The cosmically daring and philosophically dense adventures of Moonbase Alpha turn 50 years old in 2025. Over the last half century, Space: 1999, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's 1970s cult classic space-age drama, has been held in firm regard as a classic of retrofuture science fiction adventure. However, it's equally weathered a harsher afterlife of remembrance. Space: 1999, of all the Andersons' productions, holds a juxtaposing post-series existence as either a masterpiece of thoughtfully compelling space drama or unbearably dry and inaccurate in its characterisations and scientific legitimacy. Can both perspectives be true?

Space: 1999's first series has long been the target of not entirely unfounded criticism. In some corners, its slow-moving storylines are considered ponderous, its scientific accuracy deemed laughable, its philosophical leanings regarded with scorn, and its lax approach to characterisation unimpressive. Many of these nagging aspects were at least acknowledged and attempted to be 'corrected' for the infamous Year 2 - which also drew criticism for disregarding many of the very aspects that defined Year 1. Clearly, there's no pleasing some people.

Space: 1999 was often a victim of its own ambitions. It wasn't for the lack of trying that the series stumbled in showcasing all of its areas as well-rounded as possible, from spectacular production design to its depth of characterisation. Influences internal and external insisted on pulling the series in schizophrenic creative directions. In celebration of Space: 1999's landmark anniversary, let's arm our stun guns, board our Eagles and blast off to the defence of Space: 1999's first series.

Men and Women of Moonbase Alpha

"It was science fiction not science prediction. Nor was it the Open University. I was always very careful that whatever we put on the screen should be believable. There's a big difference between something believable and something scientifically accurate. It was my imagination put into 3-D for the purpose of entertaining people."

Gerry's terse defence of Space: 1999 from his autobiography may have been talking about the series' approach to scientific authenticity, but the series' depiction of its characters deserve equal appraisal. A defining criticism of Space: 1999 is its handling of the men and women of Moonbase Alpha, sometimes regarded as paper-thin in personalities and perfectly composed, with little conflicting traits to provoke engaging drama.

Year 1 producer Sylvia Anderson was of the opinion that the series would have been greatly enhanced by a protagonist who was an imperfect individual. Sylvia's desire for a more vulnerable commander was countered by those around her, including Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, who's star influence resulted in their privileged position to influence their characterisations.

Knowing this contextual background then, Space: 1999's pristine approach to its characters starts to make sense. Barry Morse and Nick Tate held similar ambitions over their state of their characters and their desire to extrapolate more from Victor Bergman and Alan Carter. Expansions of their personalities was countered by the series' reliance on guest roles. The role of traumatised Eagle pilot Captain Tony Cellini from Dragon's Domain was apparently envisioned for Carter, which would have emphasised far more emotional context for his and Commander Koenig's friendship. 

What we end up getting with the characters throughout Year 1 remains a reliable and likeable group of wanderers through the stars. Subtly vibrant personalities do emerge over the course of the series - the stoic yet friendly warmth of Koenig is a world away from the cold closed-off attitude of UFO's Ed Straker. The grandfatherly Victor Bergman, daredevil Alan Carter, sarcastic yet logically minded David Kano, dependably stern Paul Morrow, even the scheming villainy of Commissioner Simmonds are all much-loved characters whose collective familiar presence becomes greatly missed following the drastic culling of Year 1 regulars for Year 2.

Commander Koenig is at the centre of Space: 1999's characters and his affable yet coolly tense leadership style provokes some of Space: 1999's most memorable episodes. Collision Course is a highlight of the series' portrayal of his leadership style - and just how far the Alphans under his command are prepared to follow him. Koenig's surreal experiences with the aged queen Arra of the planet Atheria that's hurtling towards the Moon fails to convince the other Alphans that they should allow both planetary bodies to collide. A quiet and cleverly delivered mutiny occurs against Koenig, prompting a breakdown in Alphan relations.

Space: 1999 may not have as clearly defined or engaging character arcs as other science fiction dramas, but for a series that's lasted over 50 years in popularity, it evidently must have hit some right notes with its characters.

Science's Stumble in the Dark?

Space: 1999's scientific prowess has drawn the harshest criticisms over the years. It's certainly harder to defend than the characters. Space: 1999's very premise of a nuclear detonation powerful enough to propel the Moon our of the Earth's orbit enforces an overpowering suspension of belief. However, this was something else enforced on Gerry and Sylvia themselves to ensure that the series would go into production. What better way to remove the Earth from the series than by literally separating the Earth and the Moon? 

