Space:1999 Episode Reviews

Space:1999 The Classic Adventures presents episode reviews by Richard Bendell. These reviews are a "must read" for any Space:1999 fan.

BREAKAWAY

I've said before that Breakaway is one of the finest tv sci-fi show pilots in history and I stand by that assessment today, a definite 9.5 out of 10 or better.

The show opens dramatically with Helena and Victor investigating the possible cause of the erupting malignancy within the brains of unfortunate astronauts only to have it happen before their very eyes but even after witnessing the unfortunate death of Nordstrom they still have no greater understanding of what iscausing the problem.

The groundwork for Series One is laid clearly here. A mystery exists (two in fact with the question about the source of the strange Meta signals) that is beyond the Alphan's current understanding and in their valiant efforts to figure out the problems they are faced with they always seem to be one step behind (think Black Sun, Force of Life, Troubled Spirit, Space Brain)

But while unsuccessful they nevertheless constantly demonstrate the will of the human spirit that is so wonderfully summed up by John in the episode War Games:

"KOENIG: Ever since we were blasted away from Earth we've been fighting for survival. We have survived. Now, how, I don't know. There's no rational explanation. But what I do have is an absolute faith in the strength of the human spirit. And the belief that someone or something is looking after us. God, if you like. And we will survive!"

Space: 1999 is definitely the story about the survival of humans unprepared for the dangers and wonders of deep space and Breakaway sets the standard that the remaining 23 episodes strive for.

I do wish that we viewers could have had 2 versions available to watch. Firstly, the edited "official" version that moves along at a frantic pace to the explosive conclusion. Secondly, it would have been great to have had a two-parter episode available that better fleshes out the history of Moonbase Alpha, tells us more about the Alphan crew as well as the state of affairs on earth at that point in time. While Breakway is a runaway success (pun intended) it does leave the viewer crying out for more. They could even have had a 3 parter which shows the before, during and after events of Breakaway in greater detail!!

Also, it appears to me from the This Episode clips that the sfx crew may have intended to show that the trigger for the nuclear explosion was when one of the eagles hit the force field with one of the nuclear waste cannisters (look closely in the clips and you can see a cannister explode as the eagle loses control in flight, probably due to the magnetic fluctuations) this would have been a nice addition to the episode perhaps indicating that the Alphans were having success in their attempt to break up the pile but this unfortunate circumstance actually triggers the explosions.

Lastly, regarding the question of why the moon wouldn't have been destroyed as an explosion powerful enough to send it out of orbit should have shattered it, I believe that the likely answer is the same one which underlines the entire series... that the MUF, forces on Arkadia, or a combination of the two, (or perhaps these two are ultimately one in the same) did actually trigger, direct and protect the moon and Alphans in order to allow them to fulfill their destiny in space!

It is an answer that I have faith in.

Richard Bendell

Matter of Life and Death

Well, flat out I have to say that I consider Matter of Life and Death perhaps the most intriguing and complex of all Series One episodes of Space: 1999.

There is so much to consider in this episode such as what exactly is Lee Russell? Is he part of the MUF (Mysterious Unknown Force) which is seemingly the constant and ever present cause or trigger of events in Series One perhaps both causing the seemingly improbable events including the moon being blasted out of earth orbit.

Or is he too a beneficiary of the benevolence of the MUF in that he and his fellow Astro 7 astronauts were not killed by the unknown radioactive energies when they were locked in orbit around Jupiter but rather were transformed into a higher level entity/being of sorts.

Whatever the case it seems that Lee's objective in MOLAD is to try and save Helena and her fellow Alphans firstly by trying to prevent them from going to Terra Nova in the first place which will surely cause their deaths and then secondly by allowing the Alphan search party to experience what "will happen" if they stay on Terra Nova thus implying that the disaster we witness on the planet didn't actually occur and thus was never magically reversed which is often a key criticism of people who dismiss the episode ending as an example of poor/weak writing.

Another thing that intrigues me about the episode is how it potentially gives us insight into the MUF phenomenom. By that I refer to the radiation that affected the Jupiter probe of which Lee Russell was a crew member. By the sounds of it the crew did not die, at least not in the direct sense as per Lee's comment to Helena after the apparent disaster on the planet:

"The Astro-7 mission. You remember. We went into close orbit around Jupiter. Our heat shields burned up. We were affected by an unknown form of radiation I suppose. It transformed us, scattered us into deep space. What I became, what I am now, ended up here, on this planet."

