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Subject: space1999-digest V1 #403
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space1999-digest Saturday, January 17 1998 Volume 01 : Number 403
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Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 15:31:00 -0500
From: Tom Miller <tmiller@northnet.org>
Subject: Space1999: slowly reading all
Hi everyone!! I have been ofline for almost a week, and I am glad to read
the mail!!
Kind of off topic, I live in St. Lawerence County, in upstate NY, and we
were hardest hit by the massive ice storm last week. I just wanted to say
from the entire community, thanks to anyone who donated to the red cross or
other disaster funds. I was fortunate not to need assistance during the
disaster, but many were not so lucky. Also, if any of you know the power
crews from all over the US, including Hawaii, thank them for us. Many are
still without power, but it helps. Also, the national guard was called in
and this was very helpfull. Please be generous when the Red Cross calls, it
could happen to you.
Anyway, I received my third video from columbia house, and I agree with the
missing Link episode being a bore. And by the way, who is Supposed to be in
command in the event of Koenig's death?
The A-B crysalis episode was one of the poor ones from year two. Freddie
did make it into a saturday cartoon.
Tom Miller, Still cold but in the light.
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Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 21:14:38 +0000
From: Phillip S Wright <pswright@innotts.co.uk>
Subject: Space1999: updated collectables for sale page
Hi All,
I've made a number of additions to my 'collectables for sale' page, and
added some more links to pictures of some of the actual items.
There are mostly Gerry Anderson related items, but also there are items
from other sci-fi and other TV related shows ( Star Wars, Street Hawk, B7,
etc ) plus a few other bits and bobs.
URL for my 'for sale page' is as below
http://www.totalweb.co.uk/pswright/for-sale/sales.htm
- - ps, if there is anything in particular anyone is after ( mostly UK issue,
new or old) let me know and I'll be happy to make some enquiries for you if
I don't already have a spare one for sale myself.
Cheers
Phill
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Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 16:21:22 EST
From: LKJ1999 <LKJ1999@aol.com>
Subject: Space1999: Slowly reading all
Tom Miller. Writes.
> The A-B crysalis episode was one of the poor ones from year two.
> Freddie did make it into a Saturday cartoon.
******************************************************************************
*
Well I have to say I love A-B crysalis. It is in My top five from Y-2 !!!
I love the part when Maya is a chlorine breathing monster.
And the Commander yell's change back Maya change back!
As Maya fall's to the floor trying to breath.
Chas P. LKJ1999
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Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 13:31:35 -0800
From: South Central <Tamazunchale@webtv.net>
Subject: Space1999: Missing Link comlock
Maybe the comlock IS linked to the suit mike and Koenig was just
activating it. He might have expected to see a person's face on its
screen and that's why he appeared to be speaking at it.
Just a theory.
Mateo
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Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 17:03:47 -0500
From: Marty <mwm9@bellsouth.net>
Subject: Space1999: January Sale list
Hi to all, Here it is my January sales lists of Items I'm selling from
my collection. I wish to say thanks to all who has bought from me
over the past month. I'm always open for trades for other Anderson
items.I'm
looking for personally the Fireball XL5 playset, the Supercar play
figures set, any Thunderbirds playset from Spain, UFO items and Space
1999 items. If you wish to call me my phone number is 1-770-489-5607.
All items are graded on a scale of 1 -10.
