Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #37: SPACE: 1999

I'm not sure which episode this is from, but here's a nice production shot of a dramatic scene on the terrific Main Mission set (which both sounds - and looks - so much cooler than Year 2's cave-like "Command Center") from the first season of Space: 1999.

13 comments:

  1. The main Mission set was amazing, but I heard it was a pain to film in because there just was no room. The command center set might have been easier to film in but it looked like a elementary school classroom. To paraphrase Harry Potter the 2nd season of Space 1999 should be the year that should not be named. I choose to believe the shows came from 2 different realities, one looked like season one, the other like season two. I am just angry I could not get the blu-rays of season one when I wanted to and now they are sold out.

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  2. Thank you for this blog. I stumbled onto it via jimsmash and I'm lovin' it. I saw Star Wars when I was ten and loved all the science fiction that followed! Keep up the great posts.

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  3. I cannot be sure, but I would say it is from the very early episodes, either The Black Sun or Matter of Life and Death. Somehow the face of the man close to the door rings a bell to me.

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  4. It's easy to get the 1999 Year 1 Blurays on eBay or Amazon. I ABSOLUTELY love mine ('cept the outside cover pics of Landau and Bain, which was a throw back to earlier US release..). Not sure what the current prices are, but they're SO worth it.

    After Year 2 completed, I remember seeing this pic in Starlog which made me SO MISS Year 1. The visual look was SO MAJESTIC with set designs, uniforms, camera work, lighting, it was magnificent, truely a treat for the eyes. It made the occasional bad script seem profound and elegant. It truely felt like a 'space opera' to coin an overused '70s phrase.

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  5. Radar, I believe it's actually from 'Breakaway'.. Two identifiers come to mind:

    1) Sandra's hair style, and
    2) I believe the guy who was replaced by Kano is just on the other side of Martin Landau.

    ("..sometimes I cannot believe I know this stuff...")

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  6. You are right, David, I cannot believe it either :)
    Now seriously, you are right, it is Breakaway. In fact one of its last scenes, and we can find the final scene, with every character in place, at the Space 1999 Catacombs website. Specifically at its images collection for the episode: http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/main/epimg/tib17.html.

    And, coming back to the point: Can you really differenciate Sandra's hair style along the Year 1?? Oh gosh, I can no more consider myself a Space 1999 fan XD

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  7. Humble thanks Radar, I LOVE the Catacombs site..!!!!

    Sandra had this sharp, defining part on her forehead then down the left side in that first episode (which I really liked), then it immediately changed to being more across her head.

    I believe the actor who played 'Ben Ouma' (sp?) directly behind Martin in that pic.

    Again, '..I REALLY cannot believe I know this stuff..'. It'll always be the show closest to my heart.

    Love everyone's contributions here.

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  8. My first thought was, "That camera dolly is really close the edge of that top step. If it goes over someone is going to be in trouble...."

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  9. Hi Guys!

    Henry from Brazil here. I was revisiting Breakaway the other day and one thing about 1999's marvelous sets struck my mind.

    Ceilings! Space 1999 is the only show where I saw the ceiling of a space ship (Koening's Eagle 2 on Breakaway) and from this beautiful main mission control.

    BTW, this site made it to my favorites. Good work!

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  10. Hi everyone,
    David_b and Radar are correct. This picture is indeed from Breakaway. "Space" has been and always will be my all time favorite sci-fi show! I remember as a kid prefering the second series because of the increase in action, faster paced music and of course Maya. But as an adult I'm very partial to series one. That is indeed Benjiman Ouma standing next to Koenig. I just stumbled on this blog by accident and am very glad I did. Its now part of my favorites and will try to visit is often. Does anyone have any thoughts on the new proposed Space: 2099 that's supposed to be coming soon???

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  11. I don't think that Space: 2099 is going to happen. Seems to have been a pie-in-the-sky announcement.

    I liked the Main Mission set when I was a kid. Since then I have designed sets myself and I see the cheapness in the MM one. There are next to no electronics. There is nothing for the actors to do. It's just a structure, no interfacing. Probably budgetary. A lot of people on the series did not like that set; part of the reason it was reconfigured -- made smaller but pumped up in the electronics department (a bit too much, though). By the way, there was a partial ceiling. Lights had to be mounted somewhere.

    I like Space: 1999 but am bemused at how some fans focus on the bland sets. How 'bout those scripts?

    It would be nice to see a new take on the series; hopefully there will be a better designer, and one who has more money to play with in order to build unique rooms... instead of the same wall panels to depict every part of the moonbase.

    Having said that, I'd put my money on better writers this time round.

    Gotta go, "Another Time, Another Place" is ready to spin....

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  12. Darn... lose internet access for a couple of months, and miss all this cool stuff on Space1970.

    Well, everyone else beat me to it: this pic is from Breakaway, and all I can do is echo many of the comments already made. And david_b, don't feel bad about knowing so much detail about S99. In the pre-internet days when I only had LaserDisc copies of the first season coupled with my old novelizations, bubble gum cards and Starlog back issues, I tried to figure out the 'correct' order of the episodes (or rather, the order in which they were produced, regardless of which order various local stations actually broadcast them) using, among other things, careful observations of the Main Mission set changes that occurred. Let's see, there were the removal of the stairs along the windows, the addition of Kano's rotating desk, the changing locations of the first aid kit & drinks dispenser in the archways...
    Yep, I'm a warehouse of this kind of stuff. But when I eventually discovered The Catacombs (the website, not the episode), I realized I was not alone, and indeed far from the most knowledgeable.

    CR

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  13. Season 2 music was REDICULOUS. Yeah, even when I watched it in '77.

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