Did the MUF help in any way by allowing the Astro-7 crew to transform instead of dying? If so, did they indirectly become agents for the MUF or were they a separate force all on their own with no connection to other mysterious forces in the 1999 universe?

I find this particular exchange offers many potential ideas. Perhaps the Alphans survive many of their encounters in Series One not just because of strange, unknown forces but from the specific help or influence from the previously human offspring of this very unusual radiation effect.

If Lee ended up inhabiting a bizarre, anti-matter world then perhaps some of the other crew became part of other deep space phenomena and while unable to cross the bridge between their "new world" and ours when they were encountered, they were possibly still influential in helping the Alphans, as a whole, survive their encounters.

I just LOVE this aspect of the show, the idea that the MUF (whether it be higher beings, unknown spiritual forces or even God) are watching over our intrepid travellers and that it ultimately "gives meaning to all this".

And then add in the fact that perhaps evolved/altered humans are also part of or in addition to these forces and the overall story arc becomes more intricate still as they would naturally have a deeper connection to these wayward Alphans, their fellow human beings that other entities may or may not.

Regarding Lee Russell specifically, and the why, how and what questions surrounding him, I've always found it very interesting to read different interpretations of what various concepts in MOLAD were all about.

Speaking just of the appearance of Lee himself, he behaves almost like a ghostly spirit. He is trying to express himself and warn the Alphans clearly but just can't while he is out of his own environment. Contrast this with his appearance to Helena on Terra Nova where he now seems perfectly lucid and normal, this anti-matter environment is the place where his life force can exist. As he says "I couldn't survive in your world and you can't survive in mine".

Also, while on Alpha when Lee was "alive" he was NEVER anti-matter but as Victor point's out that when Lee "died" he started changing towards that per thefollowing:

"John, just hear me out. I put all the data on Russell's skin tissue through the particle analyser. The structure of his skin was normal, while he was alive, but since his death it shows that the atomic structure of his body is changing. There are definite signs of reversed polarity. And that change is becoming more pronounced, the reversal more complete."

I believe that after Lee realized he couldn't stop the Alphans from going to Terra Nova he allowed his form there to die. His only hope of saving Helena and the other Alphans was to let them experience what would happen if they did try and go to Terra Nova with the end result being what happens when matter and anti-matter meet... annhilation.

Lee Russell obviously commanded incredible power in his new form and must have had the knowledge that the approaching Alphans would definitely want to exodus to Terra Nova as it appeared ideal as a new home.

He used his power to recreate himself in the matter world, albiet temporarily, and also surrendering many of his faculties and knowledge of the anti-matter world that he just left.

Oddly enough it has a kind of Jesus Christ type of feel to it. Perhaps he even sacrificed his form on Alpha hoping that this would convince them not to visit Terra Nova... Lee remembered what it was to be human and attempted to save them not from their sins but from their innocence/ignorance.

My interpretation was Lee protected the Alphans for the short time on Terra Nova from the imminent danger of the anti-matter. He also allowed them to merely to experience what would happen if they stayed there. When he asked Helena to "see what you want to see", she was merely helping him to return them back from the alternate scenario to reality, he didn't actually undo the disaster because it never really occurred.

As his last task as a human was to save his fellow man and the woman he had loved from certain death. It really is an incredible tale of love and self-sacrifice and is probably the most complex yet fascinating episode of 1999. And the fact that it was only their 2nd episode ever is just astonishing.

In summation, I really like MOLAD. It has a cinematic and grand, orchestral music that help it transcend mere tv episode viewing... it is a riveting 53 minute mini-movie of the highest order. In fact, MOLAD is arguably one of the series greatest achievements and hopefully others can gain a better understanding for the underlying story through this review because I personally think that what is happening to Lee and Alpha can be be explained and understood. And in doing so perhaps they will also gain a greater appreciation for the fine episode that MOLAD despite any minor flaws it might have.

Overall, I give MOLAD it a 9 1/2 for concept, an 8 1/2 for actual execution and a 10 for the final 20 minutes of the story which takes place on Terra Nova and the ending scene on Alpha as the episode goes from joy and excitement so deftly to fear and terror.

Then the episode makes a well-needed shift to some light humour on Alpha with an amusing scene between John, Victor and Kano and then finally the poignant ending as we watch Helena silently say goodbye to Lee up on the Main Mission balcony as the moon moves away from Terra Nova and the man she once knew and loved. It is very touching and wonderfully handled by director Charles Crichton and is the perfect ending to an amazing episode.

