From: owner-space1999
To: space1999-digest@buffnet4.buffnet.net
Subject: space1999-digest V1 #7
Reply-To: space1999
Precedence: bulk
space1999-digest Wednesday, 26 February 1997 Volume 01 : Number 007
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Gary Girouard <GGirouard@lifespan.org>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 13:45:17 -0500
Subject: Re: Space1999: Animated Series -Reply
Marshall, i never have, but there was one for Star Trek, gary
Did ANY of the American citizens on the list EVER see this series in the
States?
____________________
Marshall Poindexter
mpoindexter@classtrain.com
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From: JohnKoenig@aol.com
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 13:46:22 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Animated Series
never saw it or heard of it. wonder which cast it was ? I'd love to see it.
If this does exist I am again constantly discovering new S1999 things I never
knew.
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From: HNoll@t-online.de (Horst Noll)
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 19:57:34 -0800
Subject: Re: Space1999: "Showdown" "Last Alphan"
JO2 Mike Meridith wrote:
>
>
> Does anyone have access to the Animated Series that aired
> in Australia in the early 80s? I had all of them at one
> point, but my videotapes were damaged during a move.
> The only two I have left now are "Showdown" and "The Last
> Alphan" (I think this is the title, it's the one where
> the child comes from the future where everyone on Moonbase
> Alpha has died of plague) - and they are both in real sad
> shape.
>
> Please let me know, and how much a copy would cost.
>
> Thanks!
Wow !
That's amazing. I've never heard something about an animated series. But
the stories mentioned sound somehow known to me. If you have further
informations, please let me (and I guess us all) know.
Horst
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From: FResler169@aol.com
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 15:05:33 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Space1999: BEST YEAR ONE PRE-CREDIT SEQUENCE?
I think Space Brain had probably the longest teaser in the series if not one
of the longest in television history.
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From: Orbiter <rcox@intergate.bc.ca>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 12:21:14 -0800
Subject: Re: Space1999: Animated Series -Reply
At 01:45 PM 2/25/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Marshall, i never have, but there was one for Star Trek, gary
>
>
>Did ANY of the American citizens on the list EVER see this series in the
>States?
>
>____________________
>Marshall Poindexter
>mpoindexter@classtrain.com
Hello Marshall, and cohorts:
Regarding the Star Trek cartoon series, yes we had it in Vancouver
a few years back, but not the "Space:1999" cartoon series (which
I never knew existed). I still have the Star Trek cartoon's
musical score on tape, but would love to get my grubby paws on
this Space:1999 cartoon.
Does anyone (ie in Australia) know of this little treasure who
could shed a bit more light on it for the rest of us?
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
O R B I T E R
Richard Cox
Earth Base Vancouver, B.C.
Canada
Space:1999
...there is no other... :)
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From: "Mark Meskin" <plastic.gravity@newrock.com>
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 16:27:53 -0600
Subject: Re: Space1999: BEST YEAR ONE PRE-CREDIT SEQUENCE?
I'd have to go with Troubled Spirit as well. This is
one of my favorite episodes, its dark, moody,
forboding, and gross. As a child this episode had me
running for Mommy and Daddy! I also really dig the
Sitar. it sets the Creepy tone right off the bat.
Later Crater,
Mark
Creator of "EAGLE ONE"
Look for the 'beta' release soon! I'm almost there...
plastic.gravity@newrock.com
- ----------
> From: ggreg perry <ggreg@nwu.edu>
> To: space1999@Buffnet.net
> Subject: Space1999: BEST YEAR ONE PRE-CREDIT
SEQUENCE?
> Date: Tuesday, February 25, 1997 9:02 AM
>
> being really bored (again) at work, i thought i'd
throw this out:
>
> which pre-credits intro sequence do you guys like
the best?
>
> here's my vote:
>
> TROUBLED SPIRIT (very avant-garde, experimental.
did anyone notice how
> there's not a word of dialogue in the whole thing?
excellent!)
