The Production GuideScript To Screen: War Games
by Martin Willey
The Production GuideWar Games was one of the original episode titles from the Advanced Program Information, published by ITC in early 1973, when Space: 1999 was still a working title (with 7 others suggested). The series was still 26 half-hour episodes, but no character names were known. Eight scripts are listed, only one with a recognisable title.
Approaching an alien planet in a far galaxy, the earth men are treated as invaders and met with hostility.
Eventually Christopher Penfold produced a final shooting script, dated 15 October 1974.
The shootings schedule was published 22nd October, for 11 days filming. There were amended script pages on 23rd and 24th October; Martin Landau's script contains some interesting handwritten amendments which we will cover. Filming started on Thursday 24th October and continued for 11 days, finishing on 7th November. On day 3, Monday 28th October, a second unit led by Ray Austin filmed a number of stunt scenes and inserts for this episode, plus Collision Course and End of Eternity.
On Friday 8th November the main unit started work on the next episode, The Last Enemy, while director Charles Crichton led a second unit to film a number of insert shots for War Games and Guardian Of Piri.
The script cover for two scripts, belonging to SFX director Brian Johnson and actor Martin Landau, with extensive doodling.
The title page, this showing Brian Johnson received his copy on 18 October, 3 days after it had been published. Curiously, the title page does not include the writer's name, as they usually do.
This is the first page from 15 October, unamended on 23 October but with a handwritten change by Landau on the last line.
Paul Morrow's line "Not a dicky bird" is cockney rhyming slang ("bird" = "word"), but was obviously judged confusing for Americans, so Prentis Hancock just says "Nothing at all".
Koenig's final line here is spoken as "Certainly looks that way, Alan". The Landau change suggests that the Hawks were modified from the Earth-ships they recognised. There is no further explanation of Hawks, and only much later does Helena mention that they are "Hawks like those of the planet Earth". All we have here is the stage description: "a technology very similar to Earth's, but more advanced". Perhaps an earlier draft of the script had spelled this out, but in the episode it is not clear to the casual viewer that Hawks are Earth warships, except from the visual similarity to Eagles.
1
"WAR GAMES"
***********
PROLOGUE:
FADE IN:
1 EXT. SPACE SKY. SFX .1
Three spaceships approach Alpha from a distant planet
which glows red in the sky. They are small but venomous,
and look as though they have been built as fighters.
They are the product of a technology very similar to
Earth's, but more advanced.
2 INT. MAIN MISSION. 2
ON BIG SCREEN. SFX.
The alien ships approaching Alpha. They are seen in some
detail.
KOENIG, BERGMAN, MORROW, CARTER, SANDRA, KANO and OTHER
OPERATIVES are at the console.
KOENIG
Where did they come from?
SANDRA
There was no indication on the
long range scanner.
KOENIG turns, grim-faced to MORROW.
KOENIG
Still no reply from the planet?
MORROW
Not a dicky bird, Commander.
KOENIG
Keep at it.
BERGMAN is scrutinising the screen particularly carefully.
He turns to KOENIG in utter astonishment.
BEGMAN
They're Hawks! They're Mark
Nine Hawks.
KOENIG
(shocked, but deliberately
cool)
Certainly looks that way.
Almost but not quite.
CONTINUED:
Copyright Martin Willey.