Welcome to Moonbase Alpha...

...scientific research station and home to the Space Program's training facilities and - monitor station for the world's nuclear storage dump located on the moon's far side. This array of laboratories, hydroponics centers, and power facilities is home to 311 scientists and highly trained technical staff.

Intently the world is watching as a wandering planet, code named "Meta" is passing through the solar system. It grabs the fascination of the scientific community, and plans are made to send a probe there. It seems there is some type of radio signal being transmitted from Meta which appears to be a non-naturally occurring nature. Astronauts are being trained, the probe ship is being carefully prepared for the long journey.

Meanwhile, the world's biggest problem is lurking in the shadows: Nuclear Waste. After battling with communities for years as to where to put the sinister remains of generating nuclear power for the world, top advisors finally decided to send it to the moon where it would pose no environmental hazard to life, and where it could be carefully monitored by the scientists stationed on Alpha.

As the nuclear waste lies silent in its various tombs at Areas One and Two, cumulative reactions are slowly but surely taking place and increasing rapidly.

The only symtom to alarm anyone that there is something going awry is that astronauts and storage area personnel are beginning to get ill and die. The two primary astronauts for the Meta Probe mission are among the first to become ill. For PR reasons, the entire mystery is labeled a "virus infection" so as to not raise big alarms of impending failure with the public on Earth. Commander John Koenig is assigned to take the helm at Alpha to solve the mystery and get the Meta Probe launched on its way.

Shortly after Commander Koenig, the head of Medical Center Dr. Russell, and the leading research scientist Professor Bergman are putting all the clues together, Waste Disposal Area One blows itself up in a huge blast of sparks and lunar rocks. Professor Bergman sees it as the sure sign of what is to come - Area Two's explosive demise...
Commander Koenig replies, "And now we are sitting on the biggest bomb mankind has ever made".

Even as efforts are under way to diffuse the danger by dispersing the fissile materials, soon the reaction there exponentially builds up until the point that it explodes in the largest detonation ever. The moon is propelled out of it's native Earth orbit, where the adventure and fight for survival begins for the Alphans.

This moon which is motoring its way through the deepest reaches of space will become home and the story basis for many events that follow. They will encounter alien life, strange worlds very different from their home, and even locate a few of their own brothers and sisters in places one would not suspect.

The Opening Theme Shots:







About the TV Series:

The First Year

Space:1999 was a wonderful, but short-lived science-fiction series produced in England during the middle 1970's.

It was created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, who had already brought several prior sci-fi offerings to table, most notably The Thunderbirds and U.F.O.. The first season of Space:1999 was the watermark of the series, giving a sense of majesty, adventure, and even effective displays of horror to the field of space. Lighting played a key factor in creating the atmosphere; not every set was lit to the max, often the level of seriousness was indicated by the amount of darkness in a particular room.

The music was symphonic as well as majestic, and provided an ambience unmatched in prior TV sci-fi (althought it was hot on the heels of the classically tracked 2001:A Space Odyssey). It was very original in its concept, also there were very few computer driven special effects; and Star Wars had not yet been seen by the public eye. It was a refreshing break from those countless re-runs of classic Star Trek. (As kids, many of us were still glued to the screen after school everyday - model Enterprise in hand waiting to see which episode would run today...)

Similarities in the structure of the buildings and spacecraft bore a strong resemblence to things already drawn up or built by NASA. There were also strong similiarities between the moonbase of Space:1999 and that of 2001:A Space Odyssey. The interior of the moonbase had a clean plastic and strongly backlit look, combined with sleek futuristic furniture, with strong influence of the 60's and 70's "Space Age" look. It seemed very few sets were lit without diffusion panels or small localized lamps. The uniforms were clean and simple, with a single colored sleeve on the tunic to indicate the department the wearer belonged to. I believe it was this atmosphere that gave the series a large gravitational pull on its fans.

