Alpha: 2012 Robert Wood Panel (w/Correction)

Introduction

Warnings

• There was a correction in one of the Details points. One of my notes should have been re-expanded to a summary statement (of mine) with some subtleties restored, but I instead mistook it as a quote from Robert, that was not something he had stated. Now corrected below, with apologies to Robert.
• Quoted items may sometimes be mild paraphrases or compressions.
• Unquoted statements are more heavily paraphrased or compressed, but some phrases may still be as originally spoken.
• The editor's own Opinion(s) is/are presented as a separate section.

Details

• Discussed how a science consultant can have a role, but that sometimes the speculation should go beyond current theory, in part because what is currently thought or known can change over time.
• Space: 1999 "is an epic origin story, not a hard science story."
• "It may be that Space: 1999's heart was mechanical, like Victor Bergman's; but its soul was its people."
• There were "more... failed space missions than successes."
• Quoting Christopher Penfold: "When we started, we were very much in the same place of the characters, but [had?] hope."
• Quoting Johnny Byrne: "The writing, like the characters, were[?] going further into the unknown."
• "The defining aspect has always been the Mysterious Unknown Force."
• One of the themes: biological man vs. technological man.
• "The Alphan people were born as a people at Breakaway."
• "Incredible and unexplainable events occurred in a lot of episodes."
• "Their [the Alphans] seeing [Moonbase] Alpha as home grew over time."
• Quoting Johnny again: "[The series] was larger than the sum of the parts."
• He also quoted someone (Johnny?) about S19 stimulating speculation.
• Quoting Johnny: "It was humanity condensed to a small number of individuals."
• Robert argued that "it should be implausible" and that "some of it has to be taken on face value, on faith."
• He ended by stating that "Any new series should be an extrapolation on what came before."

Questions

• Perhaps some of the above is derived from things Robert included in his Destination Moonbase Alpha book? I don't know. In the Introduction above, I indicated a topic shift in this panel, but perhaps that is a partial mischaracterization, and I would welcome clarification/correction if it is.

Opinions

• The two consecutive panels of Jace and Robert were a fascinating study of perspectives that while overlapping (S19 having and S20 wanting) to some degree on themes of discovering and dealing with events of epic scope, even more pointedly had considerable contrasts as well. Point-counterpoint. These two panels in roughly the middle of the convention seemed to become much of the core of discussion among attendees afterwards, from what I could tell.
• I would agree that a science consultant would still have a place, to allow a series to avoid gaffes with some basic things (e.g. simple astronomical terms) where one is not even trying to talk about something mysterious or strangely different. Also to point out scientific details that may actually enhance the story or perhaps even suggest some mysteries or theories that could be played upon. I certainly do agree that such a consultant should not rule all decisions or we lose the fiction/speculative part of "science fiction" / "speculative fiction." A sense of wonder and mystery are often beneficial to have, and even in the context of science, knowing that answering one question often raises several more (as many scientists say in one way or another).
• Regardless of the prior Opinion, Robert's presentation (in Details or the greater whole of it) was definitely a strong tour of many of the underlying deeper themes of S19, covering a good fraction of what has long drawn me to S19. This includes it being an origin story, something I have long felt even before I heard the phrase. It as an origin story is something I think is valuable point that I love hearing echoed in various contexts. Origin stories are the kind that are seen in science fiction television less often than one might think, in my opinion. Also, it was executed with more of a balance of human emotions (and I reference the whole of S19 here) than is often seen on SFTV nowaways. In the latter, the characters are frequently a murky middle mess of half-functioning headcases that I find difficult to "relate to" as characterizations -- the limited range actually striking me as unrealistic (and just hard to stomach after awhile).