From: South Central (Tamazunchale@webtv44.net) Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998 11:32:07 -0800 Subj: Space1999: Episode by episode
Hello all,
As we are discussing the episodes in production order--as listed in the Cybrary (and doesn't it look great!)--the next episode for the week of January 5-11 will be `Another Time, Another Place'.
I encourage those without the video to comment on the novelizations--these discussions are enriched by comparisons with the novelizations, which are based on scripts (which sometimes are different from the final edit).
Happy New Year!
Mateo
Has anybody noticed how much discussion of the show is taking place and
how little trolling and flaming? Very happy indeed!
"THE YEAR THAT WAS 1997 IS NO MORE; THE YEAR THAT WILL BE HAS MUCH TO
LOOK FORWARD TO."
From: Kenetrw (Kenetrw@aol44.com) Date: Sun, 4 Jan 1998 17:31:45 EST Subj: Space1999: ANOTHER TIME
Hello again! Happy New Year to all!
My thoughts on ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE: I like this episode because it get's you thinking about the strangeness of space. The man overboard in main mission in the opening sequence set the drama. This globular cluster smashing into the moon would surely cause some deaths. The double exposed body shots were neat but not quite effective.
As Carter and Koenig are talking, notice how sgtrange it is that Koenig is in the background-inactive for a bit. Our solar system doesn't look like this. Maybe they were showing Alpha Centauri on the screen since there is a red star. Then again that far into the future our sun will be a red giant. Why was just Regina effected? Bergman states she's living a past/future life. Yet we see later in the episode that Helena, John, Bergman, Paul, Sandra and Carter also have doubles. I wonder how they could go so farther into the future. During Earthbound, we can calculate how far into the future they are-75 years away from earth and factoring in how far into the future earth would be. But why this far into the future?
Alan's impatience is again interesting. He can't wait to get down to the planet. He is definitely over-eager when it comes to Operation Exodus. Very nice shot as Koenig spins the globe in his office to emphasize a point. Notice how Bergman stops the globe right on England! I also like how Koenig brushes off his reliance on the computer when he says "computer...computer can't even tell us where we are". It almost looks like Catherine Schell walks by Paul's station in Main Mission (only a view from the back) but I believe this is someone else. The skin peeling of Regina was done very poorly but how could anyone notice if it was done naturally? I don't think the cameras would pick it up. It looks like she's got more of a problem than skin peeling.
The echoed screems were great! Once again, poor Bob Mathias gets belted again-out cold! The security man in the hall who comes up to Regina as she's in a deranged state is a howl. Who do you know walks up like Frankenstein to help you? Why does she yell out murderers? Neat how the earth has tilted 5-6 degrees and Europe is in an ice age. Looks like Cuba got blown up by an atomic bomb. The two brains theme was great as well as the two moons. When I first watched this episode and saw the second moon reappear from behind the earth, I really felt a chill!
For those scientific out there, are bodies preserved in the vacuum of deep space? Victors whistling was great. He's always calm and thinking. His comment on "back into future time" was interesting. Both shadows (crescent moons) in the sky might not be correct. If both moons are on opposite sides of the earth, the sun can only be to one side. One of the moons should have a shadow facing the other half. Another great patented Sandra scream! Paul's beard! I was wondering after time corrects itself if they would end up with three moons!
I really thought the special effects photography was great. Notice how the "Old" Helena passes the "Young" Helena on the right and then the Young Helena turns around. I froze frame this shot and I can see how they dubbed this in! Finally, when Koenig asks "Did they ever really exist?" Helena picks up the flowers and I noticed Bergman looks at his watch. Why? Were they running out of time? Were other scenes clipped from this episode at the end? Or is he checking to see if time reset itself?
Did anyone see the SuperBowl One highlight tape which ESPN will be replaying all this month? In between shots of the audience and various Hollywood stars you can see none other than Barbara Bain and Martin Landau in between the short clips of Danny Thomas and Kirk Douglas. It's 1967 and I believe Mission Impossible was on air. Barbara also shouts "Oh No" in another clip showing a pass to Chris Berford. (This SuperBowl I was between the Packers and the Cheifs).
From: djlerda@juno44.com Date: Sun, 04 Jan 1998 21:13:50 EST Subj: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
Poor Dr. Mathias gets bonked again. No wonder he left the Medical Unit in Year 2!
