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Overview
Space: 1999 is the last in a long line of science-fiction series that the Andersons produced as a working partnership, beginning with Supercar in the early Sixties and including the famed marionette fantasy series Stingray, Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90 and The Secret Service, as well as the live-action alien-invasion drama UFO. Space: 1999 owes much of the visual design to pre-production work for the never-made second series of UFO, which would have been set primarily on the Moon and featured a more extensive Moonbase.
Space: 1999 drew a great deal of visual inspiration (and technical expertise) from the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The programme's special effects director Brian Johnson had previously worked on both Thunderbirds (as Brian Johncock) and 2001.
Premise
The premise of Space: 1999 centres on the plight of the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha, Earth's Space Research Centre on the Moon, following a scientific cataclysm. Humanity had been storing its nuclear waste in vast disposal sites on the far side of the Moon. Prefaced by wild emissions of an unknown form of magnetic radiation, the accumulated waste reaches critical mass and, on 13 September 1999, detonates in a massive thermonuclear explosion. The force of the blast propels the Moon like an enormous booster rocket, hurling it out of Earth orbit and into deep space at colossal speed, thus stranding the 311 personnel stationed on Alpha.[2] The runaway Moon, in effect, becomes the "spacecraft" on which the protagonists travel, searching for a new home. During their interstellar journey, the Alphans encounter an array of alien civilizations, dystopian societies, and mind-bending phenomena previously unseen by humanity.
The concept of traveling through space to encounter aliens and strange worlds is similar to Lost In Space and Star Trek, although the programme's visual aesthetic was heavily influenced by 2001: A Space Odyssey. In another nod to Kubrick's film, the first series of Space: 1999 explored mystical and metaphysical themes, and offered little explanation of plot points. The inhabitants of Alpha were unwilling travelers, and represented present-day Earthmen cast adrift in a vast, unexplainable universe where Earth-bound logic and laws of nature no longer operated. Several episodes hinted that the Moon's journey was influenced (and perhaps initiated) by a "mysterious unknown force", which was guiding the Alphans toward an ultimate destiny.
The second series centered more on more simplified "action-oriented" plots (à la Star Trek), with a deliberate aim at the American audience, and there was no further mention of the "mysterious unknown force".
Conception and development
In 1972, Sir Lew Grade, head of ITC Entertainment, proposed financing a second series of the Century 21 production UFO to show-runners Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Grade had one stipulation: the new series would be set primarily on the Moon within the environs of an expanded SHADO Moonbase; the ratings indicated the Moon-centric episodes had proved more popular with the viewers. The Andersons and their team would quickly revamp the production, flashing ahead nearly twenty years for UFO: 1999 with Commander Ed Straker and the forces of SHADO fighting their alien foes from a large new Moonbase facility.
However, toward the end of its run, UFO experienced a drop in ratings in both America and the UK; nervous ITC executives in both countries began to question the financial viability of the new series, and support for the project collapsed. In the meantime, Production Designer Keith Wilson and the art department, had made considerable progress in envisioning the look and design of the new series. Their work was then shelved for the foreseeable future.[7]
Anderson would not let the project die; he approached Grade's number two in New York, Abe Mandell, with the proposal for taking the research and development done for UFO: 1999 and creating a new science fiction series. Mandell was amenable, but stated he did not want a series set featuring people "having tea in the Midlands" and forbade any Earth-bound settings. Anderson responded that in the series opener, he would "blow up the Earth". Mandell countered that this concept might be off-putting to viewers, to which Anderson replied he would "blow up the Moon".[8]
The Andersons reworked UFO: 1999 into a new premise: Commander Steven Maddox controlled the forces of WANDER, Earth's premier defence organisation, from Moon City, a twenty-mile wide installation on the Moon. Maddox would view all aspects of Earth defence from Central Control, a facility at the hub of the base and accessible only by Moon Hopper craft, which would require the correct pass-code to traverse Control's defensive laser barrier. The Commander would also have access to a personal computer called "Com-Com" (Commander's Computer), which would act as a personal advisor, having been programmed with the Commander's personality and moral sense.
In the half-hour opening episode "Zero-G" penned by the Andersons, Earth's deep space probes have discovered an advanced extraterrestrial civilisation. Maddox is kidnapped for an interview with the aliens. Angered by humanity's innate hostility and WANDER's defensive posture, they travel to Earth with the intent of isolating mankind within the boundary of Earth's atmosphere. Having judged Maddox a noble example of mankind, they return him unharmed. They then use a beam to reduce the Moon's gravitational influence to zero, sending it careening out of orbit into deep space.[9]
The project continued forward. Group Three Productions (a partnership of the Andersons and production executive Reg Hill) would produce the series; ITC Entertainment and RAI would provide the funding. Grade, aiming for a US network sale, insisted the series have American leads and employ American writers and directors. George Bellak, a well-known American television writer, was brought on staff. As stated by series writers Christopher Penfold and Johnny Byrne, it was Bellak who created and polished the series' defining concepts. Bellak wrote a ninety-minute opening episode titled The Void Ahead, which was a close forerunner of Breakaway. Bellak also set up a writers' guide defining the three leads, the facilities of the Moonbase and potential storylines.
At this point, the staff seemed to make creative changes that brought the series closer in concept and appearance to 2001: A Space Odyssey. Even the title Space: 1999 evoked comparison with Kubrick's film. (Before, the title of the new series had greatly varied: Space Journey: 1999, Journey In Space, Menace In Space and Space Invaders — the invaders of the last title being the Earthmen trapped on the runaway Moon.)
For the lead characters of John Koenig and Helena Russell, Gerry Anderson approached the husband-and-wife acting team of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. Landau and Bain were bankable high-profile stars in America after three years on the popular CBS espionage series Mission: Impossible. Producer Sylvia Anderson let it be known that she would have preferred British lead actors; since Grade insisted on Americans, she would have chosen Robert Culp (star of the 1960s espionage series I Spy) and Katharine Ross (co-star of 1960s blockbuster movies The Graduate and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid).[7] Lee H. Katzin, a highly-respected American television director with a specialty for pilot episodes, was selected to helm the opening segment and brought into the fold as a primary director for the remainder of the series.