UFO____________________________________________________________________
British Annual, 1971, C-8, $85.00
British Paperback book vol. 1, C-7, $10.00
U.S. issue paperback book vol. 2, C-7, $10.00
Starlog magazine #55, Ed Bishop interview, 1982 C-9, $10.00
Italian board game, complete C-7, $175.00
Italian UFO cinema videos, VHS format, 3 different, $20.00 each
Bandai UFO model kit, 1978 C-9, $175.00
Bandai Skydiver model kit, C-9, $175.00
Bandai Interceptor model kit, C-9, $75.00
Imai Sky 1 model kit, 1975 C-8, $200.00
UFO Italian movie poster," Prendeteli Vivi " 100x140 in size, very
large, 1974 , $125.00
UFO Italian movie poster, " Allarme Rosso Attaccolla Terra ,100x140
in size, very large, 1974, $125.00
Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun_____________________________
half sheet, mint unused 1969, $85.00
Space 1999_____________________________________________________________
Golden story book , 2nd season cover,1976 C-7, $10.00
Donruss card full card box, 1976 C-8, $85.00
Alien model kit, MPC, C-8 1975, $75.00
Charlton magazine comics, vol.1-8 C-8, e-mail for details
Charlton regular comics, Vol. 1-7, e-mail for details
ITC 4 page promo booklet 1975 C-8, $50.00
1978 & 1981 convention booklets, C-8, $40.00 each
ITC promo decal, chromium type C-9, $15.00
Viewmaster set, 1975 C-9, $40.00
year 1 promo book, 1975 C-8, $325.00
year 2 promo book, 1976 C-8, $300.00
Utility belt playset, Remco 1975 C-8, $125.00
Coloring books set of 4, mint unused 1975, $80.00
Eagle 1 playset, Mattel 1975, box C-7, ship & some accor. $125.00
U.S. paperback set, year 1, Vol.1-10,C-8 , e-mail for details
U.S. paperback set, year 2, Vol.1-6, c-8, e-mail for details
The Making of paperback, 1975 C-8, e-mail for details
Italian Electronic board game, 1975 complete unused, $250.00
Moonbase Alpha playset, Mattel 1975 C-7, e-mail for details
Mammoth Eagle Eagle model kit, Milton Bradley 1975 C-8, $125.00
Monster Times #47, 1976, 1999 article & cover, rare $10.00
Stun Gun fanzine set 1-6, late 1970's, $25.00
AMZ books, 4 different ones, C-9, $75.00 each
British pal video #8, unused sealed, $25.00
Estes Eagle rocket kit, box only, C-8, $30.00
Space 1999 Italian movie video, VHS format, really different,$20.00
Moonbase Alpha Playset, Amsco 1975, sealed C-9, $150.00
Other Anderson items___________________________________________________
Thunderbirds Imai model kits, all are C-9, TB 1 $25.00, TB 2$40.00,
TB 4 $20.00, Mole $65.00, Zero-X $25.00
TB puzzle, Whitman 1968,C-8 complete, $35.00
TB coloring book, Whitman 1967, $20.00
TB Are Go, movie unused 1967, $150.00
TB nintendo game, C-8, $30.00
Fireball XL5, Little Golden book, C-8 1964, $55.00
Fireball XL5 comic, Gold Key 1963 C-8, $85.00
Capt. Scarlet Cloudbase model kit, Imai C-9, $25.00
Capt. Scarlet set of six figure model kits, Imai C-9, $60.00
Supercar, Little Golden book 1962, C-7, #25.00
Supercar Comic #2, Gold Key 1963 C-8, $65.00
Stingray tray puzzle, Whitman 1965 C-8, $40.00
S.I.G Magazines #3,6,8,11,16, all are a C-8, $10.00 each
Century 21 magazines # 1,2,3,5,6,8,9, all are C-8, $10.00 each
UFO/1999 book, Boxtree pub. C-9, $20.00
Channel 5 video advertisement poster, S.Kyte art, C-8, $45.00
ITC Super Visaul #4, features all Anderson shows to 1985, C-8,$85.00
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Date: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 19:19:26
From: David Welle <dwelle@online.dct.com>
Subject: Space1999: Missing (a few) Link(s)
All,
Or maybe I should say, "Missing a Lot," because I have been missing a lot
lately, especially the "Episode by Episode" metathread. I've had a chance
to read some of it, and have found it enjoyable, but haven't had the time
to rewatch episodes and put in my own 1.999 cents. I finally have some
time, only to find the episode in question is Missing Link, one of my least
favorites from the series, but this isn't all rant by any means (though
there is some). I haven't read any of the other notes this time, so this
is all my thoughts, so hopefully I won't be wasting time with things others
have already discussed, especially with one of my (usually) long treatments.
Okay, here's some of the things that stood out, for good or bad, and my
thoughts and feelings and whatnot. This is not split up into analytical
sections, but is instead "rolling analysis" that goes, more or less, with
the flow of the episode, capped with some summaries near the end....
The Alphans are nearly pulled down by a strange force, then attacked by
another that drains their power. Nice shots of the Eagle tumbling through
space and towards the Moon -- one of the scenes that I had always
remembered vividly in the 15 years between 1977 and 1992 where I didn't see
the series, and forgot most of it. On this viewing, I couldn't help but
notice that the direction of tumbling was consistent on all shots (yes, I
admit I was looking for continuity errors). Some sort of control of the
Eagle was apparently gained near the end, though, because while it crashed,
it came down unrolled. Then, another very memorable shot was a close-up of
the downed, shades-of-grey Eagle on the grey moon, black space with the
bluish world hanging there -- an effective use of a single splash of color.
