Date: Thu, 1 Feb 1996 11:48:45 -0800 From: mpmoncey@aec1.apgea.army4tag.mil Subject: Real Space:1999 question OK, to get back on track to talking about Space:1999 instead of this "spamming", I have a question to ask. I recently saw Breakaway on the SciFi Channel, and noticed a character named Commissioner Simmonds. Since he was trapped on the moon at the end with the rest of the Alphans, I thought that Simmonds would be a character in the rest of the series. But I just recently watched the third episode on the SciFi Channel (I missed the second week) and Simmonds is nowhere. What happened to him? Did he die in an episode I missed (perhaps the second episode I missed on the SciFi Channel)? Michael Moncey Alpha Historian
Date: Thu, 1 Feb 1996 12:30:53 -0800 From: mpoindexter@class44train.com (Marshall Poindexter) Subject: Re: Real Space:1999 question > Commissioner simmons dies at the end of "Earthbound" The second >first sesason episode (at least in the order of canadian airplay). > > > ___ > ___/___\___ ****************************************** > / \ * Stephen M. Arenburg, B.Sc. * > \ ______/ * arenburg@phobos.astro.uwo.ca * > \ / * SCA: Benjamin Hammerfield * > / \ ----/ \ ****************************************** >/ \ / \ * http://phobos.astro.uwo.ca/~arenburg/ * >\___/\___/\___/ ****************************************** Great question, Michael. Stephen is right about Simmonds' death at the end of "Earthbound." However, the true production and original airing order of first season episodes is as follows: 01 Breakaway 02 Matter of Life and Death 03 Black Sun 04 Ring Around the Moon 05 Earthbound 06 Another Time, Another Place 07 Missing Link 08 The Guardian of Piri 09 Force of Life 10 Alpha Child 11 The Last Sunset 12 Voyager's Return 13 Collision Course 14 Death's Other Dominion 15 Full Circle 16 End of Eternity 17 War Games 18 The Last Enemy 19 The Troubled Spirit 20 Space Brain 21 The Infernal Machine 22 Mission of the Darians 23 Dragon's Domain 24 The Testament of Arkadia -- taken from S1999 production files Just because we didn't see Simmonds in episodes 2-4 doesn't mean he wasn't there. Although it would have been extremely interesting to see him in those episodes and watch the fireworks between him and the rest of the command staff. (It could have been similar to the finally simmering Maquis-Federation conflict onboard Voyager in "Star Trek: Voyager"). If there are any budding writers out there, there's a great idea for some fan fiction. For example, an early episode in the first season when Simmonds was STILL there.
Date: Thu, 1 Feb 1996 12:34:13 -0800 From: DVEZINA@socrate.droit.u44sherb.ca Subject: Real Space:1999 answer ;-) Hi! Thanks Michael! Very good question indeed! Commissionner Simmonds plotted for and finally was chosen to be sent in an alien ship which passed by Alpha en route to Earth. He was supposed to be placed in cryogenic hibernation for 75 years, that is the time needed to reach Planet Earth. Unfortunately for him (fortunately for the rest of the universe... ;-) ), the process was a failure and Simmonds woke up a few minutes after takeoff. Everybody in Alpha could hear his cries for help and could not do anything about it. He probably died from hunger or deep depression or both! :-) The episode in which Simmonds disappeared in this fashion is entitled "Earthbound" and features Christopher Lee as the leader of the alien delegation. Glad I could get a relief from my spam constipation... :-) :-) :-) Daphne ihatespamsomuchithurts Vezina
Date: Thu, 1 Feb 1996 16:48:32 -0800 From: gwr@easy44net.co.uk (Gareth Randall) Subject: Re: Real Space:1999 question For those who don't know, Space:1999 was produced at a time when TV stations demanded that syndicated shows be constructed in such a way as to allow their episodes, after an initial "scene-setting" story, to be shown in any order. To prevent (for example) characters dying in one episode and suddenly reappearing in the next, this generally meant that formats and regular characters were set in stone throughout a single series run, and episodes had to be entirely self-contained with very little in the way of "story arcs" - arcs generally depend on episodes being shown in a specific sequence, which could not be guaranteed. This is why Simmonds only appears in two episodes; Breakaway, which would always been shown first in any run of the series, and Earthbound, in which he dies. If he appeared in any other episodes, there would be a danger that they would be shown *after* Earthbound, with obvious repercussions for continuity. Ironically, Season 2 managed to break this mould with The Bringers of Wonder, which was spread over two episodes, but that was a rarity for that type of internationally-syndicated action/adventure series. ITC, along with most other companies producing syndicated shows, would send out a "preferred" episode order to each station which bought a given series, but beyond giving guarantees that the pilot episode would always be shown first, individual stations retained the right to broadcast the episodes in whatever order they saw fit. Many stuck more-or-less to ITC's preferred order, but in the case of Space:1999, many more didn't bother. Thus, as in the above case, Simmonds dies in the second transmitted story, despite the fact that it was always intended for Earthbound to occur a little way into the series' run; in fact, watching it now, it clearly plays as if the Alphans have been marooned for some time. Gareth