Visual effects, set design, costumes and music
The show's vehicles, including the Eagle space shuttle and the Moon Buggy, were represented with a mixture of full-sized props, photographic blow-ups, and detailed scale models. Dozens of models for the various alien spaceships and the Mark IX Hawk from the War Games episode were built by model maker Martin Bower, often at several different sizes to account for the intended use.
Rather than relying on blue screen techniques, à la Star Trek, Johnson's team often employed a technique that went back to the earliest days of visual effects: spacecraft and planets would be filmed against black backgrounds, with the camera being rewound for each successive element. As long as the various elements did not overlap this produced convincing results. In technical terms, the advantage was that all of the elements were recorded on the original negative, as opposed to blue screen which would have involved several generations of duplication. The disadvantage was that the number of possible angles was more limited; for instance, a spaceship could be seen approaching a planet from the side, but could not move in front of it without the elements overlapping.[10]
Special effects director Brian Johnson and most of his team went on to work on Ridley Scott's 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 was replicated in future science-fiction features.
The uni-sex "Moon City" uniforms for the first series were created by renowned German fashion designer Rudi Gernreich, a personal friend of series' star Barbara Bain. Other costumes were designed by Production Designer Keith Wilson, who was also responsible for set design. Wilson's innovative Moonbase set construction, using four-foot by eight-foot plastic foam-board panels linked together Lego-like into whatever room configuration was required, made for a uniform and realistic appearance for the Alpha interiors (not to mention relatively cheap and quickly assembled).[10] A muted colour pallette and the integration of recognisable equipment and accessories added to the verisimilitude.
For the second series, the Moonbase uniforms were updated having been perceived by some as "bland". Coloured decorative stitching and turtleneck collars were added, as were various badges and patches. Red, navy or dark-green jackets also appeared, originally on just the senior staff, then on many of the male extras. The women characters tended to wear skirts and knee high boots throughout the second series, rather than the flared trousers used in Series one. The costumes for series two were designed by Emma Porteous, who later designed the wardrobes for several James Bond films.
The Alpha interiors were also upgraded for the second year, with the existing stock of wall panels, doors, computer panels, et cetera (along with some bits from other Anderson productions) being assembled for the first time into a standing complex of interconnected sets. (The first series sets had been assembled as needed and the size of the Main Mission/Command Office complex was prohibitive for the construction of a lasting series of rooms.)[10] Vibrant colour was much more evident in this series' Moonbase sets. Futuristic "science-fiction-y" appearing gadgets and equipment were also more evident (for example, Helena no longer used a stethoscope, but a little beeping, all-purpose medical scanner similar to Dr. McCoy's whistling medical "Feinberger" on Star Trek.)
The opening credits for the first series featured a dramatic fanfare composed by long-time Anderson associate Barry Gray, whose scores for the series were his final compositions for an Anderson production. Gray scored five episodes — Breakaway, Matter of Life and Death, Black Sun, Another Time, Another Place and The Full Circle—Vic Elms provided a completely electronic score for Ring Around the Moon and Big Jim Sullivan performed a one-off sitar composition for The Troubled Spirit. Library music, classical compositions and score excerpts from earlier Anderson productions augmented the five Gray scores and gave the impression of an expansive musical repertoire.
The second series was scored by jazz-musician and composer Derek Wadsworth; American producer Fred Freiberger wanted a more "driving, searing" score for his new action-adventure format.[10] Wadsworth composed original music for The Metamorph, The Exiles, One Moment of Humanity, The Taybor and Space Warp, that music being assembled for reuse in the other episodes to accompany appropriately similar thematic content.
One may note influences of other Anderson shows on the Space: 1999 spacecraft and elements. The cockpit of the Eagle has a slight resemblance to the cockpit of an earlier Anderson Supermarionation series, Fireball XL5. Thruster and engine sounds also may have had previous use in Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, and Captain Scarlet. Lighting effects for Moonbase Alpha may have come from UFO, as did the concept of the elevating spacecraft launch pad.
The original Moonbase Alpha model reappeared in the public eye after almost 30 years on www.eagletransporter.com when the site gained exclusive access to photomap the model and solicit its sale. Images of the model as it is today can be seen here.
Message From Moonbase Alpha and the aborted cinematic revival
Filmed on 29 August 1999, Message From Moonbase Alpha is a fan-produced mini-episode made with the co-operation and involvement of Space: 1999 script editor Johnny Byrne, who penned the script. Filmed inside a private house on a remarkable working replica of a small section of the Main Mission set and utilising the original prop of Koenig's Command Center desk and Sandra Benes's original Year Two Alpha uniform, the short film was first shown at the Space: 1999 Breakaway Convention[28] in Los Angeles, California on 13 September 1999—the day the events in episode 1 of the series were supposed to take place. With the permission of (then) copyright owners Carlton Media International, the film included brief clips from seven episodes to illustrate the deserted Moonbase Alpha and the Alphans' exodus to planet Terra Alpha. Previously unused footage shot for the Year Two title sequence and The Last Enemy was used to create a sequence showing the Moon being affected by a gravitational disturbance and thrown into an unknown solar system. Short excerpts from 12 other episodes appeared in a montage as Sandra Benes recalls her life on Alpha.
The seven minute film features Zienia Merton reprising her role as Sandra Benes delivering a final message to Earth as the only crew member left on Moonbase Alpha while a massive exodus to a habitable planet, Terra Alpha, takes place with the rest of the crew. This basically gave the series the finality it never had in its initial run.
Modified versions of Message From Moonbase Alpha are available on the Space: 1999 Bonus Disk in the U.S. and Canada, and on a DVD bonus disc in France and in Italy. The original version appears as a bonus feature on the Space:1999/UFO - The Documentaries DVD produced by Fanderson.
Around the same time 'Message From Moonbase Alpha' was being filmed, Johnny Byrne and Christopher Penfold attempted to revive the franchise as a movie series, similar to the way Star Trek had been revived cinematically in the late 1970s. The first film would have picked up the story several years after the series ended, and would have featured a heavily-redesigned Moonbase Alpha. Ultimately the project failed, and nothing came of it.[29]Extracts Taken From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space:_1999
Space: 1999 Trailers, Clips & Extracts
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Year One (1975-1976) - Best & Worst Episodes:
Best:
23) Dragon's Domain
Story
It is 877 days after leaving Earth orbit, and the Moon is passing through a stretch of peaceful empty space between galaxies. Doctor Helena Russell is alone in her quarters, typing a report on a World Space Commission Medical Department form regarding the status of one Captain Tony Cellini. Her voice-over narration giving the history of this case leads the viewer into an extended flashback...
