Johnny Byrne again: ‘The humanity [of Space: 1999] came in … putting the Alphans into situations wherein, to a large degree, it was their humanity that was being tested. It might have been [that] the heat levels were falling, or the food was running out, or something was about to hit [them]. Essentially in their contact with each other, and in their conflict with aliens and things like this, the Alphans’ humanity was being tested; it was always a question of humanity, rather than straightforward “We take you – you can’t stop us.” So it was moral values more than anything that were being tested … If you look at the episodes in the order in which they were made, you will see that the progression of people who are fairly frightened and fairly clueless reflected the screenwriters’ frightened, clueless attitude as to stepping out into the unknown, too. We were out there at the same time. When we became more familiar, our touches became more adept, responses more certain, weariness more pronounced, the further we went out. By episode 48, there wasn’t a situation out there that we couldn’t deal with! But on the way out, we didn’t know where the hell we were or what the hell was happening to us, and that was reflected in the stories. After a few physical disasters, we felt we could cope. There was a huge sigh of relief at the end of the first series. And there was a great regret as well, because we knew that we had done something really special, but we knew that it wasn’t perfect. Not at all.’
Christopher Penfold concurred: ‘We made it up as we went along. I think there was a kind of philosophy behind series one – it evolved – that tended to focus the stories on quite challenging ideas, philosophical ideas, and questions. Who are we? Why are we here? Where are we going? What’s the future of our universe? All that kind of thing. And during the course of series one, I think there was a gradual building of pressure to shift the focus of the show more in the direction of action-adventure entertainment; monsters-in-space. So I think that the collision of those two philosophies really resulted in the division between series one and series two … At some point, had the series been able to develop, generational change would have been something that we would have taken on board. I suppose that in the context of the first series, we thought that having cast the Moonbase adrift with them looking for or hoping to find some eventual sanctuary, that actual continuation of the species was something that they weren’t particularly concerned about. If series two had continued in the vein of series one, I’m pretty sure that would have been something that we would have made good story material out of.’
In Byrne’s view, ‘The moral of the series often was found in the divergence of man as Technological Man and man as Biological Man. Biological Man is [very] undeveloped in terms of Technological Man, and the conflict and the antagonistic nature of Biological Man are always going to confound the successes and the productions of Technological Man. I think Chris caught that in “War Games” and even in “Black Sun”. The application of metaphysics to science; Technological Man and Biological Man, and the difficulty of reconciling them.
‘It was very important, this whole question of Technological Man and his responsibility for science; scientists and their responsibility for the wonders they produce. Chris had actually formulated this, and he had written another series called The Brack Report, which dealt with precisely this theme. We were very concerned about these things.’
Penfold mused: ‘The series philosophy is that we are proud to be a pretty interesting, complex species. That we are cognisant of the possibility that there are much more interesting and complex species out there – of which we may even be a part – but to encounters with which and with whom the adventurous amongst us look forward with great excitement.’
SPACE: 1999 AS ORIGIN STORY
In an otherwise quite bizarre critical piece on Space: 1999 in a 1975 issue of Cinefantastique magazine, the reviewer managed to identify a very central theme: ‘… Isn’t there inherent poetry in the fantastic premise of the moon finally released, spinning through the void, taking a tribe of humans with it? I think so. If this had really happened centuries ago, even minus its human cargo, it would today be a legend of epic proportions. Like Gilgamesh and the Great Flood. It would have variants in all cultures.’[22]
What that reviewer hit upon is that Space: 1999 is indeed an origin story of epic proportions. As Johnny Byrne has mentioned over the years, origin stories take on mythical qualities and often incorporate elements that are unexplainable, with mystical, magical or religious undertones. The journey of the Alphans is not necessarily bound by the laws of reality or science, and incredible, unexplainable events happen with surprising frequency. Does this not go far to sum up Space: 1999, at least in its first season? Byrne stated: ‘I think you come to a time when questions of identity and purpose are more in tune now than they were then. Indeed, much of the conflict in the world is related to these questions: who are we, and what do we want, and can we allow ourselves to be assimilated? A sense of identity, and a sense of purpose. And we seem to be losing, I think in purely Earth terms, a sense of belonging to the place. There’s a sense of fragmentation. And I always saw Space: 1999 as a unifying thing; something that would celebrate humanity no matter how strange and threatening, no matter how absurd and outlandish the places it took us to. That we would always hold on to those things and not simply relinquish them – certainly not easily. But also, something that is very important is the concept of an origin story: an origin theme … [The Alphans] were people in the process of writing the history of their origins, their time and their place, their values. The Celts did it, the Jews did it; many other races have done this. We were in the process of seeing this, in the beginning, at the modern stage. I think part of the epic quality of Space: 1999 was tied up in that concept. It was something larger than the sum of its parts, and that was [the idea of] people searching for a place.’
