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**evilC** · 21-01-2009, 16:23

Space 1999

By modern standards it was pretty shit, but then... are we Brits producing anything to compare it to, currently?

But I digress...

Yes, it's tacky and held together by a whole web of inaccurate and weak premises. However, it's also responsible for a scene that was so terrifying to my young mind at the time, that it's left me quite scarred! It was the 'monster' that materialized on board one of the shuttles and devoured - or, more correctly, incinerated - most of the crew. It was, of course, the fact that the monster had loads of tentacles and this pressed all my arachnophobe alarm bells that gave it such weight, for me. But it was also the fact that it appeared to suck in its victims, burn them alive and then spit them out as a featherlight husk of ash that was quite nightmarish, too. Needless to say, there was a fair bit of stuff that you could interpret as Freudian, if you wished to.

Anyway, yes - that is one of the scariest monsters ever, in sci-fi, for my money.

However, the less said about 'travelling through black holes' the better, I think!

It was a Gerry Anderson production, wasn't it?

**hobbes** · 21-01-2009, 17:38

Space 1999

I bloody love Space 1999. It's grand. Totally ridiculous and implausible, but grand.
And any TV series that has the toughest character called "Alan" has got to be a winner.

**hissing fauna** · 21-01-2009, 17:47

Space 1999

Fantastic theme tune as well.
It used to be on after "Star Soccer" in the Midlands - a great couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon.

**Wyatt Earp** · 21-01-2009, 18:35

Space 1999

He trained under Lee Strasberg at the Actors' Studio, you know, Martin Landau. Poor bastard.

**hissing fauna** · 21-01-2009, 21:08

Space 1999

He's briliant in "Ed Wood".

**ian.64** · 21-01-2009, 21:25

Space 1999

It was the 'monster' that materialized on board one of the shuttles and devoured - or, more correctly, incinerated - most of the crew. It was, of course, the fact that the monster had loads of tentacles and this pressed all my arachnophobe alarm bells that gave it such weight, for me. But it was also the fact that it appeared to suck in its victims, burn them alive and then spit them out as a featherlight husk of ash that was quite nightmarish, too. Needless to say, there was a fair bit of stuff that you could interpret as Freudian, if you wished to.

I remember that, and yep, it was pretty strong stuff in concept and execution. Mind you, they had Joan Collins in one episode as an empty, monotone-voiced android devoid of emotion....wait, no, sorry, that was her normal acting.

Hold on, wasn't that Christopher Lee episode the one that featured Roy Dotrice as a selfish cove who wanted to go with Lee and his Roywoodoids across the galaxies on his starship and ends up waking up not long after its launched, doomed to die slowly in a plexiglass chamber? Had me narked in a mildly haunting way after I saw it, that did.

**My Name Is Ian** · 21-01-2009, 22:38

Space 1999

ITV4 is also repeating "UFO" at the moment, which has the most exciting opening titles of any television programme, ever.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IY_yNbJFP2c

**Rogin the Armchair fan** · 21-01-2009, 23:54

Space 1999

One of the related links off that youtube link suggests that the action scenes on Space 1999 were choreographed by Lionel Blair.

You really couldn't make that up.

**evilC** · 22-01-2009, 10:33

Space 1999

twohundredpercent wrote:

ITV4 is also repeating "UFO" at the moment, which has the most exciting opening titles of any television programme, ever.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IY_yNbJFP2c

It's a masterpiece of editing (for the time), yes, but that woman giving the little wave right at the beginning totally undermines the rest of it, for me.

I had one of the toy versions of the 'Interceptors' - the craft that couldn't possibly fly and had just the one huge missile on the front. The missile on the toy actually fired ...but didn't explode.

**hobbes** · 22-01-2009, 12:56

Space 1999

I had in Interceptor too. Except not ever seeing UFO when I was a kid I had no idea what it was.
I also had 2 Eagles. They were mint.

My best tv toy (excluding Star Wars as that's a film) was a Viper and Cylon Raider my sort-of godfather bought me back from the states.

**hobbes** · 22-01-2009, 12:58

Space 1999

One of these

**NHH** · 22-01-2009, 13:18

Space 1999

The spaceships were pretty much the backbone of every lego spaceship I ever made from my own imagination.