The footage of Koenig, Helena, and Carter stepping out of the Eagle would be reused again in "The Testament of Arkadia."
The children look both look older than 5 years old.
What is this "Atlantis" that Bergman is talking about? Hard to believe an entire civilization could rise and fall in only 5 years and leave no survivors.
I wonder if anyone on Alpha wondered what was going on when the navigation signal on the other moon suddenly stopped when Koenig shut it off?
Carter: I wonder if the others made it , Commander. If they
survived?
Bergman: Did they ever really exist?
Koenig: Maybe they are saying the same thing about us?
Helena: They did exist. They were real.
The dual role scene with Barbara Bain was great. I also thought the scene where future Helena kisses John was very touching.
Next week: Missing Link.
Until then,
David J Lerda, djlerda@juno.com
From: djlerda@juno44.com Date: Sun, 04 Jan 1998 21:13:50 EST Subj: Re: Space1999: ANOTHER TIME
Maybe they were showing Alpha Centauri on the screen since there is a red star.
What scene are you talking about? When Sandra observes that there is another solar system, the sun shown is yellow, like ours.
Then again that far into the future our sun will be a red giant.
Actually, it is going to take several billion years before the sun's supply of hydrogen runs low and it expands into a red giant.
During Earthbound, we can calculate how far into the future they are-75 years away from earth and factoring in how far into the future earth would be. But why this far into the future?
I got the impression that they were only 5 years into the future in this episode.
Why does she yell out murderers?
I always thought she was yelling, "My head!" (I guess if someone had two brains it would hurt like hell :-) )
From: Keniji Watanabe (keniji@flash44.net) Date: Sat, 03 Jan 1998 21:42:48 -0500 Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
Another Time, Another Place will always hold special meaning for me because it was the first episode I saw in it's entirety back in 1975. It was very unique and different from Trek (which was the only standard I had at the time).
It makes you think what you would do if the only liveable spot in the world for humans was southern California.
I think it must have been the writer's favorite haunting place. Why not Southern France, or Dover, or Outer Mongolia
-Keniji
From: jhon (jhon@pottsville.infi44.net) Date: Sun, 04 Jan 1998 23:36:44 -0500 Subj: Space1999: Re: Another Time
For those scientific out there, are bodies preserved in the vacuum of deep space? Victors whistling was great. He's always calm and thinking.
Do you know what Victor was whistling? I'll give you a hint: it's a J.S. Bach piece.
From: Glen_Mcbride@baynetworks44.com (Glen Mcbride) Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 18:18:38 +1100 Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
Poor Dr. Mathias gets bonked again. No wonder he left the Medical Unit in Year 2!
(LURKMODE=OFF)
Lucky guy! Great language this, English. Where I live getting "Bonked" is quite a bit different to what I am sure you meant here, that is being hit or similar.
Happy new year to list members!
(LURKMODE=ON)
From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi44.no) Date: Mon, 5 Jan 1998 11:05:55 +0000 Subj: Space1999: Earthbound / Another Time, Another Place
Happy new year all.
As I've been away for over a week I haven't had the chance to participate in the EARTHBOUND discussion. I really enjoyed reading the mail, however, David's description of the alien ship as "the blue potato machine" was excellent, I think. I've always liked the ship, although it perhaps looks a bit silly in a charming sort of Thunderbirds fashion.
I really enjoy David's comments to the discussion. I was a bit surprised, however, that he found EARTHBOUND better directed than MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. For me it's always been the other way around, finding Crichton's work on the latter more creative and interesting. It would have been interesting to discuss this further, but perhaps we should delay it for GUARDIAN OF PIRI, Crichton's next effort.
Brian also made some very good notes the previous week, I think. Christopher Lee is a brilliant actor. I believe, however, that his performance in EARTHBOUND could have been much better given more emotional output, perhaps with more directorial guidance like what Ray Austin must have done for Peter Cushing in MISSING LINK.
Lee is marvellous in sinister roles, certainly the best Dracula there ever was ("Horror of Dracula", 1958), but one of the films where I enjoyed him the most was "The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974) where he was specifically asked by director Guy Hamilton to play the villain as relaxed and sympathetic as possible. An outstanding performance that was, I remember.
