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Subject: space1999-digest V1 #399
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space1999-digest Thursday, January 15 1998 Volume 01 : Number 399
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Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 00:37:00 EST
From: JSchill824 <JSchill824@aol.com>
Subject: Space1999: Missing Link Tops!
Hi Alphans,=0A=09My first episode I saw of S9 was Missing Link when I was=
12. This could be=0Awhy its my favorite episode, and what a great lead =
in to talking about this=0Aweeks episode. What can I say, having Peter C=
ushing and Joanna Dunham gave=0Athis already great episode a boost! Plus=
the filming again is creative and=0Astunning. =0A=0AWhen I recently got=
an uncut version of Missing Link it was really great=0Aseeing parts that=
were originally cut to add commercials. In the beginning=0Ascenes where =
John is walking through the Medical Center he passes a mirror and=0Aturns=
to see himself in that mirror. I've never saw this part before - it=0Ar=
eminds me of "Alice in Wonderland" - which would relate truly to the stor=
y.=0AIts amazing how important each scene is, and if taken out how much t=
he viewer=0Ais misses out! =0A=0AMy over all take on the show was not the=
obvious concentrating on the=0Acomparing of the feeling vs. thinking iss=
ue, but how one handles the pains of=0Aseparation. A good example of thi=
s is when Vanna says that the Zennites do=0Anot fear death because they b=
elieve in the continuing flow of life. However,=0Awhen John is about to =
leave her, she is confused. Separation like this is=0Aalso a lot like de=
ath. How does one handle a loved one now gone? Even=0AKoenig's own peop=
le were having a lot of trouble dealing with the loss of=0Atheir commande=
r. They would have rather had him hooked up to a machine=0Abetween life =
and death then to loose him. To give some handle on all this=0AKoenig su=
ms it up nicely when he says "... cross the bridge between your world=0Aa=
nd mine... as long as you think of me, feel for me, I'll be with you." =
=0A=0AI know there are many who don=92t like this episode (uh hmmm, Hi Ba=
rry White=0Asleeve #143 !) but for me this was the best! I guess it hel=
ps if you like=0AMartin Landau which I do! I happen to love the great ni=
ghtmare sequence. All=0Athe crazed aliens pulling at John and when John'=
s covered with cobwebs=0Apleading for Victor to help him great! Wow, the=
way he lifts his hands to=0Aclear his face, the weight of those cobwebs =
(fear) looks tremendous. His eye=0Areveal to us that he's teetering on t=
he edge of insanity. Its wonderful!=0AWhat more can I say Martin Landau =
is the best!=0AP.S. Thanks Petter for all you wonderful comments again on=
this episode!=0AUntil Tomorrow,=0AJanet =0A
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Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 07:25:46 -0700
From: "Robert Ashley Ruiz" <espresso@dnai.com>
Subject: Space1999: Collision Course Planet Name
New info from Martin Willey. It turns out the planet "Astheria" in
"Collision Course" is actually named Atheria in the script and Tubb
novelization so I've changed it in the Cybrary. It was written as
"Astheria" in ITC press materials (which are generally awful), hence
the confusion.
>From Martin:
Astheria is wrong -- it is Atheria. See the script and E C Tubb's
novelisation. (Atheria = Etheria = Ethereal, heavenly, spiritual).
Astheria (=Asthmatic?) was a misprint in the original publicity (they
didn't get much right, did they?). I wrote Astheria for years until I
got the script and realised that wasn't what they were saying!
Robert Ruiz (cybrarian@cybrary1999.com)
San Francisco, California USA
Cybrarian of the Space: 1999 Cybrary at:
http://www.cybrary1999.com
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Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 08:35:56 -0700
From: Riccardo Iommi <r.iommi@mailcity.com>
Subject: Re: Space1999: Collision Course Planet Name
- ---
"THERE IS ONLY ONE MOTION
AND THAT IS PERPETUAL MOTION"
(Francis Picabia)
Robert wrote:
>New info from Martin Willey. It turns out the planet "Astheria" in
>"Collision Course" is actually named Atheria in the script and Tubb
>novelization so I've changed it in the Cybrary. It was written as
>"Astheria" in ITC press materials (which are generally awful), hence
>the confusion.
Maybe this is not new, but in the Italian version they spell it Artharia!
Keep an eye on your orbit and bye,
Riccardo
Free web-based e-mail, Forever, From anywhere!
http://www.mailcity.com
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Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 17:34:27 +0000
From: "Petter Ogland" <petter.ogland@dnmi.no>
Subject: Re: Space1999: Missing Link rant
Hi all,
Pat wrote:
> > I must admit, on the other hand, that the Koenig's nightmare sequence
didn't
> > work
> > all that well with me either, but I didn't think of it as particulary bad,
> > just that it was a bit too theatrical for my taste. As it was rather
short,
> > I felt it was ok for illustrating the emotional disturbance as an aftermath
> > of Raan's first experiment.
