Space 1999 Catacombs: International: USA

UNITED STATES

New York

WPIX-TV (Channel 11) is an independent channel in New York City, competing against the big network stations WNBC-TV, WABC-TV and WCBS-TV, plus several other independents. Like other independents, it used lots of syndicated programming, and gained a reputation for vintage science fiction, especially Star Trek. "Stripping" the show across five nights at 6:30pm every evening, it built up audiences of teenagers and young adults, which in turn attracted advertisers. This success influenced other US channels, raised the profile of Star Trek, and proved that syndication was a viable model for science fiction drama.

WPIX began showing the series on Sunday 21st September 1975 (6:30-7:30pm). US stations like to mix first-run episodes with repeats, while other countries generally run the entire series before starting repeats. The first repeats on WPIX began after 2 months, with second repeats by February and third repeats by April. In late January 1976, episodes started on Saturday afternoons (mostly repeats), in addition to Sunday slots (mostly first-run). In March, the Sunday slot moved out of prime time evenings to the afternoon. From April 1976, many of the Saturday episodes were in the morning (including the last first-run episode in May). In June, Sunday episodes stopped, while Saturday repeats continued.

On 26 September 1976 the second series started, and the Saturday repeats ended. There was an early (late night) repeat for The Exiles after just one week. In November, the series moved to Saturday evenings, continuing with increasing repeats until September 1977. In October 1977 there were first series repeats in the morning, and second series repeats in the afternoon. Year 2 repeats continued on Saturdays into April 1978, with several having double-bill slots.

According to Mike Jahn in Cue magazine, dated 20 December 1975, "The average share of a New York independent station in the early evening hours is 6 or 7. Space: 1999, seen Sundays on Channel 11 from 6:30-7:30 p.m., earns a share of 19 or 20. Star Trek, seen on the same station from 6-7 p.m., earns a share of 13 during the week and 21 on Saturdays. So Space: 1999 isn't doing badly."

An ITC advert in Variety boasted of a 17 point rating/ 36 share for the premiere (that is, 17% of television owners watched it, and 36% of those watching television at the time were watching Space: 1999). A January 9, 1976 Los Angeles Times article quotes respectable 9.5 average ratings over the first two months.

Press: New York Times (19 September 1975)
New York newspaper (20 September 1975)
New York Times (10 August 1976)

Publicity for the "Two hour spectacular!" movie on WPIX. This was an edited version of Breakaway and War Games (before Alien Attack was made). We are not sure what date this was shown.

From David: WPIX had an extensive reach, even outside of New York City. They were a huge supporter of Space: 1999 during its two-year run. They tried to build an audience for the series by promoting it heavily and by using the popular Star Trek as a "lead-in" for the show on Saturday nights. They even created a 2-hour "Prime Time" event by combining Breakaway and War Games into a movie - years before Alien Attack - and they promoted this movie quite heavily as well.

Times are unknown, but morning slot was normally Saturdays 11am, afternoon slot was around 4pm or 5pm, and evening slots were 6:30pm or 7pm.

