Catacombs Reference LibraryPress
Space 1999 Ready To Go Into Orbit
Catacombs Reference LibraryNew York Post, 18 September 1975, p57.
By Bob Williams
Science fiction fans may rejoice Sunday with the arrival on Ch. 11 at 6:30p.m. of a new $6.5 million series im- ported from Britain and called Space: 1999, which is playing havoc with network schedules across the land.
"We have already signed with 155 stations, who are bypassing or shifting major network series in order to put Space: 1999 on the air," said a spokesman for London's Independent Television Corp.
"At least 26 network programs have already been displaced."
Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, the husband and wife team who once starred in Mission: Impossible, are seen together anew- - he as the commander and she as a scientist, among an international settlement of 311 earthlings on a section of the moon called Alpha Base.
The colourful settings are dazzling to the eye. The costuming, the work of fashion designer Rudi Gernreich, is imaginatively appealing.
And the premiere episode no doubt will bring gladness to the hearts of the hundreds of thousands of addicts of Star Trek, who still watch the reruns and frequently hold conventions.
As we zoom in on Alpha Base, we find everything almost in readiness for a mission to a planet, Meta, from which signals have been received indicating there's life there.
But, alas, nine astronauts die, one by one, of a mysterious illness.
Dr. Helena Russell (Miss Bain) is convinced of the cause. For years, Earth has been sending its nuclear waste to disposal areas on the dark side of the moon.
Barry Morse, as prof. Bergman, contends that there is no leakage from the deeply buried cannisters, but that intense heat generated by magnetic output is the deadly threat.
Before the waste can be distributed over a wider area, a blinding thermonuclear blast shatters the moon's dark side and hurls the satellite beyond Earth's orbit, as well as TV and radio contact.
Thus begins the struggle for survival on Moonbase Alpha adrift in space.
There was more than a hint of Space: 1999's prospects back in August, when it was shown on a Los Angeles station and scored record ratings. The word travelled fast through the TV industry.
"We doubt," said the ITV spokesman, "that there has been any syndicated show in TV history that has scored such an impact on network affiliates.
"Eight stations pre-empted the new ABC Barbary Coast for it. Two inserted it in the Sanford and Son timeslot. Eight thus far have pre-eempted NBC's the Montefuscos in favour of Space: 1999.
"In Cincinnati, the Cher show had to move to another station. Invisible Man was shifted in five cities. Eight stations shifted NBC's new Fay series."
Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, veterans of sci-fi films, are the creator-producers of the 24-episode venture. Veteran writer George Bellak plotted the stories. The impressive special effects are the work of Brian Johnson, who did 2001 A Space Odyssey, and Nick Alder.
The National Space Institute has endorsed the series in a letter to Abe Mandell, president of ITV, a branch of multimillionaire Sir Lew Grade's production empire.
Science fiction fans here may find one fault with the captivating series, the fact that Ch. 11 is putting it on at 6:30 Sundays, which may be too early for many.
Space: 1999 copyright ITV