]]'s orbit and into deep space at colossal speed, stranding the 311 crew members, in effect becoming the "spaceship" on which the protagonists travel, looking for a new home. During their interstellar journey, the Alphans encounter a vast array of alien civilizations, [[dystopian]] societies, and strange phenomena previously unseen by man.
The concept of traveling through space encountering aliens and strange worlds is similar to ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' and ''[[Lost In Space]]'', although the production's visual aesthetics were heavily influenced by ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]''. In another nod to Kubrick's epic, the first series of ''Space: 1999'' tended to explore mystical and metaphysical themes, although the revamped second series would center on more "action-oriented" plots and dynamic character interaction.
==Regular cast and characters==
<center>
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
! Actor !! Role !! Section !! Appearances
|-
| [[Martin Landau]] || Commander [[John Koenig]], leader of Moonbase Alpha || Commander || (47 episodes, 1975-1978)
|-
| [[Barbara Bain]] || Doctor [[Helena Russell]], head of Medical Section || Medical || (48 episodes, 1975-1978)
|-
| [[Nick Tate]] || [[Alan Carter (Space 1999)|Alan Carter]], third in command, chief pilot || Reconnaissance || (45 episodes, 1975-1978)
|-
| [[Zienia Merton]] || [[Sandra Benes]], data analyst || Service || (36 episodes, 1975-1977)
|-
| [[Catherine Schell]] || [[Maya (Space: 1999)|Maya]], science officer || [[Moonbase Alpha Command Center|Command Center]] || (24 episodes, 1976-1978)
|-
| [[Anton Phillips]] || Doctor [[Bob Mathias (Space: 1999)|Bob Mathias]], Helena's deputy || Medical || (24 episodes, 1975-1976)
|-
| [[Barry Morse]] || Professor [[Victor Bergman]], third in command, science adviser|| None || (24 episodes, 1975-1976)
|-
| [[Prentis Hancock]] || [[Paul Morrow]], second in command, Main Mission controller and base [[executive officer]]|| [[Main Mission]] || (23 episodes, 1975-1976)
|-
| [[Clifton Jones]] || [[David Kano]], third in command, computer operations officer||Technical|| (23 episodes, 1975-1976)
|-
| [[Tony Anholt]] || [[Tony Verdeschi]], second in command, head of Security and Command Center controller || [[Moonbase Alpha Command Center|Command Center]] / Security || (23 episodes, 1976-1978)
|-
| [[Suzanne Roquette]] || [[Tanya Alexander]], base [[operations officer]] || [[Main Mission]] || (19 episodes, 1975-1976)
|-
| [[John Hug]] || [[Bill Fraser (Space: 1999)|Bill Fraser]], pilot || [[Moonbase Alpha Command Center|Command Center]] || (9 episodes, 1976-1977)
|-
| [[Yasuko Nagazumi]] || [[Yasko]], operative || Service || (8 episodes, 1976-1977)
|-
| [[Jeffrey Kissoon]] || Doctor [[Ben Vincent]], Helena's deputy ||Medical|| (7 episodes, 1976-1977)
|-
| [[Alibe Parsons]] || [[Alibe]], operative || [[Moonbase Alpha Command Center|Command Center]] || (3 episodes, 1977-1978)
|-
| [[Sam Dastor]] || Doctor [[Ed Spencer]], Helena's deputy ||Medical|| (3 episodes, 1977)
|}
</center>
==Episodes==
{{main|List of Space: 1999 episodes}}
==Other media==
{{main|List of Space: 1999 books and other media}}
==Series flaws and criticisms==
===Scientific inaccuracy===
* [[Isaac Asimov]] pointed out that any explosion capable of knocking the Moon out of its orbit would actually blow it apart, and even if it did leave orbit it would take hundreds of years to reach the nearest star<ref>Asimov, 1975</ref>
* [[Harlan Ellison]] suggested that any explosion on the far side of the Moon capable of knocking it out of its orbit would not send it hurtling off into space, but rather crashing down upon the Earth.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
* The fans have suggested that the plotline answers this criticism. In the story, there are two nuclear waste dumps on the Moon that ignite and cause separate explosions. Whilst it is the second waste dump ignition that causes the Moon to leave Earth's orbit, the ignition of the first waste dump causes a rotational effect that turns the Moon into the direction of orbit with the second explosion then pushing the Moon in the direction of orbit, thus increasing speed sufficiently to escape orbit. The novelisation of the story does indeed include the words 'acting like a rocket motor' when referring to the description of the event, implying a longer, slower burn rather than a one-off explosion.
