Space 1999 Moonbase Technical Operations Manual

[Blackstar]

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/

[Star One]

Here’s a recommended recent podcast about The Day After Tomorrow:

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

[LittleBird]

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:

[Blackstar]

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.

[LittleBird]

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 ;-);-)

[Blackstar]

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.

[Thorny]

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.

[clongton]

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.

[Blackstar]

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?

[LittleBird]

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 ...

[LittleBird]

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:

[Metalskin]

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?

[LittleBird]

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

[Metalskin]

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!

[Blackstar]

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?)

[LittleBird]

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 ?

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

[Blackstar]

https://shop.gerryanderson.com/en-us/products/eagle-1976-alpha-edition

I had one of these as a kid and it was one of the best space geek toys ever. No, I'm not getting one now. But I appreciate that they are making it.

[dougkeenan]

Hard to believe yesterday represents 25 years since the Moon blew out of orbit.

[Blackstar]

"U.F.O." was not one of my favorite shows and I only discovered it long after it was on. But it was unique and definitely had some clever aspects to it, along with some typically Gerry Anderson goofy parts as well.

Now the Gerry Anderson company has produced a model of the alien ship, and it definitely has a look to it.

https://shop.gerryanderson.com/en-us/products/ufo-collectible-model

[sanman]

Somebody made a BSG-style opening intro for Space:1999 - just thought I'd post it here: