The Worst Sci Fi/Fantasy TV Shows: Ongoing series looking at sci fi and fantasy entries that can be considered among of the biggest misfires and losers of the genre.
What Is It?
On September 13, 1999, the Moon gets torn out of Earth’s orbit when a nuclear waste dump on its surface erupts in a massive explosion, sending the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha on a journey through the stars. They encounter alien civilizations and cosmic phenomena as they seek either a way back to Earth or a planet that can become their new home.
Aired: 1975-77, ITV (Syndicated in the U.S.), 2 Seasons Totaling 48 Episodes
Starring: Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Barry Morse, Catherine Schell, Nick Tate, Prentis Hancock, Zienia Merton, Anton Phillips
Created By: Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson
Where Did It Go Wrong?
Space: 1999 arrived at a time when Star Trek: The Original Series was at the peak of its popularity in syndication, and it followed that show’s template to a degree, with a group of people traveling through space and encountering new worlds and alien civilizations each week. But the way they journeyed from planet to planet pretty much invalidated the science in the show’s science fiction, as the Moon was blasted out of orbit and sent into the cosmos, seemingly traveling faster than the speed of light. It would then conveniently slip into orbit around Earth-like planets just long enough to justify the events of each week’s episode, after which it would race off into the cosmos once again.
The first season at least tried to present some decent sci-fi stories, reaching for the profundity of 2001: A Space Odyssey while also mixing in some horror elements. But those episodes did tend to be ploddingly slow, with the actors often seeming to just go through the motions. Then the heavily revamped second season shifted to a much stronger focus on action, often delivering an alien- or monster-of-the-week running amok on Moonbase Alpha so that the new alien character Maya could morph into another monster to fight it. What little credibility the show had built during its first year was pretty much lost by its second.
Buy Space: 1999 on home video: DVD | Blu-ray | VOD
A Closer Look:
Space: 1999 emerged from plans for a second season of the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson series UFO. Had that show continued beyond its first year, the focus would have been on the Moonbase because those episodes tended to draw higher viewership. The Andersons had started developing that, but then the show was cancelled, and they decided to work some of those concepts into a new series.
As mentioned above, Star Trek had exploded in popularity in syndication during the 1970s, and while the Andersons never mentioned that show as a direct influence, it certainly set the bar for sci-fi TV at the time. You can see similarities in the concepts, though perhaps they tried to set it apart from the Gene Roddenberry series as much as possible, thus coming up with the ludicrous concept of the runaway Moon.
When Space: 1999 arrived in syndication in the U.S. in 1975, it turned into a big hit at first, likely because Star Trek had spurred renewed interest in sci fi television. But the first season was very British, with its talky episodes, stiff acting, and stilted direction. Visually, though, it was certainly impressive, delivering some of the best special effects seen on television up to that time. But interest in the show waned, and it was nearly cancelled after its first year. Its British home network, ITV, decided to give it a second chance, though, making some notable changes to maintain the attention of American audiences. That resulted in bringing in Fred Freiberger (who many believed had killed Star Trek in its third season) along with a much heavier focus on action. The changes actually hurt the show more than they helped, and it ended up getting cancelled after its second season.
Space: 1999 had its moments, and it was actually a notable sci-fi series from that decade. It had a definite vibe as it explored the plight of the people of Moonbase Alpha traveling through a rather hostile universe. This was not the “brighter future” of Star Trek that they faced, but a cosmic setting that presented many challenges and dangers. The show worked horror into its sci-fi and definitely pushed its characters to their limits as they struggled to chart a treacherous path through space.
Some would even say that this counts among the greatest sci-fi and fantasy TV shows, and you can find those arguments at this link. But much more often, this one gets relegated to worst-of lists and is looked at as somewhat of a misfire from its era. The episodes certainly don’t stand up as well today, but for many who watched the show during its original run (including myself), it at least counts as a guilty pleasure.
Would a Reboot Help?
There have been talks of a reboot of this show for quite a while (to be titled Space: 2099), but nothing much has happened with that, and I am not certain that the basic concept can be rescued. The idea of the Moon traveling through space and encountering new planets each week is rather specious scientifically, and there is not much that could be done to help that unless the show went full fantasy. This is one that should probably be left alone, as there are plenty of other genre reboots that make much more sense ahead of it (you can find some examples at this link).
There have also been talks of a “re-introduction” of the series that would deliver a George Lucas-style reworking to make it more credible (you can read more about that at this link), but to my knowledge, nothing has come of that. So it is probably best to leave this as a curio of the ’70s that never quite lived up to its potential.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series has been released on DVD and Blu-ray, and it is also available on VOD. It is widely available on several of the major streaming services like Amazon’s Prime Video and Peacok. You can also find it on several of the free streaming servise (if you don’t mind the ads) like The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, and Shout! Factory TV.
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