The Moon would take many thousands of years to reach another star system, and would almost certainly never encounter anything of interest considering the overwhelming predominance of empty space in the universe. The writers introduced various "space warps", including a "Black Sun", to abruptly shift the Moon to another area of space, often with other dramatic effects. The series occasionally implies the existence of an omnipotent entity controlling the Moon's travel, presumably including the times when it enters planetary orbit and leaves again. There are many other complications and counterfacts, such as a never-ending supply of Eagles and fuel for them, dust or smoke floating and explosive sounds transmitting in a vacuum, and inaccurate astronomical terminology.
Some series writers, including head writer [[Johnny Byrne]], have stated that had the series been totally rooted in actual physics, the Moon would never have left orbit. A significant [[suspension of disbelief]] -- and physics -- is required for ''Space: 1999'' to work, especially considering the plot of many of its episodes. One might even consider ''Space: 1999'' more fantasy than science fiction, considering the mystic and unscientific plots of many scripts.
===Rise and fall of Year 2===
{{Original research|section|date=January 2008}}
Following the departure of Sylvia Anderson after her separation and subsequent divorce from husband Gerry, [[Fred Freiberger]] was brought in to help guide the series as producer. Freiberger produced the third and last season of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' and later seasons of ''[[The Six Million Dollar Man]]''. Freiberger also produced 8 episodes of the first season of ''[[The Wild Wild West]]'' (including one in which Martin Landau guest-starred) before being dismissed. However, other producers from ''Wild West'' that season—Collier Young, John Mantley and Gene Coon—did not last long, either.
[[Image:spfirekh1.jpg|280px|thumb|left|Barbara Bain and Martin Landau sporting Series 2's brightly coloured jackets.]]
With Freiberger's arrival, numerous changes were made for Year 2. The most visible change was the absence of Professor Bergman ([[Barry Morse]]). Morse's departure was due to a salary dispute, but he would later claim he was glad to leave, and told Anderson: "I would rather play with grown-ups for a while." {{Harv | Morse | 2004|pp=287-288}} With Morse gone, this led to the addition of [[Catherine Schell]] as the resident alien [[Maya (Space: 1999)|Maya]]. Her character could provide "outside observation of human behavior" as provided by the character of [[Mr. Spock]] on ''Star Trek''. Maya shared Spock's logical approach to problem-solving, but differed in that she was a fully emotional person. Most importantly, however, her abilities as a [[shapeshifter]], which allowed her to "molecularly transform" into any creature for an hour at a time, were designed to add a certain "wow" factor to the newly-revamped series. (Ms. Schell had previously guest starred in the Year 1 episode ''Guardian of Piri'').
