50 years ago, the world witnessed a terrible tragedy occur - our Moon was blasted out of Earth's orbit! Space: 1999, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's final live action television series, was first broadcast in September 1975. Often cited as the connective link between the vacuum left by Star Trek and explosion of popularity in sci-fi thanks to Star Wars, it's tricky to summarise Space: 1999 without acknowledging its two wildly separate series.

Whether its the metaphysically morose Year 1 or the brightly propelled Year 2, Space: 1999 catapulted viewers into the fantastic unknown of the cosmos, and remains one of the most ambitious and adventurous science fiction series ever produced. Let's take a celebratory deep dive into the history of Space: 1999!

UFO: 2

From its conception to its conclusion, Space: 1999 would endure a permanently transformative state. The series has its origins as a proposed second series of UFO when the adventures of SHADO proved popular in America. The accepted logic inferred from the series' ratings performance suggested that Moon-based episodes of UFO were more popular with audiences. The Andersons, with writer Christopher Penfold and concept artist Keith Wilson, set to work devising a fresh series of UFO that expanded on the first series by being set chiefly on the Moon, expanding SHADO's moonbase defences.

An unfortunate dip in the ratings resulted in this proposed second series be squashed by ITC, but with so much pre-production work now committed, Gerry Anderson approached Lew Grade and Abe Mandell with the intention of forging these efforts into something new. Armed with the demands that any Earth-based scenarios should be avoided, the new series was greenlit as Space: 1999, with the hook that a gargantuan nuclear explosion would tear the Moon out of the Earth's orbit and propel the Moon's inhabitants on a fantastic voyage through the cosmos. The premise was now reformatted into something entirely new. In the near-future of 1999, the Moon has been colonised and further space probes seek to unravel the secrets of outer space. The Moon has also become a dumping ground for the Earth's nuclear waste, which unexpectedly builds in momentum and detonates, catapulting the 311 men and women of Moonbase Alpha onto a surreal odyssey into space.

Early series proposals and eventual press coverage touted the series' incredibly advanced special effects - and its subsequent colossal budget. It therefore became crucial for Space: 1999 to secure a coveted network sale in the lucrative television market of America. To that end, American husband-and-wife duo, Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, fresh from Mission: Impossible, were cast as the series' stars - Commander John Koenig and Dr Helena Russell. Neither Gerry or Sylvia would have overly kind things to say about the casting of these American stars, but the powers that be dictated that Space: 1999 be formatted to appeal to American audiences 

Unfortunately, the finished series, which endured an immensely troubled production between late 1973 and early 1975, failed to attract a network sale. This was supposedly due to the three major networks' resistance to accepting an overseas production that they had no creative involvement in. Undeterred, Abe Mandell succeeded in selling Space: 1999 piecemeal to over 150 local American TV stations, creating what became dubbed 'the Space: 1999 network'. Debuting to strong and sustained ratings, Space: 1999's future looked fantastic - for now...

Into the Void

Space: 1999 was produced against a backdrop of strike action, industrial upset and economic upheaval. The series was prepared to be produced at Elstree Studios, but moved locations to Pinewood following the imminent closure of Elstree; a move that earned the series a black mark from production unions. 

The making of pilot episode, Breakaway, proved to be its own prolonged saga. Its credited screenwriter, George Bellak, had been parachuted in by ITC New York to enhance the series' attractiveness to American audiences. Ostensibly brought into replace Penfold, the Andersons ensured that there would still be a place for Penfold on this new production. Bellak and Penfold would work closely in producing the writer's bible, devising finalised character profiles and descriptions of Alphan technology, and forging the series' characteristic philosophical identity. Bellak would depart the series after a couple of months following creative clashes with Gerry. Bellak's colossal script, The Void Ahead, was far too long to be filmed as a pilot episode, and had to be extensively whittled down by Penfold, initially renamed Turning Point and finally, Breakaway. Much of the finished episode was apparently Penfold's work.

The episode's director, Lee H. Katzin, became Space: 1999's second major creative causality. His overzealous approach to directing Breakaway resulted in production overrunning its schedule, shooting up its allocated budget and ultimately yielding an unworkable pilot episode. While the episode would be suitably trimmed down to become the classic opening episode that begins Moonbase Alpha's odyssey, these setbacks proved to still be just the start of the series problems. 

Narratively and thematically, Space: 1999 embraces an awe-infused metaphysical quality, questioning humanity's place in an amoral universe. The series swiftly becomes a sincere, ambitious and broadly successful attempt to deliver something genuinely metaphysically artful for a mass television audience. Moonbase Alpha's journey takes them into areas beyond human comprehension that often provoke a moralistic stance in determining a variety of fallible human conditions.

