Investigating Johnny Byrne's Space: 1999 Critical Commentary

50 years since its debut, Space: 1999's complex blend of smouldering human drama, science-heightened space adventure, and cosmic philosophising continues to invite a multitude of in-depth critical examinations of the series' qualities - even from those who worked on Space: 1999 itself! One of those critics was nonother than Year 1 story editor Johnny Byrne, whose succinct summary of the first series would go onto have everlasting consequences on how the series was presented to viewers in the 1970s.

At the end of the intensely turbulent production of Year 1 in 1975, and with a second series by no means a confirmed venture, Byrne was commissioned to produce an internal evaluation of all 24 episodes of Space: 1999's debut series. In his position as story editor, Byrne had the advantage of having creative oversight of all the episodes, closely collaborating with many of the series' directors. His firm oversight of the series' development made him well-positioned to offer an in-depth analysis. The only other person with similar level of insight would have been story consultant Christopher Penfold, who had departed prior to the end of Year 1's production owing to the creative strain of rescripting episodes.

Byrne's commentary, detailed below, is an unflinching insight into his perception of Year 1 as objectively as possible - even when writing up his own episodes. He provided a two-tier structure to his feedback, along with a five-star rating system for each episode. His comments had a huge impact on how the series was broadcast, judging which episodes were stronger than others, and therefore worthy of being bumped up the recommended viewing order - even if viewing the series in production order makes the most sense!

Over half a century since Byrne's comments were composed, just how relevant do they remain? Let's investigate his comments and offer up our own critical commentary on Johnny Byrne's critical commentary of Space: 1999!

Johnny Byrne's ratings guide:

***** - Excellent

**** - Good

*** - Average

** - Fair

* Poor

Breakaway

CRITICAL COMMENT: Sub-plot slows the build-up in the first half, which is also heavy on technical dialogue. Performance uncertain. Direction poor. However, main characters strongly established and good action sequences throughout, building to a spectacular finale.

GENERAL COMMENT: Spectacle overcomes the picture's inherent weaknesses, and the ongoing dramatic theme of the series is strongly established at the end.

RATING: ****

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Byrne's comments do a disservice to the first half of Breakaway, in which political power struggles of Commander Koenig taking command of Moonbase Alpha and the mystery surrounding suspected radiation ilnesses craft a broody, compelling atmosphere which expertly shifts gears dramatically into the Moon's eruption from Earth's orbit.

Matter of Life and Death

CRITICAL COMMENT: An intriguing story with good performance and direction and a strong guest artise. The show suffers from a lack of pace but should maintain the viewers' interest into the last act, where this weakness is largely redeemed by an exciting planet surface sequence.

GENERAL COMMENT: Good average episode with considerable female interest.

RATING: ***

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Richard Johnson puts in a commanding performance as Helena's long-lost husband who abruptly returns from the cosmic grave, but Matter of Life and Death's antimatter topics are treated unconvincingly. This episode was hurriedly rewritten from an earlier script submitted by Art Wallace and its hasty reconstruction is evident in its ill-thought-out delivery. As Byrne acknowledges, however, the riotous finale is expertly delivered.

Black Sun

CRITICAL COMMENT: Subject matter now of compelling interest to science fiction fans and the scientific community. The picture is a well-directed off-beat episode, with good all-round performance and strong human interest. However, it suffers considerably from lack of pace, but given the above comments, plus good production values it should maintain interest.

GENERAL COMMENT: The slow pace and off-beat treatment of the picture does not recommend it for early transmission, however it will be an interesting show to transmit once the series has become established.

RATING: ****

21st CENTURY COMMENT: It's oddly comical that a sustained criticism of Space: 1999 over the decades has been its perceived 'slowness' - a comment also made by Byrne himself! Black Sun's slowness is perfectly in the episode's favour, savouring the human drama of the Moon plunging helplessly into the jaws of the oncoming black sun. 

Ring Around the Moon

CRITICAL COMMENT: A good story, efficient performance and direction, with good up-beat pacing. The story however is badly plotted and this makes it somewhat confusing to follow in places. However, the picture is well-staged and builds to an exciting climax.

GENERAL COMMENT: Good production values and the telling use of special effects, largely overcomes the picture's script weaknesses.

RATING: ***

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Ring Around the Moon certainly enlivens its philosophically dense script with plenty of moody lighting and inventive optical effects. While Byrne's 'badly plotted' commentary does the neatly trimmed pace a disservice, Ring Around the Moon disregards high-stakes alien adventure for dialogue-driven drama that remains middlingly effective.

Earthbound

CRITICAL COMMENT: Strong story, featuring interesting sympathetic aliens. Very competent direction and performance. Slow pacing, however, mars the general excellence of the picture.