Production Order	Episode	Original broadcast	Comments
1	Breakaway	Sun, 21 Sep 1975 6:30PM
23	Dragon's Domain	Sun, 28 Sep 1975 evening
14	Death's Other Dominion	Sun, 05 Oct 1975 evening
13	Collision Course	Sun, 12 Oct 1975 evening
16	End Of Eternity	Sun, 19 Oct 1975 evening
10	Alpha Child	Sun, 26 Oct 1975 evening
8	Guardian Of Piri	Sun, 02 Nov 1975 evening
17	War Games	Sun, 09 Nov 1975 evening
22	Mission Of The Darians	Sun, 16 Nov 1975 evening
3	Black Sun	Sun, 23 Nov 1975 evening
16	End Of Eternity	Sun, 30 Nov 1975 evening	1st repeat
12	Voyager's Return	Sun, 07 Dec 1975 evening
2	Matter Of Life And Death	Sun, 14 Dec 1975 evening
23	Dragon's Domain	Sun, 21 Dec 1975 evening	1st repeat
14	Death's Other Dominion	Sun, 28 Dec 1975 evening	1st repeat
13	Collision Course	Sun, 04 Jan 1976 evening	1st repeat
9	Force Of Life	Sun, 11 Jan 1976 evening
10	Alpha Child	Sun, 18 Jan 1976 evening	1st repeat
1	Breakaway	Sat, 24 Jan 1976 afternoon	1st repeat
8	Guardian Of Piri	Sun, 25 Jan 1976 afternoon	1st repeat
17	War Games	Sat, 31 Jan 1976 afternoon	1st repeat
21	The Infernal Machine	Sun, 01 Feb 1976 afternoon
22	Mission Of The Darians	Sat, 07 Feb 1976 afternoon	1st repeat
6	Another Time, Another Place	Sun, 08 Feb 1976 afternoon
3	Black Sun	Sat, 14 Feb 1976 afternoon	1st repeat
20	Space Brain	Sun, 15 Feb 1976 afternoon
16	End Of Eternity	Sat, 21 Feb 1976 afternoon	2nd repeat
15	The Full Circle	Sun, 22 Feb 1976 afternoon
5	Earthbound	Sat, 28 Feb 1976 afternoon
7	Missing Link	Sun, 29 Feb 1976 afternoon
12	Voyager's Return	Sat, 06 Mar 1976 afternoon	1st repeat
11	The Last Sunset	Sun, 07 Mar 1976 evening
2	Matter Of Life And Death	Sat, 13 Mar 1976 afternoon	1st repeat
20	Space Brain	Sun, 14 Mar 1976 afternoon	1st repeat
19	The Troubled Spirit	Sun, 21 Mar 1976 afternoon
6	Another Time, Another Place	Sat, 27 Mar 1976 afternoon	1st repeat
21	The Infernal Machine	Tue, 30 Mar 1976 afternoon	1st repeat
4	Ring Around The Moon	Sat, 03 Apr 1976 morning
18	The Last Enemy	Sun, 04 Apr 1976 afternoon
15	The Full Circle	Sat, 10 Apr 1976 morning	1st repeat
14	Death's Other Dominion	Sun, 11 Apr 1976 afternoon	2nd repeat
7	Missing Link	Sat, 17 Apr 1976 morning	1st repeat
13	Collision Course	Sun, 18 Apr 1976 afternoon	2nd repeat
11	The Last Sunset	Sat, 24 Apr 1976 evening	1st repeat
14	Death's Other Dominion	Sun, 25 Apr 1976 afternoon	3rd repeat
20	Space Brain	Sat, 01 May 1976 morning	2nd repeat
9	Force Of Life	Sun, 02 May 1976 afternoon	1st repeat
19	The Troubled Spirit	Sat, 08 May 1976 morning	1st repeat
10	Alpha Child	Sun, 09 May 1976 afternoon	2nd repeat
24	The Testament Of Arkadia	Sat, 15 May 1976 morning
8	Guardian Of Piri	Sun, 16 May 1976 afternoon	2nd repeat
18	The Last Enemy	Sat, 22 May 1976 morning	1st repeat
17	War Games	Sun, 23 May 1976 afternoon	2nd repeat
1	Breakaway	Sat, 29 May 1976 morning	2nd repeat
22	Mission Of The Darians	Sun, 30 May 1976 afternoon	2nd repeat