Unfortunately, Abe Mandell couldn't be entirely convinced of this winning aspect of the series. His reaction to witnessing the fan-favourite Black Sun was so negative that from that point on in the series' stumbling production, all scripts had to be telefaxed to ITC New York for final approval. This turned the making of the series into a glacial experience and became the final straw for Penfold to leave the series during production. Scripts became permanently late arriving on the stage floor, Bob Kellett's underwritten The Last Enemy was the only episode of Year 1 which, in fact, didn't overrun its allotted production schedule. That episode itself became a headache in writing and producing new scenes that seamlessly slotted into the episode that would stretch it out to the required run time.

A further source of contention of the series' making has been the star power exuded by Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. The pair enjoyed huge creative oversight during the making of Year 1 - to the chagrin of just about everybody else. What became viewed as egomania by some was otherwise seen, by Landau in particular, as maintaining a muscular grip on the quality control of a series that boasted a sincere artistic integrity. Whether through fantastic cosmic phenomena or intrusive television executives, Space: 1999 would endure a consistent string of battles during its hazardous making.

Fantastic Futures

While Space: 1999's first series is remembered for its subservience to its executive personalities, often forced to have its philosophically heady ambitions clipped, what emerges is still a remarkably intelligent and thought-provoking production. Following the Moon's rupturing from Earth's orbit, the men and women of Moonbase Alpha are plunged into an emotionally intense journey across the cosmos. Moonbase Alpha consistently teeters on the edge of oblivion as the Alphans encounter villainous aliens, horrific creatures or inconceivable phenomena that risks their existence.

Mankind's confidence in conquering the cosmos is countered by the Alphans' journey in discovering humanity's apparent futility against an cruelly vast universe. However, it's clinging on to that very sense of humanity that constantly secures the Alphans' survival against impossible odds, an aspect consistently exhibited by Commander Koenig's steely grip on the leadership of Moonbase Alpha. The search for a new habitable planet to call home becomes the driving desire, but the message becomes resoundingly clear that the Alphans are experiencing a post-human existence and that Alpha itself is their new home.

Space: 1999 boasts a wondrously cohesive production style that barely hints at its turbulent making. While several writers would pass through both series, Year 1 was maintained by story consultant Christopher Penfold and script editor Johnny Byrne. Brian Johnson's cinematically accomplished special effects, filmed in a documentary style, imbues the cosmic adventure of Space: 1999 with a grounded sense of reality. Keith Wilson's production design brings alien worlds and characters to life to startling effect, and Frank Watts' cinematography gifts the series' a unified visual style while locking in the distinctive approaches of a variety of directors.

Much of Year 1's greatest episodes lean into the philosophical qualities of the series - the primal-flavoured thriller of Force of Life, the doppelganger strangeness of Another Time, Another Place, the doomed-turn-euphoric meeting with 'god' of Black Sun, the horror-drenched nightmares of Dragon's Domain and the aggressive anti-war stance of War Games are just a smattering of highlights. Space: 1999's first series is rightly regarded as some of the greatest television science fiction ever produced, but following the end of the series' production, the nervy uncertainty of the series' immediate future would give way to a severe reinvention.

Breaking Away

While Space: 1999's success on American local stations was a victory against the dominance of the major networks, the lack of a network sale inevitably stung. ITC dragged its heals over the series' future, eventually determining that tailoring the series to meet the supposed desires of American audiences still further was key to greenlighting a second series. In the wake of Gerry and Sylvia's separation at the end of the first series, the new producer slot was filled by Gerry's hiring of former Star Trek producer, Fred Freiberger. 

Freiberger's attitude to reinventing Space: 1999 wasn't entirely unsimilar to how a bull may conduct itself within a China shop. He determined that what Space: 1999 was lacking was levity, humour and romance. Metaphysics were out. Monsters were in. In securing Year 2 of Space: 1999, Catherine Schell was cast as the Psychon Maya, who joins Moonbase Alpha and possesses incredible powers of metamorphosis, able to transform into any creature demanded of any particular script. Freiberger's initial plan had been to cull all of the Year 1 cast bar Landau and Bain. Fan-favourite regulars Nick Tate and Zienia Merton would remain as Eagle pilot Alan Carter and Alphan communications specialist Sandra Benes, respectively, but with greatly diminished roles. Other Year 1 regulars were dispensed with, including Barry Morse as Professor Victor Bergman, the third lead star of the series and whose grandfatherly presence injected a reliable warmth into Year 1's cosmic horrors.

Byrne was also not required in his editorial role as Freiberger's aggressively hands-on approach to adopting new scriptwriting talent resulted in his efforts on Year 2 becoming greatly reduced. Brian Johnson, Keith Wilson and Frank Watts would remain, ensuring that Space: 1999's special effects and artistic design remained intact. Sure enough, this was one of the few areas Freiberger spoke positively of when assessing the series.

