The 48th and final episode of Gerry Anderson’s space adventure series Space: 1999 airs on British broadcaster ITV, starring Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, and Catherine Schell. Patrick Troughton (Doctor Who) guest stars in the series finale. The show’s run, and very tentative plans for either a third season or a spinoff led by Catherine Schell as Maya, have already ended thanks to a combination of cast members’ demands for raises and creative control, the slowly unraveling marriage of producers Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, and ITC head Lord Lew Grade’s desire to redirect the funds for the series toward a pet film project, Raise The Titanic. 
The 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.
written by Johnny Byrne
directed by Tom Clegg
music by Derek WadsworthCast: Martin Landau (Commander John Koenig), Barbara Bain (Dr. Helena Russell), Catherine Schell (Maya), 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