Space: 1999
Episode by Episode

"Breakaway"



From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Mon, 1 Dec 1997 12:05:09 +0000 Subj: Re: Space1999: Episode by Episode: Breakaway

Hi all,

The episode BREAKAWAY is one of the episodes that gives me the most pleasure. This is partly, I believe, because it was the first episode of the series that I saw, back in 1975, and it made a tremendous impact on me then, and it is partly because, when watching it again as an adult, I find it to be one of the best written, best directed and best acted episodes in the series.

While the episode was written by George Bellak, it seems the central idea of the moon being blasted out of orbit was suggested by others, perhaps Gerry Anderson or Cristopher Penfold. Anyway, the moon being blasted away is only one theme of the story. Like a fuga by J.S. Bach, there are themes and persons in this episodes woven together making the most facinating patterns. One very nice theme is the Meta Probe.

In some ways the plot isn't all that different from DRAGON'S DOMAIN, I feel. In DRAGON'S DOMAIN there is also a probe and conflict with Earth Command. DRAGON'S DOMAIN keeps to a rather strict linear sort of storytelling, however, even if it makes use of flashbacks. In DRAGON'S DOMAIN there is very much one central theme, and the story is told very clearly investigating this theme of Cellini's breakdown and how he tries to come to terms.

BREAKAWAY, on the other hand, is, as I see it, quite chaotic, It has a much more sort of strem-of-conciousness feel to it, I think. In fact, it's not too unlike RING AROUND THE MOON in this respect, I feel, another of my absolute favourite episodes.

In both BREAKAWAY and RING AROUND THE MOON we are given more information that is necessary for the telling of the story, and it is not always obvious for the viewer what to concentrate on, I feel. In RING AROUND THE MOON this is done to such an extent that some feel the episode is confusing to the point where it does not make sense. Excellent as I see it, however.

BREAKAWAY also has this feeling of everything happening at the same time and all sorts of McGuffins in order to manipulate the viewer. Simmonds, for instance, seems like a very friendly character in the prologue, encourageing Koenig on his mission. Things are not what the seem to be, however, as Koenig finds out as soon as he meets Bergman in the travelling tube. At this point there is still no reason to mistrust anybody, however.

Then there is the charming meeting with Gorski. By face value Gorski seems like a nice person, but as soon as he's out of the frame we are given verbal information that makes us less sure whether this is a person we would like to place confidence in. But then again, maybe we should, who knows.

It seems obvious that Koenig is our man, but there is not too many indication of him being too much of a hero. The first thing he is about to do, when he enters Command Centre ,is to make a wrong decision, based on information he got from Simmonds about Dr. Russell. Victor prevents him quickly, however.

The characterization of Helena is also excedingly interesting in this episode, I feel, displaying all the characteristics of a woman completely obsessed with work and career, but, this being early 70s, before the awful feminism of Alien, Alien 2 etc., not too militant and nor too frustrated, it seems. She certainly seems ambitious, but does not seem to mind too much having her sentences snipped of by John or Victor. Very nice. Penfold seemed to investigate this even further in som of his episodes. Fascinating.

One could conduct a whole seminar concerning the first meeting between John and Helena, I believe. I this wonderfully directed sequence there are so many eye movements, body gestures and so much voice control that it makes it possible to watch and rewatch the sequence endlessly.

Well, this is my contribution so far. I believe it would stack under Mateo's category "11. Miscellaneous". I'm eager to hear what others think of this episode. Quintin? Janet? Tony? Pat?

Until tomorrow,

Petter


From: relax@videotron4tag.ca Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 19:00:17 -0500 Subj: Space1999: Episode by episode : BREAKAWAY

Hi Mateo, all!

(excuse my awful English writing)...

I have a few notifications to say to the people who will be watching one episode per week beginning this week. I'm a video editor in Montreal, so my job is to edit tv shows and notice all those bloopers made on the set before editing.

I saw a lot of them in Space1999 and i'll be glad to share them with you for the next year.

- In the opening sequence (a few seconds before the main theme) When Nordstom throw Steiner away on the moonbuggy, watch closely Nordstom's helmet... IT WILL OPEN !

Did you notice, when Koenig meets Gorsky in front of the travel tube door, the letter on the top of the COMMPOST beside them ?

The letter is an "E" in a light blue circle, i don't remember seeing this letter again in the 47 remining episodes, and i don't know why. We see "S", "T", "C", "P", "M", "LQ" often but never that "E" again.

In this episode and the few next ones, you can see people walking or moving in front of the main mission big screen, like Koenig when he will enter his office in the middle of the show , When the're watching images from Mars probe after the explosion, and when they watch the newscaster. They were using projections from behind, but it was a lot of job to recreate a real screen in real time, so after a few episodes they started to use superpositions.

Andre Beauchamp


From: Jhon (jhon@pottsville.infi4tag.net) Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 19:28:03 -0500 Subj: Space1999: Breakaway

This episode is the first. Fact. The difference between this episode and most of the others is the fact that all the characters need introduction. We see a little of that when the Commander joins the Alpha team. He is lead around the base by Victor. John then gets to meet with some new people and old. He is thrust into a very tense situation, but the others don't seem worried that this new commander is suddenly taking over, the reason being that Gorski may not have handled the situation correctly and the other personnel noticed that. Who ratted on him anyway?

When John meets Helena, he knows only what Gorski has told him about her. John enters Helena's office as if in attack mode. Then the mood changes. Did he develop a soft spot for her, because of her beauty?

John challanges Earth command and Simmonds with a proposition; to get the Meta Probe launched under his conditions. A trade-off is made. John is acting like a politician. Maybe Gorski couldn't handle politics.

Ouma is in charge of the X-5. When did David Kano show up? Was he on the moon in a different section? What happened to Ouma? Did he die?

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This triggers thread called 'Lost Alphans Bar and Grill, Kano, Ouma']

Sandra shows off her wonderful scream when the moon blasts out of orbit. She was very calm when data was pouring in from the surface cameras. Why the sudden change of emotion? Perhaps she was new to Alpha as well.

One discrepency: What would make the Meta probe blow up? The forces in action would probably have just sent it to a different orbit.

Cannot wait till week 2.

Jhon


From: "Mark Meskin" (plastic.gravity@newrock4tag.com) Date: Wed, 31 Jan 1996 20:25:39 -0600 Subj: Space1999: Meta Probe

What would make the Meta probe blow up? The forces in action would probably have just sent it to a different orbit.

Think about it for minute....the Centuari Space Dock is orbiting the moon with the Meta Probe docked to it. The moon suddenly moves- perhaps in the direction the CSD is orbiting,and the CSD also rotates- this would create a large increase in gravitational stress on both the Probe and the CSD. It appears the dock link ruptures and the Meta Probe spins off. This alone might be enough to cause structural failure on a Probe that was designed for acceleration along its longitudinal axis, not violent spining. Even if that didn't do it- this ship was in Space Dock- the weren't expecting any bumps- a fairly low mass object (a small machine or maybe a power pack) flying around the interior could wreak serious havoc- Oxygen tanks( we see what they can do to an eagle in "The Last Sunset")- windows-explosive decompression- engine room- reactor cooling systems, etc. any number of things could have destroyed it. The CSD blew up too- perhaps a large piece of shrapnel ripped into probes engine section or propellant tanks. Had it been orbiting free from the station it probably would have survived. It would have not been imparted any rotational energy from the station, and being the ship was under its own power(everything loose would also have rigged for running-) it could have compensated for the shift in orbit and gravity much like Carter's Eagle.


From: David Acheson (dkach@hotmail4tag.com) Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 03:28:15 PST Subj: Space1999: Breakaway

Alphans:

First let me start by saying I haven't seen BREAKAWAY in its original episode format since the late 1970's. I have seen it since then edited along with WAR GAMES as part of that feature film ALIEN ATTACK but that too has been a while. I believe the early to mid 1980's. So much of my discussion of the episode is based purely on memory.

BREAKAWAY to me represents what SPACE: 1999 was all about. An exceptional episode of a very different series indeed. Nothing has been filmed like it before and not since.

To me the episode will be most remembered as the very first episode of the series I ever saw. Yes, I was there right from the beginning in September 1975 when WPTZ in Platsburgh, NY picked up the show.

The episode had a lot to deal with and I believe the cast, director and writers pulled it off but it appears it was done only with a lot of sweat. The now infamous stories of behind the scenes bickering and last minute changes makes one wonder how the episode (and the series in general) ever got out the gate with such quality. Yet, BREAKAWAY was the standard by which much of the earlier episodes of year one were held up to by both critics and audiences - for better or worse. Petter Ogland has held the earliest episodes of being the best of the lot but there are others who felt the show never developed its feet until Johnny Byrne and Christopher Penfold took over the direction of the show. For these people they felt the series started with a bang (no pun intended) and then fell flat for a short while before picking up steam again. At least that is the way I read it.

The most criticized aspect of the show has been the science but Gerry Anderson himself stated he made it for entertainment purposes. I myself do not get too involved in scientfic accuracy. If a show has interesting characters and imaginative stories I can suspend my disbelief and I believe many 1999 fans have done so with the series. In particular the nuclear explosion itself. Lets face it. The show was developed as a visual spectacular so blasting the moon out of orbit was about as spectacular as you can get. It is also more interesting than the silly original idea the Andersons had - aliens altering the gravitational field of the moon causing it to float off to space.

In other aspects the nuclear accident spoke directly to the televison audiences of the 1970's. Remember this was the era of the energy crisis in North America and many were looking at sources of alternate energy. Nuclear power was being touted as the best and cheapest and nuclear facilities were being built on an all time high. But this was also the time when many brought up the concerns over the safety of nuclear power plants and nuclear waste. This was the Earth which SPACE: 1999 portrayed. The accident of September 13 was the television equivalent of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island.

Koenig's introduction to the series was also interesting. He arrived competent but a little out of place and quite represented the everyday man - a character James Stewart played a lot in the old movies. He came to Alpha expecting one thing but discovered things are not what they appeared to be. A theme used quite a bit in the series. Victor was his comfort zone (a familiar face from the past to make him feel at ease) and Helena was the new interest he would have to pursue. You can just see both John and Helena getting moist the first time they layed eyes on each other in Medical Centre - despite their cool, professional exteriors. And, of course, Simmonds represented all that was bad about the politics of life.

