From: Ariana (ariana@ndirect4tag.co.uk)
Subject: Space1999: Convention and Dragon's Domain
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1999 01:20:06 -0000

Apologies for my last mail about the convention -- indeed, what do I know
about what's up over there? I think I was letting the general ambiance on
this list get to me! :)

On a more positive note, the BBC are continuing their haphasard showing
of Space:1999, and today's episode was "Dragon's Domain". I either never
saw it as a child or it made zero impression on me, so the whole thing
came as a complete surprise. I definitely enjoyed it -- it had a
sensible, well-constructed plot, interesting character interaction, and
good pacing: all qualities I appreciate in a show. OTOH, it comes
completely out of left field, as the Americans would say. Helena suddenly
developed a sense of humour, Victor suddenly made sense, Koenig was
suddenly an ordinary human being... not bad elements per se, but I
wouldn't have minded a little consistency, and the place to introduce all
that was in Breakaway. But I'm sure there are tons of things we'd all
have liked to change, and as it is, it was very nice to have a bit of
pre-Breakaway background. As you all know, those were elements I
appreciated in Y2, so I'm certainly not going to knock them in Y1! 

Emma

New story: "A New Moon Over Bajor"
A DS9/Space:1999 crossover serial available by mail
Publication starts January 13, 1999



Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1999 18:49:54 -0800 (PST)
From: "Anthony D." (atd1999@yahoo4tag.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

Emma:

   Glad to hear that you enjoyed DD. I bet you can see why a lot of
people chose that as thier favorite a few weeks ago.

   It seems that DD was next to the last episode of Year One. As such,
I would expect that the characters would begin to relax and have
fun...they probably would have been more relaxed as such in Year
Two...a natural process as a series progresses. 

Anthony



From: Mark Meskin (plastic.gravity@new44rock.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain
Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1999 21:21:04 -0600

>    It seems that DD was next to the last episode of Year One. As such,
> I would expect that the characters would begin to relax and have fun...

If I could add to that, this is a point that Ive been trying to get Petter
to understand for over a year now.  And its more than just the acting, the
writing, the music, it all comes together in a terrifying tour de force
that was the high point of the Series.  IMHO it takes awhile for a series
to "gel", to find that voice that says who they are, what they've got to
say.  Space:1999 took the better part of the year, NextGen took 3, The
Xfiles hit the ground running, and by mid season, they had it, B5 fell into
place sometime midway in its 2nd season.  Some shows never do....Voyager is
still mostly a basket case.   But Black Sun, Force of Life, Wargames,
Troubled Spirit, and even Breakaway were portents of even better stories to
come.

> they probably would have been more relaxed as such in Year
> Two...a natural process as a series progresses.

Yes, and had a second season been done in the Y1 format, it would have been
fabulous. (apologies to Y2 fans)But then came Freddie and NY ITC.  They
ruined the most original SciFi show to come along.  Sigh :-(

-Mark



Date: Sun, 3 Jan 1999 01:10:25 -0600 (CST)
From: TIMOTHY GUEGUEN (ad058@sfn.saskatoon4tag.sk.ca)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Convention and Dragon's Domain

I also appreciate getting to see a bit more of the political side of
Earth's space program that we saw in Breakaway.  Commisioner Dixon comes
across as being close to Simmonds in weaseliness.

However, this does bring up an issue that has amused me a bit over the
last few years.  Several years ago Gerry Anderson noted in an interview
that part of the problem with series was that he was overly optimistic in
how quickly space exploration would develop.  Yet he's talking about the
same series that portrayed Earth's space program as littered with
disasters.  We had the Voyager 2 disaster, the lost of the Uranus probe in
the same time period, the astronauts of the Venus mission dying of
plague(altho' thats not really believable given what the surface of Venus
is like),  the loss of Astro 7(including Lee Russell), the Ultra Probe
incident, and the disappearance of Capt. Michael's Swift mission.  And
these are only the disasters that the writers got around to telling us of.
Its especially amazing given the direct loss of life in the Russian and
American space missions in the last 38 years.  If the space program had
generated this kind of carnage in our world the folks at NASA would likely
have been lynched by now and the agency scattered to the four winds.  I
really wonder how the space agencies in the Moonbase Alpha universe
managed to pull it off.

tim gueguen 101867



From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 08:16:28 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: Convention and Dragon's Domain

It is interesting how Emma points out some of the changes made in
DRAGON'S DOMAIN that make it seem more like Year Two, characterisation
in particular, which seem to head for typical Year Two cartoon fair even
before Freiberger had anything to do with the show.

Personally, I think the music, special effects and non-regular characters
compensate some of the general awfulness of this episode, preventing it
from being an all low episode like FULL CIRCLE, but I agree that the
redefinition of characters almost makes the episode unbearable to watch.
Not much of the intelligence that made BLACK SUN and MATTER OF LIFE
AND DEATH such a wonderful viewing, is there?  Depressing.

So I agree, thank heavens for making BREAKAWAY in good taste, an episode
without very much content but with wonderful tension, characterisations
and special effects that started the series with a bang.

Petter



From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 08:56:45 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

I agree with the music, this is really the main achievment of DRAGON'S
DOMAIN, I think, apart from some rather spectacular minature work and
wonderful sets for the interior of the Ultra Probe.

Writing and characterisation, on the other hand, marks the bottom level
of Year One in my opinion, anticipating Year Two in several ways by
indicating all the wrong changes that are normally attributed to
Freiberger.

It is difficult to understand why DRAGON'S DOMAIN reach such a high
stance on the recent poll.  Let's not hope it is because it mixes
the typcial Year Two camp with Year One sets and atmosphere.  The only
reason to like this episode in my opinion is tight editing and
creative musical score, but for me this only makes it an average
enjoyable episode, far from the best ones like MISSING LINK, RING AROUND
THE MOON or BLACK SUN.

I agree with DRAGON'S DOMAIN being a pivotal episode in terms of
characters being redefined and the story begin of more traditional
STAR TREK type than the usual high quality plots and characteristations
of Year One.  It marks a change for better or worse, although definitely
for the worse from my point of view.

It probably takes some time for a show to become routine, I agree on
that, but that a show becomes routine may also mean that it no longer
contains the spice that made it work in the first case.  To me DRAGON'S
DOMAIN represents the moment when SPACE:1999 became a cold pizza, at
least in writing and acting terms, almost all the air has run out of
the balloon and Gery Anderson and the rest no longer objects to the
ridiculous attempts from ITC New York to make the series into a
mainstream space soap opera.

Well, all things must come to an end.  The way I see it SPACE:1999
had its first creative moments during the first three cycles when
Crichton, Austin and Tomblin directed, it then matured when Kellett
took over from Tomblin, and the final two cycles, six episodes, is
really the decline and death of the series the way I see it, some
episodes being quite good such as THE TROUBLED SPIRIT and THE TESTAMENT
OF ARKADIA and some being awful such as THE INFERNAL MACHINE and DRAGON'S
DOMAIN.

The so-called Year Two of SPACE:1999 had nothing to do with SPACE:1999
in my opinion, but as some episodes were written by people who had
contributed to UFO and SPACE:1999 it deserves some interest as a footnote
to these series.

Petter



From: Mark Meskin (plastic.gravity@new44rock.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Convention and Dragon's Domain
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 05:45:20 -0600

> It is interesting how Emma points out some of the changes made in
> DRAGON'S DOMAIN that make it seem more like Year Two, characterisation
> in particular, which seem to head for typical Year Two cartoon fair even
> before Freiberger had anything to do with the show.

You are so full of it, Petter.  If what you say is true(which it most
certainly is not), then Freiburger was not responsoble for Y2, it was
inevitable, by your logic.

> Personally, I think the music, special effects and non-regular characters
> compensate some of the general awfulness of this episode, preventing it
> from being an all low episode like FULL CIRCLE, but I agree that the
> redefinition of characters almost makes the episode unbearable to watch.

I wonder who you are agreeing with.....since no one shares your
"observations"?

> Not much of the intelligence that made BLACK SUN and MATTER OF LIFE
> AND DEATH such a wonderful viewing, is there?  Depressing.

I popped in MOLAD last night while waiting for something to finish
rendering on my computer.......now that is a bad episode.  Wooden acting, a
guest star who does little more than mumble, a convoluted plot, cheesey
planet set, and the whole thing becomes "press the reset button" in the
end.  Reminds me of a typical Voyager episode, depressing, I'd say.

-Mark



From: Mark Meskin (plastic.gravity@newrock4tag.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 05:54:39 -0600

> It is difficult to understand why DRAGON'S DOMAIN reach such a high
> stance on the recent poll.  Let's not hope it is because it mixes
> the typcial Year Two camp with Year One sets and atmosphere. 

Petter, you need to deal with the fact that you see "different" things in
an episode,for better or for worse, than just about anyone.  It scored
high, because it was the exact opposite of that crap-fest, Ring Around the
Moon.  It had a good story, good dialog, good music, great SFX(except the
tentacled thingy)and a pacing that the rest of Season 1 never had.

> It probably takes some time for a show to become routine, I agree on
> that, but that a show becomes routine may also mean that it no longer
> contains the spice that made it work in the first case.

