Gerry Anderson said: ‘This is only a gut reaction, but I would say that the more serious-minded science fiction fans preferred the first year. However, I think the higher proportion of letters I’ve received preferred the second. I think that if, as a producer, you do exactly what you want to do, it can be said that you’re a strong personality and you know exactly where you’re going. Equally, it can be said that you’re pigheaded and are totally ignoring the advice of the people who know the market. I decided that, since I was not in America, I really should take the advice of the people who were there on a day-to-day basis. I don’t think either the first year or the second year is necessarily the type of show I would like to make if I were left to my own devices.’
THE ABANDONED YEAR THREE
While Year Two of Space: 1999 aired around the world, plans were underway for a potential third season, as was reported in the media: ‘Now entrenched in its successful second season boom, ITC is looking forward to a third season with more fantastic events and additions, although mum’s the word at the studio. They will only say that Maya and Miss Schell will be kept in and that the budget may be raised again. But that’s all until final preparations and an official announcement are made.’[25]
It was rumoured that this third season would consist of 13 episodes, which was probably a proposed cost-cutting measure – reducing the number of episodes, yet maintaining the production values viewers had come to expect. These additional 13 episodes would have served the series very well in syndicated re-runs, increasing the total number of episodes from 48 to a far more marketable 61.Catherine Schell has talked about the potential third season: ‘There were plans to do another series. There was even talk of a spin-off series … with – as I was told – Maya as the leading character. I don’t remember Tony or Nick ever being mentioned, but I presume that they would have been featured in it … I would of course have gone on to make another series. Greed almost always wins over common sense, and I had been promised an American type contract, giving me residuals on all the foreign sales and repeats. It would have been an ideal form of a pension plan. As for Maya’s character developing, that would have been entirely in the hands of the writers. I am sure I would have thought of something and made some suggestions, but this is now merely rhetorical … It wasn’t only Freddy [who mentioned the thought that there might be a spin-off of the Maya character], it was also Gerry. [That] obviously would have been very interesting for me. The conversation was really about what would happen, what did I think, and would I want to do it? Yes, of course! And they were very sweet, because … I was with an agent at the time who was really a small-time agent. When I received the contract, even to sign, I had to send it back twice because I spotted mistakes [and payment issues] … I was sending the contract back [with queries], and they noticed that it was coming from me, not from my agent. My agent had actually said, “Catherine, don’t make waves, for heaven’s sake. These are important people and you want to work for them, so work for peanuts,” or whatever. So they told me, “If we do another series, we advise you – as the ‘enemy’ – to find another agent. You have to go to a better agent.” But, anyway, [the spin-off] never happened. It was in [just the early stages] of the planning system. There were no scripts involved. It was just a theory: there was some interest, and perhaps we could do this.’ Martin Landau recalled the reason why Year Three never happened: ‘We got sacrificed. Lew Grade was getting into the motion picture business and it turned out his advertising budget for his films, like Raise The Titanic, was our total budget for another season. It would have served them, from a syndication point of view, to have another season, but it came down to economic priorities. I think there was a very good chance of our going for another season if he hadn’t gotten into movies and needed that money.’
Landau’s recollection was confirmed by Johnny Byrne, who stated: ‘The plug was pulled by the Titanic. It was the Titanic that did in Space: 1999. The film Raise The Titanic. Lew Grade took all his money and followed this obsessive dream of raising the Titanic.’ Catherine Schell has also related the same story, ‘ITC used the money [instead] to publicise three films they feared would flop at the box office. The series wasn’t made and the films [still] flopped.’
Plans for a possible Maya spin-off series aside, Year Three was estimated to begin filming in the summer of 1977, but the global response to Year Two was discouraging and, coupled with Lew Grade’s ambitions for Raise the Titanic, Year Three was abandoned. Years later, Barbara Bain said, ‘There must have been discussions about a possible series three, but I don’t remember them. We were in England for four years. We stayed a little longer than the production lasted, and I was quite reluctant to leave, but it was time to move on to something else.’
Fred Freiberger stated: ‘I wouldn’t have made any changes if there had been a third series; if you have a show that’s going well, why play around with fate? If [any changes had been proposed], then I would have gone to Gerry and seen what he felt about it. If we had gone into a third season, we would have probably had our budget extended, so there would have been more money. Things like that: the budget was always a problem … I don’t know if I’d make any changes [for a third series]. I think I injected a lot more humour, especially between Tony and Catherine. As for Martin and Barbara, I think I beat the bad relationships. I think if [the production] had had the budget for not only American guest stars but [also] high-class English actors, they would have had a hell of a lot better acting. But, in terms of changes, I think that American guest stars would be appealing for the American audience.’