Apart from the references to Poe at the horrible end of EARTHBOUND, I was under the impression that perhaps Terpiloff was also making references to American history during the days of talks and wars between the native Indians and European settlers.
In my mind Zantor's despise of human techonology and Simmonds ruthlesness and talk about the Kaldorians being "expendable" generates pictures of Geronimo, General Custer etc. I believe this kind of analogy was not too unfamiliar at the time, Sam Pechinpah and others reinventing the Western movie genre at that time by looking at it from different angles accentuating different contemporary political, sociological and environmental problems.
I don't think EARTHBOUND was a very typical Terpiloff script, however, at least it seems rather different from COLLISION COURSE, DEATH'S OTHER DOMINION, THE INFERNAL MACHINE and THE CATACOMBS OF THE MOON. In most of these episodes he seems mostly occupied with investigateing ideas of literature and mythology in a new context. In EARTHBOUND the only thing of this kind is the reference to Poe, I believe, and for the rest of the episode it seems rather political, I think.
The one mostly concerned with outer issues such as politics and environment was Johnny Byrne, I believe. Personally I find his first effort of SPACE:1999 scriptwriting ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE to be one of his very best.
In ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE all the typical Johnny Byrne elements are introduced; the gothic, the environmental, the distrust of technology and the nostalgia of the "Garden of Eden" of the past. These were themes he investagated further in episodes like THE TESTAMENT OF ARKADIA, THE IMMUNITY SYNDROM, THE TROUBLED SPIRIT, THE END OF ETERNITY and others.
When reviewing the episodes on order of production, it is perhpas possible to find elements of the series that evolved during the course. This is most apperent in terms of character portraya and visual elements, I believe. When it comes to scripts, however, we know that the scripts where not always filmed in the same order as they were written. Episodes WAR GAMES and DRAGON'S DOMAIN were among some of the first scripts to have been written, from what I've heard, and some of the last to be produced.
This may perhaps explain the reason for Simmonds central role in EARTHBOUND, and why he did not appear in other episodes after BREAKAWAY.
The focus on envoronmental issus in ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE seems, on the other hand, to be a thing introduced by this episode no. 6, and was a theme much to reoccur during the series along with other sociologial issus. My impression is that the scripts of Penfold and Byrne contained a much larger amount of social critizism than scripts made by other writers.
Perhaps this was due to the fact that Penfold and Byrne were quite young at the time (in their early twenties?), and therefore where more caught up in the general social concerns of the time than more establised writers like Terpiloff who perhaps was more interested in the inner issues of writing.
I understand that Edward di Lorenzo was a third part to this trio of young writers during the first third of the series, but left the production for some reason. The writings of di Lorenzo are also extrodinary fresh and interesting, but unlike Byrne, they seem to have been directed towards understanding of the human condition by understanding of the human psyche, and this is one reason why I like episodes like RING AROUND THE MOON and MISSING LINK so much. They are introvert.
We can't all have the same taste, however, so I suspect Mark and others who are not so fascinated with RING AROUND THE MOON find ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE more to their tastes. In fact, I'm very much under the impression that ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE is one of the episodes that very many have on their list of top ten Year One episodes. On my list it would perhaps rate a nine or ten.
In terms of plot I think it is one of the best in the series. Johnny Byrne has exclaimed that was was puzzled by the fact that director David Tomblin never made it as a major feature film director specialzing in action and suspence films. I assume that Byrne was quite content with how the script turned out as the episode was produced.
To me it's a very fine episode, but I don't get as emotionally exited over this one as with the previous five, I think.
I feel it's perhaps a bit too little character concern, too little concern for the things that make MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH and RING AROUND THE MOON work so well for me, too many grand gestures and too little acting by eye movements and tone of voice alone as done in the two works mentioned above.
To me ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE is more like "Towering Inferno" (1976), "Earthquake" (1974) or "Airport '77" with it's focus on great drama, rather than the Proustian style of MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH or the "noveau roman" style of Nathalie Saraute, Claude Simon and Alain Robbe-Grillet in RING AROUND THE MOON, filmed in a style that sometimes seems like the director is paying hommage to Jean-Luc Godard.
Petter
From: "Robert Ashley Ruiz" (cybrarian@cybrary1999.com) Date: Mon, 5 Jan 1998 07:53:34 -0700 Subj: Space1999: Re: Another Time, Another Place Eagle Optics
David Lerda wrote:
The footage of Koenig, Helena, and Carter stepping out of the Eagle would be reused again in "The Testament of Arkadia."