Hours earlier, during the simulated 'night-time' on Moonbase Alpha, astronaut Tony Cellini awakens from a fitful sleep in a cold sweat. Sensing danger, he seizes an antique tomahawk from a decorative weapons display. After making several lunges at an imagined enemy (which he perceives as a swirling display of light accompanied by an electronic screeching sound), Cellini ends up hacking the tomahawk deep into the communications post in his quarters.
Medical Computer alerts Helena of Cellini's elevated pulse and metabolic rate. When she contacts him, he assures her that it was just a bad dream. Though not entirely convinced, she bids him a good night. After contemplating the space sky from his window, Cellini leaves his quarters—still in his pyjamas—and makes for the Embarkation Area. His entry into this restricted area while off-duty attracts attention: John Koenig, overseeing the night shift in Main Mission, receives the report from Computer. Suspicious, the Commander orders Cellini's commlock cancelled.
Cellini's progress is halted by his now non-operational commlock. He encounters Alan Carter and clobbers him, appropriating his commlock. He uses it to gain access to the stand-by Eagle. By the time Koenig arrives at the launch pad, Cellini is firing up the ship's engines. The Commander overrides the safety protocols and re-connects the boarding tube; the lift-off is automatically aborted by this action. Koenig boards the Eagle and each man grabs a stun-gun from the weapons rack. During the face-off, Cellini says, 'Let me go, John,' and moves for the command module, but is rendered unconscious by the Commander's point-blank stun-blast.
As Helena cares for the unconscious Cellini, she discusses his case with Koenig. She believes that Cellini is mentally unstable and a threat to the safety of himself and others. Koenig will not accept her diagnosis—he is a long-time friend of Cellini, whom he knows to be an accomplished astronaut, athlete and poet. Five years before, Cellini had a traumatic experience during his mission to the planet Ultra. He never recovered. The two quarrel when she reveals that, at the time, she saw Cellini as a patient; her report to the Space Commission may have helped further damage his reputation. As Koenig storms out of Medical, Helena's narration takes the viewer to a flashback within the flashback...
9 March 1996. At Alpha's Technical Section, Astronauts John Koenig and Tony Cellini and Professor Victor Bergman were working out the final details of the Ultra Probe, a high-profile deep-space mission to explore the then-newly discovered planet Ultra. This tenth planet, discovered by Bergman in 1994, showed every indication of being habitable. Both equally qualified, Cellini and Koenig could not decide which of them would command the mission. The two friends left the choice up to a coin-toss. Cellini won.
The Ultra Probe departed from the Interplanetary Space Station on its seven-month journey on 6 June 1996. Cellini and his crew (astrophysicist Doctor Darwin King, radiation expert Professor Juliet Mackie and medical officer Doctor Monique Bouchere) experienced no difficulty during the voyage. On arriving at Ultra, they marveled at its similarity to Earth and preparations were made for a manned landing. While orbiting behind Ultra—out of direct communication with Alpha mission control—the ship encountered a collection of alien spacecraft. No life signs were detected from any of the derelicts. By consensus, the crew decided to dock with one of the silent vessels.
As the airlock opened, there was an unexpected phenomenon—swirling light, raging wind, screeching noise—and King shouted to Cellini to close the airlock. Emitting a deafening electronic scream, a huge, vaguely octopus-like creature with prehensile tentacles, one blazing eye and a fiery maw materialised, filling the aft portion of the main module. When King attempted to seal it off with the emergency bulkheads, its incredibly strong apendages prevented the closure of the doors—which shorted out the ship's auto-systems. The crew's efforts to defend themselves came to naught. One by one, they were hypnotised into inaction by the creature, devoured alive, and their smoking remains regurgitated.
Cellini was trapped in the command module by the system failure. After a hasty repair job, he released the jammed door in time to witness the death of the last of his shipmates: Monique Bouchere. He fired on the creature, the laser beams bouncing off its armoured hide. Cellini retreated to the command module, pursued by the monster. Fending off the creature's tentacles with a fire axe, he sealed the doors. He then blasted the command module free from the body of the probe-ship to use as an escape craft. In a brilliant manoeuvre, Cellini managed to slingshot around Ultra on a return vector for home.
After a six-month journey, he reached Earth barely alive, sustained by survival rations and sheer courage. His accomplishment was soon overshadowed by the world-wide disbelief of his horrific tale of the alien monster. While recuperating in an Earthside hospital, Cellini was visited by one Helena Russell on behalf of the Space Commission Medical Department to evaulate his competency. From the start, the Italian astronaut poured on the charm, discussing diverse topics ranging from Father Christmas to his own sex life. When the conversation turned to the Ultra Probe incident, he became physically and verbally agitated. Helena was forced to order sedation as the hysterical Cellini pleaded with her to believe him.
World Space Commission executive Commissioner Dixon summoned Cellini, Koenig and Bergman to his offices on Earth. He stated bluntly that there was no evidence on the flight recorder of any 'monster'. He judged that Cellini bungled the decompression procedure, killed his crew and refused to accept the blame. When questioned, Bergman and Koenig tried not to implicate their friend, but were forced to admit there were no facts to support his tale—or refute it, Koenig cheekily rebutted. Dixon ended the interview by stating the ultimate fact was that 'space adventuring' was terrifically expensive. His overwhelming priority was protect the space programme from the financial ruin the probe's failure would bring. Dixon grounded Koenig and Bergman as punishment for their ‘misguided’ support of Cellini. The scapegoat himself was then sent for extended psychiatric assessment.
Time passed, and Dixon's tenure as commissioner ended. Bergman was again welcome on Alpha as a visiting scientist, and Helena was posted there as head of the Medical Section. In September 1999, Koenig was appointed base commander to resolve the Meta Probe crisis, and he transferred his friend Cellini back to Alpha's Reconnaissance Section. After the Moon's breakaway, all memory of the Ultra Probe incident was obliterated by their struggle to survive in a hostile universe—until Cellini's irrational behaviour on this night revived the controversy...