GENERAL COMMENT: The picture features two very strong guest artistes, one with a wide international appeal. Their presence, plus the other positive qualities, make this a good average picture.

RATING: ***

21st CENTURY COMMENT: A 'good average' picture feels an oddly appropriate summary for Space: 1999's first appearance of humanoid aliens. Indeed, Earthbound rattles along with minimal threat, the real enemy not being the aliens, but within Moonbase Alpha's own ranks. Once more, Byrne's nagging criticisms of slow pacing are at odds with the subtly revealing intentions of Simmonds, which work in the episode's favour.

Another Time, Another Place

CRITICAL COMMENT: A story with strong, human interest and special appeal to the female audience. Direction good, with telling use made of special effects. However, the general pace is marred by the lethargic performance of Barry Morse.

GENERAL COMMENT: The story embodies intriguing scientific notions, which should have a wide general appeal. A good average picture that could be transmitted anywhere in the schedule.

RATING: ****

21st CENTURY COMMENT: The first genuinely classic Space: 1999 episode to grapple with the series' densely cosmic format. Morse's unhurried portrayal of the grandfatherly Professor Bergman would be regarded as a defining example of holding the series' back from an enlivened pace, so it's intriguing to see such a wider criticism acknowledged specifically in this episode.

Missing Link

CRITICAL COMMENT: A well-staged picture with a guest artiste of international standing. Sadly, it is marred by the confusing nature of the story, which is too subtle for the general audience, the story points being open to too many interpretations.

GENERAL COMMENT: The good direction and performance are so badly affected by the story treatment, that the picture should be put towards the end of the schedule.

RATING: **

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Time hasn't been kind to Missing Link, and Byrne's comments sadly remain all too true. Missing Link captures Space: 1999 at its most valiantly abstract, but in doing so, struggles to make for quality drama. The scenes of Koenig being experimented on by Peter Cushing's alien character are thrillingly executed, but the drama of him being compelled by his daughter remain forced and unbelievable. 

Guardian of Piri

CRITICAL COMMENT: The credibility of the picture is destroyed by a serious error in the planet surface set design, which is too abstract for audience believability. A pity since the show is well-directed and performed with an exciting guest artiste, whose starring role in the new Peter Sellers PINK PANTHER feature, will add a big plus to our picture.

GENERAL COMMENT: The importance of credible set design has been brought home to us by our failure with this picture.

RATING: ***

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Byrne's disparaging comments regarding the gloriously bonkers set design for the siren-like planet of Piri are easily disagreeable. Guardian of Piri boasts some of Space: 1999's most dazzlingly memorable visuals, effortlessly blending between model sets and human-sized sound stages. 

Force of Life

CRITICAL COMMENT: This picture embodies all the elements we want in a science fiction series. has a strong, clear story, a good guest artiste, good performance and direction. It is well paced and has a spectacular ending.

GENERAL COMMENT: The successful fusion of the dramatic and visual elements have made this an exciting picture.

RATING: ****

21st CENTURY COMMENT: It's hard to disagree with Byrne's commentary here. Force of Life captures Space: 1999 at its most thrillingly primal and pleasingly uncomplicated. Little wonder then that this episode was bumped up the schedule to be an earlier broadcast adventure.

Alpha Child

CRITICAL COMMENT: An absorbing story, well-paced, with good action and strong human interest. The picture is flawed however by the comic strip treatment of the last two acts.

GENERAL COMMENT: Had the development of the alien characters been maintained, this would have been an excellent picture. Apart from missed opportunity, this is a good average picture.

RATING: ***

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Byrne's summary of Alpha Child neatly encapsulates its schizophrenic approach. The bulk of the episode's mystery-drama centring on the advanced aging of the first-born child on Alpha crumples into a hyperactive climax that feels plucked straight out of Year 2. 

The Last Sunset

CRITICAL COMMENT: An ambitious story, with good action, strong performance and direction and wide human interest. However, the picture never measures up to its full potential, owing to its weak technical realisation. Disappointing for us, but a good episode which could be very well received.

GENERAL COMMENT: A good average picture except for the technically discerning audience.

RATING: ***

21st CENTURY COMMENT: We may assume that Byrne's use of 'technical realisation' refers to the episode's special effects. It's hard to see exactly what Byrne may be referring to, since The Last Sunset boasts some of Space: 1999's most unusually compelling special effects. The episode replicates terrifying Earth-like extreme weather conditions for Moonbase Alpha to startlingly decent effect.

Voyager's Return

CRITICAL COMMENT: A well-plotted science-fiction notion, with strong guest artiste. The picture is marred by the floor direction and claustrophobic atmosphere which weakens the overall effect.