Richard B

Black Sun

If Breakaway was the smash-bang opener and Matter of Life and Death the grand first encounter with both aplanet and a fellow human from earth (albeit analtered and changed human) then Black Sun changes gears and direction yet again and holds the Alphans(and we viewers) up against the precipice of certain death and then mysteriously pulls us back without us ever being quite sure of what we've seen or what actually happened.

This is both the beauty and challenge that is Space:1999 Series One. The viewer is neither spoon-fed answers nor treated like an uneducated imbecile but rather is constantly challenged to "think" about what they've witnessed and to consider its greater meaning of which there could be several possibilities.

Black Sun starts out as a very straight forward action-adventure episode. The first scene begins with a shot of an asteroid which then melds into a nice"normal life" moment in Main Mission (as normal as life can get on a runaway moon lost in the farthest reaches of space) with Tanya handing out coffees to other staff while Sandra, Paul and Kano debate the potential danger of the asteroid passing nearby. Suddenly without warning it drastically changes direction and heads on a precise collision course with Moonbase Alpha and then is seemingly yanked away once again at the last second away from the moon and into space were it bends, distorts and explodes under strange forces. Then just as inexplicably a bizarre image is brought up on the Main Mission screen revealing a peculiar circular outline through which nothing is seen within its area in space not even stars.

Unfortunately the way the following part of the script is written and shot results in a weak scene within what is otherwise a terrific and important episode of the entire series. The Alphans, seemingly unaware or unable to guess at what they've just seen, naively send a survey eagle to check out the phenomena despite the fact that it seems pretty clear to a viewer with even a modest understanding of outer space even back in 1975 that this is likely a black sun (per the title) or blackhole under more accepted scientific terminology and is extremely dangerous.

As the next scene unfolds we get a somewhat superfluous love connection between Sandra and a previously unseen pilot Mike Ryan and various examples of the power of the phenomena as it swallows laserlight and causes problems with their video transmission. Not yet satisfied as to what they’ve seen, Mike convinces Commander Koenig to put his head further into the lion’s mouth and flies his eagle closer to the phenomena. This whole scene runs parallel with the base’s resident scientist, Victor Bergman, working on computations to try and determine what the phenomena is. Suddenly, “computer” confirms his theory and that the object is of serious danger. Of course instead of calling the Commander with his commlock, Victor rushes to Main Mission upon which his appearance signifies a major problem but his warning comes too late as the situation has deteriorated rapidly and becomes deadly to Mike and his eagle which results in the contrived fainting spell by the fragile female (Sandra). This is followed shortly by the following admission by Victor: "Now, John. You didn't know. Neither did I. Now, if anyone's to blame it's me. I suspected it hours ago." After this exchange we the viewer are left to wonder why couldn’t they have simply sent in a probe or remote controlled eagle if they had even the slightest sense of the danger they faced or why Victor didn’t call the Commander instead of wasting precious seconds rushing to Main Mission.

Oh well, for the most part things improve considerably from here and we get to the core of a great story. It is the ultimate compliment to Space: 1999 that we can view the same episode so many times yet still see something new or better yet feel that we have just now realized a greater truth. This episode stands out as a very important one in the Series One story framework. When I first saw it I found it very intriguing despite it being, on the surface at least, somewhat slow. Director LeeKatzin's work on 1999, while too brief, set a standard for the series. He showed adeptness with the sci-fi material that hi-lighted the special effects, sets and story but not at the expense of preventing the humanity of the Alphans to come through. (I must also mention and credit director David Tomblin whose episodes rivalled Katzin’s deftness in Black Sun, allowing the characters to shine through regardless of how strange the storyline or experience.)

While the storyline marches forward with development of a protective screen over Alpha and a “lifeboat” the true story is both how the Alphans react to the imminent threat to their survival and the first true indication that there may be something out there helping, even guiding, the Alphans through the dangers they face in deep space, the MUF. The Mysterious Unknown Force as it has become known is thought to appear in different forms throughout Series One and it is more directly implied within a specific episode, Collision Course, that perhaps the accident that sent the moon out of earth orbit was perhaps not an accident at all and was “meant to happen”.  I will touch on this again later.

