Space1999.Net Forum Archive
The Catacombs
Discussion about The Catacombs.
MBA Operations Guide
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| gba_cmdr 23 Dec 2003 01:16:46 |
Martin: I see you've tidied up the MBA Op Guide and added some "filler".  Anthony |
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| Martin 23 Dec 2003 20:37:57 |
Actually it's mostly a reformat with a few minor bits of text changed. In this "history" I've now included the two Powys books. I also modified a few bits (like chordic keyboards- they're real, and as the Alphans don't have qwerty keyboards they might as well use a realistic substitute). I want to add some explanation to some of the conjecture, maybe coming soon... Martin |
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| moonbasealpha_s1 25 Dec 2003 15:48:34 |
You did? I don't see them  Please supply link.Did you include the planets/events encountered in the other novelizations? (the Omphalos, Megaron, Alien Seed) I saw some planets that didn't look familiar to the series. I think its neat that you include published novel stories too in your history. I've seen some histories that include EVERYTHING including the comic books and fan fiction but I think that is a bit over the top!  (Especially fan fiction...because...well, its fan fiction...then there's all the alternate universe scenarios...)Your history is pretty logical except I disagree when all of the children were born. I think 19 kiddos in one year is a bit excessive. When you think about it, they would have a good supply of birth control when they first left earth. However, as time when on and they ran low, then all the "accidents" would start to appear. The other thing to consider would be that most women would probably be on Norplant, which lasts 5 years. Although some of them could theoretically be near the end of the 5 years at Breakaway, most probably wouldn't, further supporting the opinion of babies being born later not earlier...Oh well, just my two cents..  |
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| Martin 28 Dec 2003 21:01:07 |
I haven't included the other novelisations. It's difficult enough to get 48 episodes into a single continuity! Although I like some aspects of the Tubb/Rankine novels, I dislike others and they weren't written with any regard to continuity (the Powys books were). I named some of the unnamed planets from episodes- Deimus, Perdix, Aurora, Tellus- the episodes should be obvious if you know the derivation of the name!  The biggest continuity problem is those damn status log dates. The entire y1 is squeezed into one year. So you have a lot of planets and a lot of births. Usually fans invent some complicated explanation to reorder the dates, but I decided to give up and live with it. As for births- well, 9 months to a year after any trauma or disaster, there's usually a baby boom. Martin |
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| moonbasealpha_s1 28 Dec 2003 21:25:58 |
Yeah, I know...those status logs...I find the best way, though is to ignore them. How does one explain that Helena noted in Dragon's Domain that they had been away from Earth over 800 days then in The Metamorph, it is 300 some odd? You really can't because FF chose to ignore Y1 completely...which is yet another reason that leads credence to my very strong position that the two seasons should be treated as separate entities. But... let's not go there. The continuity thing can be a nightmare, and I just view Helena's status updates as dates she pulled out of the air while either drunk on Verdeschi brew or on too much anti depressants (yeah, she was continually on something..how else does one explain the giddy, goofy, behavior) . "As for births-well, 9 months to a year after any trauma or disaster,there's usually a baby boom"....OMG!!! ROFLMAO!!! <cough...choke...wiping tears away> LOL!! .... OK...OK...You've convinced me! I'll buy that argument! I'm not sure where the Alphans can find the time in the weeks immediately following the disaster, but....if there's a will (along with great time managment skills!) , I suppose there's a way too! |
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| moonbasealpha_s1 04 Jan 2004 04:43:39 |
Actually, most of the novels were merely novelizations of the aired episodes. To my knowledge, there were only 4 other original stories, in English that dealt with Y1.... Rogue Planet, Phoenix of Megaron, Alien Seed and Earthfall (heh...did I miss any others?) I don't have an opinion on Earthfall because I have not read it but from synopsis it appears to be an alternate universe scenario thingy. (Anybody got a copy he/she could send me to borrow?) I thought Phoenix of Megaron was completely goofy and I've read fan fiction that reads better than that crappy thing. (and no, I'm not just referring to my own fan work...<conceited chortle, smirk>) Alien Seed...ah...uh...well...Let's put it this way....it took me 3 weeks to finish the last 70 pages (of a 170 page book). Get the picture? Dry doesn't begin to describe it...and that was the re-release. Talk about typos, misspellings galore!! I could have forgiven those for a good story but...that didn't happen either. Rogue Planet, on the other hand, in my humble opinion, was excellent. Very Y1...Very nice. I loved it and have read it many times.... It is worth including in your continuum (unless of course, you think it sucks....) but then again, with the time line, where would you put it?!?! |
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| captphil 05 Jan 2004 05:01:44 |
 http://www.matthawkins.co.uk/soundfx/explo...xplosion_04.wav I think my head just exploded! I always had the impression you loved that re-release. I've said it probably 100 times, I just don't like Tubbs style. The only old original Space 1999 novel I have gotten through has been Phoenix of Megaron which I don't remember being a super story BUT I got through it without any Vogon poetry side-effects.