I could go on forever but I have other things to do so will end here. Just some interesting ramblings on how I see the first episode of SPACE: 1999. I think this episode by episode idea is great.

David Acheson
Site Administrator, Return to Moonbase Alpha
http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Heights/4376/moonbase.html


From: "Petter Ogland" (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 12:41:44 +0000 Subj: Re: Space1999: Breakaway

This episode is the first. Fact. The difference between this episode and most of the others is the fact that all the characters need introduction.

Both Barbara Bain and Martin Landau are presented in the prologue very much like in the main titles sequence, I feel. She is pale and beautiful, he is dark and sinister. We are introduced to Barbara first, in the sequence where Helena and Victor are monitoring the astronauts in Area Two.

I've always found Barry Morse's acting a bit peculiar in this sequence. While he is in top form during most of the episode, especially in the magnificently constructed similar sequence when Victor and John are in the same observatory later on, in this first sequence he seems oddly uninspired, I think. Very strange.

Perhaps he felt the only concern to this scene was to stage Barbara, and that he was just a requisite added to serve Barabara with a few odd lines.

the others don't seem worried that this new commander is suddenly taking over, the reason being that Gorski may not have handled the situation correctly and the other personnel noticed that. Who ratted on him anyway?

It's not my impression that there was any unrest concerning Gorski. You may of course have observed something I haven't seen, Jhon, but as in the confrontation between John and Alan, Alan seems to behave as if everything was under control, unable to understand Koenig's precautions.

I felt that exchange of glimpses between Victor and John after talking to Gorski had more to do with Gorski's social or professional ambitions, whether a personally ambitious Commander on Alpha was for the better or worse for the society would be an open question, but, nevertheless, Simmonds must have had more trust in Koenig than Gorski for leading the Meta project as they were exchanged.

In the beginning of the episode I think both John and Helena look fairly ambitious too. Alpha had to be an elite society, anyway, I suppose, so the kind of ambitions represented by Gorski and Simmonds does not make them contrast John and Helena too much, I feel.

Much of the conflict in BREAKAWAY is of psychological kind, Simmonds feeding and being fed only by partial information, for instance. The physical disaster, however, is not attributed to anyone in particular. The radioactive explotion is something nobody wants. Like very much of Year One, the centrol plot in BREAKAWAY revolves around phenomena where the Alphans are just thrown away into disaster, not having any clue what to do, and often on the bringe of making wrong decisions.

There is a change in attitude during the course of BREAKAWAY, however, I feel, people leaving their personal ambitions when they realize that a catastrophy is approaching. The only one who does not seem to have realized this is Simmonds, and this is what triggers Landau's wonderfully acted outrage just before Area Two blows off. Poor Dotrice is the only thing I can think, having Landau shouting at the top of his lungs in the middle of his face.

As I see it, Simmonds is not much of a villain of the kind that we are introduced to in Year Two, Cantor in THE EXILES, for instance. Simmonds only crime seems to be that he is "sleeping" as John calls it. He is Koenig's supervisor, but as his mind is so focused on political matters in order to have the Meta probe on it's way, he is gambling his personal reputation and the reputation of the Meta probe project against the safety of Alpha. Even more interesting, it doesn't seem like Simmonds is understanding this, travelling to the moon and asking Victor and John questions like how long it would take before the problem is solved.

What he does is not much more than what most company presidents do, I suppose. He has his obligations, and he relies on Koenig to solve his, i.e. the practical problems on Alpha. Because of Gorski's ambitions, both Gorski and Simmonds social and professional reputation relied on the Meta probe being a success. If it did not succeed perhaps they would have no place to work tomorrow.

When John meets Helena, he knows only what Gorski has told him about her. John enters Helena's office as if in attack mode. Then the mood changes. Did he develop a soft spot for her, because of her beauty?

I didn't think of it as an attack mode, but you may be right, Jhon. Clever observation, anyway.


From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 13:29:11 +0000 Subj: Re: Space1999: Breakaway and Byrne/Penfold

As most of us know, Johnny Byrne and Christopher Penfold were present from the first episodes as story consultants and co-writers. Also Edward di Lorenzo was credited on the first episodes, but from what I've read he only made contributions with RING AROUND THE MOON and onwards. I've understood that di Lorenxo, Byrne and Penfold made good rapport, but di Lorenzo is seldom given the same acclaim like the two others. Although I agree that his direct influence may not have been so great as of the other two, I feel that much of what I like with SPACE: 1999 writing has to do with di Lorenzo. Of the two main writhers, I think he must have been closest to Penfold in spirit.

Edward di Lorenzo was credited writer to RING AROUND THE MOON, MISSING LINK and made the first draft for what Penfold would make into ALPHA CHILD. I'm very fond of the first two in particular, and personally I find RING AROUND THE MOON to be one of the most rewarding episodes of the whole series.

SPACE: 1999 seems to be very much the brain child of Byrne and Penfold. There is no question about that. Nevertheless, I've sometimes explained that my personal taste recides more in the episodes prior to ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE, the sixth episode in production, Johnny Byrne's debut as sole writer.

At the time of ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE I felt that the initial ideas of BREAKAWAY were draining away, and the writers were looking for other paths to follow. In the case of Johnny Byrne, I'm under the impression that he was much inspired by early 19th century litterature, such as Austin, Shelly, Byron etc. combined with certain ecological and political problems.

Penfold's contributions were perhaps less political and more philosophical, but, nevertheless, although Byrne and Penfold are representative for much of the style of SPACE: 1999, I feel episodes like MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, BLACK SUN, RING AROUND THE MOON and EARTHBOUND are much closer to BREAKAWAY in style of writing and execution.

Anyway, it will be interesting in a few months time when we reach the territory of Byrne and Penfold to hear more views as to why some prefere these later episodes to the first.

More on BREAKAWAY tomorrow,

Petter


From: Patricia Sokol (sokolp@war.wyeth4tag.com) Date: Tue, 02 Dec 1997 17:02:57 -0500 Subj: Space1999: Breakaway

Unfortunately, I won't have time to watch Breakaway this week. Being one of my favorites, though, I've watched it a few times, so here're my thoughts...(I just love talking about these scenarios as ifther were 'real life' and not TV.) By the way, I wrote this in another application, then pasted it here, so if there's wierd punctuation, I apologize.

I hadn't seen Breakaway from the time of its initial airing until I got my tapes a couple of years ago. In those 20 years, I learned a lot more about corporate politics, and maybe it's my now-cynical outlook on corporations, but it seems Alpha and indeed the Space Commission was rife with politics. Koenig is already well on his way to Alpha when he is approved as Commander; this was not something that was planned for weeks or even days, as least not openly, and Gorski had only just been told. That is a deposition, not a reassignment, and one can only speculate on the circumstances that led up to it. We do know that Gorski was Simmonds' man, as he, Gorski, was the one who refued to let Dr. Russell report any of her findings, yet Simmonds knew perfectly well of her radiation theories and had even assembled a team of radiation experts - probably hand-picked by him to say what he wanted them to say - to investigate the situation. They were in cahoots and it would not have surprised me if Simmonds were protecting Gorski for whatever reason.

Misinformation or disinformation was apparent. Carter still assumed that the Meta astronauts were going to recover? Hello? He was astounded when Koenig asked about the back-up crew. This surprised me a little in retrospect, because it indicates that there was very little communication within the upper echelons, although there was never any indication of hostility between Carter and Dr. Russell (such a nice smile he gives her when he goes into Medical in Another Time, Another Place, but that's Another Discussion). Dr. Russell must have been under tremendous pressure to keep her mouth shut, or else surely Carter would have known that the probe astornauts were as good as dead. Her reputation was on the line, and she was in a highly visible position at a fairly young age. Must've been lots of folks who would love to see her trip up, and perhaps she knew that. And all those other people dying? How could Main Mission staff have possibly been so relaxed when Koenig came in if they knew the whole story? The radiation area worker going beserk in the prolog, and people aren't going to hear about it? Just doesn't add up.

Clearly Helena Russell is in a position of authority by virtue of her capacity as CMO. In the prolog, one must wonder if she is supervising that radiation check with Gorski's knowledge and approval. I doubt it. There is very likely bad blood between her and Gorski, what with his stopping her release of information and probably mounting a general smear campaign with Gorski's approval and support. If you've read "The Void Ahead", the original script that evolved into Breakaway, we are told that Gorski had expressed some less than professional interest in her, and she rebuffed him. This gives some impetus to his "control" of her and would make him less than sympathetic to her theories. That's going a bit overboard, as I see it, and it was never explored or mentioned by the time Breakaway was filmed. Another side that is stated in "The Void Ahead" is Simmonds' mistrust of her because she is a "space widow", and this is her way of exacting revenge. Again, this was not even hinted at in Breakaway. Simmonds did try to poison Koenig's mnd against her, as Koenig states to Bergman, and Bergman rebuffs that statement. Clearly the fact that Koenig was very quick to accept Bergman's word over Simmonds' indicates the strength of the relationship between Koenig and Bergman, and Koenig's mistrust of Simmonds. The observation that Koenig goes to Medical to confront her, then changes his demeanor very quickly when the door the Dr. Russell's office opens and it is obvious that she is not some androgenous, bitchy, I'll-show-you-lousy-men type of career woman, indicates that she is not at all what he had expected based on what he'd been told about her. This is taken to the point where he has to make lame conversation about her microscope in order to cover his surprise.

I admire Dr. Russell in this episode particularly, because the only time she raises her voice is when she tells the one radiation worker to get the other one out of the monitoring area. Then, her voice cracks like a whip. Other than that, is is low, calm, and self-assured, like she knows people are going to listen to her, so why should she be strident? Another gesture she makes is when she comes into Main Mission towards the very end, when they're listening to the news broadcast from Earth. She walks in, and leans forward on one of the desks in a manner that one would not characterize as unladylike, yet it is a stance that says she is not going to hang out in the background and let things happen around her. She's going to be right in the thick of it like everybody else. Really, what place does the CMO have in Main Mission when they've just been through a major catastrophe, if not to make the point that chief physician will not be her only role? Koenig even seems a bit surprised at her entrance and gives her a rather startled look, like "What are you doing here?" She was establishing herself from the start.

