Destination: Moonbase Alpha

by Robert E. Wood

  Christopher Lee: ‘[Space: 1999] was an interesting thing to do because, I think I’m right to say, it was almost the first British science fiction television [film] series. British in so far as it was made in Pinewood. And we, as I recall, were aliens who were in a state of suspended animation, lying inside these great big sarcophagi. You might say that this sort of series preceded a great many of the [later] science fiction films and television. The clothes were fascinating actually because we weren’t like [aliens are portrayed] today – or have been for the last 10 or 15 or 20 years. We weren’t creatures who were unrecognisable. We were to all intents and purposes more or less human beings. Of course, everyone was very, very tall, including the girls … They were very charming, too. It gives one a little bit of hope for the future if you can explore space and find girls like that.’

  Keith Wilson: ‘Christopher Lee is a very grand gentleman, very powerful. I designed the make-up for him, and it meant I had to fill in his nose [between his eyes]. It was an integral part of the make-up, and he said, “Do I have to have this here?” I said, “Well, if you wouldn’t mind.” He said, “Well, all right then.” Anyway, we did the make-up and we came to the end of the day. The make-up people took this off and it took the skin off his nose! He looked at me and went, “Are you satisfied now?”’

  Bloopers: When Christopher Lee lies down in Zantor’s stasis chamber towards the end of the show, the white wig he is wearing falls off, revealing his own dark hair beneath. This same white wig will later appear on Peter Cushing in ‘Missing Link’, Margaret Leighton in ‘Collision Course’, Leo McKern in ‘The Infernal Machine’ and Joan Collins in ‘Mission of the Darians’.

  When Carter drops off the crew and passenger module at the alien ship, a special effects mistake has the departing Eagle already off the lunar surface before firing its booster engines.

  Another blooper occurs in the scene where Alan Carter and his co-pilot watch the crash-landing of Captain Zantor’s ship. Keep your eye on the co-pilot, because in one shot he disappears!

  And, finally, while Simmonds is screaming in his casket at the end of the episode, one of the Kaldorians (wearing orange) sits up inside her stasis chamber, and another (in green) turns his head to look at Simmonds.

  Observations: The Main Mission set is revamped here, removing the stairs that previously led to the windows on the opposite wall from the X5 Computer and balcony, and rearranging the desks with space between each.

  A shot of Barry Morse as Bergman accompanies his credit in the opening titles of the series for the first time. Until now his credit had been displayed over a space effect background.

  Review: Rebounding from the early low-point of ’Ring Around the Moon’, ‘Earthbound’ is Space: 1999’s first exploration into immortality and is set up with a degree of detail that lends believability to the scientific concepts and alien technology contained within. In common with the preceding episode, it involves an encounter with aliens on their way to Earth. Here, though, the Kaldorians are a wonderfully conceived and presented alien culture. They are peaceful, freedom loving, benevolent and soft-spoken. It’s a nice touch that they are the first actual aliens embodied for the Alphans and that it is an encounter culminating in friendship, demonstrated clearly with the Kaldorian gift of their treasured golden eggs. This is an optimistic encounter that shows the Alphans can find a common bond with other travellers and races in the galaxy.The Kaldorian ship looks a bit like a surrealistic Easter egg, but the special effects are outstandingly produced. One oddity here is that two Rescue Eagles (identified by red stripes on their passenger modules) are sent out to intercept the alien ship at the start of the episode, when normally the standard Reconnaissance Eagles would be used. This is, notably, the first appearance of the Rescue Eagle. There are some wonderful Eagle effects throughout, including the Rescue ship leaving its passenger module behind at the Kaldorian craft, and the sequence of an Eagle flying low over the lunar terrain. Also impressive is the return visit to the Eagle hangers – previously seen in the background of ‘Breakaway’.

  The highpoint of cinematography in this episode comes when Koenig enters the Kaldorian ship for the first time, a distorted dark shape moving amongst the light. It’s very alien-looking and very effective.

  All of the performances are excellent, but guest stars Christopher Lee and Roy Dotrice excel, their characters sharply in contrast with each other – Zantor is tranquil and peaceful; Simmonds is angry and desperate.

  Commissioner Simmonds returns in this episode, making it almost a sequel to ‘Breakaway’. This also brings a return to some of the politics of Earth, as featured in ‘Breakaway’. In a series that will later all too often abandon regular characters, or randomly create new ones, it’s very much appreciated that the production team thought to bring back the Commissioner for a repeat performance. It’s obvious that Simmonds is not only unsuited to Alpha and unhappy being there, but he is also greatly disliked and unwanted by his fellow crewmembers on the base. That he would be the one selected to return to Earth with the Kaldorians is obvious from the start. He knows he should go, but he is unwilling to leave the matter to chance or to a decision that is out of his own hands. His blackmailing of Alpha to get what he wants is successful, but at the ultimate price: there isn’t time for Zantor properly to program Simmonds’ matrix into the Kaldorians’ computer for the suspended animation journey to be successful. Zantor’s possible motivations here are left open to question. Simmonds awakens shortly after leaving the Moon – a prisoner in a stasis chamber that will be his casket. He’s effectively buried alive. It is a chilling end to the episode and to the Commissioner. Simmonds represents the worst of humanity and is a character bound to the Earth. He symbolises what the Alphans have left behind and his place is not with them on their journey through space. As Zantor states, ‘The Commissioner is diseased.’ He simply had to go, and his comeuppance is richly deserved.