Date: Thu, 1 Feb 1996 17:41:20 -0800 From: Rob (kauderr@e44burg.com) Subject: Simmonds Question At 13:47 2/1/96 -0800, you wrote: > Thanks for the clearups about Simmonds disappearance. Evidently the > SciFi Channel is not showing the episodes in the order they were > shown. I don't see why they are not, though. > > Michael Moncey > Alpha Hisotian > > OK, but at the end of the show, you see John sitting in his chair and Helena comes up and asks, "Who did the computer pick?" Koenig crumples up the paper and says, "Simmonds." Question: Was Koenig saying that as a fact or to avoid the situation? I mean, if the Commish had a little patience, the matrix could have been fixed so that he could go into hibernation. But he didn't...and he died. He could've taken someone else's spot...Kano, Victor (It would be easier to explain Bergman's absence in season 2 ; ) and Koenig just didn't want it to be general knowledge. Ideas anyone? Rob (Alphan without portfolio) Rob Kauder kauderr@eburg.com Murphy's Rules of Land Warfare: "Friendly fire--isn't" "Recoilless rifles--aren't" "Tracer rounds work both ways" "When in doubt, empty the magazine" "No battle plan ever survives first contact with the enemy." "If your attack seems to be going really well--it's an ambush."
Date: Fri, 2 Feb 1996 02:31:27 -0800 From: Joseph Theotime Chiasson (chiasson@is.dal4tag.ca) Subject: Re: Real Space:1999 question I don't know the name of the episode, but a few episodes after Breakaway, two aliens landed on Alpha and offered to bring someone back to Earth with them. Simmons snuck, hijacked, I'm not sure what, onto the alien's ship. Now, the aliens were using hibernation chambers, but they had to be adjusted to the subject's metabolism. The last scene you see is Simmons screaming for help in a chamber when he realises that it's locked and not performing, and so he's dead by the time the ship reaches Earth (it's a long trip). By the way, those lucky Alphans get to hear him screaming until the ship gets out of range, because the transmitter is still turned on. Joe
Date: Fri, 2 Feb 1996 06:32:51 -0800 From: David Weis (dweis@indiana4tag.edu) Subject: Re: Real Space:1999 question On Thu, 1 Feb 1996, Gareth Randall wrote: > For those who don't know, Space:1999 was produced at a time when TV stations > demanded that syndicated shows be constructed in such a way as to allow > their episodes, after an initial "scene-setting" story, to be shown in any > order. To prevent (for example) characters dying in one episode and suddenly > reappearing in the next, . . . Interesting. In season 2, each episode is dated with a "X days since leaving earth orbit" if I recall correctly. This would definitely throw nit-pickers into fits if they found the episodes jumping all over the timeline. > ITC, along with most other companies producing syndicated shows, would send > out a "preferred" episode order to each station which bought a given series, Has anyone with the Technical Manual (which has a chronology in it) checked the season 2 episodes against the preferred order?
Date: Fri, 2 Feb 1996 13:49:57 -0800 From: gwr@easy44net.co.uk (Gareth Randall) Subject: Re: Simmonds Question >Interesting. In season 2, each episode is dated with a "X days since >leaving earth orbit" if I recall correctly. This would definitely throw >nit-pickers into fits if they found the episodes jumping all over the >timeline. S.I.G., Fanderson's original magazine, once explored this exact subject in depth, and dug up numerous inconsistencies caused by the "X days since leaving Earth orbit" sections. These were mostly related to Season 2 itself, but by a process of deduction they uncovered some that contradicted the timeline of Season 1! If I ever find my collection of S.I.G.'s (they're in the attic somewhere) I'll post a copy of the article to the list. Note that Star Trek avoided this problem by having "stardates" that were totally arbitrary and therefore impossible to relate directly to any current system of time measurement. Gareth
Date: Fri, 2 Feb 1996 18:09:28 -0800 From: Daniel Locke (udlocke@uxa.ecn.bgu4tag.edu) Subject: Re: Real Space:1999 question With stardates their is a way to tell it is the following: you can get the information from the following: http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~werdna/sttng/trek6/trek6-c.html (this is the Star Trek Chronoglogy Notes gopher dds.dds.nl De Bibliotheek boeken Mass Media Star Trek Star Trek Timeline These are two good places to start. Good Luck.