More thoughts on other characterizations and the episode in general tomorrow. Sorry my comments aren't fitting proposed format. Seemed easier just to let it flow.


From: LKJ1999@aol4tag.com Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 18:23:01 -0500 (EST) To..: "Space 1999"@buffnet.net Subj: Space1999: Breakaway

My favourite part's of Breakaway.

Dialogue triumhs.. When the Commander tell's Simmonds.

( WAKE UP COMMISSIONER IF THIS GOES WRONG THERE WON'T BE ANYBODY TO ISSUE A COMMUNIQUE THERE WILL BE NO SURVIVOR'S )..


From: MIKEATL5@aol4tag.com Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 01:27:55 -0500 (EST) Subj: Space1999: THE VOID AHEAD - BREAKAWAY

Hello All:

Here is my BREAKAWAY contribution. All timecodes listed are from the laserdisc.

BREAKAWAY - originally entitled THE VOID AHEAD

2-05:52 Norstrom's helmet shield lifts BIG TIME while throwing Steiner.

OPEN The "This Episode" lettering is written with a small t and e in this open only - (I guess after the moon leaves the earths orbit they decided to go with the capitals?)

OPEN There are cuts in this open which are not in the show - ie the waste canisters hitting the lights.

OPEN Barry Morse shot is not in the open - (or in a few other very early episodes)

OPEN The open is not cut very well to the music like all the opens in the first season.

3-09:30 Ben - we see him in this episode and this episode only - replaced by Kano.

3-14:29 Mr. Young - another speaking part we see in this episode only. (Viewers note - I love the shot in the background of the eagle through the window - very well done!!!)

3-18:36 Interior of Eagles lit darker in ths and other early episodes

5-40:06 The set area around the windows of Main Mission in this episode and a few other early episodes is raised - note the steps

6- ? During the first and only the first showing of BREAKAWAY a line stating "All eagles but one have been distroyed" was in this area after the explosion. It was taken out - Guess why?

These are my notes for the first show - I give this one 5 out of 5 eagles. Great action and introdution of characters, sets, models - you name it - I have no complaints about this one.

Take care
Mike


From: Jeff Hudson (jeff@grcmc4tag.org) Org.: Community Media Center Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 02:44:26 +0000 Subj: Re: Space1999: THE VOID AHEAD - BREAKAWAY

This is probably an old observation for most but I noticed it for the first time now that I got my Columbia House episode of Breakaway. There is a shot of an eagle from the front and they superimposed astronauts into the windows. As one astronaut's head turns, if you look you can see that the other astronaut is just a double image and turns his head exactly the same.


From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 11:15:39 +0000 Subj: Re: Space1999: Breakaway

Hi all,

I just read Pat's contribution to our BREAKAWAY discussion with all it's deep and wonderful insights into life on Alpha. The part about Dr. Helena Russell was exceptionally good, I think. Here are a few of my comments.

Koenig is already well on his way to Alpha when he is approved as Commander; this was not something that was planned for weeks or even days, as least not openly, and Gorski had only just been told. That is a deposition, not a reassignment, and one can only speculate on the circumstances that led up to it.

I read those introductory sequences more like a final affirmation of Koenig taking over command on Alpha, not an assignment. From what we later learn about Simmonds methods of handling matters it does not seem too farfetched to assume that although the change of practical leadership on Alpha had been planned for weeks and days, Gorski would only be told at this late instance. We really do not know to much about the communication between Simmonds and Gorski, however. I believe Gorski would have known something in advance. Otherwise it is difficult to understand how calmly he was able to accept the change when Koenig arrived. Perhaps even Gorski wanted to leave as he had bad feelings for the Meta project, knowing more about the situation than most on Alpha.

We do know that Gorski was Simmonds' man

I can't see why Gorski should be more of Simmonds' man than Koenig. I assume that both the commanders would experience great difficulty dealing with Earth authorities who are more concerned with numbers and schedules than the practical problems on the moonbase. We don't know too much about how Gorski handles this situation, but to me it seems a plausible reason why he was rather restrictive about sending information to Simmonds was that he knew would displease him in order to save his own neck, also he wanting the Meta project to succeed at any cost.

It is perhaps therefor reason to believe that Simmonds did not have all the information about the dying astromnauts on Alpha that Koenig got when he arrived. In other words, Simmonds had no idea of how serious the problems are, although he obviously know more than he told Koenig before assigning him the mission.

Concerning the point about a new team of top medical people, radiation expoerts, could mean that he did not not trust Helena fully. If he knew that people were dying due to some sickness perhaps inherent to all on the base, it would only be to wipe problems under the carpet to launche the Meta probe and have the astronauts die out in space.

The intentions of Simmonds seemed to be that the Meta probe should be launched at any cost in order to make the expedition succeed. Simmonds wants results, and, in fact, he wants the same results as Koenig, Bergman, Alan Carter and all, he is just a bit more ruthless. Probably he assumes that his head goes if anything goes wrong with the Meta Project.

For me there is nothing obviously villainous with either Gorski nor Simmonds. They seem to be all on the same team with the rest of the Alphans, there's more a question of disagreement concerning how practical problems should be solved.

... Dr. Russell must have been under tremendous pressure to keep her mouth shut, or else surely Carter would have known that the probe astornauts were as good as dead. Her reputation was on the line, and she was in a highly visible position at a fairly young age. [....]

Very good points, Pat. Perhaps Alpha was more competitive during the first episodes of the series. Helena seems fairly competitive and career oriented. Alan has all those arguments with John, and even John is fairly cautious about giving out information in such episodes as BLACK SUN and EARTHBOUND after Computer has decided who are the best fitted to leave Alpha. In later episodes I think internal competition and stride was less visible with more use of round-table discussions and decisions.

I believe it would be of great help to both Helena and Gorski that they found out more about the radiation sickness. Even if their personal relationship wasn't the best it would be in interest of both to find out why the asteronauts were dying. Even to John, the astronauts and Meta Probe is his first concern. It's only after that Helena has said that the radiation sickness may put the Meta project in jepoardy that he slows down to shown more concern for the people on Alpha.

Another side that is stated in "The Void Ahead" is Simmonds' mistrust of her because she is a "space widow", and this is her way of exacting revenge. Again, this was not even hinted at in Breakaway.

I thing the "space widow" mistrust sounds fairly relevant. There must be some reason for Simmonds not to trust Helena, surely it would be much nicer if she were wrong and the Meta Probe could be launched after all. This seems to be what he is thinking, and probably hoping that whatever problems they are experiencing on Alpha, these problems may be solved.

The observation that Koenig goes to Medical to confront her, then changes his demeanor very quickly when the door the Dr. Russell's office opens and it is obvious that she is not some androgenous, bitchy, I'll-show-you-lousy-men type of career woman, indicates that she is not at all what he had expected based on what he'd been told about her. This is taken to the point where he has to make lame conversation about her microscope in order to cover his surprise.

Fantastic. One of my favourite sequences of the episodes, this is.

I admire Dr. Russell in this episode particularly, because the only time she raises her voice is when she tells the one radiation worker to get the other one out of the monitoring area. Then, her voice cracks like a whip. Other than that, is is low, calm, and self-assured, like she knows people are going to listen to her, so why should she be strident? Another gesture [....]

Excellent. I really can't understand why Barabara Bain in particular was so much critizized for her interpretation of Dr. Helena Russell. In my opinion she did an outstanding job making a very interesting and realistic character, making perfect symbiosis with John and Victor in this and later episodes.

Personally I think the characterization is perhaps at the best in the earlier episodes. In MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, for instance, there is characterization abundance, and very interesting insights into both John and Helena as persons.

There's still lots do discuss about BREAKAWAY, however. By the way, Janet, I'm waiting for your contribution. You are an ever reliable source for insights into episodes like this.

More thoughts on other characterizations and the episode in general tomorrow.

Marvellous, Pat, I can't wait to hear more!


From: judas@netmatters4tag.co.uk (B J Dowling) Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 22:25:34 +0000 Subj: Space1999: Breakaway

Despite work making major inroads into my social life, I have managed to watch Breakaway and I'll be reading the book tonight. With any luck, I'll be able to post my thoughts on Saturday. I'm seeing Black Sabbath tomorrow night (yes, that's the original line up), so I should be able to concentrate nicely on Saturday morning, as I probably won't be able to hear a thing!


From: QGMorrow (QGMorrow@aol4tag.com) Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 18:42:54 EST Subj: Space1999: Good Stuff

Dear Friends,

I am so enjoying the recent dialogues on "Breakaway." I recently re-watched it, and so love the tension between Koenig (who plays a terrific moralist in that episode) and the corrupt Lunar Commission (so well embodied in Comm. Simmonds).

The special effects, the acting, and the story are all great. Again, I was impressed by how "Breakaway" really serves as a metaphor for human existence. We are suddenly at birth thrown into a wandering with which we had very little to do. And we are responsible, by our choices, for our survival, and for the formation of our identity. I think "Breakaway" is an existentialist's dream!

Thanks, Petter, for the terrific insights.

Quintin


From: aritz1622@juno4tag.com (Anthony J Ritz) Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 13:17:40 EST Subj: Space1999: BREAKAWAY

BREAKAWAY, the trend setting episode and initial adventure of the people of Moonbase Alpha, as they leave the earth for deep space. There are differences in this episode, not only because it is the premier episode, but also because they are still in contact with Earth as we know it.

The mood is not as dark as the rest of the series, and it is one of the more action packed episodes of the season. The music reflects that in being more grand also. The music in the later episode better defines the disconnected feelings from having been ripped away from earth, and from home.

I like how the base video communication system seems more realistic in this episode. There is a set behind every person appearing on a display screen. In later episodes, the set is replaced with a black or nothing like background. In addition, the person the character is attempting to contact, is not automatically ready to talk. John butts in on a conversation between Tanya and Paul, and when calling Helena, Mathias has to walk up to the screen and explain that she was not even there. Not a crucial difference, but interesting none the less.

