Space: 1999 | S1. Ep.1 "Breakaway" | REACTION

[@MarieClaresWorld]

FULL LENGTH | Space: 1999 | S1. Ep.2 "Force of Life" | REACTION www.patreon.com/posts/93823038?pr=true

[@AlphanPeter]

nice to see new people are discovering Space:1999

[@christopherleodaniels7203]

I am so subscribing. I love you for this. This was one of my all time favorites as a child. I even had the lunch box. It’s the craziest show ever made and a visual stunner. You’re in for a ride.

[@STNeish]

Breakaway is arguably the best episode of the series. This is one of my all time favourite shows, and the sets, models and costumes are a huge part of that. They managed to create a setting that was realistic and believable, however woolly the science was.

[@MarkSW]

Congratulations Marie. You’ve taken your first step into the world of Gerry Anderson. 😊

[@linuxstuff73]

I think you're going to enjoy Space 1999. It's a lesser known gem. The model work is so great. I wish there was more of those kinds of special effects today. I know they're expensive and painstaking, but I love watching such dedicated craftsmanship.

[@leslieride5813]

At the time of its production in the mid 197Os Space 1999 was the most expensive Television series ever made in the UK and the 13th Series overall from the stable of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Conceived and executed on a grand scale with feature film production values throughout all departments with vast luxurious sets and intelligent high concept Science Fiction Scripts. Also with at the time internationally renowned leading actors and guest stars and state of the art visual effects backed up with a full Orchestral Music Score.

[@redcardinalist]

I agree entirely, the sets are film quality. Just one example - the travel tube

[@garethmorgan8326]

I remember when this show first aired, a few years ago I rewatched it and was stunned by what a beautiful job Gerry and Sylvia (Husband and Wife team) did. It was a U.K. production, but it died very quickly in season 2 as a veteran from Star Trek's production staff was hired - it turned into a monster of the week show at that point. A return to Earth is not an option - the acceleration is pushing the moon away from Earth at huge velocity out of the Solar System, every hour was hundreds of miles they could not cross. One last thing, after his death the Academy Award winning actor Martin Landau who played Commander Koenig 's personal effects went up for auction - among the items was tons of SPACE : 1999 merchandise, clearly he became something of a fan of his own work on that production buying as much as he could.

[@geraldvance7925]

Martin landau and Barbara Bain we're married in real life. They both also starred in mission impossible in 1966. Their daughter is Juliette landau from Buffy the vampire Slayer.

[@markharris1125]

How amazing to see this again after so many years. I grew up on Gerry Anderson's puppet shows - Twizzle and Torchy the Battery Boy when I was little, then the more sophisticated Fireball XL5 and Stingray - - pause while many of my age yell out, "Anything can happen in the next half hour!" - and then the masterpiece, Thunderbirds. Then Captain Scarlet and Joe 90. It was almost as if Gerry's shows were growing alongside me. UFO was his first all-live action, followed by this. But when the second season of Space: 1999 came out I was in my first term at University: I doubt I've ever seen it. What comes across looking at this first episode is: The machines. Gerry Anderson was always great with the machines. Anyone remember the Thunderbirds episode where they put the Empire State Building on a platform and wheeled it away? Those fabulous huge sets. And a realistic lunar surface: someone had studied the Apollo pictures very carefully. I've subscribed so I can relive my youth all over again - and maybe see S2 for the first time. I hope you'll dip into Thunderbirds at some point - as I said, that was the Big Daddy of all Gerry Anderson shows. RIP Gerry, Member of the Order of the British Empire 2001. Should have been a knighthood for services to children's imagination!

[@bwc1976]

Agreed, the sets are amazing. This must have been a super expensive show to produce for its time, I wish it had been more successful. And hello from one of the new people you were nervous about, I was looking for Space: 1999 reactions and that's how I found you :) This is a British show, but made by a company that wanted to appeal to both British and American viewers, much like they had previously done with Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, UFO, and would continue to do in the 80's with The Muppet Show. As for damage to Earth from losing the Moon from their orbit, the main thing that comes to my mind would be the tides and possible flooding as a result of their patterns suddenly changing. And I think they decided not to try to go back to Earth because they were accelerating away so fast that it would be out of the range of whatever spacecraft they had available, and/or not having enough capacity on those spacecraft to evacuate everyone. They had already gone out of the range of Earth's radio transmissions.

[@markbelsom3174]

Space1999 is a fantastic series. Fabulous sets, cool looking spaceships and the sfx still looks spectacular even now. There's a fairly big fan base for this series even after all these years.

[@ShamrockParticle]

I didn't care for it as a kid, but a couple decades later a friend said to gove it a go. S1999 is now one of my favorite shows...