The viewer returns to the present-day flashback as Koenig and Helena reconcile; Koenig apologises for his temper and presents her with a peace offering—a hyacinth he has managed to grow, in spite of his black thumb. As they discuss Cellini, which almost results in another argument, the man regains consciousness. He tells Koenig and Helena that his attempt to depart Alpha was in response to an unconscious feeling that the Ultra Probe monster was near and he needed to go out and face it. Koenig is unsure what to believe.
A summons from Main Mission calls him away from Medical Centre; waiting for him on the big screen is an image of a jumbled assortment of alien craft. Despite five years' time and a distance of uncountable light-years, Koenig uncannily knows it is the spaceship graveyard Cellini had described encountering behind Ultra. Further investigation reveals the main module of the Ultra Probe still docked with one of the derelicts. Koenig agrees to investigate, and Cellini feels redeemed. Helena, though, is concerned by Cellini's unnatural calmness.
Boarding Eagle One, Cellini tells Koenig he is going up front to apologise to Carter for his earlier assault. However, he again knocks Carter unconscious and hijacks the Eagle, leaving the passenger module (and Koenig and company) behind on the launch pad. He radios his old friend, informing him that the beast is his enemy and he must face it—alone.
Koenig orders Eagles Three and Four to pursue Cellini and Eagle Two to pick up his abandoned passenger module. He still supports Cellini—even though his friend's actions could be interpreted as a desperate attempt to destroy evidence. Running three minutes ahead of the posse, Cellini docks Eagle One's command module where the probe-ship's pilot module had been affixed. Taking a fire axe and rope, he enters the eerie darkness of main module and secures his lifeline to a support girder. His presence causes the monster to materialise in full attack mode. After Cellini lands several telling blows with the axe, the monster gets a stranglehold around his neck.
Koenig's Eagle Two docks with the probe-ship; he and the Security team enter the main module to witness the epic battle. Cellini's lifeline is yanked free by the monster and the astronaut is devoured, his ravaged corpse ejected to lie by those of his fallen comrades. Koenig reckons the monster's weakness could be its massive, exposed 'eye', and retrieves Cellini's axe. Evading the flailing tentacles, Koenig dives in and, hacking away at the eye, slays the monster.
Back on Alpha, after the Moon has drifted out of range of the spaceship graveyard, we return to the present. Helena Russell sits at her typewriter, ruminating that when the Alphans finally settle on their new home, they will need a whole new mythology. She suggests to Koenig the tale of Tony Cellini and the Monster. She then hands him the completed report, closing the case and giving the tortured Cellini final vindication.
Worst:
11) The Last Sunset
Story
The Moon is moving into a solar system containing a single planet, which the Alpha staff code-names 'Ariel'. While approaching with a two-ship reconnaissance mission, Alan Carter in Eagle Two comments that its dense atmosphere looks like pea soup. Expectations are running high. Not only is planet Ariel habitable, but conditions are favourable for the Moon to enter into orbit around its sun. Preparations for final descent are interrupted by an unexpected sensor contact: an alien object is closing fast. Despite evasive manoeuvres, the object homes in on Eagle Two and impacts—without exploding. Carter and co-pilot Pete Johnson are shocked to find it fastened to the outside of their command module.
John Koenig aborts the mission and orders Eagles Two and Seven to return to base. Eagle Two is carefully brought down by remote-control...and the alien device still makes no move. With the object proving resistant to all remote analysis techniques, it is removed from the Eagle fuselage and brought into a secure workshop in the Technical Section for a hands-on examination. Carter wants to lead another mission to the planet. Koenig insists on caution; the satellite hardly seems to be an invitation card—it could be a diversion to prevent them from landing on Ariel.
The alien device defies analysis, but Victor Bergman concludes it to be inert—just when it starts spraying jets of white vapour under high-pressure. The workroom is sealed off, but the gas's tremendous pressure blows out the room's windows and ruptures the locked security door. Technical Section is evacuated and its airlocks opened to expel the tainted air. The mystery gas blasts through the Eagle maintenance hangar, geysering up the launch-pad elevator shaft.
Distracted by the venting operation, no one notices the landing of countless more Ariel satellites. The newly-arrived devices emit more vapour until the moonscape is blanketed in a dense mist. Bergman has performed a frantic analysis of the vapour and calls in the results—the mystery gas is air. As the mist clears, the Alphans are astonished to see the sun rising above the lunar horizon into a dawn-flushed blue sky...the Moon now has an atmosphere.
The satellites depart (with the exception of the original sitting in Technical), but not before performing another scientific impossibility: the Moon's gravity is increased to near Earth-normal. Helena Russell reviews the processed data and concludes the atmosphere to be breathable; though somewhat shallow by Earth standards, it even contains a protective ozone layer. From an abundance of volunteers, Koenig chooses Paul Morrow and Sandra Benes for the final test—breathing the new air. Out on the surface, they open valves in their spacesuits and begin breathing increasing portions of the outside atmosphere. Finally, they open their helmet visors and take a deep breath; it smells like fresh country air. The two joyfully embrace and try to kiss through the bulky space gear.
The next day, Alpha is transformed into a holiday resort, with people sun-bathing and playing badminton and other lawn games on the barren moonscape. Morrow and Sandra go for a private stroll among the moonrocks. The two discuss that, despite their feelings for each other, the thought of taking their relationship to the next level was unthinkable while cooped up inside Alpha. Now, with the promise of a new life, the time has come to reconsider that decision and they passionately kiss.
Bergman obsesses over the formidable task of reclaiming the Moon surface. The first major obstacle is the lack of water, though he is sure the rain cycle can be started with cloud-seeding. Koenig feels their priority should be establishing if Ariel can support them. As if eavesdropping, the satellite′s antennae send bolts of energy streaming into the sky. Heavy clouds accumulate and it beings to storm. The people of Alpha scamper outside to experience this first rainfall. Bergman is elated; as the rains continue, the Sea of Tranquility will become a genuine sea and all the craters will fill to form circular lakes. Koenig gives him a reality check—Moonbase Alpha is built in a crater, and could soon be at the bottom of its own personal lake.