>
> FORCE OF LIFE (more eerieness, quiet and fear.
perfectly sets the tone of
> the episode to follow)
>
> ANOTHER TIME/ANOTHER PLACE (very dark, eerie and
hypnotic. really captures
> the feeling of something completely incomprehensible
(sp?) occuring)
> ggreg
>
> MISERY INDEX COMMAND CENTER
> http://www.pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~ggperry/
>
>
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From: atomicpossum@juno.com (Jonathon P Stadter)
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 19:23:29 EST
Subject: Re: Space1999: "Showdown" "Last Alphan"
On 26 Feb 97 04:34:30 GMT JO2_Mike_Meridith@ccmail.nsfdg.navy.mil (JO2
Mike Meridith) writes:
>
>Does anyone have access to the Animated Series that aired
>in Australia in the early 80s? I had all of them at one
>point, but my videotapes were damaged during a move.
>The only two I have left now are "Showdown" and "The Last
>Alphan" (I think this is the title, it's the one where
>the child comes from the future where everyone on Moonbase
>Alpha has died of plague) - and they are both in real sad
>shape.
>
>Please let me know, and how much a copy would cost.
>
>Thanks!
Fellas, I'm willin to bet the farm this here is a hoax. An animated
series that didn't make it out of Australia? Plus one that NONE of us
has heard of, even those of us who have been 1999 fans since the start?
I go to a lot of SF cons in a year--12 or more on average, and I
collect videos....I have found things that even the studios deny the
existance of, and I have never, ever seen an animated 1999, much less a
whole series. If this does exist, I will be more thrilled than anyone
(something NEW to collect!), but it sounds fishy to me...
Mike, if you're out there, please prove me wrong if you can.....
Jon "Mr. Wonderful" Stadter
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From: Trekfan100@aol.com
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 20:16:56 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Re: Monetary List Contributions
HI! This may seem pretty sad, but I can contribute a few dollars....How
about $5.00
Put me down for $5.00....I'll send it soon
Colleen
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From: "Robert Ashley Ruiz" <espresso@dnai.com>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 18:01:27 -0700
Subject: Space1999: Re: "Showdown" "Last Alphan"
Mr. Wonderful writes:
> Fellas, I'm willin to bet the farm this here is a hoax. An
> animated series that didn't make it out of Australia? Plus one
> that NONE of us has heard of, even those of us who have been 1999
> fans since the start?
I think someone is sitting back having a good laugh about everyone's
reactions. In everything I have seen there has never been mention of
anything like an animated Space: 1999 series. Why would anyone throw
funds into animating a show that was generally considered a failure
in its filmed version?
Is that you, Dudley? Did you somehow manage to slime onto the new
list and you're up to your old tricks again?
I'm taking an Eagle back to reality now, everyone.
Of course I'd love to be wrong for the novelty factor, but I don't
think any such thing exists.
Robert
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From: n3kly@fred.net
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 21:26:02 -0800
Subject: Re: Space1999: Hello.
unsubscribe N3kly@fred.net
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From: Charles McEvoy <mcevoyc@rcsn.nb.ca>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 22:45:34 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: BEST YEAR ONE PRE-CREDIT SEQUENCE?
I think that the distinction for the longest opening sequence belonged to
"The Infernal Machine"
At 03:05 PM 2/25/97 -0500, you wrote:
>I think Space Brain had probably the longest teaser in the series if not one
>of the longest in television history.
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From: "Robert Ashley Ruiz" <espresso@dnai.com>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 18:48:23 -0700
Subject: Space1999: New 1999 Quake Images!
Once again, Maurizio Majelli has AMAZED me. You can see his latest
handiwork in the Cybrary in the Collectibles/Fan Produced
Giveaways/Quake page.
Here you will see new images of the Eagle, the monster from Dragon's
Domain (scary!), the Triton probe from Ring Around the Moon, and the
mysterious blue ball of light and charred Zoref from Force of Life
(all brand new, computer-generated versions of Alpha's memorable
adversaries).
Amazing! Excellent job, and may I be the first to congratulate
Maurizo on his fine work.