[@tombaxter6228]

Glad you like Space:1999, M.C! A few things to note. They can't get back to Earth as they are still moving away, they've just stopped accelerating. The show is more episodic in nature, rather than having an distinct story arc. (Other than them trying to find a permanent place to live) So spoilers aren't such an issue with this one. Gerry Anderson is famous for his puppet adventure shows such as Stingray, Captain Scarlet and most famously, Thunderbirds. His first live action show was UFO, this is his 2nd. There's no real connection between UFO and Space:1999 apart from that the the same guy produced them and they're both great. It's a British/Italian co-production, with some American backing and actors. This will explain the large number of Italians you will see on Moonbase Alpha as the series progresses...

[@kieronball8962]

Gerry Anderson's previous live action tv show was called UFO and dealt with Earth defending itself from Alien invaders. Sadly, the American money men would only invest in a second series of UFO, if they changed the format, to remove what they considered " boring " human drama stories set on Earth and concentrate solely on storylines set on the Moonbase and in space. Gerry Anderson changed the format and spent a small fortune creating a new moonbase and spaceships for the show, but then, without warning, UFO was cancelled, due to poor ratings on American tv. Gerry convinced the powers that be, that he could create a new show, called Space 1999, to make use of the money already spent and reboot UFO. The only catch, Gerry had to use two American actors as the shows stars, to attract the American tv networks to buy Space 1999. Martin Landau and Barbara Bain ( who were married in real life ) had just left the hugely successful American TV show Mission Impossible and were persuaded to move to England, to star in Space 1999.

[@leslieride5813]

UFO was never a prequel series they are entirely separate programmes made three years apart. The only link between them is very tenuous as the proposed second series of UFO evolved in to an entirely new show.

[@leslieride5813]

Not an American show Marie but backed by American Funding with American Leading Actors and initially American Writers and Directors to begin with the show was filmed at Pinewood Studios in England.

[@tomyoung9049]

So glad someone is checking out this gem. I was so into this series. The moon is still moving, that's why the signal faded. Hope you continue on. The model work and set was always so impressive.

[@les4767]

Hi Marie. I grew up watching this show and it was mesmerizing back in the day. I think it holds up well, even now. And if you think about it, since the moon was taking them throughout the Universe like a vehicle, this show had the largest "starship" in it!

[@stuartsharman3055]

Marie-Clare, you are in for such a massive treat. Stick with this. I am a MASSIVE Gerry Anderson fan. Im 59 years old you see, and grew up with all this stuff. Try the puppet series Captain Scarlet and my favourite, Thunderbirds. Yes indeed, welcome to the Worlds of Gerry Anderson. Youve only JUST started.

[@kierenevans2521]

UFO isn't a prequel as such, but the concept for Space 1999 started life as a second season/follow up show. You don't know who Gerry Anderson is? Never watched Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet? While they are old shows, they were repeated quite a lot. I remember watching them on BBC2 in the earlier 2000s (I'm a couple of years younger than you). This one was one of most expensive shows at the time, and it was shot on 35mm film so looks great in HD. It was a co-production between ITC (Part of ITV) and Italian broadcast RAI. A lot of background extras are italian. Sandra Benes is played by Zienia Merton who was Ping Cho in Marco Polo.

[@CardiffOneOne]

...and the wedding registrar in The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith.

[@jimcook1161]

Hi Marie Claire! To answer your question about what would happen to the Earth if the Moon wasn't there. The most immediate effect would be that the tides would effectively stop so there might be higher risk of floods. Also the moon acts as a gravitational counterweight to Earth meaning that we have fairly predictable seasons. So with the moon gone this would no longer be the case. Martin Landau also starred in 60s spy show Mission Impossible.

[@Eltonlaleham]

The sets in this episode are awesome in billions of ways and the acting is very good too.

[@TerryNationB7]

The Apollo 13 movie quote "We just lost the moon" takes on a whole new meaning while watching Space 1999.

[@Pixelologist]

🤣🤣🤣

[@nickmckenzie9365]

Just to help you out, the actor that played Paul was a Thal in Planet of the Daleks, and the Morestron spaceship commander that the Dr. punches out in Planet of Evil. 😉

[@therealpbristow]

[NODS] For one month in late 1975 he was on both ITV and BBC1 simultaneously! =:o}

[@Concreteowl]

I love the concept of showing clips from the coming episode in the titles. Gerry Anderson did this alot. Farscape later did it and some of the recap sections of the Galactica reboot went even further and showed clips from unused scenes to just to add even more interest. One of the best themes and title sequences ever.