John is a real hands-on commander, acting more like a front line solder than a general in many episodes. Helena makes note of John's decision to inspect area 1 personally, but the scene is used as more of a promise of things to come, between Helena and John. That is one of the more multidimensional scenes of the episode, where several things and ideas are being shot out at once. An irony of situation that is best described by Helena's face as John leaves medical center.

This is the only episode where you see the Commissioner's Eagle. The eagle with the all red passenger module. I painted one of my model eagles in like fashion. Also, there is a ton of great shots of the cargo eagles, only seen again in COLLISION COURSE, unless I'm mistaken.

When John tell Paul to send Emergence Code Alpha One, Paul acts as if he was told that someone had a picture of him with a goat. The reaction was a little exaggerated, but not to the levels seen in Ring or Y2. I do so love the look on Commissioner Simmonds' face when John sends Alan up in HIS eagle. I'm sure if he could of stopped that command without looking yellow, he would of.

The TURNING POINT is after John's speech to Commissioner Simmonds after the communique comment. The needed break from the Americanized, everything works out in the end, type endings. Things stop going as planned, fate steps in and draws a serious blow. Priorities quickly become mere survival. Not even returning home could be entertained as a realistic objective.

The scene after the breakaway, where John decides it is not realistic to attempt a return, is my favorite of the whole episode. You feel the weight of his decision as he walks to his desk. You see the anticipation of the staff as they look at their commander to make the best decision for them, and for their future, if there is to be any future at all, simply GREAT in my opinion.......

I also love the scene directly there after, when they are watching the news show, and the signal fades from the ever increasing distance between the moon and Earth. The "THIS IS GOODBYE" look on everyone's faces is simply CLASSIC. Helena is the best example of this, hardly the "wooden" acting most accuse her of.

My overall ranking of this episode, is in the "very good" category. The special effects are great, as is the action. But it is missing a lot of the deep meaty material found in later episodes, like BLACK SUN, COLLISION COURSE, and INFERNAL MACHINE. This is not something that detracts from BREAKAWAY, because of the nature of the subject matter itself. She is the introduction, the maiden flight of Space:1999, into the ranks of being the best Science Fiction Show ever produced.

Take Care All,

Tony


From: "Ellen C. Lindow" (sfdxb@scfn.thpl.lib.fl44.us) Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 22:41:53 -0500 (EST) Subj: Space1999: Breakaway vs. Real life

When watching Breakaway this past weekend, I was struck by the similarities between the way Simmonds wanted to handle the crisis and the way NASA appeared to handle the Challenger explosion. NASA didn't want to lose face by delaying the Challenger launch due to cold weather, knowing the press would destroy them, therefore they chose to launch in less than ideal conditions, costing 7 lives. I could almost imagine Simmonds rationale for launching the Challenger -- "Now, John, we can't have another delay of this mission. The entire world is watching as we launch the first of the Teacher in Space program. Our future funding depends on a successful mission. It's imperative that we not let a little cold weather get in our way."


From: Kenetrw (Kenetrw@aol4tag.com) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 00:31:28 EST Subj: Space1999: BREAKAWAY

Hello fellow Alphans!

My observations of Episode One:

  1. I also saw the visor flip open
  2. You can also see the "hoist cables" attached to Nordstrom's arms and legs as he runs into the Laser barrier.
  3. The Pocket book says that Parks and Bannion were the backup crew while Warren and Sparkman were the Meta Probe crew.
  4. I'm trying to make out some of the faint audio conversations being relayed in while the waste is dispersed to various grids. You can hear "Pull Station Geebler here" mentioned as Morrow tells him to disperse to a grid.
  5. One fellow Alphan believed Quoma appeared only in episode One. He DOES appear in episode Two because I to thought he was killed in episode one.
  6. I love Koenig's comments to Collins when he says "I've got to get out of here".
  7. I also love the look Simmonds gives as Koenig tells Carter to "take the comissioner's eagle to report on how things look from up there".
  8. There's also a pretty wobbly model of the moon buggy as the episode opens.

Since I finally found time to join, can anyone tell me what the "VIC" stands for on all medical garbs worn by all patients. I do not as yet have the Making of Space 1999 and I recall it wasin there years ago. So long for now! I enjoy the discussions!


From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 08:59:40 +0000 Subj: Re: Space1999: BREAKAWAY

5. One fellow Alphan believed Quoma appeared only in episode One. He DOES appear in episode Two because I to thought he was killed in episode one.

Could you please elaborate on this. Do you remember a particular scene in MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH where Ben Ouma appears or any refereances to his character in this episode?

8. There's also a pretty wobbly model of the moon buggy as the episode opens.

Do you think so? I though it was rather good. The fact that it was a model, and not the real thing, only occured to me on a recent watching. When I realized it was a model it struck me how much better theese shots were as to compared to the model moon buggies they used in THE LAST ENEMY and THE INFERNAL MACHINE.


From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 10:54:35 +0000 Subj: Re: Space1999: Good Stuff

I am so enjoying the recent dialogues on "Breakaway." I recently re-watched it, and so love the tension between Koenig (who plays a terrific moralist in that episode) and the corrupt Lunar Commission (so well embodied in Comm. Simmonds).

I believe I understand more and more how you think, Quintin, very interesting. Your moralistic parable approach to BREAKAWAY is very similar to how you described EARTHBOUND. To me it seems like you are wathcing SPACE: 1999 as existentialistic moral dramas, and as such I understand your fascination with episodes like EARTHBOUND, GUARDIAN OF PIRI, THE LAST SUNSET etc.

I also find the moral aspects in SPACE: 1999 interesting. Some episodes seem to be very focused on this, like Penfold's misanthropic WAR GAMES, where the alien characters hold long speaches about how high opinion we hold of ourselves and our place in the universe illustrated by Koenig showing some of his religious beliefs, but how insignificant species we humans appear to be in eyes of other lifeforms, like the computer like planet and its cerebral inhabitants, how we are captives of our own emotions and may be a threat to the universe and our very own existance. A great moral drama by Penfold there, I feel, although a bit bleak perhaps.

Penfold's THE LAST SUNSET can also be watched as a moral drama along similar lines, I believe. It will be very interesting to hear your views on that one, Quintin. I suppose we are to discuss it some week during spring 1998.

The special effects, the acting, and the story are all great. Again, I was impressed by how "Breakaway" really serves as a metaphor for human existence. We are suddenly at birth thrown into a wandering with which we had very little to do. And we are responsible, by our choices, for our survival, and for the formation of our identity. I think "Breakaway" is an existentialist's dream!

I think you are making good points here, Quintin. For me this is perhaps the main difference between Year One and Year Two or Year One and Star Trek. The whole concept of SPACE: 1999 first season seems to rely on this metaphor, perhaps the earlier episodes more than the later ones, but also many late episodes like the final TESTAMENT OF ARKADIA.

In both ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE and JOURNEY TO WHERE the Alphans are on the brink of returning to Earth, and while the rejoice of finding Earth is similar in both episodes, the drama develops in very different directions. By the end of ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE the feeling is similar to "perhaps the gods are using us for their games" as in WAR GAMES (wasn't it?), while in JOURNEY TO WHERE they seem just as content leaving the Earth for further exploration of the universe feeling that neither the future high tech Texas City nor medival Scotland where more attractive than present life in space. The fact that Helena developed a serious illness indicated perhaps, what Johnny Byrne has said so many times, that in Year Two they had developed into space people, and life on Earth or on an Earth-like planet was no longer possible.

Perhaps JOURNEY TO WHERE is one of the episodes that explains the philosophy of Year Two the best, a sort of hybrid of the existentialism of Year One and the Start Trek pragmatic view of the world. There is still a philosophy, of course, but a very different one from Year One in many ways, I think. There are many interesting aspects of Year Two to explore, however, as Tony, David Welle and others have pointed out, so it will be interesting when we reach these episodes in our episode-of-the-week discussions.

Looking at other aspects of BREAKAWAY, Quintin, apart from the moral and existensialist issues, I found Ellen's letter about drawing parallells to real life very good. Watching BREAKAWAY from this point of view, as I've done in some of my previous letters this week, I find Simmonds behaviour understandable and perhaps excusable to a certain extent. In fact, I find Simmonds very interesting as a type of person, and I look very much forward to discussing EARTHBOUND and DRAGON'S DOMAIN later on. The latter contains an interesting character called Commisionar Dixon communicating quite a lot of interesting things, I remember.

I also liked Tony's contribution to the BREAKAWAY discussion very much. Many interesting thoughts there about lightning, music, character and other things. I'm surprised we havn't heard anything from Ggreg yet, I was under the impression that BREAKAWAY scored rather high on your list, Ggreg.

Happy weekend all. I'm looking forward to join the discussion of MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH on Monday, also one of my favourite episodes.


From: Riccardo Iommi (r.iommi@mailcity4tag.com) Date: Fri, 05 Dec 1997 04:32:01 -0700 Subj: Space1999: about Breakaway

Dear Alphans,

I would like to add some features to the discussion. What do you think about the scene in which the Alpha people look at their own fate while their mega-powered computer flashes out HUMAN DECISION REQUIRED? Personally it's my best ever Sci-Fi group scene! The Alphans, stunned and desperate, seem to ask themselves: "What we gonna do now?" Only a great commander, in this situation, would be able to take the right decision for all the others, and he is John Koenig.

Hear you soon, Riccardo


From: JSchill824 (JSchill824@aol4tag.com) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 12:20:10 EST Subj: Space1999: Breakaway!

The opening scene is our moon passing by the Earth. Cut to a moon buggy and astronauts. Our first encounter of a main character is Victor Bergman poised talking to the astronauts. Then full frame shots of Victor and Helena discussing the radiation check. Cut to the Koenig in the Eagle “2001-like scene”. Koenig watches the video of the docking of the Meta Probe ship. Cut back to the astronauts and Helena and Victor. On the surface of the moon an astronaut flips out and the music builds. And then... Opening credits -- very large music, Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Eagle blows up and there we go -- Breakaway!!!

