[EDITOR'S NOTE: Starts on topic, drifts off, then back on again.]
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 15:23:54 +0000
From: HANSENS KITCHEN EQUIPMENT
Subject: Space1999: Where did the Alphans end up?
Hi all.
I'm sure this has been discussed before, but how do the rest of you
picture the Alphans ending up? Did they settle on The Immunity Syndrome
planet, or were they rescued? Do you think John/Helena and Tony/Maya
stayed together? Are they still out there somewhere, floating through
space, living their lives with that wonderful disco soundtrack echoing
in the background!?
I live in the UK (London) now and have access to the ITC videos, but
grew up in Canada where Space:1999 was aired on the CBC. After it was
cancelled TV Ontario (French version) picked it up and I watched repeats
in French for several years (Cosmos:1999!). The one thing I knew would
never get lost in translation was the "you know something exciting is
about to happen" disco music. Think how many security guards could have
been saved from vaporisation if only they’d been able to hear that
music. "Uh, oh - disco!! GET DOWN!" It could have served as a musical
Early Warning System.
Sorry, getting silly…
Alison Braidwood
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 13:13:36 -0500
From: Marcy Kulic (mkulic@wizard44.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Where did the Alphans end up?
Welcome Alison!
There has been much speculation about this, but obviously no one has the
answers. Officially no, as the last episode of Y2 was The Dorcons, and ITC
was hoping for a third season. There has been some great fan fiction on the
issue, some of which is up in the Cyber Museum, http://space1999.net in The
Work of Today's Alphans section. My favorite ending type story is Philippa
Sidle's long one which name aludes me at the time. It is a 1999/ST:TNG
crossover which I really enjoyed despite not being much of a ST:TNG fan.
There are also some other great stories by Ellen Lindow available there.
David Welle is working on some stories too. His first one was excellent,
but doesn't resolve the Alphan's wandering.
>Think how many security guards could have
>been saved from vaporisation if only they’d been able to hear that
>music. "Uh, oh - disco!! GET DOWN!" It could have served as a musical
>Early Warning System.
You're right. Kind of like the riffs in the Friday the 13th type movies,
when you want to shout at the dumb bimbo, "Don't go in there!".
Marcy
Hi Alison - Welcome to the list.
The issue of, Where did the Alphans end up? was never addressed in
the 48 TV episodes, much to the delight of fiction writers (both
professional and fan fic) and much to the dismay of viewers like me
who would scrupulously serach the TV Guide for a "movie-of-the-week"
that ended the Alphans' plight.
Several answers from different sources have been proposed
1) Earthfall, by E.C. Tubb (skip this is you're inclined to read it
and don't know or don't want to know the ending) - The moon never
left orbit, but was catapulted into another dimension/alternative
universe by the huge amount of energy that was generated by the
nuclear reactions. After enough energy bled off, the ended up back
in Earth's orbit, some time in the future. Whether they did, in
fact, evacuate to the somewhat changed world was not written, but one
could probably assume that they had. In the meantime, they started a
new generation of Alphans, recognizing the fact that they were not
immortal.
2) Edge of the Infinite - The Immunity Syndrome was not the last
episode produced, though it was the last in the series of Warner
books. At the end of the story, the Alphans were left looking around
at this now-innocuous planet, wondering if they could settle there,
after all. That's how it was left...the rest is up to you.
3) Children of the Gods - The episode that wasn't. Written by
Johnny Byrne, it is the story of two little superpowered brats that
wreak havoc on the Alphans. Turns out they are their descendents,
back from the future, and do not know that the Alphans are their
progenitors. While this does not directly say the Alphans settled
down someplace, it implies that they must have, or else these kids
would never have existed. This story was rejected in favor of The
Dorcons for the final episode of Y2, although many - Mr. Byrne
included - feel this would have been a better final episode had they
known Y3 was truly out of the picture. At least there was some hint
of finality.
As for me, I always liked the concept that they never found a planet
(I think at the end of Matter of Life and Death, Kano had come up
with some ridiculous figures regarding the number of planets they
would come across in their trajectory and the age they would be when
they reached the first; this observation was swiftly ignored and they
came across another real quick), and therefore they eventually had to
expand using raw materials they scavenged from the odd wandering
meteor/comet/derelict, and started allowing births.
BTW, to you and other potential posters, don't let the idea that
something has already been discussed dissuade you from bringing up a
topic. The list is very dynamic, and so many people have never had
the opportunity to submit their views, or read others' views. After
all, how many time has the Y1 vs. Y2 string reared its head?