[@Cruithneach]

8:49 Good old Prentice Hancock as Paul Morrow. He did several cameos on Doctor Who

[@davem9208]

I loved this prog back in the day and have now got it all on DVDs. As for the names of people, the blonde woman was Dr Helena Russell, played by Barbara Bain, and the man talking of Meta was Commander John Koenig, played by Martin Landau. They were actually married in real life and were both American. The main pilot, Alan Carter was played by Nick Tate. He was Australian, so a nice mixture of world actors. The prog. was actually filmed at Pinewood Studios, which is near the M25/M40 interchange near London. At Pinewood, scenes were mainly shot on Stages L and M

[@leslieride5813]

The different Coloured Uniform sleeves worn by all Moonbase Alpha personnel denote not so much rank but are applicable to whichever section of the base you are assigned to. Main Mission is Flame coloured Rust is technical ,Yellow denotes Data Section, White is Medical. Purple is Security and Orange is Reconnaissance. The only exceptions to this Colour coding on the uniforms is John Koenigs Charcoal Colour sleeve which indicates Commander rank and Professor Bergman who has no Colour sleeve as he had visitor status on Moonbase Alpha during this first episode.

[@Stephen-Fox]

Since you mentioned not knowing who he is - Gerry Anderson was a special effects genius who's best known for creating Thunderbirds (along with Sylvia Anderson, who at the time was his wife)

[@Jamienomore]

Space 1999 was British and by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson in 1975. It was also the most expensive series produced for British television up to that time.

[@DennisNelson-ee2il]

I think your really gonna grow to love this series,Marie.

[@KSilverlode]

I had a little "Aha!" moment while watching this. Roy Dotrice, who plays Commissioner Simmonds, was familiar to me from some other roles (Amadeus, the 80s tv series Beauty and the Beast). I once came across a clip of him talking about being the subject of an episode of This is Your Life - having been surprised on the set of a sci-fi show, wearing his "futuristic" costume. As I learned today, Space 1999 was that show. Here's the link to the interview clip if anyone else is interested (no spoilers). kzbin.info/www/bejne/raC0Zn1qlpp4qNEsi=D1rRVN7CkyaMGX11

[@josefschiltz2192]

Not an American show, though the two leads are. Martin Landau and Barbara Bain were cast at the insistence of Lew Grade over the objections of co-creator Sylvia Anderson, who wanted British actors. Both had previously appeared in the TV series Mission Impossible and their casting was in order to appeal to the US market. Barry Morse, who played Prof Victor Bergman, was Canadian. A book, The Making of Space 1999 detailing the production of series 1 was published in 1975. - This SF buff seized onto a copy as soon as! Space 1999 had us all impressed at the time and not only was the series astronomical, the cost per episode was as well. The program's hardware alone cost $6.5-million. An additional $275,000 was spent per episode. Special effects director for Space 1999 was Brian Johnson who started his career behind the scenes for Bowie Films on productions such as On The Buses, and for Hammer Films. He is known for his special effects work on TV series including Thunderbirds (1965-66) and films including Alien (1979) for which he received the 1980 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects Previously, he had miniature spacecraft models for Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. from which Space: 1999 drew a great deal of visual inspiration and technical expertise. A previous Gerry Anderson series was UFO which only ran for one season. The new series, Space 1999, took the place of cancelled season 2.

[@zypalitra8080]

While Space: 1999 might vary in quality from week to week, you can't deny that they started with a "bang". Also, the theme is absolutely iconic (mind you, all the Anderson intro's are iconic)

[@darrynwalker6270]

Space 1999 was a collaborative British and Italian production. This was a very expensive show in its time and was barely superior to Doctor Who in terms of model and miniature work. Gerry Anderson was the creator of Thunderbirds and various similar marionation shows. Occasionally he created live-action shows such as this and UFO. Just don't watch Space Precinct - not Gerry Anderson's finest moment. If you want a sci-fi recommendation, try V.

[@awall1701]

You should check out Neil Norman's Cosmic Orchestra's version of the theme, it is very disco! but fun as his other versions of iconic shows/movies theme tunes

[@zypalitra8080]

@@darrynwalker6270 Have seen everything from Stingray to Space:1999 season 2 / The Secret Service of the Anderson catalogue. My favourite is Captain Scarlet and my least favourite is probably Space:1999 season 2 or Secret Service.

[@zypalitra8080]

@@awall1701 I'd personally recommend the Space 1999 theme done by "Rocket Scientists", it gives it a rock restructure and it sounds great

[@simonparry5958]

Model work very well done much more money spent don’t do it down

[@Eltonlaleham]

I have the dvd boxset of Space 1999, and I watch it quite religiously and I saw this awesome sci-fi series when it came out on tv it was on Saturday morning.

[@somthingbrutal]

the Eagle is still one of the best scifi spaceships on film. also got to love the funky theme tunes of the 70's

[@matthew-Williams]

First of all, welcome to moon base alpha. It may get a little bumpy on your journey. Secondly loved this show as a kid, it first aired here in the U.K. around 1975 and I thought this is what the future would really be like.