In the first five minutes one gets a feeling that its not any 1 hour TV series but a full fledged motion picture movie. The bright orange lighted panels shape a nice contrast to the gray suits of Victor and Helena in the opening scenes. We are barraged with wonderful special effects of the moon surface, astronauts working in space suits, the docking of the Meta Probe, and the idea of Koenig talking to Simmonds via video phone. Of course it’s the music by Barry Gray that ties it all up in nice red bow. How can we ever get over the wonderful feeling during the opening credits when we first see Martin Landau and Barbara Bain and hearing the blasting horns section and rolling drums? (sorry, I still get goose bumps!)

From the very beginning there’s a nice blend of special effects with the story line. From Eagles to comlocks, the travel tube to stun gun I was drawn in and wanted to believe. Placed in the not so distance future we the viewer also are perhaps more readily accepting of the relationship between ourselves and those characters on the moon. This is important, for we are thrust on to MBA and the epic story of Breakaway. Quickly it is established that the Alphan's will no longer be going home to Earth.

The characters in Breakaway do establish lasting roles. Victor as the cerebral scientist with a "heart", hot headed Commander Koening who looks after the goo [sic.] as doctor must leave out room to show any weakness, yet still can show concern. I feel that Paul, Sandra, Alan etc. all still need time to develop but are set up to for future episodes.

Like Petter I too love Pat's views on Helena character. I also like the fact that Victor is the catalyst that brings John and Helena together. His relationship with both is deep and sincere and I feel calls for a wonderful exploration of the trio. As for the concept of the wandering moon. I never cared how plausible the idea of the moon being torn out of earth’s orbit was. It is “Science Fiction” and not the evening news. At the time it was hard to believe that we could talk via video phone, or have PC's or be able to have space ships lift off and land with ease without having to take a swim in the ocean. No I was hooked right away and wanted more. Though Breakaway wasn't the first episode I saw of S9, when I did see it I was greatly impressed and wanted more!

P.S. To all those Eagle freaks, how many of you wanted to go play with your dinkey toys after rewatching Breakaway -- I did :-)

Thanks Mateo for the great idea -- I can’t wait for the next series of posts!

Janet


From: Kenetrw (Kenetrw@aol4tag.com) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 12:38:18 EST Subj: Space1999: RE:QUOMA

RE: BENJAMIN QUOMA (LON SATTON):
I must be mistaken about his appearing in Matter Of Life And Death. It appears that my confusion lies in the area as to whether he survived the Blast in Episode One. He in fact did. He appears for the "last time" next to Simmonds as the last faint signals of the GTV Broadcast come in-at the very moment Koenig says "therefore, I suggest, that we do not try....". I could have sworn I saw him in another episode just standing around main mission. Perhaps in The Black Sun or Ring Around the Moon. The fact is he did survive the explosion. Maybe he dropped over hours later of some unknown internal injuries and the producers forgot to write him off!


From: QGMorrow (QGMorrow@aol4tag.com) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 12:58:55 EST Subj: Space1999: Magnetic Radiation?

Seeing as how I am theologian and not a scientist, I do have some burning questions about "Breakaway" ;namely,

  1. Is there such thing as magnetic radiation? And if so, would it react in real life the way it does in "Breakaway"? and,
  2. I do recall from high school science class that space is a vacuum. And as such, any object put into motion there will remain on a constant course, and at a constant speed, unless it is acted upon by another force or object (i.e. gravity or an asteroid). So then, Prof. Bergman tells us that the nuclear waste dumps were acting like a giant rocket motor, pushing the moon out of orbit. And since they did stop fissioning, the moon would not be excelerating anymore. OK. How fast, then, do you all think the moon was traveling after it broke away from earth? It might surprise you all to learn that currently the moon orbits earth at over 2,000 MPH. (Being an American and therefore terrible at conversion to metric, I have no clue how fast that is in kilometers).

Quintin


Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 14:52:18 -0500 (EST) From: "Ellen C. Lindow" (sfdxb@scfn.thpl.lib.fl44.us) Subj: Re: Space1999: Magnetic Radiation?

They don't call it magnetic radiation (radiation has so many bad connotations in our society), but intense magnetism can be viewed as a form of radiation.

MRI scans now used in hospitals are based on the soft tissues of our body reacting to an intense magnetic field. As of this moment it is seen as a benign, non-invasive form of treatment, but it could also be considered "magnetic radiation".

A more sinister form would be the radiation from high tension power lines. Thes power lines form magnetic fields caused by the movement of electricity through the power lines. (This is the same concept that you probably learned as a kid in science class when you wrapped a copper wire around a nail and hooked it up to a battery.) Although power companies insist that these power lines are not harmful, it seems to be an amazing coincidence that there are higher incidences of brain tumors in families that live close to these power lines. Sound familiar anyone?


From: Kenetrw (Kenetrw@aol4tag.com) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 13:57:58 EST Subj: Space1999: BREAKAWAY

Regarding the first episode:

How lucky the eagle stewardess was, as Koenig left eagle 2 to assume his duties. I liked how he paused-wondering perhaps what he's getting himself into this time.

What about the probe Space Farer 9? There is no mention about it in the Moonbase Alpha Technical Notebook.

I checked out the two pilots in eagle 2 with regard to their immages being duplicated. It does look rather convincing as they both move their heads to their left at the same time. However, the Right Hand pilot reaches up to punch up the video of the launch platform for Koenig while the pilot on the left turns his head to his right.

I like how Helena starts glancing Koenig up and down as he sees Warren and Sparkman in the Observation Room.

Note the look on Koenig's face as he attempts to fire the stun gun at Collins. If his aim is a little off, the window breaks!

Has anyone noticed the strange letters and numbers on the video monitors? I especially call to attention the scene where Koenig asks for Dr. Russell and gets Mathias. Look at the lower right hand corner. Interesting.

Dr. Russell looks great in the scene where she looks at Sparkman for the last time before switching off his life support systems.

Has anyone determined where exactly Area One (Navigation Beacon Delta) is actually located on the moon's far side?

EAGLES USED IN EPISODE ONE:

Eagle 14 - Monitoring depot
Eagle 2 - Koenig arrived at the base in
Eagle 6 - Collins, Koenig and Victor use to scan Area 1 & 2
Eagle 6 - Koenig to Area One by himself-this one is banged up
Eagle 1 - Simmond's eagle (which Carter takes). Figures Simmonds took #1 for himself.

EAGLES DESTROYED

There were 6 eagles that went up as Paul confirms. Is Alan's the 7th or is it part of the 6 Eagle 26 goes to grid C9. Two eagles return because of navigational failures. Alan also said the rest are committed. How many eagles then does Alpha have at maximum factoring in the 2 navigational failures and Koenig's smashed up eagle 6 out of commission?

ALPHANS WHO DIES IN EPISODE ONE:

Frank Warren Eric Sparkman 4 pilots-from 2 eagles which exlplode 4 pilots which were at the launch platform as it exploded 1 Alphan who was tossed thru window(explosive decompression) Quoma-if you assume that between the end of episode 1 & start of episode 2 he has died of internal injuries which were not immediately apparent.

I love this episode. It is my favorite. There is action, details, stark contrasts and alot of curves to each character. I give it an A+.


From: Kenetrw (Kenetrw@aol4tag.com) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 14:18:41 EST Subj: Space1999: ALPHANS WHO DIED EPISODE #1

Hello again.

I forgot to mention Jim Nordstrom-whose lungs ruptured the moment his faceshield was cracked while he lay unconscious. The other would be "Geebler" who was at the pull station the moment it all went up. Final tally:

Jim Nordstrom Ed Collins 2 pilots shown as eagle explodes (cockpit view) 4 pilots (2 in each eagle) that spiral out from Space Station Geebler (from the pull station) Alphan who was tossed out window. Dr. Mathias mentions "explosive decompression", "All areas sealed off".

Final problem is how many died if all eagles were committed-minus Koenig's smashed eagle 6 and Carter in eagle 1 as well as the 2 eagles that returned becuase of navigational failure. Eagle 26 which went to grid C9 probably blew up.


From: Patricia Sokol (sokolp@war.wyeth4tag.com) Date: Fri, 05 Dec 1997 15:09:37 -0500 Subj: Space1999: more Breakaway

Regarding Koenig's assignment & Gorski's replacement, Petter writes:

...We really do not know to much about the communication between Simmonds and Gorski, however. I believe Gorski would have known something in advance. Otherwise it is difficult to understand how calmly he was able to accept the change when Koenig arrived. Perhaps even Gorski wanted to leave as he had bad feelings for the Meta project, knowing more about the situation than most on Alpha.

The scene where Victor meets John just as he arrives onto Alpha makes me believe that Gorski was not happy about his replacement, although it is difficult to say how much advance notice he had from this. The exchange begins just before they enter Main Mission, when Koenig asks how Gorski is 'taking it', and Victor comments that he always survives, or something to that effect. Koenig then comments that Gorski has always been 'very flexible' with a tone of voice that implies the kind of flexibility that one associates with a certain lack of backbone, going along with whatever is expedient. Victor's bemused smirk affirms my belief that this is what Koenig is referring to.

About a year or so ago we had a very short thread on this statement by Koenig. Apparently, when translated into Italian, the remrk was translated as 'bending like a tree in the wind', or something to that effect. That is a far more complementary way of putting it, and I think that the translation greatly changes the way the comment was intended, at least to my ears.

I can't see why Gorski should be more of Simmonds' man than Koenig. I assume that both the commanders would experience great difficulty dealing with Earth authorities who are more concerned with numbers and schedules than the practical problems on the moonbase. We don't know too much about how Gorski handles this situation, but to me it seems a plausible reason why he was rather restrictive about sending information to Simmonds was that he knew would displease him in order to save his own neck, also he wanting the Meta project to succeed at any cost.

Yes, these are true statements. Nevertheless, I would still contend that both Gorski and Simmonds knew the whole situation. Most likely the operative motivation is saving their own necks. I just found it interesting that it was apparent that Simmonds knew enough about the real state of things to try to influence Koenig about the situation by discrediting Dr. Russell even before Koenig had met her, giving him the virus story, etc.

Simmonds also wanted the Meta project to come off successfully, as he told Koenig when Koenig was on his way to Alpha. Koenig has a gleam in his eye looking at the probe ship, but Simmonds sounds driven by more than the scientific angle they way he emphasizes the importance of the mission and that nothing must stop it. Both Gorski's and Simmonds' careers were intertwined with Meta, and Gorski probably had even more to loose, as he was Commander of Alpha when the Ultra probe turned out like it did.

