Catacombs Reference LibraryPress
Catacombs Reference LibrarySan Diego Union, TV Week supplement, Aug 3-9, 1975, page 3
By Don Freeman, TV-Radio Editor, The San Diego Union
When Martin Landau and his wife, Barbara Bain, were touring France, they paused for a wine-and-cheese break in a village in the sunny Provence area where once Van Gogh painted his colour-splashed landscapes.
"As soon as we got out of the car," Landau was saying, "a little old lady spotted us. One look and she shrieked, 'Mission Impossib'!' It was a bit startling until I remembered that Mission: Impossible was just about the most popular show in France. Of course, if you've ever seen French television ..."
And then, for appropriate emphasis, Landau unloosed a Gallic shrug. "Actually, it was a bit unexpected, this kind Of success in France," Landau said. "I remember four years ago talking to Charles Aznavour, the Parisian singer, and he told me that no way would Mission: Impossible ever go in France. He said something about the show going against what he called the 'French mentality.'
"Well, maybe the French mentality has changed since then. Or maybe the show just seems different now, much less fanciful than when we were filming it, with all the strange gadgets and the self-destructing messages and all the involved espionage. The headlines and revelations have undoubtedly given the show a different appeal. Whatever, Mission: Impossible is now seen in 69 countries and dubbed into 18 languages.
"I don't know about the French mentality," Landau added, "but I think, from this recent visit, that the French people them- selves have changed. It's now accepted in France, if reluctantly, that there is a world outside its borders that doesn't speak French. "
The Landaus, Barbara and Martin, had ventured over to France, as well as Holland and Belgium, in the wake of filming a new series in England under the Lew Grade production banner. Entitled Space: 1999, this one is a syndicated epic that has already been sold in 101 countries. In this country, the show will be carried in 150 cities (including Channel 10 in San Diego).
Undoubtedly, the vast following that was once lured to Star Trek will be intrigued by Space: 1999, which is a science-fiction item set, appropriately enough, in the year 1999. "Unlike Star Trek, we're only 25 years into the future," Landau says, "and we don't go far out into space. But we will, of course, welcome all the Trekkies to our midst.
In Space: 1999, Landau essays the role of the commander of Moonbase Alpha, which is our outpost on the moon. Is he qualified to be the commander, you ask? I quote here from a press communique about the show, as follows: "A former test pilot and astronaut, he won the command over candidates from all nations because their leaders acknowledged that he knew the job better than anyone in the entire world . He is a self-assured career man with the ability to inspire loyalty and fidelity among the elite core of earthmen on the moon. "
That's our Marty! "So we're on the moon," said Landau, "and there's a massive explosion - actually a series of thermonuclear explosions from the earth - and the moon is shot out of the earth's orbit, Which isn't the best thing to happen to the 300 people based on the moon.
"Now, as a result of the explosions, the moon's gravitational relationship with the earth is completely altered. Portions of the moon are torn away. But Moonbase Alpha remains intact. We are self-sustaining but able only to maintain ourselves under survival conditions. Atomic and solar energy powers food, air and water recycling installations. So we can function but we're not exactly equipped emotionally to go off into-space. Our plight is to find a planet we can settle on."
"Where do you settle?" I asked Landau.
"Ah, that's the question. We come into contact with various civilizations and there they say we're not such good people. In one planet we land on, hoping for a nice welcome, they say we earthlings are emotionally unstable. We're the bad guys, the primitives. They don't even think much of Barbara, who plays the chief medical officer on Moonbase Alpha, and she knows all about the most advanced - in 1999, that is - medical computer systems. "
It was suggested to Martin that there may be, at that, a few similarities to Star Trek.
"Well, Star Trek is set way off in the future - maybe 2,000 years or so - and they are deliberately looking around, exploring out in space. And being that far into the future, if the Star Trek people see something with 20 tentacles and freckles they know right off what it is. In 1999, we don't know anything about such quaint things. It's all new and novel. Emotionally, we're rooted in the present."
The series, which cost nearly $7 million to produce, is enhanced by Rudi Gernreich, the fellow who started the unisex look, as the costume designer. "Although spectacular in concept," according to the same press communique, "the costumes worn by the principals in this series manage to meet all of the Television Code's standards." Well, that's reassuring.
"Gernreich designed these very functional outfits we wear," said Landau. "They're double knit and since we don't have any money, we.don't have any pockets. Gernreich had the idea that the colour of the sleeve would denote where one works and, therefore, one's status. From a hundred feet away, you can see someone's sleeve and know what he does. I, as commander, wear dark sleeves. Very dignified. "
Landau said that the series, consisting of 24 episodes, is contractually guaranteed a full year's run no matter how it fares in the ratings. "It's too easy to lose faith in a series that doesn't pull big numbers first crack out of the box," Landau notes in truth. "I remember all too well that Mission was almost yanked after the first 13 shows. A series needs time to capture and 'hold an audience. 'It's good that we have that time."
Captions:
Space: 1999 copyright ITV Studios Global Entertainment