This is what I meant the other day, about you twisting what someone has
written.  I never said "routine".   Being routine is easy, its whether the
show has something to say routinely, or is just wasting your time on a
regular basis that makes the difference.  Why do you do this?  Would you
prefer I reply saying I agree with you that this is the best episode of the
series?  I think I will try that from now on, consider it a "New Year's"
resolution................

-Mark



From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 13:52:44 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

> Petter, you need to deal with the fact that you see "different" things in
> an episode,for better or for worse, than just about anyone.  It scored
> high, because it was the exact opposite of that crap-fest, Ring Around the
> Moon.  It had a good story, good dialog, good music, great SFX(except the
> tentacled thingy)and a pacing that the rest of Season 1 never had.

I agree very much with what you say about music and SFX, Mark, a stunning
piece indeed where these ingrediences are concerned.  What seems strange
to me though, is how anyone would point out story and dialogue as
interesting features in DRAGON'S DOMAIN.  From my point of view it
seems completely the other way around, Landau, Bain and Morse sleep-
walking through the episode.  Where's the sustance in this episode?

My impression is that they made DRAGON'S DOMAIN as the next to last
episode because they had run out of scripts and were desperately
rewriting old scripts.  The way I see it DRAGON'S DOMAIN is, in written
terms, nothing more than Art Wallace OBSESSION from the third season
of STAR TREK, OBSESSION not being all that good to begin with, slightly
reminicent of BETA CLOUD.

In a way DRAGON'S DOMAIN is the very opposite of RING AROUND THE MOON,
I agree on that, but then again, in my opinion RING AROUND THE MOON is
one of the best ever achievements of SPACE:1999, an episode full of
mood and excitement, the closest thing SPACE:1999 ever got to art the
way I see it.  DRAGON'S DOMAIN, on the other hand, shares the dubious
honour of being a hybrid between Year One and Year Two.  No, a rather
poor entry in the series, I would say, if it weren't for the rather
creative use of music, special effects, sound effects (inspired by
PSYCHO perhaps) and some tight direction by Charles Crichton.

> This is what I meant the other day, about you twisting what someone has
> written.  I never said "routine".

OK, sorry about that, I know you don't view it as routine, but you
stated that series such like SPACE:1999 need time to develop.  I simply
state that in my opinion this is similar to becoming routine.  Mark,
I know you like BLACK SUN, you can't really mean that the performances
by Landau, Bain and Morse are "good" in DRAGON'S DOMAIN?

> Being routine is easy, its whether the
> show has something to say routinely, or is just wasting your time on a
> regular basis that makes the difference.  Why do you do this?  Would you
> prefer I reply saying I agree with you that this is the best episode of the
> series?  I think I will try that from now on, consider it a "New Year's"
> resolution................

You agree on RING AROUND THE MOON being the best episode, or DRAGON'S
DOMAIN best episode?  If you are talking about RING AROUND THE MOON then
I understand very well, but I have never expected you to say that this
is the best episode ever.  Actually, I thought you were of a different
opinion.

If you are talking about DRAGON'S DOMAIN I hope I haven't put the
impression across that I consider this the best episode of the series.
No, no.  I think it is an okay episode, due to elegant editing, use
of music, sound effects, visual effects and so on, but rather below par
when it comes to the basic story and the central performances, although
I though Gianni Garko as Tony Cellini was quite good.

Petter



From: Jeff Doyle (jeffd@tranquility4tag.net)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 06:44:54 -0600

> and DRAGON'S DOMAIN do very much resemble Art Wallace OBSESSION episode
> from the end of the third season of STAR TREK, I think.

Actually OBSESSION is from the early second season of Trek.   It is
only a fair Trek episode, DD is superior.

> In fact it [Dragon's Domain] is
> a carbon copy of his 1968 STAR TREK entry OBSESSION.  Anyone else but
> me that have seen this?

It certainly is very similar to OBSESSION, I agree.  Carbon copy is
overstating it though.

-Jeff



From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 14:18:10 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

> Actually OBSESSION is from the early second season of Trek.   It is
> only a fair Trek episode, DD is superior.

DRAGON'S DOMAIN is superior to OBSESSION, certainly on technical terms.  In
fact OBSESSION involves a cloud creature of BETA CLOUD type, and seems a
bit jumpy and inconsequential, not too unlike BETA CLOUD actually, but
perhaps with a stronger emphasis on psychology than the average STAR
TREK entry I suspect.

Well, nothing wrong with OBSESSION and DRAGON'S DOMAIN being slightly
derivative of that in terms of basic plot or premise.  The sad part
is that part of the characterisation, Koenig, Helena and Bergman level
with the STAR TREK low, attempting to "smooth" out the episode with
forced humour and "emotional" voicing by Barbara Bain, light-years away
from her controlled character of BLACK SUN, MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH and
so on.  Not a very good premise for an episode of SPACE:1999, I would
say.  Barry Morse looks completely uninspired.  No wonder Freiberger
didn't want him for a second season if he wanted to elaborate on the
DRAGON'S DOMAIN sort of episode.

On the positive side, however, the part of the plot were we don't see
Landau, Bain and Morse is quite good.  Gianni Garko makes a splendid
Cellini, I think, although if it were shot earlier on it would perhaps
have worked even better by casting Nick Tate in the role.  From what
I've understood the demands from RAI required Italian leads, which then
caused Penfold or Byrne to rewrite the episode in order to make room
for Cellini when it actually should have been about Carter or the
Catani character that later developed into Carter.

There is some potential in DRAGON'S DOMAIN I think.

Petter




From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 14:11:26 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: Convention and Dragon's Domain

> You are so full of it, Petter.  If what you say is true(which it most
> certainly is not), then Freiburger was not responsoble for Y2, it was
> inevitable, by your logic.

I should perhaps point ouf that in my reference to Emma above, she
did not say anything negative about characterisation, although she
emphasised a change of style that is rather apparent in this episode.
Sorry about that.

From my point of view, however, the change in style was definitely in
the wrong direction.  My point, as Mark paraphrases above, is that what
some of us find to be a disasterous change in style and taste when
the second series emerged could already be anticipiated by how things
were going with DRAGON'S DOMAIN.

> I wonder who you are agreeing with.....since no one shares your
> "observations"?

I think most agree with characterisations being different in DRAGON'S
DOMAIN than in the rest of the episodes.  I realise, however, that there
is no general agreement on characterisation being worse than on the
average Y1 episode.  In fact there are even those who seem to believe
that the change in characterisation was an improvement, but this must
be statments from people who haven't seen this particular episode in a
very long time, I believe.  I can understand that.

> I popped in MOLAD last night while waiting for something to finish
> rendering on my computer.......now that is a bad episode.  Wooden acting, a
> guest star who does little more than mumble, a convoluted plot, cheesey
> planet set, and the whole thing becomes "press the reset button" in the
> end.

Oh yes, MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH.  Personally, I think this is a rather
good episode really.  Far from wooden acting, although a bit stiff
direction perhaps, the acting, Barbara Bain in particular, is totally
fascinating in this one, I feel.  A magnificent parable about personal
and loss weaved with the fact that the Alphans are lost in space.

It is the episode that really states that they will never find a
home outside Alpha, I feel, magnificently anticipating Helena's
remark about "coming home" at the end of BLACK SUN.  Magnificent.

It is strange to remember that MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH was acutally adapted
from a STAR TREK episode, or at least from something similarily limited
in scope as a STAR TREK episode, into this masterpiece.  Johnny Byrne was
obviously working overtime in order to string it together, and as far as I'm
concerned he succeeded triumphantly.

Mind you Mark, wasn't MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH one of the episodes that
ended up on the list of best episodes ever according to our recent poll?
I'm not sure, but I seem to remember that.

Petter



Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 12:08:28 -0800 (PST)
From: "Anthony D." (atd1999@yahoo4tag.com)
Subject: Space1999: MOLD

> I popped in MOLAD last night while waiting for
>something to finish rendering on my
>computer.......now that is a bad episode.  Wooden
>acting, a guest star who does little more than
>mumble, a convoluted plot, cheesey planet set, and
>the whole thing becomes "press the reset button" in
>the end.  Reminds me of a typical Voyager episode,
>depressing, I'd say.

Mark:

   With some of the episodes, I don't think you can simply 'watch it'
and expect to be blown away. When I last watched MOLD, I put myself in
a 'frame of mind' that tried to match the Alphans...that is, they'd
recently been blown away from Earth orbit, they meet up with a dead
guy, etc. The characters are relatively new to each other...up until
this point, they had been more or less working relationships. Yes,
they were on Moonbase for long tours of duty and of course some people
became friends, but I didn't view this group of people as (initially)
all that friendly toward each other. I think this is what is reflected
in this episode. Not whiz bang technology, etc. Not a story that is
philosphically mind-blowing...just simply the first adventure after
leaving Earth orbit. On the whole, this episode is not that
bad...either you "get into it" or not: there's no half-way point.
Luckily, the rest of the series was not like this...a lot of the
stories were better in terms of technology, script, etc. 

   On the other hand, no matter how I try, I can't get into that
*other* episode as easily as I can get into MOLD (that is, accept MOLD
for what it is -- episode #2, adventure #1). The *other* episode is
just so-so and doesn't do much for me.

Anthony



From: "Mark Meskin" (plastic.gravity@new44rock.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: MOLD
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 17:58:36 -0600

>    With some of the episodes, I don't think you can simply 'watch it'
> and expect to be blown away.

