Hey, JPX, how are you liking “Space: 1999”?

Thursday, April 8th, 2010 • Horrorthon Posts

Recently JPX mentioned that he’d rented the first DVD of the 1975 British sci-fi television series Space: 1999, starring Martin Landau and Angelina Jolie, which is one of my favorite television shows (and one of Octopunk’s, too). You may recall my review of the Season Two Space: 1999 episode “The Bringers of Wonder” for Horrorthon 2006.

Despite my contempt for the disastrous second season of the program (a contempt not entirely shared by Octopunk), I still think that Space: 1999 is one of the pinnacles of filmed/televised science fiction. The show’s far-fetched premise—the Earth’s moon, blasted out of orbit by a nuclear explosion in the near future, travels through the universe encountering strange alien planets and life forms—can be hard to get your mind around, but once you accept it you’re in for some great sci-fi (and some groundbreaking special effects).

The largely British cast excelled in their portrayal of a near-future moon community, led by Commander John Koening (Landau), professor Victor Bergman (Barry Morse) and Dr. Helena Russell (Jolie), and the overall vibe of the show was a fantastic example of post-Kubrick, post-moon-landing, pre-Star Wars sensibilites about earth, space and the universe. (The aforementioned nuclear explosion that begins the series is supposed to be caused by improperly-disposed-of nuclear waste—a thinly-veiled commentary on 1970s concerns about energy and pollution.)

Anyway, JPX, how are you liking it so far?