These EpisodesAnother Time, Another Place
These EpisodesFrom the These Episodes documentary originally on the 2005 Network DVD boxset.
The first season of Space: 1999 had a number of shows which dealt with the metaphysical aspect of space and the problems that people in space were confronted with.
At the end of Matter of Life and Death I was offered a permanent writing job with the show. The first script that I did was Another time, Another Place.
These episodes made a major contribution to the programme because they were different and helped make a variety of different stories.
Landau could bring a wonderful intense degree of inquiry into the role.
He was fortunately not the kind of character who would dismiss anything. He would take any notion and he needed Bergman. Bergman was the other side of his brain.
I'd been aware that David Tomblin had been the genius behind so many films that had been made. He did of course The Prisoner and things like that. And when I met him I couldn't see what it was about him that was special, because here was a man who only came alive through film.
David Tomblin came from a background of an assistant. I knew him way back on The Avengers. He used to write as well. He had a terrific filmic mind and a wonderful sense of humour.
Working with them on scripts was dead easy. He seemed to have an instinctive understanding, but if you didn't know him you think, oh yeah, I've got a film and that's it. This man cared passionately for what he did.
I think Dave made a difference. He was a very thoughtful, deep minded person.
And it wasn't until I had seen some of the rushes that I realised I was working with a truly extraordinary man. You only have to look at some of the shots that he sets up, Force Of Life, Another Time, Another Place. Just wonderful. The fluid camera movements. The use of slowing down motion. The angles he chooses. The energy he can give a fairly static scene as somebody walking through a fairly monotonous base. Wonderful gifts.
In another time another place, Barbara played himself. Dave Tomblin said "Zienia, do you mind you mind playing the other Helena while Barbara is doing her scenes. I said fine. I thought I'd be hidden behind a flat with a script in my hand and just feed her the lines, but not, it was a bit more complicated than that. In the fact that I was then issued with the headphones. Barbara one had recorded her lines. Then I was to come in as Barbara two.
By having the headphones, and knowing the timing of the speeches, Dave Tomblin said if you think Barbara is not going to catch up with herself you can cut. I knew that if she caught up with herself later on, I wouldn't have to cut her. I could allow it, I could actually by feeding her the line a bit quicker, give her the license. I mean this is what we do when we do voice overs. Someone says to you "take a second off". I know it sounds silly but you mentally think I'll take it off and somehow it comes in. So it was a lot more responsible than just sitting there and feeding her the lines and then going off home.
The whole experience takes on this thing which grows throughout many of the episodes, the feeling of a half remembered dreams. Did it happen or didn't it? In a more closed down series, we've never have been able to do this. The situation that they passed through has so many implications. They're not loose ends. They're interpretations and reinterpretations.
Contents copyright Martin Willey