I would agree with that, but that's also the case with any show.  Heck,
some of the more effective episodes have been subtle and sublime, yet very
enjoyable.  Black Sun comes to mind, it never does "blow you away" but its
still a magnificent episode.

> The characters are relatively new to each other..

I don't think that's true. Although the characters were "new" to us, they
were not new to each other. And certainly not Helena Russel, whom as chief
medical officer of Moonbase Alpha, obviously had spent a lot of time on
Alpha.  Same goes for everyone else, they had been on moonbase for likely
several months at least.  All except Keonig, who just arrived.  And given
the dialogue in "breakaway" we can assume he's quite comfortable on the
moon, and with its inhabitants.  Both him and Victor were on Alpha only a
couple of years earlier, remember?  But yes, the shock of Breakaway does go
some distance to explaining their "subdued" behaviour.

>just simply the first adventure after
> leaving Earth orbit. On the whole, this episode is not that
> bad...either you "get into it" or not: there's no half-way point.
> Luckily, the rest of the series was not like this...a lot of the
> stories were better in terms of technology, script, etc.

I will admit, that I really wanted to like this episode.  MOLAD was the
second Space:1999 episode I "aquired" after rediscovering the show in circa
1989.  I had fond memories of the show, and after getting "voyagers return"
I purchased MOLAD.  What a friggin let down.  My friends and I all
remembered Space:1999, and had thought it quite special.  However, after
viewing MOLAD, one person summed up all our feelings: "I think our memories
are a bit colored by nostalgia, that stunk".  And she was right.
Fortunately, I had also grabbed the other J2 tapes, and after watching
Guardian of Piri, and Earthbound, I suspect everyone felt a little better
in their convictions.

I wasn't expecting it to be earthshattering, but I did expect it to make
sense, which it did not.  Compounding this problem are the discontinuity
from Breakaway, the mumbling guest star, the illtimed
reappearence/inroduction of Lee Russel,  and the worst single episode
performance by Barbara Bain.  If her acting in MOLAD were to be thought of
as a baseline, her performance(even as lackluster as it was) in RATM would
have earned her at least several award nominations in comparison.    The
whole Lee Russel thing is such a waste, you know why?  The writers could
have used anyone's dead spouse, and it wouldn't have made a single
difference to the story.  Aside from her having a dead husband, we learn
nothing about the character, no insight, no nothing.  It could have been
Kano's dead Aunt.  A much more effective use of the character of Lee Russel
would have been to introduce to the storyline(in a another episode) the
fact that Helena was married, but that he had died(or been presumed dead)
years earlier, then it lends a little mystery, or intrigue to the story and
mythos of SPace:1999.  As it stands, Lee Russel is just another tired plot
device.

But I can't dump it at the bottom of the list, its a stinker, but Missing
Link and Ring Around the Moon are just SO much worse, that MOLAD ends up
being so-so.

>    On the other hand, no matter how I try, I can't get into that
> *other* episode

Hmmmmmmm.  I wonder what episode youre refering to?  :-)

-Mark



From: Mark Meskin (plastic.gravity@new44rock.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Convention and Dragon's Domain
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 18:59:37 -0600

> From my point of view, however, the change in style was definitely in
> the wrong direction.  My point, as Mark paraphrases above, is that what
> some of us find to be a disasterous change in style and taste when
> the second series emerged could already be anticipiated by how things
> were going with DRAGON'S DOMAIN.

Don't you see how defeatist this attitude is?  I believe the whole year was
already filmed when the show first aired.  I think there was very little
meddeling in y1, which at least to me, is why the first season has a more
unified "vision" than the eractic "push me-pull me" variablitly in quality
of Y2.

> > I wonder who you are agreeing with.....since no one shares your
> > "observations"?
> 
> I think most agree with characterisations being different in DRAGON'S
> DOMAIN than in the rest of the episodes.  

Such as?

> Oh yes, MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH.  Personally, I think this is a rather
> good episode really.  Far from wooden acting, although a bit stiff
> direction perhaps, the acting, Barbara Bain in particular, is totally
> fascinating in this one, I feel.  A magnificent parable about personal
> and loss weaved with the fact that the Alphans are lost in space.

Please se my comments to Anthony about this episode, I think I summed it up
pretty well.

> It is strange to remember that MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH was acutally adapted
> from a STAR TREK episode, or at least from something similarily limited
> in scope as a STAR TREK episode, into this masterpiece.  Johnny Byrne was
> obviously working overtime in order to string it together, and as far as I'm
> concerned he succeeded triumphantly.

I find it rather easy to believe it was a Star Trek episode......and that
Jonny Byrne's revised script never arrived......

> Mind you Mark, wasn't MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH one of the episodes that
> ended up on the list of best episodes ever according to our recent poll?
> I'm not sure, but I seem to remember that.

I doubt that.......perhaps it got one vote?

-Mark



From: Mark Meskin (plastic.gravity@new44rock.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 18:50:18 -0600

> I agree very much with what you say about music and SFX, Mark, a stunning
> piece indeed where these ingrediences are concerned.  What seems strange
> to me though, is how anyone would point out story and dialogue as
> interesting features in DRAGON'S DOMAIN.  From my point of view it
> seems completely the other way around, Landau, Bain and Morse sleep-
> walking through the episode.  Where's the sustance in this episode?

Glad you asked.  First off, the story is not just your typical MUF lost
space probe from triton, here to suck your brain story.  On its basic
level, its the story of the 1996 Ultra Probe mission.  But it also recounts
the story of one man's now troubled existence due to a tragedy in his past.
 Compounding his guilt(lets face it, Cellini has guilt in spades!) are the
fact that nearly no one believes him, and many blame him for the failure of
the UltraProbe.  Its engorssing, erie, suspencfull, and very well paced. 
On a secondary level, we get some history and backstory about our main
characters, who they were, and what events led up to the present day
events.  This too is very intersting, and adds nicely to the story.  To me,
its fascinating to find out what happend before breakaway, what was Alpha
like?  WHat else did they do there besides monitor nuclear waste, etc?

> In a way DRAGON'S DOMAIN is the very opposite of RING AROUND THE MOON,
> I agree on that, but then again, in my opinion RING AROUND THE MOON is
> one of the best ever achievements of SPACE:1999, an episode full of
> mood and excitement

Where is the excitment in RATM?  That must have been edited out of my tapes
then, because RATM is dull city.

> the closest thing SPACE:1999 ever got to art the
> way I see it.

Oh its an art form all right......in the same way everyone knows one guy at
work who can screw around all day, and make someone think that he's so
accomplished at wasting time, that is must be an art form.

> DRAGON'S DOMAIN, on the other hand, shares the dubious
> honour of being a hybrid between Year One and Year Two.  No, a rather
> poor entry in the series, I would say, if it weren't for the rather
> creative use of music, special effects, sound effects (inspired by
> PSYCHO perhaps) and some tight direction by Charles Crichton.

Petter, if only a 5th of all Space:1999 episodes could have approached the
level of Dragons Domain, Space:1999 would never have been cancelled.

> I know you like BLACK SUN, you can't really mean that the performances
> by Landau, Bain and Morse are "good" in DRAGON'S DOMAIN?

Yes, I can.  One person in particular, that of Victor Bergman, I find the
most impressive.  I liked how Victor, probably John's closest friend, was
portrayed as the skeptic.  Even he doesn't believe Cellini. If there is one
thing I might change about the episode, its that I would have had a scene
where Koenig confronts Celline himself, showing that enen he is suspicious,
but its not that important.  Its nice to see Barbara Bain doing more than
just walking around, whispering her lines and generally acting drugged(like
she does in RATM, ATAP, and Earthbound). She seems much more in control,
and confident than she does in just about any other episode.

> You agree on RING AROUND THE MOON being the best episode, or DRAGON'S
> DOMAIN best episode?

Yes Petter, I agree with you that Dragons Domain is the Best Episode ever.

> If you are talking about DRAGON'S DOMAIN I hope I haven't put the
> impression across that I consider this the best episode of the series.

No you haven't.  But why not just agree with you about DD being the best
episode ever?

-Mark



From: South Central (Tamazunchale@web44tv.net)
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 17:59:25 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

Not to butt in on your (dis)agreement, but(t)...

I think that there is a lot to Dragon's Domain.  More than Petter gives
it credit for.

I think that one of the things I really liked about Space: 1999 is the
element of sophistication and the elegance of its ideas--which you find
at the base of many of the episodes.

Full Circle: the idea that though evolved, we haven't changed all that
much on a basic emotional level

Troubled Spirit: A man haunted by his own ghost before his death

Guardian of Piri: Perfection being equal to the absence of change, the
stopping of time, the suspension of life (which by definition IS change)

War Games:  A world where the minds of all of its citizens are linked
into one communal brain, with one infinite memory, whose individuals
(like our brain cells) do not fear death.

Which brings me to Dragon's Domain: about a man who is so wracked with
guilt that he attracts to him a key moment of his life, as if to relive
it, replay it.  This, and the notion that Cellini is man obsessed by his
nightmare--and his nightmare is equally obsessed with him, it is waiting
for him, for the only being that got away.  The effect of two beings on
destiny is NOTHING to shake a stick at.