23	Dragon's Domain	Sat, 05 Jun 1976 morning	2nd repeat
3	Black Sun	Sun, 06 Jun 1976 afternoon	2nd repeat
14	Death's Other Dominion	Sat, 12 Jun 1976 morning	4th repeat
16	End Of Eternity	Sat, 12 Jun 1976 afternoon	3rd repeat
13	Collision Course	Sat, 19 Jun 1976 afternoon	3rd repeat
5	Earthbound	Sun, 20 Jun 1976 afternoon	1st repeat
9	Force Of Life	Sat, 26 Jun 1976 afternoon	2nd repeat
8	Guardian Of Piri	Sat, 10 Jul 1976 evening	3rd repeat
17	War Games	Sat, 17 Jul 1976 evening	3rd repeat
22	Mission Of The Darians	Sat, 24 Jul 1976 evening	3rd repeat
3	Black Sun	Sat, 31 Jul 1976 evening	3rd repeat
23	Dragon's Domain	Sat, 07 Aug 1976 evening	3rd repeat
16	End Of Eternity	Sat, 07 Aug 1976 evening	4th repeat
10	Alpha Child	Sat, 14 Aug 1976 evening	3rd repeat
5	Earthbound	Sat, 21 Aug 1976 evening	2nd repeat
12	Voyager's Return	Sat, 28 Aug 1976 evening	2nd repeat
2	Matter Of Life And Death	Sat, 04 Sep 1976 evening	2nd repeat
21	The Infernal Machine	Sat, 11 Sep 1976 evening	2nd repeat
7	Missing Link	Sat, 18 Sep 1976 morning	2nd repeat
6	Another Time, Another Place	Sat, 18 Sep 1976 evening	2nd repeat
25	The Metamorph	Sun, 26 Sep 1976 7:00PM	Year 2 starts
26	The Exiles	Sun, 03 Oct 1976 evening
35	The A B Chrysalis	Sun, 10 Oct 1976 evening
26	The Exiles	Sun, 10 Oct 1976 evening	1st repeat
30	The Taybor	Sun, 17 Oct 1976 evening
34	New Adam, New Eve	Sun, 24 Oct 1976 evening
32	The Mark Of Archanon	Sun, 31 Oct 1976 evening
33	Brian The Brain	Sun, 07 Nov 1976 evening
31	The Rules Of Luton	Sun, 14 Nov 1976 evening
36	Catacombs Of The Moon	Sat, 27 Nov 1976 evening
37	Seed Of Destruction	Sat, 04 Dec 1976 evening
27	One Moment Of Humanity	Sat, 11 Dec 1976 evening
25	The Metamorph	Sat, 18 Dec 1976 evening	1st repeat
29	Journey To Where	Sat, 01 Jan 1977 evening
34	New Adam, New Eve	Sat, 15 Jan 1977 evening	1st repeat
32	The Mark Of Archanon	Sat, 22 Jan 1977 evening	1st repeat
40	Space Warp	Sat, 05 Feb 1977 evening
39	A Matter Of Balance	Sat, 12 Feb 1977 evening
38	The Beta Cloud	Sat, 19 Feb 1977 evening
43	The Lambda Factor	Sat, 26 Feb 1977 evening
28	All That Glisters	Sat, 05 Mar 1977 evening
44	The Seance Spectre	Sat, 12 Mar 1977 evening
41	The Bringers Of Wonder part 1	Sat, 19 Mar 1977 evening
42	The Bringers Of Wonder part 2	Sat, 26 Mar 1977 evening
47	The Immunity Syndrome	Sat, 09 Apr 1977 evening
46	Devil's Planet	Sat, 16 Apr 1977 evening
26	The Exiles	Sat, 23 Apr 1977 evening	2nd repeat
33	Brian The Brain	Sat, 30 Apr 1977 evening	1st repeat
48	The Dorcons	Sat, 07 May 1977 evening
27	One Moment Of Humanity	Sat, 21 May 1977 evening	1st repeat
31	The Rules Of Luton	Sat, 28 May 1977 evening	1st repeat
45	Dorzak	Sat, 04 Jun 1977 evening
30	The Taybor	Sat, 11 Jun 1977 evening	1st repeat
36	Catacombs Of The Moon	Sat, 18 Jun 1977 evening	1st repeat
35	The A B Chrysalis	Sat, 25 Jun 1977 evening	1st repeat
37	Seed Of Destruction	Sat, 02 Jul 1977 evening	1st repeat
