Category: Space: 1999

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Season 2 Space: 1999

Devil’s Planet

Space: 1999Investigating an Earthlike planet, Commander Koenig and junior pilot Blake Maine discover that there’s already life there – complete with technologically advanced cities. But upon landing, they discover the grisly sight of a number of dead people – with no injuries visible. Another man appears in some sort of teleportal, staggers out, and dies before their very eyes. Koenig and Maine leave immediately in their Eagle, but a quick visit to that planet’s equally habitable moon results in a crash-landing in a jungle. They watch as another man, dressed like the one who died earlier, is hunted down by red-uniformed women. Koenig and Maine interfere with the hunt, and Koenig is captured by the women while his pilot is killed. Now Koenig is the prisoner of Mistress Elizia, a cruel queen who has anticipated everything from an Alphan rescue mission to Koenig’s inevitable escape attempts. But the one thing she doesn’t anticipate is the possibility that Koenig may prefer death to captivity.

Order the DVDswritten by Michael Winder
directed by Tom Clegg
music by Derek Wadsworth

Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Hildegard Neil (Elizia), Roy Marsden (Krail), Dora Reisser (Interrogator), Cassandra Harris (Sares / Controller), Angus MacInnes (Jelto), Arthur White (Kinano), Michael Dickinson (Blake Maine), John Hug (Fraser), Alibe Parsons (Alibe), Sam Dastor (Dr. Ed Spencer)

Notes: This is an unusual episode in that Martin Landau is the only member of the regular cast to appear; though scenes of Verdeschi, Maya and Dr. Russell are viewed as Koenig’s brain is scanned, all of that footage is from previous episodes.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 2

The Immunity Syndrome

Space: 1999An expedition to a promisingly Earthlike planet goes awry when Verdeschi hears a member of his team screaming in agony on the surface. After wrestling the man to the ground, Verdeschi himself is overpowered by a pulsing light and goes missing himself – demonstrating a sudden burst of strength powerful enough to crush his comlock with his bare hands. Koenig and his team subdue Tony and retrieve him a few hours later and lift off to rush him back to the moon via Eagle, but a team left behind on the planet falls victim to a mysterious and sudden failure of equipment. And so does Koenig’s Eagle, which is forced to violently crash-land after its electronics fail and its outer skin and components turn brittle – and as the Eagle plunges to the ground, sensors on Moonbase Alpha register an increase in advanced technology on the surface. Koenig calls Alpha, unsure if he’s being heard, and tells his crew to stay put – there seems to be no way to land on this planet without giving up all chances of leaving. Naturally, Dr. Russell and Maya – despite hearing the warning – begin making plans to go there immediately.

Order the DVDswritten by Johnny Byrne
directed by Bob Brooks
music by Derek Wadsworth

Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Nadim Sawalha (Zoran), Karl Held (Travis), Sam Dastor (Dr. Ed Spencer), John Hug (Fraser), Hal Galili (Voice), Alibe Parsons (Alibe), Walter Space: 1999McMonagle (Les Johnson), Roy Boyd (Joe Lustig)

Notes: As seen on a computer screen, Verdeschi’s vital information is as follows: full name – Anthony Dean Verdeschi; graduated B.A. Honors, University of Rome, 1990; Ph.D, Cambridge, England, 1993; birthplace, Rome, Italy. According to Dr. Russell’s log entry, this episode takes places over 2300 days after the events of Breakaway – meaning that by this point, the series has chronicled over six years of the moon’s misadventures.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Season 2 Space: 1999

The Dorcons

Space: 1999The moon nears some kind of drifting artificial satellite in deep space. But when the object is scanned, it blasts through Moonbase Alpha’s shields with a powerful scanning beam of its own, rendering the crew immobile and damaging equipment. The beam settles on Maya, awakening her and subjecting her to extraordinary pain. A Dorcon ship appears and demand that Koenig hand Maya over – or watch his entire crew die. Koenig refuses, and a vicious attack ensues. Alan Carter leads a small fleet of Eagles into combat, but both the Eagles and Alpha suffer heavy damage while the Dorcon ship is virtually untouched. The Dorcons and Psychons are sworn enemies, and the Dorcons have the ability to stop a Psychon transformation in mid-change – and to drain a Psychon’s life force to renew their own. Faced with Alpha’s destruction, Koenig – at Maya’s own insistence – gives up the fight and hands her over to the Dorcons. But an insurrection within the Dorcons’ own ranks could give Maya and the rest of Moonbase Alpha a means of escape.

Order the DVDswritten by Johnny Byrne
directed by Tom Clegg
music by Derek Wadsworth

Guest Cast: Tony Anholt (Tony Verdeschi), Nick Tate (Alan Carter), Patrick Troughton (The Archon), Ann Firbank (Consul Verda), Gerry Sundquist (Malic), Alibe Parsons (Alibe), Laurence Harrington (Stewart), Kevan Sheehan (1st Dorcon operative), Michael Halsey (1st Dorcon soldier), Hamish Patrick (Command Center Alphan), Hazel McBridge (Female medical officer)

Notes: The late Patrick Troughton was, of course, best known as the second incarnation of Doctor Who.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Categories
Space: 1999

Message From Moonbase Alpha

Space: 1999Some 20 years after the encounter with the Dorcons, Sandra Benes sends a message to Earth – a message that may never get through. She talks of the struggles of Moonbase Alpha’s crew, and mentions that a combination of failing systems on the outpost and a promisingly Earthlike world nearby has finally resulted in an all-hands evacuation order. Not all of the crew has survived either. Sandra pleads with anyone who receives her transmission to remember the Alpha crew – even if they are never heard from again.

Order the DVDswritten by Johnny Byrne
music by Barry Gray

Cast: Zienia Merton (Sandra Benes)

LogBook entry by Earl Green