The father-daughter relationship between Mentor and Maya is truly the heart of the episode. Despite all the action, spaceships, brain drains and explosions, ‘The Metamorph’ is a very personal story.
Moonbase Alpha’s new surface laser cannons are shown for the first time. Apparently Alpha has increased its weapons capabilities since the first season, and a new Weapons Section has been added to the base. All of this is in contrast to the initial intentions of the series, which posited the Alphans as Earthmen unprepared for their journey into deep space. They were meant to be vulnerable, and were purposely not heavily armed. It does, however, set up the atmosphere and style of Year Two. The laser cannons will be featured again in a number of upcoming episodes.
Another aspect that clearly differentiates the style of the seasons is Koenig’s statement to Mentor, ‘We’ll determine our own destinies.’ As mentioned previously, it is a strong statement in direct contrast with Year One’s basic philosophical tenets, and is probably the single sentence that most clearly defines this new series of episodes.
Along with screenwriter Byrne, another major player on this episode who had already made a significant contribution in Year One (directing eight episodes) was Charles Crichton. While his work on the first series was always commendable, and often superior, he didn’t do as well on the second series; ‘The Metamorph’ is probably the finest of the six episodes he helms, while a couple of his others rank among the series’ worst.
Psychon is a once-wonderful world that has now become an ‘environmental hell,’ a world of erupting volcanoes. The special effects of the volcanoes have dated over the years, but still admirably depict a distinctly alien environment. The other ‘hell’ on Psychon is the steaming subterranean caverns that lie beneath Mentor’s laboratory. There he keeps enslaved the vegetative aliens whose minds he has stolen. These are among the many clear parallels with Brian Blessed’s earlier episode, ‘Death’s other Dominion’. Mentor is one of the only Psychons to remain, along with Maya. It was Mentor’s dream to transform his world back to the beauty it once possessed, and his dream blinded him. Obviously his dream was seen as futile by most of the rest of his people, as they left in spaceships to attempt to find new worlds on which to live. As viewers will later learn in the episode ‘The Rules of Luton’, Mentor would never leave Psychon because the grave of his wife was there and he couldn’t bear to leave her. While he began his quest with undeniably good intentions, he became mentally warped by his ambitions, to the point of enslaving and draining the mental energies of other aliens in order to power his biological computer. Unfortunately, and ironically, Psyche’s released energy is also what ends up ultimately destroying the planet.
Psyche itself – referred to in one working title as ‘The Biological Computer’ – is a veiled interpretation of Frankenstein: a creation (whether a computer or a monster) that ends up destroying its maker.
The culminating scenes are exciting and dramatic, finally ending with the destruction of Psychon and the introduction of Maya to Alpha’s crew. The special effects are all impressive, especially the view of Psychon from above, with a remarkably believable display of clouds in the atmosphere. Set design excels with the Grove of Psyche and the striking orange colour scheme evident in the corridors and holding cell. The single aspect that serves to define most strongly the tone of ‘The Metamorph’ – and all of Year Two – is the enjoyable music of Derek Wadsworth, which conveys the new action-adventure orientation of the series.
The finest elements of the episode are those related to the characters, and the show ends on a touching note, with emotions conveyed with realism and validity. Maya begins as a naïve girl, and the most remarkable transformation in the episode is her journey to being a woman, spreading her wings and leaving the nest. Psychologically, as well, Maya alters her view of the world and her father, transitioning from her earlier sheltered naïveté to broad awareness as she moves on with her life in the alien, and undoubtedly scary, universe – the ultimate metaphor for life itself. These are the real metamorphoses with which ‘The Metamorph’ is concerned.
The weakest aspect of the episode is the lack of explanation for the changes between seasons, but the positive side of the missing characters not being killed off is that fans can still imagine that Professor Bergman, Paul Morrow and the others are still somewhere out there in the universe. But it would have been wonderful to see Bergman interact with Maya, not only because of the potential character combination, but also because Barry Morse and Catherine Schell were friends, having worked together on the series The Adventurer, and they had wonderful chemistry together.
