Catacombs Reference LibrarySpace: 1999 in St Petersburg, Florida
Catacombs Reference LibraryIn St Petersburg, Florida, the first series was shown on Tampa's WFLA-TV channel 8, with the first episode on Friday 5th September 1975 at 8pm, with following episodes on Mondays at 8pm.
This was a report in the Evening Telegraph of St Petersburg, Florida, USA, on 5th September 1975.
by Perry Fulkerson
"Space: 1999" is billed as "The Ultimate Adventure Series" by WFLA Channel 8, which has spent more for this syndicated series, from an initial cost standpoint as well as promotion, than for any program it has ever aired.
There probably isn't a household on the Suncoast which hasn't heard of "Space: 1999" by now, if promotion manager Larry Kellogg has done his job. There are ads everywhere, including the sides of 44 buses in Tampa and St. Petersburg, which have been plastered with 12-foot signs touting "Space: 1999".
Tonight you taste the pudding.
"Space: 1999" airs in a pre-premiere at 8 p.m. before moving into its regular Monday 8 to 9 p.m. slot. What if you don't like it? Or what if it doesn't meet your expectations after you have heard so much? Just what have you heard?
You have heard how much it costs, how elaborate the sets are, who stars in it, and maybe, even what it's about.
I'll give you the plain truth. It's gimmicky (they've spent $6.5-million on "hardware"). And it's incredible. In the literal sense of the word.
But with imaginative writing and a continuation of the excellent acting in the first episode, "Space: 1999" will be a popular series... the question as to whether or not it will be another 'Star Trek" or even a cultish series remains to be seen.
It is unfortunate that "Space 1999" would have to be compared with "Star Trek." because they are two totally different variations of a common theme.
There are no monsters, no freaks, no aliens in the first episode. They come later. The sets are stunning. The drama is average. The acting by the stellar cast - which includes Martin Landau, Barbara Bain and Barry Morse - is as expected. And the basic premise, while possibly a bit far-fetched, is exciting.
In 1999, a moon colony of 311 people is blasted out of the earth's orbit by a nuclear waste plant explosion. The peak of drama is here, in the moments of strongest G-forces, as the moon rockets into space toward the unknown.
The base is able to maintain survival conditions, but It is understood from Martin Landau that the colonists will never be able to return to earth. What lies ahead, undoubtedly, are the mysteries of space, of new worlds and new forms of life.
Aside from the actual explosion and the blast into space, the most interest In the opening episode lies in the "hardware" such as the ingenious, obviously working communicators about the size of those used on "Star Trek" but with 1-inch TV screens.
The Eagle space ships used by the colonists to move about the moon - and in future episodes to move onto newly discovered planets - are fascinating in their spartan simplicity. You will be able to buy one, a metal kit, soon at your toy stores for about $14, manufactured by Dinky Toys. (Expect T-shirts, records, books, dolls, the works, to follow.)
The plain truth about "Space: 1999" is that it looks expensive. Let's just hope the producers put their money where their mouths are.
This strange blue object is an alien spacecraft in an upcoming episode of "Space: 1999," reputed to be the costliest science fiction series in the history of television. The program's hardware alone, including this and other spaceships, cost $6.5-million. An additional $275,000 was spent per episode. WFLA Channel 8 offers its first showing of the series tonight, while WXLT Channel 40, which can be seen on cable television in St. Petersburg, aired the first episode this past Monday.
St Petersburg Times, 31 August 1975 "TV Dial" magazine p3-4 ("Television viewing for the Suncoast for the week of August 31-September 6"). There was a nice colour cover of Nordstrom and Steiner, with a smaller Satazius and Eagle publicity photo.
Benbow also covered Year 2 on 19 September 1976.
By Charles Benbow
St Petersburg Times Television Writer
At last count, 146 television stations in this country (and an unrevealed number in 101 other countries) had bought ITC's (International Television Corp) new adventure series, "Space: 1999". According to the trade paper "Back Stage", 120 of these purchasers are network affiliates and most of them are pre-empting a network show to put "Space: 1999" into prime time evening hours.
And there are good reasons for this wholesale acceptance, literally creating a "Space: 1999" network, which NBC-TV's Suncoast affiliate WFLA-Channel 8 has recognised.
After seeing the first 60-minute episode, appropriately labelled "Breakaway" and selected scenes from the other 23 segments, I unhesitatingly say that "Space: 1999" will be an unqualified hit.
Channel 8 will introduce the series in a special time slot at 8 p.m. "Breakaway" sets the premise for the entire series, making it a must-see for fans of science fiction and adventure, and for anyone who may have the least interest in later episodes which Channel 8 will air weekly Mondays 8-9pm beginning Sept 8.
Good Reason No.1: The apparati in this new moon feature seem not so futuristic as those of, say, "Star Trek". We've become somewhat accustomed to incredibly rapid developments in space technology. With a possible exception of the "fuel" of these new space craft, the futuristic paraphernalia of "Space: 1999" seem plausible - indeed like minor refinements of our present capabilities - and therefore frighteningly within reach unlike the harmless imagery of "Flash Gordon". Well, the year 1999 should be within the span of a world power's long range plans.
Good Reason No.2: The events of the first episode are plausible, with a little imagination. After all, the storage of atomic waste is already a matter of concern on Earth. "Space: 1999" assumes the dark side of the moon would make a good atomic garbage dump. And that, by 1999, an International Atomic Commission, controlled by politicians as short-sighted as our present ones, will have created a moonbase, manned by 311 Earthlings and assorted computers, to monitor the waste pile.
Good Reason No.3: The Earthlings are not especially gifted individuals nor mutants of extraterrestrial parentage. When in crisis the computer indicates "Human Decision Required", the base commander (Martin Landau) properly expresses human puzzlement rather than Olympian omnipotence. The base doctor (Barbara Bain) is properly mystified by a fatal illness afflicting base personnel and properly appalled by an atomic commissioner's refusal to report the plague on Earth. This implies that the series will deal with matters of ethics as well as outer space gimcrackery.
Good reason No.4: The production values are top quality, a fact that ITC is trying to emphasise by sending "Space: 1999" costumes, created by talented fashion designer Rudi Gernreich, on an exhibition tour.
Much more impressive to this reviewer (text missing) monoliths, 1999's moonscapes appear expansive. The spacecraft are angular combinations of girders, boxes, cones, arms, discs, much more likely configurations than the classic, streamlined (which makes no sense outside the Earth;s atmosphere), cigar shaped craft of previous space epics.
Effects engineer Brian Johnson and his 12-man team manipulate the models without the usual puppet-bobbing that can destroy the illusion. His crew had some difficulty with scale in sequences during which the nuclear waste piles explode. Just as water drops tend to form in sizes too large to be convincing tidal waves in movie model work, flames and explosions have a natural scale of their own which the model maker can't control.
Actually I do have one concern about subsequent episodes. I've been discomforted before by deterioration of scripts and production values of other promising series. I hope it doesn't happen here. But some exotically dressed humans are on tape for guest appearances on the program. They are mostly British stars like Margaret Leighton, Roy Dotrice, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Joan Collins, and I hope they'll be made as believable as the spectacular event that was Episode No. 1.