Petter, I usually agree with you on many points.  [I think Missing Link
is a wonderful episode:  about the effects of a vacuum in leadership for
a community in crisis; the value of emotion over cool intellect (and
vice versa); the manipulation by Koenig of Raan's love for his daughter
to the goal of being set free; the idea that our generation--for truly
we are Koenig's generation--could be seen as the "missing link" for our
evolved descendents, the concept of a society whose mental powers are so
advanced that they can create what they desire and even construct  a
city out of light!  These are elegant and beautiful ideas also]

BUT, I think you sell this episode short.  You are entitled to your
opinion.  However, cultural differences be damned, I think you [Petter]
may be pushing people's buttons just for the hell of it.  And if you are
not, you should be aware that that is the impression that you are
creating.  I am not trying to limit your speech--just letting you know
that your message may be getting lost in the delivery.



Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 18:51:30 -0800 (PST)
From: "Anthony D." (atd1999@yahoo4tag.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

The only thing I would have to take exception to with in DD is the
mix-up on the dates. Now that my senses are tooned into bloopers, I
noticed the date mix-up and it ruined the episode for me (a bit).

Also, in order not to ruin the episode any further, I didn't try to
see if Helena's description of the journey was accurate (for example,
they took so many months to get to Ultra, so many to return, etc).

[side note: before I had a chance to re-view any Year One episodes, I
could have *SWORN* on a *stack* of Bibles that Helena always narrated
the opening credits to each episode. That is, the description she used
in Dragon's Domain (as she brings the story to the "present" day), I
thought was the opening credits! Talk about flawed memory syndrome. I
forgot about Barry Gray's music until I saw an episode. I don't know
which.]

After reading comments here, I did notice the jackets that looked like
the ones in Year Two! Surprise...hey! Maybe that *proves* that Victor
*was* in Y2, we just didn't see him! He does have the funky jacket!

I wanted to add *one* more comment about shows and "getting into their
rhythm"...the local UPN station is playing 2 episodes of "All in the
Family" (derived from the British sitcom - "Those Were the Days")
every night. I usually have them on in the background. I don't think
they are being played in any order, but it is funny to see an early
episode (first season, maybe second) and then to see a later season
episode. A vast difference! The later episodes have well-defined
characters that you can attach yourself to, etc. You know what they
are about. They're "routine" but in a good sort of way. The early
characters are not that good and the stories not that funny. I think
"All in the Family" had low ratings in the beginning and was going to
be cancelled. I don't know what saved it, but it survived and
prospered. 

Like Mark said, if we had a continuation of episodes like DD and
Testament, I think season 2 would have been even better. This is *NOT*
to say that Season 2 was "bad". It was just a fairly complete
turnabout from season 1. That doesn't make it bad, just different.

Mateo - I loved those thumbnail sketches! Did you do those for ExE or
just now? Can you do one for each Y1 episode...I liked them!

Anthony



From: South Central (Tamazunchale@web44tv.net)
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 19:40:33 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

I just wrote those "thumbnail sketches" for that letter.  I think it is
true, though.  Each episode has something "wonderous" (sp?) about it.

Force of Life: about the struggle of the Alphans to deal with a nascent
life form which is neither good nor evil, and for the most part may be
unaware of the Alphans as sentient beings.  The entity itself, may not
even be sentient, but merely a "force".  In the end it transforms itself
(with the aid of Alpha's nuclear energy as a catalyst) to a new stage of
it development and moves on.

Mateo



From: South Central (Tamazunchale@web44tv.net)
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 19:43:54 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

In the U.S., if a date is written as numbers: 

3/9/9?  It will be read (like by an American actor doing a voice over)
as March 9th, 199? as opposed to what the British screen writer
intended--September 3rd, 199?

This is what I think happened.



Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 11:06:31 -0800 (PST)
From: "Anthony D." 

From: Tamazunchale@web44tv.net (South Central)
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 13:13:55 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

Think about it.  The dates don't work because the date before the launch
is September 3, 1996 and the [later] launch date is June 6, 1996--right?

Well is the first date was written 9/3/96 and  read as September 3,
1996--BUT it was intended to be read MARCH 9, 1996...THEN it WOULD WORK!
With the pre-launch scenes taking place a mere THREE MONTHS PRIOR to the
launch date.

Let me know what you think.  I think you misunderstood me the first
time.

Mateo



From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 09:57:58 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

South Central wrote:

> I think that there is a lot to Dragon's Domain.  More than Petter gives
> it credit for.

I tried to add more in my previous reply to Mark.  There are many good
things about DRAGON'S DOMAIN, I just got a bit provoked by a letter by
someone who stated that at last there was some decent acting and nice
redefinition of characters in a Y1 episode.  There is a redefinition,
I agree, but it is surely not in having the characters behave more like
the did in RING AROUND THE MOON, now is it?

Quite to the contrary, I would say, somebody in the production team were
obviously beginning to explore Y2 territory, or at least anticipating
the Y2 type of acting and costumes.  It is the death of SPACE:1999 as I
see it.

Well, before I get carried away again, I don't think DRAGON'S DOMAIN
was the worst episode.  In my opinion it is about average, or slightly
below.  Albinoni's adagio, the miniatures, and some of the sets almost
gives the episode a cinematic feeling at times.

> Troubled Spirit: A man haunted by his own ghost before his death

Yes, and also about obsession.  To me THE TROUBLED SPIRIT is like
VOYAGER'S RETURN and THE END OF ETERNITY about a person so totally
obsessed with doing the right thing that he gets lost, wonderfully
paraphrased by being haunted by his own ghost.

> Guardian of Piri: Perfection being equal to the absence of change, the
> stopping of time, the suspension of life (which by definition IS change)

Yes, and also about a world that is becoming increasingly digitalised
and run by computers.  Weir message seems to be that we better watch it so
we don't become vegetables like the Alphans.  A very good episode indeed.

> War Games:  A world where the minds of all of its citizens are linked
> into one communal brain, with one infinite memory, whose individuals
> (like our brain cells) do not fear death.

People die, the brain lives on, as the male alien puts it.  It's a bit
like internet, isn't it?  Magnificent philosophical episode by Penfold.

> Which brings me to Dragon's Domain: about a man who is so wracked with
> guilt that he attracts to him a key moment of his life, as if to relive
> it, replay it.  This, and the notion that Cellini is man obsessed by his
> nightmare--and his nightmare is equally obsessed with him, it is waiting
> for him, for the only being that got away.  The effect of two beings on
> destiny is NOTHING to shake a stick at.

A man so obsessed with his nightmare that the nightmare becomes obsessed
with him.  I'm not too sure about the wider implications of this episode,
or if there indeed really are any.  That is perhaps why I don't feel
that I quite get it.

[SNIP]

Wonderful comments on MISSING LINK, Mateo!

> BUT, I think you sell this episode short.  You are entitled to your
> opinion.  However, cultural differences be damned, I think you [Petter]
> may be pushing people's buttons just for the hell of it.  And if you are
> not, you should be aware that that is the impression that you are
> creating.  I am not trying to limit your speech--just letting you know
> that your message may be getting lost in the delivery.

OK.  Sometimes I get a bit enthusiastic, I'll admit to that, sometimes
a bit too enthusiastic perhaps.

On the other hand, Mateo, even if not everybody are too happy with putting
arguments to the limits, I know Mark is a person who is not too keen
on hiding his opinions under a chair, and this is also one of the reasons
I like discussing with him.  To me it means that you can like another
person although you don't agree on everything that he says.

I hope not too many others are being distracted by our writing without
sensoring ourselves too much.  Sometimes it is difficult to keep a
discussion alive if it becomes too PC.

Petter



From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 09:25:31 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

> Glad you asked.  First off, the story is not just your typical MUF lost
> space probe from triton, here to suck your brain story.

RING AROUND THE MOON and DRAGON'S DOMAIN are two quite different type
of episodes, I agree.  I've never though of comparing the episodes in
the way you do, however, but perhaps there is something to gain from
this.  If we could find some of the elements that make RING AROUND THE
MOON such a magnificent entry also in DRAGON'S DOMAIN, then that would
certainly make me very happy.

There are some similarities, the magnificent use of music, for instance.
Both episodes are high on mood, at least DRAGON'S DOMAIN manages to
catch some of what made SPACE:1999 such a marvellous series during the
initial episodes in the Tony Cellini story.  It is the part of the
story that concerns the regular characters that pulls the episode down
in my opinion.  The Cellini aspects are good, not unlike Dr. Mateo in
THE TROUBLED SPIRIT, although I'm not too sure of what the "St. George
and the Dragon" references is ment to symbolise in this context.

To me RING AROUND THE MOON is a much easier episode to like, but, of
course, as DRAGON'S DOMAIN got quite a few votes as best episode ever,
there may very well be something to it.

> On its basic
> level, its the story of the 1996 Ultra Probe mission.  But it also recounts
> the story of one man's now troubled existence due to a tragedy in his past.
>  Compounding his guilt(lets face it, Cellini has guilt in spades!) are the
> fact that nearly no one believes him, and many blame him for the failure of
> the UltraProbe.