The moon’s actual encounter with the Black Sun is quite open to interpretation as well, I would say. Until a few years ago I had always assumed that the Moon had actually passed through the Black Sun, but after the reading the posting of another fan, I’m also now of the opinion that they never did, and that the MUF displaced the Moon to another point in the universe – just as it did with the Eagle lifeboat. John and Victor fade from existence, just like Helena and Sandra and Alan. The passengers on board the Eagle may not have experienced or even encountered the MUFas John and Victor did, but I believe that they were all pulled from time and space and placed somewhere else (or as Helena puts it later to bring thoseAlphans in the lifeboat eagle “back to where they belong”) thus avoiding the crushing effects of the Black Sun altogether. To me it makes complete sense if the moon wasdisplaced before reaching the Black Sun and the way the visual was done pretty much confirms this as the moon fades away as it seems to reach the edges of the Black Sun.

Now, having said, this new interpretation raises a whole series of new questions.... specifically if theMUF has displaced Alpha then it seems to have demonstrated the ability to put the Alphans anywhere it wants perhaps anytime it wishes. By that I mean if, as I had previously thought, the moon had gone through the Black Sun and come to that new area of space then, theoretically, if it were to happen again to the moon or any other like object then it too would be transported to the same spot in space... thus the Black Sun links to another point in space and the MUF simply prevented the moon from being crushed. Now as to why Mike Ryan died, perhaps the MUF was unaware that the Alphans had arrived...perhaps it was expecting them but didn't know exactly when, but the death of Ryan alerted it to their presence and allowed it to prevent their certain death and to reach out and bring the lifeboat eagle home. However, if the MUF actually prevented the moon from entering the Black Sun at all and put the moon where it wanted/needed the moon to be then perhaps it did that more than once in Series One. Given what Arra tells John in Collision Course about how the moon and the Alphans were destined since the beginning of time to touch Astheria and to populate the farthest reaches of space then it would seem very possible that the MUF was assisting them at various times in their journey. In fact, the MUF arguably was probably there at Breakaway to prevent the destruction of the moon and though it was never said, could have helped moved the moon right out of earth's solar system to begin with.... I’ll stop here as I 'm starting to ramble on about the various possibilities and implications.

One final nit I do have is that the lines written for John and Victor after their encounter with the MUFdon’t quite fit and are probably misleading to viewers specifically where John says "Victor, your force fieldheld" and Victor says "I wonder how?" Given they just experienced meeting the MUF and the fact that the entire moon would have been crushed by the forces of the Black Sun these two lines seem to wrongly suggest that the force field was the reason they survived. I would prefer if they had rewritten this scene or just cut it entirely as it doesn't make sense or fit with what we know and have seen. Despite a few bumps, if we interpret the fading of the moon and eagle, the encounter with the being and the reunion of the moon and eagle as evidence of the influence of the MUF then I would argue that science was not necessarily ignored or misunderstood here. If the moon was protected by the MUF from the crushing gravity of the Black Sun and/or moved elsewhere in space then the Alphan force field was irrelevant to what occurred.

Lastly, Black Sun has some terrific character moments, some of the best in the series in fact,including: Where Victor says “he’s a good man” in reference toController Paul Morrow when Paul has continued workingand overseeing the bases operation even as it appearsthe end is near. I had already liked Paul but myopinion of him rose further after this statement and I always felt that Paul was honourable, reliable and someone you could trust. Victor and Kano’s brief but enjoyable discussion in the computer room gave us a bit of insight into both. Victor truly is the grandfather of the base, caring,likable yet also the wise sear while Kano obviously has a rather interesting connection to “computer”something we’ll learn more about in Guardian of Piri. The scene with Paul and Tanya when she asks if she can  share the music with him. The scene with Bob Mathias and Kano playing chess(?) when Bob looks at David and says cool and confident“you’ll never beat me you know”… I always get achuckle over that one. On the eagle with Helena where she tells Sandra thatas a child she used to be scared of the dark and then Sandra replies that she used to be scared of doctors…wonderful. And of course the entire scene between John and Victor in Main Mission as the share a drink, reminisce and generally make the viewer feel as much a part of the discussion as they do. Very heartfelt, honest and superbly acted. I also seem to recall that both actors’s actually improvised some of the dialogue for this scene... not sure if that is true but I can certainly believe the possibility. Lastly, allowing Victor to "address the audience" by having him pretty much acknowledge the camera when flicking his cigar towards it was and still is an incredibly rare thing to do and remains a most memorable and favourable moment amongst fans. To sum up, I really like Black Sun and consider it very good… an 8 to 8.5/10 for the story but a definite10/10 for those great, heart-warming and amusing character moments. Perhaps some may find it a bit slow, even incomprehensible but I consider it philosophically challenging, intriguing and definitely an hour well spent.