Well, I am planning on getting the Fanderson copy just to check it out but I probably still have an extra Xerox laying around here from one of the old Operation Earthfalls we did back in the 90's. Your welcome to the Xerox if you want it. I do have two copies of the original book but they are too collectable to read. Believe it or not Tubb's work is undergoing a small press reinassance right now and I'm sure I could some good $$$ for those copies when I decide to sell them. Tubb's small press publisher had asked me about Earthfall, apparently he had never heard of it and he might (I'm guessing here) have been interested in publishing it with the other Tubb work he brought back into print. But Fanderson beat him to it!
I think I was happy to get through PoM just to say I actually read one of the original books. The others....and I REALLY tried with Earthfall and Alien Seed, just couldn't hold my interest. PoM was interesting as it was an original novel that the author sold and turned into a novelization. 
I don't remember dipping into Rogue Planet, I'll probably have to check it out if you think it's good. I always want to have a story move me along with it, something that has never happened with these old Space books. The POWYS books I love and read through very quickly. I think it's a difference in style mostly as the POWYS books are modern, like most SF written since 1975 (Just to pick a year) while the older books read more like SF from the 1940's and 1950's. I also tore through John Muir's Exploring Space book when it first came out in 1997 with more gusto than the recent Chris Bently books on the other series (Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and UFO) Chris's books are very good but are geared towards the non-fans and have a lot of information that we already know. My all time favorite so far is Resurrection with the Forsaken in a close second. Like any book I like I've revisted certain scenes in these in my mind many times. For The Forsaken I liked the fight between Paul and Tony and some of the action on the planet. As for the Comic Books I did love a few of the John Byrne stories, especially #6  with it's interesting little backstory into the Space 1999 universe. Nice art in that one too. I think all the German Originals (The ones that only appeared in Germany) were Year two. I always dug the covers, too bad I never finished taking German in High School! http://www.space1999.net/~mondstation/  |
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| moonbasealpha_s1 05 Jan 2004 18:19:37 |
Exploding head? That's messy...Heh... Re: Alien Seed...I was very, very excited when I first got it and eager for a good "old school" S99 story. Perhaps I was over eager and expecting too much. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever read...just ...it didn't really hold my attention, especially toward the end. I think it lost me when the moon monster appeared...at any rate...no, I didn't love it a lot...even a little....and the second read was worse so I stopped. Re: Phoenix of Megaron...Yeah, that was a droney thing, wasn't it? A snoozer...Nothing spectacular...Funny, it reminded me a little of Y2 as well so it had that strike against it... Re: Earthfall...Thanks..Generous offer. I saw a copy on ebay about a month ago and it went for about 50 bucks, I think. A bit too steep for me....I could (and probably will still) join Fanderson and get the re-release of Earthfall plus the Earthbound novelization for about the same price. Re: Rogue Planet...I enjoy that one the most. There are times it does, in Tubb style read a bit dry but overall I found it to be very good. Not a ton of action adventure (though there are a few scenes) but lots of psychological terror type stuff... Re: Comic Books...Some of the comic were goofy although I had a bit of a preference for the black and white carlton mags. I had them all, reading them ragged, until they succumbed to a basement flood. However, I recently picked up the 1st four again on ebay for $12 and actually they are in better shape than mine ever were...so, good deal....The color comics did, admittedly have nicer artwork. I believe I have one somewhere which survived the great flood. Re: German books...Yeah, the problem with stories in other languages is that something is lost in the translation into English. So, I agree in that in order to understand the story, it is best to read it in its own language (and unfortunately, I never took German). For example, in another post either Otis or F9000 mentions that in the French dubbed version of Earthbound, Simmonds is not as bad and actually more witty and sympathetic... HUH?!?! WHA?!?!?  Well...that was really never the intention....I think anyway. So...obviously, something was lost. I like the covers of the German books as well... |