Another quibble would concern the ability of one explosive-packed Eagle to destroy the entire planet Psychon, which clearly is in contradiction to the tenets of the first series. Finally, the date of this episode – 342 days since leaving Earth orbit – is too soon. Not only does this contradict the earlier dating of ‘Dragon’s Domain’, it also artificially compresses all of Year One into far too short a time frame. With this, as with other aspects, the two seasons of Space: 1999 seem to inhabit entirely different universes.
‘The Metamorph’ is an outstanding fast-paced introduction to the new series of Space: 1999 and sets a high standard for future episodes to match.
Rating: 8.5/10
2.2
THE EXILES
Screenplay by Donald James
Directed by Ray Austin
Selected Broadcast Dates:
UK LWT:
Date: 11 September 1976. Time: 11.30 am
Granada:
Date: 22 April 1977. Time: 7.30 pm
US KRON (San Francisco):
Date: 11 September 1976. Time: 7.00 pm
Credited Cast: Martin Landau (John Koenig), Barbara Bain (Helena Russell), Catherine Schell (Maya), Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Margaret Inglis (Mirella), Anthony Blackett (Stal), Peggy Ledger (Old Lady (Maya)), Anton Phillips (Bob Mathias)
Guest Stars: Peter Duncan (Cantar), Stacey Dorning (Zova)
Uncredited Cast: Peter Porteous (Petrov), Sarah Bullen (Operative Kate), Robert Reeves (Operative Peter Reeves), Pam Rose (Operative P Rose), Andy Cummings (Command Centre Operative), Quentin Pierre (Security Guard Quinton), Roy Everson (Life Support Guard), Ron Nichols (Security Guard), Vic Armstrong (Rescue Operative), Glenda Allen (Technician), Frank Maher (Decontamination), Charlie Price (Doorman), Bill Westley (Doorman), Jenny Cresswell, Tracey Hudson, Maryanne (Nurses)
Plot: A fleet of missile-like objects enters orbit around the Moon, and when the first is retrieved they are found to be capsules containing alien beings. Two of these aliens – Cantar and Zova – conspire to use the resources of Moonbase Alpha to return to their home world, Golos.
Quotes:
Koenig: ‘Helena, they may have something. Something our sensors can’t detect. My concern is with the survival of this base.’
Tony: ‘Look, you asked what sort of people they are. What sort of people are we?’
Helena: ‘I’m a doctor, John. I save life for the sake of saving life.’
Tony: ‘Is survival all-important? What sort of society is it that abandons 50 innocent beings?’
Helena: ‘There is once again a warm feeling of well-being on Moonbase Alpha.’
On-screen Date: 403 days since leaving Earth orbit.
Filming Dates: Tuesday 17 February – Monday 1 March 1976
Months later, on 7 June, director Kevin Connor filmed an additional scene for this episode, where Maya rescues Petrov by transforming into a gorilla.
Commentary:
Keith Wilson: ‘The black panther was one of our most successful Maya transformations: when it leaps across the set in “The Exiles”.’
Fred Freiberger: ‘We did a black panther sequence on Space: 1999 [in “The Exiles”] – Catherine Schell made a leap and transformed into this panther in mid-air. We spent the whole day and it cost us $5,000. In America it would have cost us $50,000!’
/> Review: ‘The Exiles’ was originally written in the autumn of 1975 for the Year One format, and was re-written to fit the new series by Donald James in early January of 1976. The script is well paced and the drama builds to a memorable climax.
‘The Exiles’ is quite successful as a second episode. A suspenseful (and very well filmed) prologue generates interest in the presence of the alien capsules in orbit around the Moon and demonstrates admirable teamwork among the Command Centre staff. The space walk sequence with Koenig and Maya leaving the Eagle with jet packs is an example of fantastic production quality and effects. The Eagle ‘arm’ used to transport the alien pods to the base is an effective piece of novel technology that will feature again in the later episodes ‘The Rules of Luton’ and ‘Space Warp’. Viewers are introduced to an impressive new remote research station, complete with launch pad, located at a safe distance from the bulk of the base. It is a logical addition – a distant lab where dangerous experiments can be undertaken or alien objects examined – and would have been very useful in Year One episodes such as ‘The Last Sunset’ and ‘Space Brain’.
