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Space 1999.

 

Space: 1999, a British science-fiction television series, ran for 48 episodes broadcast between 1975 and 1977. The first series (or season, often referred to as Year One) of 24 episodes began transmission in 1975, though production of the first episode began in 1973. In addition, a number of compilation films have been produced using material from multiple episodes, some containing additional footage. A brief, semi-official series denouement was filmed for exhibition at the Breakaway 1999 fan convention, held in Los Angeles, California in September 1999.

Actor name Character name and profession Number of episodes Series One Series Two
Barbara Bain Helena Russell, head of Medical Section 48 Yes Yes
Martin Landau John Koenig, leader of Moonbase Alpha 47 Yes Yes
Nick Tate Alan Carter, third in command, chief pilot 45 Yes Yes
Zienia Merton Sandra Benes, data analyst 37 Yes Yes
Anton Phillips Bob Mathias, deputy medical officer 24 Yes Yes
Barry Morse Victor Bergman, science adviser 24 Yes No
Catherine Schell Maya, science officer 24 No Yes
Prentis Hancock Paul Morrow, base second in command and Main Mission controller 23 Yes No
Clifton Jones David Kano, computer operations officer 23 Yes No
Tony Anholt Tony Verdeschi, second in command, head of Security and Command Center controller 23 No Yes
Suzanne Roquette Tanya Alexander, base operations officer 19 Yes No
John Hug Bill Fraser, Eagle pilot 9 No Yes
Yasuko Nagazumi Yasko, data analyst 8 No Yes
Jeffery Kissoon Ben Vincent, deputy medical officer 7 No Yes
Sam Dastor Ed Spencer, medical officer 3 No Yes
Alibe Parsons Alibe, data analyst 3 No Yes


The headline stars of Space: 1999 were American actors Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, who were married to each other at the time and had previously appeared together in Mission: Impossible. To appeal to the American television market and sell the series to one of the major U.S. networks, Landau and Bain were cast at the insistence of Lew Grade over the objections of Sylvia Anderson, who wanted British actors. Also appearing as regular cast members were the Canadian-based British actor Barry Morse (as Professor Victor Bergman in the first series) and Hungarian-born, US-raised Catherine Schell (as the alien Maya in the second series).

Before moving into the role of Maya during the second series, Catherine Schell had guest-starred as a different character in the Year One episode "Guardian of Piri". The programme also brought Australian actor Nick Tate to public attention. Roy Dotrice appeared in the first episode as Commissioner Simmonds and at the end of the episode it appeared that he would be a regular character; by the second (transmitted) episode the character vanished, reappearing partway through the first series in the episode "Earthbound", his only other appearance on the show, in which it is implied that he dies from asphyxia inside an alien spacecraft.

Over its two series, the programme featured guest appearances from Christopher Lee, Margaret Leighton, Joan Collins, Jeremy Kemp, Peter Cushing, Judy Geeson, Julian Glover, Ian McShane, Leo McKern, Billie Whitelaw, Richard Johnson, Patrick Troughton, Peter Bowles, Sarah Douglas, David Prowse, Isla Blair, Stuart Damon, Peter Duncan, Vicki Michelle and Brian Blessed. (Blair, Damon and Blessed each appeared in two episodes portraying different characters.)

The English actor Nicholas Young (who portrayed John in the original version of The Tomorrow People) appeared in a Year Two episode, "The Bringers of Wonder". Several guest stars went on to appear in the Star Wars films, including Cushing, Glover, Lee, Blessed, Prowse, Michael Culver, Michael Sheard, Richard LeParmentier, Shane Rimmer, Angus MacInnes, Drewe Henley, Jack Klaff and Jack McKenzie.

