Visit the official Doctor Who website

Visit the official Doctor Who website
Look to the future

Asylum seekers...

Asylum seekers...
Refuge of the Daleks

Doctor Who picture resource

Doctor Who picture resource
Roam the space lanes!

Explore the Doctor Who classic series website

Explore the Doctor Who classic series website
Step back in time

Infiltrate The Hub of Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood

Infiltrate The Hub of Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood
Armed and extremely dangerous

Investigate The Sarah Jane Adventures

Investigate The Sarah Jane Adventures
Fearless in the face of adversity

Call on Dani’s House

Call on Dani’s House
Harmer’s a charmer

Intercept the UFO fabsite

Intercept the UFO fabsite
Defending the Earth against alien invaders!

Uncover the secrets of the Dollhouse

Uncover the secrets of the Dollhouse
Programmable agent Echo exposed!

Hell’s belles

Hell’s belles
Naughty but nice

Love Exposure

Love Exposure
Flash photography!

Primeval portal

Primeval portal
Dressed to kill or damsels in distress?

Charmed, to be sure!

Charmed, to be sure!
The witches of San Francisco

Take on t.A.T.u.

Take on t.A.T.u.
All the way from Moscow

Proceed to the Luther website

Proceed to the Luther website
John and Jenny discuss their next move

DCI Banks is on the case

DCI Banks is on the case
You can bet on it!

On The Grid with Spooks

On The Grid with Spooks
Secret agents of Section D

Bridge to Hustle

Bridge to Hustle
Shady characters

Life on Ashes To Ashes

Life on Ashes To Ashes
Coppers with a chequered past

Claire’s no Exile

Claire’s no Exile
Goose steps

Vexed is back on the beat!

Vexed is back on the beat!
Mismatched DI Armstrong and bright fast-tracker Georgina Dixon

Medium, both super and natural

Medium, both super and natural
Open the door to your dreams

Who’s that girl? (350-picture Slideshow)

Wednesday 7 February 2007

1999: A Space Odyssey


With “Space: 1999” currently enjoying a second screening on ITV4, going back to the very beginning of the 48 episodes, I thought it timely to post the covers of the book series that accompanied the first season of the show. I purchased the first nine of the ten paperbacks, at the time, but with the tenth, “Earthfall” by E C Tubb, came a sharp increase in price to which my pocket money, in the mid Seventies, didn’t extend and so I didn’t complete the set! I didn’t know, then, that the tenth was to be the last book in the series otherwise, in retrospect, I might have made extra effort to acquire it. It has subsequently been republished, purchasable through the Gerry Anderson Appreciation Society, but if any of my readers know where I can get hold of the original in reasonable condition at a reasonable price please let me know. Bit of a long shot I know but, as Colin Baker once said, “No ’arm in trying”!

And so to the books themselves… In the days before domestic video recorders, novelisations were a godsend for those wanting to relive particular episodes of favourite television series, the Target “Doctor Who” paperback series perhaps being the finest example. The first six of the ten “Space: 1999” books contain novelisations of 23 of the 24 episodes that comprise the first season of Gerry Anderson’s second live action series. Five of those six novels each includes four episodes between their covers, each story taking just three chapters to tell. The other book retells three episodes, with an allotted four chapters per story on this occasion. The next three books in the series detail untelevised adventures, some of which I believe are from unfilmed scripts rather than wholly original new ideas. The final book, although not having read it I can’t be certain, covers that elusive 24th episode in extended form.

At the time, the exploits of Martin Landau’s Commander John Koenig in deep space held my fascination as much if not more than the then current Doctor, Tom Baker. Last Sunday, I was able to relive what I regard as the show’s two finest episodes, “Dragon’s Domain” and “Mission of the Darians”, as they were broadcast back-to-back. And tonight, in “Black Sun”, the crew of Moonbase Alpha age a lot and get to meet God, as you do when living on a Moon improbably hurled out of its orbit to travel the darkest reaches of the Universe!

6 comments:

Andrew Glazebrook said...

I still love the look of Space 1999 still,great designs on both the Eagles etc... and Moonbase Alpha !!!

Old Cheeser said...

Space 1999! Yay!!

Nice covers for the books. I haven't read any of the Space 1999 novelisations but I did used to have lots of the Target Dr Who ones and read all of those (naturally). I still have a few for posterity.

I haven't watched "Mission..." or "Dragon's Domain" yet - I'm about half way through the Series One boxset now, so have yet to get to those episodes. I will report back once I watch them - I aim to write a few posts on my blog!!

I'm enjoying the series on the whole, although some of the episodes are very slow and ponderous - a bit too slow at times - and could do with some injections of humour and warmth on occasion - they do feel very clinical in tone. Barbara Bain's frosty performance doesn't exactly help! The other regulars are good though, and I love Barry Morse as Professor Bergman - he's almost cuddly!

