I have such fond memories of TV while growing up. After school there was Star Trek and Ultraman and Lost in Space. I’m sure you see the sci-fi theme here. In 1975, a new weekly show cropped up called Space: 1999 (created by Gerry Anderson, who is also responsible for Thunderbirds among other things). It centered on the people who manned Moonbase Alpha, a thriving city on the moon. On September 13, 1999, these people found themselves in serious peril as a nuclear accident on the dark side of the moon caused the moon to be hurled out of Earth’s orbit into deep space. For 48 episodes, we got to follow their journey through space as they struggled to find a new planet they could call home. And, of course, that was never easy as they met all kinds of aliens who would be just as happy to destroy them, enslave them, or teach them a good lesson.
Space: 1999 had a great cast too. Husband and wife team Martin Landau and Barbara Bain starred as Commander John Koenig and Dr. Helena Russell. In the first season, Barry Morse played Professor Victor Bergman and in season 2 Catherine Schell played Maya, a metamorph who could turn into any type of living creature, they picked up on a doomed planet.
When I was a kid, I was outfitted with all the toys for this show–the command center playset, the action figures, an Eagle (that was the name of their shuttles), and assorted other goodies. In fact, I would often mix my Star Trek and 1999 toys and create joint adventures.
In case you’ve never heard of Space: 1999, I found You Tube clips to give you a bit of the show’s flavor. These are the main title credits from the show. And yes, the music was totally groovy!
This is the Season 1 title sequence:
And the Season 2 title sequence:
If you like what you see, the entire series is on DVD and you can geek out with Moonbase Alpha castaways anytime you’d like!
