Author Topic: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual  (Read 19635 times)

Offline Blackstar

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Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« on: 09/15/2021 01:19 pm »

Offline SimonFD

Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #1 on: 09/15/2021 01:50 pm »
I've been waiting for this book for over 40 years!

I'll have to think about it...  :P
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Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #2 on: 09/15/2021 02:38 pm »
I've been waiting for this book for over 40 years!

I'll have to think about it...  :P

It used to be about the future. Now it's historical.

Offline Steve G

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #3 on: 09/15/2021 02:48 pm »
There are two 1970s series I would love to see a reboot. Of course, Space 1999, and The Starlost. Both were great concepts but not-so-well executed. The Starlost is a brilliant concept but underfunded. Space 1999, well, Barbara Bain was too robotic, and they got rid of Barry Morse after Season 1. Season 2 they brought in Fred Freiberger as producer. He's the same guy that destroyed Star Trek as producer of Season 3.

With today's much higher production and special effects, both series having a reboot would be great.

Offline demorcef

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #4 on: 09/15/2021 02:58 pm »
I have never heard of The Starlost before! The plot description on Wikipedia is AMAZING! I will have to see if I can find episodes anywhere.

Offline webdan

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #5 on: 09/15/2021 03:01 pm »
There are two 1970s series I would love to see a reboot. Of course, Space 1999, and The Starlost. Both were great concepts but not-so-well executed. The Starlost is a brilliant concept but underfunded. Space 1999, well, Barbara Bain was too robotic, and they got rid of Barry Morse after Season 1. Season 2 they brought in Fred Freiberger as producer. He's the same guy that destroyed Star Trek as producer of Season 3.

With today's much higher production and special effects, both series having a reboot would be great.

Agree 100%. Just happened to google something about Space: 1999 just the other day, go figure.

Re The Starlost - Some are on YouTube. Grew up with it myself.

There are connections to 2001 :)

Edit: Merged posts
« Last Edit: 09/15/2021 03:03 pm by webdan »

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #6 on: 09/15/2021 03:11 pm »
I have never heard of The Starlost before! The plot description on Wikipedia is AMAZING! I will have to see if I can find episodes anywhere.
I have never heard of The Starlost before! The plot description on Wikipedia is AMAZING! I will have to see if I can find episodes anywhere.

You will not like it. It had zero budget and looks it. It also had a really convoluted trip to the screen. Harlan Ellison was hired on as a lead writer and ended up in a huge dispute with the producer. Ellison was always cantankerous, but his account of what happened is probably much more right than wrong. He thought he was signing up for a well-funded project that would have good production values and experienced people, and then found himself working with people who had no clue what they were doing. (I think he thought he would be working in London and ended up working in Toronto.) The whole thing just sort of collapsed.

I don't think that the concept would work today. The idea of the "space ark" or generational ship was common in sci-fi in the 1950s-1970s. But it just seems like a totally worn-out idea now.

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #7 on: 09/15/2021 03:18 pm »
There are two 1970s series I would love to see a reboot. Of course, Space 1999, and The Starlost. Both were great concepts but not-so-well executed. The Starlost is a brilliant concept but underfunded. Space 1999, well, Barbara Bain was too robotic, and they got rid of Barry Morse after Season 1. Season 2 they brought in Fred Freiberger as producer. He's the same guy that destroyed Star Trek as producer of Season 3.

There was an effort a few years back to revive Space 1999. It collapsed.

https://thespacereview.com/article/2040/1

I don't see how it could actually work. When the show was on, 1999 was nearly a quarter-century away; now it's 20 years in the past. Do you change the name? (The last reboot effort was to change it to "Space 2099.") So many reboots are based on nostalgia among a certain age demographic, but changing the name undermines that nostalgia factor, and the age demographic for that show is not the one that advertisers care about. I'm pretty sure that's why the reboot effort fell apart. I can imagine a studio exec asking "What is your audience?" and the reply "60-year-old white males" is not the kind of answer that gets shows made.

Also, the concept was wacky and nonsensical. The show's strength was its models and design ethos, not the premise or stories.

Offline webdan

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #8 on: 09/15/2021 03:36 pm »
Sadly, popular sci-fi TV shows usually return as feature movies with dismal results *cough, thunderbirds, cough*.

I believe The Starlost's "Earthship Ark" was also modelled on Trumbull's design for Silent Running.

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #9 on: 09/15/2021 03:59 pm »
Sadly, popular sci-fi TV shows usually return as feature movies with dismal results *cough, thunderbirds, cough*.

I believe The Starlost's "Earthship Ark" was also modelled on Trumbull's design for Silent Running.

Trumbull was a producer on the show. He was supposed to provide a new filming technology that would allow actors to move through a set that was actually a model filmed with another camera, sort of like "the volume" technology used on The Mandalorian. It did not work right. The budget also got chopped.

The premise of the show was similar to the "wandering hero" theme of a lot of shows in the 1970s where the lead character wanders from adventure to adventure and encounters new groups of people. Science fiction shows adopted that theme in the 1970s as well and there are a bunch of examples (for instance, "The Incredible Hulk" or "Logan's Run" the TV series, or a couple of attempts by Gene Roddenberry--wandering through a post-apocalyptic Earth popped up in quite a few shows). For The Starlost, they were going to wander through a spaceship.
« Last Edit: 09/16/2021 04:35 pm by Blackstar »

Offline Star One

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #10 on: 09/16/2021 04:16 pm »
Sadly, popular sci-fi TV shows usually return as feature movies with dismal results *cough, thunderbirds, cough*.