Robert
Robert Ruiz (espresso@dnai.com)
San Francisco, California USA
Cybrarian of the Space: 1999 Cybrary at:
http://204.188.13.27/welcome.htm
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From: ARKADIA <arkadia@pragma.net>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 22:07:00 -0800
Subject: Re: Space1999: NICK TATE/JUDY GEESON & PRENTIS spotting
Ggreg Perry wrote :
> catherine, do tell, how does /where does one purchase this box set from?
>
> i tried copying all five volumes, but they were copy guarded, and i was
> very frustrated/disappointed!
>
> gggreg
Hi Ggreg, hi all,
I just asked to some people of one videostore here in MONTREAL if it was available and that's how I
learned of its existence. They told me they could try to order me one from the United States but I never
did order one. I think it was 149.95 U.S. for the box set. I'm sure that any good video store could
order it for you. I'll continue my research anyway and let you know the outcome.
Take care all,
Catherine
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From: ARKADIA <arkadia@pragma.net>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 22:17:15 -0800
Subject: Re: Space1999: Monetary List Contributions
Hi Robert,
I like this idea a lot, it's like having our own "LIST-O-THON" :)
I'll send you 5.00 $ at the beginning of next week.
Catherine
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From: brian stearns <brian1999@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 23:18:22 -0500
Subject: Re: Space1999: BEST YEAR ONE PRE-CREDIT SEQUENCE?
Charles McEvoy wrote:
>
> I think that the distinction for the longest opening sequence belonged to
> "The Infernal Machine"
HI ALL,
i think "Ring Around the Moon has one of or maybe the longest
opening sequence teasers.theres alot of things that took place before
the theme song and the opening credits.
thank you
BRIAN D STEARNS
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From: HINES RILEY <HRILEY@one.net>
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 00:04:45 -0500
Subject: Space1999: Re: Monetary List Contributions, Thanks!
To all:
Where can I send the Contribuation....????
Things seem to be going very well....
Thanx to all!
HinesR
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From: ARIMMR@aol.com
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 00:00:12 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Re: Monetary List Contributions
put me down for $5.00 too.
thanks
lynn laakso
arimmr@aol.com
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From: n3kly@fred.net
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 00:00:15 -0800
Subject: Re: Space1999: Passing the baton
unsubscribe n3kly@fred.net
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From: JTRD1@aol.com
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 00:01:55 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Space1999: New 1999 Quake Images!
In a message dated 97-02-25 21:55:09 EST, you write:
<< ere you will see new images of the Eagle, the monster from Dragon's
Domain (scary!), the Triton probe from Ring Around the Moon, and the
mysterious blue ball of light and charred Zoref from Force of Life
(all brand new, computer-generated versions of Alpha's memorable
adversaries).
Amazing! Excellent job, and may I be the first to congratulate
Maurizo on his fine work. >>
The new pics look great!! Has any of these new things been added to the HDR
playable game yet? If not will there be an update soon? Also at one time
there was talk of an Eagle flight simulator - is that still in the works?
James David
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From: "Robert Ashley Ruiz" <espresso@dnai.com>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 21:16:45 -0700
Subject: Space1999: RE: Monetary List Contributions
Hines writes:
> Where can I send the Contribuation....????
> Things seem to be going very well....
> Thanx to all!
Again, contributions can be sent to me at:
Robert Ruiz
1755 Franklin Street, No. 306
San Francisco, CA 94109
When I get them I will track who contributed what and forward it all
to Marcy (taking this chore off Marcy's hands, which is the only
reason I'm collecting it rather than Marcy).
In addition to contributing, if you would let me know how much to
expect via e-mail at espresso@dnai.com that would be a great help so
I can keep track and tell the list when to stop sending money (I
don't want to collect a surplus).
Thanks All!