In addition to Bergman, Year 1 secondary characters [[Paul Morrow]] ([[Prentis Hancock]]), [[David Kano]] ([[Clifton Jones]]) and [[Tanya Alexander]] ([[Suzanne Roquette]]) also disappeared from the cast (Paul and Tanya's disappearance was explained in the Powys Media book ''The Forsaken'' by John Kenneth Muir). [[Dr. Mathias]] ([[Anton Phillips]]) was present in the first two Year 2 episodes, was mentioned in the third episode, and then also disappeared without a trace. His character was initially replaced by [[Dr. Ben Vincent]] ([[Jeffrey Kissoon]]), and by [[Dr. Raul Nunez]] ([[Raul Newey]]) for one episode, but towards the end of the season, the role of Dr. Russell's colleague in Medical Center was filled by [[Dr. Ed Spencer]] ([[Sam Dastor]]). Like Dr. Mathias, [[Alan Carter]] ([[Nick Tate]]) was also to have been written out of the series, but he had become so popular with fans that he remained. [[Sandra Benes]] ([[Zienia Merton]]) remained with the series as well, but her name was shortened to "Sahn" and her character was rather minimized in its role, when she did sporadically appear. To make matters more confusing, the novelisations of the second series written by [[Michael Butterworth]] had Sahn referred to as an Asian male character. Butterworth didn't realise Sandra and Sahn were the same character.<ref>Author's Forward to Space: 1999 Year Two, Powys Books, 2005</ref>
Along with Maya, [[Tony Anholt]] was added to the cast in Year 2 as Security Chief [[Tony Verdeschi]], a character who neither appeared nor was ever mentioned in Year 1. His character was designed to serve primarily as a secondary male action hero, and he also became a romantic interest for Maya.
No on-screen explanations were offered for these cast changes. One scene in ''[[List of Space: 1999 epsiodes#The Metamorph|The Metamorph]]'' mentioning Bergman's death was scripted and filmed, but cut from the final edit. ''[[The Moonbase Alpha Technical Manual]]'' explains that Bergman died due to a faulty spacesuit, an explanation also mentioned in passing in the Year 2 novel ''Planets of Peril''. Likewise, it was mentioned in the Year 2 [[bible (television)|Writers' Bible]] that Morrow and Kano had died in an Eagle crash between seasons, but this backstory was, again, never referred to onscreen. The ''Technical Manual'' also explains that Dr. Mathias, supposedly Alpha's [[psychiatry|psychiatrist]] (although he seems to be more Russell's assistant) transferred to another section of the base. Once again, this was never stated onscreen.
Other changes included the [[Opening credits|main titles]] and [[theme music]]. The montage of events from ''Breakaway'' and the episode about to unfold featured in Year 1 was dropped in favor of a special-effects sequence depicting the [[Moon]] being blown out of orbit into space. With Morse gone, Schell was featured in her place as a regular alongside Landau and Bain, and all three were depicted in action-oriented images as opposed to the [[mannequin]]-like stances Landau and Bain had assumed in the Year 1 main titles. New series composer [[Derek Wadsworth]]'s new theme dropped [[Barry Gray]]'s alternation between stately, orchestral passages and funky rhythmic ones in favor of a more consistently contemporary piece.
[[Rudi Gernreich]]'s minimalist costumes were considerably modified from their original [[unisex]] design to include an optional [[skirt]] for women and much more detail work on the [[tunic]] portion, including stripes, patches and photo ID badges. In addition, colorful jackets – generally red, blue or orange – became part of most characters' ensembles. The more expansive Main Mission set, with its [[balcony]] and glass windows revealing the lunar surface, was scrapped in favor of a more compact Command Center, supposedly deep underground. (Once again, this change was explained in the Year 2 Writers' Bible and ''Technical Notebook'' as necessary for security, but never shared with viewers). The Medical Center and Alphans' living quarters became smaller, while the interior of the Eagle Transporter was updated with additional buttons, flashing lights and viewscreens, while the Eagle also lost a section of corridor between the passenger module and the cockpit. The somber mood created in Year 1 by the effective use of light and shadow in the filming of Moonbase Alpha interiors was abandoned in favor of a generally brighter cinematography, and even the lettering used in signage and costuming—most noticeable on spacesuits and Eagle Transporter doors—changed to a simpler, less futuristic style.
Freiberger emphasized action-adventure in Year 2 stories to the exclusion of [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] themes explored in Year 1. Of Year 1, he commented, "They were doing the show as an English show, where there was no story, with the people standing around and talking. In the first show I did, I stressed action as well as character development, along with strong story content, to prove that ''1999'' could stand up to the American concept of what an action-adventure show should be." {{Harv | Starlog 40 | 1980 | pp=58-61}} Since Year 1 was quite serious in tone, one of Frieberger's ways to accomplish this objective was to inject humor into Year 2 stories whenever possible, but much of it seemed to fans as forced, especially at the conclusion of an episode, where the Alphans were seen as jovial and light-hearted despite whatever violent or tragic events may have previously befallen them.