FYI, it's the same shot but used in different ways. One episode (ATAP) shows the interior of the Eagle's cockpit and then pans to the left before stopping to show the live action. The other omits the pan and thus crops the cockpit. You can see this on the Cybrary's Another Time, Another Place page.
From: NicStepro (NicStepro@aol44.com) Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 16:13:50 EST Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
Poor Dr. Mathias gets bonked again. No wonder he left the Medical Unit in Year 2!
Must be the European version where all the sex scenes get left in...
Nicolette
From: David Acheson (dkach@hotmail44.com) Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 03:34:06 PST Subj: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
We're at episode 6 already? Wow, where does the time go. I am late into my analysis this time as things pick up heavily at work. I am left with little time emailing from home. A busy start to 1998 indeed!
Overall I would say ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE is one of my favourites from year one - definitely on the best 10 list of the series. Like BLACK SUN, I did not care too much for it as a kid but appreciate it more today as an adult. Again, I have learned to appreciate good thinking stories over big budget special effects. (Although there are some cool effect sequences in this episode.)
I agree with Petter Ogland that this episode also marks the turning point for the series. The first five episodes were essentially early scripts that were worked on by various soles at the time the series was taking its first steps. In many ways, they were experimental episodes at a time a direction was trying to be forged out of the show. ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE was the first fully scripted Johnny Byrne episode to be filmed and definitely set the gothic, philosophical tone much of the rest of the series would follow. I believe much of the style though is owed more to director David Tomblin than anyone else. At this time I would put him as my second favourite first year director. He has a knack for beautifully filming these types of stories. Too bad he did not become a big feature film director. Johnny Byrne said he would be a good action director but I would have placed him more as director of big period pieces. But of course I only speculate. Although I was wondering what TITANIC would be like if it was done in his style?
Unlike STAR TREK, where time travel stories are used far too often, 1999 kept this to a minimum. I believe this was the only such storyline in year one. A visit to one's future self is an interesting twist too. Its easy to do a story where one goes into the past and changes history. Since this was only an alternate timeline the future events we see are only a possibility so the changes in year two do not actually destroy the logic behind the episode.
The beginning I always find to be a fascinating sequence as well as Regina's dream sequence. Very gothic and little dialogue. Very artistic - unusual for 1975 TV sci-fi. The highlight of the episode for me though is Barbara Bain having a conversation with herself - well, her future self. I often think how eerie it would be if I was in that situation. I am not so sure I would want to meet myself.
The marriage of the alternate Sandra and Paul seemed to have forged an idea in the series' writers. It was after this point where the relationship between these two started to happen. The first five episodes showed them only as co-workers and suggested that it was Tanya who had the hots for Paul. Poor Tanya. At least she didn't turn into the Carolyn Powell type.
While Judy Geeson seemed to be more prominent back in the 1970's she has not totally disappeared and that is good to see. Once in a while she makes a small guest appearance in a US series.
Someone brought up the fact that there was mention of nine planets around the sun when the moon was returning to our solar system. I have to agree that there is a continuity problem in the series. By episode six we had nothing filmed yet about Ultra. No problem right? The producers/script writers should have been more aware at the time DRAGON'S DOMAIN was filmed. Meta was not a problem because it was an interloper from outside.
I rambled on long enough. I'll let someone else have a go. And Petter, looking forward to discussing MISSING LINK next week.
David Acheson
From: Patricia Embury (Patriemb@sprintmail44.com) Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 18:37:57 -0500 Subj: Space1999: Another time/place
I enjoyed this episode, one of the better ones in the first season. The special effects of the moon and the Alphans separating were great, although Regina's sunburn/peeling looked more like toilet paper stuck to a man's face after he's cut himself shaving. The scence in which Helena confronts herself is well written and acted, and appears seamless. The Eagle shots, especially the crashed Eagle, and exiting the Eagle were good, although their age is showing. The lighting effects: the dimness of some of the sets, i.e., medical center, the alternate Earth and alternate Alpha, and Eagle, really added a surrealistic quality to the episode. The colored lights at the beginning and end were a little cheezy, but an effective way to note the beginning and end of the experience.