Robert
Robert Ruiz (espresso@dnai.com)
San Francisco, California USA
Cybrarian of the Space: 1999 Cybrary at:
http://204.188.13.27/welcome.htm
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From: David Welle <dwelle@online.dct.com>
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 02:26:46
Subject: Space1999: Ratings, ITC, Year 2 Changes, and Freiberger
**** Ratings, ITC, Year 2 Changes, and Fred Freiberger
****
**** (Another installment in the " 'Brief' History" series :-)
****
Thanks to Robert, including some information posted at the Cybrary, several
more things have come to light for me; and suddenly, I have a much clearer
understanding of the circumstances surrounding the title subjects. I
thought I'd share what I now understand of the situations that prompted all
the changes between the first and second seasons of Space: 1999 (which I'll
abbreviate as "S19").
Oddly enough, however, I'm going to start with Star Trek (which I'll refer
to simply as "Trek" from here on). I do not want to introduce an off-topic
Trek thread; my only intent is to use it as an interesting comparison for
one of my main points (can you guess which one? :-)
One criticism lodged against Trek right from the beginning with the first
(unbroadcast) pilot, "The Cage" was that this new series was "too
cerebral." Though immediately retooled in an attempt to hide the
"cerebral" aspect without getting rid of it, Roddenberry still wasn't able
to pull in the desired ratings.
Ratings are, of course, crucial to *any* series, and to the networks
broadcasting these series. In the U.S., for example, high ratings can and
do increase commercial revenue.
NBC nearly canceled Trek after the first season, but stayed its hand when
an unprecedented outpouring of letters arrived. Unfortunately, its second
season ratings had changed little. A second attempt to cancel was met with
another barrage of letters, so NBC decided to give it one final go. This
time, a new producer, Fred Freiberger, was in charge of day-to-day
production, and he made a few changes.
Some may argue, "why meddle with perfection?" I'm certainly not arguing
Trek was perfect; but the fact is that Trek had always struggled to find an
large enough audience, so it was hopelessly far from "perfect" as far as
the network "illuminati" were concern. I am not sure if this was exactly
why Freiberger was brought in--did they bring him with that intent, or
simply to replace someone who had already left the show? Either way,
though, it wouldn't have mattered as much as one might think, because
regardless of the circumstances that brought him to the show, the ratings
were *already* low; and if the ratings are low, some retooling is almost
inevitable, and I have little doubt that as producer, he was charged with
the task of improving the ratings.
Furthermore, you can't improve consistently stagnant ratings by leaving
things just as they were. You have to make changes. If that's not
something he already knew, it seems certain the network would have told him
this.
So he made some changes. This was a gamble, no matter what you try--and
this applies to *any* series, not just S19 or Trek.
In fact, let's try delving into the possible results (for any series, that
is).
If a *small* number of changes are attempted, the following possibilities
exist (somewhat broad or oversimplified, but hopefully demonstrative):
A1) Most perceived problems are fixed without introducing new ones. Most
of existing audience remains and an even larger number of new or returning
viewers added and kept. Strong ratings increase.
A2) Same, but with relatively few new or returning viewers tune in.
Little change in ratings, or slight increase at best.
A3) Some or most perceived problems are fixed, but new problems are
introduced. Most of existing audience kept but some start to flee from
changes. New/returning viewers tune in, some stay, some leave. Ratings
change little or decline, depending on how many new problems are introduced.
A4) Perceived problems not fixed well or made worse, new problems
introduced. Existing audience starts to leave. Some new or returning
viewers may appear, but most will leave. Ratings decline slowly or quickly.
With a *large* number of changes attempted, the possibilities are somewhat
different.
B1) All or most perceived problems fixed; many other changes made and most
turn out to be improvements or at least neutral (the series is now much
improved or even great by most standards). Part of existing audience is
alienated anyway and leaves, remainder stay; large new audience, including
some returnees, decides to check it out and hang around. Ratings improve.
B2) Same, but doesn't capture as large of a new or returning audience.
Slight ratings improvement, if any (due to losses in existing audience).
B3) Same, but never captures a new or returning audience due to poor
advertising or an already terrible reputation. Losses amongst existing
audience mean plummeting ratings.