There were some shortcomings of Year One. While the technical aspects of Moonbase Alpha and the Eagle had their roots in the same research that was done when 2001:A Space Odyssey and NASA walked hand-in-hand to develop that movie, it was clear that the technical advisors had left the set once the props were built. There were things that didn't follow well with known science of the 1970's even, and looks even further off-course from today's technically minded society. Obviously there isn't going to be "heat, without atomic activity" and nuclear fusion rocket motors to drive an Eagle without raining Mega-REMs of atomic trash. Lasers don't stun people, but a surgical laser large enough to push around on a cart with a 220V 50A cord will likely burn someone or cause blindness. Things don't just explode for no reason. But, as they say, you have to keep in mind "It's entertainment" and by golly, that it is!

The Second Year

The second season also attempted to add humor to the characters, but the script writing suffered on this level as well. Space-humor is difficult to write at best, and in this case the humor was often not funny, and even embarrassing to the point of making the characters look very shallow. Episode plots were paper thin in most cases, relegated to "That Bad Alien's After Us Again". Instead of original thought-provoking scripts, each became stereotypical of the others around it.

During this era of television, one is reminded of M*A*S*H's Hawkeye Pierce, Charles Emerson Winchester, B.J. Honeycutt, the deep and yet humorous Father Mulcahey, the silly but big-hearted Max Klinger, Margaret Hoolihan. These were three dimensional characters we could all relate to. They acted silly but were serious when the occasion called for it. They had struggles and moral convictions. This was state-of-the-art acting. In Space:1999 we were looking for these similarities - these people we could connect with. Deep and meaningful characterizations were noticably absent from Year Two of Space:1999.

One notable thing about Year Two was that there were some romantic relationships struggling to the surface, but these were being scripted during a time when the two lead characters were, in real life, divorcing. It was evident on the screen. But, to its credit, there were some friendships that were given some realization in Year Two. We were beginning to see some of the more "off-duty" qualities of these people.

The overall image of Space:1999, which started out under intense scientific scrutiny, was cheapened further during Year Two. Evidently the corporation and the show's critics thought similarly, and the series was cancelled at the end of the Year Two.

Personally, I tend to hold that the series ended wonderfully after the first season with the episode entitled "Testament of Arkadia" where Alphans locate the beginnings of human plantings. The second season has its loyal followers as well, but it was too big a leap away from the Space:1999 of Year One that I recognized and loved.

The Continuing Mission...

Space:1999 Net ,or follow the web ring on the controls below. On a personal note, I have taken notice that a number of the first web sites are no longer present on the Internet - most notably The Space:1999 Cybrary which was one of the better representations. I would have to vote that Martin Willey's and Ken Scott's web sites are two of the best around. [Mine is a feeble attempt next to their juggernauts - ha].

Conventions are held usually each year various places. I have never been priviledged to attend one, or to meet any of the cast and crew (it's a dream of mine...) They are usually too far away, or much too expensive a vacation.

I always loved this series. I was 12 or 13 when it premiered in the US. I can remember being completely awestruck by the opening sequence of each episode, the music and the fast flashing visuals with little scene-blips from "This Episode". That beginning Timpani drum roll to this day makes my hair stand on the back of my neck.

This series had some neat and completely believable gadgetry. The commlock, used for communications and entry control. Each unit was coded by its owner to allow them entry into only the areas they were authorized. The little viewscreen on the top to allow visual communications was a neat idea, and we are starting to see a little of that technology today in video-conferences and video calls over the internet.

The idea of area-control security is something in use in many businesses today to allow employees only into areas where they are required to work. Although there wasn't too much "Hi-Tech", as this was supposed to take place in the very near future, there was apparently some good insight into what technology might look like in the year 1999. From the scripting, it was also fairly apparent that people didn't have a lot of idea where the computer was about to develop, and how they would function in the years shortly to come after the production of this series.

The Eagle spacecraft was an ingenious idea with some very neat utility ideas and steering controls straight off the Apollo command and lunar modules.
It had the look of a NASA produced spaceship and was the perfect mode of transportation for the series. I have to admit I never understood why the controls were in Greek (yes, they were "Greek to me", too).

So, What's Up With Space:1999 Today?

