Catacombs Reference LibraryTroubled Spirit Fantasy Flashback
Catacombs Reference LibraryReviews from TV Zone, "the monthly magazine of cult television", an early 1990s UK genre magazine
by Richard Houldsworth
TV ZONE SPECIAL Number 7, Supernatural Special (Nov 92); p20-23 (9bw, 1c)
The Troubled Spirit was Space: 1999's first attempt at a supernatural story, but it was perhaps too successful for its own good. Directed by ex-stuntman Ray Austin, it is a no-holds barred chiller, with some sterling prosthetics make-up work from Basil Newall for the charred Dan Mateo. However, in many regions it found a home during children's viewing on a Saturday morning, and must surely have proved too much for some young stomachs.
Like the rest of the first season, it was made at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. A co-production deal between ITC and the Italian television station RAI resulted in agreement that Space: 1999 would feature a determined number of Italian actors to make the show a greater attraction for their domestic market. The Troubled Spirit, like Dragon's Domain and The Testament of Arkadia, was one script chosen to showcase an Italian performer - in this case Giancarlo Prette as Dan Mateo. A look-a-like for Prette was also required for the scenes in which both Mateo and his ghost appeared in shot together. For the climax, in which the pair fight within the force-field, the double is concealed underneath the prosthetics while Prette is visible as the living Mateo.
Of special note is the remarkable camera work, overseen by Director of Photography Frank Watts. Much of the episode's teaser is achieved by a long tracking shot, as the camera pulls away from a close up of the guitar at the recital, moves through the gathered audience and out into the corridor, then tracks towards the hydroponics section, plants, equipment and a window to Mateo and his associates. A faster tracking shot is employed for the superbly effective sequence in which Laura Adams is killed, and the camera chases her as she sprints towards the door. The photography is complemented with some eerie lighting, and some interesting use of primary colours (the medical centre is lit deep blue, the hydroponics centre deep red) whilst there is an abundance of darkness and shadows.
The lighting on the series had created major headaches throughout the first season, as Barbara Bain told TV Zone: "One of the different things about shooting Space: 1999 was the standing set. Normally they are small affairs that are easy to light; you have at least one scene from each episode on it, which you shoot first in half a day. That's the reason it is there. In this case we had a two-storey, huge standing set for Main Mission which took forever to light, which was no fault of the camera people. You had to get an awful lot of cast in it. It was a wonderful concept, but as a production issue it was hopeless. Instead of taking up half a day, it was taking three or four days, and that set was supposed to speed up the production schedule."
Perhaps the most intriguing shot in the episode can be found during the second experiment, as the Command team attempt to contact the ghost. The camera pans down from a close up of the ghost to a close up of Mateo; Giancarlo Prette plays both parts and yet there is no perceptible break in the camera's movements...
The Troubled Spirit is a mediocre 1999 story; as ever it is impeccably made, but the basic idea is rather corny (an attempt to communicate with the nervous systems of plants!) and features some implausible moments - would Koenig risk his entire command team in a dangerous experiment?
The episode was one of the last of the first season to be made, and came at the end of a long haul as production had been considerably hampered by the 1974 miners' strike. The studio worked with its own generator, but back-up areas had to contend with makeshift facilities; Barbara Bain has memories of having her hair washed each day with hot water from a kettle! Prentis Hancock (Paul Morrow) also recalls: "It became a much longer job than originally intended because of the three day week. Gerry decided very wisely to break halfway through, and we had a three week holiday. They had scheduled eleven months to make the first series, and in the end it took fifteen."
Although filmed as episode nineteen, the story was broadcast during the early months of 1976 as episode twenty two, times and dates varying with ITV regions. Johnny Byrne's script was adapted into novel form, and released widely overseas, although perhaps the most interesting version was printed in Italy. This was a hardback A4 format novel, which was lavishly illustrated with numerous stills from the film print.
The Troubled Spirit was released by ITC Video in April '92, on Volume Four of the Space: 1999 collection. Parental Guidance advised...
Richard Houldsworth