Members of the ''Space: 1999'' cast became disenchanted with the scripts. Martin Landau: "They changed it because a bunch of American minds got into the act and they decided to do many things they felt were commercial. Fred Freiberger helped in some respects, but, overall, I don't think he helped the show, I think he brought a much more ordinary, mundane approach to the series." {{Harv | Starlog 108 | 1986 | pp=44-47}}. Under the [[pseudonym]] of Charles Woodgrove, Fred Freiberger wrote three episodes, ''The Rules of Luton'', ''The Beta Cloud'' and ''Space Warp'', known pejoratively as the "Woodgrove Trilogy" for its simplistic approach to storytelling. One particular episode (''[[List of Space: 1999 episodes#All That Glisters|All That Glisters]]'', which dealt with the threat of an intelligent rock) was of such allegedly deficient quality that it sparked a confrontation between Freiberger and the cast. Landau disliked the story so strongly that he wrote the following notes on his copy of the script: "All the credibility we're building up is totally forsaken in this script!"; "...Story is told poorly!"; and "The character of Koenig takes a terrible beating in this script — We're all shmucks!" Anholt revealed that, "the more the cast complained about a script's flaws, the more intractable and unyielding Freiberger became."
Year 2 did nevertheless fare admirably on [[CBC Television]] in Canada, airing in English in a family viewing period, late Saturday afternoons, with a mostly undisrupted run and rerun of all 24 episodes from September, 1976 through September, 1977. And Year 2 episodes ran in French Canada-wide during the same broadcast year, in early evening on Saturdays. Ratings were sufficient for a full additional year's transmission of Year 1 in the English CBC Saturday programming slot in 1977-1978. Episodes of both Year 1 and Year 2 were repeated regionally in Canada in English and French through the early-to-mid-1980s, to an enthusiastic reception by the general viewing audience. [[YTV (TV channel)|YTV]] Canada broadcast both seasons with reportedly good ratings in 1990-1992, in a late Saturday afternoon airtime closely matching that of the CBC English network in the 1970s.
Alas, the presentation of Year 2 was not as consistent elsewhere in the world. Some Year 2 episodes did not air in the UK until nearly two years after they were produced. Plans were nevertheless put in place for a third season, but dropping ratings and a resulting lack of syndication and commercial sponsor sales led to the series' cancellation. Landau later faulted [[ITC Entertainment]] president [[Lew Grade]]'s foray into [[film production]]; the projected budget for the third season was, coincidentally, equivalent to the advertising budget for ''[[Raise the Titanic!]]'', and it came down to one or the other {{Harv | Starlog 108 | 1986 | pp=44-47}}.
==The abortive year three==
{{Fact|date=September 2007}}
While the third season of ''Space: 1999'' never actually entered production, the producers and studio were initially quite interested in continuing the show. As Year Two continued it became more and more apparent that this was simply not going to happen, and eventually the series simply came to a stop with the episode "The Dorcons". However, during the first half of the second series, a number of details about the shape of the third year began to emerge.
* The third year would have been far shorter than the previous two, with only 13 episodes. This was intended as a budgetary compromise between the quantity and quality of episodes.
* Tony Anholt was displeased with both his character and his working environment and said that he would not be returning for a third year on the Moonbase. Hence, his character would have been absent.
* Maya was considered to be the breakout character of the series, and very early on the producers began grooming her for her own spinoff show, which was at one point intended to run concurrently with series 3 of ''Space: 1999''. Had this project gone ahead, Maya would have also been absent from ''Space: 1999''. This "Maya" series was also intended to run for 13 episodes a year.