Year One’s Prentis Hancock said: ‘If there was a series three, I think you could bring back everybody. If you were willing to look back, and look forward … This series, like many other science fiction series, is really entirely imaginative. You use your imagination and look backward, look forward … [The characters could] be on Moonbase Alpha #1, or Moonbase Alpha #2, or Moonbase Alpha #3 …’
John Hug recalled: ‘I don’t really know why we didn’t continue, because as far as I could work out, the series seemed to be successful. People were going around and talking about a third season, but eventually we heard it wasn’t going to happen, so that was that. I was slightly surprised, because there are some things that seem to keep getting made again year after year for no real reason. While Space: 1999 was particularly successful in America, they did do funny things with it in England, like showing it at 11.30, which is not peak viewing time. It had a certain following, and I think it could have gone on longer than it actually did.’
Fans of the series (aligned primarily in the US under an organisation known in the late 1970s as ‘The National Save: 1999 Alliance’) attempted to keep it afloat, and launched a letter-writing campaign. A report in Starlog magazine’s fifth issue, dated May 1977, read: ‘As we go to press, there is no word on the renewal of Space: 1999 for a third season. According to ITC, the determining factor will be the number of renewal orders they receive from local stations. Whether, in issue No 6, we will be reporting the cancellation or the renewal of 1999 will largely be the result of letters that the stations receive (or don’t receive) supporting the show. If you want Space: 1999 renewed, write (and get everyone you know to write) to your local station. In addition, and this is very important, send a copy of your letter to ITC … so they can gauge how much of an audience the programme has. This will be much more difficult than the famous Star Trek letter-writing campaign, because at least 100 stations need to be convinced … not just one network.’ Indeed, the task proved virtually impossible, and despite the valiant efforts of their campaign, the fans were unsuccessful. The possibility briefly arose that Space: 1999 might be picked up by another production company or US network when reports surfaced in fan publications that a production executive at ABC was interested in purchasing the rights to the series[26], but this potential also failed to materialise.
Ironically, Space: 1999 ended just as filmed science fiction experienced its biggest boom in his
tory: Star Wars arrived on the scene in 1977, and spawned a new generation of science fiction television programmes in its wake (notable examples being Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century). Had Space: 1999 continued, it would have been well positioned to capitalise on the success of Star Wars, and could conceivably have continued for years to come as the established champion of televised science fiction.
THE SPACE: 1999 MOVIES
The Space: 1999 movies are compilations of episodes from the original series, released to television and home video markets. This practice was relatively common between the 1960s and 1980s, and other programmes with episodes constructed into compilation movies include The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Saint, The Champions and Zorro.
When discussing the Space: 1999 movies, the initial Italian compilation, Spazio 1999, is not generally considered part of the package, due to its having been tailored specifically for the Italian market, as opposed to the worldwide market. Thus, although there technically were five films edited from Space: 1999 episodes, fans generally refer to there being only four: Destination Moonbase Alpha, Alien Attack, Journey Through the Black Sun and Cosmic Princess.
These four Space: 1999 movies are regarded with a certain degree of derision by aficionados of the series. This is due to a variety of factors. One is that the editing of the episodes was somewhat extreme on Journey Through the Black Sun and Cosmic Princess. Another is that the manner of the movies’ release was in some cases rather embarrassing. Prime examples here were the US videotape releases of Alien Attack and Journey Through the Black Sun as part of the ‘Sybil Danning’s Adventure Video’ range. These videotapes featured tasteless, sexually suggestive images on the packaging and introductions by actress Sybil Danning, and were eventually withdrawn from sale following reported legal action by Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. But fans were also troubled by the fact that the episodes contained in the films were removed from the syndication package of Space: 1999 and thus, for many years, were unavailable in their complete and unedited episodic form. This procedure hurt the potential for Space: 1999 to continue being syndicated in series form, because the episode package was reduced from 48 episodes to 40.
Although their very existence is of debatable merit, it is worth recording brief details of these Space: 1999 movies.
SPAZIO 1999
This compilation of three episodes (‘Breakaway’, ‘Ring Around the Moon’, and ‘Another Time, Another Place’) served to launch the series on television in Italy in 1976, where it was also later released to home video. The episodes are heavily edited, with the resultant loss of approximately 60 minutes between the three shows.
Of particular note is a new musical score, composed for this film by famed Italian composer Ennio Morricone (who went on to be nominated for five Academy Awards, and was presented with an Honourary Academy Award in 2007).
Regarding this compilation, Keith Wilson said, ‘The episodes always looked better on the big screen – they were made for the big screen. In fact, in Italy when they first came out, they put three of them together and the streets of Rome were empty because everyone was going to the cinema [to see this film compilation, Spazio: 1999].’
Length: 88 minutes.
DESTINATION MOONBASE ALPHA
ITC decided in 1978 that they could continue to market Space: 1999 by creating a movie, and the most obvious and legitimate choice of episodes was the only two-part segment produced for the series, ‘The Bringers of Wonder’. The film was edited (at Pinewood Studios) for ITC UK by David Withers and was subsequently released to television and home video markets. The opening narration is by Mark Smith, who had previously provided the voice of the Beta Cloud in the episode of the same name. Seemingly for the purpose of distinguishing this film from Space: 1999 the series, the opening text announces that the year is 2100.