Richard B (Sep 6/07)

RING AROUND THE MOON

After the excellence of the first 3 episodes Breakaway, Matter of Life and Death and Black Sun (per the production order chronology of Series One of Space: 1999), the series had to experience its first stumble and Ring Around the Moon (RATM) unfortunately gets that title, perhaps by default.  

Now, I must say upfront that there are many thingsstill to like about Ring Around the Moon. The opening and ending sequences offer both an exciting beginning and, literally, an explosive finish. I must also give a HUGE round of applause to Network for the new remastered and restored version of RATM within its dvd set… the picture quality is now a revelation, quites uperb and now ranks as one of the best in Series One. All previous prints on laserdisc, vhs and all theoriginal dvd sets including Carlton and A&E did RATM no favours as the prints had scenes that were oftenWAYYYYY too dark (just check out all of the Eagle cockpit scenes) and inconsistent with poor contrastand colour. This new print makes RATM much easier to watch and appreciate despite the rather slim storyline. Also,the audio is well served with the 5.1 Dolby Digitalmix being with good use of sound direction (be sure to check out the use of rear speaker sound effects as Helena materializes in the sphere… very cool) and is clear enough to appreciate all of the original sound effects and yes, even the 70’s disco-style music during the big moonwalk scene is more bearable.

Unfortunately regarding the storyline things are not so worthy of praise as the majority of scenes in RATM break new ground but not in a preferred fashion… in my opinion it commits the ultimate cardinal sin for a tv show in that, and I can think I can safely say this without complaint (excepting perhaps a most fervent fan of the episode from Norway), that the episode is somewhat boring. In its defence it has a “dream-like” quality that does crop up again in Missing Link and Guardian of Piri and for whatever reason makes these episodes prime late-night viewing. Apparently, something about the lateness of the hour accentuates one’s mind to the subtle pacing and makes it even more attuned to the sparkling visuals and subtle music cues. However, assuming that one isn’t up at 2:00am to pop the episode into their dvd player this benefit is lost and the rather lightweight story is forced to try and carry itself under its own ponderous weight without total success. The following observation by Martin Willey at TheCatacombs website echoes my thoughts as well:“The short story concept is padded out into a full episode by repeated Eagle trips and slow exposition. However, the story has a strong visual style with vivid colour and abstract light effects.” I think the original concept of the episode is intriguing but the depth, logic and execution of the core elements of the story are weak and not sufficiently thought through.

The essence of this Space: 1999 story is that an aliencivilization sent a probe from the planet Triton to Earth many centuries ago to oversee its development with the apparent foresight that mankind would develop sufficiently mentally and technologically to eventually go into space. However, this particular progress was apparently looked upon fearfully. The aliens were deeply concerned that mankind would eventually find their planet and invade it even though it was 2 million light yearsaway! Given the fact that RATM is not the 2nd episode, this implies that it took the Triton probe a bit of time to locate the moon after the nuclear waste dump explosion disaster which thrust it, Moonbase Alpha and the Alphans into unchartered regions of space and that this very event appears to confirm the Triton fears…mankind has finally advanced enough to carry out the threat of invasion. The probe then begins to carry out its defensive mission which appears to consist of: a) locking the moon into orbit around the probe b) to seek and obtain mankind’s knowledge as noted per Victor (from the script details at The Catacombs):

VICTOR (adjusts glass sphere): Now what do they want from us really? Information. Our knowledge, that's all. They're a sort of-reconnaissance team, sent out into space to gather information and then transmit it back to Triton.That's all. We did it ourselves with our deep spaceprobe ships."