Koenig orders a survey of the Moon surface for an alternative place to live. Eagle Two-Eight lifts off, crewed by Carter, Morrow and Sandra, with Helena as mission commander. Hours into the flight, the Eagle encounters bad weather over the Taurus Mountains. Elated at flying an aircraft again, Carter takes the ship into the clouds. Back at Moonbase, Tanya and David Kano fret over the poor quality of telemetry received from the Eagle as it approaches an electrical storm—the interference is as bad as it was on Earth.
The Eagle is buffeted by high winds and Carter struggles to keep her aloft. Lightning strikes the fuselage and all systems fail, short-circuited. The ship plummets from the sky and crashes into a dust-dune on a barren plateau high in the mountains. In Main Mission, the ship vanishes from tracking radar and contact is lost with the on-board computer. Koenig organises a massive search effort and every serviceable Eagle is pressed into action.
At the crash site, Helena tends to an injured Sandra, finding fractured ribs and concussion. Carter examines the ship's systems, finding burned-out electronics. The men struggle to open the exterior hatch and dig through a suffocating drift of moondust to reach open air. They catch sight of Eagle One flying away over the mountains—Koenig and crew have missed the nearly-buried wreck under its camouflage of dust. Returning to Alpha long after nightfall, Koenig meets with Bergman, who is still optimistic that the Moon will assume orbit around this sun. Koenig points out that if it does not, conditions outside will rapidly deteriorate rapidly.
The next day, in spite of the stifling heat, Carter and Morrow get to work. They stack storage crates in a cross-shape to increase their visibility from the air. Helena inventories their supplies. She is dismayed to find the smashed tank of a corrosive chemical (normally stored in the engine compartment) thrown into the cargo section by the force of impact. The acid has contaminated most of their consumables, leaving only survival rations and two containers of potable water. At Alpha, Koenig receives a report that Eagle One-Five is the latest of six ships grounded by serious system failures. He lambasts Kano over the apparent incompetence of the Technical Section. His final word is that no Eagle will be grounded without his authorisation.
Night falls on the plateau and the temperature drops below freezing. The wind picks up, piling dust-drifts over the marker. Helena doles out their dinner ration of survival cubes and small tumblers of water. The men watch the water supply dwindling and, mindful of Sandra's condition, agree to split one cup between them. Helena will not allow it—for Sandra's sake, they must keep up their strength.
Koenig blasts off at dawn to lead the day's search. His control systems suddenly seize up and the Eagle crash-lands just beyond the base perimeter. Technical's analysis shows that an unknown element in the atmosphere, in combination with airborne particles of moondust, is causing all exposed metals to corrode—except for those coated with a graphite compound. Koenig orders the base re-sealed and re-pressurised with its own atmosphere immediately, then an Eagle stripped down and graphite applied to every metal surface. As an afterthought, he has the Ariel satellite dumped outside.
The wind storm continues through the next night at the crashed Eagle. As the others sleep, Morrow sneaks extra water to Sandra. She protests, but he lies to her about it having rained. Watching her continued suffering, he makes a desperate decision—he will try to reach Alpha on foot and get help. Under the guise of fetching water, he leaves before the others awaken. Unable to withstand the gale-force wind, Morrow soon collapses to the ground. Reaching out, he encounters a mushroom-like growth under a rock; with nothing to lose, he first squeezes liquid out of the fungus to drink, then takes a bite.
Sunrise brings clear skies and finds Morrow alive and with renewed strength. He has built a shelter out of odds and ends overnight. Bringing Sandra out to lie in the open air, he declares his shack to be the new city of Alpha in this de facto Garden of Eden. He offers the others breakfast: the ‘manna from Heaven’ delivered unto him when he lay down to die. Carter is willing to try, but Helena insists on testing it first. Back at Alpha, Bergman reports the Moon will not be going into orbit. Koenig is grim; once they leave this sun, the atmosphere will freeze and crush Moonbase. A small consolation, the corrosion-proof Eagle is ready and Koenig resumes the search for Helena and the others.
Having no real choice, Helena clears the mushroom substance for consumption; she will conduct proper tests when they return to Alpha. With a fanatical intensity, Morrow declares they will not be going back. Recent events have guided them to their destiny: to foster a new civilisation on the Moon, then spread humanity out across the stars. Carter returns in time to witness Morrow's harangue and drop-kicks his gathered ‘manna’ into the dust. Morrow proceeds to beat him senseless over his sacrilegious treatment of this ‘sacred bread’. Helena moves to sedate Morrow, but he evades the hypo-gun and grabs her by the throat.
Helena′s life is saved by the return of the Ariel satellites. As Morrow revels in the ‘second coming’ of the people of Ariel, she spots Koenig's Eagle in the distance. She runs for the wreck of Eagle Two-Eight and opens the valves on every oxygen cylinder. Back outside, she fires a laser rifle into the ship. The laser charge ignites the flammable gas, blowing the ship apart. Koenig's instruments indicate atmospheric pressure is falling—the satellites are back to remove the atmosphere. He spots the column of smoke from the burning Eagle and touches down.
Koenig leaves Bob Mathias to assist Carter and Helena while he goes to retrieve Sandra from the shelter. He is attacked by a psychotic Morrow preaching his new-found dogma. As the air thins, the two men fight until Koenig lays Morrow out with a right cross to the chin. After their return to Alpha, Bergman reports to the senior executives that Morrow's ‘manna’ has high nutritional potential—once the hallucinogenic elements are removed.
The last of the departing satellites pauses and focuses a ray on the Main Mission building. An alien voice states their actions were neither benevolent nor malevolent. Koenig's suspicions were correct—by making the Moon habitable, they prevented Earthmen from penetrating their planet. The Commander insists their intentions were peaceful. The Ariel voice replies they have observed Earth since the beginning of time; human nature is such they are unwilling to take the risk.
Contact is broken and the satellite flies away. As the last of the temporary atmosphere dissipates and the sun sinks toward the horizon, the people of Alpha settle in to enjoy their last sunset.
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Year Two (1976-1977) - Best & Worst Episodes:
Best:
1) The Metamorph
Story
Computer analysis reveals large deposits of titanium, and Astronauts Bill Fraser and Ray Torens are recalled. Unseen by the pilots, a boulder inexplicably changes into a large sphere of green energy—which then follows Eagle One. Moonbase sensors detect the mysterious pursuer and Koenig warns Fraser. Despite rigorous evasive manoeuvres, the sphere effortlessly follows the ship. Among the Command Centre staff is Fraser's wife of two months, Annette. She faints as the ball of light engulfs her husband's Eagle and drags it down to the planet.