I believe The Starlost's "Earthship Ark" was also modelled on Trumbull's design for Silent Running.
I thought the new Thunderbirds was great, certainly somewhat better than the revived Captain Scarlet.

Offline webdan

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #11 on: 09/16/2021 04:34 pm »
Sadly, popular sci-fi TV shows usually return as feature movies with dismal results *cough, thunderbirds, cough*.

I believe The Starlost's "Earthship Ark" was also modelled on Trumbull's design for Silent Running.
I thought the new Thunderbirds was great, certainly somewhat better than the revived Captain Scarlet.

Sorry, I was thinking of the 2004 live action version.

But thanks, as I will now have to watch "Thunderbirds Are Go".

Offline dgmckenzie

Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #12 on: 09/16/2021 06:21 pm »
I liked the New Captain Scarlet enough to buy it :-)

Hate the look of the new Thunderbirds, but Gerry was not involved, or the movie AFAIK.

Offline Star One

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Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #13 on: 09/16/2021 07:16 pm »
What I liked about Thunderbirds Are Go is it wasn’t just CGI. Though the ‘puppets’ were CGI all the vehicles were physical models.
« Last Edit: 09/16/2021 07:17 pm by Star One »

Offline MATTBLAK

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #14 on: 09/17/2021 02:39 am »
Ah! If only there were a real 'Moonbase Alpha'... A man can certainly dream. And I still wonder why the horizontal configuration of the 'Eagles' aren't being copied in the real world. Probably because they make too much sense.
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Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #15 on: 09/18/2021 02:21 am »
Ah! If only there were a real 'Moonbase Alpha'... A man can certainly dream. And I still wonder why the horizontal configuration of the 'Eagles' aren't being copied in the real world. Probably because they make too much sense.

There are no fuel tanks on the Eagles. They don't really need to worry about center of gravity or other pesky aspects of physics.


Offline MATTBLAK

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #16 on: 09/18/2021 12:37 pm »
There are fuel tanks on the Eagle - there are 'blueprints' published -but because they are supposed to use very hand-wavingly high Isp and efficient fusion engines; the fuel is heavily compressed Deuterium and in small-ish fuel tanks which are near the tail section and also in the outboard pods that the landing gear protrudes from.
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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #17 on: 09/20/2021 04:03 pm »
I have never heard of The Starlost before! The plot description on Wikipedia is AMAZING! I will have to see if I can find episodes anywhere.

[...]

I don't think that the concept would work today. The idea of the "space ark" or generational ship was common in sci-fi in the 1950s-1970s. But it just seems like a totally worn-out idea now.

Nice twist on it in the BBC's series Out of the Unknown in the mid 60s, which adapted "13 to Centaurus" by J G Ballard. Can be found on a well done BFI 7 disc DVD set  and, er, elsewhere online ...

Was also interested to see  a recent sf reading group about worldships etc: https://classicsofsciencefiction.com/2019/12/18/thirteen-to-centaurus-by-j-g-ballard/


Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #18 on: 09/20/2021 09:07 pm »
I have never heard of The Starlost before! The plot description on Wikipedia is AMAZING! I will have to see if I can find episodes anywhere.

[...]

I don't think that the concept would work today. The idea of the "space ark" or generational ship was common in sci-fi in the 1950s-1970s. But it just seems like a totally worn-out idea now.

Nice twist on it in the BBC's series Out of the Unknown in the mid 60s, which adapted "13 to Centaurus" by J G Ballard. Can be found on a well done BFI 7 disc DVD set  and, er, elsewhere online ...

Was also interested to see  a recent sf reading group about worldships etc: https://classicsofsciencefiction.com/2019/12/18/thirteen-to-centaurus-by-j-g-ballard/

I was about to type "I bet somebody has compiled a list of generation ships in sci-fi" when I decided to type that into Google, and here's a list:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/14992.Interstellar_Ark_novels

There are some more in the comments section there.

It just really strikes me as an idea that eventually burned itself out by the 1970s. But I have not looked at the list to see how often it appeared in later years.

Offline sanman

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #19 on: 09/20/2021 10:39 pm »
There are two 1970s series I would love to see a reboot. Of course, Space 1999, and The Starlost. Both were great concepts but not-so-well executed. The Starlost is a brilliant concept but underfunded. Space 1999, well, Barbara Bain was too robotic, and they got rid of Barry Morse after Season 1. Season 2 they brought in Fred Freiberger as producer. He's the same guy that destroyed Star Trek as producer of Season 3.

With today's much higher production and special effects, both series having a reboot would be great.

Actually, Barry Morse himself left before Season 2, because of the awful changes proposed  by Freiberger and higher-ups.

Tip: Morse does even appear in an episode of the Starlost (I'll let others guess which one)

Bain was reserved, but I thought her Helena was acceptable. I really liked Martin Landau as Koenig, because his leadership style was more on the philosopher side of the warrior-philosopher balance, as compared to Shatner's Kirk. Like Shatner & Nimoy, both Landau & Morse had a nice rapport onscreen.