Koenig was under pressure to get Meta off, that is obvious, and of course it is the reason he was sent there. The failure of the Ultra Probe was a black mark against him, in that he was grounded after Cellini returned with his dragon story. However, he took the high road, sacrificing - most probably - his career if not his life to try to prevent the disaster.

It is perhaps therefor reason to believe that Simmonds did not have all the information about the dying astromnauts on Alpha that Koenig got when he arrived. In other words, Simmonds had no idea of how serious the problems are, although he obviously know more than he told Koenig before assigning him the mission.

Yeah, that's possible. He wasted no time in getting up there when Koenig didn't do as he was told, though, after Koenig had Morrow send that communique saying the operation had been halted. Maybe he was just practicing front line leadership techniques. And, he was all for getting the situation rectified until it had a direct impact on him, i.e., until his Eagle was appropriated. Just the way he seems to want to get the heck out of there when he hears that the Moon may become a big fireball, turning tail and running like a rat deserting a sinking ship, makes me believe he was a huge coward.

Probably he [Gorski] assumes that his head goes if anything goes wrong with the Meta Project.

Absolutely.

For me there is nothing obviously villainous with either Gorski nor Simmonds. They seem to be all on the same team with the rest of the Alphans, there's more a question of disagreement concerning how practical problems should be solved.

I think both characters were meant to be portrayed to be diametrically opposed to the good guys, Koenig, Russell and Bergman. The way koenig looks at Simmonds when he hands him his commlock, the exchange between Koenig and Bergman about Gorski, the fact that Gorski shies away from the truth and refuses to let Dr. Russell report her findings....none of these are suggestions that Gorski and Simmonds are anything more than politically motivated, "politically" in the negative sense.

Back to talking about a TV show... Breakaway had the added responsibility of showing Alpha, not just introucing the Alphans. Thus, the scene where Helena opens the door to her office to allow Koenig in is played meticulously. It shouldn't take nearly 10 seconds for a person to pick up and activate a commlock, then open the door, when it's probably a skill that can be mastered in five minutes. Of course, she had to be very careful not to allow the video feeder cable to show. I agree with others who have pointed out that the scenes where the actors need to come to the communication posts rather than being magically there when hailed is very effective. All of those little extras (background noise and conversations, people walking around looking busy, Dr. Russell being someplace else rather than waiting for Koenig to call her), in fact, are very effective, giving the impression of a place that's busy, rather than a television filming set. I think it's definitely something that was lost subsequently.

One thing that bothers me to this day - Who is the chick who is on all the communications screens when the sceen is not in use? Is this the Alpha News correspondant? Notice that after everybody is getting back to their feet after the g-forces let up, she's still there, looking like she's had the tar knocked out of her, but still in front of the camera.

Good week-end to all.

Pat.


From: Kenetrw (Kenetrw@aol4tag.com) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 16:39:00 EST Subj: Space1999: STEINER

Also:
You can also see hoist cables attached to Steiner as he is thrown by Nordstrom toward the moon buggy. The shiniest of the cables is the one attached to the bottom of his backpack. I can't believe they dont shine any brighter with all the lighting around Area Two.


From: Kenetrw (Kenetrw@aol4tag.com) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 16:32:53 EST Subj: Space1999: FINAL OBSERVATIONS

My final observations of Episode One:

If Simmonds would have been asked to go up with Carter, how many out there elieve he would have told Carter-don't you dare return to base! Remember how he acts in Earthbound-return at any cost. The MATN (Moonbase Alpha Technical Notebook) says that Alan could have returned to earth but his loyalty was to Alpha.

There were apparently some cuts to footage for the remote eagle. A close look at the "This Episode" flashes shows the inside of the eagle with a row of red buttons flashing (just after a closeup of Koenig). An eagle is also seen skimming the top of the laser barrier tower.

Any idea about what the piping diagram represents as seen behind Simmonds as he walks out of the travel tube to query Koenig on his use of "Emergency code Alpha One"?

I was surprised that I missed this fact afer rewatching this episode: Bergman states that Area One orginally had an atrificial gravity system installed there (he studies the circuit board that was to measure magnetic outputs there). This means that Alphans in that area with the Gravity Force turned on would have had their normal earthly weight.

Are there any Medical people out there? Helena disconnects Sparkman's life support system-switching three buttons A-B-C and below them, are the buttons they represent? Namely "s", "n" & "e".

The newscast also mentions that the 311 men and women trapped on Moonbase Alpha. We can assume they knew Simmonds was stuck up there so the base originally had 310. Subtract the 14 who die and we get 296 (not counting the 50-100 people who lost their lives on the Space Station Centuri).

DEATHS: Frank Warren, Eric Sparkman, first pilot to die (unnamed), 4 pilots who died one of which is Geebler (2 eagles blew up with 2 in each), 4 pilots who spiralled out from Centauri, 1 who died in the decompressed unit, Nordstrom, Collins (Total of 14) and Quoma by the beginning of episode 2. Thus 297 survive the explosion and then Quoma dies leaving 296.


From: LKJ1999 (LKJ1999@aol4tag.com) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 18:37:10 EST Subj: Space1999: Breakaway

Someone on the list wrote They saw Nordstom's helmet open when he throw's Steiner. I know I looked at that scene a hundred times in the past years. And I never noticed His helmet open up. So I played that scene on Laserdisc five times before I noticed it!

Also I noticed a cable attached to Steiner when He land's on the moon buggy.

Charles Peterson. LKJ1999


From: judas@netmatters4tag.co.uk (B J Dowling) Date: Sat, 6 Dec 1997 01:32:31 +0000 Subj: Space1999: Breakaway

Somewhat deafened but very happy, here are my ramblings on Breakaway.

The scene where we see Victor and Helena overseeing the radiation check stands out as being a bit unusual. Victor seems almost ponderous, while I can't find a word to describe Helena's attitude in this scene. She doesn't seem to be as determined as perhaps Ruth might be if she were trying to investigate a problem area. Indeed, she doesn't seem to be intense, focussed or determined at all.

For me the scene where Nordstrom loses it and bounces off the laser barrier, to smash his faceplate on the lunar rock makes a point which is made many times during the first season about the fragile nature of Man in space.

There is only a passing reference to Nordstrom's death in the novel, as per the scene where Koenig talks to Simmonds from his office.

There has been much comment on Koenig being sent before the ratification of his despatch to Alpha. Although we don't know it at the time, there have been more than one failed mission into space in that timeline - Lee Russell's Jupiter probe, Jack Tanner's Uranus mission, Captain Michael's Swift expedition and Tony Cellini's Ultra probe. 5 failed space missions would make most people wonder if the space programme was worth it, adn methinks there would be considerable pressure on both Simmonds and Gorski to enusre the success of the Meta probe.

Perhaps Simmonds replaced Dixon as Commissioner because he persuaded the authorities that he could get the job done successfully. Saying that, Gorski was commander of Alpha before Simmonds got to be the Commissioner.

I have no doubt that both Gorski and Simmonds knew the situation fully. I reckon Simmonds would have used the "Look how history will judge you, will judge us" card to convince Gorski to do whatever is necessary to get the probe launched. When the situation got to the point where Gorski couldn't sort it, Simmonds pulled him out to protect him.

Gorski prevented Helena from making her reports probably because they would have been circulated to people other then Simmonds. This would make life very difficult for them. I reckon Simmonds held back from telling Koenig everything so that his back would be covered if anything went wrong, Koenig would get the chop and Gorski be reinstated.

Simmonds would have used his position to get Gorski an assignment elsewhere, saying to him that things were getting rough on Alpha and it would be better for both of them if action was taken. Begs the question "Was the change of C.O. made public?" Surely that would have raised planty of awkward questions.

Under the circumstances, I think it was appropriate for Victor to meet John when he came on Alpha. Pensive he was as he left the Eagle, so whoever decided that Victor should be the man to meet him made a wise decision. When they see each other it's smiles and warmth immediately, a brief chat and then to the issues. Here starts a pattern of Koenig looking to Victor for answers and guidance. Whether Gorski did, I don't know.

Gorski is as civil as one would expect under the circumstances. Don't forget that last time Koenig was on Alpha, his left sleeve was yellow. Now Koenig is back, not as Gorski's subordinate, but as his equal and replacement. We don't know if Koenig took up Gorski's offer of a discussion before he left. Would Koenig have discovered any further information by doing so?

The novel makes no mention of Gorski meeting Koenig, nor the chat between Simmonds and Koenig in the Eagle before it reaches Alpha. It has a tv interview with Simmonds instead.

At this point, I'm almost asleep at the keyboard. I'll post more a bit later.


From: Kenetrw (Kenetrw@aol4tag.com) Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 22:05:23 EST Subj: Space1999: NEW ASSIGNMENTS

Just finished reading Brian's thoughts on Gorski. Then I suddenly thought what happens with him? Did Koenig's eagle hold over for a half hour, refuel and then the two pilots returned to earth with Gorski? Gorski did tell Koenig to stop by his quarters to talk things over. Or did Gorski get caught on the rock that would be blasted out of orbit? Since he seems very jovial at travel tube 3 to greet Koenig and Bergman, I think he was relieved to get out. If he did get back to earth, he must have felt relief after learning of the tradgedy as well as sorrow.

I then thought of how Dr. Bob Mathias switched to the Technical section and was replaced by Ben Vincent. Perhaps Quoma switched to another section as the one Space 1999 website suggests in it's timeline of events.

Finally, does anyone have the exact date Space 1999 returns to the Sci Fi channel at 6:00 PM?


From: Patricia Embury (Patriemb@sprint44mail.com) Date: Fri, 05 Dec 1997 22:30:04 -0500 Subj: Space1999: Breakaway

This has been a very interesting conversation!! Simmonds need to send the Communiqué is impacted by the Finance Committee meeting anticipated in a couple of days. His job is on the line if the Meta Probe fails. Who knows, maybe the scientific future of Alpha would be at risk The Reconnaissance section is devoted to the project. Alpha could be converted strictly to its "waste dump" monitor function if yet another failure occurred.

