TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Helllins It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

deanomh I was nine years-old when I watched this show in the mid-1970s. This show only makes sense to a kid under ten. The basic premise of the show is ridiculous, but it makes perfect sense when you're only nine. I still consider the eagle ships to be one of the best spaceship designs ever created for science fiction. The plot lines are cheesy and far out -- perfect for the 70s. The acting is wooden but somehow it doesn't undermine the fun-factor for watchability. This falls under the So Bad It's Good umbrella. I just started watching episodes again at age 50 tonight, and yeah, it's bad. So bad it's good. I loved it in spite of itself. This show for a guy like me is all about nostalgia. So as a middle-aged man it still manages to entertain as dry comedy/satire, and those eagles still look super cool, even if I can see the fishline that's holding them up. Give this dry campy show a try, it's cheesy-fun and the kids will love it.

jim-01568 Just a few notes about a program I saw once or twice on local TV but which is now available on the 'net. Space 1999 like many science fiction programs is about predicting the future. What will technology be like? How will people live? What will they wear? And will going to the bathroom be the same? (they never answer this) Some things the program does pretty well. There are a lot of monitors and information kiosks though the analogue clock is quaint. The computer is well acted, but the method of communicating via small slips of paper reminds me of grocery receipts. While Star Trek had communicators, Space 1999 had video communicators, more in line with smart phones used at the time of this writing. The opening premise of the program where Alpha is tasked with disposing of nuclear waste which ultimately has a chain reaction, correctly notes that the problem of nuclear disposal would span generations. When the show was produced, 1999 seemed a log ways off, easily distant to accept a moon base. As of this writing 17 years after the time of Space 1999, in a way it is sad we've seen such little space exploration. But space travel is expensive and with few immediate rewards.

midge56 The actor usually receives the blame for being unlikable by the audience when the blame lies with the script. On Space 1999, this was a serious problem. The show had nice sets, stylish Uniforms & memorable actors. But terrible scripts with bad character roles & interaction.By comparison, Roddenberry recognized the key element for a successful series. It is the interrelationships between the characters on the show & good stories. Not the sets or special effects. We would have been happy with cardboard sets & fireworks for effects as long as we were emotionally invested in the ST characters. Nor should these post Xgen neophytes be judging the quality of sets & effects. Those show developers in decades past had to operate on shoestring budgets just to bring us their sci-fi series. With the intransigent networks who only cared for sitcoms & westerns & fraudulent Neilson ratings, we were lucky to see any sci-fi at all. We appreciated their efforts despite the primitive sets & effects. ST gave us quality actors, quality scripts & wonderful stories.Sci-fi producers were forced to become beggars & produced these shows with less budget than JR was paid for a single episode. This paltry budget had to pay for everything; sets, crews, actors, effects & total production costs on less than $100K each episode. They actually had to dig into trash bins to find materials to use on sets. They used every scrap. Ice Cube trays & Christmas lights but it gave us Kirk, Spock & Bones in return. Space 1999 was missing this type of character camaraderie.Commander Koenig was intransigent & dismissive toward his crew & toward any info they endeavored to provide. He did not develop a relationship with his officers & allowed them to argue, talk back & ignore instructions. He made bad, rash decisions. Ordered preemptive strikes & belligerent actions where no hostile actions had been made. His character behaved recklessly, dismissive, endangered others, did not engender trust or camaraderie among his crew, met other races with hostility & preemptive attacks, was willing to sacrifice the welfare of the entire community for the welfare of one person & constantly started battles & placed his people in harms way without any rhyme or reason. Shooting an alien guest without warning just to see if their stun gun worked on him. Or demanding the hyper drive of a trader as if he was entitled to it. This type of asinine behavior alienates the audience. Even if the alien proved to be bad in the end, it does not justify preemptive attacks or hostility in the eyes of the audience.Dr Helena Russell was a total waste as a medical practitioner. She didn't even bother to scan patients & merely shook her head without attempting to provide care. Nearly every episode began with a needless death. She wrote off the living & tried to pull the plug more than once with her arrogance. She incompetently killed one of Christopher Lee's sleepers insisting they were dead when it was obvious they were in sleep chambers. Or the multitude of times they failed to detect lifesigns in victims or on planets insisting they were absolutely correct. Or opening a bomb like device & blatantly freezing the occupant. She never failed to restrain & countermand the commander whenever her high horse ideals did not conform with his.Victor was flippant in his attitude which was mirrored by the actors attitude about the show. He considered sci-fi to be juvenile. He inappropriately laughed when delivering serious lines & his character always gave bad advice, never agreed with the commander & never could provide info or advice despite being the science officer and just laughed sarcastically & declined when Koenig asked.Kano argued about everything. Never could follow orders or requests without arguing. Always an argument & bad attitude. Even when he had no lines the actor was scowling during the scenes. Good riddance. Why did they write him this way? Paul & Allen were constantly arguing with the commands of Koenig in nearly every situation & tried to punch him out on multiple occasions. Never following orders without an argument. Good riddance to Paul as well. Allen was barely salvageable with his constant arguing & fistfights. WHY did the producers allow this type of character aggression & hostility in the episodes? This was the core problem with the show. Without emotional investment they cannot garner fan loyalty.It is my endeavor to point out why the series failed & how they could avoid this on future shows by creating a better interaction between the characters. It was also a mistake to use older actors like Morris who are not sci-fi fans themselves who regard their roles in a flippant manner & spoil it.However, it was not the sets or effects which caused the downfall of this series. It was the scripts & poor character interaction which was the downfall of Space 1999.Also, consider the shallow mentality of these neophytes who Schlub in their parents basements deriving fodder for their self concentric egos by bashing every nuance of a show produced before they were born. Mostly striking back at their parents by trashing what they held dear. It is their attacks on these shows which is the reason so many good sci-fi producers have given up. We are all paying for their attacks. So consider the source when you read these commentaries from those who are not qualified or mature enough to make fair judgments based on the conditions of this timeframe.Space 1999 could have been a great series with the sets & actors if they had replaced the writers & corrected the character roles & interactions. The question is WHY did they fail to see this problem even when they revamped the second season.