I appreciate even more the performance of Barry Morse as Victor. The speech he makes in Koenig's quarters/office where Koenig spins the globe is especially effective. Victor becomes the voice of reason when the alternate Alphans confront the landing party.
I enjoy watching Carter's character develop more. He is still confrontative and challenging to Koenig, but it is less aggressive than before. Nick Tate did a nice job with the "suprise, Regina thinks you're married" very well, when it could have backfired in the story. I like the way the writers included Carter putting flowers on her grave.
From: Jhon (jhon@pottsville.infi44.net) Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 21:09:55 -0500 Subj: Space1999: Favorite space ships/Another Time
[EDITOR'S NOTE: relevant parts only]
The best part of this episode is the sequences with Regina. I like how her personality changes when she sees Alan. Also, did you notice how everyone else's bodies doubled, but Regina's, while starting to split off, reverts back into herself.
Helena watching Helena through the window was very eerie, but then Sandra screamed. Did she perhaps know about the other Alphans?
I like when John and Alan go to the other moon. It's strange how it was those to who went, and found their dead counterparts.
Victor's ramblings on the planet while watching the two moons was very natural, and also quite expected. Perhaps everyone knew about the phoenomena. I like how Victor whistles all the time. He's also very good with miniature roses.
The story's ending was a little abrupt, but that's what you get when you limit yourself to an hour show. Later all.
From: LKJ1999 (LKJ1999@aol44.com) Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 17:30:53 EST Subj: Space1999: Another-Time-Place
My comment's on Another- Time-Place...
This is My N0.2 favorite episode from Y-1...
The number of times the word Eagle was said. (5) times...
Eagle lift off's (2)...
Eagle landings (3)...
Bloopers. Did anyone see the dark shadows in the ceiling above John and Pauls heads. In Main Mission. As they were going into the space warp...
I wonder what they were. Those Shadows...
Also when the Eagle lifts off from earth. It hits a tree limb...
All I can say is I love this Episode...
Chas P. LKJ1999
From: jcg@vh44.net Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 13:16:54 -0500 Subj: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
This is a year one weird stuff happens episode, but it is understandable.
My notes:
Where did they come up with the pronunciation for Regina? Is it a British thing? Why do they say it like it is spelled Regheena?
This episode has a lot of dialogue that was rerecorded after filming (dubbed). I wonder what problem they were having during filming?
The short scene in Med Center where they are first talking about Regina was completly meaningless. It also seems like it was originally longer. The dialog was dubbed.
The wide shot in the Commander's office where they are talking about Regina is also dubbed.
Helena has a line to the effect of "I'm looking for a connection between that event and what is happening to Regina..." I have always thought that was a dumb line. Do you really think she would have been going through all this if the event had never happened?
Another wide shot in the Commander's office with dubbing. I really think those large sets were echo chambers that hurt filming. I would love if someone who knows a year one production person could ask them about that.
Isn't it great when VIctor starts philosophizing. And I'd like to think that it drives the rest of the base nuts when he does it.
Why is Helena whispering all the time?
Regina has two brains? And each one is only half size (or is it one quarter size?) Nothing is done with it and it is just dumb. Does that mean the planet Regina has no brain?
I know it was done for drama and story, but would the Alphans have left two bodies in a crashed eagle on the suface of the moon? Do they not take care of their own?
Before they know the two moons are going to collide, why is Koenig so anxious to start Operation Exodus? The know there are unknown problems down below...maybe deadly, and Alpha is fully functional and safe. They are in orbit and have all the time in the world.
I don't know if it is 100 percent proper scale, but the shot of them exiting the eagle is the best.
See how much better Helena looks with a different hair style (the older Helena)?
For economic reasons the Alphan's disperse into different settlements? After a few generations maybe, but not when they are still trying to stay alive on a damaged world with limited resources.
Have they been on the planet five years? Then the older child is too old.
The battle of the Whispering Helenas...just dumb. The idea was good, but it doesn't work. And it is worse because both sound exactly the same...like they were dubbed at the same time with the same settings in the studio...it doesn't work.
Why does the older Helena just decide to die? I think it is less interesting that way. For a really good read on the subject of people meeting their future and past selves, I recommend the novel The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold.
In a way it is very funny that Victor comes up with this philosophical business of the moons colliding and time correcting itself, and everyone just buys it and returns to the moon. It is amazing what can be accomplished when the episode is nearing its end.