Tearing itself away from the philosophical sobriety of Year 1, Year 2 of Space: 1999 places a renewed focus on action/adventure, with rubber-suited monsters now more commonplace than surreally engrossing space phenomena. It was enough to guarantee a second series, but it would take quite a contrarian Space: 1999 fan to declare Year 2 to be the superior effort! 

Another trademark of Freiberger's production methods was to 'double-up' the production of episodes to allow for simultaneous filming, in response to the dragged efforts to episode production throughout the first series. Episodes were written so that certain lead characters were minimised so that they may more fully appear in the other episode being filmed in tangent. Production on Year 2 began from January 1976, with the second series broadcasting by September of that year. While this undoubtedly kept ITC's accountants happy after the snail's pace of Year 1, it rarely yields quality storylines. 

The Metamorphosis

Space: 1999 now becomes imbued with a sort of sexy silliness which Year 1 barely had a hope of navigating. The decreased nature of the cast results in storylines often squarely focusing on the foursome of Koenig, Russell, Maya and Tony Verdeschi, Moonbase Alpha's new chief of security (portrayed by Tony Anholt). In doing so, the awe-inspiring scale of Space: 1999 feels greatly reduced. 

Martin Landau in particular would become incensed at his and Barbara's star influence waning. Landau was in the habit of scribbling reactive comments on his scripts and doesn't hold back on certain episodes throughout Year 2, going so far as to loudly express his dissatisfaction with the direction the series was now taking. Indeed, certain characterisations take a comical beating in several episodes. The overpowering sentient rock seen in All that Glisters and the judgemental talking trees of Rules of Luton have failed to age as gracefully as some of the more abstract threats depicted in Year 1. 

Fortunately, once you persevere through the rougher episodes, a confident efforts flourishes. Space: 1999 undeniably feels enhanced by the increased aggression now found in the series' pacing. Unshackled by metaphysical musings, the series embraces an action-driven ethos that produces some quality science fiction adventure. The fanciful New Adam, New Eve, the mutinous actions of The Séance Spectre, the deceptive coolness of Seed of Destruction, the rampant paranoia of The Lambda Factor and the riotous prison-break energy of Devil's Planet all remain hugely entertaining. 

Maya is a frustrating source of renewed vigour and untapped potential. Catherine Schell's alluring performance of the character deftly balances humour, vulnerability and cool action-heroine swiftness. Peppered throughout Year 2 are hints and nudges at Maya's lingering trauma of being the last living Psychon, a fact that elicits some tangibly exciting dollops of welcome character drama. This is most keenly felt in Space Warp, Dorzak and The Dorcons, but it rarely feels exploited to its fullest potential.

Unfortunately, this renewed state of affairs still wouldn't be enough to maintain Space: 1999's lifespan. Despite rumblings that a scaled-back Year 3 split between an otherwise regular 13-episode series and accompanying Maya spin-off would be the next giant leap for the series to take, Space: 1999 stumbled in the dark. Lew Grade's shifting priorities in focusing on film production instead of television series left Space: 1999 behind, but clearly Year 2 hadn't been enough of a hit. Having failed to secure a network sale not once, but twice, Space: 1999's existence could no longer be justified.

The Testament of Alpha

Many Space: 1999 fans may determine the series' ultimate potential to have been wasted with the more light-hearted second series, but how many other sci-fi series actually offer you a choice between two series with such tangibly varying flavours? If your preference is sombre philosophical explorations of the human condition, then Year 1 is recommended. If you're after something tonally lighter but packaged with a swift pace and engaging action, you'll find much to enjoy in Year 2. Space: 1999 stands as a versatile beast that offers audiences the best of both worlds.

Half a century since the Moon was blasted out of Earth's orbit, the adventures of Moonbase Alpha remain as thematically intelligent and cosmically dazzling as ever. Simultaneously celebrated and derided for being either philosophically morose or vibrantly fast-paced, depending on the season in question, Space: 1999 continues to defy expectations and stands as an engrossingly remarkable science fiction adventure series. 

You can celebrate Space: 1999's 50th anniversary with a forthcoming range of exciting new releases! Be sure to tune back this coming Breakaway Day (September 13th) to discover all of the thrilling announcements. You can also watch the brand new Space: 1999 documentary, Space: 1999: 50 Years Out of Orbit, on ITVX! Join Jon Culshaw, Sanjeev Bhaskar, J. Michael Straczynski, Nicola Bryant, Jonathan Ross and more celebrity fans and film-makers in celebrating Space: 1999's fantastic futuristic adventure! 

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