The plot has similarities to that of Year One’s ‘End of Eternity’, with the curious Alphans unwittingly releasing psychotic alien criminals from their eternal prisons. Helena identifies the dichotomy of this episode when she notices how young the aliens are, as a means of demonstrating their implied innocence. The implication is that youth and beauty equal innocence. Here youth and beauty are deceptive covers for the true history and evil purpose of Cantar and Zova.
Anton Phillips has a sufficiently interesting role to play in this, his final episode of the series. The continuity of his presence will soon be greatly missed as a revolving door of doctors begin passing through Medical Centre.
‘The Exiles’ features some effective and amusing banter and fun interplay between Helena and Maya, demonstrating their growing friendship. Helena’s hobby as a sculptor is explored: she has created a bust of herself as a gift for John. It’s a pleasant addition to her characterisation, and in general she seems to be more open with emotions that she would have restrained in the first season. For viewers unfamiliar with Maya, several demonstrations are given of her powers of molecular transformation. First is the harmless fun of her change into Helena. Second is her adoption of the form of a large gorilla creature (actually, another awful man-in-gorilla-suit) to save an Alphan trapped under a fallen metal beam. Third is her amazing mid-air shape-shift into a black panther – without doubt one of the finest transformations in the series. Sadly, the big cat doesn’t seem to retain Maya’s intelligence and quickly gets stunned.
Keith Wilson recycles his Grove of Psyche set from ‘The Metamorph’ and converts it into the control room on Golos, with quite impressive results. It’s an indication that the budget had been decreased: In Year One, new sets were designed with virtually no re-use, and on a much larger scale. Now, they are scaled back in scope and this same set will return again, redressed, for episode three.
Golos seems to be an interestingly advanced world of high technology and compassionate criminal justice systems. The surface of Golos is similar to that of the planet from ‘War Games’, with tall buildings raised up over a surface quite green with trees and foliage. The scenes on Golos are excellent. Helena states her contempt for Cantar, who tells her she is crippled by her ‘moral ideas of loyalty, gratitude and fair play.’ Helena replies, ‘And you and Zova are free spirits, I suppose. Free to hate, threaten and kill.’ The name ‘Golos’ is actually derived from the Hebrew word ‘Galuth’, meaning ‘exile’. Historically and specifically, this referred to the exile of the Jews from Palestine.
In a suitably alien manner, Cantar bleeds green blood when Helena scratches his face, piercing the protective membrane that preserves his youth. This culminating sequence is a dynamic combination of direction, action and pyrotechnics. Topping it all is the transformation of Cantar as his 300 years catch up with him in a matter of minutes. The ageing make-up is first-rate, as is Peter Duncan’s performance as the dying and ancient Cantar; unfortunately Duncan’s voice was dubbed (quite poorly) by someone who sounded more American, which is a shame, because the new voice is an eternal, though minor, distraction.
Frequent first season director Ray Austin makes his first of two stabs at helming segments of Year Two, and although his efforts here lack the visual flair he usually displayed in Year One, he is largely successful. Other memorable aspects of the production include the soundtrack by Derek Wadsworth and the impressive special effects by Brian Johnson and his team.
Thematically, there is a prominent argument over the ethical conflicts involved with survival, which is a worthy concept for the series, and was dealt with earlier in such episodes as ‘Mission of the Darians’.
‘The Exiles’ is a very enjoyable second episode for Year Two.