  • Watch the Series!

    • Space:1999 is available on DVD and VHS. There is now a MegaSet that contains both seasons and the Bonus DVD.

    A&E Store Space:1999 on DVD and VHS

    My T-Shirt
    During a promotional offer by A&E (March 2003), they sent me this great T-Shirt for placing their link on this site. I love this shirt, even thought it's starting to get a little old now, it's one I'll treasure for a long time.

    The Bonus DVD

    Bonus DVD with purchase of the full series set
    This bonus disc contains the following special features:

    • 3 Complete Episodes - Newly remastered from recently unarchived materials,
      featuring in-depth behind-the-scenes running audio commentary:
    • Testament of Arcadia - featuring commentary by series co-creator Sylvia Anderson
    • Dragon's Domain - featuring commentary by episode writer Johnny Byrne & Year 1 Story Consultant Christopher Penfold
    • Death's Other Dominion featuring commentary by series expert Scott Michael Bosco
      •
    The Space 1999 DVD Bonus Disc also includes:
    • World Premiere of the fan-produced series ending "Message from Moonbase Alpha"
    • Vintage Interview with Year 2 Set Designer Keith Wilson
    • Alternate Sequences from Key Episodes
      •
    Extensive Photo Galleries, Including:
    • Gallery of Original Series Memorabilia
    • Gallery of Stills from Deleted and Alterrnnate Scenes
    • Gallery of Behind-the-Scenes General Proodduction Stills
    • Gallery of Behind-the-Scenes SFX Stills
      •

  • Buy Space:1999 Memorabilia

    • May I also suggest you check with Ebay for other Space:1999 merchandise as well.

  • Join the Online-Alpha Discussion Group

    • There are several discussion groups, the most lively of which can be joined on Yahoo!Groups at
    OnLine Alpha. This group of people still carries on an on-going discussion of likes-dislikes, news, scale models, and other crafts, and so on.

  • Other Websites and Web Pages
    • There are many websites along a WebRing that you can visit which are dedicated to this show.
    Many of them are "hubbed" off of Space1999.net.
    There is also Space1999.org which hosts some original art and stories by fans as well as other news and ongoing 'stuff'.

  • What Can I Do?
    • There are also conventions from time to time, and you can gather to meet new friends or to hopefully meet a cast member or production person, or even a writer there. There is some debate as to whether or not there will be future conventions dedicated solely to Space:1999.

    There is another convention planned for 2008. You may check it out at:

  • Feel free to email me!

  • Read my original short story!

My Collection

I own a few 'artifacts' that have personal value for me from Space:1999 :

  • Two re-release ERTL Eagles
  • One re-release ERTL Moonbase Alpha
  • Most of the original issue books, which my cousin Don has right now.
  • The 'Stun Gun' Watergun - (Trigger is gone now.)
  • The RCA record soundtrack LP
  • My cousin owns the DVD series of Space:1999 and UFO, we take turns with the set.
  • Quite a few of the old Space:1999 comics I keep in a weatherproof 50mm ammo box.
  • A scrapbook of Space:1999 stuff that I started in 1975, has the box top to my first Eagle model
  • A resin model Commlock and Stun Gun by Wilco! Models
  • The Columbia House VHS tape series 1-10
  • The J2 Productions VHS of "Voyager's Return"

I have loved Space:1999 since the first episode was broadcast. I think it was neat, inovative and just great fun to watch. One of my other possessions that I don't really count along with the rest of the 'tangible collection' is a huge file folder on my computer of everything Space:1999 I have been able to find and download that has been worthy of keeping. This includes a huge array of audio files and jpg photos. I am hoping my kids will stumble onto this stuff when they get older and take an interest in it.

Yes, I paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $20.00 each @#$@! tape for the Columbia House series, which they never finished. Then they had the gall to phone me at work for the next two years bugging me about buying a new TV series. Where's the rest of Space:1999, guys? The entire series, all 10 tapes which represent about $200.00 back in 1999-2000, now sells on Ebay for a mere $10.00, more if you are lucky.