No.
overall		 No. in
series		 Title Original air date
1 1 "Breakaway" 4 September 1975 (1975-09-04)
In September 1999, John Koenig reports to Earth's Space Research Center at Moonbase Alpha as its new commander. A strange sickness is killing some of the Moonbase Alpha crew. Commander Koenig's investigation reveals that the source lies at Nuclear Waste Disposal Area 1 caused by excessive magnetic energy fields. The continuous buildup of energy shortly causes massive explosion clusters that knock the moon off orbit into deep space.
2 2 "Force of Life" 11 September 1975 (1975-09-11)
The body of Anton Zoref is invaded by an unknown life force. The man soon manifests an uncontrollable ability to absorb energy. As the Alphans struggle to understand this mysterious force, Zoref's need becomes insatiable. Driven by instinct, he makes his way to the greatest source of energy on Alpha: the Nuclear Generating Plant.
3 3 "Collision Course" 18 September 1975 (1975-09-18)
The Moon is on a collision course with an enormous planet. On a scouting mission, Koenig encounters Arra, the Queen of Atheria. The aged monarch proclaims the collision is a preordained event and must occur for her people to evolve to a higher plane of existence. Now Koenig must convince his crew to have faith and do nothing in the face of apparent destruction.
4 4 "War Games" 25 September 1975 (1975-09-25)
Approaching an inhabited planet, the Alphans are suddenly pounced upon by warships. In an unprovoked attack, Moonbase Alpha is devastated by Earth-style Hawk fighters. With 128 dead and Alpha unable to sustain life, Koenig and Helena appeal to the aliens for mercy. The aliens proclaim the Alphans to be an invading virus, with no right to exist.
5 5 "Death's Other Dominion" 2 October 1975 (1975-10-02)
On a frozen planet, the Alphans encounter shipwrecked humans from a lost expedition. The expatriates from Earth enjoy an idyllic existence: they have been made immortal and have lived there for over 880 years. They invite the Alphans to join them in paradise, but dissidents reveal all is not as it seems, teaching Koenig that immortality comes with a price.
6 6 "Voyager's Return" 9 October 1975 (1975-10-09)
The automated Earth space probe Voyager One is approaching the Moon. With the radioactive exhaust from its engine certain to extinguish all life on Moonbase, the Alphans try to gain control and shut down the drive. Help comes when the probe's designer is found living on Alpha under an assumed name. However, Voyager is being followed by alien ships seeking revenge.
7 7 "Alpha Child" 16 October 1975 (1975-10-16)
The Alphans celebrate the arrival of the first child born on the Moon. The blessed event sours when the infant grows into a five-year-old child in minutes. Trying to accept him, the Alphans do not notice that little Jackie Crawford is much more than he seems. When hostile spaceships approach the base, Koenig realises, too late, that the aliens have an agent on Alpha.
8 8 "Dragon's Domain" 23 October 1975 (1975-10-23)
In 1996, Tony Cellini commanded a high-profile space mission which ended in disaster. The sole survivor, he told an outrageous tale of a spaceship graveyard and an alien 'dragon' which devoured his crew. Believed by no one, he was left a broken man. Five years later, the truth is revealed when the runaway Moon approaches the same deadly Sargasso in space.
9 9 "Mission of the Darians" 30 October 1975 (1975-10-30)
Encountering a derelict spaceship, the Alphans respond to an automated distress signal. On board, they discover what remains of the once-great civilisation of Daria: an elite group which maintains control of the ship and a tribe which has descended into savagery. The Alphans are appalled when they discover what measures the Darians have taken to survive.
10 10 "Black Sun" 6 November 1975 (1975-11-06)
The travelling Moon drifts within range of a black sun. Pulled toward certain destruction by its inescapable gravitational force, the Alphans employ desperate measures to stay alive. As a lifeboat Eagle carries six persons to safety, the Moon plunges into the black sun, with only an experimental forcefield protecting Alpha.
11 11 "Guardian of Piri" 13 November 1975 (1975-11-13)
Strange events befuddle the Alphans as they approach the planet Piri. When exploring its lifeless surface, Koenig encounters the seductive servant of the mysterious Guardian of Piri. She offers the wayward Alphans a life of peace and perfection. Realising the deadly truth behind the peace of Piri, Koenig struggles to free his people from the Guardian's influence.
12 12 "End of Eternity" 20 November 1975 (1975-11-20)
While exploring an asteroid, the Alphans critically injure an alien trapped within. Bringing him to Alpha, he is declared dead. However, he recovers spontaneously and his wounds have completely healed. The indestructible Balor is a scientist whose people had discovered the secret of immortality. He explains that his people branded him a dissident as their society descended into malaise brought about by widespread deathlessness. He was imprisoned inside the asteroid and cast out. Actually Balor is a psychopath, offering a drastic solution to his people's apathy; now freed of the eternal prison, he plans to spend eternity practicing the art of pain and torture, with the Alphans as his subjects.