With regards to the mechanism by how the Triton probe needs to carry out its mission we have the opening scene where technician Ted Clifford is “programmed” by a bright orange light from the probe to his brain as he stands next to a Main Mission window while performing an equipment maintenance procedure. Evidently this provides a wireless link of sorts between the probe and Clifford who then proceeds to download incredible amounts of info from Alpha’s computer by way of remarkably accelerated typing skills. Attempts to stop Clifford by the Main Mission staff proves ineffective as they are tossed aside by the super-powered, human “probe-bot” who unfortunately suffers a literal melt-down as his brain tissue melts under the stress imposed by the implanted Triton ball of orange light. Per Helena’s autopsy, the light expanded his cerebrum 3 times and accelerated his arromal system, which transmits information to the body through nerves up to a thousand times its normal speed, thus allowing him to act as a computer. At this point it is apparent that the Triton probe can neither gain remote access to Alpha’s computer information nor has it the physical ability to do so. Thus, it needs to “body and mind-snatch” an Alphan and program it for its devious purposes. The remaining part of RATM then becomes a convoluted tug-of-war between the Triton Probe to obtain another info-gathering servant and the Alphans to try and find a way to get through the probe’s defences in order to, well I’m not entirely sure why the Alphans are trying to get to the probe except beyond this obvious statement by Koenig:

KOENIG: "Alan. I want a thorough survey. Two zero altitude. See if a landing's possible. You can get closer if you can, but under no circumstances are you to touch down."

So the Alphans send an Eagle to survey the probe. A force field sent out from the probe causes the pilots to be knocked unconscious and the Eagle is deflected back tumbling towards the moon and out of Main Mission control as the Eagle is still on manual. The Eagle crashes but in a sufficiently mild manner that Alan is able to survive relatively unscathed and be back in action a short time later but sufficiently strong to kill his co-pilot Donovan. This kind of inconsistency continues to plague the episode until its conclusion. With the Eagle crashed but relatively close to Alpha, the Alphan’s are apparently unable to fly another medical Eagle towards them so John decides to send a group of five of them to the Eagle, walking in spacesuits. This seems to suit the probe just fine as it is able to capture Dr. Helena Russell via a beam of yellow light and wisk her back to the probe while giving the Commander John Koenig a good zap reminding him to keep away and mind his business. The next scene has John returned back to Alpha and lying in Medical. Still unsteady, yet recovering quickly from his Triton jolt, he enlightens Victor with his idea regarding how they can adapt an Eagle to get through the Triton force field by modifying the gravity shields of the Eagle. How John came up with this idea is equally mysterious but it does serve to move the next part of the story forward. At the same time Helena is informed by the probe that she is going to be their Servant and proceeds to mollify the viewer with cool lights and nifty camera angles as she is “programmed” by the probe up close and personal, hopefully preventing the unfortunate outcome that befell Clifford which was premature brain“burn-out”.

The next scene is brief yet very thoughtful. John, now looking fully recovered, goes to see Alan who was obviously rescued from the crash and is also recovering at a rapid pace even though his co-pilot is dead as Clifford. A nice character moment occurs when Alan asks “where’s Donavan?” only to see John grimace slightly and shake his head no thus telling the audience what we already know but allowing us to see Alan’s concerned and saddened reaction. It really is a remarkable, meaningful moment given that audience has no connection with Donavan… we’ve never seen him before nor was there any attempt to give us any details about him yet the writers at least didn’t allow his death to go by unnoticed, in comparison an acknowledgement that the majority of red-shirted officers killed in Star Trek rarely if ever received. It is times like these that I really believe that Space: 1999 revealed the depth of its humanity… subtle and soft-spoken but evident to any who were aware enough to notice such things and is yet another example of what I enjoy so much about Series One. It has a tremendous amount of heart and caring but is never overblown or made idiotically obvious to the viewer. Much of the caring is seen in the characters' faces, their expressions, their eyes and viewers of Series One are presumed to have a reasonable level of intelligence and understanding to figure out the obvious and to debate and try and comprehend the not-so-obvious. In fact, this element of the show makes me often wonder why so many critics considered Space: 1999 slowor boring. In fact I would argue that the evidence is to the contrary.

Consider this. How many young kids in the 5 to 12 year age bracket enjoyed the show when it premiered and are still fans today? Given that kids of that age are notoriously fickle and have low attention spans if Space: 1999 really was that boring should have quickly driven them away from the tv or to another station and another show. When I saw the show premiere in 1975 I was 10 years old and I personally found every episode to be riveting viewing including parts of Ring Around theMoon. Series One usually had very unexpected twistsand turns and rarely ended up with a conclusion that I might have anticipated. Things often didn’t work out, people died and total disaster was never far away yet the show always had an optimism and hope that transcended even the gloomiest events. Bad people often got their due and the endings were usually exciting AND memorable events. In fact there are few shows I’ve ever watched that seared themselves into my young brain such that I still can remember watching them for the very first time like I do with the entire season of Space: 1999 Series One. In my opinion it wasn’t slow. Each story was determined and well paced as it built to its inevitable, shattering conclusion nor was boring often found in its vocabulary outside of parts of a mere handful of the 24 episodes!