Occasionally I will go to a SciFi/Comic convention in Plano, Texas (there is a great one there every 6 months which usually has a lot of actors and actresses from various scifi TV series and movies. Check it out!) This is considered an "autograph meat market". Although you get to meet many stars from different era's of science fiction and there are a good number of comic artists that attend, you pay between $20 and $50 for an autograph and have about 1 minute to talk with said star. There are a lot of Star Wars characters that show up (Kenny Baker R2D2 is a regular guest there), and there have been a wide array of stars from other shows and movies that have come thru there. I med David Carradine (Kung Fu) there when he was promoting the Kill Bill series. He was funny as heck. I also had a long discussion with Daniel Logan (young Boba Fett)

O.k., so I did wear my Space:1999 TShirt to the last convention, but it paid off - the owner of Wilco! models was on hand, saw my shirt, and made me a deal on the resin Commlock kit [$20.00] and I got the Stun Gun for free - so, there, phhhtttbbbbt. (By the way, "Thanks, Wilco! You're the greatest!")

Wilco! Models
2826 Russell Avenue
Abilene, Texas US 79605
(325) 677-7009

Revisiting the Past
The Good Old 1970's

During the 1970's when Space:1999 first aired, I was living in Del Rio, Texas at the time. There were only three channels - the three main networks ABC, CBS and NBC being broadcast out of San Antonio, which we picked up on cable along with a fourth local 'weather' channel. Space:1999 was coming on Saturday night right after the news, I think it was at 10:30 PM. That lasted for about 2/3 of the first season. Then, it got moved to 11:30 PM, which made it hard for me to convince my parents I needed to stay up late to see it. Well, the death knell came when it got moved to Sunday night, "It's a school night!". After that, I only got to see Space:1999 more or less vicariously - that is, I read the synopsis of the episode in the local newspaper's TV Guide section. A couple of times I sucessfully sneaked downstairs and watched a couple of episodes with my face 2 feet from the screen with the volume as quiet as I could get it and still hear.

Somewhere near this part of the timeline, I made this Commlock out of pieces of 1/4" plywood, gluing it together with Elmers wood glue, and I painted it 'off-white'. I put two AA-batteries in it and soldered it to one of those micro-flashlight bulbs that were popular "pen-lights" at the time. I used a ball-point pen spring to act as the switch when I pushed it down on a screw that was also soldered in line. The bulb was inside a piece of PCV that I had glued on the end, for the "tube". I found a belt clip off of some old walkie-talkie I found at a nearby garage sale. The whole assembly looked like crap, but it was my favorite flashlight for a long time. And I got to where I could make a very convincing "Boop-beep!" that I still find myself doing at doorways when I'm by myself - to this day.

Intro - my cousin Don Capps
Don and I have been best friends since we were about 7 years old. As kids we both discovered we liked a lot of the same things - military models and Star Trek, other science fiction from around that time period. When Space:1999 came out we were both completely amazed and awed by it. We talked endlessly about the Eagles, the Moonbase, Commlocks, and other gizmos. He had taped a couple of the episodes off the TV using a Panasonic cassette recorder, and we listened late into the night to "Dragon's Domain" (not the wisest thing to do before bedtime, unless you like nightmares). Don had also bought his first AMT Eagle model. For some reason, his had not come with any decals, but I don't guess I knew any better. I was crazy about that thing and could hardly wait to get my own. Looking back, it's funny the feeling I got when I was looking at it - it was the coolest thing I had ever seen it seemed like, and I will never forget that feeling - I haven't had it since...

Summer, 1975

That summer, we were making the move from Del Rio, Texas up the highway a few miles to the city of Hondo. I wasn't going to be much help to Dad trying to move furniture being skinny as a rail, so I went up to spend a couple of months summer with my cousin Don at Clovis, NM. Space:1999 came on there at various times and often on Saturyday afternoon along with the other typical 70's matinee stuff (Sinbad movies and so on). So I got to see a few of the episodes that I had never seen before while I was there. We used to sit up late nights during the summers and "read" the Space:1999 comic books we had, but substituting our own words for what was in the word-bubbles; we laughed so hard sometimes. Those were great times.

