In 1999 there are 300 men and women living and working on a base on the Moon, Moonbase Alpha. On 13th September 1999, stored nuclear waste on the Moon explodes, flinging the Moon out of orbit. Drifting on a random course through deep space, the Moon and the crew of Alpha encounter aliens and strange worlds.
This was the basic premise of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's TV sci-fi cult success of 1975-1977. Many people associated with the series would become leading exponents of their field. Special effects director Brian Johnson and most of his team would later go on to work on Ridley Scott's Alien as well as Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. The lead character of Commander John Koenig was played by Martin Landau who at that time was relatively unknown except for his role in TV's Mission Impossible. He would later be nominated for the Oscars three times, finally winning for Best Supporting Actor in 1994 for his role in the movie Ed Wood.
This was one of my favorite TV shows as a kid. The beautifully designed and crafted models of the Eagle Transporter was the work of Martin Bower who also did work for Aliens. The Eagle Transporter was one of my most common subjects when I drew or doodled during a boring class session in school.
The opening sequence of the show always replayed the crucial fireworks of 13th September 1999 which started the moon and its stranded adventurers on its hurtling journey through space. Such fireworks are a fitting way to celebrate another anniversary on the same day (though not same year).......my birthday.
I had a great birthday yesterday which I spent seeing off a pesky bear and then celebrating with a large crab dinner. It was a good day.
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Age, a work of art
1 week ago
21 comments:
Happy Birthday!
and what a great gift ya got!
and without firing off a shot!
I am so happy for ya!
I loved that show too.
Man, I'm not sure I ever even heard of that show. Looks kinda silly, although the effects actually look pretty good for the time.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LGS !!!!!! (bit belated)
WOW- Space 1999 was my all time favourite show too
omg..I had totally forgotten that TV series, and I loved it. Thanks for refreshing my mind with it.
So glad you had a great birthday....I, myself, don't have those anymore.. :)
Happy Birthday LGS!
sounds like you enjoyed your day.
Belated happy birthday, friend!
I have NEVER visited this blog and not learned something, no matter how large or how trivial.
Happy Birthday! Crab dinner? Do you eat anything besides the legs? I remember catching some of "Space: 1999" on late night TV and thinking it looked like a bad soap opera, although I loved Martin and Barbara from "Mission: Impossible." So how old are you now? My guess is 48. Or 52. Am I close?
kat,
Thanks. From fears of a nasty blow up to the joys of victory with peace, it was a great gift. Praise God. Thanks for your positive thoughts and the Hex!
diesel,
Actually the show was Okay, the effects were quite good for a low budget show but the acting was quite wooden and I seem to recall the costumes reflected the Bell-bottoms phase. I liked it anyway.
msw,
Thanks for the birthday greetings. Space 1999 - your all time fav show? Really? My favorite character was really the Eagle Transporter. Haha.
ruth,
actually I grew up not celebrating my birthday. It's my wife that insists on this decadent practice! I assume you do not celebrate those as you are forever young? :)
meggie,
A crab dinner cures many ills for me but at any rate, the rest of the day turned out to be bright and sunny even though I was expecting thunderstorms.....so it was indeed a great day.
jocelyn,
Thanks for the birthday greetings. I am suspecting that this time what you learnt would be considered trivia!
geewits,
We are talking mangrove mudcrabs....you can eat almost everything, claws, legs and body and the meatis so sweet. My all time comfort food.
I won't defend Space 1999 very rigorously. It did have some poor scripts and acting. But the special effects were good and some of the stories were pretty decent.
As to my age? You are aiming a little high. Can't you see how hard I try to show how immature I can be?
I never got into that one Lgs though I did watch the original Star Trek show for some years. I always wondered why so many millions were spent on space programs when there is so much suffering on earth. We don't know enough about this planet and how to save it. I'm too practical I guess. Belated birthday wishes my friend.
LGS, I don't recall ever seeing this show, but my goodness, what a talented bunch of people working on it. There is nothing better than well-done science fiction, and nothing worse than poorly done science fiction. I loved the Alien series. It was well-done.
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear LGS
Happy Birthday to yooooooooooo
By the way, is your arm getting tired? :-)
Cheers,
Josie
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!????
Oh goodness, I AM a bad blogger!!!!
And to much to read here!!! :) Your blog is like bitting into a big red juicy apple of goodness.
By B-Day was Sept 1 fellow Virgo - Be back later when children aren't hungry.
Happy Birthday my dear friend,
Nanc
Now HERE'S a show that brings back old memories!! I even have original wax pacs of trading cards from this show!
A Happy Birthday to you. Another fellow Virgo and in this same week.
I am amazed how many people are in my Bloggy Bud list that are September babies. I never knew. =O)
Happy birthday to you! I hope this is the start of a fantastic new year.
What a cool post! I love space movies and TV shows. But I had never seen this one. It looks like fun though!
Had you ever had a chance to see the movie " Sunshine" by Danny Boyle this past summer? It came out in select theaters and was all about space travel and ... stuff. :)
Happy, Happy, Blessed Birthday! Wow Mr. Grey Squirrel! You survived another year! I hope you have many, many more. :)
Well, I didn't mean to insult you, I'm 46 and you always seemed to be about my age. I'm sorry you are sensitive about it.
:)
janice,
Thanks for the greetings and for grounding me back on earth from by space wanderings. ;)
josie,
Thanks. as for my arm, I gotta exercise. After all I was licking ice cream for the last three months!
nancycle,
Hi fellow Virgo-ian. "be back later when children aren't hungry". This old squirrel noted the plural tense being used and awaits a full report.....when the children aren't hungry. Haha.
dave,
Trading cards? really? No, surely not. Oooo. What do you have?
Margaret,
It's a good chance Eeyore and most of his fans are Virgo, dontcha think?
Cheryl,
Thanks for the great wishes. I hope we all have a better year.
sincerity,
At this age, it does seem to be about "surviving" another year! :)
geewits,
You misunderstand, I am not sensitive about my age. I just thought that all my immature shennanigans would lead you to think of someone younger. Anyway, mission failed. I have been dated by radio carbon testing to be 45 years old. :)
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