Koenig's choice for commander also is a fairly safe choice for Simmonds. After all, if Meta failed, scapegoating Koenig and Bergman would be so much easier in light of the earlier failure with the Ultra Probe.

I also wondered about the fate of Spacefarer 9. Why couldn't Alpha pick up signals from it after the breakaway?

As a medical person who has dealt with all fashions of life support and brain death, I have no clue as to what the letters above the buttons on the life support meant. In the opening sequence, when Helena and Bergman are monitoring the astronauts, note the wave pattern on the last oscilloscope is completely flat. In the limited experience I've had with eeg monitoring, I've never seen a completely flat tracing in a living individual. I think Helena's reactions are in line with what she is seeing. She is hoping to find some trace of radiation, but after several checks, this one is demonstrating the same, that is, there is no identifiable problem. She seems more quietly resigned to the situation. BTW, I always thought the monograms on the PJ's were MBA for Moonbase Alpha.

As for visuals, my favorite are the scenes when Koenig comes to Reconnaissance, where he and Carter are standing in front of the window. It's great to see the Eagles in the background actually moving, and imposing people moving in the background instead of a static display. I also love the scene immediately after Koenig crashes (his was the first! not Carter! ) where the Eagle is silhouetted in the glow of the explosion from area 1. 6 Eagles had been initially converted, two returned, and Carter went up. I would count only 4 Eagles destroyed.


From: djlerda@juno4tag.com Date: Sat, 06 Dec 1997 03:46:27 EST Subj: Space1999: Breakaway - Some thoughts

1. Goofs / Nits: In addition to the other snippets in the "This Episode" that others have mentioned, the first scene of the Eagle being zapped with the thin energy bolts never appeared

3. Artwork / Visuals: Note that a large amount of Eagle stock footage is used in this episode that would be used in subsequent episodes. Koenig's Eagle landing at Alpha is one example.

4: Model work: The Cargo Eagle makes another appearance in "Missing Link" when it transports the damaged Command Module back to Alpha.

7. Continuity: Sometime between Koenig landing at Alpha and the actual breakaway of the moon, Tony Cellini is reassigned to Alpha at Koenig's request. I submit that Cellini's reassignment occurred in this timeframe because in "Dragon's Domain" Koenig states forcefully that HE requested it. He would only have been in the position to force such a request through as Alpha commander. This behind the scenes, unshown sub plot could have served to heighten the tensions with Simmonds and Helena. I would think a logical point for it to occur is sometime just before Koenig takes the Eagle up to check out Area 1. This could give some more weight to Helena's bitching at him in medical center. In her mind she has to be wondering about the mental stability of a guy that just requested reassignment of the man Earth authorities still blamed for the last big space probe failure and then takes an Eagle up himself, risking Alpha's most valuable piece of manpower. And how did Koenig justify Cellini's reassignment? I would like to think that Cellini was recalled from some sort of reserve status and sent to Alpha straightaway. Any refersher training would be done there. All of this is never shown, of course.

As for Simmonds / Gorski politics - Gorski had been at Alpha a long time (assuming he was there continuously from the Ultra Probe mission), more than 3 years. Yet he wasn't very highly regarded by those at Alpha who had to do the work. Victor's comment in "Dragon's Domain" that "we can't leave it to Gorski" backs this idea up. It could be that Gorski was the kind of guy who was good to have around when things were running smoothly but folded up when a real problem or decision confronted him. John noted that he had always been "flexible" and he was obviously able to dodge the bullet for the failure of the Ultra Probe. Some of the stink did rub off on Koenig and Bergman for that one and I'm sure they resented it somewhat that Gorski also didn't get a slap on the snout.

I don't think Gorski was Simmond's fair-haired boy anymore than Koenig was. Simmonds was a professional politician who only looked out for himself. The type who would run over his own grandmother to cover his butt. If he had to hang Koenig out to dry to save his skin he would. By the same token I could picture him having a press conference praising Koenig as "the man who saved the Meta probe." Why was the Meta probe vital to Simmonds? Knowing the kind of weasel he was he probably used his positon on the Space Commission (or whatever body he was on before becoming commissioner) to tie Dixon to the Ultra Probe flop and used that when he was promoting himself for Dixon's job to the Powers That Be.

Why did John take the Eagle up himself? Aside from the obvious answer that Martin Landau is the star of the show, I think Koenig was demonstrating the old leadership maxim of not asking someone to do anything you wouldn't do yourself. I think it also blends in nicely with some of the scenes later on in the series when he loses his temper and lashes out at people around him fairly, or unfairly. A guy with a take charge attitude is going to get frustrated when things aren't going his way.

8. Mysterious Unknown Force: Must be there from the start. The premise is scientifically impossible. Any explosion powerful enough to knock the moon out of the Earth's orbit would destroy the moon. And certainly would be incabable of accelerating it to the velocities necessary to reach other solar systems within a human lifetime.

10. The Bottom Line: One of Gerry Anderson's best. One of the best TV pilots in terms of introducting characters, situation, format, etc. The only Gerry Anderson production surpassing it is "Dragon's Domain", IMHO. The only one equaling it is "A Question of Priorities" from UFO.

Just my thoughts.

David J Lerda, djlerda@juno.com


From: judas@net44matters.co.uk (B J Dowling) Date: Sat, 6 Dec 1997 23:36:06 +0000 Subj: Space1999: Breakaway part 2

Hi y'all,

This has turned out to be a bit longer than I thought, as there are snippets from the Breakaway novel in it. Apologies in advance if I've overloaded anyone's mailbox or repeated anything from previous posts in this thread.

As I was saying before I fell asleep at my keyboard...

The novel makes no mention of Gorski meeting Koenig, nor the chat between Simmonds and Koenig in the Eagle before it reaches Alpha. It has a tv interview with Simmonds instead.

Point of interest - anyone who has read Earthfall may remember the bit at the start of the book where Koenig and Simmonds are talking. It turns out that Simmonds relieved Koenig of command of Alpha, replacing him with Gorski.

The novel also has the Meta probe ship lacking a backup crew. Picture Koenig in his office talking to Simmonds...

"You know I can't do that! It's [atomic waste] one of the biggest problems of our time!"

Koenig said, flatly, "Commissioner, you assigned me here to clean up this mess and that's what I'm going to do. The dead men and other things - I don't think I need go into detail. After your little talk on television you can hardly admit the lack of a back-up crew now, can you?" He gave the other no chance to answer, knowing the value of compromise. "A trade, Commissioner. You stop sending up the waste and I'll get your Meta probe launched."

A deal and one Simmonds was in no position to refuse.

Reluctantly he said, "A temporary delay is the best I can do, John. If that's what you need?"

"It's all I need." Koenig stared at the bearded face, his own impassive. "Simmonds, why did you lie to me?"

"They're no better?"

"They're never going to be better. You know that. Those astronauts are as good as dead."

The scene where Eric Sparkman is declared dead differs in the novel. She calls up Kano and asks him to verify the conclusion the computer has reached...

"Kano?"
[snip]
"Doctor?"

"The computer says that Sparkman is dead, but there are cases on record where brain activity has resumed from the same apparent state. Check the factual basis of its assumption."

A moment and a caption appeared on the screen:

CELL LIFE SUSTAINED BY MECHANICAL LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM ONLY.

Stubbornly Helena lifted er commlock and said, "There are many different definitions of death, Kano. Which one is the computer using?"

Another caption:

DEFINITION OF DEATH PROGRAMMED 12 JAN 1999 BY DR H RUSSELL.

She said, bleakly, "Would you say the computer was telling me to switch off the life-support system, Kano?"

His voice held a shrug. "The computer tells you only the facts, Doctor."

No mention of Ouma. Just Kano as the computer geek.

The scene where Koenig calls Medical Centre and Mathias informs him Frank Warren died at 1328 isn't in the novel. Why though, does Mathias introduce himself to Koenig when he answers the call? Koenig and Mathias were on Alpha when Cellini got back from the Ultra probe. It may have been a while, but surely they knew each other, if only a little.

Throughout this episode, Paul Morrow is as cool as ice. Except when Koenig asks him to "Contact Commissioner Simmonds; pass Emergency code Alpha 1". This isn't in the novel. That story has Simmonds coming up to Alpha because Koenig requested information on the contents of the waste cannisters.

The "Magnetic energy" scene where Koenig and Dr Russell parrot Victor strikes me as being like bad soap opera. The worst bit of the story. The novel doesn't have that wondeful line "Now we're sitting on the biggest bomb Man ever made" in it.

When Koenig meets Simmonds in the Travel Tube, it parallels his meeting with Victor, but instead of warmth and friendliness, there is hostility in the air. Explaining the situation to Simmonds, Barry Morse handles the dialogue beautifully. Any scientific speak he handles through the series with great aplomb, matching the performances of Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker as the Doctor, and John Paul as Spencer Quist (Doomwatch). Wonderful stuff.

(There is also in the novel a scene where Helena and Victor talk. It's a long-ish scene which I think would have graced the finished episode. Anyone interested, I'll transcribe the scene for you.)

In the novel, Tubb tries to explain it more scientifically than the episode did. Maybe it's me, but that doesn't quite work and perhaps contradicts the episode itself. A couple of pages [in total] of discussion of the situation between the main characters doesn't have the same impact as the line "Now we're sitting on the biggest bomb Man ever made".

Koenig losing his rag with Simmonds is quite justified, and appears in the novel, if in a slightly different wording. Even as the worst is starting to happen, Paul is cool in announcing to the Eagles to get away from Area 2.

Carter actually lands on the moon and rides the storm out in the novel, rather than report the whole thing to Alpha. One scene I remember is that from Carter's Eagle, seeing the scarred rear of the moon. Tubb's novel describes the areas which have been wiped off the surface of the moon - the Mare Cantabrium, the Great Lunar Sea and the Sura mountains.

Simmonds dies in this novelisation:

He lay where he had fallen, his head at an ugly angle, a path of blood bright beneath his temple. The fall had broken his skull and the acceleration pressure had done the rest. His face, beneath the beard, looked oddly peaceful.

Now, does the Earthbound story appear in the novels? I'll go take a look in a while...