Back to RATM, we end up with yet another Eagle flight to the Triton probe as John and Alan apparently try to push their way through the probe’s force field using the Eagle gravity screens and into the probe if not to rescue Helena then to actually try and confirm that at least they can get there. By all accounts the probe is merely toying with them as it allows the Eagle to get ever so close then reverses the force field sucking the Eagle towards it. Fortunately John is able to switch on the autopilot this time before becoming unconscious and Paul is able to safely return the Eagle to Alpha. Right after this Alpha is approached by a small globe of yellow light and from it appears Helena seemingly no worse for wear except for the fact that she is apparently technically blind per a physical pen test and Bob Mathias check of her optic nerve even though we know she must be able to see in some manner. We quickly learn that the probe has been able program Helena from close up thus avoiding burning her brainout prematurely. She is activated and transmits computer data, via very fast typing, in fairly short time bursts likely meant to keep her overloading herself in the probe’s service. Discussions between Victor and John continue to dance around the main question which is why doesn’t theprobe destroy the Alphans? We are never quite sure if that was ever the probe’s intent or within its ability.We are also never quite sure why the probe continues to have its “probe-bots” send Alphan computer databack to it nor what it would have done once it has all of the information. We do learn via Victor that somehow he knows the location of the probe’s homeplanet, Triton, by way of his star charts and that it is dead, blew up, disintegrated. This is further explained late in the episode via John specifically that Triton’s sun exploded and destroyed all of the planets in the solar system. Thus, the probe’s mission is to acquire the data and the ultimate risk that the Alphan’s face is that Dr.Helena Russell will not survive long enough to complete the download. Thus, yet again John comes up with an idea to jam computer while Helena is downloading which apparently will short circuit the probe’s force field and thus allow an Eagle to approach the probe with the intent and hope of convincing those in the probe that its home planet is dead which means its purpose is no longer required…its function discontinued.

In the final scene everything seemingly works to plan,computer is jammed; the Commander’s Eagle makes it to the Triton Probe where we then find out that it was the probe’s plan all along to get the Commander to come there in order to prepare him as a replacement for Dr. Russell when she ultimately dies in its service. At this point John proceeds to have the specific data sent from computer which reveals the fact that the probe’s home planet has been destroyed by the explosion of its sun and that the probe’s mission and function are discontinued. And in the best spirit of Captain James T. Kirk, John Koenig has talked the probe literally to death where the news of its destroyed home causes it to self-destruct but not before John and the other Alphans get back to theEagle and towards the moon before the probe goes up in a blaze of glory.

To sum up, Ring Around the Moon is a rather repetitive story line that hangs loose on some rather simplistic and convoluted assumptions. In spite of that it does offer great visuals, cool use of glowing balls and beams of light, excellent stunt work in the episode intro and a whiz-bang finish. However, I ultimately find it Series One weakest effort just behind The Full Circle but still there arestill some fine character moments especially from Anton Phillips who plays Dr. Bob Mathias. He doesn’t tend to get a lot of work in Series One but it is nice to see him in perhaps his most prominent role here in RATM and enjoys some playful banter with Helena in thesecond last scene of the episode whom we learn is now free of the probe implant and perfectly healthy. We also have an enlightening scene between Alan and John prior to the first Eagle mission to investigate the probe. The exchange reveals that Carter is not quite yet convinced enough in Koenig’s abilities as Commander to accept his orders at face value. However, after this episode we will never again see him blatantly challenging John’s decisions and in fact becomes arguably his most loyal crew member who stands beside and with John through many future crises including Another Time, Another Place, Missing Link,Collision Course and even Force of Life when he jumps in front of John with his stun gun as Zoref desperately tries to attack him but I’ll save that for a future review. Ring Around the Moon rates a 5.5/10 for the story but a 7.5/10 for execution, stunt and model work finesse. It may not be the most exciting tv sci-fi episode ever made but at least it won’t end up melting your brain especially if you have the pleasure of viewing it during that “dream-like” enhanced time that seems to happen shortly after midnight.

Richard B (Nov 8/07)