[@lurkerrekrul]

I'm American and I was eight years old when this show came out. I instantly loved it. It was syndicated, which means that it would play on local stations on the weekend if there was time enough for it after the almighty football/baseball/basketball games. Consequently, there were quite a few episodes I missed and didn't get to see until years later. The first season has a slower pace with a lot more supernatural type elements, while the second season is more action oriented. Personally, i prefer the first season more. As for U.F.O., it's not really a prequel. It's a sci-fi show from the same creator, and there is a moonbase, but the plot and characters are completely different. Fun fact: The Eagle transporter ships have become a cult favorite themselves. There have been several toys of them, as well as many different model kits. People have even built studio-quality replicas of them from scratch.

[@apollo12002]

Space 1999 is a british show, it has some incredible models and sets are unique and weird in some bits but definitely carried their own unforgettable style. It was very expensive to make. Gerry Andersen was way ahead of his time , I used have the eagle toys as a kid. Trivia. Martin Landau (Cmd Koenig) and Barbara Bain (Dr Russell) were married in real life.

[@stevetheduck1425]

In the end credits a TV company called RAI is mentioned. Italian money also. This was quite popular there, as it looked better than much of the Italian SF movies of the previous decade.

[@andrewkearley]

I watched this on Saturday mornings as a kid, but I really rediscovered it in the early nineties and it quite literally changed my outlook on life. I hope you're going to enjoy this one - I've found it's a show where people either get it or they don't. It's taken a lot of criticism over the years, but it does seem to have undergone something of a reassessment in more recent times.

[@happyman050]

Prentis Hancock (paul) was in Doctor WHo The Ribos Operation. Ziena Merton (Sandra) was in Marco Polo. Barbara Bain (Dr Russell) and Martin Landau (Koenig) were at the time married in real life and have previously been beter known for staring in the american series Mission Impossible. Barry Morse (Bergman) had been the detective chasing after the fugitive in that american tv series.

[@escapetheratracenow9883]

Wasn’t Barry Morse also in the Zoo Gang?

[@happyman050]

@@escapetheratracenow9883 Yes he was. I think it was 1974. Space 1999 was 1975

[@escapetheratracenow9883]

@@happyman050 We’re both showing our age here! It’s great to see young folk enjoying classic TV though.

[@Cruithneach]

A great choice! You have some fantastic episodes ahead of you

[@CardiffOneOne]

No, don't let anyone tell you that UFO is a prequel, it absolutely isn't like, there's no connection whatsoever other than the fact that Gerry Anderson made them both.. and it makes my heart weep that you've never heard of Gerry Anderson!! Hopefully you've heard of Thunderbirds?? That was his 1960s masterpiece. You really need to see UFO- it's so much better than this- and Terry Nation's Survivors from 1975-1977. Shame you have to labour through the stodgy Space first.. oh and I wouldn't worry about Meta

[@jimcook1161]

Seconded. Space 1999 was commissioned and put into production after the 2nd season of UFO was cancelled.

[@therealpbristow]

​@@jimcook1161 Yeah, originally they *wanted* to do a 2nd season of UFO, but it got stuck in "development hell" for years, during which time the whole concept of the show totally changed. But they already had all these gorgeous designs ready for the new spaceships, and the moonbase, etc so they got repurposed into this new series, telling a new & unrelated story.

[@LordEriolTolkien]

One of my earliest televisual memories

[@Payne2view]

Fantastic theme tune.

[@mark-nm4tc]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Gerry Anderson, imaginative stories & ideas, great miniature FX work. In fact, Derek Meddings who spearheaded the miniature FX team on Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet etc was also involved in the 007 Bond movies up to Goldeneye. The intro of this episode 'The dark side of the moon' always raises a smile since it was shot in late 1973 the same year Pink Floyd released their Famous album, DSOTM. The show made its TV debut in 1975. The first season does have the epic feel of '2001 a space odyssey'. Season 2 is different, and was an attempted reboot which wasn't terribly successful but watch it anyway for 'completeness'. The big Eagle model was 44 inches long, now in a private collection. The UFO connection was a proposed UFO 2 series never happened but some pre-production work on it was developed into Space 1999. UFO is good fun, set in 1980 but very 1960's. The theme tune alone is fantastic, another one from maestro Barry Gray.

[@QuackVideo]

Meddings was no longer working with Anderson, having picked up the Bond movies. Director of Special Effects was Brian Johnson, who had previously worked on Thunderbirds which he left to work on 2001: A Space Odyssey. Johnson designed the Eagle Spacecraft which acted as multi-purpose passenger/cargo/reconnaissance craft, housed, when not in use, in massive underground hangars

[@djashley2002]

What would happen on Earth? For a start there would probably be massive earthquakes and tidal waves. There's also the possibility that the Earth's orbit around the sun would change in the long term, but the major effect would be that the Earth's precession (it's wobble about the axis) might change, leading to long term effects for the planetary climate, if not a change to the axis itself.

[@ianbuckley2347]

Space 1999 is a blast. I reckon you'll love it Marie-Clare.👍

[@ronaldjeffrey8712]

Interesting bit of trivia... George Lucas had his model shop (many of whom worked on Space 1999) redesign the Millenium Falcon because he felt the original looked to similar to one of the Eagles.