davidsawyer-me Though the show had it's problems it was basically ahead of it's time for the 1970s. There is a difference between the seriousness of the season one and that of the comic book feel of season two. But I feel that if there was a season 3 it would have found a great middle ground between the two feels. I guess from what I understand that show might have been cancelled due to the creator using the show's budget for another show, thus cancelling Space 1999. Though the title needed work as well as other aspects, it was a fantastic work of art for it's time. Even by today's standards it's got a great plot, script, characters, themes, premises, and elements of exciting writing. However some of the unappreciated slower parts only added to the shows depth. Most shows these days have action from beginning to end to capture our attention, however I feel this show had a great combination of lulling moments that crescendo to excitement. I so wish that a Space 2099 could be made, however I worry that it would fall victim to today's cliché' TV style. The opening title sequence and music were one of the best openings to a sci-fi show ever. The overall premise of Moonbase Alpha being under the mercy of it's uncontrolled flight path is fantastic. The characters/crew do their best to deal with lifes obsticles having no choice but to face them head on. I've found this to be very true in all our lives. We can still create our own lives, we can still have control over a lot of things while at the same time understanding that life moves us in a line from Birth to Death. It's up to us to face what's in between. This premise is not only touching but also very original. The premise gets a 5 star alone. I give a total of 10 stars for the entire package... despite my not liking season 2 as much as season one (however each season had it's fan base). I only wished that they had made more than two seasons. I have great childhood memories of watching this show. I grew up in a small town in Maine (USA) were most things were very country feeling. Though my state had a lot of 'transplants' from out of state such as my mother who was from Brooklyn NY. A mix of people gave our secluded community a rather perplexing feel. A lot of people running away from big city life only to find they needed to face their problems no matter were we go. Even though I was born in Maine I could totally relate to the fact that we don't always have control over avoiding life's collisions.