Rating: 8/10
2.3
ONE MOMENT OF HUMANITY
Screenplay by Tony Barwick
Directed by Charles Crichton
Selected Broadcast Dates:
UK LWT:
Date: 25 September 1976. Time: 11.00 am
Granada:
Date: 6 May 1977. Time: 7.30 pm
US KRON (San Francisco):
Date: 29 January 1977. Time: 7.00 pm
Credited Cast: Martin Landau (John Koenig), Barbara Bain (Helena Russell), Catherine Schell (Maya), Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes), Geoffrey Bayldon (Number Eight)
Guest Stars: Billie Whitelaw (Zamara), Leigh Lawson (Zarl)
Uncredited Cast: Sarah Bullen (Operative Kate), Robert Reeves (Operative Peter Reeves), Pam Rose (Operative P Rose), Micky Clarke (Number), Glenda Allen (Number), Jurgen Anderson, Zena Clifton, Hilary Ding, Paul Hastings, Maggie Henderson, Laraine Humphrys, Jason Mitchell, Barry Rohde (Vegans)
Movements Arranged by Lionel Blair
Assistant choreographer Hilary Ding
Previously Titled: ‘One Second of Humanity’
Plot: Tony and Helena are kidnapped by the alien Zamara and taken to her planet, Vega. There they discover a dual society – one of androids pretending to be humans, and the other of humans pretending to be androids. The androids have taken over Vega and want to dispose of their human creators for good, but first they must learn how to kill.
Quotes:
Zamara to Helena: ‘You’re a liar. It sticks in your mouth, you decrepit hag.’
Zarl to Tony: ‘You foul-mouthed lying cretin.’
Zamara: ‘You’re beginning to sound human, Zarl. Be careful – you know the dangers.’
Zarl: ‘The way he looks at her. To feel something as strongly as jealousy … Can we be missing so much?’
Zamara: ‘Emotion is a weakness. We can use it, but we must never become ensnared.’
Zarl: ‘Chastened as an icicle, fashioned by the purest frost – I will melt thee.’
Zarl: ‘No, don’t be sorry: it was worth it. One moment of humanity.’
On-screen Date: 515 days since leaving Earth orbit.
Filming Dates: Thursday 4 March – Wednesday 17 March 1976
Incidental Music: The seduction scene includes music composed by Canadian Gino Vanelli, titled ‘Storm at Sunup’. Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is also featured.
Commentary:
Barbara Bain: ‘“One Moment of Humanity” was sweet. I liked that one, too. Leigh Lawson, I thought, was an actor who would do very well here in the USA. He was in Tess, but he didn’t kind of emerge out of it. I was surprised. He kind of didn’t catch on with the American public.
‘That dress [I wore] wasn’t ready when we started shooting. We had to shoot it from a limited camera angle, because it wasn’t stitched up yet. I had to walk around very carefully, because it was not closed up the back – it was maddening! I’m fairly easy to get along with, but when something isn’t right, it’s very disheartening. For some ungodly reason, it’s your fault! Even though I wasn’t making the dress: I was standing the
re. They kind of get really uptight with you. We kept stitching it the whole episode. By the time we got to the dance sequence it was still being stitched. I don’t know what the problem was.’
Emma Porteous: ‘We designed all these make-ups [for the aliens] with the dots, and bits and pieces in the hair. It was supposed to be a beautiful planet full of beautiful people, so it was as much exposure as you could get within certain limitations. The men were all well proportioned with bare chests, and the ladies’ dresses were all totally transparent with body stockings underneath, so when they caught the light you could see their figures. The whole thing was very soft and beautiful. The set designer started that look off and we went with him. Everything was terribly diffused. It was very pretty, that one.’
Review: ‘One Moment of Humanity’ is one of the supreme productions of Year Two. Like everything else in this gem of an episode, all of the performances are carefully refined and highly polished. Leigh Lawson, in particular, is outstanding as Zarl – both throughout the episode and especially in the scenes as he achieves humanity. His is a performance resonating with strength and subtlety, and he succeeds in creating a truly memorable character. Billie Whitelaw is also excellent as the powerful Zamara. The talents of Lawson and Whitelaw certainly aid in elevating this episode above many others.
Barbara Bain excels in one of her most significant roles in the second season, especially during her highly emotional, tearful scenes on the duplicate Alpha (created by the androids in an attempt to trick Helena and Tony into believing that each is trying to kill the other), and during her seduction scene with Leigh Lawson’s Zarl. While the seduction sequence depicts what is – essentially – the prologue to a rape, it is portrayed in a manner that makes it acceptable for a family audience. Koenig’s anger at Helena’s seduction is very appropriate in these circumstances.
Destination: Moonbase Alpha Page 41