I've got to say that I really loved the whole aesthetic of Space:1999 (minus the Freiberger monster-movie/disco-era changes) They really built on the Kubrick 2001: A Space Odyssey look, and took it further.

The Eagles are of course the masterpiece of the show's sci-fi design artistry.
Was there any episode where we get to see the command module detach from the rest of the spacecraft?
« Last Edit: 09/20/2021 10:39 pm by sanman »

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #20 on: 09/21/2021 03:47 pm »
The Eagles are of course the masterpiece of the show's sci-fi design artistry.
Was there any episode where we get to see the command module detach from the rest of the spacecraft?

Didn't that happen in "Dragon's Domain"?

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #21 on: 09/21/2021 03:50 pm »
I really liked Martin Landau as Koenig, because his leadership style was more on the philosopher side of the warrior-philosopher balance, as compared to Shatner's Kirk. Like Shatner & Nimoy, both Landau & Morse had a nice rapport onscreen.

I also liked how Landau played it. He definitely was fascinated by the things they encountered. And he seemed like he was the right choice to command that facility.

But it's an interesting contrast to "Star Trek," and it's interesting to think about the different cultures that produced it. Trek was very much JFK's new frontier America in philosophy--the Enterprise was out there to bring civilization to the aliens and teach them that their societies were messed up. "Space 1999" reflected a more British philosophy, that we're all subject to the fates, not really in control of our situation at all.

Offline MATTBLAK

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #22 on: 09/22/2021 01:36 am »
Barbara Bain is an outstanding actress with multiple Emmy Awards to prove it from her previous work. I've always thought her cool, low-key persona as Dr Russell was deliberate, perhaps to make he more 'Spock-like' to Landau's 'Kirk'. Though I always thought Barry Morse's Dr Bergman would have been the Spock-analog, except he smiled a lot more than Spock!
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Offline MDMoery

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #23 on: 09/22/2021 05:14 am »
The Eagles are of course the masterpiece of the show's sci-fi design artistry.
Was there any episode where we get to see the command module detach from the rest of the spacecraft?

Didn't that happen in "Dragon's Domain"?

Years before, the Ultra Probe (not Eagle) command module detached from the rest of the ship and Cellini got back to Earth in that.

When they went to explore the ship grave yard, Cellini walloped Carter and jettisoned the Eagle passenger module to go face the monster alone.  Koenig ordered another Eagle to pick them up and then pursue.

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #24 on: 09/22/2021 07:59 pm »
The Eagles are of course the masterpiece of the show's sci-fi design artistry.
Was there any episode where we get to see the command module detach from the rest of the spacecraft?

Didn't that happen in "Dragon's Domain"?

Years before, the Ultra Probe (not Eagle) command module detached from the rest of the ship and Cellini got back to Earth in that.

When they went to explore the ship grave yard, Cellini walloped Carter and jettisoned the Eagle passenger module to go face the monster alone.  Koenig ordered another Eagle to pick them up and then pursue.





At 44.53 in the video.


Offline webdan

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #25 on: 09/22/2021 08:17 pm »
The music from that episode very much resonated with me as a much younger person. I had had only experienced Vivaldi, Beethoven and Mozart and perhaps a few others before watching this in 1976/1977(?).

Google “Tomaso Albinoni Adagio”, listen to it, read up on Wikipedia… it’s been on my iPhones since forever, along with a few other “choice” pieces for running.

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #26 on: 09/22/2021 09:11 pm »
The music from that episode very much resonated with me as a much younger person. I had had only experienced Vivaldi, Beethoven and Mozart and perhaps a few others before watching this in 1976/1977(?).

Google “Tomaso Albinoni Adagio”, listen to it, read up on Wikipedia… it’s been on my iPhones since forever, along with a few other “choice” pieces for running.

It fits with the contemplative tone of that episode. Although it's a horror story, it's about somebody being haunted by something in their past and going to confront it again.

It's an unusual episode too. When "Space 1999" started out, the goal was to make an ensemble show where each of the characters would get their chance to take center stage. But the producer hired two big-name American stars, and they wanted the show to revolve around them. They wanted the most lines. "Dragon's Domain" is unusual because so much of it focuses on another character who is introduced as a friend of Koenig's. So Martin Landau ended up playing a supporting role to an actor who was only in a single episode and then gone.


Offline saturnapollo

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #28 on: 09/22/2021 10:01 pm »
Quote
I've always thought her cool, low-key persona as Dr Russell was deliberate,

The reason she was a bit robotic was because she refused to turn her head because it showed her neck wrinkles so she turned her whole body instead. And Landeau had a preferred side he wanted to be film from.

Keith

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #29 on: 09/23/2021 08:52 am »
I really liked Martin Landau as Koenig, because his leadership style was more on the philosopher side of the warrior-philosopher balance, as compared to Shatner's Kirk. Like Shatner & Nimoy, both Landau & Morse had a nice rapport onscreen.

[...]

But it's an interesting contrast to "Star Trek," and it's interesting to think about the different cultures that produced it. Trek was very much JFK's new frontier America in philosophy--the Enterprise was out there to bring civilization to the aliens and teach them that their societies were messed up. "Space 1999" reflected a more British philosophy, that we're all subject to the fates, not really in control of our situation at all.

