Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television programme that ran for two series from 1975 to 1977. In the premiere episode, set in the year 1999, nuclear waste stored on the Moon's far side explodes, knocking the Moon out of orbit and sending it, and the 311 inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha, hurtling uncontrollably into space.
Space: 1999 was the final production by the partnership of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and was, at the time, the most expensive series produced for British television, with a combined £6.8 million budget. The first series was co-produced by ITC Entertainment and Italian broadcaster RAI, while the second was produced solely by ITC.
Two series of the programme were produced, each comprising 24 episodes. Production of the first series was from November 1973 to February 1975; production of the second series was from January 1976 to December 1976.
The premise of Space: 1999 centres on the plight of the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha, a scientific research centre located within the crater Plato in the Moon's northern hemisphere. Humanity had been storing its nuclear waste in vast disposal sites on the far side of the Moon, but when an unknown form of "magnetic radiation" is detected, the accumulated waste reaches critical mass and causes a massive thermonuclear explosion on 13 September 1999. The force of the blast propels the Moon like an enormous booster rocket, hurling it out of Earth orbit and into deep space at colossal speed, thus stranding the 311 personnel stationed on Alpha. The runaway Moon, in effect, becomes the "spacecraft" on which the protagonists travel, searching for a new home. Not long after leaving Earth's Solar System, the wandering Moon passes through a black hole and later through a couple of "space warps" which push it even further out into the universe. During their interstellar journey, the Alphans encounter an array of alien civilisations, dystopian societies, and mind-bending phenomena previously unseen by humanity. Several episodes of the first series hinted that the Moon's journey was influenced (and perhaps initiated) by a "mysterious unknown force", which was guiding the Alphans toward an ultimate destiny. The second series used simpler action-oriented plots.
The first series of Space: 1999 used a "teaser" introduction, sometimes called a "hook" or "cold open". This was followed by a title sequence that managed to convey prestige for its two main stars, Landau and Bain (both billed as 'starring') and to give the audience some thirty-plus fast-cut shots of the forthcoming episode. The second series eliminated this montage. The programme would then offer four ten-to-twelve minute long acts (allowing for commercial breaks in North America) and finished with a short (and, in the second series, often light-hearted) "epilogue" scene.
The headline stars of Space: 1999 were American actors Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, who were married to each other at the time and had previously appeared together in Mission: Impossible. To appeal to the American television market and sell the series to one of the major U.S. networks, Landau and Bain were cast at the insistence of Lew Grade over the objections of Sylvia Anderson, who wanted British actors.
Also appearing as regular cast members were the Canadian-based British actor Barry Morse (as Professor Victor Bergman in the first series) and Hungarian-born, US-raised Catherine Schell (as the alien Maya in the second series). Before moving into the role of Maya during the second series, Catherine Schell had guest-starred as a different character in the Year One episode "Guardian of Piri". The programme also brought Australian actor Nick Tate to public attention. Roy Dotrice appeared in the first episode as Commissioner Simmonds and at the end of the episode it appeared that he would be a regular character; by the second (transmitted) episode the character vanished, reappearing partway through the first series in the episode "Earthbound", his only other appearance on the show, in which it is implied that he dies from asphyxia inside an alien spacecraft.
Over its two series, the programme featured guest appearances from Christopher Lee, Margaret Leighton, Joan Collins, Jeremy Kemp, Peter Cushing, Judy Geeson, Julian Glover, Ian McShane, Leo McKern, Billie Whitelaw, Richard Johnson, Patrick Troughton, Peter Bowles, Sarah Douglas, David Prowse, Isla Blair, Stuart Damon, Peter Duncan, Lynne Frederick, Vicki Michelle and Brian Blessed. (Blair, Damon and Blessed each appeared in two episodes portraying different characters.)
| Space: 1999 | |
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| Genre | Science fiction |
| Created by | Gerry and Sylvia Anderson |
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| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 48 (list of episodes) |
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| Executive producer | Gerry Anderson |
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| Network | ITV |
| Release | 4 September 1975 – 12 November 1977 |
| Actor name | Character name and profession | Number of episodes | Series One | Series Two |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbara Bain | Helena Russell, head of Medical Section | 48 | Yes | Yes |
| Martin Landau | John Koenig, leader of Moonbase Alpha | 47 | Yes | Yes |
| Nick Tate | Alan Carter, third in command, chief pilot | 45 | Yes | Yes |
| Zienia Merton | Sandra Benes, data analyst | 37 | Yes | Yes |
| Anton Phillips | Bob Mathias, deputy medical officer | 24 | Yes | Yes |
| Barry Morse | Victor Bergman, science adviser | 24 | Yes | No |
| Catherine Schell | Servant of Guardian of Piri (series 1, episode
11)
Maya, science officer (entire series 2) |
25 | Yes | Yes |
| Prentis Hancock | Paul Morrow, base second in command and Main Mission controller | 23 | Yes | No |
| Clifton Jones | David Kano, computer operations officer | 23 | Yes | No |
| Tony Anholt | Tony Verdeschi, second in command, head of Security and Command Center controller | 23 | No | Yes |
| Suzanne Roquette | Tanya Alexander, base operations officer | 19 | Yes | No |
| John Hug | Bill Fraser, Eagle pilot | 9 | No | Yes |
| Yasuko Nagazumi | Yasko, data analyst | 8 | No | Yes |
| Jeffery Kissoon | Ben Vincent, deputy medical officer | 7 | No | Yes |
| Sam Dastor | Ed Spencer, medical officer | 3 | No | Yes |
| Alibe Parsons | Alibe, data analyst | 3 | No | Yes |
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