13 13 "Matter of Life and Death" 27 November 1975 (1975-11-27)
A lush Earth-type planet holds the promise of a new home for the people of Moonbase Alpha. When the reconnaissance Eagle returns, it carries an unexpected passenger: Helena's husband, who died five years ago. The mysterious Lee Russell tells the Alphans that death awaits them on the new planet. The Alphans ignore his warning and unknowingly descend into a world of antimatter.
14 14 "Earthbound" 4 December 1975 (1975-12-04)
An alien spacecraft crashlands on the Moon, its passengers refugees from a dying world. As their destination is Earth, they generously offer to take one person with them when they depart. The scheming Commissioner Simmonds takes steps to ensure that he is the lucky individual chosen, even if it means destroying Alpha.
15 15 "The Full Circle" 11 December 1975 (1975-12-11)
When exploring a habitable planet, members of the Alphan survey party vanish without a trace. Are they the victims of an indigenous tribe of Stone Age humanoids? The mystery deepens when a dead caveman is found to have capped teeth. Others soon notice the primitive cave chief and his mate bear an uncanny resemblance to the missing John Koenig and Helena Russell.
16 16 "Another Time, Another Place" 18 December 1975 (1975-12-18)
After an encounter with a space-time anomaly, the Alphans find their Moon back in the Solar System on a course to re-enter Earth orbit. The celebration ends when it becomes apparent Earth is an inhospitable wasteland. The mystery deepens when they discover a duplicate Moon already in orbit and a duplicate Moonbase Alpha lying empty and deserted.
17 17 "The Last Sunset" 1 January 1976 (1976-01-01)
Anonymous alien benefactors provide the wandering Moon with a breathable atmosphere. The Alphans rejoice as they realise they have a wonderful new home in their own backyard. Preparations are made to settle and begin building a new civilisation on the Moon's surface. Koenig is suspicious of the aliens' motives, wondering how long this generous gift will last.
18 18 "The Infernal Machine" 8 January 1976 (1976-01-08)
The Alphans are visited by a bizarre spacecraft, whose request for supplies hides a deeper purpose. The ship, Gwent, is found to be sentient, the attempt of a vain alien genius to live forever. Powerful, unstable and craving companionship, Gwent intends for Koenig, Helena and Bergman to replace its aged, dying creator.
19 19 "Ring Around the Moon" 15 January 1976 (1976-01-15)
A technician falls under an alien influence, accessing classified information before mysteriously dying. Soon after, the Moon is stopped in space by the powerful rays of an alien spacecraft. The aliens' only interest in Alpha is the data held in its computers, information they now plan to obtain through the possessed eyes of their next agent: Helena Russell.
20 20 "Missing Link" 22 January 1976 (1976-01-22)
John Koenig finds himself trapped on the planet Zenno, in the home of an alien scientist and his daughter. Advanced two million years beyond Earth’s people, the aliens consider Koenig their missing link. Faced with the threat of being treated like an experimental animal for the rest of his life, Koenig uses an unexpected weapon to confound his captor: love.
21 21 "Space Brain" 29 January 1976 (1976-01-29)
An Eagle and its crew are crushed to death by an enormous energy field in space. When one of Alpha's astronauts is possessed by the anomaly, he tells them the energy field is a living space brain, which responded to the 'threat' with antibodies. Finding the Moon on a collision course with the Brain, the Alphans make plans to avoid the same fate as the Eagle. (This episode is notable for the inclusion of music from the first movement (Mars, the bringer of war) of the suite The Planets by Gustav Holst).
22 22 "The Troubled Spirit" 5 February 1976 (1976-02-05)
Dan Mateo, hoping to unlock the secret of communication with plants, unleashes a killing force from the depths of his own mind. This macabre spectre seeks vengeance for Mateo's horrible death—which has not yet occurred. Bridging the span between science and the supernatural, the Alphans hope to break the cycle and exorcise the ghost without killing the man.
23 23 "The Testament of Arkadia" 12 February 1976 (1976-02-12)
The wandering Moon suddenly changes course and comes to a halt in the vicinity of a dead world. As Alpha's power fails, the only hope for survival is to evacuate to the planet, which was ravaged by a nuclear war in the distant past. Searching for answers, a team is sent to the surface, where they discover the shocking truth of the origin of the human species.
24 24 "The Last Enemy" 19 February 1976 (1976-02-19)
The Moon approaches a solar system with two planets on opposite sides of its sun. The Alphans are trapped in an interplanetary conflict when warships from both worlds trespass on the Moon to fire missiles at their opponents' planets. After taking in a refugee from a destroyed gunship, the Alphans discover they have drifted into the middle of a literal war of the sexes.