The only important scenes cut from ‘The Bringers of Wonder’ are the introduction to Part Two (which would have been redundant in the middle of a movie, as it was simply a summary of Part One), and the epilogue of Part Two. This latter cut is more significant as the missing scene is quite charming, but it permits the movie to end on a more dramatic note.
The end credits are accompanied by an entertainingly awful song composed by Italian musicians Guido and Maurizio de Angelis (with lyrics by Hilary Harvey). The de Angelis brothers together composed and sang music (frequently for film soundtracks) under the name Oliver Onions, which is how they are credited here.
Released in 1978, Destination Moonbase Alpha was first broadcast on American television in September 1979. There are anecdotal, but formally undocumented, accounts of some theatrical screenings, particularly in the US. In September 1980 it was released to the growing home video market in the UK. Destination Moonbase Alpha benefited from promotional material including a theatrical-style poster that became very well known and popular, painted by the British artist Chantrell.
Length: 96 minutes.
ALIEN ATTACK
Primarily comprised of the episodes ‘Breakaway’ and ‘War Games’, Alien Attack also featured some specially-filmed new material. Although shot at Pinewood Studios (by director Bill Lenny), this new footage, set on Earth, did not utilise any regular series sets or cast members. These additional scenes take place at the International Lunar Commission on Earth, and were written by Dennis Spooner (a long-time associate of Gerry Anderson). The additional cast members include: Patrick Allen (Lunar Commission Chairman), Weston Gavin (Lunar Commission Deputy Chairman), and Marc Smith (Commander Nardin / Narrator). These additional scenes are not generally regarded by fans to be part of series canon.
Alien Attack followed the lead of Destination Moonbase Alpha by re-setting the date of the film to the year 2100. Edits to ‘Breakaway’ are minor, while ‘War Games’ is uncut.
While there are no accounts of Alien Attack being screened in any theatres around the world, it was very successfully distributed to television markets, and again featured the artwork of Chantrell on its poster. Alien Attack was released in 1979.
Taglines: ‘The ultimate space age disaster was just the beginning …’ and ‘The ultimate space-age disaster … and a desperate struggle for survival.’
Length: 105 minutes.
JOURNEY THROUGH THE BLACK SUN
While Destination Moonbase Alpha and Alien Attack were created by ITC in the UK, the last two Space: 1999 films were compiled by ITC in New York. An independent company called Cinecontact Inc was hired to perform the editing, and the final product suffered in quality because the movies were edited from videotape copies of the episodes rather than from film, as the UK movies had been.
Journey Through the Black Sun is a heavily edited compilation of ‘Collision Course’ and ‘Black Sun’. Unfortunately, many of the slower, character-building scenes have been excised, increasing the pace of the proceedings, but sacrificing the humanity of the characters and undermining the overall plot proceedings. A total of approximately 12 minutes is missing. Additional music has been added to the soundtrack of this film from such Anderson series as UFO and Joe 90, with questionable and intrusive results. Also added (without any seeming benefit) is Helena’s Status Report from ‘New Adam New Eve’, which plays during the opening titles. The carelessness with which this movie was put together is further evidenced by the incorrect billing of Barry Morse as playing ‘Dr Victor Bergman’ rather than ‘Professor Victor Bergman’.
Released in 1982 to television markets.
Tagline: ‘There is no escape from its deadly pull.’
Length: 89 minutes.
COSMIC PRINCESS
Cosmic Princess is a heavily edited compilation of ‘The Metamorph’ and ‘Space Warp’, with each episode losing at least five minutes of footage. The cuts range from minor edits of many scenes, through to the complete removal of both episode epilogues. The music soundtrack has also been extensively tampered with, including with the addition of music from Year One, which sometimes overlaps the original score for these Year Two episode
s. The results are jarring to anyone familiar with the series. Additionally, the dialogue of Captain Duro from ‘Space Warp’ is replaced by new dubbing, for no apparent reason.
Cosmic Princess holds the dubious distinction of having appeared as the tenth movie featured in the series Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (aka MST3K), on 22 January 1989.
Released in 1982 to television markets.
Tagline: ‘An alien beauty … hiding a beast within!’
Length: 91 minutes.
FAN-PRODUCED EPISODES
MESSAGE FROM MOONBASE ALPHA
Screenplay by Johnny Byrne
Directed by Tim Mallett
Premiere Screening: Los Angeles, California – Monday 13 September 1999, at ‘Breakaway: The Convention’.
Cast: Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes)
Additional Cast (in flashbacks): Martin Landau (John Koenig), Barbara Bain (Helena Russell), Barry Morse (Victor Bergman), Catherine Schell (Maya), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Prentis Hancock (Paul Morrow), Suzanne Roquette (Tanya Alexander), Michael Gallagher (Etrec), Ina Skriver (A), Sarah Douglas (B), David Sebastian Bach (Guardian’s Brother), Nicholas Young (Peter Rockwell)
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