Well, yes, but it's also true that the series began about 10 very eventful years apart ... Space 1999 premiered just at the beginning of the long post-ASTP hiatus in US space missions, and so always seemed rather strange to me as a teen in imagining what already seemed a dated future. Admittedly part of the fun of Anderson's worlds is that they were never too constrained by reality, and the show's genesis dates to the earlier 70s and ideas for a more direct sequel to UFO. I loved this, from the Wiki page: "Anderson would not let the project die; he approached Grade's number two in New York, Abe Mandell, with the proposal for taking the research and development done for UFO: 1999 and creating a new science fiction series. Mandell was amenable, but stated he did not want a series set featuring people "having tea in the Midlands" and forbade any Earth-bound settings. Anderson responded that in the series opener, he would "blow up the Earth". Mandell countered that this concept might be off-putting to viewers, to which Anderson replied he would "blow up the Moon""

Re fatalism I think perhaps the best comparison might be the contemporary Star Trek and Thunderbirds. Anderson seemed to have an enduring belief back then in both our ability to cause disasters and in our ability to at least partially retrieve the situation (or at least rescue the survivors) ...



« Last Edit: 03/15/2024 01:24 pm by LittleBird »

Offline MDMoery

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #30 on: 09/24/2021 08:56 am »
The Eagles are of course the masterpiece of the show's sci-fi design artistry.
Was there any episode where we get to see the command module detach from the rest of the spacecraft?

Didn't that happen in "Dragon's Domain"?

Years before, the Ultra Probe (not Eagle) command module detached from the rest of the ship and Cellini got back to Earth in that.

When they went to explore the ship grave yard, Cellini walloped Carter and jettisoned the Eagle passenger module to go face the monster alone.  Koenig ordered another Eagle to pick them up and then pursue.





At 44.53 in the video.

Oh, yeah!  Forgot about that part!

Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #31 on: 09/25/2021 05:13 pm »
Oh, yeah!  Forgot about that part!

I have a poster of the Ultra Probe on my wall. There was a guy in Italy who made really nice posters of a number of the ships. I got the Ultra Probe one, but he also did Moonbase Alpha as well as Eagle variants. I can't find an image of it on the internet. I'll see if I can photograph my poster.


Offline dougkeenan

Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #32 on: 09/25/2021 05:19 pm »
Was the guy in Italy Roberto Baldassari? 

Keith Young also did a nice set of prints.

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #33 on: 09/25/2021 05:28 pm »
Ok, I’ll say it: the three things I really liked about that show were the Eagles, Ziena Merton. and I wanted to be a cool pilot like Nick Tate. One out of three ain’t bad.




Btw, I’d love to find a copy of the “final episode”, Message from Moonbase Alpha.  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283478/essage


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Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #34 on: 09/25/2021 05:30 pm »
Was the guy in Italy Roberto Baldassari? 

Keith Young also did a nice set of prints.

Yeah, I think it was Baldassari.

Offline LucR

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #35 on: 09/26/2021 11:37 am »
Btw, I’d love to find a copy of the “final episode”, Message from Moonbase Alpha.  [size=78%]https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283478/[/size][size=2rem]Message
https://www.diytube.video/video/space-1999-s02-e25-the-final-message-from-moonbase-alpha

Offline arenean

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #36 on: 09/27/2021 10:26 am »
Well, that's my Christmas present sorted this year, and MUCH cheaper than the Comlock that the Gerry Anderson store was selling recently!  ;D


Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #37 on: 10/01/2021 01:51 pm »
Lots of furniture that looks cool but probably hurts your back:

https://filmandfurniture.com/2020/06/space-age-furniture-in-sci-fi-films/


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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #38 on: 10/05/2021 09:27 am »
Lots of furniture that looks cool but probably hurts your back:

https://filmandfurniture.com/2020/06/space-age-furniture-in-sci-fi-films/

I'm afraid I can't resist posting a pic of the chair (couch ?) which gives Kim Cattrall such a hard time in the Canadian remake of "Sensitive Skin". I love the idea of interiors like this, I'm not sure how I'd get on with the reality.

Offline Star One

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #39 on: 10/09/2021 08:22 am »
Season one was great season two far less so. It’s almost a totally different show in season two. The change seems to be case partly of the producers fixing things they thought needed fixing but actually didn’t, and circumstances outside their control.

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #40 on: 10/09/2021 03:17 pm »
Over two seasons, 13 Eagles crashed (possibly repaired) and 19 Eagles lost.






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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #41 on: 01/12/2022 02:38 am »
I have obtained the book. Here are some images.
« Last Edit: 01/12/2022 02:40 am by Blackstar »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #42 on: 01/12/2022 02:41 am »
.
« Last Edit: 01/12/2022 02:43 am by Blackstar »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #43 on: 01/12/2022 02:42 am »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #44 on: 09/13/2022 09:23 pm »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #45 on: 09/14/2022 07:22 am »
I have obtained the book. Here are some images.


Love the look of that book! - Thx for posting.

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #46 on: 11/29/2022 02:19 am »



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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #48 on: 11/29/2022 04:59 pm »
Lots of furniture that looks cool but probably hurts your back:

https://filmandfurniture.com/2020/06/space-age-furniture-in-sci-fi-films/

I'm afraid I can't resist posting a pic of the chair (couch ?) which gives Kim Cattrall such a hard time in the Canadian remake of "Sensitive Skin". I love the idea of interiors like this, I'm not sure how I'd get on with the reality.