 

No.
overall		 No. in
series		 Title Original air date
25 1 "The Metamorph" 4 September 1976 (1976-09-04)
The Alphans fall into the grasp of the despotic Mentor, an alien scientist trying to restore his ravaged world to its former glory. His biological computer requires the energy obtained from living brains to complete his task. When captured, Koenig is offered a choice: surrender the Alphans to a horrifying living death or face complete annihilation. Mentor's daughter Maya, who is a metamorph and from whom Mentor has concealed his actions, may be able to aid the Alphans.
26 2 "The Exiles" 11 September 1976 (1976-09-11)
A fleet of alien missiles takes up orbit around the Moon. When one is brought down for examination, the Alphans discover it contains the frozen body of a young man. Revived, he begs for Koenig to recover the rest of his people, innocent victims of a ruthless alien coup. The Alphans are soon reminded that appearances can be deceptive.
27 3 "Journey to Where" 18 September 1976 (1976-09-18)
A radio call from planet Earth to the moon gives hope of transporting the Alphans back home, until things go terribly wrong during the first crewed transport sequence.
28 4 "One Moment of Humanity" 25 September 1976 (1976-09-25)
Zamara, a striking alien woman, materialises aboard Moonbase and insists that two crew members must come to her planet, Vega, while the moon passes through Vega's space. The two, Tony and Helena, find they are being provoked and it is humanoid versus androids on Vega. Guest-starring Billie Whitelaw and Leigh Lawson
29 5 "Brian the Brain" 2 October 1976 (1976-10-02)
Guest-starring Bernard Cribbins in two roles. With the moon's trajectory reported to be shifting due to an unknown cause, the Alphans happen across a roving spaceship run entirely by a computer. Brian the Brain, as he prefers to be called (voice by Bernard Cribbins), proves to be a devious device until the truth is uncovered.
30 6 "New Adam, New Eve" 9 October 1976 (1976-10-09)
A man appears claiming to be God and proceeds to select two couples from the Alphans to populate a new earth.
31 7 "The Mark of Archanon" 16 October 1976 (1976-10-16)
Searching in the Moon's Catacombs for minerals, Alan Carter and his assistant come across a buried cryogenic pod containing a man and a boy.
32 8 "The Rules of Luton" 23 October 1976 (1976-10-23)
Following the detection of a defect in an Eagle, Tony Verdeschi is forced to leave John Koenig and Maya on a prospective home planet for the Alphans, whilst he returns to fetch another Eagle. After picking a flower and eating a berry, both John and Maya are accused of murder by the ruling plant life on Luton. Their sentence is a fight to the death with three other accused aliens. (In this episode it is disclosed that John Koenig is a widower when he tells Maya that his wife died in a (presumed) Third World War on Earth).
33 9 "All That Glisters" 28 October 1976 (1976-10-28)
Seeking a mineral, Koenig and his expedition team are trapped on a desert planet whose dominant life form is a rock that is thirsty for liquid water.
34 10 "The Taybor" 4 November 1976 (1976-11-04)
A roving trader known as Taybor offers to trade the Alphans the technology to return to Earth, with Maya's companionship as the price.
35 11 "Seed of Destruction" 11 November 1976 (1976-11-11)
Whilst exploring a bizarre asteroid, Koenig is detained and replaced by a double which directs Alpha to direct most of its energy at the asteroid. Some of the crew react negatively at his double's dictatorial behaviour.
36 12 "The AB Chrysalis" 18 November 1976 (1976-11-18)
Koenig, Carter and Maya investigate the source of destructive waves, occurring at regular intervals, which could destroy Moonbase Alpha; they encounter an unusual civilization.
37 13 "Catacombs of the Moon" 25 November 1976 (1976-11-25)
In the catacombs of the Moon, engineer Patrick Osgood is searching for titanium for a new heart to save his wife's life but he is developing a psychiatric disorder in his desperation and on account of dreams. The Moon is being bombarded by mysterious heat rays.
38 14 "Space Warp" 2 December 1976 (1976-12-02)
While Koenig and Tony investigate a derelict spaceship, the Moon passes through a space warp; at the same time, Maya is stricken by a fever and loses metamorphic control, becoming beasts the Alphans cannot manage, while they wait and hope Koenig and Tony will find their way to the space warp to rejoin them.
