Catacombs International GuidePortugal
Catacombs International Guide
Portugal(By Paulo Jorge Morgado with amendments)
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Space 1999 was enormously successful in Portugal when it premiered on Saturday night prime-time back in October 1976. The impact of the series then was tremendous.
Portugal's RTP had shown a number of science fiction shows from the 1950s , and recently "The Tomorrow People" beginning on 5th June 1976. They had also shown most of the Gerry Anderson puppet series . Star Trek had never been shown here and Space: 1999 made everyone's jaw drop, opening the path to Science Fiction on Prime-Time.
UFO was never shown on Portugal TV, apart from Invasion: UFO in 1984.
This compilation movie was also released on VHS by Video Iberica in 1987, and on DVD by
Prisvideo released the full series of UFO on DVD in 2005.
When Year 1 was over, Star Maidens [As Mulheres do Espaço] followed, then Gerry Anderson's Into Infinity and a German series, "Raumpatrouille - The adventures of Space Ship Orion". Read more information about SF TV in Portugal
Then Space: 1999 Year Two, and only then, Star Trek.
In the 1960s a film called Doppelgänger - Journey to the Far Side of the Sun was Gerry Anderson's first live action science fiction. It was filmed in 1968 on location around Albufeira in Portugal's southern province of the Algarve, where the EUROSEC (European Space Exploration Centre) spaceport was set. This film featured beautiful special effects by Derek Meddings, who also directed the SFX of the UFO TV series). Maybe this was prophetic to the success that Space 1999 would know in this country.
To give you an idea of the impact Space had in Portugal at the time, a town-hall close to Lisbon had an almost real-life-sized replica of an Eagle built in a public playground. Every boy wanted to be John or Alan. Every girl wanted to be Helena or Maya. The Eagle was in Sines from the late 1070s until 2005.
Listed on the 1976 RTP Annual, with corrections from Diario de Lisboa (thanks to António Rodrigues). The series started with a 7:30pm slot, slightly varying per week.
| RTP1 | Title of Portuguese Version | Original Title | Serial Number
(production order) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 9 October 1976 19:10 | A Ruptura (as "the rupture") | Breakaway | Y1/01 |
| Sat, 16 October 1976 19:35 | Questão de Vida ou Morte (as "question of life or death") | Matter Of Life And Death | Y1/02 |
| Sat, 23 October 1976 19:30 | A Máquina Infernal | The Infernal Machine | Y1/21 |
| Sat, 30 October 1976 19:30 | Os Domínios do Dragão (as "the domains of the dragon") | Dragon's Domain | Y1/23 |
| Sat, 6 November 1976 19:20 | O Testamento de Arkadia | The Testament Of Arkadia | Y1/24 |
| Sat, 13 November 1976 19:30 | O Último Inimigo | The Last Enemy | Y1/18 |
| Sat, 20 November 1976 19:20 | A Missão dos Darianos | Mission Of The Darians | Y1/22 |
| Sat, 27 November 1976 19:20 | O Espírito Perturbado | The Troubled Spirit | Y1/19 |
| Sat, 4 December 1976 19:30 | O Cérebro do Espaço (as "the brain of space") | Space Brain | Y1/20 |
| Sat, 11 December 1976 19:30 | Jogos Guerreiros (as "warring games") | War Games | Y1/17 |
| Sat, 18 December 1976 19:30 | Fim da Eternidade | End Of Eternity | Y1/16 |
The one interruption to the run was Christmas Day, 25 December 1976. It resumed on New Years Day 1977, with a slot 2 hours later (9:35pm, following the evening news).