When you write this Mark, I think of MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, my favourite
episode about troubled existence due to a tragedy in the past.  Well, reading
DRAGON'S DOMAIN as a sort of remake of MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH doesn't
seem like such a bad thing really.  As we all know, MATTER OF LIFE AND
DEATH in the final form was due to Johnny Byrne's reworking of a Art
Wallace script that was made before SPACE:1999 got its shape.  In fact,
as has been pointed out, confer Martin's Catacombs site, the initial
Wallace draft may have had more to do with STAR TREK than SPACE:1999,
and DRAGON'S DOMAIN do very much resemble Art Wallace OBSESSION episode
from the end of the third season of STAR TREK, I think.

In fact, I have a personal hypothesis that the original draft for DRAGON'S
DOMAIN was written not by Christopher Penfold, but rather by someone
who was more at home with the STAR TREK universe.  In a discussion I
had with Martin, he pointed out that he had seen an early script
by an in terms of SPACE:1999 unknown American writer where Alan Carter
played a central part.  To me this explained why DRAGON'S DOMAIN seems
like so much of a STAR TREK/SPACE:1999 hybrid, although, I should add,
Martin seems to still believe that DRAGON'S DOMAIN was based on an
original concept by Penfold.  Martin uses an interview with Nick Tate
to build up under his assumption.

Anyway, it is quite clear that, no matter who wrote the original draft
for DRAGON'S DOMAIN, by the time it reached production it had changed
significantly.  Personally I prefer to think of it as a junk script
that was doctored first by Penfold and then perhaps by Byrne to reach
a level where it was at least compatible with the series.

On the other hand, it is also quite possible that the retrospective
nature of the story made it possible for Keith Wilson under force from
ITC New York to experiment with louder colours and the Landau and Bain
to "soften up" their acting in the style of BONANZA in order to
"Americanize" the series.  It seems perfectly ridiculous from my point
of view, but, of course, it was ITC New York who were putting in the
money so I understand their worries about whether SPACE:1999 would find
it's audience or not.

Well, back to Cellini.  I agree with you, Mark, that Cellini is really
the central character of the episode and that it is very much about a
"man's now troubled existence due to a tragedy in his past".  This is
not a typical Penfold scenario, however, the typical Penfold episodes
like LAST SUNSET, WAR GAMES and SPACE BRAIN being about ideas rather
than persons, but, indeed very much like Art Wallace.  In fact it is
a carbon copy of his 1968 STAR TREK entry OBSESSION.  Anyone else but
me that have seen this?

Even if the premise is weak, however, there is still a chance that it
can be corrected.  Johnny Byrne's amazing doctoring of THE SIREN PLANET
into MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH is a good example of this, I think.

The question is rather, if DRAGON'S DOMAIN is about something more than
just "a man's now troubled existence due to a tragedy in his past", what
is it then all about?

In MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH there is a very nice parallell between the
mental state of Helena and that of Alpha.  Helena becomes the symbol of
the suffering that is inherent in Alpha due to the trauma of having lost
earth, Johnny Byrne paraphrasing, I suppose, the increasing ecological
and otherwise concern among thinking people in the early 1970's about
natural resources, cold war, less fortunate aspects of technological
progress and so on.  This is why MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH works so
very well, I think.

At the end of DRAGON'S DOMAIN John and Helena discuss the incidence with
Cellini as the creation of a new myth, giving new meaning to "St. George
and the Dragon".  Well, does it?  Is the moral that St. George was
a psychotic and that consequently all heros are psychotics?  There are
some passages in the episode that seem to indicate something along these
lines.  Helena has been regarding Cellini as a psychotic.  John, on the
other hand, speaks of him as a poet and a soldier.

Well, there is something here, I believe.  Unlike RING AROUND THE MOON,
however, with it's fascinating discussion on man's relationship with
computers, I can't see that this central issue of DRAGON'S DOMAIN is
very interesting today.  In 1974/75, however, in the aftermath of the
Vietnam War, these issues were probably interesting, although I don't
know to which extent they were to Penfold although he devoted his
episode WAR GAMES to the dynamics the lead to destruction.

Personally I find it easier to understand the obsessions of Mateo in
THE TROUBLED SPIRIT, the obsessions of a scientist, than the obsessions
of Cellini the pilot.  The is a personal preference, however, a probably
a major reason why I like an episode such as THE TROUBLED SPIRIT or
RING AROUND THE MOON much more than DRAGON'S DOMAIN, although not a
reason for saying that one of these episodes is "better" than the others.

For me THE TROUBLED SPIRIT is a more fascinting study of obsession than
DRAGON'S DOMAIN is.  On the other hand, DRAGON'S DOMAIN is also a story
about guilt, much like VOYAGER'S RETURN, but also here, I find Johnny
Byrne's story much more fascinating as this is about a scientist and
scientific hubris where "the road to hell is paved with good intensions",
an issue I find much easier to understand than Tony Cellini's apparent
problems with being a winner and a hero.  All in all he comes across as
a rather sad character, I think, illustrating the worst sides of John
Koenig, of course, character aspects that nevertheless may very well
be needed in the type of job he is assigned to do.

Yes, DRAGON'S DOMAIN seems to be very much as story about the psychology
that drives people like Koenig and Carter.  Perhaps I should watch the
episode once more.

> Its engorssing, erie, suspencfull, and very well paced.

I agree here.  Much of the episode is like that.

> On a secondary level, we get some history and backstory about our main
> characters, who they were, and what events led up to the present day
> events.  This too is very intersting, and adds nicely to the story.  To me,
> its fascinating to find out what happend before breakaway, what was Alpha
> like?  WHat else did they do there besides monitor nuclear waste, etc?

I also like aspects of history and backstory.  BREAKAWAY is of course the
episode that defines the characters, but additional issues such as Helena's
husband in episode no. 2 and Victor's mechanical heart in episode no. 3
are things that helps us understand the characters and ideas that probably
helped Landau, Bain and Morse to animate their figures during the process.

If DRAGON'S DOMAIN had been one of the very first episodes I would
agree, perhaps, that some of the references to prior history could have
helped our understanding of the characters and of Alpha in general.
Introducing these elments in the next to last episode does not create
much of an impact, I think.  By now both the viewers and the people
who make the series are so familiar with the concept that an adventure
in retrospective is in essence no different from the regular encounter
with a new planet or phenomenon.

Rather than adding to the understanding of previous episode, in the way
you suggest, I feel that it quite contrary opens up for new episodes
made in a slightly different style, slightly anticipating some of the
Y2 elements in terms of a new style of acting and new costumes.

Petter



Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 08:12:18 -0800 (PST)
From: "Anthony D." (atd1999@yahoo4tag.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

Hi!

   Petter brings up an interesting point that, as a second to last
episode (for the season), having a back story didn't add much to the
characters. While I liked this episode, it's interesting to note that
the Earth Dr. Russell is a bit more animated than the Alphan
Dr.Russell. Did she become more professional (and thus less animated)
moving to Alpha? Or was this a precursor to a more defined character
that she hoped to develop for the next 24 episodes? Or perhaps the
director let her "loose" to do as she pleased as this was taking place
in the past? Had she lost Lee, her husband, at this point? That
certainly could account for her change in character. Having lost her
husband, she turned to her work and closed herself off emotionally (as
much as a doctor can) to the rest of the world.

  Also, the point about Cellini vs. Carter is interesting. We all know
the RAI connections and their demand for Italian actors. Actually, was
RAI pulled into this near the end? It seems we only see Italians in
Space Brain, Troubled Spirit, Dragon's Domain and Testament of
Arkadia...all episodes from the second half of Year One. Obviously, if
the main character had to die, then Carter could not have been the one. 

  Another interesting twist on my view of Space:1999 is presented in
Petter's thoughts on this episode. (Or at least reading his material
made me think of this)...One of the reasons I like Space:1999 is
because the characters were from present day Earth and were
encountering aliens for the first time (as viewers, we were too --
granted we had seen aliens on other TV shows, but putting yourself in
the world of Earth year 1999 this was new to us, ie - how would you
react if it had been you on Alpha?)...now, we have a character lurking
in the shadows who *has* seen an alien monster! Hmmmmm...interesting.
Does this make the series less beleiveable for me??? I dunno. I know
that people today claim to have been visited by aliens and had
experiments done on them, etc...but those claims are usually not
backed up...

   Interesting thoughts. Would this episode have worked better after
Black Sun? I'm not sure I would have liked it right after Breakaway
though...too much to absorb in the story line...plus, it would have
made the connection back to Earth too soon in the series...so the
question remains...where do you put Dragon's Domain?

    Overall, a good episode. Also, my understanding of the "St George
and Dragon" line is that everyone assumes the story (which I have no
clue what it is save for the obvious) to by total myth, but perhaps it
is based in truth, just as the history of Alpha will shwo that Cellini
and the monster is based in truth now, but perhaps a few hundred years
from now will be dismissed as pure myth by the Alphan's
descendents...which brings up my last interesting point...

   Does this final scene mean that the Alphans have hope of eaither
finding a new Earth (home) or living indefinitely on Alpha????????

Anthony



From: "Petter Ogland" (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 17:11:32 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

> While I liked this episode, it's interesting to note that
> the Earth Dr. Russell is a bit more animated than the Alphan
> Dr.Russell. Did she become more professional (and thus less animated)
> moving to Alpha?

Believe what you want to believe.  Personally I go for the second
alternative finding the "animated" Earth Dr. Russell a very different
character than dead serious Helena from BREAKAWAY and the rest of
the episodes prior to DRAGON'S DOMAIN.

