The moon, along with Moon Base Alpha and its occupants, is blown out of Earths orbit when a nuclear explosion occurs on the moon. The crew of Moon Base Alpha try to survive as the moon travels through space. This happens September 13th, 1999, hence the title.
Space 1999 was a live action show from the makers of such classic marionette sci fi series such as Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and Fireball XL5, as well as the great live action show U.F.O. Gerry and Sylvia Anderson created these shows and inspired future shows with their style and ideas.
With the basic premise out of the way, the series featured the survivors of the explosion exploring planets they passed near-by, or dealing with unknown phenomenon. Rather than having just a few main characters, Space 1999 had several characters who could lead an episode.
There is various opinions of the science of Space 1999, and as to what was, and was not possible, starting from the breakaway in the first episode itself. Regardless of the validity of the science, it worked for
the show.
As with other Anderson productions, the fashions were futuristic but functional. The Moon Base itself was bright and white, not unlike the Enterprise from Star Trek. You never see dirt, nor anyone cleaning but the base is always spotless. As with U.F.O., one of the most recognisable elements of Space 1999 were the Eagle space craft. Designed to be either cargo or crew transporters, they were designed to look and be functional rather than sleek and glamorous like craft in other science fiction shows of the time.
The opening credits of Space 1999 featured clips of the episode, giving the viewer hints as to what would be happening. This has been also used by the latest version of Battlestar Galactica.
Starring in Space 1999 were the real life husband and wife team of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, both of who had been in Mission Impossible as well. While both leads were American, most of the cast were British, as were the guest stars.
Space 1999 ran in the mid 1970′s for two series, the first acclaimed, the second panned, yet the show is still widely referenced and liked.
Having seen the amazing job that Ronald Moore has achieved with Battlestar Galactica, surely it is time for someone, perhaps Moore himself, to look at re-inventing Space 1999. Rather than having a clean, antiseptic base, it could show how things are being worn down. Having seen BSG, there is so much potential with Space 1999, with their struggle to find food, energy, oxygen, while back on Earth, people are desperately trying to find them.