40	Space Warp	Sat, 16 Jul 1977 evening	1st repeat
39	A Matter Of Balance	Sat, 23 Jul 1977 evening	1st repeat
38	The Beta Cloud	Sat, 30 Jul 1977 evening	1st repeat
43	The Lambda Factor	Sat, 06 Aug 1977 evening	1st repeat
44	The Seance Spectre	Sat, 13 Aug 1977 evening	1st repeat
41	The Bringers Of Wonder part 1	Sat, 20 Aug 1977 evening	1st repeat
42	The Bringers Of Wonder part 2	Sat, 27 Aug 1977 evening	1st repeat
47	The Immunity Syndrome	Sat, 03 Sep 1977 evening	1st repeat
46	Devil's Planet	Sat, 10 Sep 1977 evening	1st repeat
48	The Dorcons	Sat, 17 Sep 1977 evening	1st repeat
28	All That Glisters	Sat, 24 Sep 1977 evening	1st repeat
15	The Full Circle	Sat, 01 Oct 1977 morning	2nd repeat
25	The Metamorph	Sat, 01 Oct 1977 afternoon	2nd repeat
20	Space Brain	Sat, 08 Oct 1977 morning	3rd repeat
29	Journey To Where	Sat, 08 Oct 1977 afternoon	1st repeat
34	New Adam, New Eve	Sat, 15 Oct 1977 afternoon	2nd repeat
11	The Last Sunset	Sat, 22 Oct 1977 afternoon	2nd repeat
32	The Mark Of Archanon	Sat, 22 Oct 1977 afternoon	2nd repeat
20	Space Brain	Sat, 29 Oct 1977 morning	4th repeat
27	One Moment Of Humanity	Sat, 29 Oct 1977 afternoon	2nd repeat
19	The Troubled Spirit	Sat, 05 Nov 1977 morning	2nd repeat
26	The Exiles	Sat, 05 Nov 1977 afternoon	3rd repeat
31	The Rules Of Luton	Sat, 12 Nov 1977 afternoon	2nd repeat
18	The Last Enemy	Sat, 19 Nov 1977 afternoon	2nd repeat
30	The Taybor	Sat, 19 Nov 1977 afternoon	2nd repeat
33	Brian The Brain	Sat, 26 Nov 1977 afternoon	2nd repeat
2	Matter Of Life And Death	Sat, 03 Dec 1977 morning	3rd repeat
36	Catacombs Of The Moon	Sat, 03 Dec 1977 afternoon	2nd repeat
45	Dorzak	Sat, 17 Dec 1977 afternoon	1st repeat
35	The A B Chrysalis	Sat, 24 Dec 1977 evening	2nd repeat
37	Seed Of Destruction	Sat, 31 Dec 1977 evening	2nd repeat
40	Space Warp	Sat, 7 Jan 1978 evening	2nd repeat
43	The Lambda Factor	Sat, 21 Jan 1978 evening	2nd repeat
38	The Beta Cloud	Sat, 28 Jan 1978 evening	2nd repeat
44	The Seance Spectre	Sat, 04 Feb 1978 evening	2nd repeat
41	The Bringers Of Wonder part 1	Sat, 04 Feb 1978 evening	2nd repeat
39	A Matter Of Balance	Sat, 11 Feb 1978 evening	2nd repeat
28	All That Glisters	Sat, 18 Feb 1978 evening	2nd repeat
42	The Bringers Of Wonder part 2	Sat, 18 Feb 1978 evening	2nd repeat
47	The Immunity Syndrome	Sat, 25 Mar 1978 evening	2nd repeat
47	The Immunity Syndrome	Sat, 01 Apr 1978 evening	3rd repeat
46	Devil's Planet	Sat, 08 Apr 1978 evening	2nd repeat
48	The Dorcons	Sat, 15 Apr 1978 evening	2nd repeat

The above dates were compiled by Martin Landau, star of the series, in the notes seen here. There are additional dates in New Haven, presumably an allied station, not included above. Landau may have received contractual payments depending on the number of repeat showings in a showcase market like New York.

Catacombs International Guide Space 1999 In The US

UNITED STATES

New York

Catacombs International Guide
Space 1999 In The US