> Or perhaps the
> director let her "loose" to do as she pleased as this was taking place
> in the past?

This is an interesting theory, of course, although I rather got the
impression that Barbara Bain was rather hard to handle by most directors
as she always had very strong views on the Helena character.

She did have much respect for Crichton, though, at least so I've understood,
so it is of course possible that Crichton, Bain and others were
experimenting with how to develop Helena further in this episode.

As SPACE:1999 was produced as a package, however, it is difficult to
know how much response they had gotten on how she had portrayed Helena
so far.  On the other hand, I believe Abe Mandell was very dissapointed
in the beginning, making unfavourable comparisons to her previous work
in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE.

It certainly beats me anyway.  I think she was stupendous from the
very beginning, reaching climax when battling the Tritons in RING AROUND
THE MOON.

> Had she lost Lee, her husband, at this point? That
> certainly could account for her change in character. Having lost her
> husband, she turned to her work and closed herself off emotionally (as
> much as a doctor can) to the rest of the world.

Well, Anthony, even if this makes as much sense as making things up
as we go along, having Lee around could perhaps have made her appear
more superficial, like she does in DRAGON'S DOMAIN, and the loss of him
being the blow that develops her into the serious medical research scientist
that she appears to be on Alpha.

I know it makes just as much sense as speculating about arc and non-arc
episodes, but, nevertheless, it makes some kind of sense.  Perhaps she
even discussed this aspect with Crichton and Byrne.  Penfold who is
credited writer for DRAGON'S DOMAIN had left the team while they were
shooting SPACE BRAIN as we know.

>   Also, the point about Cellini vs. Carter is interesting. We all know
> the RAI connections and their demand for Italian actors. Actually, was
> RAI pulled into this near the end? It seems we only see Italians in
> Space Brain, Troubled Spirit, Dragon's Domain and Testament of
> Arkadia...all episodes from the second half of Year One. Obviously, if
> the main character had to die, then Carter could not have been the one.

Yes, I've also wondered why the RAI were not more insistant of Italian
actors earlier in production.  I seem to remember that in "The making
of SPACE:1999" we hear that representatives were inspecting the lots
as early as during the shooting of GUARDIAN OF PIRI.

> now, we have a character lurking
> in the shadows who *has* seen an alien monster! Hmmmmm...interesting.
> Does this make the series less beleiveable for me??? I dunno. I know
> that people today claim to have been visited by aliens and had
> experiments done on them, etc...but those claims are usually not
> backed up...

Yes, abduction by UFO's and so on is pretty similar to Cellini's monster,
isn't it?  While most of us would smile, ignore or get worried depending
on if we were in the position of Dixon or Helena, it is quite remarkable
that people like Koenig and Bergman would stick out their necks for Cellini
at the cost of being stranded from the Space Programme when he has nothing
more than this wild dream about a monster to come up with.

>    Interesting thoughts. Would this episode have worked better after
> Black Sun? I'm not sure I would have liked it right after Breakaway
> though...too much to absorb in the story line...plus, it would have
> made the connection back to Earth too soon in the series...so the
> question remains...where do you put Dragon's Domain?

Perhaps it would have worked well as entry no. four, just after BLACK
SUN.  There is a strong continuety, I think, in the first three episodes,
and the fifth episode, EARTHBOUND, is also a part of the early
narrative, I feel.

RING AROUND THE MOON, however, no matter how much I love this episode, makes
no particular use of the epic considerations and could, in pricipal, have
been produced at any time in the course.  This is only in pricipal, of
course, as much of the charm of this episode is the early vitality of
the series, it being the debut of Ray Austin no doubt one of the major
reasons for it becoming such a masterpiece.

Perhaps something similar could be said about DRAGON'S DOMAIN, meaning
that most of the less fortunate aspects of this episode had rather more
to do with it being one of the last episodes than having to do with
the actual script.

Well, even if there may be some truth to this, other entries, like
EARTHBOUND, show that stale direction and poor writing was not completely
an unknown phenomena in the early days either.

>     Overall, a good episode. Also, my understanding of the "St George
> and Dragon" line is that everyone assumes the story (which I have no
> clue what it is save for the obvious) to by total myth, but perhaps it
> is based in truth, just as the history of Alpha will shwo that Cellini
> and the monster is based in truth now, but perhaps a few hundred years
> from now will be dismissed as pure myth by the Alphan's
> descendents...which brings up my last interesting point...

Yes, I also get the impression that the writers of the particular entry
wanted to stress a point here, although it seems a bit unclear exactly
what the point was.  My guess is that it was supposed to be a post-Vietnam
redefinition of heros, in other words in order to survive in the fierce
battle fields you really need to be a psycho.  Normal people don't have
a chance.  This also seems to fit with the assumption that the script
was originally American.  I doubt that the British were all that much
concerned about this aspect of the Vietnam or Korea wars, but I don't know.

>    Does this final scene mean that the Alphans have hope of eaither
> finding a new Earth (home) or living indefinitely on Alpha????????

Hm.  That's a new angle to it.  After LAST SUNSET there doesn't seem to
be all that much concern about finding a paradise any longer, although
the final entry is a sort of Adam and Eve revisited.

Just like with the epilogue for THE LAST ENEMY, this episode ends on
an optimistic note.  It seems like the only place for the Alphans to
live by now is on the moon.  Yes, perhaps they are creating a new
mythology for a new life in empty space.

This does fit in rather nicely with the "soil of the Earth" message in
THE TESTAMENT OF ARKADIA, I think.  Even though a few chosen may live
under natural conditions that we humans were developed for, many of us
are growing more and more denpendent on modern technology and would not
survive for many days in the wilderness, a point developed even further
in the interesting JOURNEY TO WHERE that several people had as their
top favourite episode.

Petter



From: "Hywel Davies" (hyweld@ceredigion4tag.gov.uk)
Subject: Space1999: Dragon's Domain
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 17:49:40 -0000

I watched DD this last week, and thought it was excellent.

The flashback to earth was full of interesting material. Commisioner Dixon,
although a weasly character, does say in response to Koenig's exhortations
that he would do anything to save the future of the space program (at least
that's how I read it), so maybe he's not all bad.

Interesting to see an "earlier" Koenig as well, certainly playing a slightly
different character, a very easy going team player (even smiling!)in scenes
with his friend Cellini, and also very animated in the scene with Dixon. And
wearing an orange sleeve which I found strange, being used to seeing him
with commander's black.

I guess it was fairly incredible that the moon should turn up at the
spaceships' graveyard - Koenig's saying that the moon had moved, so
therefore so could the ships was a bit lame, but there again that kind of
thing happened right through the series. Once you accept it it's no longer a
problem.

I really liked the bit about St George & the Dragon. Although here in Wales
we don't go much for dragon killers, it was nice to see Helena and Koenig
looking ahead to a new life with a new history and myth. Isn't that what the
basic plot of Space: 1999 was all about, the search for a new home, a
settled existence, instead of always being on the edge of oblivion? The only
thing about the St George & the Dragon bit is that it was Koenig that killed
the monster, not Cellini. Oh well, only details.

A wonderful episode.

Hywel



Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 15:36:26 -0800 (PST)
From: Paulo Jorge Vaz Pereira (starblade@rocket44mail.com)
Subject: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

I will not write much about Dragon's Domain Episode since my
opinion was already expressed in the voting for the best episode.

But there are some point that are worth remembering.

The way the story is told on a flashback works very good on this
episode and Helena Russel makes a great storyteller. Also we
get to know better what were Alpha's tasks before the separation 
from Earth and how the space exploration was handled by those days.
Very interesting but also very refreshing from "let's find a planet"
that we got to see almost every week.

The story itself has the structue of a classic greek play that
evolves naturally to it's climax and to it's natural outcome; in 
this case the final match between Cellini and the Alien.

Like I said before I was much surprised to see DD into the 2nd
place of the ExE worst/best and only lost to Black Sun by
one vote and in the final moments. 

The only reason that I can think of for establishing links between
DD and Y2 episodes is that DD is not one of the philosophical
episodes like Black Sun. Instead it's more an action episode,
like the Y2 series is supposed to be. And I said supposed because
instead of good action episodes we got scripts like Beta Cloud,
Brian, Luton, and the rest of the stuff that really dig S1999
into his grave. Not to mention that Y2 Alpha with the crappy 
"humor" and "romance" was beggining to sound like The Love Boat
sometimes. At least on LB we had some girls in bikini...

But that's the only thing I can really see about it. Tony Cellini
is a great and interesting character, the whole affair of the
Ultra Probe failure and finding a guilty person to take all
blame makes sense, the SFX are top, the image of those corpses
leaving the mouth of the Alien are superb. And the alien itself
is a big improvement from the bald humanoid alien of the week.

Great story, very good effects, nice touch of mystery and a spooky
atmosphere sometimes (like in Force of Life and Troubled Spirit) 
really makes this episode a must. 

Well, nothing like a good debate to warm up this cold days, and 
certainly nothing like a good debate to prevent the list from
being too much PC...


Paulo Pereira


(from here on it's a comment about a wonderful 5 pages article named
"Space:1999 The cult lives on the virtual" that was published
in one of our major newspapers, so you non-portuguese can skip it)

[EDITOR'S NOTE:  I'm not sure I can do anything to restore the accents,
 unless your browser is somehow handling this correctly.]