39 15 "A Matter of Balance" 9 December 1976 (1976-12-09)
Botanist Shermeen is part of a reconnaissance team exploring a new planet but she's under a mysterious spell, being spoken to by a spectral man named Vindrus who has recruited Shermeen to help with a yearned-for escape plan.
40 16 "The Beta Cloud" 16 December 1976 (1976-12-16)
A cloud of space dust causes a mystery illness on Alpha; an Eagle crew is sent to discover its secrets, but the craft returns only with a strange beast that withstands all assaults and which Maya realizes isn't a life form. The senders of the beast want elements of Alpha's life support system.
41 17 "The Lambda Factor" 23 December 1976 (1976-12-23)
Maya discovers that a huge gaseous cloud is giving off Lambda waves which could give some people paranormal powers. One of the affected Alphans cracks and begins to take control. Koenig faces spectres, two people he condemned to death many years earlier during an expedition to a space station orbiting Venus.
42 18 "The Bringers of Wonder, Part One" 4 August 1977 (1977-08-04)
Koenig seems to go berserk while flying an Eagle; as he is in Medical Center unconscious, a Superswift appears, lands and its crew is revealed as a team of people from Earth come to take the Alphans home. When Koenig seems to recover after some wave therapy applied to his brain, he does not see the old friends and acquaintances everyone else sees, nor a Superswift; Koenig sees hideous telepathic aliens and an alien spacecraft.
43 19 "The Bringers of Wonder, Part Two" 11 August 1977 (1977-08-11)
Koenig convinces Helena to doubt the credibility of the visitors and treat Maya the same way he was treated. Maya can confirm Koenig's perception of aliens and after treating nearly everyone, Koenig, Maya and Tony work to stop the aliens, whose real intent is to detonate nuclear fuel to provide their sustenance.
44 20 "The Seance Spectre" 18 August 1977 (1977-08-18)
The leader of a surface survey team, Sanderson, all suffering from a mental disorder brought on from the monotonous lunar terrain, suspects Koenig of concealing discovery of a habitable planet. He incites his team to help him take over the Command Center from Koenig, intent on inhabiting the new planet named Tora that is on a collision course with the moon.
45 21 "Dorzak" 25 August 1977 (1977-08-25)
An alien ship lands seeking aid, but when its commander emerges and sees Maya, she stuns Maya, putting her in stasis. It is learned that the ship bears Dorzak, a Psychon refugee who behaved criminally on the commander's planet. Dorzak beguiles Maya about his intent, using extremely well-developed psychic abilities to control others' thoughts.
46 22 "Devil's Planet" 1 September 1977 (1977-09-01)
Koenig and a colleague land on an Earth-like planet, once populated but now devoid of life, they flee when a man steps from a transport booth and dies. They fly the Eagle to the planet's companion body and crash, the colleague is killed by a forcefield and Koenig is captured. Taken to a penal colony on the planet's moon, he becomes the person of interest to the warden who then conceals Koenig's survival when other Alphans arrive in search of the Eagle crew.
47 23 "The Immunity Syndrome" 29 October 1977 (1977-10-29)
While on a survey of a planet to replenish food and water on Moonbase Alpha, an alien form attacks a crewman who seemingly goes mad; after a brief struggle with the crewman, Tony Verdeschi is attacked by the alien as well. Koenig and the survey party must find Tony and help him regain his senses before the madness kills him and solve the mystery of the alien life form. All their technology breaks down, preventing them from leaving or receiving aid; all food - native and their own supply - become toxic.
48 24 "The Dorcons" 12 November 1977 (1977-11-12)
Alpha is approached by an alien vessel, which Maya recognizes as a Dorcon ship. The Dorcons are enemies of the Psychons. The Dorcon ship eventually manages to take Maya from Moonbase Alpha so that the ship's commander can harvest Maya's brain stem to provide immortality to the supreme ruler. An attempt by Koenig to free Maya ensues before the Dorcons can do the transplant that will kill Maya. But the immature, scheming heir has other plans. (This episode eventually will serve as the series finale.)