{"id":2359,"date":"2012-03-01T18:06:16","date_gmt":"2012-03-01T23:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greatsociety.org\/?p=2359"},"modified":"2018-10-29T22:45:49","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T02:45:49","slug":"space-2099","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/?p=2359","title":{"rendered":"Space: 2099"},"content":{"rendered":"

Where was I? Oh, yes. Space: 2099<\/em>.
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\nOne of the most important things to happen in 2012 is the announcement that they\u2019re remaking Space: 1999<\/em>, which I nerdgasmed about on the old page here <\/a>and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When I was a kid, Space: 1999<\/em> (and Planet of the Apes: The Series<\/a><\/em>) were my gateway drugs to sci-fi. From there I went into Battlestar Galactica<\/a><\/em> and Buck Rogers<\/em> and, ultimately, quietly lost my mind on PBS watching Doctor Who<\/em>. By 1985, I was useless. Who\u2019s my role model? Avon, from Blake\u2019s 7<\/em>. Jon Pertwee, the 3rd Doctor. The OG Commander Adama, everyone\u2019s favorite patriarchal Mormon. REM from the Logan\u2019s Run<\/em> series. The sympathetic chimpanzee scientist Cornelius.<\/p>\n

And, of course, Commander Koenig of Moonbase Alpha.<\/p>\n

Space: 1999<\/em> had an odd journey. Sylvia and Gerry Anderson put together season one out of pocket, behind closed doors, and created this strange sort of monster that explored the nature of Mankind, and our origins. By the end of the first season, you had learned every lesson you needed from life\u2026 And you had learned that (a) we came from the stars, in a groovy hippie sort of way and, (b) two of Alpha\u2019s crewmen were the \u201cnew Adam and new Eve\u201d to reboot humanity\u2026because, we could assume, the Human race had been destroyed.<\/p>\n

This carried over into the hideous second season, which was brutally buttfucked by the studios. The Earth had been laid waste when the Moon tore out of orbit. The Alphans, in the second season, decide not to return when the opportunity is presented. They see the modern, ecologically-devastated Earth and they\u2019re like, oh, no. I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n

Of course, that\u2019s after they\u2019re accidentally transported to 1400\u2019s Scotland. (Deeeeeep hurting, Joel.)<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Space: 1999<\/em> is the grandfather of modern sci-fi. Gritty, human, complicated. It predates Star Wars, and it has single-handedly informed the path that modern sci-fi has taken. Battleships full of broken people in tight corridors on the run from some Unnamed Evil.<\/p>\n

In a way, Space: 1999<\/em> exists as a bridge between the na\u00efve hopefulness of old sci-fi, and the gritty space opera of post 1970\u2019s sci-fi. It\u2019s hard to watch today. It has flaws. But there are things there that no other characters do. In Space: 1999, the tendency is to shoot first and ask questions later. When faced with certain death, the response is to err on the side of genocide if it means survival. The crew of the doomed Moonbase Alpha are all cutthroat bastards\u2026 Yet this is blended, subtly, almost perfectly with a certain honest human element. You sympathize with them, even when they\u2019re decision is to nuke everything. You worry for them when powerful aliens toy with them.<\/p>\n

Above all, the show lacks Redshirts. In Star Trek<\/em>, you always knew Crewman Daniels was going to be eaten by something. In Space: 1999<\/em>, sweet crewman Monica seems to be okay until something picks her up and bashes her repeatedly against the side of the corridor, leaving you with mouth agape thinking, oh my god. What?<\/p>\n

In its finest moments, Space: 1999<\/em> veers (somewhat hysterically) into pure horror, with stalking ghosts and spooky music and a plodding, creepy plot. You never know what you\u2019re going to get. The iconic Eagle ships shooting it out with an alien, a Hammer-style ghost story, a human interest story about a crewman going crazy, a tender love story, or a story about how Commander Koenig is never, really, fully balanced and in command. For two seasons, the civilian population of Moonbase Alpha teeters wildly on the verge of mutiny. Sometimes, that mutiny is actually realized\u2026with dire consequences for all.<\/p>\n

The show ends abruptly after that disastrous second season. Twenty years later, at a convention, we get a fan-made attempt to tie up loose ends:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nox6XjsS7Bs<\/p>\n

And, now, Space: 2099<\/em> rises up. Part of Remake Mania. But I\u2019m excited. I might even be hot and bothered. The BSG remake was, initially, inspired\u2026 But they had very little to work off of, and that showed by the third season. Space: 1999<\/em> provides endless possibilities\u2026from action to BSG-style internal politics to crazy aliens to the far-flung, space-borne seeds of Humanity. It\u2019s a series about ghosts, dreams, nightmares, fears, and hope.<\/p>\n

So roll on the remake. I\u2019ll be watching.<\/p>\n

Oh…and the theme song rocks:<\/p>\n