Isto é assim: Este Sábado (2/1/99) o Diário de Notícias no
suplemento DN Mais, publicou um artigo chamado "Espaço:1999
O culto sobrevive virtual".

O artigo são 5 páginas -1ª página (capa) uma enorme imagem de um
águia, 2ª e 3ª análise à série; 4ª e 5ª referências ao trabalho feito
pelos fans na internet. Há monte de referências aos sites como
a Cybrary, Space1999.net, o arquivo Fanfiction, a lista de email, etc.
As referências à série são as mais elogiosas com montes de fotos e um
texto enorme que enche bem as 4 páginas.

Quem escreveu o artigo sabe aquilo que faz; não chegou à net e fez
corta-cola. Há alí muito trabalhinho de pesquisa e certamente
um tipo como este faria aqui muito falta. Até meteu uma cronologia
onde fala de Tony Cellini e da missão Ultra Probe. Vai até ao ponto
de falar da Convenção BREAKAWAY e ao preço da inscrição e dos quartos.
Muito bom! Mete o artigo da Visão de 29 Nov. a anos luz de distancia.

Acreditem que a enorme imagem do águia na capa e todo o artigo
em sí, valem bem os 150 paus do jornal. De certeja que o vosso
jornaleiro pode encomendar uma cópia do jornal, e se morarem em
Lx ou arredores podem ir ao DN na Av.Liberdade junto ao Marquês
e comprá-lo lá que está aberto tmb à hora de almoço.

Se alguem quiser mais informações pode mandar-me um mail particular
e eu tentarei responder no pouco tempo que disponho, pois o meu
trabalho irá "apertar" nas próximas semanas.



From: Mark Meskin (plastic.gravity@new44rock.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 19:59:00 -0600

> redefinition of characters in a Y1 episode.  There is a redefinition,
> I agree, but it is surely not in having the characters behave more like
> the did in RING AROUND THE MOON, now is it?

Yes, and thank God they didn't start acting like RATM zombies again.

> Quite to the contrary, I would say, somebody in the production team were
> obviously beginning to explore Y2 territory, or at least anticipating
> the Y2 type of acting and costumes.  It is the death of SPACE:1999 as I
> see it.

You see what you want to see, not what is there.
to shake a stick at.

> A man so obsessed with his nightmare that the nightmare becomes obsessed
> with him.  I'm not too sure about the wider implications of this episode,
> or if there indeed really are any.  That is perhaps why I don't feel
> that I quite get it.

But why must there be a underlying message?  I must admit Petter, that
often your analysis eludes me, you seem to find flowers in the desert, when
most of us are sure its just a pile of sand.  And yes, I'd agree that you
don't get it.

> I know Mark is a person who is not too keen
> on hiding his opinions under a chair, and this is also one of the reasons
> I like discussing with him.  To me it means that you can like another
> person although you don't agree on everything that he says.

This is very true.    But I like to think that while I won't pull any
punches, I wouldn't resort to cheap shots...well, maybe a few, when Petter
gets going on RATM......... :-)

-Mark



Date: Tue, 05 Jan 1999 23:33:56 -0600
From: Jim Small (Eagle1@mts4tag.net)
Organization: Small Art Works
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

> You see what you want to see, not what is there
> to shake a stick at.

True. That happens a lot.

> But why must there be a underlying message?  I must admit Petter, that
> often your analysis eludes me, you seem to find flowers in the desert, when
> most of us are sure its just a pile of sand.  And yes, I'd agree that you
> don't get it.

True again.

> > OK.  Sometimes I get a bit enthusiastic, I'll admit to that, sometimes
> > a bit too enthusiastic perhaps.

Interesting. I think enthusiasm about a television show is a good thing,
but I also agree that it can be carried 'way too far. If, for example,
it became an obsession that destroyed one's own family life, then it's a
bad thing. If, on the other hand, the enthusiasm for a show, and indeed
a specific episode led to that person doing something that benefitted
his life and that of his family in some way, even if that meant turning
the person from an unhappy person into a happy person, then it's indeed
a very good thing. I, for example, find the modelmaking aspects of the
show so compelling that I am endeavouring to produce replicas of the
models and am attempting to make a living doing so. Whether it works or
not remains to be seen, but I keep hoping.

Petter, although I find it amusing that you can find an episode like
*that* one to contain enough, shall we say, "stimulus", to get you into
gear every day, then so be it. I'm happy for you even though I laugh my
head off at your extraordinarily relentless attempts to discuss it in
greater detail than anyone (including the original writers and
producers) ever dreamed of in their wildest, most bizarre fantasies.
It's good if your love of the episode keeps you from beating your wife
or abusing your children (NOT to suggest that that goes on, you
understand. Of course that is just an example.) My point is, enjoy
whatever you want to enjoy as long as it's not controlling YOU.

I have to give you credit, Petter, I don't think that there's another
member on this list who's made himself as talked about, or stimulated as
much discussion, as you have! :)

> > I know Mark is a person who is not too keen
> > on hiding his opinions under a chair, and this is also one of the reasons
> > I like discussing with him.  To me it means that you can like another
> > person although you don't agree on everything that he says.
>
> This is very true.    But I like to think that while I won't pull any
> punches, I wouldn't resort to cheap shots...well, maybe a few, when Petter
> gets going on RATM......... :-)

All very true Mark and Petter. Well explained.

Jim.



Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 23:31:02 -0600 (CST)
From: TIMOTHY GUEGUEN (ad058@sfn.saskatoon4tag.sk.ca)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

> in the past? Had she lost Lee, her husband, at this point? That
> certainly could account for her change in character. Having lost her
> husband, she turned to her work and closed herself off emotionally (as
> much as a doctor can) to the rest of the world.

Lee Russell was supposed to have died along with the rest of the Astro 7
crew in 1994, at least according to the novelisation.

>   Also, the point about Cellini vs. Carter is interesting. We all know
> the RAI connections and their demand for Italian actors. Actually, was
> RAI pulled into this near the end? It seems we only see Italians in
> Space Brain, Troubled Spirit, Dragon's Domain and Testament of
> Arkadia...all episodes from the second half of Year One. Obviously, if
> the main character had to die, then Carter could not have been the one. 

In any case the episode would have to have been quite different to account
for Carter's character as it had been presented prior to that episode.
After all Carter had always been portrayed as a stable person to that
point, altho perhaps a bit hotheaded. It also seems very unlikely, at 
least to me, that someone who had made the claims Celini had, and had 
those claims rejected as being part of a mental breakdown, with some
suspecting he was lying to cover up gross negligence, would be made head
of Reconnaisance on Alpha.   Rather he would be given the dirtiest duties
and face little prospect of promotion, his career instead being
effectively stalled permanently. I just can't imagine such a character
ever being given a major role in any sort of important project ever again. 

What perhaps might have worked is Carter
having a close friend or relative being chief pilot for the Ultra mission,
and said person being blamed for the failure of the mission.  Carter would
have been obsessed with proving this person was right about his claims of
an alien creature killing the crew, and would have had a chance to do so
with the reappearance of the spaceship graveyard and the Ultra probeship.

BTW for those who haven't read the novelisation of the story the Celini
character is named Jim Calder.  I've always suspected that this was the
character's name in a late version of the script before the decision was
made to cast an Italian actor in the part.

tim gueguen 101867



From: "Petter Ogland" (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 09:07:01 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain

> Petter, although I find it amusing that you can find an episode like
> *that* one to contain enough, shall we say, "stimulus", to get you into
> gear every day, then so be it.

Thanks Jim.  I suppose I get the same kind of pleasure out of watching
and discussing SPACE:1999 and RING AROUND THE MOON that you get from
making Eagle models.

I can't see that making models is any more or any less strange than
contributing to the SPACE:1999 episode discussion.  The episode
analysis and discussion is the reason I'm in here.

> I have to give you credit, Petter, I don't think that there's another
> member on this list who's made himself as talked about, or stimulated as
> much discussion, as you have! :)

Thanks again, Jim, although I like it most when my posts about SPACE:1999
seed discussion, not the fact that I write these things in themselves.
Nevertheless, I also enjoy that we are people who care for each other and
not only SPACE:1999.  Thanks for pointing out that.

Petter



From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 15:27:14 +0000

Paulo Jorge Morgado wrote:

> [DAY AFTER TOMORROW] was written by Johnny Byrne and directed by Charlie Chrichton.
>
> 	The interior sets of the ship already announce the eventual changes
> in year 2 of space, in my opinion. There is a wider use of colour - it
> doesn't look at all like the interiors of the Ultra Probe, more like Command
> Center - and also colour on the uniforms. I wonder if the experience with
> this film wasn't more responsible for Keith Wilson's approach to the Y2 Sets
> than FreightBurger's instructions...

Well, it seems to confirms that DRAGON'S DOMAIN was an experimental episode
then, Keith Wilson, Gerry Anderson and the rest willing to sacrifice the
beauty of SPACE:1999 in order to make a sequel that would meet the demands
of ITC New York.

Even if Freiberger went longer in his attempts, the smell of decay did
indeed signify the SPACE:1999 was in a dead-ridden state even before he
was sent in to put it to terminal peace.