B4) Some perceived problems fixed; many other changes, some for better,
some for worst. Little *overall* quality change. New/returning audience
appears but only some stay (no more than the *first* time around); much of
existing audience alienated. Ratings hold, then start to fall.
B5) Same, but new/returning audience doesn't materialize in sufficient
numbers.. Ratings plummet because of alienation among existing audience.
B6) Most changes for worst. New audience doesn't appear or quickly
leaves. Much of existing audience flees. Ratings disaster.
So there are a lot of possible results of change. It is always risky: you
may fail to get the new audience; you may get the new audience but fail to
keep them; you may alienate the existing audience. A series can get a name
for itself in the public, and it may stick, good or bad, changes or no
changes. The public can be extremely fickle, but it can also have a long
memory.
More importantly, notice that few of the above possibilities lead to
ratings increases. But ratings are ultimately all that a network is
interested in. This makes change a big risk. Yet if someone decides the
ratings aren't high enough, changes have to be made in an attempt to "save"
the series.
Now I don't know backstory of Trek as well, but it's apparent the changes
Freiberger made to Trek were nowhere near as sweeping as with S19. With
Trek, all the major characters remained; the sets, special effects, the
general storytelling framework (starship on five-year journey, strange new
worlds, Federation, Klingons, warp speed, etc.) all stayed pretty much the
same. There were some changes of emphasis, but I really don't want to
discuss it in any further depth, for I do not want to start a Trek thread.
As far as episode quality, I feel the third season has about the same
number of classic episodes (e.g. "The Enterprise Incident") and clunkers
("Spock's Brain"--although that's become something of a cult classic in its
own way) as the prior two seasons had.
Freiberger had come in with the hopes of improving a series whose ratings
were consistently amongst the lowest around, made some changes, but
ultimately could not save Trek from being put out of its misery in the end.
After all, it is very hard to improve ratings when the viewership is so
low to start with--how are you going to get good word of mouth when there
aren't that many mouths singing your praises to start with? And just how
does one go about "improving" a series anyway? Formulating a new series is
hard enough; but reformulating an existing series seems no less difficult.
Even if it's not a reformulation but rather a "tweaking" such as FF was
limited to in Trek, the results are unpredictable. Overall, there were
*relatively* few changes of apparently mixed results, something like A2 or
A3 above. The ratings remained low, and NBC finally did what it had really
wanted to do the past two years: they canceled Trek.
So fast forward about six years to late 1974 or early 1975. ITC was
shopping for networks around the world to buy broadcast rights to a series
(S19) which came as an *already completed* package of an entire season's
worth of episodes (talk about taking a risk!). All three U.S. networks
passed on it, apparently not that impressed with the series, its "cold,
wooden characters," or strange plots they couldn't grasp. They didn't
believe audiences would connect and didn't think the audience would either.
Network executives usually don't have the time or interest for in-depth
analysis of subtleties; they can only make snap judgements about how large
of an audience might tune in--and the U.S. networks seemed to feel the
series would bomb.
So lacking the support of the U.S. television networks, ITC did an
extraordinary job of lining up over 150+ individual stations in the U.S.,
plus some over 100 more around the world. An admirable job, to say the least.
The problem was that the actual time-slot placement of the series obviously
varied considerably from market to market; but the notoriety of all these
proceedings did not go unnoticed, and a huge audience tuned in to see the
pilot episode, "Breakaway."
Unfortunately, as Robert has mentioned, the ratings plummetted over the
course of the next several episode, only to slowly climb during the balance
of the first season. That was in general; the specifics got downright
chaotic. In some markets, it ruled the ratings; but in others, it fared
poorly (e.g. S19 was consistently drubbed by the "Lawrence Welk" show in
Philadelphia, according to an article in the Cybrary [The Washington Post -
January 2, 1976, "1999 Gets Humanized"]). And in some markets (including
the U.K.?), it was shown at awful times (weekday afternoons or late
nights--this being the days before VCRs), or preempted at whim--even though
other markets were showing the series in prime-time and even preempting
network fare!