Pat. Sokol
From: Brian Dowling (brian.dowling@drugnet44.co.uk)
Subject: Space1999: Where did Alpha end up?
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 21:55:00 GMT
I'd be a little disappointed if the journey ever finished. For me, the
whole adventure is the journey through unknown space, encountering all
sorts of things previously unknown to humanity. I'd see Alpha
developing as the journey went on, the base's capacity to sustain life
increased, so that beings from other races could join, and Alphans could
have children, thus ensuring that Alpha had a future.
That's why 1999 will always be a cut above ST:Voyager. They're trying
to go home, and exploring just because they have nothing better to do on
the way, rather than looking to go further out and explore. Therefore,
the crew of Voyager, led by Captain Conehead (sorry folks, but Janeway
sounds like Prymaat, Dan Aykroyd's wife in "Coneheads") are motivated by
the fact that some day, they will get home, unlike the Alphans, who are
looking for a home, which necessitates exploration.
Somehow, Alpha strikes me as a better example of being alone in space
than Voyager.
Hmm... that's got me thinking about a "Who's better" list...
Koenig v Janeway
Dr Russell v Emergency Medical Holographic Program
Alan Carter v Tom Paris
Paul v Chakotay
Tony v Tuvok
Does that mean it's Maya v Neelix?!?
Thoughts, anyone?
From: "Peters, Pete" (BPeters@gwinnett.tec44.ga.us)
Subject: RE: Space1999: Where did Alpha end up?
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 16:27:59 -0500
>Koenig v Janeway
Koenig any day, any where,any how, any when!!!!!
>Dr Russell v Emergency Medical Holographic Program
Real hard decision I'd have to team them up, let them work together,
and then decide. Who knows EMHP might fall in love!
>Alan Carter v Tom Paris
Need both, great tension and competition.
>Paul v Chakotay
Chakotay definitely, Paul's to hot headed, you need someone w/self
control and intelligent cunning.
>Tony v Tuvok
Apples vs. oranges, to different, can't decide. Tony for humor and
pizaaz. Tuvok for continuity and foundation.
>Does that mean it's Maya v Neelix?!?
Maya.....Neelix can go jump into an empty turbo shaft.
From: "Mark Meskin" (plastic.gravity@newrock44.com)
To: "'Space 1999 Chat Group'" (space1999@buffnet4.buffnet.net)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Where did Neelix end up?
Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 19:54:10 -0600
I was thinking shove him into a torpedo tube. Whoa!
Hit the "fire" button there.......oops, sorry..
Neelix is the Wesley Crusher of Voyager............but
not as good as saving the ship.
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 02:26:52 +0000
From: Ina Litera (ilitera@idt44.net)
Subject: Space1999: Voyager comparisson
Someone recently was making comparissons between S19 and Voyager (I
accidently deleted it). This got me thinking as to why I haven't been
overwhelmed by Voyager. I think it is because the personnal seem so
relaxed(or at least not to bothered ) about thier predicament. On
S19, many of the characters seemed on the edge (David Wells recently
refered to Koenning as being on the edge of a nervous breakdown). Even
when externally they acted like everything was OK one got the feeling
that they were pretty stressed out (Just my opinion) Anyway On
Voyager,I constitently get the feeling that everyone is dealing with
theire situation just fine even though they know it's really hopeless.
Just a thought.
I'm off to Paris for a few days. See you all next week.
Later
Ina
From: "Jonathan Ward" (JWard@lonet44.ca)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Voyager comparisson
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 09:46:06 -0500
As soon as ST: Voyager hit the waves in 1995, I think, it immediately
struck me as a ripoff of the much superior Space: 1999. Instead of a moon
they were on a TACKY looking ship! The only character I like on Voyager is
Tuvok, but he reminds me of Spock too much. That's probably why I like him.
But with 1999, I like a great deal of the characters and unlike Voyager,
1999 episodes aren't painful to watch, nor do they induce sleep! :)
BTW, what Gentle Mike said about Star Trek TOS being the REAL Trek, I agree
100%.