[@fredfiles2155]

One of my favorite shows, and my favorite episode. Background dialog mentioned the destruction of the international space station, which would have been used for a rescue. Earth received catastrophic tidal waves... mentioned in the movie version. Season one is very British. Season two gets Americanized. Is that a spoiler?

[@leslieride5813]

The Britbox running order is the Original 1975/76 Transmission order on the ITV Network at the time and is all over the place and bares no resemblance to the Production Order whatsoever. For example "Force of Life" listed as Episode 2 was in fact filmed 9th.

[@kevinputry5655]

I'm glad you enjoyed this Marie-Claire. So regarding the decision not to try and get back to Earth, the moon was farther away from it than it appeared. Since the computer passed the responsibility to humans, Koenig went with his best choice not to try. Anyway, it makes the show much more interesting as we get to see them going on a galactic journey. There's plenty more fantastic episodes ahead!

[@elainemusselwhite2325]

We have just started watching Space 1999 ourselves.My husband has watched the first three episodes before, but I have never watched it at all. I knew of it, but that was it. Like you we enjoyed it too. As soon as I saw the sets I said to my husband, Marie-Clare is going to love them.

[@Adeodatus100]

Gerry Anderson - thanks to Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet, etc - is responsible for the fact that for a certain generation of kids, their first "TV crush" was actually a puppet. (Mine was Scott Tracy from Thunderbirds - yowzah!)

[@therealpbristow]

Heh. =:oD Mine was flesh-and-blood at least: Lt. Gay Ellis from UFO. It was six years old, and totally smitten. =:o}

[@AubreySciFi]

Gerry Anderson's model department was great! He started doing "Supermarionation" shows in the 50s and 60s with puppet characters, so those series were pretty much all model work. By the time he got to this series his model shop was doing gangbusters. BTW, "UFO" 🛸 is not a prequel it's a completely different series. Space 1999 and UFO were both shows produced on the ITV network so they had a bigger budget than Doctor Who from the get go. It's an international moonbase so we have characters from the USA, U.K, Australia and other countries. But this is a British show, albeit with some American funding and distribution. Hence why 1960's "Mission Impossible" stars Martin Landau and Barbara Bain are the two leads here. Obviously cast to appeal to the American audience. And also to make the cast international. You may recognize supporting actor Prentis Hancock (Paul Morrow) from his Doctor Who appearances with the third and fourth Doctors.

[@therealpbristow]

If I remember rightly, the desire to up the budget from UFO by bringing in more foreign investors is how the planned UFO Season 2 ended up getting so totally rewritten into a whole new show. All the prospective investors had their own conflicting ideas about what they wanted "UFO 2" to be, and the team went round in circles trying to satisfy everyone only to have investors get cold feet, and then have to scramble to interest new ones... In the end there was so little left of the original concept that it made more sense to just create "Space 1999" as its own separate thing, working with backers who were actually committed to getting *something* made at last!

[@justinplayfair4638]

Meta doesn't yet have a fixed orbit, it's actually traveling *into* the solar system, while Alpha and the Moon are on their way *out*. I think the assumption is that Meta and the Moon will pass within a close proximity, and that might make an Operation Exodus possible. But what would they be evacuating to? One thing to be aware of is the show WASN'T designed with serialization in mind. Television stations in the US wanted the freedom to air the episodes in whatever order they do chose, which negated continuing story elements. Will you get your answer regarding Meta? Depends on how you look at it... Can't wait for Force of Life!

[@mark-s]

What a great show looking forward to both seasons hopefully you mark each episode out of ten. I never got on with ufo which i found inferior to space 1999 but space 1999 has a banger theme tune hope you enjoy ps i think earth would not be a good place to live now its lost its moon with like you mentioned lots of natural disasters and gerry and Sylvia Anderson were married. Pps survivors and the tomorrow people were also great 70s tv shows with much longer seasons both great shows

[@GazMiltz]

Welcome to the universe of 1999. In answer to a couple of your questions, most of the eagles have been either destroyed or severely damaged during the catastrophe, and by the time they could organise the evacuation they would be out of range of earth. Also near the end of the news report when it starts fading into static you can just about hear the newscaster state that the moon is beyond the range of any earth spacecraft. As others have said UFO wasn't exactly a prequel, Anderson was working on a second series of that show, which intended to expand their moonbase, but falling US ratings led to the cancellation. But, they'd already paid for all the design work so just repurposed it for a new show as Anderson hates to see anything go to waste.

