The UK critic Leslie Halliwell called this "'Star Trek' in all but name" and it's not hard to see why. As with the iconic 60s show, the rank or function of the various characters is indicated by the color of part of their clothing and much of the action takes place in a room dominated by a large screen. The lead characters are the sturdy commander, a scientist, the doctor, and a manly type, just as before.
By 1975, "Star Trek" was long gone from our screens, except in syndication, and no quality sci-fi show had yet taken its place on TV. The time must have seemed propitious for another show of the kind.
So ITC came up with this. In 1999, as portrayed in the show, the moon is being used as a dump for the waste generated by the nuclear power stations that keep Earth going. Problems arise, resulting in the biggest of those dumps exploding in such a way that the moon is sent flying off into deep space. Along for the ride are 300 or so people on Moonbase Alpha who must now fend for themselves against anything that space throws at them.
I am told that such an explosion would shatter the moon rather than send it out of orbit, but I think I could swallow that goof if it were the only one and the show were otherwise acceptable.
Unfortunately, there are so many things wrong with this that it's hard to know where to start. Sticking with the physics for a moment, the moon is shown moving between solar systems and even galaxies in a matter of days. OK, the USS Enterprise did this, but at least it had engines. How does the moon manage it?
Some of the individual episodes work (my personal favorite is "War Games", where Alpha is seemingly devastated by an alien attack), but most don't, having resort to things like séances and crew members being taken over by the spirits of stars or long dead ancestors! Most episodes involve Alphans being killed, yet the base never seems short on people, although replacements are impossible to come by. And, just as with Star Trek's red shirts (the security personnel whose main role was to act as cannon fodder – four of them bite the dust in the episode "The Apple"), it is the purple-sleeved security guards who make up a disproportionate share of the victims.
Meanwhile, the attempt to recreate the charming interplay between Star Trek's main characters falls flat on its face, a fact all the more remarkable when you consider that two of the leads , Martin Landau (Commander Koenig) and Barbara Bain (Doctor Russell), were married to each other at the time the show was made. Meanwhile, the "scientist" (Victor Bergman, played by Barry Morse) rarely seems to know anything and is reduced to spouting generalities. Only the "manly type", pilot Alan Carter, played by the ever reliable Nick Tate, gets it more or less right.
Perhaps the worst mistake of all was the revamp carried out between seasons 1 and 2. Moonbase Alpha is scarcely recognizable as the same place. Some of the characters we know from the first season - Victor Bergman is one - have gone, without our being told why, while new ones appear with equally little attempt at explanation. The episodes, however, remain just as silly. Did nobody look at the title of "The Rules of Luton" and realize it just wouldn't work?
On the plus side, the sets and model work are mostly good as is the music. Some of the guest appearances are striking too, notably that of Jeremy Kemp in the better-than-average episode "Voyager's Return".
Despite everything, I have an odd affection for the show, especially the first season. But someone once said that it takes good science fact to make good science fiction. By breaking that, and other, rules way too often, this effort proves that sage individual right.
Rating: 5/10
By 1975, "Star Trek" was long gone from our screens, except in syndication, and no quality sci-fi show had yet taken its place on TV. The time must have seemed propitious for another show of the kind.
So ITC came up with this. In 1999, as portrayed in the show, the moon is being used as a dump for the waste generated by the nuclear power stations that keep Earth going. Problems arise, resulting in the biggest of those dumps exploding in such a way that the moon is sent flying off into deep space. Along for the ride are 300 or so people on Moonbase Alpha who must now fend for themselves against anything that space throws at them.
I am told that such an explosion would shatter the moon rather than send it out of orbit, but I think I could swallow that goof if it were the only one and the show were otherwise acceptable.
Unfortunately, there are so many things wrong with this that it's hard to know where to start. Sticking with the physics for a moment, the moon is shown moving between solar systems and even galaxies in a matter of days. OK, the USS Enterprise did this, but at least it had engines. How does the moon manage it?
Some of the individual episodes work (my personal favorite is "War Games", where Alpha is seemingly devastated by an alien attack), but most don't, having resort to things like séances and crew members being taken over by the spirits of stars or long dead ancestors! Most episodes involve Alphans being killed, yet the base never seems short on people, although replacements are impossible to come by. And, just as with Star Trek's red shirts (the security personnel whose main role was to act as cannon fodder – four of them bite the dust in the episode "The Apple"), it is the purple-sleeved security guards who make up a disproportionate share of the victims.
Meanwhile, the attempt to recreate the charming interplay between Star Trek's main characters falls flat on its face, a fact all the more remarkable when you consider that two of the leads , Martin Landau (Commander Koenig) and Barbara Bain (Doctor Russell), were married to each other at the time the show was made. Meanwhile, the "scientist" (Victor Bergman, played by Barry Morse) rarely seems to know anything and is reduced to spouting generalities. Only the "manly type", pilot Alan Carter, played by the ever reliable Nick Tate, gets it more or less right.
Perhaps the worst mistake of all was the revamp carried out between seasons 1 and 2. Moonbase Alpha is scarcely recognizable as the same place. Some of the characters we know from the first season - Victor Bergman is one - have gone, without our being told why, while new ones appear with equally little attempt at explanation. The episodes, however, remain just as silly. Did nobody look at the title of "The Rules of Luton" and realize it just wouldn't work?
On the plus side, the sets and model work are mostly good as is the music. Some of the guest appearances are striking too, notably that of Jeremy Kemp in the better-than-average episode "Voyager's Return".
Despite everything, I have an odd affection for the show, especially the first season. But someone once said that it takes good science fact to make good science fiction. By breaking that, and other, rules way too often, this effort proves that sage individual right.
Rating: 5/10