The "This Episode" shots, were, as usual, a nice spoiler-free tease.
Koenig on the Moon's surface, trying to flag down an Eagle: like trying to
hail helicopter or airplane search teams, not easy -- even harder for the
speed and height of the Eagle as it flies straight for its destination.
As an aside, I abruptly realized that orange is a great color for the
spacesuits: try stand out brightly on the almost uniformly dull grey
surface of the Moon. Of course, this time, he wasn't noticed, and seeing
his injured, unconscious double still aboard the Eagle explained why.
Nit: How'd Koenig know it was Eagle *FOUR* flying overhead? Sure, it had
medical markings, but the Eagle 4 designation, like the Eagle 1 designation
and others, are variable, so Koenig really had no way of knowing, as best I
can figure.
"Tanya, you have the most beautiful voice in the world." Well, she does
have a great voice, and the line was so perfectly used.
The medical monitors watching the people aboard the Eagle: I certainly
remember the medical monitoring going on the astronauts in "Breakaway," but
were there other uses made of this on Eagle pilots in other episodes? This
obviously isn't something I remember that well, probably because I don't
take much notice of it normally, but here, when Koenig reaches "Alpha" and
sees his own monitor, it's an effectively chilling moment.
Helena, when she was viewing the same flat line and dot earlier, of course
knew that it might have been a monitor failure.
The alien's visage in the wall of the travel tube was a curious hint (to
the viewer) that John was being manipulated, but I really liked the use of
the mirror in the nearly silent Medical Center -- especially Koenig's
pausing after passing it by, as if he not so much as "seen" the visage out
of the corner of his eye, but had sensed something. Then the alien woman
running silently across the corner in back of him. Something was afoot --
literally.
Shoot to images of Helena arriving in the noisy (suspending disbelief about
noise in space, as usual) rescue Eagle, then back to a very dark, eerie
base, then to Alan and Helena talking, now almost loud in their otherwise
calm voices (as compared to the silence of the "Alpha" Koenig is one. Very
nicely done.
It took John a long time before he tried using the computer to try calling
someone. Then he called Paul, just once, failed, and didn't bother
anymore, apparently knowing something was wrong. He takes it all very
calmly, and even walks slowly, which has always made me curious. I suppose
if something had jumped out of the corner, he'd have probably had a heart
attack at that point, which on one hand makes it suspenseful to some
degree, especially when you have aliens afoot that he hasn't seen, but his
calmness has always nagged at me a bit.
Then he turns on the monitor and sees an alien landscape. Nice surprise --
in fact, it still surprised me on this viewing, since I didn't remember
that since the last time I saw the episode (probably three years ago).
Then the room starts spinning, slower and more rapidly, and he starts
blurring. Up to this point, it's been enjoyable, including the light,
perfectly atmospheric music, and we finally meet Raan and later Vana.
5,000,000 light years: the Moon has jumped to another galaxy somewhere in
its journey.
"This is not a dream. It is all very real, I assure you." Hmmm, this
makes me wonder. His body is back in the rescue Eagle and Alpha, in a
coma. Did they duplicate his body and mind, and leave the other to die?
That's the only sense I can make of this.
They can read his mind. "The mind is master of all things." They don't
use mechanical devices. "This is my home. It is made of light."
"I want to know your mind. You are our missing link." (More on the last
later.)
Golden- and silvery-colored aliens? That always makes me wonder if there's
some subtle statement being made by the producers here. Is it their
natural color (and if so, are the two colors a sexual difference?)? Or did
the Zennites make themselves up like this, as some sort of status symbol?
More nice shots of the damaged Eagle, the Rescue Eagle, and the grappling
Eagle, and later to the separation and hauling away of the command capsule.
Excellent sequences.
John: "Fattening me up for the slaughter." "To use me as an experiment."
....
John: "What's not harmful to you may be to me."
Vana: "You will remain here until the end of your life."
John: "Then that day will come much sooner."
Yep, he's a lab animal, and not happy about it.