I was watching one the other day, I noticed that the uniforms changed between series; reasonable enough in one respect from a production perspective, but in continuity terms, seemed like a waste of resources for a finite group of people spinning through space with no control.

**evilC** · 22-01-2009, 14:05

Space 1999

NHH wrote:

The spaceships were pretty much the backbone of every lego spaceship I ever made from my own imagination.

Lego Star Wars: The video game

(edit: Another trailer)

**hobbes** · 23-01-2009, 10:44

Space 1999

NHH, the Space 1999 Wiki page explains all about that.

**Commodore** · 25-01-2009, 05:09

Space 1999

I did have a water pistol version of the knuckle duster style laser gun that Landau and his cohorts used (I'm inclined to think during the second series as the first was just before my time).

As much as I marvel at the prospect of such programmes being broadcast, there are too many commercial breaks that interrupt any viewing pleasure I might gain from watching it on ITV4. So I don't really bother.

**ian.64** · 25-01-2009, 14:53

Space 1999

As much as I marvel at the prospect of such programmes being broadcast, there are too many commercial breaks that interrupt any viewing pleasure I might gain from watching it on ITV4.

I was engrossed in a Poirot episode and just as the revelations were due at around eight or so minutes before the end, a fucking commercial break loomed, so breaking up the feeling of anticipation, thus proving in a small yet significant way that ITV4 has been given over to a bunch of shit-headed wankers who should actually be sweeping roads for a living, which is about the limit of their abilities.

**Rogin the Armchair fan** · 25-01-2009, 20:21

Space 1999

I hate that kind of hyperbole, and ian.64 should retract his last post now. No matter how inept they are, there's no way in the world ITV4's schedulers should "actually be sweeping roads", regardless of how shit they evidently are at their present jobs. There is no way you would want those people to be sweeping roads. There would be piles of leaves and other debris left in the middle of roads everywhere, and motorway deaths would increase five-fold. It would be a disaster on an unprecedented national scale.

**linus** · 25-01-2009, 21:04

Space 1999

If you ignore details like the plots and special effects, shows like UFO and Space 1999 held up remarkably well in terms of look and style. A lot of the sets are great and the soundtracks are fantastic. What more do you want?

**erwin** · 26-01-2009, 01:46

Space 1999

ITV4 is also repeating "UFO" at the moment, which has the most exciting opening titles of any television programme, ever.

It's very exciting. But I wonder at the lack of foresight of the technical advisers. Teletext to communcate into space? I was waiting for Sam Leitch to appear.

**ian.64** · 26-01-2009, 08:58

Space 1999

I hate that kind of hyperbole, and ian.64 should retract his last post now. No matter how inept they are, there's no way in the world ITV4's schedulers should "actually be sweeping roads", regardless of how shit they evidently are at their present jobs. There is no way you would want those people to be sweeping roads. There would be piles of leaves and other debris left in the middle of roads everywhere, and motorway deaths would increase five-fold. It would be a disaster on an unprecedented national scale.

I apologise unreservedly for my remarks upon this matter. They were unfounded and unthinking, and reflect poorly upon those hardy souls who sweep and clean our country's roads with diligence and duty, and for me to suggest that they should be replaced with individuals who, in all probability, smear their own heads in Windowlene to amuse their friends and who think 'Isosceles' is a Greek holiday resort, was foolhardy in the extreme, and I therefore retract my remarks.

**evilC** · 10-02-2009, 02:56

Space 1999

Space 1999 soundtrack, by Barry Gray.

...and a taster thereof.

**linus** · 10-02-2009, 05:23

Space 1999

Uncanny timing Clive, I was just listening to that sondtrack and a few others in the same vein (Fr�d�ric Mercier, I Signiori Della Galassia, Roger Roger.) What a great album this is, from start to finish, songs like "Breakaway" and "Death's Other Dominion" are superb space-funk grooves, worthy of being played in the best discotheques of Ibiza or Isosceles.

**ian.64** · 10-02-2009, 08:02

Space 1999

A lovely bit of music by Gray that always tickled me was the end titles of the Joe 90 series, a wonderful piece that manages to sound pastoral, warmly comfortable and foot-tappingly pacey both at the same time. And now I've found it. Thank you, itunes!

**gt3** · 10-02-2009, 11:14

Space 1999

What?! The joe90 theme is available on iTunes? Why didn't someone tell me before?

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Space 1999

Space 1999

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