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| Martin 07 Jan 2004 20:46:43 |
Tubb and Rankine are old-school sci-fi adventure writers, the sort of pulp sci-fi you got from the 1950s- 1970s. Even the science is 1950s vintage (contraterraine instead of antimatter, for instance). The mysticism or epic elements of year 1 really isn't there. It's enjoyable in it's own terms, but a lot of it doesn't really fit in with Space 1999- either year 1 or 2 styles. I think I enjoy Earthfall best of all the original books- partially because it is so different from the series. It takes some elements and then goes in a different direction. Rogue Planet is also quite fun. I felt the hallucination stuff fitted in well with the year 1 feel. Phoenix of Megaron is okay- not a great book, but I enjoyed it. I like the relationship of Alan Carter with the girl- it felt much more grown up than Tony and Maya. I barely remember Android Planet and Alien Seed, except that they had forgettable plots! Martin |
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| moonbasealpha_s1 08 Jan 2004 15:37:22 |
Re: Earthfall -Well, if you recommend then I need to get. Re: Rogue Planet - Didn't you just love the Hamlet play production scene at the beginning? And the messed up dialogue that led some (who knew the play) to wonder what was going on? Then of course, the blatant, horrific warning... Great scene with lots of tension. I can just see that as a hook Re: PofM: Yeah, I thought the relationship was not nearly as juvenile as Tony & Maya but it still didn't feel right. It sort of remined me of that Carter/Sahala nonsense in Dorksak. Re: Android Planet - OH! I missed one? Was that original? I thought it was just an episode novelization. Hmmm...Time to hunt the used book stores or ebay... Re: Alien Seed...Yeah. Let me summarize. A ship crash lands on the moon. It contains, for lack of a better word "seeds". They decide to plant them in their underground hydroponics garden. They start to grow. Meanwhile, the ship/pod has unbeknownst to them, released some sort of moon monster which begins attacking the crew, making its way toward Alpha from outposts. They even nuke the thing and it is still alive. Meanwhile, people start dying...the seeds all die except fro one...from which an alien comes out. It is her presence which is causing the death of the Alphans. They manage to finally kill the monster....end of story. If you think my description was disjointed, try re-reading the story. I was never sure what the monster had to do with anything...in that sense, it was rather Y2. The whole mystery around the seed thing was facinating but drawn out...I don't know. It sort of started out as a Y1 tale then went into a Y2 action/adventure/simplistic story then looped back into Y1, or at least tried.  It had the worst characterization of Professor Bergman I have EVER seen in novels (and, heh, as a gift for captphil, whereas Resurrection had one of the best Bergman characterization I have ever encountered in S99 novels so far) . Alien Seed had him portrayed as some sort of mad scientist determined to find what was in the seeds, regardless of the safety of Alpha. He made Ernst Queller's obsession with voyager look like a mild disinterest. |
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| RBAdams 11 Jan 2004 05:23:51 |
Android Planet is actually a fairly fun read. It's largely planet-based, with lots of traipsing around by the Alphans. It's also got nekkid Helena and Sandra. There's a very nice nod to continuity when Victor uses the data from the Voyager probe to identify the planetary system as Olympus, and the planets as Pelorus and Copreon. (Doesn't Copreon sound like it should have something to do with feces?) Anyway, it's a regular old rollicking adventure. It's my favorite of the original novels that were published in the mid-70's. |
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| ultra 11 Jan 2004 08:28:29 |