Following the abduction, Alpha goes to alert status. Tony Verdeschi, head of Security and recently-appointed second-in-command, mobilises the defences—which now include large-scale laser batteries. Koenig insists there must be intelligent life on the planet. Scientific officer Lew Picard declares no life as they know it could exist in that environment. Just then, a middle-aged alien man appears on the big screen, introducing himself as Mentor of the planet Psychon. Koenig immediately accuses the being of attacking an unarmed survey ship—which, Mentor counters, was trespassing on his planet.
After a lengthy exchange, an understanding is reached. Mentor agrees to release the pilots. Their vessel is damaged, however; another Eagle must be sent to collect them. In the interests of peace, the alien will also give them the titanium, asking that a science specialist be sent to discuss the details. Mentor also asks for them to bring a physician, as one of the astronauts was injured. Koenig, suspicious of the alien's generosity, agrees to a rendezvous in space. He orders the excursion Eagle fitted with two booster units—in case there is reason to hurry home.
In a subterranean complex on Psychon, Mentor turns to his companion—a lioness lying across a console—and asks her opinion. The animal transforms into an exotically beautiful young woman: his daughter Maya. The girl is a metamorph, trained by her father in the Psychon art of molecular transformation, able to assume the form of any living organism at will. Well disposed toward the Alphans, she finds them more attractive and agreeable than past alien visitors. When she playfully metamorphoses into Koenig, Mentor scolds her for frivolously misusing her abilities. With work to be done, he shoos her out of the Grove.
With booster units affixed to its fuselage, Eagle Four lifts off, crewed by Koenig, Picard, Helena Russell and Alan Carter. As they arrive at Psychon, an alien craft approaches. Sensors reveal the silent ship is under remote control, is radiating magnetic energy—and contains no life-forms. (Unknown to them, it was created out of rock by Mentor's power of matter transmutation.) Acting like a electromagnet, it drags the Eagle downward. When full engine thrust fails to break the alien's grip, Koenig orders the booster rockets fired. To Mentor's chagrin, Eagle Four blasts free. He converts the vessel into an energy sphere to capture Koenig. Eagle Four comes to rest in a volcanic crater, surrounded by derelict alien vessels.
Mentor contacts Koenig, ignoring the Commander's protests as he welcomes the humans to Psychon. Behind him, the Alphan astronauts are marched into the Grove. Seeing Koenig's image on the screen, Fraser tries to warn him of something, but is stunned by a guard. Mentor tries to pass off his outburst as delirium, then tells Koenig to stay put until contacted again. As Fraser is taken away, Mentor turns to Torens, who is strapped in a seat behind a glass partition. A futuristic skull-fitting dome descends over the pilot's head. The alien scientist touches a panel and Torens arches in agony, mouth opening in a silent scream.
Distrustful of their ‘host’, the Koenig and party disembark into the spaceship graveyard. They enter a tunnel, following it underground. Picard spies titanium ore among the loose gravel littering the ground; Helena pockets the nuggets to take back to Alpha. Rounding a bend, the four enter a large cavern inhabited by a diverse collection of aliens. Guarded by Mentor's Overseers, they are engaged in mining activities. From their mindless behaviour, Helena recognises the aliens are suffering from a form of brain damage. They are shocked to discover one of the zombie-like miners is Torens.
Reaching out to him, Koenig is repelled by force-field. An Overseer is attacted by the commotion; when shot with a stun-blast, the being changes into a stone slab. Picard speculates the guard was created from inert matter by molecular transformation. As they proceed, an image of Mentor blocks the tunnel. The alien warns them the hologram is surrounded by an impenetrable force-field. Hoping to overpower the barrier, Picard fires his laser rifle—but the beam ricochets back to atomise the Frenchman. When their stun-guns transformed into molten rocks, Koenig and company retreat, but are captured by another sphere of light.
Koenig regains consciousness alone in a cell, startled by the lioness guarding the open doorway. As he backs away from the beast, Maya reverts to her normal form. With she and her father the sole remaining inhabitants of Psychon, the girl is eager to interact with the alien commander. When Koenig tries to exit the cell, he encounters another force-field. Though Maya's apology is earnest, Koenig is enraged by what he feels is another Psychon trick. Maya is shocked when Koenig attacks Mentor's character by citing a list of his malicious deeds. Ignorant of her father's activities, she does not believe Koenig, thinking he is still disoriented.
At the Grove, Mentor admits Koenig, but prevents a curious Maya from joining them. The room is dominated by a surreal artefact: a hexagonal dais from which dozens of glass conduits rise to penetrate the rocky ceiling. The conduits contain bubbling organic fluids of every colour, and the object hums and pulses with energy. With affection, Mentor introduces it as Psyche, a biological computer. Using its ability to manipulate matter, he plans to transform this dying world from a volcanic wasteland back to its former splendour.
The alien scientist makes a gruesome revelation: Psyche derives its energy from the minds of intelligent beings. Like Torens, the brain-dead slaves in the pits have all been in ‘rapport’ with the machine. Koenig is appalled as the madman states the arrival of the Moon and its 297 human inhabitants should provide enough energy to make his world live again. When Koenig refuses to hand over the Alpha people, Mentor demonstrates his power by detonating a lunar mountain close to Moonbase.
Koenig refuses to yield, preferring the Alphans be mercifully destroyed than condemned to this obscenity. The wily Mentor then reveals Koenig's missing comrades—strapped down in the brain transfer unit. Unless Koenig submits, their minds will be given to Psyche. Koenig stands firm, and the process begins. As his people writhe in agony under the glass domes, Mentor taunts Koenig with how little time remains to them. Apparently unable to stand by and watch Helena suffer, Koenig surrenders.
On Moonbase Alpha, the mood is sombre. There has been no contact with either Eagle crew and Mentor's complex is shielded against their scanners. The staff is excited when they receive a signal from Koenig—more so when he announces the Alphans have been given permission to settle on Psychon. When Verdeschi questions the abruptness of events, the Commander sternly informs him the operation is covered under ‘directive four’ and will commence at once. Shocked that Koenig would betray the entire population of Alpha, Helena demands an explanation. As the group are led to a cell, the Commander justifies his actions in the name of self-preservation.