==Message from Moonbase Alpha==
Filmed [[August 29]], [[1999]] "Message From Moonbase Alpha" was first shown at ''Space: 1999'' Breakway Convention in Los Angeles, California on [[September 13]], [[1999]] -- the day the events in episode 1 of the series were supposed to take place. "Message From Moonbase Alpha" is on the "SPACE: 1999 Bonus Disk" which is available in the US, Canada. "Message From Moonbase Alpha" is also available on a DVD bonus disc in France and in Italy. It is also on the UFO Space:1999 documentaries DVD produced by [[Fanderson]].
The seven minute clip features only [[Zienia Merton]] reprising her role as [[Sandra Benes]] delivering a final message to Earth as the only crew member left while a massive exodus to a habitable planet takes place with the rest of the crew. This basically gave the series the finality it never had in its initial run.
==Bibliography==
* {{cite book | last = [[Barry Morse|Morse]], Barry | first = [[Anthony Wynn|Wynn]], Anthony | title = Remember with Advantages: Chasing 'The Fugitive' and Other Stories from an Actor's Life | year = 2007 | publisher - McFarland and Company | id = ISBN 0-7864-2771-X }}
* {{cite book | last = [[Gerry Anderson|Anderson]], Gerry | first = Bentley, Chris | title = The Complete Gerry Anderson - The Authorised Episode Guide | year = 2005 | publisher = Reynolds & Hearn Ltd | id = ISBN 1-903111-97-8 }}
* {{cite book | last = [[John Kenneth Muir|Muir]] |first = John Kenneth | title = Exploring "Space 1999": An Episode Guide and Complete History of the Mid-1970s Science Fiction Television Series | year = 2005 | publisher = McFarland & Company | id = ISBN 0-7864-2276-9 }}
* {{cite book | last = Drake | first = Chris | title = "UFO" and "Space 1999" | year = 1994 | publisher = Boxtree | id = ISBN 1-85283-393-9 }}
==External links==
*[http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/ The Catacombs] - A comprehensive guide to ''Space:1999''
* {{Screenonline TV title|id=442067|name=Space: 1999}}
==References==
<div class="references-2column">
*{{Harvard reference |
First = Barry
| Surname= Morse
| Year = 2007
| Title = Remember with Advantages
| Publisher = McFarland and Company
| Location = USA
| ID = ISBN 0-7864-2771-X
}}
*{{Harvard reference |
Surname= Landau | First= Martin
| Title=Martin Landau Space Age Hero
| Journal=Starlog
| Issue=108
| Year =1986
| Page=58
}}
*{{Harvard reference |
Surname= Freiberger | First= Freddie
| Title=An Interview With Fred Freiberger
| Journal=Starlog
| Issue=40
| Year =1980
| Page=44
}}
*{{Harvard reference |
Surname= Asimov| First= Isaac
| Title=Is 'Space 1999' More Fi Than Sci?
| Journal=New York Times
| Issue=Sept. 28, 1975
| Year =1975
| Page=1
}}
</div>
==Footnotes==
<div class="references-2column">{{Reflist}}</div>
{{Space 1999}}
{{Gerry Anderson}}
[[Category:British science fiction television programmes]]
[[Category:First-run syndicated television programs in the United States]]
[[Category:ITC Distributions]]
[[Category:ITV television programmes]]
[[Category:Science fiction crews in film and television]]
[[Category:Science fiction television series]]
[[Category:Space: 1999| ]]
[[Category:Charlton Comics titles]]
[[Category:Moon in fiction]]
[[Category:Moon-related television series]]
[[Category:1970s British television series]]
[[Category:1975 television series debuts]]
[[Category:1978 television series endings]]
[[bg:Космос 1999]]
[[da:Månebase Alpha]]
[[de:Mondbasis Alpha 1]]
[[es:Space: 1999]]
[[fr:Cosmos 1999]]
[[it:Spazio 1999]]
[[ja:スペース1999]]
[[nl:Space: 1999]]
[[pl:Cosmos 1999]]
[[pt:Space 1999]]
[[fi:Avaruusasema Alfa]]
[[sv:Månbas Alpha]]
[[tr:Uzay 1999]]