GENERAL COMMENT: The relevant nature of the story plus good production values just about overcome the basic directorial weaknesses. A good average episode.

RATING: ***

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Voyager's Return's grim subject matter works as a barely concealed reference of German scientists defecting to Allied forces during WWII, no doubt what Byrne referred to as the episode's 'relevant nature'. The episode also functions dramatically effectively as an absorbing standalone sci-fi drama, one that's not entirely dependent on the core Space: 1999 concept. It's an episode that's much more than Byrne's assertion of simply being a 'good average episode'.

Collision Course

CRITICAL COMMENT: A good story, well-paced, with spectacular action and story climax. The production values are excellent and the guest artiste is a famous marquee name - Margaret Leighton.

GENERAL COMMENT: An all round excellent picture in which all the elements work.

RATING: *****

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Another very apt summary of a superb episode - but by praising its justifiably wondrous qualities, Collision Course found itself broadcast early on, prior to Black Sun. Collision Course therefore would have been the first episode many viewers witnessed Space: 1999's Mysterious Unknown Force at work. What skewers this arc is the fact that this episode makes more sense when viewed after Black Sun! Nevertheless, the praise is entirely justified for one of Space: 1999's most confidently delivered adventures.

Death's Other Dominion

CRITICAL COMMENT: A well-written story, superbly directed, with excellent performances and outstanding production values. This is a beautifully realised picture and a good episode to screen for the discerning critics.

GENERAL COMMENT: From a mature, critical point of view, our best episode.

RATING: *****

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Byrne's recommendation of this episode for 'discerning critics' is an unusual justification of its qualities. Was he perhaps referring to the fact that Death's Other Dominion adapts the literary classic Lost Horizon, and therefore could be seen as an attempt to 'legitimise' the far-flung sci-fi concepts of Space: 1999 for critics? This episode is also far from the series' only example of having episodes boasting a 'mature, critical point of view'.

The Full Circle

CRITICAL COMMENT: A good basic story idea that was spread much too thinly throughout the picture. The overall effect is also marred by poor direction, but the intriguing nature of the story idea helps to balance these, negative qualities.

GENERAL COMMENT: An average picture with special appeal to younger viewers.

RATING: ***

21st CENTURY COMMENT: The original script for The Full Circle would have asked more probing questions on the nature of humanity's evolution, but director Bob Kellett's exterior direction strips away much of the episode's nuances into something more surface level in its appeal. The absence of dialogue and focus on action is further evidence of this, reinforcing Byrne's neatly encapsulating comments regarding one of Year 1's lesser episodes.

End of Eternity

CRITICAL COMMENT: A good story idea, marred by bad casting in the main guest spot. (The artiste in question was very competent, but wrong for the part.) The picture maintains story interest for the first two acts, but there-after suffers from a lack of believability, which weakens it considerably.

GENERAL COMMENT: The intriguing story notion, and good production values never quite recover from the effects of bad casting in the guest spot.

RATING: **

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Byrne's dismissal of an episode he saw as having too simplistic a villain, coupled with his perspective of that villain being poorly cast, enables The Last Enemy to serve as a quietly underrated gem of Year 1. Peter Bowles excels as the indestructible psychopath Balor, freed from his prison unintentionally by the Alphans. He delivers one of Space: 1999's most enjoyably devilish performances.

War Games

CRITICAL COMMENT: Our most spectacular picture, with quite outstanding action sequences. Performance and direction are superb and the story maintains interest throughout. However, the script suffers from a major lack of effective plotting in the sense that it opens on such a high point of spectacular action that the rest of the picture, though excellent and exciting, seems anti-climatic by comparison.

GENERAL COMMENT: The construction faults are overcome by the spectacular nature of the episode.

RATING: *****

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Byrne's 'anti-climactic' comments are at odds with the bleakly thrilling chaotic power that War Games boasts from beginning to end. Indeed, it's understandably rare for Byrne's Critical Commentary to be full of praises for each episode, but surely this fan-favourite episode is entirely deserving of the hype. 

The Last Enemy

CRITICAL COMMENT: This picture is one of our failures. It went seriously wrong on the floor and needed extensive reshoots. Performance and direction are extremely poor, and even the high special effects content fail to rescue it.

GENERAL COMMENT: The high special effects content might just make it acceptable to the undiscerning viewer.

RATING: *

21st CENTURY COMMENT: The only episode awarded a derisory 1-star rating feels pretty well justified. The episode was found to be too short when filmed, demanding a hastily written climax painstakingly edited onto the shortened episode as seamlessly as possible. The intriguing premise of Alpha caught in the grip of two warring alien races becomes sadly squandered in an episode that flounders for an effective climax.