"Black Sun" was good and I also particularly liked "The Last Sunset" and "The Guardian of Piri", the latter featuring the very alluring Catherine Schell in a rather revealing outfit! Talking of Ms Schell I ended up watching her as Maya in a Series Two story on You Tube called The Dorcons - yes, the much-derided Series Two - but it was actually not a half bad story and Catherine was good in it! She's a pretty good actress and I'll always have a soft spot for Maya. I confess I have ordered the first six episodes of Series Two on DVD - appeals to the cheeser in me!

TimeWarden said...

Andrew, I agree the look of the series has stood the test of time though I much prefer the design of Main Mission in the first series to the cramped looking set of the second.

Simon, I understand what you’re saying about the pacing. The stories do seem to centre around the same algorithm, as my Dad would say, where an expendable guest star looses it, runs amok and dies at the end to save the regulars! “Dragon’s Domain” is unusual in that it features flashbacks to before those fateful events of 13th September, 1999, and thus a different hairstyle for Dr Russell. I agree with you about her performance. I felt her acting seemed detached from the proceedings when I first watched the episodes as a 16 year old! I also agree with you about Victor Bergman. I think what Barry Morse’s character represents is why the first series is regarded as better science fiction where the second seems more fantasy based.

I noticed from what you said, last time we discussed “1999”, that the episodes are on the box set in order of production and not transmission order. ITV4 showed “Black Sun” tonight as episode ten whereas you would’ve watched that third and where “Dragon’s Domain” and “Mission of the Darians” were shown eighth and ninth respectively, I presume they’re 23rd and 22nd on the box set! The series two episode “The Dorcons” was both produced and transmitted last. I missed its recent repeat and I particularly wanted to see it for Patrick Troughton’s appearance as Archon. Hopefully, I’ll catch it this time round, assuming they don’t stop the run prematurely!

I bought a couple of those six series two episodes you mention when they were released on VHS. Of the later series two episodes, if you like “Star Maidens” you’ll probably love the notorious “1999” episode “Devil’s Planet” which, incidentally, features a performance by a youthful looking Roy Marsden who just happens to be appearing in the new series of “Doctor Who”. I’m looking forward to reading your posts on “1999”.

Karen said...

I watched some of the reruns when I was in my teens although I don't remember much about them. More interested in other things at the time probably. It was around the time of DS9, the next generation and Babylon 5 which held my fascination more. What I did see though I enjoyed and it was always something that I regretted not watching to the end. I've considered buying the box set but again it's not the top of my list.

I remember the old Dr Who books at the library although I never actually read any of them. When I first glimpsed through them I was too young and when I was a little older I had completely forgotten about them.

TimeWarden said...

I consider myself lucky, Karen, to have been born at roughly the right time to watch not only “Doctor Who” from the beginning but most of the Gerry Anderson shows, although I still haven’t seen “Supercar”, “Four Feather Falls” or their predecessors! I was in my teens when “1999” was originally on. I feel sorry for children watching TV today as there are virtually no equivalents to really feed the imagination.

I never took to “Babylon 5”, for some reason, and I gave it a go on several occasions. I remember some of the episodes with Walter Koenig guesting, being more of a Trekkie at the time. Having said that, I still haven’t seen the end of “DS9” or “Voyager”. Of those two, I’m one of the very few who prefers the latter “Trek” series to the former! Like the penultimate season of “Enterprise”, I felt “DS9” got too bogged down in the politics of it all.

Old Cheeser said...

I look forward to "Dragon's Domain", I've heard it's one of the best and scariest of the first season. Good to know that you feel the same about Barbara Bain too - I mean she's not terrible by any means but she's so cold and emotionless at times she might as well be an android! I much prefer Catherine Schell who was not only warmer and sexier but had a wonderfully mischievous, playful quality about her that Ms Bain so sorely lacked.

A shame old Victor B never got a proper final scene - such an insult the way they disposed of him and some of the other characters with absolutely zero explanation.

Yes it would seem that the episodes on the box set are in production order.

And, ahem, I do quite like Star Maidens, although it isn't exactly high quality sci-fi!! It's a very bizarre drama-comedy hybrid that doesn't quite work, yet I still have a soft spot for it. Some of the sets are good though (the space age city on planet Medusa for example). And the women are definitely very alluring; the female security guards for example wear some very interesting outfits (cropped tops, hot pants and platform boots - amazing how a far-away planet can be heavily influenced by 1970s fashions!!)

I read about that episode "Devil's Planet" and it does look very camp and of a similar ilk to "Maidens" thematically - a planet ruled by women with men as servants! Cue lots of S & M scenarios!! I'm sure I'll get to see it at some point.