Fortunately, in a way, I would have to say that the German books don't lose very much going from German to English. While making my translations, I really didn't read much in these books in the way of subtle characterization or theme. For the most part, they were all very much purely action/adventure stories and read like 1950's US sci-fi. Out of six books, there were only a few references that were unknown to me and that I (as a non-german, non-European) couldn't figure out through a Google search. What you can read on my website Mondstation 1999 is pretty much what you'd get from these books - if anyone ever publishes English language versions. Actually, being written in a 1950's US sci-fi style is a bonus for us 1999 fans, as the German authors didn't use or didn't understand the whole Freiberger "humor" and general idiocy that was seen throughout year 2. And, at least in the first of the original novels, the reader finally gets a sense of the real desperation and impending doom that I think just about everyone on Alpha would actually be feeling after a few years of wandering around in space! The German authors also had the sense to not have Maya save the day in every book - and for the most part she plays a fairly small role. The only other regular to play a smaller role in these books is Tony (thank you!) And for you Tony haters, there is even a great scene in the 1st book where Koenig "rips him a new one" for drinking a beer in Command Center! I found these books to be more like some strange Year 3. Although the format is mostly drawn from the Year 2 universe, there are also a few references to Year 1! But what really sets these books apart from the Year 2 continuity is using Mark Macinlock and Jameson (the alternate names for Carter and Petrov). And the 5th book has so many new characters it can barely even be called Space: 1999! Despite these flaws, they are still a fascinating addition to the 1999 universe. You might also want to check out the German color comics. The adaptations and original stories are all Year 1, and although the original stories have no MUF, they all still maintain the darker, more brutal nature of Year 1 stories.  |
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| RBAdams 11 Jan 2004 08:35:29 |
Wonder if there's any way we could convince Powys to translate and publish the German novels. Probably not. |
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| Martin 11 Jan 2004 12:21:04 |
Mateo (Powys) has talked with me about the possibility of republishing the German books. As non-German speakers, it's hard to say whether they are worth translating, or if fans would be interested. Fortunately Patrick's site gives a taste of the books- some of them sound quite interesting, but, as he says, some seem to be barely Space 1999 at all. |
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| moonbasealpha_s1 11 Jan 2004 16:25:43 |
I also thought some of those stories were cool and kudos to you, Patrick, for your work in translating them for the rest of us. Such a wonderful (and time consuming to be sure) project. Now that you mention that there is very little meaning lost in your translation work from German to English, it makes sense. Unlike the romance languages, German and English have the same roots. I found, however, the stories to be as a Y3 not in terms of a continuation but as yet another sweeping change of the series (like Y2 was from Y1). Y2 characters do not belong in Y1 situations unless the Y2 characters are totally reinvented. So instead of two different series, now you have THREE!! |
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| moonbasealpha_s1 11 Jan 2004 16:30:23 |
Thanks for the tip, though a naked Sandra and Helena would be of little interest to me.. Copreon having something to do with feces?!? Heh...Copreon sounds much closer to "copulate".  |
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| RBAdams 13 Jan 2004 02:46:49 |
copro PREFIX: Excrement; dung: coprolite. ETYMOLOGY: From Greek kopros, dung. Note: In the Indo-European root, it's kekw, and stands to this day as one of the oldest words in human civilization to endure in its original form . . . "kak" or "cack" as used in British slang. |
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| Otis 17 Jan 2004 22:12:26 |
Yes ! And "caca" is the french childish for n2. BTW, Any mention ever of a loo on Alpha ? Maybe they're served the perfect food, and don't need to ? |
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| Otis 17 Jan 2004 22:31:29 |
I feel sorry if my post has provoced you to close yourself to discovering new horizons.  |
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| moonbasealpha_s1 19 Jan 2004 02:52:54 |
My horizons are quite broad and always expanding my dear Otis. But translation should not change the original intent of the episode. In the original episode, Simmonds was an egotistical, self serving bastard of a politician. To make him witty and sympathetic is to completely change the meaning of the episode.....cheers! |
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