On Alpha, a brooding Verdeschi paces, while the staff wonders why the evacuation has not commenced. Sandra Benes consults Computer for the meaning of the unfamiliar ‘directive four’; Computer denies her access due to insufficient security clearance. Asking Verdeschi in private, she is told it is a code signal between Koenig and himself—an irrevocable order to destroy the place from which it is issued. To her horror, the security chief contacts the Weapons Section and orders a remote-controlled Eagle equipped with a maximum load of nuclear ordnance.
Having overheard, Annette demands an explanation. Verdeschi tries to convey the severity of the situation, but the hysterical Annette, thinking only of her husband, refuses to listen. Holding the sobbing woman, Verdeschi orders the ship launched. On Psychon, Mentor and his daughter observe the lone Eagle approaching. The scientist scans the vessel, angered when its deadly cargo is revealed. Indignant, Maya leaves to confront the Alphans. Mentor contacts the prisoners, berating Koenig for trying to deceive him with a kamikaze Eagle. Having shunned Koenig, Helena and the others now realise the Commander's ‘traitorous’ actions were a ruse.
Mentor vows to first destroy the Eagle—then the Moon. After he signs off, an angry Maya arrives to tell Koenig what she thinks of him. She is appalled when he reveals Mentor's horrific agenda—especially the fate of those unfortunate to enter into ‘rapport’ with Psyche. She calls him a liar, but Koenig verbally batters her, demanding she go to the pits and see for herself. The alien girl flees...but finds herself running to the entrance to the tunnels. Koenig's tirade has exposed her inner doubts regarding Mentor's often secretive and condescending manner. Bracing herself, she transforms into a bird and flies on.
Maya soon encounters the mindless slave workers. She is numbed by the discovery, all faith in her father destroyed. During this, Mentor destroys the remote-controlled Eagle, then turns his wrath on Alpha. Via holographic projection, Koenig and company watch as explosions rip through the complex. A distraught Maya returns to the cell in time to hear her father gloat how he will destroy Moonbase piece by piece. Koenig implores her to release them and help prevent the senseless slaughter of three hundred more people. After Koenig promises to stop Mentor without harming him, she lowers the force-field. As the others make for the Eagle, Maya leads Koenig to the Grove.
Koenig acts fast, bashing Psyche's controls with a stalactite ripped from the ceiling. Mentor grabs him, shouting that the sudden release of Pyche's energy could destroy the planet; Koenig throws off the older man and continues his vandalism. Soon, the floor begins to heave and fracture, flames bursting through the cracks. Psyche's ‘death’ is apocalyptic: all across Psychon volcanoes begin erupting in a chain reaction. As the fire spreads, a wounded Mentor implores Maya to stop Koenig. Sobbing, the girl does not move, revealing her newfound knowledge of his horrible deeds.
In the caves, Helena and Fraser try to retrieve Torens, but the pilot is buried alive when the ceiling collapses on the unfortunate miners. In the Grove, Mentor is trapped behind a wall of flame. Utterly defeated, he begs for his daughter's understanding. Watching the Grove crumble around them, he shouts for Maya to save herself. She refuses to abandon him. Koenig restrains her as she desperately transforms from one animal to another, trying to break free. He drags Maya out of the Grove as Mentor is consumed by the inferno. Running for their lives, they navigate the quaking tunnels leading to Eagle Four.
They board and the ship takes off—just as the volcanic crater erupts beneath it. Carter fights for control as the growing tectonic stresses blow the planet apart. Eagle Four makes contact with Moonbase, and the Frasers enjoy a sweet reunion over the TV monitor. During this, Koenig and Helena comfort Maya. The girl is inconsolable, devastated by the loss of her entire existence. They invite her to make a new life for herself on Alpha. Maya believes anywhere but on Psychon she will be an alien. Koenig replies, ‘We're all aliens...until we get to know one another.’
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Metamorph
5) Journey to Where
Story
After this reality check, the senior executives review the facts. A neutrino transmission is an advanced method of communication which can cover billions of miles in an instant. A neutrino beam from Earth focused on the Moon could provide this miraculous two-way contact. Theoretical experiments had just begun in 1999. As their years in space would translate into the passage of decades on Earth, there would have been ample time for research and development.
Another voice—male, with an American Southern accent—introduces itself as Doctor Charles Logan, Texas City's senior space scientist. He tells them the year on Earth is 2120. This fantastic statement is followed by an even more astounding announcement—the technology now exists to teleport the Alphans back to Earth. Time is of the essence as communications will be cut off by a galactic eclipse in seventy-two hours. Making extensive astronomical calculations, Maya determines a massive star cluster is moving between the Moon and Earth's position; all contact will be blocked for nearly a century.
Logan calls to transmit the schematics for the transfer apparatus. Still suspicious, Koenig quizzes him on Earth history to confirm his identity as a human being. The scientist gives all the correct answers, down to the winner of the 1998 World Series. Convinced, Koenig orders Technical Section to begin construction. Optimism swells—with the exception of Maya. She worries about being the lone alien on Earth and losing touch with those she has become close to...especially Tony Verdeschi.
An impromptu celebration breaks out when amateur brewmaster Verdeschi introduces the Command Centre staff to his latest concoction. Unfortunately, he has more enthusiasm than skill, and the critics are not kind; after a single sip of his beer, an impish Maya transforms into Mister Hyde. The party is interrupted by a call from Logan and his assistant, Carla Cross, to indoctrinate them to life in the 22nd century. As Earth's environment was devastated by runaway pollution in the 21st century, humanity now resides exclusively in enormous, domed ‘metro-complexes’. With the outside atmosphere rendered unbreathable, ‘nature’ is now simulacra produced by a personal tele-sensual system.
Thirty hours prior to the eclipse, the transference dome is complete. An instrument package is prepared for a trial run; its systems will simulate human vital signs during the teleport. These will be read by a medical monitor (as worn on the wrist of every Alphan) re-tooled to transmit via neutrino carrier wave. As the transfer is initiated, Logan receives a forecast of seismic activity in the Gulf of Mexico. The test run continues and the instrument arrives on Earth intact and functioning perfectly.