It was a messy situation to track, I suppose--yet it became evident that
S19 wasn't faring anywhere near as well as the resounding success ITC had
*expected* it would be. Though the ratings had been improving after the
early drop-off, it still had something of an uncertain future, and for
quite some time, no one was sure whether a second season would be made, or
what form it would take. Abe Mandell at ITC New York (the U.S. arm of ITC)
was particularly anxious, and started demanding major changes. He was one
production partner involved, along with Sir Lew Grade of the U.K. arm of
ITC, the major Italian network Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), and Gerry
Anderson (he'd broken up with Sylvia Anderson by this time). (Quite the
crowd...)
S19 had been criticized, from early on--and often since then--about its
"wooden characters," "incomprehensible plots," and "scientific
inaccuracies." Whether or not those charges are truly justified is a whole
other matter, and not the subject of discussion here anyway. The problem
was the "low" ratings--ratings that did not match expectations and *had* to
be improved as far as ITC was concerned. It was that simple to them. How
to go about it was another matter entirely, of course.
Improvement ratings can only come about if there is some change. In
general, there are three types of change: change in time-slot placement,
other stations changing what series are competing in the same time slot, or
change in the nature of the series itself. The first two (time-slot and
competitors) were, for all intents and purposes, completely outside of
ITC's control (they couldn't do much more than beg stations to improve
S19's time-slot) in this case, given the syndication situation.
So that left only content itself to argue over--and that's what happened.
Much discussion and apparently controversy ensued over what changes to
make. Major targets were those I mentioned before (characterizations,
plots, inaccuracies). ITC New York especially wanted to rework the series
so it would have warmer characters and more "adventure-oriented"
plots--things they thought were needed to make it in their market.
I'm not sure whether it was during this phase, but RAI bowed out. If this
is the case (can someone verify this, and the timing?), this left ITC New
York with even more influence in the proceedings, especially considering
that the United States was a huge fraction of the total market (about half
maybe?). Eventually, whether this was the reason or not, changes were
finally agreed on, though perhaps not happily amongst some. Characters
would be made "warmer" and more "human", plots would go from "metaphysical
mumbo-jumbo" to "action adventure," and some more attention would be paid
to accuracy.
Since Sylvia Anderson had broken up with Gerry Anderson, both as wife and
co-producer, this left a vacancy (for co-producer, of course :-), and ITC
had the opportunity to place an American producer into the series, which
made sense considering it was ITC New York who had been the party pushing
for the most changes. To make sure the desired changes were made, they had
to find someone that would be willing to root out the problems with the old
series and put the new elements in place.
Enter Fred Freiberger into *this* part of the story. He already had
experience on at least one other science fiction series, so he was a
reasonable candidate to consider. As far as his being the producer of the
last year of Trek, it wasn't considered as a fault against him because
Trek's ratings problems were well-known (something that tends to be
forgotten nowadays). Apparently ITC realized, perhaps correctly given the
circumstances, that there was little *anyone* could have done for Trek,
given its already poor ratings when Freiberger had stepped in.
S19 was somewhat different. It had garnered a lot of attention and even
notoriety, and that lingered, even with the lower than expected ratings.
There was more of a viewer base to work from. Furthermore, there was now a
mandate in place--even though it was still controversial--to make broad
changes to the series. Also, Freiberger probably felt Trek would have
succeeded if Roddenberry had been willing to make bolder changes to improve
the ratings. Freiberger was nothing if not bold--sometimes to the point of
arrogance. But he seemed to fit ITC's needs, so the job was his.
I have heard conflicting stories about Gerry Anderson's reaction, but it
appears that he distanced himself from the series after Sylvia left and
Freiberger became a producer, perhaps frustrated with ITC's meddling. If
true, this gave Freiberger even more control.
There was another problem, however. The ratings situation as a whole, and
the debate about whether and how to continue, delayed the start of
production, and Freiberger was brought into the picture late, so he not
only had to scramble to make the mandated changes *and* still meet
production deadlines for television broadcast, which were basically
constant from year to year. Besides reducing preparation--both initial and
week-to-week, they ended up having to "double up" several second season
episodes to keep up, which only added to the confusion. But I'm getting
ahead of myself.