The scenes where Koenig asks about Operation Exodus are some of the most defining in science fiction, never mind the series. The final conclusion of the computer, "Human Decision Required" hits home with the force of a Nigel Benn uppercut. That brief shot of Koenig's face with the monitor in the background displaying "Human Decision Required" shows the immensity of the decision he must make.

Perhaps it indicates that whilst the computer is a useful tool, it is human decisions which will prove the difference between the destruction and survival of Alpha.

The news bulletin fading out with the words "..beyond the reach of..." hits that home spot again. The final thought of the episode "Yes, maybe that's where our future lies" whilst positive, cannot diminish the fact that they have been well and truly cut off, and are on their own.

As pilot episodes go, it is one of my favourites up there with Doomwatch's The Plastic Eaters. Great visual impact all the way through - seeing the Main Mission set as Koenig's office door draws back is breathtaking - and a catastrophe which few stories can match in its consequences and reminders of where we as a race belong in the great scheme of things.

Often first episodes are weak, and the series improves with time. Breakaway is an exception - it has strong writing and characterisation and sets a standard which not many can match, even 20 plus years later.


From: Mark Meskin (plastic.gravity@new44rock.com) Date: Sun, 7 Dec 1997 17:52:41 -0600 Subj: Re: Space1999: Breakaway

Also I noticed a cable attached to Steiner when He land's on the moon buggy.

Is it a cable? I played it back and forth a few times, I thought it was an antenna on the moonbuggy that is getting bent back went he hits it.


From: LKJ1999 (LKJ1999@aol4tag.com) Date: Sun, 7 Dec 1997 19:51:00 EST Subj: Space1999: Breakaway

Well I will just have to drag out My laserdisc and check it out. I may be wrong!


From: LKJ1999 (LKJ1999@aol4tag.com) Date: Sun, 7 Dec 1997 20:20:36 EST Subj: Space1999: David Kano A question

In what episode does Kano get hit over the head with a laser gun...

Charles Peterson LKJ1999


From: Jeff Hudson (jeff@grcmc4tag.org) Date: Sun, 7 Dec 1997 20:35:36 +0000 Subj: Re: Space1999: Breakaway

Is it a cable? I played it back and forth a few times, I thought it was an antenna on the moonbuggy that is getting bent back went he hits it.

That's what I thought it was too and I was purposely watching for things like cables on flying astronauts. I didn't catch the opening helmet yet, though.


From: Mark Meskin (plastic.gravity@new44rock.com) Date: Sun, 7 Dec 1997 18:26:39 -0600 Subj: Re: Space1999: ALPHANS WHO DIED EPISODE #1

Final problem is how many died if all eagles were committed-minus Koenig's smashed eagle 6 and Carter in eagle 1 as well as the 2 eagles that returned becuase of navigational failure. Eagle 26 which went to grid C9 probably blew up.

A few years ago we hashed this one up on the list, and the consensus was that only 6-9 eagles were in the air at one time. Moonbase Alpha had 40 eagles to start out with, its doubtful that they also had 40 nuclear canister transport and winch modules for all of them. What I think Carter ment by "all commited" was that all eagles were either in the air or in the process of being converted for waste dispersal. What I think backs this supposition up is that, earlier in this episode Paul states "conversion on the first 6 eagles is complete" and then they are launched. Its not long after this that the Commander and Simmonds argue about wether the situation is in hand, and the moon is blown out of orbit. So, given this situation, its quite conceivable that they were unable to evacuate-only 8 eagles were destroyed, but the other 32 were unserviceable at the time.


From: Pertti.Ruismaki@datex-engstrom4tag.com Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 08:26:25 +0200 Subj: Space1999: Magnetic Radiation?

So then, Prof. Bergman tells us that the nuclear waste dumps were acting like a giant rocket motor, pushing the moon out of orbit. And since they did stop fissioning, the moon would not be excelerating anymore. OK. How fast, then, do you all think the moon was traveling after it broke away from earth?

There has been a lot of discussion about the bad physics in S1999. As far as I have understood, there are two ways to handle it. Either you can ignore it and enjoy the good things in S1999 or you can think that some greater intelligence is behind this interstellar pinball game. I think the latter approach gives the whole show more meaning and enhances its metaphysical side. However, with Eagles I just ignore the unbelievable technology.

-Pertti


From: jcg@vh4tag.net Date: Mon, 08 Dec 1997 18:33:04 -0500 Subj: Space1999: Late Breakaway thoughts

My random written observations while watching Breakaway last night:

I am surprised by the amount of dubbing in this episode. (I am refering to the need to go into a recording studio and rerecord your dialog so it matches your mouth movements on film. This is usually done when some extra noise gets recorded and the shot cannot otherwise be used. A lot of times you will have this on shots that were filmed outdoors. In a lot of SF shows you have it because an automatic door was still moving when the actor started talking.) A great deal of the dialog in this episode has been dubbed (actually the term is "looped"). One reason I think is that I noticed in the scene where Koening is talking to Simmonds on the communications post and making the bargin to stop sending waste that there is a noticeable room echo. A lot of the dubbed dialog took place in the commander's office. Dr. Asimov in his NY Times article pointed out that you simply would not have such large rooms in a space enviornment because of the energy it would take to keep that empty wasted space pressurized and heated. I suspect you also don't want to do it (in television) because you get a terrible audio recording as a result. I wonder if that was another reason for the year 2 set changes. I am going to watch each episode carefully looking for dubbing.

I also wonder if that is the reason for something that has always bugged me about year 1. I've always described the acting in year 1 as "whispering". They all stand there and whisper to each other. So much of it was in hushed tones that never seemed appropriate to many of the scenes. And we've seen these people in other shows (not to mention year 2) so we know they can speak dialog in a normal, appropriate tone. (Now I'm wondering if it was the echo chamber sets.)

I am greatly surprised at how easily the window (or viewport) shattered when the pilot started banging on it with his helmet.

Breakaway and Matter of Life and Death made use of rear screen projection on the big screen (which allows the camera to move while seeing what's on the screen.) I'm not sure if they ever did that again the rest of the series. This is a difficult process because you have to arrange your shooting schedule so the footage to be projected has already been shot and processed and edited and ready to go when you shoot the scene where it it projected.

There was no reason for the space station to blow-up when the moon left orbit.

It is typical tv writing that the middle aged lead character is the only one who can move under the tremendous g forces while the younger, better conditioned crew members cannot move at all.

I think it was a big mistake for every last light to come on when the g forces eased. I think the red emergency lighting would have made more sense and been more realistic.

Finally, a lot of things have been written about Barbara Bain's year one look...a lot of them not flattering. I'm not going to add to it, but I have to agree with it. She just looked a lot better in year two. The closeups of her at the end of the episode when she's watching the newscast and the Meta signal are just awful. She looks like a little dutch girl with the way her hair is glued together. The makeup job they put on her is not much better. And it is not her fault. I feel the look they gave her in year 1 was a definite hinderence.

I have enjoyed everyone's writing on the first episode, and look foreward to the next 47.

John


Date: Tue, 09 Dec 1997 06:58:08 -0500 From: Jhon (jhon@pottsville.infi4tag.net) Subj: Space1999: Late Breakaway Thoughts

I am greatly surprised at how easily the window (or viewport) shattered when the pilot started banging on it with his helmet.

I suspect Alpha was built like all other Army barracks: quickly and cheaply. Alpha was built as an in-process and monitoring station for nuclear waste burial. It was probably never intended to be used for any type of defense. The main reason for such a large surface area on Alpha was because of de-pressurization. It takes much more time for air to escape from a large object if the barrier is breached. Another reason for such large rooms on Alpha is a matter of thermodynamics. It would take a considerable amount of energy to heat the place, however, it would stay heated for a much longer time. Since alpha had it's own atmosphere production plants, there was no worry about atmosphere, and since they also had their own nuclear generation plants, heat and electricity were not a problem either. Just my opinion as a technical person.


From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 10:54:34 +0000 Subj: Re: Space1999: Breakaway / Matter of Life and Death

... I agree with others who have pointed out that the scenes where the actors need to come to the communication posts rather than being magically there when hailed is very effective. All of those little extras (background noise and conversations, people walking around looking busy, Dr. Russell being someplace else rather than waiting for Koenig to call her), in fact, are very effective, giving the impression of a place that's busy, rather than a television filming set. I think it's definitely something that was lost subsequently.

The only director I've felt have had such tendencies after Katzin's to tries was Ray Austin. Quite a lot of his efforts take advantage of much of this style. RING AROUND THE MOON is, for instance, wonderfully chaotic in this fashion.

Charles Crichton is much more clinical, I feel. Even his MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, which I hold to be one of his best, seems very clinical indeed compared to the works of Katzin and Austin. Whlle the visuals are often stunning, like some of the camera frog perspectives early on, to me it often seems a bit contructed, sort of like David Lean ("Passage to India", "Dr. Zhiwago", "Ryan's Daughter" etc.). The use of colour is very intense in this episode, I feel, perhaps not to unlike "Dr. Zhiwago".

The most interesting part of MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, as I see it, is the further characterization of John, Helena and Victor, Helena perhaps in particular as she plays such a central role in this episode. It is almost as if BREAKAWAY was a character analysis of John, MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH of Helena and BLACK SUN an analysis of Victor.

There are some sequences in John's or Helena's quarters that are absolutely beautiful, I think. Helena seems completely lost in her own world as she has rediscovered Lee, while John is asking her over and over again whether this really is Lee, her husband. It almost seems as if John is feeling Lee as a threat, now that he has obviously been quite attached to Helena.

I wonder if the seemingly somewhat unneccessary brutal interrigations of Lee, which almost seem like a simulated torture sequence in that blood red chamber, also may be read in the light of John's jealous feelings concerning Helena.

Pat, I'd like to hear you views on this...

Petter


Editor's Notes:

This 'Breakaway' thread also triggered another thread: Eagle Pilot's Voice / Shane Rimmer


Related Threads (in typical Thread Pages format):

Related Pages (elsewhere here at Metaforms): Related Links (external to Metaforms; links last updated on 2007/09/28-F): Next Chapter: "Matter of Life and Death"


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