ian1000 I cannot recall a show that had such huge differences between its few seasons. Season one is the "serious" one. The "main mission" set is huge, and Moonbase Alpha really does seem realistic. The special effects are superb, some of the best pre-CGI work ever seen. The guest cast list is fantastic, with many notables who would go on to greater fame.The show's main premise is of course utterly ridiculous; the moon is propelled out of orbit and amazingly arrives in a new solar system virtually every week. However, within the "travelling moon" framework, the scriptwriters of season one came up with some superb episodes. I would say about 70- 80% of the first season are excellent.The 8 or so main characters are likable and well-used; the 3 main stars don't totally dominate. Barbara Bain's performance has been criticised by some, but I feel that she gave the correct feel to the character, at least in season one.The aliens encountered along the journey are of course English speaking white people, such as Peter Cushing, Julian Glover, Christopher Lee, Anthony Valentine etc, and this series predates the 1980s prosthetic aliens - so multicoloured robes and crazy wigs do the job instead.The main thing I recall from season one (and the only good thing about season two) is the technology, and I refer to the many superb models, as well as the great 70s interior tech, such as the comlocks, the communication towers. The laser weapon, which can of course also stun, is a necessary device, not for Alphan life, but for TV scriptwriters.Many have commentated about the sad fate of the show when season two was commissioned; it's very difficult to watch.So, I salute season one.

jc-osms Nice to track down the pilot episode of this series I first (and last) watched as a young teenager back in the 70's. I loved the then married couple Martin Landau and Barbara Bain in the 60's in "Mission Impossible" and here they're teamed up again not unnaturally looking a little older, although neither they or the rest of their Moonbase Alpha crew look exactly young and with it in their beige uniforms and flared slacks.Produced by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, makers of previous "supermarionation" series such as "Stingray" and "Thunderbirds", this was their first live action show I believe. It's not altogether successful, however with a too obvious requirement of model work which doesn't seem too much improved from the puppet shows mentioned above. Maybe I'm being too harsh on the production values given the era in which it was made and no doubt budget constraints but you could argue it adds a little to its charm too.In their parts, Landau and Bain are a little static, in fact other than falling down a fair bit don't expect them to be Kirk-like action heroes. Both are however authoritative in their roles but I personally think younger, more animated leads would have enlivened matters somewhat, maybe if they'd been offered the parts ten years before...Of the rest of the cast, Barry Morse stands out as their sobering Bones-type senior officer and of course there are no aliens on the crew a-la Spock, well, it is only 1999 after all. With a flashy theme tune and using edited "In this episode" snippets at the start to encourage viewers to keep watching (borrowed from "Mission Impossible") it tries hard to be dynamic without really reaching the heights of, yes I'll say it one more time "Star Trek". But kudos to the Andersons for the attempt and with memories of the TV21 comic flooding my brain as I watch, I still get a kick out of it and will continue watching any other episodes I can find.

Peter Plasticon with it's plastic garden furniture chairs and it's wooden actors, space 1999 falls on it's arse cos of the characters, what characters?, and it looks 70s and it's supposed to be one of the most expensive shows ever made on British television at the point it was made! It's saving grace is the unlikely guest actors, you know like Peter Bowles all in black and big shoulders throwing people around who need a darn good shake! I didn't watch the second series cos of Maya's shape changing and no Barry Morse whose hair i liked, not as much fun as UFO in my opinion. I've got to do ten lines on this, it's like a punishment or something, I've nothing more to add OK, twitter doesn't give you enough and this too much

Mark L. Kahnt What stands in my mind is how, eight to ten minutes before the end of nearly every episode, the society on a new planet encountered by the Alphans ends up being destroyed, usually at the hand of Commander John Koenig, because what it seeks does not meet with the life Alphans are used to. This was a weakness to otherwise intriguing stories that were not going to be mistaken for Star Trek.Although I remember too many things that left me scratching my head, even from the superior first season - why did the command centre have exterior windows that could be opened when the Moon was given an atmosphere? With all of the Eagles that crashed or were otherwise disabled, how did they always seem to be able to get another one aloft, and how were they fast enough, given the scramble of Alan Carter to keep up with the Moon when it first left Earth's orbit, to reach the base again when outside the gravity of the orb.The local TV station aired the first season Fridays at 7 pm, the same time slot that it had used for Star Trek a decade earlier. The second season was picked up by the CBC, but they threw it away by airing it Saturday afternoons at 3 pm. In the late 80s, it ended up on the children's channel YTV at about the same time, grouped with Blake's 7 and Red Dwarf. The TV regulator felt Space 1999 and Blake's 7 were too violent for a children's channel, and Red Dwarf being possibly too racy for daytime airing on that channel.It had potential, but it just seemed to have the need to sell in many markets so that it could pay its bills, rather than just to tell great stories. If it had told great stories consistently, it would have sold solidly and been a franchise comparable to Star Trek.