1999 is Not An Expiration Date, Page 2 By John Kenneth Muir

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Other stories are equally literate and worthwhile.  "Mission of the Darians" introduces the Alphans to an alien civilization which had prolonged life through endless transplant surgery and even cannibalism. In this story, the more noble Alphans are compared with the selfish Darians.  What would the Alphans do if faced with a critical shortage of food?  Would they also become exploiters, reduced to cannibalism and other monstrosities?  Like most Space:1999 stories, "Mission of the Darians" had dramatic purpose.  It successfully raised questions not merely about the aliens of the week, but about the human race. Looking down the episode roster, it's easy to see the contextual substance in the Space:1999 episode canon.  Admirers of the show should revel in this high quality.  "Death's Other Dominion" is a Shakespearean tragedy set on a frozen planet, which comes replete with a Fool and his cryptic prophecies.  "Another Time, Another Place" affords a glimpse into a  strange alternate future that could never be.  Other episodes examine issues of faith ("Collision Course,") the drug culture of the time ("Guardian of Piri"), vanity ("The Infernal Machine"), obsession ("Dragon's Domain"), state-authorized vengeance ("Voyager's Return"), animal rights ("Missing Link"), the mentality of cults ("The Seance Spectre") and other dramatic human issues.  These episodes deal with universal aspects or our existence, and so are as valuable culturally post-1999 as they were when they were written and aired for the first time, in the seventies. In its cosmic philosophizing, Space:1999 boasts an unusual unity of mood and texture, another aspect worth championing as we step into the next millennium.  Several episodes ("Black Sun," "Another Time, Another Place," "War Games," and "The Testament of Arkadia") posit the fascinating notion that a "cosmic intelligence" is guiding the Alphans to a pre-ordained destination in space, and that even the very accident that pushed the moon out of Earth's orbit may have been a part of this cosmic plan.  Even today, this thesis provides the series with "a spine-chilling aspect of uncertainty,"(5) and more than one critic in the 1970s suggested that the writers of the series "deserved an Emmy nomination at least"(6) for their imaginative forays into science fiction speculation.

Above: Some Space:1999 items from John's personal collection.

Space 1999 can and does endure after the year 1999 because of its exemplary writing and the amazing visual dramatizations of the fascinating alien worlds encountered by Alpha.  In the words of The Christian Science Monitor, the series is rife with "astounding sets and special effects, and storylines loaded with thought-provoking allegory."(7)  True to this descriptions, episodes such as "Collision Course," "Earthbound" and "Death's Other Dominion" featured not only fantastic effects, but also ironic and thoughtful "twist" endings not far in conception from those of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone. Considering the mystery of space the series so often explored, it was important and necessary that the unexpected was a regular player in Space:1999 plotlines. Another theorem proposed by Space:1999 and laced throughout the series is that modern man is in trouble so long as he elevates science but neglects his spirituality.  Overreaching science was the cause of the lunar accident in "Breakaway," and found to be at fault in "Death's Other Dominion," "Voyager's Return," "The Troubled Spirit" and "The Metamorph," among others.  This tenet is in direct contrast to the rosy world of Star Trek spin-offs where science has eliminated hunger, disease and crime.  Space:1999 is thus, in the words of Science Digest, a "visually stunning space-age morality play that chronicles the downfall of 20th century man."  Thus the "breakaway" dramatized in the first Space:1999 outing was not merely a physical break with Earth, but also a spiritual split from modern man all together.  To the Andersons and their stable of talented writers, the universe is akin to a gigantic classroom for the men and women of Moonbase Alpha, a place to learn and repair some of the mistakes made by their doomed kinsmen. Accordingly, the Alphans learn different things about themselves and human nature in various episodes.  In "Missing Link" they learn it is important and necessary to balance emotion and rationality.  In "End of Eternity," they discover that immortality is nothing but a trap.  In "Mission of the Darians" they realize that how a race survives is as important as the fact of survival itself.  In a sense, Space:1999 is a heavily moral series, but its main concern is not 1970s issues like urban blight, but rather the very questions of modern human existence.  Space:1999 hurls contemporary man into deep space, where the restrictive laws of man's science no longer apply, and examines his flaws and strengths as a species there.  Since mankind has not yet evolved and has not yet conquered the realm of outer space, Space:1999 is still timely, still worthwhile, because of the universality of the questions its episodes artfully raise.  Dick Adler for The Los Angeles Times wrote that "where Star Trek seems to be almost completely a product of the optimistic, recklessly liberal 1960s, full of worries about America's role in the world, Space:1999 is a wiser, more realistic look at the limited options for survival which now face us all.(9)  Indeed, Space:1999 presents a world of possible interplanetary freindship, but also one of limited resources.  There is not enough food, enough fuel or personnel to comfortably and endlessly sustain the Alphans.  Resources are dwindling faster and faster.  Space is equally unforgiving to other races and many aliens attempt to rob the marooned Earthmen of various critical resources including their souls ("The Metamorph"), their life support systems ("The Bringers of Wonder," "The Beta Cloud") and even their physical bodies ("Alpha Child.")  Cut off from the resources of Earth, the Alphans must cope with limitations that have not been broached on new Treks. It is one thing to be good and noble and a "space brother" when times are good, when one lives in a paradise, a utopia of plenty like the United Federation of Planets, but what about a dying universe, where races must battle for survival?  That is Space:1999's bailiwick.  How would the heroes of Star Trek: The Next Generation cope without their holodecks, transporters, personal relaxation lamps and warp drive?  How would they cope with the frequent destruction of their shuttles if they knew they could not just pick up more at a convenient starbase?  Space:1999 obsesses with these questions and is thus quite different in tone and ideals from Trek. So there is plenty to champion, thematically.  As our resources (like oil...) dwindle, and squabbles between nations over resources like water or space grow worse in the coming decades, the issues raised by Space:1999 will only resonate more deeply.  And that's why 1999 is not an expiration date, but just a new chapter for this oft-remembered 1970s TV series.  The millennium has come and gone, but Space:1999 survives because its ideas and themes (and visual presentation) continues to have currency in our world today.