[@CRAkins1020]

Geez! I have not thought of this show in 40 years. And I even had the lunchbox in 4th grade😂

[@frankrossi6972]

Those explosions blew the moon out of orbit, so it’s now drifting through space and away from Earth, propelled by the explosions’ inertia, and it will keep moving unless other forces affect it, as there’s no gravity, friction, etc. They do contact Earth in a future episode, so you’ll learn what happened after the moon floated away. It’s a great show, and don’t let the naysayers badmouth Season 2. Yes, some of the changes in Season 2 were not great, but overall, it was a great two seasons. (The show might have been more popular in syndication had it reached the coveted three-season level that syndicators prefer.) It's actually a British show, produced in the UK, and several Doctor Who actors show up as well, including the great Brian Blessed, twice, as different characters, and Julian Glover. As for flying back to Earth, their Eagle ships are always in need of refueling, so they seem to be designed for only short trips.

[@michaellevenson2200]

The idea is that the Moon has sped away from Earth like a rocket, a few MILLION miles, and is continuing to move away, so there's no guarantee they could get back to Earth. Koenig therefore has decided, as Commander, that they shouldn't try. The show is British made, with American financial backing, with therefore an eye on the American market. Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, Koenig and Dr Russell were both in the 60s tv series Mission Impossible, and in real life were husband and wife.

[@stevetheduck1425]

It's an excellent example of how writers and TV makers don't know how big space is. A few million miles doesn't even get close to the orbit of Mars. A few billion miles is still inside the orbits of the other planets. We need to talk about tens of light-years before we have much of a choice in stars and worlds. SF needs results, however, and so we get a planet every week. - and sometimes they're so close to be able to go to and from a world for days and weeks.

[@michaellevenson2200]

@@stevetheduck1425 true, that's my problem with 1999, the basic premis is pants, but the actual stories are pretty good.

[@robertcartier5088]

I absolutely loved this show! Some of the ideas, particularly the multi-purpose Commlocks, are genuinely brilliant, for that era! Think of it as a phone with a 2 inch, B&W analog TV tube, that wishes it were a garage door opener! I also adore the design of their ships! ;-] I did not vote in the poll because I'm a newcomer, but I gotta say that Babylon 5 (1993-98) is objectively a better show, from almost 20 years later... So, it is definitely something to look forward to... Indeed, the physics of its space battles is only met or topped by "Battlestar Galactica" (2003-6) and "The Expanse" (2015-22), and trust me, that's really saying something! But still, the nostalgia is very strong with Space:1999. ;-] Cheers from Canada! ;-]

[@stecurrell5863]

Have this as a ringtone,hope you enjoy this. Love the eagles

[@LordEriolTolkien]

Jerry Anderson is also responsible for the Supermarionation of the all time classic '' Thunderbirds'' which was must see TV for your average British child in the 70's If you have never watched, ''Thunderbirds Are Go''

[@Darren79]

It was made in the UK (but financed by American money - like most UK film series of the 60s and 70s). Filmed at Pinewood Studios where they make James Bond and loads of other major films.

[@Eltonlaleham]

I love Space 1999, I hope Marie-Clare you have fun watching and enjoying Space 1999 and it is a shame in billions of ways Blake,s Seven did not carry on a bit longer I wonder if you have heard of Star Maidens which came out in 1975.

[@exile220ify]

The series wasn't American, but they cast a well known American acting couple, Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, as Command Koenig and Dr. Russell respectively. The two were married at the time and had previously starred in the hit American series "Mission: Impossible". They were chosen because the producers wanted to entice an American network to carry the show. In fact, the show was produced in England (and filmed at Pinewood Studios) with both local money and with investment from Italian broadcaster RAI, who secured an agreement that a certain number of Italian actors would be given guest roles during the series. In-universe, Moonbase Alpha is meant to be an "international" base, which is why you see an American commander relieve the Russian commander Gorski, and characters of all backgrounds are present within the series as it progresses (but predominantly British, for practical reasons). To answer some of your other questions: most of your questions about how this incident affects Earth are described on-screen in the broadcast from Earth that Alpha intercepts, including massive earthquakes. Moreover, that same broadcast (just as it fades out) says that the moon is now too far away for a rescue mission from Earth to be mounted. For that same reason, Koenig decides that when it comes to "Operation: Evacuate", that "we do not try".

[@BeachcomberNZ]

UFO is not a prerequisite for Space 1999. I watched both when they first came out and never even considered the two shows to be connected.

[@octaviusfooks7194]

Fun fact: Did you know that Space 1999 was created by the same mind behind Thunderbirds: Gerry Anderson)?

[@AlanCanon2222]

Definitely a British production all the way, Gerry Anderson and Sylvia are two of the jewels on the Sceptred Isles. If the moon felt a force on it that pushed it out of orbit, its gravitational attraction on the earth would suddenly go from alternating one side and the other, to always being on one side of the earth. Depending on whether the force pushed the moon into a lower solar orbit or a higher solar orbit, there would be a corresponding tug on the earth, a weak "gravitational tow rope" in the moon's direction, that would weaken over time as the moon got further away. Probably a pretty survivable event on Earth, given that the moon is always tugging on us from alternate sides once a day, and we're more or less fine (tides). Long term, we would lose our lunar tides permanently, and have only solar tides.