Before Freiberger had even shown up, the known problems, as far as many
parties were concerned, were "wooden characterization" "incomprehensible
plots," and "scientific inaccuracies." Freiberger was duly instructed to
fix these problems. He of course listened to the desires of ITC for warmer
characters, action adventure-oriented plots; and he began making changes
accordingly.
Sweeping changes required, well... sweeping changes. Since one of the
complaints was over characterization, it wasn't much of a stretch to decide
that most of the existing characters--and thus the actors--had to go. The
cruel if not totally baseless perception was that the old, stodgy, cold
characters might have had a place on a talky, metaphysical mumbo-gumbo of a
show; but not in a more exciting, action-oriented adventure show. So the
decision seemed simple: bring in a mostly new crowd of characters and actors.
He had to keep Martin Landau and Barbara Bain as anchors, and may have
realized they had more emotional range than displayed in the first season.
He tried to get rid of everyone else, but was told several of the actors or
characters, especially Nick Tate's Alan Carter, were actually quite popular
(and thus of benefit to the ratings). So he kept some of the more popular
characters, then tried to rebuild the cast with other "sure-fire"
characters that the audience could relate to better, or find more
fascinating--something that had seemed to be mostly lacking in the first
season.
To this end, he introduced the characters of Tony Verdeschi and Maya
(played by Tony Anholt and Catherine Schell) to fit those bills. Tony
would be the handsome, dashing, irreverant type that viewers would surely
be able to relate to. Maya would be a beautiful alien with an unusual
ability to transform herself--a character that ought to fascinate the
audience. These were to be two characters with palpable warmth, one of the
main ideas of change.
For a further measure of humanity, these two characters, as well as
Landau's and Bain's (John Koenig and Helena Russell) could develop as
romantically-involved couples as the second season progressed--a measure of
warmth that on the surface, seemed entirely absent the first season.
Human "warmth" and relateability could also be brought in through the use
of humor. After all, characters that rarely laugh or smile, can come off
seeming cold and unfriendly. Thus Tony was wise-cracking, and Maya was
something of a flirtateous practical joker. Humor was to be spread amongst
the others as well. Furthermore, a light-hearted closing scene would
certainly be more satisfying than the "depressing" endings seen in the
first season.
More scientific accuracy, in a science-fictional sense of course, would be
introduced through Maya, who would be given more credibility than the
wishy-washy professor of the first season, who seemed to be generally
clueless to some.
Overall, these characters, with these and other varying roles, were to be
more well-rounded, multi-faceted, than the characters of the first season,
who had been perceived as "wooden" and "one-dimensional."
As far as other changes, Main Mission struck some viewers as too big and
sterile, and was expensive set to maintain, production-wise, so a smaller,
more "intimate" Command Center was created in its place. The clothes,
well-known designer (Rudi Gernreich) or not, were judged cold, boring, and
unflattering; so in came newer, more colorful, and sexier variations.
Finally--and far from least importantly--the unusual, more "metaphysical"
but "incomprehensible" plots that had apparently been at the root of many
complaints were replaced with more action-adventure type stories to
generate interest and enthusiasm in the viewers. This of course was one of
the more important demands that had been made on Freiberger to change.
Notice that within the full context already discussed--a backdrop of
sub-par ratings, chaotic scheduling, constant criticism, the resulting
desire among some for extensive changes, the apparent political in-fighting
and chaos that resulted, and the delay in production that *all* of that
caused--neither Freiberger nor his changes seem that terribly out of place.
In a sense, they were actually reasonable changes within an unreasonable
situation. After all, the demands had *already* been made *before*
Freiberger was brought on board, and they simply needed a new producer who
would *willingly drive* to make the now-mandated changes. That is what
Freiberger did. He was charged with the job of taking those somewhat
general mandates and coming up with specific things to do to flesh out
these changes. He did that.