Listed on the 1977 RTP Annual
| RTP1 | Title of Portuguese Version | Original Title | Serial Number
(production order) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 01 January 1977 | O Círculo Fechado (as "the closed circle") | The Full Circle | Y1/15 |
| Sat, 08 January 1977 21:35 | O Outro Domínio da Morte | Death's Other Dominion | Y1/14 |
| Sat, 15 January 1977 21:35 | Percurso para a Colisão (as "the path for the collision") | Collision Course | Y1/13 |
| Sat, 22 January 1977 21:35 | O Regresso do Viajante (as "the Return of the Traveller") | Voyager's Return | Y1/12 |
| Sat, 29 January 1977 21:35 | A Criança de Alfa | Alpha Child | Y1/10 |
| Sat, 05 February 1977 21:45 | O Último Pôr-do-Sol | The Last Sunset | Y1/11 |
| Sat, 12 February 1977 21:35 | A Força Vital (as "the vital force") | Force Of Life | Y1/09 |
| Sat, 19 February 1977 21:35 | O Guardião de Piri | Guardian Of Piri | Y1/08 |
| Sat, 26 February 1977 21:30 | O Elo Necessário (as "the necessary link") | Missing Link | Y1/07 |
| Sat, 05 March 1977 21:30 | Outro Tempo, Outro Local | Another Time, Another Place | Y1/06 |
| Sat, 12 March 1977 21:35 | Rumo à Terra (as "course to Earth") | Earthbound | Y1/05 |
| Sat, 19 March 1977 21:40 | Os Cativos (as "the captives") | Ring Around The Moon | Y1/04 |
| Sat, 26 March 1977 21:05 | O Sol negro | Black Sun | Y1/03 |
The slot is earlier again, 7:30pm. The run was interrupted twice, on 3rd September and 8 October.
| RTP1 | Title of Portuguese Version | Original Title | Serial Number
(production order) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 6 August 1977 19:30 | Metamorfoses (as "avatars") | The Metamorph | Y2/01 |
| Sat, 13 August 1977 19:30 | Os Exilados | The Exiles | Y2/02 |
| Sat, 20 August 1977 19:30 | Viagem para Onde? | Journey To Where | Y2/05 |
| Sat, 27 August 1977 19:35 | Um Momento de Humanidade | One Moment Of Humanity | Y2/03 |
| Sat, 10 September 1977 19:35 | Nem Tudo o que Brilha... | All That Glisters... | Y2/04 |
| Sat, 17 September 1977 19:30 | A Marca de Archanon | The Mark Of Archanon | Y2/08 |
| Sat, 24 September 1977 19:30 | O Negociante (as "the trader") | The Taybor | Y2/06 |
| Sat, 01 October 1977 19:30 | Brian, o Cérebro | Brian The Brain | Y2/09 |
| Sat, 15 October 1977 19:30 | A Lei de Luton (as "the law of Luton") | The Rules Of Luton | Y2/07 |
| Sat, 22 October 1977 19:30 | Os Novos Adão e Eva (as "the new Adam and Eve) | New Adam, New Eve | Y2/10 |
| Sat, 29 October 1977 19:30 | Semente da Destruição | Seed Of Destruction | Y2/13 |
| Sat, 05 November 1977 19:30 | As Crisálidas A-B (as "the chrysalids A-B) | The AB Chrysalis | Y2/11 |
| Sat, 12 November 1977 19:30 | Catacumbas na Lua (as "catacombs on the Moon") | Catacombs Of The Moon | Y2/12 |
| Sat, 19 November 1977 19:30 | Vazio Espacial (as "space void") | Space Warp | Y2/16 |
| Sat, 26 November 1977 19:30 | Uma Questão de Equilíbrio | A Matter Of Balance | Y2/15 |
| Sat, 03 December 1977 19:30 | A Nuvem Beta | The Beta Cloud | Y2/14 |
| Sat, 10 December 1977 19:30 | O Factor Lambda | The Lambda Factor | Y2/19 |
| Sat, 17 December 1977 19:30 | Os Emissários do Terror I (as "the emissaries of Terror I) | The Bringers Of Wonder part 1 I | Y2/17 |
| Sat, 24 December 1977 19:30 | Os Emissários do Terror II (as "the emissaries of Terror II) | The Bringers Of Wonder part 2 | Y2/18 |
| Sat, 31 December 1977 19:30 | Visões Perigosas (as "dangerous visions") | The Seance Spectre | Y2/20 |
| 1978 | |||
| Sat, 07 January 1978 19:30 | Dorzak | Dorzak | Y2/21 |
| Sat, 14 January 1978 | O Planeta do Diabo | Devil's Planet | Y2/22 |
| Sat, 21 January 1978 | O Sindroma da Imunidade | The Immunity Syndrome | Y2/23 |
| Sat, 28 January 1978 | Os Dorcons | The Dorcons | Y2/24 |
One episode was rerun as a filler in 1979:
| RTP 2: 1979 | Os Cativos de Triton | The Eyes Of Triton | Y1/04 |
The episodes were aired on Saturday evenings at 21h30m, subtitled in Portuguese (in Portugal, unlike most other European countries, feature films and TV programmes are not dubbed. The Portuguese prefer to listen and appreciate the actors' original performance).