It’s no wonder that critics, expecting – or hoping – to see another series in the familiar science fiction mold of Star Trek were (and some remain to this day) mystified and frustrated by Space: 1999, which took its format from the origin stories of human history – such as that of a people like the Hebrews, cast out to roam the desert on a random journey looking for a new home. Space: 1999 was its own entity, and in that uniqueness lies its strength.
Another review that went far in understanding the series appeared in Art and Story in 1976 and stated: ‘While not without its flaws, Space: 1999 has demonstrated itself to be the finest SF television series ever produced, both in concept and in execution. Oddly, the show was quickly dismissed by the critics, most of whom seemed to miss the point of the programme. Space: 1999 did not set out to become another Star Trek. Rather, the show’s creators used the runaway moon concept as a vantage for observing human behavior in a situation of total disaster, total uncertainty, total helplessness in the face of incomprehensible dangers. Moonbase Alpha is a microcosm of human society on Planet Earth, and the errant moon is in many ways a scale model of our own world – out of control, embattled and wracked by disaster, its inhabitants mercilessly buffeted by forces beyond their comprehension. Some critics complained that the stories were too esoteric, too abstract. But if many episodes seemed to conclude without answers for the questions they raised, if they often seemed to indicate that science is incapable of providing solutions to the overwhelming problems that threaten human existence, if stories were often resolved metaphysically rather than technologically, with the intervention of Something very much like God – perhaps it’s because such conclusions are closer analogues to our real-life (and real-death) situation on Spaceship Earth than the merely technological or heroic solutions proffered by less cerebral, less cogitative programmes such as Star Trek.”[23]
IMPACT AND ASSESSMENT
Nick Tate recalled: ‘Towards the end of the first series I was invited to the US to a science fiction convention in Pittsburgh. I was the only person from the series invited. [Year Two producer] Fred Freiberger wasn’t involved at this time, but once Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and Abe Mandell (h
ead of ITC New York) learned what was going on … they suddenly realised there was a lot of mileage to be made from this. They wanted general recognition for the series in the sci-fi world and here was one of the lead actors being invited to a sci-fi con. ITC said I had to stop in New York first and meet the press. So I went to New York first to have what was called Breakfast with the Press. It was like being Paul McCartney for the day. They put me in a beautiful hotel; I turned up at 8.00 in the morning for breakfast and there were ten people sitting around a table, all with notepads and cameras flashing. The New York press were there and they were telling me that I was getting 5,000 fan letters a week, that I was the most popular character in the series, and asking what it was like working with Martin and Barbara. I was getting a lot of fan mail and it was coming in bags, but it wasn’t 5,000 a week, I can assure you. Nonetheless, ITC ran with this idea and said that I was the most popular character in the series. You can understand how I felt strange later on when ITC didn’t know that they should naturally have me back for the second series!’
The impact of the series in the UK was dulled by its scheduling, as Johnny Byrne remembered: ‘We were unlucky in the scheduling. I never saw an episode. In England, they were on at half past ten, half past 11, six o’clock, five o’clock, and nine o’clock … I thought for a while that it was actually what they called a loss-leader: that they had found a way of laundering some very dodgy money by transforming it into a television programme and putting it out in a way that least disturbed the existing order of things. I would tune in for it at half past ten and not find it, and then when I was going out at half past 12, I’d see it coming on. I think it was some kind of financial deal there – some money was being laundered!’
Barry Morse said: ‘Space: 1999 has many fans around the world and I think with younger people – people who in some instances weren’t even born when we were actually doing the series – it has a strong impact, because it reminds them of where we’ve been and where we may be going as we reach another millennium. More and more people, especially younger people, are beginning to ruminate and speculate about the future of the human race. It’ll only take the wrong hand on the wrong button at the wrong time for the human species to be completely wiped out, perhaps to leave the care of our planet to such superior species as the lice and the beetles. It’s a sobering thought, an alarming thought, but a very realistic thought. I think that is what has impressed so many people. Those ingredients I think are part of the serious subtext of Space: 1999. Those are the sorts of speculative, soul-searching questionings that could and should have played a larger part in the dramatisation, but at least we touched on them some of the time. It’s all too easy with hindsight, which is always infallible, to put your finger on where things went wrong. Well, ultimately, we can’t say that they did go wrong. The series has maintained a very loyal cult following ever since those days more than 35 years ago when it all began. The support the series has maintained has been in many ways, to me, quite amazing.
‘Over the years since Space: 1999, I have been to a number of conventions celebrating the series. I often think how very touching it is that this group of young people are so kind and devoted to each other. The initial subject of their coming together – the old series, and their attachment to us actors – is not really that important after all. They’ve become very much involved with each other and regard themselves as virtually members of the same family. I regard those young people as my honorary grandchildren.
‘It is an extraordinary thing to me that just one more television show should have compelled such a nice group of people to have remembered it for such a long time. The conventions are very gentle and peaceful and loving occasions for a whole lot of people of different kinds, statuses and backgrounds being brought and held together by a common interest, but also by a sense of concern and affection for each other. It shows how different members of the human race can come together and wish nothing but good to each other and to the rest of the world. I’m terribly pleased and touched by that. There are many conglomerations of people who come together for much less honourable purposes.’
