Episode Guide

Year 1 - Episode 2

• Original script "Siren Planet" by Art Wallace involved the return of Helena's husband, Telford. But this was an illusion created by the inhabitants of the planet.
• The Wallace script was based on an earlier format of the series, so Johnny Byrne wrote a new script, using the concept of the return of Helena's husband.
• Shooting script dated 8th January 1974. Filmed from 14th January- 30th January 1974.
• During the filming of one Terra Nova scene, everybody stopped when they heard Charles Crichton call "Cut!". But it wasn't Crichton- it was one of the parrots.
• This episode was the first to be completed; the original print had different titles and credits but is otherwise identical. This print was released to US stations as a preview copy in 1974 and still resurfaces occasionally.

Cast

Sets

Int. Main Mission
Int. Command Office
Int. Care Unit
Int. Autopsy Room
Int. Helena's Quarters
Int. Victor's Quarters
Int. Alpha Corridor
Int. Travel Tube
Int. Eagle Pilot Section
Int. Eagle Passenger Section

Ext. Planet Surface

Main Mission is in the early layout with steps to the viewports (there is a slight change in Ring Around The Moon; the new layout is in Earthbound).

The Care Unit reappears in Ring Around The Moon

Helena's quarters are seen again (in a different form) in Dragon's Domain

• Antimatter is also used as a plot device in A Matter Of Balance. Antimatter is composed of subatomic particles (protons, electrons) with an opposite electric charge ("reversed polarity" is an accurate technical description). When normal matter and antimatter particles collide they are destroyed, releasing large amounts of energy.
• Koenig's line "It takes billions of years for a human being to adapt that radically" is an exaggeration: the timescale is more likely millions of years.

Alpha Technology:

• The Care Unit set is also seen in Ring Around The Moon (most Year One medical sets were only seen once).
• Commlock locator beams are also used in Death's Other Dominion
• Medical thermographic scans are used. They are also featured in Breakaway, Ring Around The Moon, Another Time Another Place, Missing Link, Force Of Life, Space Warp and Dorzak.
• The SAT badge on Lee Russell's jacket is seen again in Year 2.
• This is the first use of RED ALERT status, and the only use of YELLOW ALERT.
• The water analyser is only used in this episode, but is glimpsed again in the Life Support Center in The Exiles.
• The stimulant drug Metrazine is similar in name and function to Mezadrine used in The Troubled Spirit

Eagles:

Planets:

Terra Nova

Cast:

• Stuart Damon reappears as Guido Verdeschi in The Bringers Of Wonder. The character Parks is also named but not seen in Ring Around The Moon.
• Kano appears, replacing Ouma.

In this scene we see Koenig's desk is centered in the path of the Main Mission doors. In the next camera angle, showing Koenig, he is able to close the doors behind him.

• The Computer text is different from the dialogue: the text reads "Resources capable of sustaining human life", the dialogue heard is "Resources to sustain human life unlimited."
• Wouldn't an experienced astronaut like Koenig recognise a member of an important space mission, even if he didn't know them personally? (Subsequent episodes suggest whole missions were not widely known, so this may not be surprising).
• The Phase 2 Eagle is shown from a high view as the docking tube retreats from the starboard. It launches with the portside to the tube.
• In the countdown to Phase 2 Eagle launch, there is an eight second interval between Alan saying "Seven seconds" and when he says "Five seconds."

While the book and film delve into memory and ideas of self, the Space 1999 treatment is much less subtle. Siren Planet plays as an adventure, with the aliens tricking the Alphans from the planet, while Byrne's script is a science fiction mystery as the physical form of Lee is too weak and inarticulate to explain their situation.

Structurally the episode is flawed, with much disorienting and incoherent movement between rooms to establish minor plot points. Furthermore it is overly vague; why doesn't Lee just say "The planet is antimatter"? Why are Helena or the autopsy doctors electrocuted? Act 4 improves immensely, establishing idyllic pastoral scenes and then a rapid disintegration into chaos. The resolution, winding back time to before the chaos, is unsatisfying (War Games has a similar "it was all a dream" ending, but is better done).

Koenig's concern and caution is well played (overt jealousy would have been a mistake). Helena admits she is just "numb"- although there are some hints of confusion and distraction, her blankness is uninvolving and uninteresting, wasting the emotional opportunity of the plot.

Direction and cinematography especially noteworthy; unusual camera angles and wide, expansive panoramas are characteristic of Charles Crichton.

On some prints (such as that used on the US laserdiscs), the typography for Rudi Gernreich's credit is in the Braggadocio font. In other prints (such as the DVDs), it is in Futura book, consistent with the other credits. Braggadocio is similar but not identical to Futura Black, used for the This Episode caption.