Nothing to do about that.  In fact,  it probably was a natural thing,
the series having outlived it self by then as Penfold had run out of
ideas and left while Byrne was experimenting with things like MISSION
OF THE DARIANS which clearly signified a change from the earlier
ANOTHER TIME/ANOTHER PLACE type of stories.

It was the end of SPACE:1999, and what would be more natural than to end
it off with THE TESTAMENT OF ARKADIA, Byrne's beautiful summary of the
series and pendent to Penfold's SPACE BRAIN?  It was a wonderful time.


Petter



From: Paulo Jorge Morgado (paulo.morgado@rtc4tag.pt)
Subject: Space1999: RE: Dragon's Domain Vs Day After Tomorrow
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 16:17:58 -0000

> Well, it seems to confirms that DRAGON'S DOMAIN was an experimental episode then,

	No, that's not at all what I meant. In fact, quite the oposite. I
said it DOESN'T look at all like the Ultra Probe or any other feature of
Dragon's Domain by that matter. It looks like COMMAND CENTER, instead! The
atmosphere in Dragon's Domain is adult and eerie, and has complex character
pathos. Here it's just an accessibly light movie with NO character
development, very family oriented. What I DID imply in my message was that
the decisions for the cosmetic (and other profound) changes in Y2 may have
had origin in THIS FILM and their experience with it. NOT in Dragon's
Domain.

> Keith Wilson, Gerry Anderson and the rest willing to sacrifice the beauty
> of SPACE:1999 in order to make a sequel that would meet the demands of ITC
> New York.

	Perhaps, but NOT on account of Dragon's Domain.

	Maybe ITC New York got enthusiastic at the lamer script of this film
as well as its colourfoul space visuals, sets and clothes (don't forget it
was closer to what Americans easily relate to - family values, etc -  like
"Lost in Space". It wasn't as "Alien" as Space 1999 Y1) and perhaps they
said "Now, THAT's what S1999 should be and look like. We'll send you a guy
to "help" you set it in this direction... And FreightBurger came!

	This is all pure speculation, of course.

	Paulo Morgado



Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 17:15:07 -0800 (PST)
From: "Anthony D." (atd1999@yahoo4tag.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: RE: Dragon's Domain Vs Day After Tomorrow

Paulo:

   That does make some sense.

   My understanding of everything I have read is that Keith Wilson did
not like the Rudi Gerniech uniforms of year one. He wanted more color,
etc. In Y2, I think he was given total responsibility for all
costumes, so he did what he wanted with the Alphan uniforms. I think
you can find some background material on this at Martin's Web site.

  I liked each season's uniforms as they fit that season well. With
the lighter stories of Y2, I don't think the Y1 uniforms would have
worked that well. 

   Also, my understanding for this pilot film is that it was going to
be an educational series. Each episode was supposed to educate the
viewer about some scientific principal. Check out the story on the
Fanderson Web page.

   Finally...about "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun", I watched
this film recently myself. I found it OK...it was not spectacular. The
premise was interesting and some of the model work was interesting
too. I don't recall anything "spectacular" about it though. Just my
opinion, of course.

Anthony  



From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1999 09:38:11 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: RE: Dragon's Domain Vs Day After Tomorrow

>    My understanding of everything I have read is that Keith Wilson did
> not like the Rudi Gerniech uniforms of year one. He wanted more color,
> etc. In Y2, I think he was given total responsibility for all
> costumes, so he did what he wanted with the Alphan uniforms. I think
> you can find some background material on this at Martin's Web site.

Keith Wilson didn't like the Rudi Gernreich uniforms?  It sounds
incredible to me how anyone could not like the beautiful Gernreich
designs.

Not that Gernreich did a terribly original design, to me the uniforms
seem strikingly similar to the UFO uniforms, but beautiful nevertheless
and definitely better than the awful Y2 uniforms.

>   I liked each season's uniforms as they fit that season well. With
> the lighter stories of Y2, I don't think the Y1 uniforms would have
> worked that well.

I agree with this.  The Y2 uniforms and the Wadsworth music really
changed the mood of the series, or made it into a complete new
series as I prefer to think of it.

Petter



From: Paulo Jorge Morgado (paulo.morgado@rtc4tag.pt)
Subject: RE: Space1999: RE: Dragon's Domain Vs Day After Tomorrow / Keith Wilson
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1999 11:38:51 -0000

	The interviews in the Catacombs are on 

	http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8722/vcckw2.html
	http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8722/vcckw1.html
	http://www.geocities.com/Area51/8722/wkw.html

	They're extremely interesting.

	Paulo M



From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1999 13:14:43 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: RE: Dragon's Domain Vs Day After Tomorrow / Keith Wilson

Yes, in the interview he really states that he didn't like the Y1
uniforms.  On the other hand, in the same interview he says he did all
the costume design for UFO.  Perhaps he felt that Gernreich just got
credit for using UFO uniforms for SPACE:1999 and got frustrated by
seing Gernreich's name in the title sequence every week.

Well, just like everybody else who worked on the first season of
SPACE:1999 he felt that the second season was crap, or in his own
words:

"I prefer the first series of Space personally. I didn't like the second
series very much. It became too small, it lost its scale. I look at the
Main Mission set now in the reruns and I'd forgotten just how wonderful
it looked, and how big it looked. It had scale, and not even Star Trek had
that sort of quality, I don't think."

Wonderful interview, by the way.  Thanks Martin and thanks Paulo for
informing us.

Petter



From: Atomic Possum (atomicpossum@planet44stl.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: RE: Dragon's Domain Vs Day After Tomorrow / Keith Wilson
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1999 07:51:07 -0600

>"I prefer the first series of Space personally. I didn't like the second
>series very much. It became too small, it lost its scale. I look at the
>Main Mission set now in the reruns and I'd forgotten just how wonderful
>it looked, and how big it looked. It had scale, and not even Star Trek had
>that sort of quality, I don't think."

    Sorry, Petter, that hardly means he thought it was 'crap.'  He laments
the loss of scale in this quote, nothing more.  Typically, you've taken
something that indicates some small agreement with your view (that season
two was 'crap') and extrapolated it to the extreme.

Jon "Mr. Wonderful" Stadter



From: Atomic Possum (atomicpossum@planetstl4tag.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Another bit about Dragon's Domain dates
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 10:19:11 -0600

From: South Central

>Also the "Space News" person in the novelization says his report is
>"brought to you from Houston, planet Earth".  If I remember correctly in
>the episode the news person is American, which--if so--backs up my idea.
>Even if they were only feigning an American accent, if they THOUGHT it
>was supposed to be an American news report, they might have read the
>date according to the American style--thinking that was what was
>intended.

     It also might have been a transcription error--when certain script
pages were revised, someone may have misinterpreted the dating format.

Jon "Mr. Wonderful" Stadter



Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 11:03:46 -0800 (PST)
From: "Anthony D." (atd1999@yahoo4tag.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Another bit about Dragon's Domain dates

South Central wrote:
>
> In the novelization, based upon the original scripts, the funky date is
> given as:
>
> "Space news, dateline nine, three, ninety-six..." This date is given
> when a commander for the mission is about to be chosen and Koenig and
> Cellini (Calder in novelization) flip a coin.
>
> NOTE!  It does NOT say September 3, 1996.  It says, "nine, three,
> ninety-six"--9 March, 1996 (this is a distinct possibility).
>
> It is even MORE likely when you consider that on the next page, Dr.
> Russell's log reads, "Launch date for the Ultra Probe was the sixth of
> June, ninety-six."
>
> ONCE AGAIN the date is written so that the day comes before the month
> before the year.
>
> SO...if in the actual script given to the "SPACE NEWS" voice over
> guy/actor the first date had been written as 9/3/96 and the actor
> mistakenly read it (probably in post production) as September 3, 1996 as
> opposed to the [intended?] March 9, 1996...thus we have the dating error
> that frustrates so many people.
>
> We all know that in the U.S. the first number is the month and the
> second the day, while in many other countries the first number is the
> day and the second the month.
>
> I think the novelization (written from the script, with the author able
> to correct a mistake with a simple keystroke) backs me up on this.
>
> Mateo

Mateo:

   I agreed with you a while back! ;-)

    Yes, I think you are right here. It's too bad that a simple
voice-over spot detracts from an otherwise nice story. I wish they had
corrected it in post-production...

Anthony



Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 11:09:11 -0800 (PST)
From: "Anthony D." (atd1999@yahoo4tag.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Another bit about Dragon's Domain dates

> Also the "Space News" person in the novelization says his report is
> "brought to you from Houston, planet Earth".  If I remember correctly in
> the episode the news person is American, which--if so--backs up my idea.
> Even if they were only feigning an American accent, if they THOUGHT it
> was supposed to be an American news report, they might have read the
> date according to the American style--thinking that was what was intended.

Petter...err...Mateo,

    Yes, you are correct! They over-reached trying to be American and
it blew up...just goes to show you, you can't be an American if you
don't live in America...

   Alright, that was a joke...so no nasty e-mails, OK?

Anthony



From: Neil Strawbridge (strawbridge@home4tag.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Another bit about Dragon's Domain dates
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 18:22:05 -0500

Maybe it was thought by that time we would all be on the European system of
measurement and it was adopted as a universal constant.  Remember, in the
70s, we were all going to go to the metric system?  It STILL hasn't
happened.

-Neil