  ‘Earthbound’ has the dual concepts of betrayal and friendship as its central contrast. Simmonds betrays everyone on Alpha – his own race, even if he has nothing in common with them besides genetic history – for his own selfish purposes. And the first-contact friendship between the Alphans and Kaldorians is best personified by the relationship between Captain Zantor and Helena Russell, who manage a subtle flirtation and obvious connection in their scenes together.

  It would have been very nice for the Alphans to communicate more with the aliens about what they could expect to discover when they reached Earth, but they were obviously busy, so this can be forgiven.

  ‘Earthbound’ is well conceived, written, performed, designed and directed. It isn’t the most well paced, memorable, or profound segment, but it does deliver a powerful twist ending in the best tradition of The Twilight Zone, and is ultimately very effective.

  Rating: 8/10

  1.6

  ANOTHER TIME,

  ANOTHER PLACE

  Screenplay by Johnny Byrne

  Directed by David Tomblin

  Selected Broadcast Dates:

  UK LWT:

  Date: 6 March 1976. Time: 11.30 am

  Granada:

  Date: 16 January 1976. Time: 6.35 pm

  US KRON (San Francisco):

  Date: 21 February 1976. Time: 7.00 pm

  Credited Cast: Martin Landau (John Koenig), Barbara Bain (Helena Russell), Barry Morse (Victor Bergman), Prentis Hancock (Paul Morrow), Clifton Jones (David Kano), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Anton Phillips (Bob Mathias), Nick Tate (Alan Carter)

  Guest Artist: Judy Geeson (Regina Kesslann (Carter))

  Uncredited Cast: Suzanne Roquette (Tanya Alexander), Barbara Kelly (Voice of Computer), June Bolton (Operative June), Loftus Burton (Operative Lee Oswald), Andrew Dempsey, Joy Harrison, Robert Phillips, Michael Stevens, Maggie Wright (Main Mission Operatives), Tony Allyn (Security Guard Tony Allan), Alan Harris (Alphan), Alan Roberto (Alphan Child), Claire McLellan (Alphan Child)

  Plot: The Moon hits a particle storm in space and is catapulted
a vast distance across the galaxy, apparently returning to its original orbit around Earth. But problems mount … On Alpha, Regina has nightmare visions and believes she is living on Earth, in some future time. The Earth’s axis has tilted and civilisation has been wiped out. Another Moon is discovered in a slightly faster orbit, and on it an abandoned duplicate Alpha. The two Moons will collide, and in an effort to survive, the Alphans select the valley of Santa Maria as the most promising settlement location. A Reconnaissance team fly down and discover a village populated by their alternate selves.

  Quotes:

  Victor: ‘I just know we’re not where we ought to be.’

  Koenig: ‘I know less and less about this universe, Victor. But that’s got to be more than chance.’

  Victor: ‘Yes, there’s a logic to it somewhere, John. There is some frame of order. We may make all sorts of blunders, wander off the path now and then, but ultimately we belong where we belong – on Earth.’

  Victor: ‘Somehow, we’ve caught up with ourselves.’

  Sandra: ‘They are going home.’

  Victor: ‘And heading back into future time. It’s an interesting thought.’

  Victor: ‘This is the Earth, but not the world we knew. It’s an Earth where perhaps we never existed. Or perhaps we have yet to be born. But apart from us it’s empty now. A civilisation once flourished here – another Atlantis, perhaps. There are signs of them everywhere.’

  Victor: ‘Wait – all of you. Paul is right. You cannot live here, or anywhere else on this planet. If you were to come here there would be chaos and disaster. We know that Regina died when she confronted herself in her mind. Our Helena died when she confronted herself in the flesh. We are trapped in different times. But when those two Moons collide, time will correct itself. Normality will return. There will be one Moon, one community, one time. You must go back. If you are not back on your own Moon when time does correct itself, you will have nowhere to die.’

  Filming Dates: Tuesday 2 April – Friday 19 April 1974

  Tuesday 23 April – Thursday 25 April 1974 (Second Unit)

  Commentary:

  Barbara Bain: ‘I liked the thinking and the interest in “Another Time, Another Place.”’

  Nick Tate: ‘I liked “Another Time, Another Place” because it did some good things for my character and gave me some real development. I like the fact that there was a lot of emotion in that episode. I remember enjoying very much working with Judy Geeson. I liked that whole concept – it was a really good one for me to do … “Another Time, Another Place” gave me a chance to get my teeth into a really good storyline.

  ‘I don’t think I’d ever worked with an actress that showed such incredible emotion [as Judy Geeson], and the tears were flowing ... There was no acting on my part at all; I was just stunned that this incredible gorgeous creature in my arms could fall apart like that. It was just magnificent.’

  Zienia Merton: ‘The first series was surreal. For example, “Another Time, Another Place”. Keith Wilson, the designer, did the most incredible thing of all those trees and then just painted a background behind them … But you’d never think so; it looked as though we were outside.