The Troubled Spirit

CRITICAL COMMENT: An unusual story that combines a good science-fiction notion with the ghost story. It is well-directed with good atmosphere and performance. The pacing however, is a little slow.

GENERAL COMMENT: An above average picture that could go anywhere in the transmission schedule after the first six episodes.

RATING: ****

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Don't ghost stories benefit from being delivered at a methodical pace? The Troubled Spirit brings the uncanny of horror into the unknown of deep space that's all the more spookily effective from its subtle, unhurried pacing.

Space Brain

CRITICAL COMMENT: A complicated story notion that fails to measure up effectively in visual terms. The picture is well directed and performed and has some spectacular sequences. It suffered from lack of visual credibility however, and required major surgery in the cutting rooms.

GENERAL COMMENT: Despite major faults, this is now a reasonable episode, with good production values.

RATING: ***

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Space Brain rattles along as a more unhinged and less profound take on the colliding qualities of Collision Course. The episode marries Christopher Penfold's thoughtful explorations of the Moon as a metaphor for a cell within the vast biological body that is the universe with some of the least convincing special effects attempted by the series! Byrne's assertions that the episode lacks 'visual credibility' surely refer to the climactic scenes of the 'foam' consuming Moonbase Alpha.

The Infernal Machine

CRITICAL COMMENT: A strong story, somewhat slow in pace, with excellent performance and direction, and a distinguished guest artiste. This is a thoughtful picture, with strong human interest, marred somewhat by the claustrophobic setting.

GENERAL COMMENT: The picture is strong on performance but weak on action. Nevertheless, it is a first-rate episode.

RATING: ****

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Bryne's terse summary is in fact a neat encapsulation of The Infernal Machine's surreally operatic qualities. Other Space: 1999 episodes excel at adventurous space action, thereby allowing The Infernal Machine's strangeness to swell to absorbing levels of dramatic thrust. What Byrne describes as being slow in pace and with a claustrophobic setting surely works in the episode's favour - not every Space: 1999 adventure has to be the most action-packed.

Mission of the Darians

CRITICAL COMMENT: A very ambitious episode in terms of story, sets and number of artistes involved. Performance and direction are excellent, the pace is fast and the controversial subject matter is delicately handled. This is a picture with high screen value.

GENERAL COMMENT: A strong picture excitingly realized - one of our best.

RATING: *****

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Byrne's comments succinctly capture the qualities of another of Space: 1999's most assured episodes. In both its bleakly adventurous concept and painstaking execution, Mission of the Darians delivers one of Space: 1999's most cinematic experiences. A multi-layered plot that neatly balances all of its key players, Byrne's perspective of the episode bearing 'high screen value' remain entertainingly true.

Dragon's Domain

CRITICAL COMMENT: An excellent picture, well-paced with good performance and direction. The picture has as its villain a believable B.E.M. - bug-eyed monster - and as a result has a wide-ranging appeal. Excellent story, and outstanding production values.

GENERAL COMMENT: An ideal picture in many ways, but sadly too expensive to repeat.

RATING: *****

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Byrne's five-star rating is entirely justified. For many, the horror-drenched drama of Dragon's Domain remains the definitive Space: 1999 experience. It's striking to read how Byrne describes the infamous dragon as a believable villain, and how the episode was too expensive to repeat. Repeat as in... replicate its sustained qualities in production design, character development, and dramatic direction? 

Testament of Arkadia

CRITICAL COMMENT: A strong story of profound human interest. The picture is marred by weak direction and indifferent guest performance. Had the story material been fully exploited this would have made an excellent picture. As it now stands, this is a good average episode.

GENERAL COMMENT: A thoughtful picture, down in pace, and basically unsatisfactory due to its missed opportunities.

RATING: ***

21st CENTURY COMMENT: Anything coming off of the dizzying heights of Dragon's Domain was perhaps destined to pale in comparison, but Byrne's high critical standards are somewhat unfair towards a modestly compelling finale to Year 1 of Space: 1999. The episode brings the MUF subplot full circle, and Byrne's commentary of the episode's engrossing subject matter on humanity's origins away from the Earth remains true.

Johnny Byrne's appraisals of all 24 episodes of Year 1 aren't restricted to each episode's narrative qualities. Byrne clearly had the unenviable task of evaluating as many aspects about each episode as possible - and doing so as compactly as possible. His critical commentary showcases the incredibly high standards that he, Gerry and Sylvia, and everyone else involved in Space: 1999 clearly had for the series. Sweeping changes were still to come for Space: 1999 for its divisive second series, changes which perhaps not even Byrne could have predicted...

Discover further fascinating facts about the making of every Space: 1999 episode with our forthcoming definitive series guidebook, All Sections Alpha: The Making of Space: 1999, by Fred McNamara and Tim Heald, available to pre-order now!

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