Space 1999: The Most Misunderstood Sci-Fi Series

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Let's turn our attention to Space: 1999 as we delve into how the series pushed the boundaries of what was possible on television at the time. The show got many things right, such as its groundbreaking special effects, which set new standards for visual realism in sci-fi, and its ambitious storytelling that tackled complex themes like isolation, survival, and the unknown dangers of space. However, Space: 1999 also had its flaws. It struggled with inconsistent storytelling and sometimes shaky scientific premises, leading to a mixed reception among viewers and critics. Despite these shortcomings, the show remains a significant influence in the genre, inspiring later series like Battlestar Galactica and The Expanse, both of which borrowed elements from its aesthetic and narrative style. This video would analyze the enduring legacy of Space: 1999, celebrating its successes while also acknowledging the areas where it fell short.

[toddhodgson]

Best props and there usages. The comms, so fluent in their use.

[davidcrowell]

One thing, I enjoyed as a kid, that other Sci-fi stuff didn't do so much, is that Space 1999 actually showed the ships crashing. For decades, I remember the Eagles crashing onto the surface of the Moon, and the effects of an Eagle trying to launch in the Eagle Bay but crashing into the other Eagles.

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I used to watch this on Saturday evenings w my brother - 1970s

[ukmediawarrior]

One of my all time favourite tv shows from my youth and I feel it still holds up today, stories and effects. The contrast between seasons one and two is quite jarring to those of us who fell in love with the show through season one, not that there weren't some great stories in season two, but to make it more appealing to the American audience, where it had failed to find a foothold despite the casting of Americans Martin Landau and Barbara Bain (husband and wife at this time), the show became more action and effects heavy and the thought provoking stories of the first season were gone.

Fred Freiberger was brought on board to produce and showrun season two, something a lot of the cast and behind the camera people were not happy with (in later years Landau especially was vocal about how the scripts went downhill under Freibergers control), but Anderson, and more precisely Lew Grade, head of ITC Entertainment, one of the two main financiers of the show, insisted as they felt Freiberger had a better grasp of American tv and what would work. At the time though the man was more well known as the person who produced the third and last season of the original Star Trek. A season that most all Trek fans consider its worst.

A lot of changes happened such as changing out the open, sterile, white command center, to a smaller, more colourful and underground control room. The stories also had the characters acting more emotional and humorous, especially Koenig and Russell. Newly arrived characters Tony Verdeschi as head of security and alien Maya also added more romance to the show. The disappearance of a lot of the regular cast though was left unexplained in the show. Barry Morse left the show supposedly over a cut to his wages for season two. He said later in interviews when telling the story that he told Gerry Anderson he would '... go and play with the adults for a while.'.

[ronsuarez]

My all-time favorite when released in 1975. The first episode is the best. I still have the alpha base technical binder & comics & magazines that were released at the time.

[rughkNight]

Great vid! Loved this show as a kid! Wish they’d reboot it! 👍

[YolandaAnneBrown]

I was a kid when this first aired and I loved it. Lately been rewatching it and realized that a lot of it was pretty dark. And I see the differences between the two seasons like night and day, but I still love it.

[StevieZala]

Aah, I've got Tubi to work on the tablet. Oh, it wants to verify my age. Crikey, why is nothing straight forward anymore? The weather is rubbish because, well, it's a Bank Holiday today. My friends all busy too. So, I've decided that I will somehow watch Dead Man's Luck today 😊. Oh, the clips I found on YouTube weren't from your movie. Thank goodness, the people in the clips I found definitely don't want to be giving their day jobs up 😂. Damn, my sense of humour has defo returned a little darker than it used to be, think I'll probably get a good kicking by Thursday, at least😊 Have a great day.

[kentgrinton]

Fell in love with Sandra and Maya never miissed it on Saturday afternoon really upset they didn’t do at least one more season liked it more then Star Trek

[AlphanPeter]

Space:1999 was classic season 1 season 2 had some good episodes too. Happy Breakaway day September 13 1999

[StevieZala]

Love this show but I get why it's polarising. Being a kid in the UK, I'm sure I saw this before Trek. Oh my God, it still looks so good. I love how it's look is so very 2001. Of course - Space is very clean & not knackered in this show. The Eagle is, I think, one of my favourite space ships from the whole of Sci-fi. Beautiful yet utilitarian, so damn useful. It still haunts me now not buying that very expensive Eagle model 😅. Both series I enjoy but the first one is more existential and dark, the second more of a romp. Yes, getting rid of the wise Dr Bergman was dumb as. It's still a great watch now though. This was definitely the first space show where the crew were lost & trying to find a way home or a new home. That has since become a thing - Battlestar, Voyager, The Star Lost & Stargate Universe all fall into this catagory. But Gerry & Sylvia did it first & 50 years later it's still fantastic. Another great video, BTW. 😊

[riccampbell]

I'd have to pretty much agree with this assessment. Much like Lost In Space, 1999 started off with a fairly serious, adult tone - but then they went "camp" and got a bit silly with the rubber monsters. Sigh - at least 1999 didn't reuse the giant sentient carrot. Count yer blessings. 🥕🥕🥕

[donlengel]

Went and got the series on DVD . Also I just got Babylon 5 on Blu-ray from GRUV. Killer price 69.99. Better hurry.

[montylc]

I never watched this show because of how deeply flawed the main premise was. Now, while it may have had good episodes and writing, the way the moon was "blasted" out of Earth orbit was totally ridiculous. More ridiculous was it leaving the solar system so fast and encountering other star systems etc etc. In reality for all the years this show's timeline represented, the moon would have never gotten beyond the orbit of Jupiter.

[patcoston]

The base did not have artificial gravity which means the gravity inside the base was the same as when they moon-walked in space suits. So why were they moving in slow motion during moon-walks and yet the gravity seemed to resemble Earth gravity when inside the base? They'd still have 1/6 Earth's gravity inside and could make huge leaps. Running and walking would look different.

[patcoston]

How can a nuclear explosion on the moon propel it beyond our solar system so they encounter a different planet every episode? That part made no sense, unless maybe it opened up some kind worm hole to some other part of the universe. Given you can estimate the G-forces they felt as the moon accelerated away from Earth, you could then estimate it's ultimate speed once the G-forces return to normal moon gravity. I'm sure that speed away from Earth would not be as large as depicted.

[DadisDad-hxzr]

I loved that show! And this was a really well written piece on a much loved show.

[citizenVader]

Too much hippie dippie pseudo science and supernatural events for a moonbase should be able to hold its own as such. 😊
But back then, we really didn't have any other shows like this here in Scandinavia.

[onetruekeeper]

The visuals and acting was great but the whole premise of this series was stupid beyond belief.