PAL colour transmissions began in Portugal in 1980 with the Eurovision Song Contest.
The movie Destino: Base Lunar Alfa (Destination Moonbase Alpha, a compilation of the two parter "The Bringers Of Wonder" from Y2) would be aired in colour on Wednesday 9 March 1983 20:35-22:35 on RTP1.
Y1 would be rerun (now in colour) in 1983, start 12 March 1983 19:00 until 11 September (replacing Battlestar Galactica on Saturday evenings.) Episode titles are not known, except for the last, "O Sol negro" (Black Sun)
| RTP1 | Title of Portuguese Version | Original Title | Serial Number
(production order) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, 12 March 1983 19:00 | A Ruptura | Breakaway | Y1/01 |
| Sat, 19 March 1983 19:00 | Rumo à Terra | Earthbound | Y1/05 |
| Sat, 26 March 1983 19:00 | A Máquina Infernal | The Infernal Machine | Y1/21 |
| Sat, 2 April 1983 19:00 | O Testamento de Arkadia | The Testament Of Arkadia | Y1/24 |
| Sat, 9 April 1983 19:00 | O Último Inimigo | The Last Enemy | Y1/18 |
| Sat, 16 April 1983 18:25 | A Missão dos Darianos | Mission Of The Darians | Y1/22 |
| Sat, 23 April 1983 18:40 | O Espírito Perturbado | The Troubled Spirit | Y1/19 |
| Sat, 30 April 1983 18:25 | O Cérebro do Espaço (as "the brain of space") | Space Brain | Y1/20 |
| Sat, 7 May 1983 18:30 | Jogos Guerreiros (as "warring games") | War Games | Y1/17 |
| Sat, 14 May 1983 18:30 | Os Domínios do Dragão (as "the domains of the dragon") | Dragon's Domain | Y1/23 |
| Sat, 21 May 1983 17:55 | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Sat, 28 May 1983 18:30 | Percurso para a Colisão (as "the path for the collision") | Collision Course | Y1/13 |
| Sat, 4 June 1983 18:30 | O Regresso do Viajante (as "the Return of the Traveller") | Voyager's Return | Y1/12 |
| Sat, 11 June 1983 18:30 | A Criança de Alfa | Alpha Child | Y1/10 |
| Sat, 18 June 1983 18:30 | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
There was no episode on 25 June 1983; the following weekend it moved to Sundays starting from 3rd July at 15:40. The last episode was Sunday 11 September 1983 at 16:15.
On Monday 13 October 1986, RTP2 began a new daily mid-afternoon programme Agora Escolha (Now YOU Choose). In this slot, two programmes were presented and the viewers were invited to vote in the one they preferred to watch (like the French show "Samedi est a vous" in 1975-1976). In the first programme, viewers voted to watch Space: 1999 instead of the play La Sylphide by the National Ballet Company.
The RTP annuals do not register the title or date of the episodes' airings. In addition to the first 1986 vote, 9 episodes of Y1 were to be rerun again in the slot between 19/10 and 28/12/87 and another 17 between 04/01 and 03/09/88 (apparently, two of them were rerun in duplicate).