  ‘I always found it strange that in one episode I would hardly talk to Paul – obviously we’d had a terrible row or something – and then the next episode we’d be all over each other. Sylvia was very good at marrying up people. I thought Prentis and I looked good together – it worked well. So when there was a need for a baby-manufacturing machine in “Another Time, Another Place”, I was there with Paul.’

  Judy Geeson: ‘The thing that I see when I look back on [Space: 1999]; it was so beautiful. It was so high-tech, the way it was done. It was stunningly beautiful. For an actor to play somebody who is suffering in that way is always the best part. It always is. You see many actors get their Oscars, or whatever, for playing somebody who is in some way deranged, because it gives you a licence to behave in a strange way … It was lovely to do. It was a very good character for an actress to play … I remember the joy of having two brains. Which of me is going to say this? It’s a lovely thought. The thing is there has to be a divide [between actor and role], otherwise you’d go mad. You have to know that you’re giving a performance. You have to try your hardest to be completely in the moment, and when you’re working with good actors it’s so much easier. You just live in that moment, but you have to be able to leave it. You have to be able to go home. It was such a good experience. As I say sometimes, the higher up the ladder you go, the sweeter the people are – they don’t have anything to prove. Both [Martin Landau and Barbara Bain] were so gracious. Both of them were so lovely.’

  Johnny Byrne: ‘“Another Time, Another Place” was very exciting. It was the first script I did for Space on my own, in my position as story editor. There’s no sort of set way of writing scripts. In “Another Time, Another Place” I thought – the way you’re faced with a blank page of paper and you’ve got to get a script ready in three weeks, a very complicated script, sets would be built, a hundred thousand pounds or something would be spent – how do you start? Where do you start from? So the first [question] I came up with was: what is the worst thing I can possibly imagine happening to those people? Let’s say they’re hit by a mad cloud or particle storm in space. What would happen if a certain kind of ionised particle storm hits them? So I imagined their bodies separating, their images separating and [them] watching themselves moving away from themselves. Now, that’s as far as I had thought. What are the implications of that? Okay, they all pass out; nobody knows who’s who, because one lot has seen the other lot sort of passing away. That’s the act ending – that’s a fairly strong one – but that’s only the hook. But we’ve got an hour’s screen time to fill.

  ‘I thought, “Can I sustain a story developing like this?” Okay, we’ve come back now after the credits and they find that they’re not where they were. That’s good. So where are they? They look up and, my God, they’re travelling back to occupy the spot in space they occupied before they were blown out of orbit! All they can do is scratch their heads. They have got some kind of data on the kind of weird force that struck them, but no real idea …‘[That] is one of the reasons I like Space: 1999. Their knowledge was fairly limited so you could endlessly speculate. I built a story purely empirically by building situation on top of situation. It all stemmed from the initial logic of the set-up. That was, I think, the easiest way to write that kind of story. It was not possible to do all the stories like that – very few of them you could do like that. That was the fun way. I really enjoyed putting myself in a corner and writing myself out of it. Problems came a good deal along the way, because you could actually [genuinely] put yourself in a corner and yet your efforts to get you out could [appear] fairly gratuitous, or not wholly believable, unless you could find a really stunning turnabout. I was fortunate [that] there with a nice little twist to give it [“Another Time, Another Place”] … Along the way, it dealt with notions of identity, reality and fantasy, and one or two other interesting things about the relationships as well on Moonbase … I like that episode very much, and I thought David Tomblin directed it very well.

  ‘“Another Time Another Place” was not just about individual Alphans confronting their doppelgangers, but about experiencing a revealed vision of a possible future. It also highlighted the cyclic nature of human experience – the catastrophic failure of 20th Century techno man established in “Breakaway” and a new beginning of the process. A theme also echoed in “Troubled Spirit”. But here I may be expressing retrospective wisdom. Most, if not all, my episodes were written from the inside out. By that I mean they were never planned as vehicles for issues big and small, and frequently the end result was just as surprising to me as to others. Clearly they were tapping into themes and concepts swirling around in my mind at the time. It perhaps explains why episodes of this type finished so multi-faceted – simple on the surface, very complicated within. I particularly remember the highly charge
d excitement I felt when writing “Another Time, Another Place”. I wrote it at Pinewood, and oft times I’d simply down tools and rush along the corridor to blast Chris’s ear with new and ever more fascinating conundrums arising as the script developed. I also remember knowing exactly what I meant by Bergman’s weird but nonetheless clinching comment that if they didn’t get back to Alpha before the Moons collided, they’d have no place to die. Today, if dwelt on, it raises more questions than it answers. So far as I know, I was on nothing more stimulating than the stodgy food served at the studio restaurant.

  ‘It’s a long time ago now, but thinking back about it, I remember it vividly. It had Judy Geeson in it, who I felt was very good, and I was very sad to see that she didn’t develop her career. I had a very fond feeling for it, simply because it was the first one that I wrote entirely myself. And it was also directed by David Tomblin, whose work I admired enormously and with whom I had a very strong working relationship throughout the series.