Seems these chairs are multiplying, I saw another larger one in a pic of designers for EV manufacturers' BYD https://www.bydeurope.com/pdp-auto  ... I think I'll see them everywhere now.
« Last Edit: 11/29/2022 05:11 pm by LittleBird »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #49 on: 11/29/2022 05:00 pm »


My Xmas space book is already spoken for, as I've asked Santa for one of archipeppe's but that would be a very tempting alternative. A viewing of an ep or 2 of UFO may be in order tonight ...
« Last Edit: 11/29/2022 05:02 pm by LittleBird »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #50 on: 11/29/2022 06:18 pm »
Ah UFO, which had plenty of "hardware" to ogle at:

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #51 on: 11/29/2022 07:41 pm »
Ah UFO, which had plenty of "hardware" to ogle at:

The video linked above indicates that the technical manual provides an explanation for the purple wigs. It will be amusing to learn what that is.

We learned in at least one episode that the wig was part of their uniform--sort of like a hat. Now it's ridiculous, but like so much of Gerry Anderson's stuff, there was an internal logic to the illogic.

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #52 on: 12/03/2022 12:49 am »
« Last Edit: 12/03/2022 11:18 pm by Blackstar »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #53 on: 12/03/2022 03:56 am »
Yeah, I'm surprised that in the age of the streaming wars, with Netflix and others competing so fiercely against each other, that nobody has tried to make another go at a Space:1999-style series. The iconic look of the show with its very recognizable elements, along with an established fan-base, should make it a shoo-in for audiences to gravitate toward, even if just for nostalgia's sake. And it also provides a nifty near-future space sci-fi story setting, as opposed to a far-future fantasy. The thing is they'd have to re-work the original premise of how the Moon escapes from orbit around Earth, without going into Moonfall levels of cheesiness.
« Last Edit: 12/03/2022 03:57 am by sanman »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #54 on: 12/03/2022 01:43 pm »
Yeah, I'm surprised that in the age of the streaming wars, with Netflix and others competing so fiercely against each other, that nobody has tried to make another go at a Space:1999-style series. The iconic look of the show with its very recognizable elements, along with an established fan-base, should make it a shoo-in for audiences to gravitate toward, even if just for nostalgia's sake. And it also provides a nifty near-future space sci-fi story setting, as opposed to a far-future fantasy. The thing is they'd have to re-work the original premise of how the Moon escapes from orbit around Earth, without going into Moonfall levels of cheesiness.

There was an effort to revive the show about a decade ago:

https://www.thespacereview.com/article/2040/1

I don't think this show can be rebooted. Reboots bank on name recognition. It's considered free publicity because people know the name, the concept, and have a fondness for it. In the 1970s, the year 1999 was the future. Now it's the past. So can you keep the name? A lot of people will be confused by it and think that it's a show about a quarter century ago. Also, it only lasted two seasons and that was nearly 50 years ago. Reboots usually have to be more popular (lasting many seasons) and more recent. I just don't think that Space 1999 can work now.

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #55 on: 12/03/2022 02:36 pm »
I don't think this show can be rebooted. Reboots bank on name recognition. It's considered free publicity because people know the name, the concept, and have a fondness for it. In the 1970s, the year 1999 was the future. Now it's the past. So can you keep the name? A lot of people will be confused by it and think that it's a show about a quarter century ago. Also, it only lasted two seasons and that was nearly 50 years ago. Reboots usually have to be more popular (lasting many seasons) and more recent. I just don't think that Space 1999 can work now.

I think the remake/reboot was proposed as Space: 2049. A remake could work as long as they keep it about Moonbase Alpha and do away with the ridiculous "flying through the universe on the moon" premise. Perhaps they could discover a Babylon 5-like Jumpgate near the moon, or the Earth gets hit by an asteroid and Moonbase Alpha gets cut off. But I do think UFO would be the better property to reboot. Space: 1999 after all began life as UFO Season 2 because ITC (or whoever) wanted more Moonbase. So you could get both remakes in one show.
« Last Edit: 12/03/2022 02:39 pm by Thorny »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #56 on: 12/03/2022 04:58 pm »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #57 on: 04/05/2023 02:01 am »
Okay, spoiler alert if you have not bought the book:





« Last Edit: 05/15/2023 10:32 pm by Blackstar »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #58 on: 02/02/2024 07:48 pm »


« Last Edit: 02/06/2024 02:51 pm by Blackstar »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #59 on: 02/08/2024 04:34 pm »
For those who don't know, "The Day After Tomorrow" was a mid-1970s TV movie that used some of the sets from Space 1999. It is about a family that travels to another star. I think it was intended to be a pilot for a new series, but there was no interest.