There's a lot of cold talk, and then he is "returned" to an Alpha he
eventually finds is a fake. Sandra, sadly, is said to be dead, and Victor
gets extremely angry. "When are we going to stop kidding ourselves. We're
never going to get off this rock. This is our tomb!" It was pretty fun to
watch Victor, apparently going off the deep end.
Koenig: "If you want to check yourself out, that's your affair. Open any
airlock."
Victor: "No! I want to LIVE!"
I didn't really get this the first time, since I thought Raan was being
literal when he said he was returning Koenig to Alpha.
Then we get the beast and open-brained creatures attacking John, and then
the webbing, and it goes into pure horror, which isn't exactly my thing,
especially with Victor running and John screaming "Victor! Help Me!
VICTORRRRRRRRRRRR!" Lots of hysterics that grated.
Then Raan talking to an image. Is it he talking to himself, or another
Zenite? For some reason, I always thought it was the former, because the
image is not distinct enough to tell.
Speaking of images, another case of aliens displaying an image on something
other than a technological viewscreen. A technique used effectively in
several episodes of both seasons, and I approve. It especially fit with
the non-technological Zennites. Minor negative: sometimes crowded the
actual image too closely with the orange fuzz (like the "screen" was too
small).
"It may simply be... John's time to die," Helena says it slowly, almost
calmly.
Vana: "it was very wise to realize that your friend was not real; but I do
not see how you knew." How could she not realize that the deception might
be so great. "We are not capable of deception," Vana says. What? I have
no clue how she could say that. She talks a lot, but her words are not
very believable. They always sounded self-deluded. Maybe that's the
point, but this is, in my feeling, the point where the episode started
getting hard to take.
Kano yells at a woman who accidentally drops a tray. People are getting
tense (and I doubt the woman would care to get to know Kano after that).
Koenig's "real" body nearly dies, and afterward, Helena leans against a wall.
Vana: "But... you can learn nothing from the commander, because...
whatever image you present to him... is unreal, so that his reaction,
though honest, is unreal as well." That is, finally, a very intelligent
realization on her part -- and one of the best lines in the episode.
"His blood is our blood." Huh? The whole "missing link" thing is
something that *I* am missing. Is Koenig a man from their past, an
offshoot of the Zennites, another species that's at an earlier stage of
development, as the Zennites once were? I, to this day, still have no clue
as to the exact manner of Koenig's being a "missing link."
John: "You're able to project music with your mind?" That was a great
little play to draw attention to the background music. From there,
however, it gets corny, with the first of the love scenes between John and
Vana, and I simply do not believe it. Worse, for the Zennites are supposed
to be able to read minds, so either he's being extremely deceptive, or he's
really has fallen in love; there's no hint of the former, so it seems like
it is supposedly real -- but I don't believe it. Then they're going to get
married, and later kiss again? When Sandra is "brought" to Zenno, Vana
pulls close to John, as if fearing her father's actions will split them.
Vana certainly seems to be in love. I simply cringe in disbelief. Sure,
there can certainly be "love at first sight," but there is absolutely *no*
hint of chemistry between them, at any point in the episode! None!
John mouths words of love, as does she, and the words are like cold fish
flopping about on a dry floor.
Sorry, but even on my fourth, and most intensely careful viewing, I still
don't believe it any more than my earlier, more casual viewings. John even
asks her to come to his world, and kisses her hand! It is being played
seriously, and it sounds and appears so totally fake!
Nit: the Moon never seems to move in relation to the planet over the
course of the episode, either from the space shots or the scene from Zenno.
John is brain-dead on Alpha, and they're about to shut him off, and Helena
is frozen. First, she seems coldly emotionless about it, but then she's
crying, and worse yet, others try to interpose during her own confusion,
and fight it out -- that's very believable.
Raan: "Please take my gratitude with you."
John: "I'll be taking much more."
Yeeech.... In fact, that whole little chat was awful. It was too abruptly
casual and friendly, as if -- in a metaphorical sense of Zennite to Alphan
- -- /Homo sapiens/ walking off with Ogg of the Cave by the River and having
a chat about metaphysics. Yes, I'm sure Raan, as Vana had in her own way,
had come to realize John was more than just a "missing link" (whatever that
meant, which as I said, didn't seem that clear to me), but it just seemed
too abrupt, just as the "love affair" did to me. Maybe that's part of the
problem with the love aspect: that there was no sense of time, no real
sense of development. Sure, "no sense of time" fits in some other ways,
but it makes the supposed love seem hollow. Or, it may simply be what I
said before: that there was no chemistry to speak of between the two of them.
