Space: 1999 

The crew of Moonbase Alpha must struggle to survive when a massive explosion throws the Moon from orbit into deep space.

Stars:

Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Nick Tate

1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Martin Landau	...	Commander John Koenig 48 episodes, 1975-1977
Barbara Bain	...	Dr. Helena Russell 48 episodes, 1975-1977
Nick Tate	...	Alan Carter 42 episodes, 1975-1977
Zienia Merton	...	Sandra Benes 35 episodes, 1975-1977
Sarah Bullen	...	Operative Kate / ... 25 episodes, 1975-1977
Barry Morse	...	Prof. Victor Bergman 24 episodes, 1975-1976
Catherine Schell	...	Maya / ... 25 episodes, 1975-1977
Prentis Hancock	...	Paul Morrow 23 episodes, 1975-1976
Clifton Jones	...	David Kano 23 episodes, 1975-1976
Anton Phillips	...	Dr. Mathias / ... 23 episodes, 1975-1976
Tony Anholt	...	Tony Verdeschi 23 episodes, 1976-1977

Storyline

In 1999, Moonbase Alpha, nestled in the Lunar crater Plato, is a scientific research colony and watchdog over silos of atomic waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side. On September 13, 1999, magnetic energy builds to cause an explosive chain-reaction of the waste, blasting the Moon out of Earth's orbit and off the plane of the ecliptic, out of the Solar System. The inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha are unable to return to Earth and must survive on their wandering Moon as it is displaced further into unknown space by freak space warps. Along the way, they are joined by an alien woman with the ability to change herself into any living creature at will.

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Plot Keywords:

moon base | outer space | moon | year 1999 | atomic waste | 

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Taglines:

An Adventure As Big As The Universe!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Italian novelization series the deaths of Professor Bergman and computer expert David Kano (both are absent in Season 2) got a different explanation. Professor Bergman had a bio medical device implanted in his heart, while Kano had a similar one in his brain. Between Season 1 and Season 2 the Moon went through a black hole (a different one from the black hole encountered in Season 1); this, somehow, caused to both devices to fail - killing the two characters.

If this explanation (and the Italian novelizations at large, with their changes and added materials) can be considered canon was never clarified.

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Goofs

Whenever anyone uses a commlock, a communications column in a hallway, or a comm terminal in a room they never set a channel for the call they make; they simply activate the device and it automatically connects to whomever the caller is looking to speak to.

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Quotes

Sandra Benes: Why has all of this happened to us, Professor?
Prof. Victor Bergman: The gods using us for their sport, perhaps?

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Crazy Credits

During the first season, excerpts for each week's episode were incorporated into the opening credits, more specifically the "This Episode" section, which was something of a Gerry Anderson trademark.

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Alternate Versions

The first episode of season two, "The Metamorph," was first broadcast in the US in a slightly different edit than that shown in Britain and later syndication. During the original run, many American stations cut key scenes from the episodes in order to fit time slots. The Sci-Fi Channel reruns of "Space: 1999" were reportedly heavily edited. When the first two episodes were edited into the TV-movie, Alien Attack, several additional scenes were filmed using non-regulars.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Crash of Moons (1992)

User Reviews

I love this show like family

This show calls up happy memories of laying on my grandma's shag carpeted living room, totally enthralled by this show. It was the mid 70s and we didn't even have a space shuttle yet. The ships, clothes and hardware of this show looked like something I could possibly experience in my lifetime. I figured that by 1999, I would be living and working in space as an adult. Well none of that really panned out but all these years later, this show is still great fun to watch. It has a style and mood that is so unique. I hope they never try to do a remake. Part of it's charm is how 70s it is. The bell bottom uniforms, the sketchy science, the sideburns. It's all so perfect. As a child, this show made me excited for the future like nothing else.

Details

Official Sites:

Carlton Video Ltd

Country:

UK Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 September 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Space: 1999

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Group 3, Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min (48 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3