It's been forever since I watched it, but it was aimed more at kids than adults. Not really dumbed down, but I think that the girl was the lead character. It is now out on DVD, complete with a poster of the spaceship. I think the artwork for that poster has been around a long time and is not new.


http://geekchocolate.co.uk/the-day-after-tomorrow/

« Last Edit: 02/11/2024 02:34 pm by Blackstar »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #60 on: 02/23/2024 04:15 pm »
A very long summary/review of the movie with tons of screencaps:

https://securityhazard.net/2024/02/23/the-day-after-tomorrow-into-infinity-review/

« Last Edit: 02/23/2024 04:17 pm by Blackstar »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #61 on: 02/23/2024 06:49 pm »
Here’s a recommended recent podcast about The Day After Tomorrow:

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/verybritishfutures/episodes/The-Day-After-Tomorrow-e2br14q

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #62 on: 03/15/2024 01:38 pm »
A very long summary/review of the movie with tons of screencaps:

https://securityhazard.net/2024/02/23/the-day-after-tomorrow-into-infinity-review/

Turns out to be a favourite of Prof Brian Cox  https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04l61j5 . Brian Blessed and General Relativity, what's not to like ...
... well quite a bit it turns out but a worthy attempt to do genuine hard SF on a hard topic, if viewed in a favourable light. Reader, I bought the DVD (having missed the TV showings).

But for some real  quality spaceships, here's a nice Eagle promo film:

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #63 on: 03/15/2024 02:03 pm »

But for some real  quality spaceships, here's a nice Eagle promo film:

That documentary is being produced by Jeff Morris, who is in this photo at left with somebody who has built a really big model.

I hope Morris succeeds, but I have some quibbles. He did an initial Kickstarter with a goal of $500,000, which is a ridiculous amount of money to fund a one-person documentary about such a limited subject. I have no idea why he thought he needed that much money, but he canceled it just before the end date when it had raised only $135K of the goal. (Note: if he had used Indiegogo, he would have been able to keep that $135K.) Then he regrouped, produced a short promo that you linked above, and now he has a new fundraiser on Indiegogo with much more realistic goals.

I am really not sure what the story of his documentary is, other than "the Eagle is cool." It is not as culturally important and widely recognized as other sci-fi spaceships. You could easily do a documentary about the starship Enterprise, because there's a lot to that story and legacy. You could probably do one entirely about the Millennium Falcon. But the Eagle was derivative of "2001: A Space Odyssey," and it did not inspire other ships and designs over the years. Yeah, there are a few middle-aged white British guys who are obsessed with the Eagle, but so what? Is that enough to hang a documentary on? I just think that the subject matter is rather weak, and Morris has not indicated what will make his documentary interesting.

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #64 on: 03/15/2024 04:34 pm »
I am really not sure what the story of his documentary is, other than "the Eagle is cool." It is not as culturally important and widely recognized as other sci-fi spaceships. You could easily do a documentary about the starship Enterprise, because there's a lot to that story and legacy. You could probably do one entirely about the Millennium Falcon. But the Eagle was derivative of "2001: A Space Odyssey," and it did not inspire other ships and designs over the years. Yeah, there are a few middle-aged white British guys who are obsessed with the Eagle, but so what? Is that enough to hang a documentary on? I just think that the subject matter is rather weak, and Morris has not indicated what will make his documentary interesting.

As a middle aged (well late middle aged), white British guy who liked all the Anderson series he saw (but whose family didn't have a telly between 72 and 77) I am thus squarely in this doc's target demographic ... and so I should either challenge you to a duel or ruefully except the essential truth of what you say ;-) ... [Edit: except to note that I'm sure it didn't *obviously* inspire other designs, but I'm not sure that it didn't *influence* subsequent designers at all-such as those in pic below, from https://catacombs.space1999.net/main/crguide/vcs.html . I'd also note that Kubrick pinched some of Anderson's people, notably Brian Johnson so the derivative arrow points more than one way. And anyway, to quote Stravinsky, great artists steal ;-)]

PS and anyway, go on, admit it ... you want that model don't you ;-);-)
« Last Edit: 03/15/2024 05:03 pm by LittleBird »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #65 on: 03/15/2024 06:26 pm »
except to note that I'm sure it didn't *obviously* inspire other designs, but I'm not sure that it didn't *influence* subsequent designers at all-such as those in pic below

The Enterprise design has a long legacy--we can point to a lot of shows that followed and a lot of other starships in those shows that clearly echoed that design. The Eagle was on a TV show that lasted two years, and after that, nothing, no sequels. Now the original Millennium Falcon design was rejected because it looked too much like the Eagle, but we would all be challenged to find a spaceship design from the 1980s and later that was influenced by the Eagle.

I'd also argue that the first Enterprise design was more original than the Eagle design. The Enterprise does somewhat resemble a flying saucer and some rocket ships, but it was very bold in terms of design, because it doesn't have a pointy end, fins, or exhaust, and clearly wasn't intended to be aerodynamic. The Eagle has a similar layout to the Discovery in 2001, and it uses a truss structure like Silent Running. I still think it is relatively unique, but you can see the inspirational design elements much more clearly than for the Enterprise.

As for inspiring later model makers, well maybe kinda. The UK had some outstanding model builders, many of whom worked on Star Wars. But they were going to build whatever they were hired to build, whether it be James Bond stuff or spaceships.

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #66 on: 03/15/2024 07:27 pm »
The Eagles are very cool designs, but I would think a better subject for such a documentary would be "The Ships of Gerry Andersen" or something like that, which in addition to the Eagles from "Space: 1999" could include the various ships of "Thunderbirds", the Interceptors and Sky/Diver One from "UFO" and others.

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #67 on: 03/15/2024 08:05 pm »

But for some real  quality spaceships, here's a nice Eagle promo film: <snip>

That documentary is being produced by Jeff Morris, who is in this photo at left with somebody who has built a really big model.