Johnny Byrne assessed the series: ‘There was a lot of praise, of course, for the technical side of it, which was fully justified. There was a very mixed reaction to the stories themselves. The fans were hooked from day one – I’m talking about the audience as a broad mass. There were certain irritating things about it that made our lives difficult … The problem had to do with the format. Barbara, I think, under the circumstances … did awfully well, and as it went on. It was fully justified, because she came more out of Medical Centre, and was to stay out. They were finding their way and so were we. But sometimes the size of Koenig’s office, that big office that opened out into Main Mission, and the low-pitched conversations, everybody being slightly too nice and respectful … There were certain things that put people off. It was science fiction … I didn’t particularly like the costumes, either. So there were all sorts of reasons why people didn’t accept it for what it was, which I thought was an absolutely astounding television production. It couldn’t be done again and it will never be done again. In no way can that be matched. In retrospect, people are now beginning to see how good it was. If they saw [the episodes] now, many of the issues, the feelings and thoughts that permeate the stories, I think they would find to be more interesting to them now. I don’t know why that is. I think they would find more for their minds to hold onto now than they did then, because they had been conditioned to Star Trek.’
Martin Landau said: ‘Space: 1999 was an interesting show in that it touched on the Moon being used as a garbage dump for nuclear waste. It was only 25 years into the future when we did it. [The human race is], in fact, technologically and emotionally ill equipped to do what we were thrust into on the series. If we wanted to, we couldn’t go into deep space with 300 people. Again, it was only a few years into the future. We were also asking what happens to Earth without the Moon. The last contact we have with the Earth is that there are tidal waves and earthquakes – an interesting concept.’
Sylvia Anderson summarised her thoughts on the series by saying: ‘I think we had a marvellous opportunity. It looked good, but I think you underrate the audience’s intelligence when you have a Commander who’s always right.’
Prentis Hancock reflected: ‘Every time I’ve been involved in anything that is a little more than just entertainment and actually looks into or goes beneath the surface of a subject, it seems to be not just reflecting – as art always does – what is going on in the real world, but almost ahead of it. I don’t believe that art is ahead of [real life]; I just think it’s at the leading edge all the time of what is really happening. And very often public opinion won’t catch up in five or 50 years. In the case of our stories in Space: 1999 … I think space exploration, in concert with the exploding of the atom bomb and the distribution of the pill, has been the third element that really has made the world be able to see itself as a global village. Of course, the Americans were responsible for that. From the time mankind – we – got off our own planet and were able to look back and actually take it in as being one single entity on which we all must co-exist in harmony or die eventually, perhaps, that has been possibly the most powerful, important element of the 20th Century. “Black Sun” always stays with me … “Black Sun” and “Breakaway”, as the two episodes that sort of summed up that idea. Always, when you’re involved with something that matters … you pick up a newspaper and there’s a headline about it and you think, “Where did that come from?” You’re open to what’s going on.’
Nick Tate said: ‘The risk came in the fact that they shot all 24 episodes before showing it to the public. The only people who knew what was going on with the series at the time were Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and the ITC bosses and, of course, the actors who were involved. They took a very big gamble … They didn’t make a pilot episode and test it and show it to millions of people and ask them to write and tell them what was right or w
rong about the series. They had great faith in the series. It was a project that they felt would go, and they didn’t want to be influenced by outsiders telling them to do this or that … I thought Space: 1999 would have been even bigger than it was. We were shooting every episode like a major film. It had a lot of technical excellence and it needed all of that shiny, pristine quality that it had.
‘If you go back to the days of Space: 1999, people like Prentis and Zienia and I, we were paid £187 an episode. Well, that’s what I got. Sometimes it wasn’t a week’s pay – often the episodes took two weeks to make. So you can do the math and find out how much we got. We also all had written into our contracts, residuals that they said were based on network sales. Of course, Space: 1999 was claimed to be the most widely syndicated series in the history of television at the time of its original screening. So that meant that anybody who had a contract that said they got residuals on network sales didn’t get any money, because the show was syndicated. There are no residuals on syndication unless you have syndicated residuals written into your contract. I’ve made a very good living out of this industry; I’ve been very lucky and I’ve had a lot of work and I’ve enjoyed myself immensely. But I haven’t made the sort of money that actors make now.’
Johnny Byrne commented: ‘It’s strange looking back; by rights, if we’d had any sense, we would have committed suicide … But we were travelling on hope and optimism. And we didn’t simply realise how difficult our situation was. We lived on optimism. Whereas the cast could go home at five o’clock, we often would keep working, sometimes in Gerry’s house. I would wake up with a Thunderbirds puppet staring at me. Gerry would have me picked up and delivered and I would spend a day and a night at his house rewriting or writing a script. I think the quickest I ever delivered a first draft was in three days. Yet, it’s important to note that there was no sense of pressure among the writers: we seemed to have an easy life …
Destination: Moonbase Alpha Page 33