So frankly and perhaps unexpectedly, Freiberger does not seem to be the one
at fault for the fact of the changes that were made to S19 between its
first and second season. The causes of the changes are thus deeply-rooted
and interconnected, stretching essentially back to the production of the
first season.
So who's to blame? Perhaps the answer is "nobody but everybody." The
producers for creating a series with the very things that became problems
(real or perceived)? The actors for their performances? The networks for
passing something that may have become a total ratings blockbuster if had
only been given a stable home to start with? Perhaps many of the viewers,
for missing the depth perceived by some that escaped others? Perhaps Abe
Mandell and ITC New York for insisting on radical changes? Perhaps
excessive ratings expectations by ITC?
This is not to suggest Freiberger is blameless. Though the changes were
mandated by others, he was charged with coming up with sure-fire specifics.
But is there even such a thing as "sure-fire" in the world of television
to start with? And with a too-short time frame, compressed by the delays
in making decisions on whether and how to proceed, Freiberger had even less
time to work with. It is difficult enough to produce a weekly television
and put out quality, but imagine having to rush into production, and on top
of that, have to stack episodes to an unnatural degree just to get things
done.
Then, there is another problem. With a radical number of changes to an
existing series, you inevitably risk alienating your existing audience, and
*must* pull in a large new or returning audience to not only counterbalance
this, but *increase* the ratings, which of course was the original goal in
the first place! S19 had a fair chance of recapturing a large audience,
for it had gained a lot of notoriety just the year before, still had a
good-sized audience, and potentially could regain the audience that had
checked it out early on and who had left. After all, the first season was
considered to have many flaws that had apparently chased many viewers away.
Now, with all the efforts at fixing problems, and otherwise improving the
series, people would return, right?
Well, the changes did attract some public attention, and some did come to
check it out; but the numbers weren't enough, and with the losses amongst
the existing audience, the ratings declined.
It was a gamble. It did not pay off. ITC had pushed for significant
changes to fix the perceived problems, but in the end, probably pushed
*too* far, in a sense over-compensating. So ITC really seemed to have had
unrealistic expectations, both for the first season ratings, and for the
changes. Perhaps executing half the number of changes would have helped.
An infusion of more humor, romance, a couple new characters such as Tony
and Maya to interact with existing characters, some changes in the story
writing. Such changes, carefully woven in could have fixed some of the
existing weaknesses and only added more strengths, thus enriching the
series and opening it up for a larger audience--without alienating part of
the existing audience. Instead, we were left with two rather distinct
seasons, each with their own distinct strengths and weaknesses. Some fans
prefer the first season, some prefer second, and some enjoy both seasons.
So that leaves but one more question to wrap up this all up. Was Fred
Freiberger a "Series Killer?"
In my opinion, no. In "Trek," he was brought into a series that had always
had low ratings, with a network that had already tried to cancel it twice,
and didn't need much more of an excuse to cancel it. In a sense, Trek was
already doomed.
In S19, he was brought in with the explicit mandate to carry out a set of
changes that ITC had deemed necessary; he did just that, but ITC's
expectations were unrealistic, and apparently blind to the possibility of
alienating much of the audience. Trapped again, it appears. I think he
simply tried to do the best he could in two difficult situations. With
S19, he followed the mandates he had been hired to make happen, and made a
lot of changes that made sense in that context. Yes, even considering all
this, he made some mistakes of his own too, but in comparison to all of the
factors that were already out of his control, I simply don't believe that
he can be made scapegoat for all the perceived problems of the second season.
****
Whheeew! Sorry for the length. I hope it was interesting.
Well, am I way off base, or does some of this make some sense?
Questions? Comments? Corrections? Complaints?
- ----
David Welle
http://www.dct.com/~dwelle/s19.html
v
&*44: S19FFPUB.IRW;T-02/27/97
::0x0453 mv seg>>>>
**** Was Freiberger a "Series Killer" or a Victim of Circumstance?
****
end
- ----
David Welle
dwelle@online.dct.com
http://www.dct.com/~dwelle/s19.html
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