I hope Morris succeeds, but I have some quibbles. He did an initial Kickstarter with a goal of $500,000, which is a ridiculous amount of money to fund a one-person documentary about such a limited subject. I have no idea why he thought he needed that much money, but he canceled it just before the end date when it had raised only $135K of the goal. (Note: if he had used Indiegogo, he would have been able to keep that $135K.) Then he regrouped, produced a short promo that you linked above, and now he has a new fundraiser on Indiegogo with much more realistic goals.

I am really not sure what the story of his documentary is, other than "the Eagle is cool." It is not as culturally important and widely recognized as other sci-fi spaceships. You could easily do a documentary about the starship Enterprise, because there's a lot to that story and legacy. You could probably do one entirely about the Millennium Falcon. But the Eagle was derivative of "2001: A Space Odyssey," and it did not inspire other ships and designs over the years. Yeah, there are a few middle-aged white British guys who are obsessed with the Eagle, but so what? Is that enough to hang a documentary on? I just think that the subject matter is rather weak, and Morris has not indicated what will make his documentary interesting.

My 2 absolute favorite spaceships of science fiction are the Eagle from Space 1999 and the Ares 1B from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The reason is that they BOTH look absolutely 100% workable. Both are designed to operate in a pure vacuum, the Ares 1B going from LEO to the moons surface and back, and the Eagle for all general purpose cis lunar transportation. There are some fabulous sci-fi ships in the genre, but they all depend on things that aren't real (yet). I most appreciate sci-fi ships that are based on current or actually in-development technology. Both the Ares 1B and the Eagle are in that category. They have been my spacecraft design baseline for many decades.
« Last Edit: 03/16/2024 10:08 pm by clongton »
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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #68 on: 03/15/2024 10:36 pm »
The Eagles are very cool designs, but I would think a better subject for such a documentary would be "The Ships of Gerry Andersen" or something like that, which in addition to the Eagles from "Space: 1999" could include the various ships of "Thunderbirds", the Interceptors and Sky/Diver One from "UFO" and others.

Yes, but what would the story be? Other than "they were all designed by people who worked for Gerry Anderson," what is the point?

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #69 on: 03/16/2024 06:58 am »
My 2 absolute favorite spaceships of science fiction are the Eagle from Space 1999 and the Ares 1B from Space 2001. The reason is that they BOTH look absolutely 100% workable. Both are designed to operate in a pure vacuum, the Ares 1B going from LEO to the moons surface and back, and the Eagle for all general purpose cis lunar transportation. There are some fabulous sci-fi ships in the genre, but they all depend on things that aren't real (yet). I most appreciate sci-fi ships that are based on current or actually in-development technology. Both the Ares 1B and the Eagle are in that category. They have been my spacecraft design baseline for many decades.

If you haven't already made it to Academy Museum in LA I hope you get to do so ... my meeting with the Aries was quite an emotional one ...
« Last Edit: 03/16/2024 08:20 am by LittleBird »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #70 on: 03/16/2024 11:14 am »
The Eagles are very cool designs, but I would think a better subject for such a documentary would be "The Ships of Gerry Andersen" or something like that, which in addition to the Eagles from "Space: 1999" could include the various ships of "Thunderbirds", the Interceptors and Sky/Diver One from "UFO" and others.

Yes, but what would the story be? Other than "they were all designed by people who worked for Gerry Anderson," what is the point?

A multi series epic like Foundation, For All Mankind etc etc etc clearly needs a story to sustain it. I am not sure that a shorter film or documentary necessarily needs a story so much as a theme (or an angle).

I liked Bob Iger's observation a few years ago that "“Looking back on ‘Twin Peaks,’ if it had been given the job of entertaining the public over six or seven hours instead of over multiple seasons, it might have gone down in history as one of the most successful television shows ever,” Iger said. “But, because it was envisioned as a series, it had to tell a story over a long period of time, and, while they created a place and characters that the audience desperately wanted to see, the story after a while just wasn’t rich and compelling enough" which could arguably also apply to Space 1999.

There's clearly quite a few people whose initial experience of the worlds of GA was very rich, and who enjoying revisiting the "place and characters" via DVDs, books, fan sites etc etc. The models and the special effects seem to me a valid entry point, especially if the surviving people can talk about what they did in a lucid way. I take your point that half a mil may well just be too much for such a venture, but it'd be interesting to compare and contrast with the costs of say the recent Anderson biography
, which of course did have an angle and, I admit,  a story-though one I have yet to watch.

I guess the biggest problem for an aspiring documentary maker on Space 1999 is how much good stuff is already there, often free to view e.g. this one on how UFO begat Space 1999:
« Last Edit: 03/16/2024 05:16 pm by LittleBird »

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #71 on: 03/16/2024 07:45 pm »
If you haven't already made it to Academy Museum in LA I hope you get to do so ... my meeting with the Aries was quite an emotional one ...

Was it a special exhibition? I had a look at their website and I got the sense that they don't have permanent displays, so I suspect what you saw wouldn't be on display any more?
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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #72 on: 03/16/2024 08:06 pm »
If you haven't already made it to Academy Museum in LA I hope you get to do so ... my meeting with the Aries was quite an emotional one ...