[@detectivesquirrel2621]

Gerry Anderson made Thunderbirds, Stingray, Joe 90 etc. UFO was first live action, not puppets. Gerry Anderson is British and this is a British show but managed to get Martin Landau, an American actor for the lead.

[@therealpbristow]

Not so much "managed to get" as "was forced to accept". The American financiers insisted on have a big-name American lead the show.

[@detectivesquirrel2621]

@@therealpbristow That was more to do with the 2nd series when the Americans ruined it

[@ShamrockParticle]

I forgot how great this series was. Just seeing the moonbase surface clip, which reminds me of "2001 A Space Odyssey"'s moon set (the movie has no relation!), i am putting this show immediately on my rewatch list. The pacing in this is different, but is so steeped in atmosphere that the time flies by very fast. That theme... so iconic. It may be 70s but it's just as timeless. The high concept of the moon leaving Earth orbit would make for a good spinoff miniseries in terms of what happens on Earth even though there aren't too many possible outcomes, but keeping Space1999 as the main show. Also, "spinoff", 😂, but puns are cool... but as the moon is responsible for tidal waves and other issues, Earth would likely not be survivable. By the way, in real life, the moon traverses 1.5 inches (3.8cm) ever year or so away from Earth orbit. The sets rule. 😍 So glad you like the pilot because there are some first-rate gems coming up...

[@goldenager59]

Hello, Marie Clare. Don't be nervous about me simply because I'm a New Person; I happen also to be a science fiction aficionado of long standing. I'm quite delighted that you've elected to view *Space:1999* (as a boy I had an official lunchbox) and I should very much appreciate your continuation with it into the second season, if for no other reason than to experience the fascination of the contrast. To me, this is worth a subscription. Let us regard this matter as an exchange of holiday gifts. Enjoy yourself...or try to! 😏 👽

[@neilmcdonald9164]

The 2 leads were a couple in real life at time (they divorced in early 90s)🎩

[@carlh429]

Nostalgia button getting hit hard here seeing this. Can remember watching this on Friday evenings in 1975. Season 1 of Space 1999 is the classic season of the show. The second (and final) season I would recommend you avoid like the plague.

[@jimbolton2363]

Hi I've just clicked on to your channel because I seen space 1999. I've been a fan since 1978,when it first aired. Years later in my 30s I bought the boxset because it was on sale and rewatched for the first time since I was seven. It held up I loved it. I want to warn you season two has a few great stories but you'll see why the ended it.wish I was there watching it with you.and checking out you doctor who stuff also a fan. I don't suppose you live in Ontario,that accent is so hot

[@stephenpaxman6180]

I saw this when I was a kid in the 1970s

[@henrikharbin5521]

The interesting thing: the two main characters are Americans and every other actor is British. Some people say this is the British Star Trek, and that is very slightly true plotwise.

[@yesh3]

In my experience, people say Space Nanananana

[@joelakat]

I've loved following along with your Doctor Who and SJA reactions, and became a patron to see what you thought of Blake's 7. This is an interesting one! Once I saw you were starting Space: 1999 -- a show I'd long been curious about -- I decided to get myself a box set and watch it along with you! I also know nothing but a few surface details about it. I think the most shocking thing to me was how expensive this looks compared to Doctor Who of the same era. It seems like it will benefit by being able to reuse more sets... but those sets are very high quality for TV show of that era. The concept has me intrigued, but I can't say there are any characters I love so far... which was a particular strength of Blake's 7. I'm assuming it'll be somewhat like Star Trek... with Meta being the distant goal and the crew bumping into the problem/monster-of-the-week on the way.

[@Paul_1971]

Who said UFO was a prequel to space 1999? Got nothing to do with it.

[@AlanCanon2222]

It's said that the backbone story for 1999 grew out of canceled plans for a second season of UFO.

[@Aeolusdallas]

Earth would have suffered un precedented devastation but would survive. The issue the people of Alpha have is that their ships don't have the range to get back to Earth

[@exile220ify]

The flash-cut opening credits (that seemed to unnerve you a bit lol) were pioneered by this series and are different for each of series one's episodes. The 2000s-era remake of Battlestar Galactica duplicates this, as a direct homage to Space: 1999.

[@leslieride5813]

Do to an error by Britbox or whoever it was ? this first episode is in the wrong aspect ratio it should be shown in 4.3 and not 16.9 Widescreen it was never meant to be shown this way as 25 Per Cent of the image is cropped top and bottom. Thankfully all the other Episodes are the correct aspect ratio.

[@bcsr4ever]

UK show with US actors.

[@adampoll4977]

No spoilers but just going to say this; Gerry and Sylvia Anderson should have designed the future we are now living in (would be way cooler), and you will have the pleasure of 2 appearances by the legend that is Brian Blessed.