| RTP1 | Title of Portuguese Version | Original Title | Serial Number
(production order) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, 28 January 1990 | A Metamorfose (as "the Metamorphosis") | The Metamorph | Y2/01 |
| Sun, 04 February 1990 | Os Exilados | The Exiles | Y2/02 |
| Sun, 11 February 1990 | Viagem para Onde? | Journey To Where | Y2/05 |
| Sun, 18 February 1990 | Um Momento de Humanidade | One Moment Of Humanity | Y2/03 |
| Sun, 25 February 1990 | Nem Tudo o que Brilha... | All That Glisters | Y2/04 |
| Sun, 04 March 1990 | A Marca de Archanon | The Mark Of Archanon | Y2/08 |
| Sun, 11 March 1990 | Taybor | The Taybor | Y2/06 |
| Sun, 18 March 1990 | Brian, o Cérebro | Brian The Brain | Y2/09 |
| Sun, 25 March 1990 | As Leis de Luton (as "the laws of Luton") | The Rules Of Luton | Y2/07 |
| Sun, 01 April 1990 | Novo Adão, Nova Eva | New Adam, New Eve | Y2/10 |
| Sun, 08 April 1990 | A Semente da Destruição | Seed Of Destruction | Y2/13 |
| Sun, 22 April 1990 | Planeta das Crisálidas (as "Planet of the Chrysalids") | The AB Chrysalis | Y2/11 |
| Sun, 29 April 1990 | O Visionário (as "the visionary") | Catacombs Of The Moon | Y2/12 |
| Sun, 06 May 1990 | Passagem para Outra Dimensão (as "passage to another dimension") | Space Warp | Y2/16 |
| Sun, 13 May 1990 | Uma Questão de Equilibrio | A Matter Of Balance | Y2/15 |
| Sun, 20 May 1990 | A Nuvem Beta | The Beta Cloud | Y2/14 |
| Sun, 27 May 1990 | O Duelo das Mentes (as "duel of the minds") | The Lambda Factor | Y2/19 |
| Sun, 03 June 1990 | Os Criadores de Sonhos I (as "the creators of Dreams I") | The Bringers Of Wonder part 1 I | Y2/17 |
| Sun, 10 June 1990 | Os Criadores de Sonhos II (as "the creators of Dreams II") | The Bringers Of Wonder part 2 | Y2/18 |
| Sun, 01 July 1990 | O Espectro da Visão (as "the spectre of the vision") | The Seance Spectre | Y2/20 |
| Sun, 08 July 1990 | Dorzak | Dorzak | Y2/21 |
| Sun, 15 July 1990 | O Planeta do Diabo (as "planet of the Devil) | Devil's Planet | Y2/22 |
| Sun, 29 July 1990 | O Planeta sem Esperança (as "planet without hope") | The Immunity Syndrome | Y2/23 |
| Sun, 05 August 1990 | Os Dorcons | The Dorcons | Y2/24 |
In addition to the two mainland stations, RTP1 and RTP2, two autonomous Portuguese regions had their own stations: RTP-Madeira and RTP-Açores, for the island groups of Madeira and the Azores.
For Madeira, the newspaper Diario de Noticias provides these dates (thanks to António Rodrigues)
See also Angola, a former Portuguese colony. Mozambique and Cape Verde had a similar relationship with RTP, but details are unknown. Brazil also showed the series.
1999 Events:
Lisbon Planetarium showed Alien Attack on 12th September 1999 with a presentation on the latest Earth and Moon science.
FANTASPORTO is one of the most important SF, fantasy and film festivals in Europe. It is based in Oporto, Portugal. In 1999 it showed a tribute to Space:1999.
The Space 1999 movies were shown in unsubtitled original versions at the Pre-Fantasporto Sessions at the studio of the Rivoli Theatre.
Sunday/Domingo 21/2 - 16,15 - Espaço 1999 - The Bringers Of Wonder (Destination Moonbase Alpha)
Tuesday/Terça 23/02/99 - 16,15 - Espaço 1999 - Breakaway + War Games (Alien Attack) - v.o. ing.
Thursday/Quinta 25/02/99 - 16,15 - Espaço 1999 - Black Sun + Collision Course ("Alien Attack" was announced but it probably was "Journey Through the Black Sun" instead)
In 2006, the cable TV channel SIC Radical broadcast Year 1 (starting January 10th, Tuesdays 22:00, reruns Thursday 14:30 and Sunday 15:00). (thanks to Luis Cotovio and Paulo Jorge Morgado). The episodes were in (UK) broadcast order; the last may be 9 December 2006 at 5am.
In 2011, the cable TV channel RTP Memória ("RTP Memory") broadcast Year 1, starting on May 30 at 9:30pm. Episodes were shown Monday to Friday at 21:30, repeated at 14:15 the following day. The series was shown into 2012, at least until 13 March
Since 14 April 2023, SIC Radical (see above) started to show the episodes on Saturdays at 11:30pm, although the schedules have changed constantly. The episodes are, for the first time in Portugal, HD and cropped to 16:9. Initially in production order, but changed to broadcast order. The last was 14 July 2024 (a block of 4 episodes, 13:22-16:43, with the last repeated at 22:30). (thanks António Rodrigues)
Each broadcast used a new translation. See the different episode names.