John: "I still believe that it is more important to feel than to think."
What?!?! Yes, that is almost a what a "caveman" might say. 'I feel. Who
care think? I feel want kill, so do, who care think?' Sorry for the
sarcasm, but Koenig's line is horrible. It is important to feel, yes; but
it is important to think too. What was Koenig thinking when he said that?
(Oops, I guess it was more important to feel!)
Raan: "The perfect balance between the two that must be achieved. Both of
our worlds have yet to learn how."
Ah, that's better, even if it's coming from Raan (his methods were,
curiously enough IMO, *thoughtlessly* callous and manipulative), and even
if "perfect" is questionable too.
Okay, I can almost believe John would say something like he did, but it is
almost the same callous sort of thing as the "Who needs nature?" line in
another episode. John often has great, philosophical lines, but that
definitely was NOT one of them.
And what's with the "until tomorrow" phrase Raan used in parting? Who's
tomorrow? What tomorrow?
Then John's life support is shut off, he stays silent, then whispers
Helena; she spins around in surprise and relief, and Sandra sinks back in
her bed, quitely satisfied and happy. Nice touch to end an episode I
simply missed or outright disbelieved so much of.
The first twenty minutes and the last minute were actually pretty good,
while the middle was, and still is, hard to take.
BTW, to back up for a second, was it ever made clear whether the Zennites
*caused* the Eagle crash? It seemed they did, but I never could pin this
down as a certainty.
.. Breakdown Ratings ..
Character development:
John: fair/D; traded a few great lines with Raan and Victor,
but had too many clunkers, and lacked chemistry w/Vana.
Helena: good/B+; showed a lot of subtle and sometimes overt
emotion, including some I had not noticed before.
Other Alphans: good/B
Raan: fair/C-; pretty much across the board.
Vana: poor/F; except for one line, I believed nothing about her.
Plot:
Experimentation theme: mixed/D+; interesting idea with often poor
execution.
'Missing Link' theme: huh?/F; Essentially didn't get it, an odd
mix of insufficient exploration and poor execution.
Alpha's reactions: mixed/C+; realistic regarding John the person,
but seeming to lack something -- command stucture maybe?
Other:
Cinematography: excellent/A, all the orange fuzziness got a bit
irritating after awhile, but only a little.
Special Effects: excellent/A+
Music: excellent/A
Makeup: fair/C+; The makeup itself is not unattractive, but they
always appeared sweaty-looking. It's probably more reflection
than anything.
Clothes: good/B; I liked these flowing, fairly colorful, and regal
clothes
Miscellaneous Details:
Eagle Crashes: one; Eagle One likely totalled, but with usable parts.
Deaths: none, though Raan momentarily deceived Koenig into thinking
Sandra was.
Injuries: one serious (Sandra), two minor (I think)
Quarters: Koenig's; apparently realistic reproduction by Raan.
.. In Summary ..
I seem to have missed a lot, or perhaps more accurately, did not *believe*
a lot of this episode. Parts of this episode were great, and parts were
awful in my mind, so badly and in too many of the basic premises and key
characters of the episode, that my overall rating, on the scale of 0-4 of
this episode is still a 1 (or on a grade scale, say a D+). The premise,
while it could have been interesting, was, for the most part, atrociously
written and/or acted (in this case, both, I think, especially both the in
the supposedly romantic scenes, which lacked believable development and
utterly lacked chemistry between male lead and female guest).
It had some redeeming features, though: the episode had great
cinematography and effects, great use of sound and color, the attractive
Zennite city, and some of the scenes Victor and also Helena were in. There
were, however, not enough to pull it up beyond a 1 or D, IMO -- though it
was enough to save it from being a totally zero failure.
<Sigh> Not the best start for me into the "Episode by Episode" metathread,
but I'm already enjoying the analysis, if not this week's episode, so this
will be great fun when it gets to a better (IMO) episode. What is it next
week, "Guardian of Piri"? If so, excellent, because that would mean going
from one of my least favorites to one of my favorites!
My 1.999 cents,
- ----
David Welle
dwelle@online.dct.com
http://www.gbonline.com/~dwelle/s19.html
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