Koenig is pensive. The imprecise quake forecast renders the transfer process unstable—but with the impending eclipse, they cannot delay. As three people can be conveyed at once, Koenig selects himself and volunteers Helena Russell and Alan Carter for the first trip. They proceed to the dome and the countdown begins. At minus two seconds, Texas City is struck by a major earthquake. Too late to abort, Logan and staff watch a nimbus of light build in the reception area...then fade. No one has materialised. On Moonbase, the transference dome is also empty.
After the quake, Logan's people assess the damage while listening to Verdeschi's demands for immediate action. Suddenly, Doctor Ben Vincent reports the medical monitors are still transmitting. Wherever the three travellers ended up, they are alive. At an unknown location, in a windswept forest glen, Koenig regains consciousness. He finds Helena and Carter nearby. Their relief at being alive soon changes to apprehension as they wonder where in the universe they could be—this wooded area is certainly not Earth's polluted wasteland. Their only hope for rescue is for Logan to pinpoint their location.
When Helena catches a chill, the three trudge through the damp forest in search of shelter...as unseen figures spy on them from the bushes. Soon, the doctor feels as if she is coming down with a cold. She hides her concern: after living in the germ-free atmosphere of Alpha, their resistance is low—a cold virus could prove fatal. Later, Carter hears sounds of pursuit. While searching the underbrush, the astronaut is attacked by a wild-haired, human-appearing man swinging an iron sword. Hearing the scuffle, Koenig rushes to Carter's aid. The two overpower the man, but he escapes into the woods. Having left Helena alone, they return to find the now-feverish doctor surrounded by a half-dozen armed men. The Alphans have no choice but to surrender.
On Moonbase, the staff is concerned over Helena's rising temperature. With eighteen hours remaining before the eclipse, Logan plans to recreate the seismic event with explosives. He hopes re-running the transfer procedure under the same circumstances will help locate the missing three. As the second quake jolts Texas City, their damaged instruments pinpoint a location: Earth. Logan is dismissive; the lost Alphans would be dead if exposed to Earth's polluted environment. His confidence dwindling, the scientist instructs Moonbase to make adjustments to the transference dome. If Koenig and company should be located, engaging the teleport will return them to the Moon.
The castaways are taken to their captors′ headquarters and thrust into a damp, dungeon-like cave. Worse, Helena has a high fever and is wracked by coughing. Her diagnosis is viral pneumonia, incurable under present circumstances. As they look for any way out, Helena spies fungus growing on the cave walls. She tells the men that common fungoids are the basis of the barmycin range of drugs, the only known cure for viral pneumonia. If it possesses similar qualities, it could stave off the infection until they are rescued. If untreated, she will die in a matter of hours.
Koenig and Carter manage to dispatch their guards and flee the cell with Helena and the fungus. Hiding in the forest, they prepare the fungus as per the doctor's instructions. By now, she is delirious, staring into the night sky and moaning about the Moon. After feeding her a dose of the makeshift concoction, they follow her gaze and see a moon flitting in and out of view through the clouds. Taking a long look, the men recognise familiar features and realise it is their Moon. Astonished, they conclude they have been on Earth all along...but in a time before 1999.
With ten hours left, Maya is thinking along similar lines. The odds are a billion to one they could have randomly landed on a habitable planet. All Logan's recalculations have indicated their location as Earth. The inescapable conclusion is that they are on Earth—but in a past or future time. Logan reluctantly agrees to pursue this outlandish hypothesis. On the past Earth, Helena's condition is much improved due to the fungoid mixture. As she recovers, Koenig notices their wrist monitors flashing in a specific pattern—Alpha is trying to signal them via the medical telemetry channel.
Any chance to respond is lost when a band of soldiers crashes out of the surrounding bushes. Koenig is frustrated at not being able to communicate—then floored when the leader speaks to him in Scots-accented English. The Alphans soon discover their captor is the laird of Clan MacDonald. He is the only clansman who speaks English, having learned it twenty-five years previous as chief castellan for the English prisoners taken at the Battle of Bannockburn. MacDonald reckons they are English noblemen, one of whom is running away with the wife of a great lord. The prisoners are escorted back to his headquarters, this time to a cavern furnished as a great hall, and join MacDonald for a banquet celebrating the impending new year.
During the meal, Helena, deprived of her impromptu remedy, begins to relapse. As MacDonald gives a toast in Gaelic to honour the hero Robert Bruce and the Scottish victory at Bannockburn, Koenig and company huddle. They cannot figure the date from MacDonald's clues, but providing Maya and Logan with the information will guarantee the calculation of space/time coordinates for the transfer beam. Koenig begins tapping out a message on the control stud of his wrist monitor. His actions attract the attention of the chieftain, who tears the unfamiliar device off his wrist.
As MacDonald reaches for Helena's monitor, she slumps, eyes glazed from sickness. Jumping to conclusions, the alarmed laird backs away and shouts in Gaelic that the English fugitives carry the Black Death. The clansmen herd Koenig and company away at swordpoint. The Alphans are taken to a torture chamber and manacled to the rock wall. Koenig tries to reason with the laird that Helena's illness is not the Plague and can be cured. Knowing only one cure for the pestilence, McDonald heaves his torch into the bales of straw and faggots piled at their feet. As flames rise, Koenig stretches out for Helena's wrist and desperately begins to tap her monitor's control stud in rapid succession.
With thirty minutes until the eclipse, both the Alphans and Earth scientists have accepted defeat. Suddenly, the readout for Helena's monitor goes berserk, flashing on and off in a series of long and short pulses—which an older astronaut realises is Morse code. Computer provides translation: Scotland...New Year...Bannockburn plus twenty-five. Logan's computer calculates the target date as 25 March 1339 and the transfer is initiated. The clansmen recoil as the three Alphans vanish from the pyre in an unearthly radiance.
Safe on Alpha, Koenig bids Logan and associates an appreciative farewell. As the eclipse commences and contact is broken, the Commander goes to check on the recovering Helena. The doctor reflects that, with Earth's rich history, what bad luck it was to have landed in 14th-century Scotland. Koenig kiddingly reminds her of even worse historical events they could have blundered into. She musters a sad smile; with that kind of history, who wants to go back to Earth?
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_Where
By: MIDNITECAMPZ