From: ARIMMR@aol44.com
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 15:56:30 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Voyager comparisson
I agree,everyone on voyager is so happy(they must put tranquilizers in the
food or something).I had a hard time believing the marquee(you know the
pirate guys)just joined up with the starfleet crew put on the uniforms and
then acted like they had always been part of starfleet.(yes there were one or
two episodes where they tried to show the problems with this ,but they seemed
really forced).space 1999 seemed to show the desperation better(will we have
enough feul to go on,will we live to find a new home etc)And believe me i
have watched voyager(i believe in giving every show a chance(i do like star
trek,stng and ds9 as well as lots of other sci/fi)well enuogh for now,back to
lurk mode.
lynn laakso
From: Brian Dowling (brian.dowling@drugnet44.co.uk)
Subject: Space1999: Space1999 v Voyager
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 20:23:00 GMT
Regarding ST:Voyager, Jon wrote...
>As soon as ST: Voyager hit the waves in 1995, I think, it immediately
>struck me as a ripoff of the much superior Space: 1999.
That was the first thing I said when I heard about the concept, and
repeated when the series came out. It just didn't do anything for me in
the same way that 1999, Blake's 7 et al did. More like being hit around
the knees with a wet smoked haddock, it begs the question "Why?".
And Mel Brooks answers that in "Spaceballs" when he says "With any luck,
we'll all meet up again in Spaceballs 2: The Search For More Money"!
>Instead of a moon they were on a TACKY looking ship!
Hey c'mon! What chance did they stand trying to compete with the Eagle?
>The only character I like on Voyager is Tuvok, but he reminds me of
>Spock too much. That's probably why I like him.
Some of the acting is very good. Tim Russ is outstanding as Tuvok, but
that would only appeal to Vulcan fans. Robert Picardo is excellent as
the HoloDoc, and even if the episode is a bad one, there might just be a
line from the HoloDoc to make it worth watching. Other than that, I'm
not too struck on it really. And my 70 year old grandmother absolutely
hates it!
They're going to need to do a lot better, or soon lots of ST fans are
going to realise that they're being taken for a ride...
From: NicStepro@aol44.com
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 12:33:18 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Where did the Alphans end up?
One thing that the Y2 novels bought out more
was their absolute NEED to colonize somewhere.
In year 1, they would encounter hostile outside forces-
but the food/life support necessities were shelved
into the background. Y2 had more of a sense of
desperation (making the humor a bit incongruous) as
the threat of total depletion of 'tiranium'/titanium loomed
ever-present in the background.
They really can't float out there forever;
even a motherload of essential minerals
will eventually run out...
Nicolette
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 14:51:57
From: David Welle (dwelle@online.dct44.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Where did the Alphans end up?
>Y2 had more of a sense of desperation
I agree. I always thought that they seemed closer on the edge.
>(making the humor a bit incongruous)
Maybe not so incongruous after all, at least in the sense that from a
psychological viewpoint, humor and other feelings of community were
absolutely needed to stave off those same feelings of desperation, loss,
pain, etc.
I have a saying that I most often use at work: "I'd rather laugh than cry
or pound the desk or scream obscenities." I program computers, and bugs
(errors) in a programs can make it do very strange things. Bugs are
inevitable: the more carefully you program, the fewer bugs you'll have,
but they'll always be a few--and some will be hard to eliminate (even
taking days on some occasions). It can be real easy to get frustrated,
especially with the persistent ones; but when I get random characters on
the screen, or it blows up and automatically reboots the computer, or
prints a diagonal line of characters instead of my report, or rotates every
character individually 90 degress, etc., I just kind of smile and/or laugh
at how funny/silly it looks as I start to debug the problem. I'd rather do
this than pound my hand sore in frustration, or bother others with
obscenities.
A sense of humor is a valuable thing, and is often useful in coping with
tragic or troublesome situations. This is what I saw in Y2: that they
were diffusing and/or masking their pain and fears with humor. This, and
other means of drawing together and lightening the mood and providing each
other support, made plenty of sense to me. Not that I didn't like the
philosophical ending of Y1--but each incident only seemed to leave the
Alphans more and more depressed, IMO; and I wondered how they could keep
such shells around them without eventually cracking wide open.
> as the threat of total depletion of 'tiranium'/titanium loomed
> ever-present in the background.
If not that, then it was some other mineral. They were constantly looking
for things.
>They really can't float out there forever;
>even a motherload of essential minerals
>will eventually run out...
I always pictured the Alphans as eventually finding a home, though I've
never really made up my mind exactly when (or whether it's even within the
same generation), since there are SO MANY interesting possibilities to
consider. But by the time they settled, out of desperation (accumulated
damage, dwindling resources, declining population--assuming they didn't
find some ways of reversing these factors), the Alphans would have been
wandering for so long that they'd simply retain a measure of "wanderlust."
After all, the original Alphans had come to the moon to explore; even most
of the caretakers of the nuclear facility or other non-astronomical
pursuits probably had some desire or interest to head into space to pursue
their interests.
