The Continuity GuideMoonbase Guide
by Martin Willey
The Continuity Guide
The studio backdrop. Note the Main Mission Tower is a straight sided building.
Several episodes used a studio backdrop of Alpha buildings.
Outside the windows in Year 1 we could see buildings. This backdrop was seen clearly in the dream sequences in Catacombs Of The Moon
There were two brief shots of individual Moonbase buildings in Breakaway, but the first views of the Main Mission tower and other buildings were in Guardian Of Piri. Among the notable features are rotating radar dishes in Force Of Life & The Metamorph, and the dish in Seed Of Destruction. The base was surrounded by forcefield towers seen in several episodes.
An underground research station, with a cross-shaped pad and buildings embedded in a lunar hill, was seen in The Exiles. A raised building was seen in The Exiles, Journey To Where, The A B Chrysalis & Space Warp. This was seen in conjunction with a dome (from the Daria, Mission Of The Darians) with the Moonbase seen beyond and an Eagle foreground in Space Warp, New Adam, New Eve, The Seance Spectre & Seed Of Destruction. The dome was also seen in Journey To Where (as the "transference dome").
From Breakaway, the first brief view of individual Moonbase buildings. The building on the left is seen in many of the later shots of Alpha buildings.
Exterior shots of the Nuclear Waste Disposal Area 2 waste depot were filmed but mostly cut from Breakaway. The circular building made many additional appearances, however.
The only shot of the exterior of the depot in the final version of Breakaway
In Force Of Life, the SFX crew began to experiment with more larger scale buildings.
Close up of the revolving radar array
The circular building is seen again in the distance, from The Last Sunset
During daylight.
The circular building survives until the final episode, The Dorcons, where it sits on top of another building.
From the Year Two titles: the foreground buildings are on a large hill overlooking the base. Note there are actually two moonbuggies in this shot. There is a (non-revolving) antenna on the round building.
In the background of this shot from The Metamorph, the depot is seen again. A revolving antenna is on top. The small construction on the hill top is a satellite from Into Infinity.
From The Metamorph, two of the depots, one with a revolving antenna.
Eagles flying over Moonbase buildings
This launch pad is very close to other buildings.
Outlying launch pad. Note building and transference dome
Journey To Where. The same angle of Moonbase Alpha, at the base of two hills (one must be the hill from the title sequence, as the same launch pad is visible).
Seed Of Destruction: energy transmitting dish.
Bringers Of Wonder part 1: note beyond this launch pad is another launch pad.
In Catacombs Of The Moon, beyond this launch pad is the Main Mission tower and the modular building.
This Martin Bower building is seen in a panning shot from The Exiles. A longer form of the pan (in the opposite direction) appears in Space Warp and The A B Chrysalis.
The other main appearance is in Journey To Where by the dome. This is the opposite side.
Similar view of the building and dome, now with a launch pad New Adam New Eve
It's at the end of the launch pad in Bringers Of Wonder part 1.
It's also at the waste dump in The Bringers Of Wonder part 2 (some parts visible in part 1). The upper part of the building has been removed.
The building also appears in the Jif "Alien Attack" advert and was sold in 1979 on the Blue Peter children's programme (no mention was made of the origin)
Copyright Martin Willey