Year 1 script editor Johnny Byrne offered up some intriguing thoughts in the Danish fanzine Intercomm as to how he tackled composing engrossing science fiction drama against this challenging backdrop: "The fundamental element is the Moon travelling through the universe week after week coming into range of another planet and then another planet and God knows how many light years we are away... That I found very difficult to take." It took Byrne some weeks to adjust to the concept of the series. "It (the series' premise) offered the kind of scope and if you could suspend judgement to the extent that the Moon was here, that thing was there and these situations were occurring - then it was possible."

Byrne's comments touch on a common level of acceptance when it comes to the depiction of scientific accuracy within the realms of science fiction. A degree of inaccuracy, or at least unbelievability, becomes demanded within Space: 1999's heady mixture of science-based adventure and cosmic mysticism. Moonbase Alpha's journey is gradually hinted to be in the laps of some cosmic, unseen gods. Not the most accurate depiction of what lies within the stars, but these are certainly imaginative ingredients to produce compelling science adventure drama, the core identity Space: 1999 strove to be throughout its first series.

It's also unfair to single out Space: 1999 for its lack of scientific realism, when that's such a defining trait throughout much science fiction. Space: 1999 perhaps winds up shouldering such a heavy burden due to its maturely aligned world and characters, inviting a grounded identifiableness in how the opening episode, Breakaway, depicts mankind's struggles to conquer the stars. Spiralling out of that quite human drama comes a barrage of fantastic adventures so untethered to what humanity understands about the cosmos.

The series isn't without its glaring faults of what constitutes scientific realism, whether through unfocused writing or lack of resources in its special effects. Collision Course once again springs to mind. The method of mines to separate the Moon from colliding with Atheria is severely open to interpretation - how exactly do shockwaves function in the vacuum of space? Even more egregious is the series' wildly inconsistent depiction of how antimatter works, with brazenly inharmonious depictions between A Matter of Life and Death and A Matter of Balance. In Space: 1999, antimatter is both a deconstruction of the human body and a reversal of genetic evolution. Perhaps the qualities of Year 2 may be best saved for another conversation...

Other areas of space phenomena are less rooted in realism and take their cues from the unknowable qualities that space may provoke - duplicate moons, monstrous space dragons, time-displaced spectres. These phenomena are deliberately unexplainable, in service to dramatic effect over scientific authenticity. The Alphans may try to apply scientific rationale to their experiences, but the dramatic thrust of Space: 1999 is the evolving realisation that the further they drift from Earth, the less they come to know of the universe they live in. For all of the scientific and engineering ingenuity that Moonbase Alpha represents, this is a universe where monsters, ghosts and gods treat Alphans as their playthings. The disbelief is the point.

Crashlanding into Fantasy

Space: 1999 draws its dramatic power from its deftly tuned mixture of science-backed adventure, characters who are both believable and likeable and generous dose of cosmic fantasy. For all of the series' embracing of realistic scientific elements, a loosening of authenticity is greatly encouraged to fully appreciate the series, as Johnny Byrne once again eloquently explained: "...there was that necessary suspension of belief as to how it (the Moon) got there. Here, what have we got? A credible existence on a moon where people can be seen to be leading a fairly believable existence, reasonably expected around that period... It didn't move them out into the impossible future but kept them in a fairly discernible future."

Byrne's delightfully nuanced comments capture the spirit of Space: 1999's first series - a future world that could be pushed ever so slightly into something more extreme and grandiose without totally sacrificing some level of believability. Perhaps the full enjoyment of Space: 1999 can only be savoured when the believable crash-lands into the fantastic. However, that close relationship between the two would become stretched to impossible distances with Year 2...

Celebrate Space: 1999's 50th anniversary with our spectacular range of events and releases! Shop our Breakaway 2025 Collection for a superb range of Space: 1999 books, Blu-rays, models and more. Check out the brand new celebratory documentary Space: 1999: 50 Years Out of Orbit on ITVX. You can also discover the sprawling history of Space: 1999's merchandise at the Museum of Brand's Gerry Anderson exhibition: Thunderbirds and Space: 1999: A Celebration of Toys and Collectables! 

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