For all the knocks that the Alphans took, they seemed reasonably
well-suited for space travel. They'd have never survived that long if they
hadn't been. So the desire to explore--first out of curiosity (while still
in the Earth/Moon system), then curiosity AND necessity (got to check out
this new planet we're crusing by) was essentially ingrained in Alpha as a
whole, even if some individuals eventually gained a phobia to space flight.
Travel obviously was part of Alpha, and became part of its culture. Even
if they settled on a planet, I always pictured them retaining some sense of
this, as well as some of the space flight technology. I figured that given
what we saw in later Y2 episodes, that they were figuring out how to
maneuver the Moon to some degree, but didn't want to do that often for the
chance of destroying Alpha or even shattering the Moon.
One new part they may have added during Y2 to the Operation Exodus master
plan is some contingency that once they committed themselves to Exodus,
that they'd make some plans to set off some portion of whatever nuclear
material remained.
As a key side note, I always figured there were *several* nuclear waste
storage areas developed over time before Breakaway, each one closed when
decisions to relocate or use new methods were made. There were not just
two. Area One was the initial, essentially experimental (IMO) site, closed
early and moved to Area Two. A2 accumulated a much larger amount before
new storage methods were employed for an Area 3 (my name) seen in "Seance
Spectre" (those hole-like pits), or then the new dome technology used in
Area 4 (again, my name), later seen in "Bringers of Wonder." All had to be
monitored carefully. The older storage areas may have been the absolute
worst ways to store the waste, eventually leading to the first "small"
pre-Breakaway explosion and then Breakaway itself. The storage technology
in the newer areas (which I'm assuming were already being built before
Breakaway) was likely better from human terms, but also (perhaps
coincidentally) from the standpoint of making a Breakaway-like explosion
more unlikely than in the older areas.
Now the area seen in "Bringers of Wonder" was never exploded, and the
aliens intended such a large that it would have killed all of the Alphans.
So perhaps this area wasn't good for course change attempts. But say there
was a fifth area just under construction--or even a fifth or sixth area
that the Alphans were dumping their *own* post-Breakaway nuclear waste at
(carefully of course :-).
Now Operation Exodus, as we came to know it, was the complete evacuation of
Alpha along with as much material and equipment as possible--total
abandonment of Alpha, with the Moon still cruising into space and out of
reach. But even under the best of circumstances, by the time the
determination was made that some planet was habitable and safe enough, the
actual time of Exodus would have been quite limited before the Moon went
out of range. Quite a lot would have gotten left behind, especially all
the large power generation and manufacturing abilities.
I'd suggest that a new modifying contingency was added after the "Seance
Spectre." The course seen in that episode was made out of desperation to
avoid colliding with something that would have destroyed Alpha (there was
no hint of intelligent force /a la/ Arra of Astheria in "Collision Course"
to suggest a mitigating factor).
But though forced into that decision in that incident, it may have
suggested something new that could be added to Operation Exodus plans:
once everyone was evacuated along with everything they could take in the
limited time, and were safely away--set off some remaining nuclear store,
attempting to keep the Moon within the same star system. What would they
have to lose? Alpha, the Moon, and all the remaining nuclear waste stores
would have gone sailing out into the galaxy again, wasted as far as the
Alphans were concerned (well, maybe the waste part would have been seen as
"good riddance once and for all", but what about the rest of the Moon and
particularly Alpha?)
But if the plan worked, the Moon was not shattered, and it stayed within
reach (I'm not at all suggesting around the actual planet of settlement
itself, just within the star system), they Alphans would have the best of
both worlds: all of what they had before; plus a new world.
Imagine if the Alphans had keep some space flight capacity, and a mostly
shut-down but still accessible Alpha, with all of its bigger, unmovable
capacities: power plants, essentially all manufacturing capabilities, and
whatever else couldn't be moved (can anyone think of any other examples?).
Most people would of course have to be on the planet, settling, learning to
farm, putting down roots, etc., much as seen in "Another Time, Another
Place." Few people could really be spared to keep the old Alpha going; but
even if mostly shutdown (or entirely shut down for awhile), it could still
serve some uses, and perhaps be slowly repaired/restored/reactivated/etc.
as the population grew on the new planet.
Likewise, while some Eagles might get cannabilized (maybe the ones that had
always had some problems, and were considered the most unsafe), others
could be put in cold storage on Alpha or the planet, while a few were
actively maintained. This would free up more people for
settlement/farming/whatever, while not totally removing their atmospheric
and space flight capabilities.
