In 1975
television fantasy was thin on the ground. Most popular shows from the States
were either police based or else Earthbound stuff like The Six Million Dollar Man. The Star
Wars boom was still a couple of years away while in the UK apart from Doctor Who these sort of shows sat
mainly in the children’s programme slots. It’s important to mention this
because when it arrived Space 1999
seemed like a breath of fresh, colourful air. People watched it with enjoyment
at the time and it is only later that it came to be seen in a somewhat less
appreciative light. Personally I loved it and had models of the Eagles (the
spaceships not the group) and those poster magazines with gorgeous colour
photos of weird alien locations.
Many of the
criticisms of the series are at least partly valid- there is certainly a lack
of empathy amongst the main characters and some of the plots are hugely
derivative. The science is of course all over the place and you have to smile
at the idea that what was then a view of 30 years into the future depicted
everyone still wearing the flares and hairstyles of the mid -70s. At the same
time, the series is enormous fun to watch with its gaudy alien planets and
impressive model shots. And can you
really dislike a programme whose opening credits give away half the plot and
depict the two stars staring into space while slowly revolving on a platform. I
mean everyone does that at home don’t they?
So over the
coming weeks I’m going to be watching every episode of the first season to see
what I find then nattering about it on here. It’s important to point out these
are not intended to be either episode guides or definitive reviews of the
series, just reactions and observations as I journey alongside Commander Koenig
(no relation to Ezra or Walter) and a remarkably smooth flying Moon through the
Universe. If I survive the G Forces I’ll probably do season two next year. So
let’s go back to 13 September 1999 or to be more precise 4 September 1975 when
the first episode was originally broadcast….