[@kennethlee494]

The moon was accelerated away from Earth by the force of the blast at a speed that exceeds the speed of their spacecraft, that is why returning to Earth is not an option. As far as Earth is concerned, there would be massive devastation from the loss of the stabilizing influence of the moon, earthquakes, massive tidal waves and a destabilization of the Earth's orbit and seasonal tilt, causing extreme weather worldwide. The polar caps would likely melt, causing the loss of most of the coastal areas on Earth. Loss of the daily tides would likely cause massive damage to the ocean's eco-system. Earth would rapidly become a very unpleasant place to live. Many people do not like this show because it is so implausible. I was 15 when the show first aired and as much as I loved the show and Sci-Fi in general I realized that it was overly optimistic placing the show just 24 years in the future. I grew up watching such shows as the original "Lost In Space", "Dark Shadows", "Star Trek" and quickly learned to suspend my disbelief, open my mind and simply enjoy the pure sci-fi fantasies these shows were. Most of the most intelligent and creative people I know are people who also enjoy these type shows.

[@jadefalconmk1]

You say you haven't seen a show showing clips of the episode in the intro. New Galactica did it many years later.

[@neilmcdonald9164]

The lady in the yellow sleeves almost married Sarah Jane in her show's recently on your channel Brits made show Gerry Anderson English.But American.money and lead duo American actors🎩

[@nickmckenzie9365]

Yep, it's "Space 1999" every time you say it. Also UFO is really boring so I wouldn't recommend that one, watch The Thunderbirds, that's cool. I also recommend Catweazle too, it stars Geoffrey Bayldon (yes, the Crowman) from 1970, its great, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Anyway, love the channel and watch you all the time.🙂

[@therealpbristow]

...Although I recently listened to an interview with Catherine Schell (who appears mainly in Season 2), and she abbreviates it to just "Space" most of the time.

[@jupreindeer]

I first seen this series as a kid via the independent broadcasters of the day. Its visuals stunned me and its sci-fi elements kept me coming back. Alas, I could only retain the basic concepts of the show and one particular episode that I now understand it seems that 'everyone' remembers about this show. (Hush, hush. We'll reach 'that episode' eventually.) Decades later, I found the entire series saved to KZbin and rewatched it from beginning to end. Enjoyed every minute of it. Yet, strangely, very little actually stuck with me. So I re-rewatched it a year or so later. It was as if most of my memories just weren't there. So it will be a pleasure to watch this with you. And even now, I just soft of/kind of remember the basics about Breakaway. In fact, I kind of have the impulse to put the episode in its entirely on for a third... or is it a fourth marathon session? I also have a dark fan theory. But it is only valid to share, once we've reached the very final episode of season two and not a second sooner. Be interesting to see how many people agree. Anyhow, enjoy this fantastic... if slightly dated... series. The miniatures and effects are (mostly) top notch and the episodes are always entertaining. As for your second silly question, I'm reminded of a totally different kind of KZbin video that explores that notion. Our planet is so in-tune with the cycles of the moon that it has literally set the ways of life and nature for a very long time. If the fragile balance of the moon and Earth was to ever be disrupted, the results to everything we know about life and the yearly cycle could become unrecognizable and sway into total catastrophe. My hopes is that if our real-life astronauts were to colonize the moon, they wouldn't do something as desperate as to turn it into a waste disposal colony. The disruption of the moon could be the disruption of all life as we know it. It is a very interesting video to seek out.

[@LordEriolTolkien]

This was pretty much the best SciFi until StarWars

[@chapmanturbo4082]

Earth millions and millions of miles away and getting further away, out of the solar system . Forget Meta. And UFO not really linked to this. Just go with the flow, it’s great with very different combinations of science theories. Great fun and drama.

[@delorangeade]

ITC were always looking for American sales for their shows, hence the transatlantic cast for this one. It's a great looking show, and well cast, but I never felt the same affection for it as I did for Star Trek or Blake's 7, or even Gerry Anderson's puppet shows. Maybe it took itself a bit too seriously for me, but I will see how it looks in these reactions.

[@shtookatz]

I always remember Professor Bergman having to explain half the plot in each episode

[@barrettkeathley6985]

The moon is about 238900 miles from earth now so they are already moving away from earth and so they are definitely more than a mile from here

[@paulanderson1614]

👍😀

[@BeachcomberNZ]

Another tidbit, Barbara Bain and Martin Landau first met while working on the original Mission Impossible TV series, prior to their work on Space 1999.

[@mccpcorn2000]

This show had some heavy Star Trek influences in trying to explore the universe. I loved the Eagles - my only problem as and adult is that they were obviously meant to look like craft designed to operate in zero to one-sixth gravity, and not constantly land on other planets - but it's a minor niggle. Looking forward to the episode where you see Wilf Mott!

[@donkfail1]

Oh, yes! If you start reacting to UFO next, I think I'll make another account so I can subscribe to you again.