Was it a special exhibition? I had a look at their website and I got the sense that they don't have permanent displays, so I suspect what you saw wouldn't be on display any more?

They have one core display called Stories of Cinema, and it's on Level 3 of that, see pic at https://www.academymuseum.org/en/exhibitions/stories-of-cinema/soc3-inventing-worlds-and-characters-encounters#!

They paid over 300 grand for it-I think they'll keep it ;-) https://variety.com/2015/film/news/2001-a-space-odyssey-shuttle-the-academy-1201462279/#! see the story of it's restoration here: https://airmail.news/issues/2021-8-14/beyond-the-infinite-and-back



« Last Edit: 03/16/2024 08:06 pm by LittleBird »

Offline Metalskin

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #73 on: 03/16/2024 08:10 pm »
If you haven't already made it to Academy Museum in LA I hope you get to do so ... my meeting with the Aries was quite an emotional one ...

Was it a special exhibition? I had a look at their website and I got the sense that they don't have permanent displays, so I suspect what you saw wouldn't be on display any more?

They have one core display called Stories of Cinema, and it's on Level 3 of that, see pic at https://www.academymuseum.org/en/exhibitions/stories-of-cinema/soc3-inventing-worlds-and-characters-encounters#!

They paid over 300 grand for it-I think they'll keep it ;-) https://variety.com/2015/film/news/2001-a-space-odyssey-shuttle-the-academy-1201462279/#! see the story of it's restoration here: https://airmail.news/issues/2021-8-14/beyond-the-infinite-and-back

Thank you very much for the info, the website is hard to navigate and I was worried it wouldn't be shown.

I would like to visit mainland America one day and fortunately LA is the gateway for us Aussies. So it's great to know there is such an interesting display to go and see!
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Offline Blackstar

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #74 on: 03/16/2024 08:14 pm »
A multi series epic like Foundation, For All Mankind etc etc etc clearly needs a story to sustain it. I am not sure that a shorter film or documentary necessarily needs a story so much as a theme (or an angle).

I meant theme. And since we're talking about a documentary here, we're talking about a documentary here.

I liked Bob Iger's observation a few years ago that "“Looking back on ‘Twin Peaks,’ if it had been given the job of entertaining the public over six or seven hours instead of over multiple seasons, it might have gone down in history as one of the most successful television shows ever,” Iger said. “But, because it was envisioned as a series, it had to tell a story over a long period of time, and, while they created a place and characters that the audience desperately wanted to see, the story after a while just wasn’t rich and compelling enough" which could arguably also apply to Space 1999.

Iger was wrong, and he admitted he was wrong about Twin Peaks. See this from his book (bottom of second page). (How's that for a digression?)

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Re: Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual
« Reply #75 on: 03/17/2024 04:36 am »
A multi series epic like Foundation, For All Mankind etc etc etc clearly needs a story to sustain it. I am not sure that a shorter film or documentary necessarily needs a story so much as a theme (or an angle).

I meant theme. And since we're talking about a documentary here, we're talking about a documentary here.

Fair enough, though I think it's interesting, and hopefully relevant from your POV, to ask what it is theme-wise and/or story-wise that has made a few Anderson docs have higher visibility/commercial success than the rest-e.g. Blu Ray release, distribution via BritBox etc. Is it indeed the human angle, which is certainly the case in the biopic I linked above, and is probably true of the Filmed in Supermarionation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmed_in_Supermarionation one as well ?  Is it pure nostalgia, as there are several generations of Brits I know who have an attachment to the puppet shows that I'd say compares to your fondness to Star Trek ? Is it the Anderson family involvement ? Or all of the above ? And is there any possible way to tell the story of the live action shows (UFO and 99 especially) and films (e.g. Doppelganger) of GA that could be as compelling to a wider audience ?


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I liked Bob Iger's observation a few years ago that "“Looking back on ‘Twin Peaks,’ if it had been given the job of entertaining the public over six or seven hours instead of over multiple seasons, it might have gone down in history as one of the most successful television shows ever,” Iger said. “But, because it was envisioned as a series, it had to tell a story over a long period of time, and, while they created a place and characters that the audience desperately wanted to see, the story after a while just wasn’t rich and compelling enough" which could arguably also apply to Space 1999.

Iger was wrong, and he admitted he was wrong about Twin Peaks. See this from his book (bottom of second page). (How's that for a digression?)


As my mind is as centrifugal as yours is centripetal, old friend, I found that most interesting, thanks.  I read the last para of those 2 pages as saying he wondered later if he should have given Lynch even more freedom.

The big what ifs of Space 1999 I guess are "what if the Andersons' marriage hadn't finally dissolved mid series" AND "what if Fred Frieberger et al had not taken the helm" ?

It's a show that, because I couldn't see it at the time [hiatus in our TV ownership], can never mean as much to me personally as the puppet shows which I devoured as a child from Thunderbirds onwards, or UFO, of which I saw a few examples. So I am really quite curious as to what it means to others.

Hopefully relatively on topic is this academic paper on 99 that you put me on to, from the excellent 3 part astroculture (apparently that's a thing now) book series "Imagining Outer Space", "Limiting Outer Space", and "Militarising Outer Space" https://www.palgrave.com/gp/blogs/humanities/geppert-blog. See https://core.ac.uk/reader/32980650
« Last Edit: 03/17/2024 12:13 pm by LittleBird »

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