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“Breakaway” |
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A planned deep space mission is threatened when the crew succumbs to a bizarre, untraceable form of radiation sickness. John Koenig is assigned to get the project back on track, but by the time the mystery is unraveled, it is too late to prevent a nuclear catastrophe which tears the moon out of earth orbit and hurls it into deep space, with 311 men and women trapped on Moonbase Alpha. Writer: George Bellak Director: Lee H. Katzin Guest Cast Roy Dotrice as Simmonds Lon Slatton as Ouma Eric Carte as Collins |
September, 1975. I was in my first year of high school, Gerald Ford was in the White House, and my friend Raymond — a stereotypical sci-fi nerd — called me on the phone one Saturday afternoon, telling me I had to check out a new show premiering that day. So at 4:00 I turned on the television, tuned in WDSU Channel 6, and experienced for the first time ever the phenomenon of Space: 1999. The episode was “Breakaway.” It’s a tight, complicated story that takes a couple of unexpected turns. On initial viewing, one might think the series will be about the adventures of the Meta Probe, which Koenig's mission is to get launched, but when the nuclear waste dumps on the far side of the moon (incorrectly referred to as the “dark side”) explode, the moon is thrown out of the earth’s orbit. It becomes a spaceship itself, drifting through space with no way to steer, occasionally perhaps to pass by a planet the lost Alphans can colonize. The story also highlights those elements which will make the series what it is: Keith Wilson’s production design and Brian Johnson’s special effects. There are lots of explosions, spaceship crashes and spectacularly detailed models, giving the production a look and feel which makes the original Star Trek appear lackluster. If I have one complaint about this episode, it is that too many loose ends established in the first half are never explained, either in the second half or in subsequent episodes. For example, at the end of the episode, it is discovered that the Moon is heading toward Meta, and perhaps the Alphans might make a new home there. But they never go to Meta, either in this or any other episode. (In the book, the planet is renamed Terra Nova, which the Alphans visit in “Matter of Life and Death.”) Also, Commissioner Simmonds, trapped on the moon when it breaks away, appears in only one other episode. He would have been a good addition to several others, as a “Doctor Smith” for the show. |
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RELATED PAGES: [Ken Scott] [Martin Willey] |
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Alpha Chronicle Online ©2001 by Matt Butts. Space: 1999 ©1975 Carlton
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