Notes: 1. Hutchison, David. Starlog # 17: "The Magical Technique of Movie & TV SFX, Part XII: Explosions for Miniatures." October, 1978, pages 59-60. 2. Adler, Dick.  The Los Angeles Times: "Some Lame Rerunning." January 7, 1976, page 23. 3. Carmody, John. The Washington Post. "1999 Gets Humanized." January 2, 1976, pages D1, D3. 4. Asimov, Isaac. The New York Times: "Is Space:1999 more Fi Than Sci?" September 28, 1975, page 21. 5. Houston, David. Starlog # 1: "Radical Changes for the Second Season." August, 1976,pages 12-14. 6. Adler Dick. The Los Angeles Times: "Some Lame Rerunning." January 9, 1976, page 23. 7. Unger, Arthur. The Christian Science Monitor. "Mission:Impossible Team in Outer Space." January 13, 1976, page 22. 8. Emmett, Arielle. Science Digest: "Adventures in Science Fact-ion." November, 1975, pages 89-91. 9. Adler, Dick.  The Los Angeles Times: "Same Lame Rerunning." January 9, 1976, page 23.

Don't forget to visit Powys Media and buy their new, continuing (and officially licensed) adventures of our favorite Alphans and the Space:1999 odyssey. Left, order Bill Latham's remarkable and terrifying "Balor Chronicles," called Eternity Unbound! It's the prequel story of Balor on Progron, an all new adaptation of "End of Eternity," and Bill's stunning sequel, Resurrection, all rolled into one amazing, fast-paced and suspenseful read.

Home More Space:1999 The Mutant Pulpit Interview with Martin Landau Interview with Brian Johnson Heroes At Large: A Space:1999 Essay 1999 is Not An Expiration Date Destinies Interview with John Muir on The Forsaken, by Howard Margolin.

Dont' forget to order John Muir's original novel, The Forsaken, the second in the line of new Powys Space:1999 novels!  It features a foreword by series star Prentis Hancock and "bridges" Year One and Year Two of the series.  Available now!

This is a reprint of an online article that first appeared on the Main Mission 2000 site, copyright 2000, by John Muir, The Lulu Show LLC.  All rights reserved.