We were young - I had just got my first Eagle model; It was fun to take our Fundamensions Eagle models on reconnaisance missions into the field behind his house. In Clovis, NM the dirt is red sand and may as well been the surface of Mars. It was a lot of fun until Don broke one of the landing pads off his Eagle. Well, we had to make an emergency flight to the house to get to the tube of model glue and get it repaired. For some reason I remember that day so vividly - it had to have been one of the best days of my life. [Over the next five years, various incidents would result in a pad getting broken off; I would re-glue each one until the Eagle was about 2mm shorter than it was when it was new.]

After that I spent the last month of my summer melting in my strange bedroom in Hondo, wondering why all my Star Trek models and stacks of Heinlein paperbacks had been sent to the garbage instead of getting moved from Del Rio. I still had my new Eagle model, several Space:1999 paperbacks, my bubblegum card set and that was about it. During that fall and the years following, Don and I wrote letters back and forth and drew in cartoons of Eagles attempting to lift off, but crap happening to them. It was fun to try and be creative like that within a 3 frame cartoon. We had some good laughs over that. Having my best friend to write letters to was about the only thing that helped me survive 8th grade that Fall in a new school.

One day Mom and I were checking out of a local grocery store in Hondo, there was a strategically placed table of older hair-care products, school supplies, and other leftover stuff from out of the store-room. Right smack in the middle was a Fundamensions Eagle model box. I picked it up - the price had been scratched through, reduced about 3 times, and it was on the clearance table for $3.00 . That's another day that I remember pretty vividly. It was funny to set the finished model nose-to-nose with my first Eagle and see that it was a good deal shorter than the new one (since it had pristine landing pads that had never been snapped off before - haha.

While I went off to college, my bedroom stayed pretty much the same until I arrived home again to look for work. One day two of my nephews came out to the garage where I was. They were holding the two Eagles and flying them around the room "Hey, Uncle Joel - can we play with these?" Well, I just didn't have the heart to pull the Stun Gun on them, so off they went outside and I never did see my Eagles again. I also had the remnants of an Eagle a neighborhood kid had built, destroyed and rebuilt. All that was left was the nose, a service module and the engines all glued in a row. It was effectively a shortened Eagle with no Exit doors (ha). The nephews ran off with that, too.

Come on up to recent history!

I have to tell you that one of my happiest moments of my life was when, right after Teresa and I married, Columbia House came out with their VHS video tape set. I of course, ordered it right away. When the first tape came, it was "Breakaway" / "The Metamorph" . I had not seen "Breakaway" since the first time I'd seen it air, and I have to tell you I was blown away all over again. It was awesome! I was o.k. the Metamorph I guess - it seems the first episode of both seasons probably had the most work packed into them. But I was sure glad to get to see the starting episode that started everything off for me.

Interestingly enough, in all that time there were a couple of episodes that I didn't see until just a few years ago. "The Full Circle" comes to mind, "The Troubled Spirit" and it seems like there was another one that I didn't get a good full look at until Don sent me his DVD collection to watch. I've only for sure seen about 11 episodes of the Year Two series, and some of them I oouldn't get all the way thru without shutting it down..

Thankfully, in 1999 someone got the bright idea that if they re-issued the Fundamensions Eagle and Moonbase Alpha models, they might sell - being 1999 and all. I was able to purchase two of them and a new Moonbase Alpha model, so somehow I bought back a little piece of my childhood again. If I had any notion they'd be selling for nearly $30.00 on Ebay these days, I would have bought the whole model section at Hobby Lobby in Abilene. That would have been about a 300 percent return on my investment - ha. I probably would have built them all and not had one to sell. Isn't it interesting that even the built-up ones that are painted kinda crazy looking also sell for around $25-$27 ? Wow.

I keep hoping one of these days that I'll get to break down and buy another one just for the fun of it, but right now my money and I have different priorities.

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This page was last updated November 16, 2006.

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