Space 1999

I have me some mad love for this show. I just downloaded episode one and I have been talking a trip down memory lane. This was one of the great space adventures that I remember watching on weekend mornings on the CBC. It always seemed to me like a terrific concept for a science fiction story. Moon Base Alpha experiences a catastrophic accident that pushes the Moon out of Earth orbit and sends it and its inhabitants on a unsure mission through space. Not only do the crew have to deal with the disaster but they do it while having to adjust to a new Commander played by the always terrific Martin Landau. Barbara Bain is his second in command and she always had that outworldly beauty that was perfect for this type of program. Barry Morse is the sceptical, all too human medical/science guy. Science fiction shows seem to need someone like this humanist in every crew. Even the supporting cast was full of strong and unique characters. I was always impressed by the future tech that populated this unique setting. You always felt that this WAS the way things would look in 1999. From the space suits to the weapons to the fantastic vessels a great deal of thought was put into speculation about the future. However, the tech never got in the way of the story and the character development. There were more episodes about how they all just managed to survive their predicament than the standard 'alien of the week' adventure. To copy the enormous success of Nimoy's Spock, the producers added the role of Maya, an alien, to the cast in the second season. She replaced Morse who left over a contract dispute. I was always so happy to have both this and Star Trek to enjoy as a kid. Its a British production and like 'Dr. Who' or the 'Prisoner' before it, it continued the tradition of smart, speculative television. And who can forget the powerful beginning of each episode? That soaring music, a quick recap of the accident that caused all the problems in the first place and a montage of images showing us what to expect from the current episode. Brilliant.