>
> I'm glad you mentioned this, because it brought up another point. Raan
told
> Koenig that this was his first experiment. Since Koenig "knew" this was the
> first experiment; he quickly figured it out, and told Raan that he knew it
wasn't
> the real Victor, I think this nightmare was a reaction to his kidnapping.
This sounds fair, but didn't Koenig say that he was fooled by the
projection of Victor because he wanted him so much to be real?
I think the sequence with Victor was splendid. It was fascinating to watch
how Koenig reacts to Victor's odd behaviour. Unlike how Koenig stood up
to Simmonds, in the case with Victor he seems just to be feeling dreadful,
withdrawing quickly out of the medical section.
Perhaps he is thinking that Victor must have a bad day. It seems, however,
that he is not thinking at all, just feeling desperate to get away
from the uncomfortable situation. Instead of parrying Victors shouting
aggressiveness, he flicker his eyes nervously and backs out. Magnificent
interpretation, I feel, from both actors.
The episodes induces a state of confusion almost matching the ongoings
in COLLISION COURSE.
> ...I liked the Elephant Man also. Although Koenig values acting on emotion,
> allows an emotional component to influence his decisions (i.e., Collision
> Course), the sequence was overdone, too theatrical. If Landau had stared,
or
> confronted Raan directly, eye to eye, face to face, screaming the lines at
him,
> it would have seemed more in character for me.
He-he. It's interesting how Koenig treats Zantor and Simmonds so
differently in EARTHBOUND. While he does not seem to show Simmonds any
respect at all, he treats Zantor with the same respect that he has for
Raan. Perhaps he feels that he knows Simmonds, and knows he can't
trust him because of his prevailent opportunism. On the other hand he
seems to have some kind of awe for the unknown, feeling there must be some
reason while Zantor or Raan are acting the way they are. Neither show any
kind of malevolence although we do not know who they are and what they
represent.
It was rather interesting in EARTHBOUND, I think, that upon seeing how
friendly Koenig was with Zantor and his companions, Simmonds tells
Koenig to be careful. "They might not turn out to be as friendly as they
seem". I remember this sentence made quite an impact on me as a child
some twenty years ago, because maybe Simmonds was right? Were Koenig
and all being put on by the Kaldorians apparent friendliness?
In a later segment, DEATH'S OTHER DOMINON, both Helena and Victor did
not read the situation correctly, and it took time before John
realised the drafulness of it all. The situation was somewhat similar
in next weeks GUARDIAN OF PIRI, except in this case the Alphans were
druged by the Guardian or by the promise of paradise. A wonderful episode,
by the way, I think I'll watch it tonight in order to be prepared for
next weeks discussions.
In the case of Zantor, Koenig seemed to be right in his judgement. His
judgement of Raan seems to build on a similar intuition. Perhaps
the appearance of Raan's daughter, Vanna, makes him think that this
magician can't be all that bad, at least he seems to care for his
daughter.
In some ways MISSING LINK resembles Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST, I think.
In the play there is a similar relationship between the magician
Prospero and his daughter Miranda. The play also opens with a ship
wreck, like in MISSING LINK, and the survivors are guided to an
island ruled by light and magic, but also by the wild Caliban
conjuring up scenes like the sequence with Koenig's nightmare.
One central theme in THE TEMPEST is the love affair between Miranda
and Ferdinand from the ship wreck, very much like Vanna's encounter with
Koenig, but while Miranda weds her beloved Vanna has to stay behind as John
sets sail back to Alpha.
> > Peter Cushing is one of my favourite actors. I just saw him cast as Osric
> > in Sir Laurence Olivier's "Hamlet" (1948). He certainly developed quite a
> > lot since then, but did a remarkable role there as well, much better than
> > Robin Williams in the 1997 Brannagh version, I think.
>
> Peter Cushing is a wonderful actor. I'm glad they cast him in this role,
> because his sinister-like presence added to his performance. I would have
liked
> to see his role deepened somewhat, made more meaningful. It just seemed so
> superficial, for lack of a better word, almost like a comic book portrayal of
a
> mad scientist. Cushing was so good as Tarkin, because it was such a meatier
> role. Raan needed more depth. I realize you won't get Shakespeare in a
one-hour
> show, but so much can be done in the limited frame of time.
I liked both the role of Raan and the way Cushing did it. I didn't
feel the role to be a mad scientist, although Cushing is an expert in
giving life to such characters. His portrayals of dr. Frankenstein, which
he did six or seven of between CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957) and
FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL (1973), where among his most
famous roles on the screen. Even in such roles, or perhaps in
such roles in particular, he made an extreme effort out of giving the
characters life, trying to be the character rather than to act him, as he
explained for instance in his quite interesing autobiogrphy, written in
the early seventies if I remember correctly.
The benvolent/malevolent characteristics of Raan is a nice example of
his acting abilities, I think. It is particularily interesting to see how much
Cushing plays his role by using an extremely well modulated voice while at the
same time keeping an empty glance on his eyes, looking into the camera
or otherwise, indicating that he is not quite there. A wonderful performance,
I think.
Petter
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Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 18:23:06 +0000
From: "Petter Ogland" <petter.ogland@dnmi.no>
Subject: Re: Space1999: Missing (the boat) Link
Hi Mark and all,
> I hope you did not think I was being personal about Missing Link, its just
> that IMHO its clearly is one of the low(est) spots in the Series. If you
> like it, hey that's great.
>
> OK, now your turn to hit me: My Top 5
>
> 1. Dragon's Domain-
> the pentultimate Space:1999- a man obsessed and enough space horror to
> be forever imprinted on my 7 or 8 year old brain. Great music!
Very good episode indeed. Although one of the last episodes to be produced\
it was one of the first to be written, I believe. The use of Albinoni's
Adagio in G minor is superb. While it's a sort of comment on Kubrick's
2001, the effect is quite different, I feel. Kubrick's witty use of
The Blue Danube emphasizes some of the satirical aspects of 2001, while
Albinoni's Adagio underlines the beauty and the tragedy that so often
prevails in SPACE; 1999. The use of the Adagio is perhaps more
reminicent of Visconti's use of Mahler in Death in Venice (1971).
> 2. Black Sun-
> this IS Space:1999- speculative, erie, philosophical and religous in a
> story that goes beyond the Series
I was so surprised when I read Muir's "Exploring SPACE: 1999" that he
rated this so lowly. Barry Morse mentioned it especially as a favourite
in THE SPACE: 1999 DOCUMENTARY, and Martin Landau, in an interview recently
added in Robert's Cybrary also comments upon this as his favourite, followed by
BREAKAWAY, another episode he was very happy with.
> 3. Wargames-
> great concept, great sfx, very moody, doomed episode.
Also one of the first episodes written, I believe, and yet turned out
to be one of the later ones to be produced. This is certainly one of
my favourites. I'm surprised, however, that you rate it so highly as
it is so abstract in content and "illogical". Nevertheless, nice to
see it on the list.
> 4. The last Sunset
> Again, this IS Space:1999. The Alphans find what they've been searching
> for, right under their noses......and then lose it again.
Once again one of the eight first scripts in the series that was produced
at a later stage. Although it is much of a paraphrase over ANOTHER
TIME ANOTHER PLACE, I think, it is perhaps the other way around. Byrne
may have been inspired by this rather focal episode for his writing of
high hopes and deep falls.
> 5. Breakwaway
> I actually think this is one of the weaker teleplays, but I like it
> because its the introduction to a show that is so different and unusual and
> groundbreaking. Here we have people living and working in Space, not 200 or
> 300 years into the future, but only 25, and they don't have magical
> hardware either. The technogoodies are mostly a logical extension of our
> modern(circa 1975)day technology. The people are likeable, proffesional
> and 3 dimensional, and they don't have reset switches.
For me this is the first and the best of all SPACE: 1999. It was the
first episode I saw. In Norway they followed the line of production, the
same sequence we are using for our discussions. I'm not quite sure
exactly when it was aired, but I believe it may have been the autumn of 1975.
I remember the episode made tremendous impact on me. When I saw it
for the second time, over twenty years later, I was surprised to find
how enjoyable I still found it. Excellent story, magnificent acting and
direction as I see it.
> If you gave me six choices, I'd pick Testament of Arcadia as well, just for
> its beautiful music and tastefull narration. The Arcadia as Eden story I
> thought was crap though :-)
THE TESTAMENT OF ARKADIA was a nice way to finish it up, I think. That it
was Johnny Byrne that got the last word was quite nice, I feel. The
series had developed quite a lot from BREAKAWAY by now, but very enjoyable
nevertheless. Perhaps being inspired by the effect of using Albinoni in
DRAGON'S DOMAIN they used Serge Lancen to a similar effect here.
By the way, a very orthodox list, Mark, I would say. I believe it would be hard
to find anyone who would not have these five on his/hers top 12 list.
You have a forceful way of expressing yourself when it comes to episodes
you don't like too much, however. You remind me a bit about Ggreg there.
What happend to Ggreg anyway? I miss him.
Petter
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End of space1999-digest V1 #399
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