Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual

[Blackstar]

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"?

[Blackstar]

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.

[MATTBLAK]

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!

[MDMoery]

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.

[Blackstar]

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.

[webdan]

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.

[Blackstar]

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.

[Eric Hedman]

I always like the moon base from the UFO TV series:

https://ufoseries.com/3d/index.html
https://ufoseries.com/publicity/detail.php?307
https://ufoseries.com/publicity/detail.php?313
https://ufoseries.com/publicity/detail.php?309
https://ufoseries.com/publicity/detail.php?289
https://ufoseries.com/publicity/detail.php?297
https://ufoseries.com/publicity/detail.php?311
https://ufoseries.com/publicity/detail.php?320

[saturnapollo]

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

[LittleBird]

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) ...

[MDMoery]

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!

[Blackstar]

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.

[dougkeenan]

Was the guy in Italy Roberto Baldassari? 

Keith Young also did a nice set of prints.

[JAFO]

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


Sandra Benes: Finally, to you, the people of planet Earth, we say goodbye and ask but one thing... Remember us!

[Blackstar]

Was the guy in Italy Roberto Baldassari? 

Keith Young also did a nice set of prints.

Yeah, I think it was Baldassari.

[LucR]

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

[arenean]

Well, that's my Christmas present sorted this year, and MUCH cheaper than the Comlock that the Gerry Anderson store was selling recently! 

[Blackstar]

Lots of furniture that looks cool but probably hurts your back:

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

[LittleBird]

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.

[Star One]

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.