In this way, they would not have to go as completely agrarian as seen in
"Another Place, Another Time."
Then, over the generations, as population increased, greater attention
could be given could be given to the capabilities that old Alpha presented,
and the resources they'd still have available on the Moon.
The stories of space travel would be told and written, firing the
imaginations of Alphan descendents, keeping the interest in space
alive--not only in the sense of maintaining a connection to the old Moon
still orbiting their new star, but perhaps the memories of deep space itself).
Later, with greater population (and having maintained a grasp on
technology), the people could afford to re-expand back to Alpha's old
capacity, repair stored Eagles, reactivate more of Alpha. They'd have far
greater population, resources, and time than Alpha did--and would have
probably been free (for that time at least) of any threats from space.
Now, with more resources and population available, and with the
technological expertise having remained in the population, it would not be
so hard to reactivate Alpha, repair any accumulated damage, reclaim all the
Eagles that were keep in storage, and resumed a degree of space flight
capacity, and started developing new techniques, even *expanding* Alpha and
even adding new types of ships, and perhaps resuming deep space exploration.
Best of both worlds?
Alphan technology, some brought to the new world, some too big to be moved
and left on an Alpha that was kept around. Alphan technology, partially
maintained on the new world by some portion of the population. Old Alphan
technological methods, being put to use on the new planet over time.
Alphan technology, with some new developments added over time--syntheses of
bits of alien technologies from projects started back on Alpha itself and
continued on the planet and perhaps later old Alpha again: the crashed
ships, Jim Haines (and others?) decyphering the information in black boxes
from "Voyager's Return", Maya or her children eventually figuring how to
bridge--in some small ways--the *huge* gap between Earth technology and the
tech of Psychon, other aliens who may have been welcomed to Alpha after Y2
but before they settled, etc.
The Alphans (or whatever they'd be calling themselves by this time) would
have been like some of the cultures in Earth history that were exposed to
many things, and eventually came up with their own synthesis and new ideas
that went even further than any of the cultures around them. Over
centuries, having kept and expanded the technology and having keep the
dream and love of space (people often forget the worst over time, or are
selective in what they listen to) they could have started exploding out
into space from their new world and old, now expanded Alpha (and any bases
built on other planets or moons within their star system).
Having been nearly driven to extinction on Alpha, with a member (Maya)
whose world was destroyed, the rest having known of an Earth that was dying
itself ("Another Time, Another Place" *and* "Journey to Where"--two
different realities showing devastated Earths), and having settled on a new
world that they undoubtedly struggled to learn, adapt to, and later thrive
on (and it might not have even been that easy! :-), one could imagine the
Alphan descendents not wanting to be confined to the vagaries of fate on a
single world.
And imagine something on top of that: that a couple hundred years down the
line, because orbits are chaotic, or something heavy cruised through the
new star system somewhere near the orbiting Moon, or an unexpected
explosion of a now hundred-year-old tachyon generator that suddenly
generated a whole bunch of massive bosons that pushed the old Moon out of
its orbit, or a space warp opened up and swallowed the Moon--that the Moon,
with say nineteen hundred residents on a very expanded Alpha and/or new
lunar settlements, is sent back into deep space, to become a seed once
again, while leaving behind a now stable settlement that really no longer
needed the Moon *that* badly anyway. Corny, perhaps; but maybe not so
much, considering all we/they saw.
Either way (or better yet, *both* ways), Arra's prophecy for the Alphans
(from "Collision Course") would be fulfilled.
(From "Collision Course", one of my favorite Y1 episodes:)
Arra: Oh poor John Koenig.
How you belittle yourself in the scheme of things.
And yet how small you all to be so great.
[....]
Koenig: On this... question of the destiny of man.
Please be more specific.
What will happen to us?
Arra: You shall continue on.
Your odyssey shall know no end.
You will prosper and increase in new worlds, new galaxies.
You will populate the deepest reaches of space.
More specific, maybe; but it *still* explained little. How would the
Alphans have been able to fulfill the final statements if they were so
close to the edge of doom? Well, this was one idea.
[A 'Brief' "History" of Alpha *After* Exodus? (Another in what's becoming
for me a series of "'Brief' Histories? :-) ]
So, whatcha all think? Make any sense? Nonsense?
It's my 1.999 cents, anyway...
(A saying borrowed from a year-old post--I *love* this saying, and don't
know why it never caught on).
Eagle Four Out....
----
David Welle