Why are they wearing simple robes? It looks good and rustic, but would late 20th century technical people go back to simple robes? I wouldn't.
It's one thing if they find a good planet and abandon the moon. But I don't buy them completly abandoning a fully operational base in safe orbit to live a rustic life. I think they would have kept Alpha and its technology up and running, to help supply the efforts on the surface.
From: djlerda@juno44.com Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 19:19:39 EST Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
This is a year one weird stuff happens episode, but it is understandable.
Alright! Time for a little scrap! :-)
Regina has two brains? And each one is only half size (or is it one quarter size?) Nothing is done with it and it is just dumb.
Have to agree with you on this one here. I think it would have been just as dramatic and more believable to say she had two brain wave patterns.
I know it was done for drama and story, but would the Alphans have left two bodies in a crashed eagle on the suface of the moon? Do they not take care of their own?
I always felt they left the Eagle there because they couldn't get the bodies. Parallel Victor said that the move to Earth consumed all of the Alphans resources including Eagles. Maybe they only had left one operational for trips to Alpha to retrieve anything they thought they would need later.
Before they know the two moons are going to collide, why is Koenig so anxious to start Operation Exodus?
Koenig was actually the cautious one. Alan was all gung-ho to go down right away. Koenig was just starting the Phase 1 reconaissance, not the full evacuation.
See how much better Helena looks with a different hair style (the older Helena)?
Does anyone know who created Barbara Bain's hairstyle in Year 1?
For economic reasons the Alphan's disperse into different settlements? After a few generations maybe, but not when they are still trying to stay alive on a damaged world with limited resources.
Maybe the soil has been so badly damaged that they can only support a limited number of people at each settlement and that is why they scattered.
Have they been on the planet five years? Then the older child is too old.
No arguement here. And the younger one is pushing it.
The battle of the Whispering Helenas...just dumb. The idea was good, but it doesn't work.
I have to disagree. I think this was one of the most effective scenes of the episode, if not all of Year 1.
Why does the older Helena just decide to die? I think it is less interesting that way.
I think she died inside a long time ago when John died. She hadn't really gotten over her grief and now she has a way to go back and be with him in another life. Kind of touching to me.
In a way it is very funny that Victor comes up with this philosophical business of the moons colliding and time correcting itself, and everyone just buys it and returns to the moon. It is amazing what can be accomplished when the episode is nearing its end.
I agree the ending was a little haphazard but that is one of the constraints of the TV medium: we have 52 minutes to tell a story, no more, no less. I still think this episode goes far better than shows like "Matter of Life and Death" and "Ring Around the Moon" where the opposite seemed to be the case. They had 15 minutes of story and tried to s-t-r-e-t-c-h it out into an hour.
Why are they wearing simple robes? It looks good and rustic, but would late 20th century technical people go back to simple robes? I wouldn't.
Maybe it was a matter of necessity. Wasn't there a loom shown in Helena's house? Eventually those moonbase uniforms are going to wear out.
It's one thing if they find a good planet and abandon the moon. But I don't buy them completly abandoning a fully operational base in safe orbit to live a rustic life. I think they would have kept Alpha and its technology up and running, to help supply the efforts on the surface.
Could be they did this at the beginning and gradually phased out their dependence on Alpha over say, a year. Or they may have faced an all or nothing situation where they had to up and relocate everyone to Earth or stay on Alpha. I think that would have been a tough situation for people to accept and that they would take their chances on Earth rather than Alpha.
From: South Central (Tamazunchale@webtv44.net) Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 16:52:21 -0800 Subj: Space1999: Two brains AT,AP
I always thought that she literally had two brains occupying the same space, interwoven, like dense tissue.
Also I was always fascinated by the selection of Santa Maria (a real place on the Central Coast of California). As a kid in NYC I imagined what it would be like. As an adult I got to visit Santa Maria a few times. It is a flat farming community with distant mountains, fairly close to the ocean. I thought of the episode everytime I went there. I wonder how Johnny Byrne came to choose Santa Maria? Or was this some American influence by the U.S. backers of the show?
Mateo
From: "Ellen C. Lindow" (sfdxb@scfn.thpl44.lib.fl.us) Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 21:19:59 -0500 (EST) Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
David Lerda did a great job of answering these questions, but I wanted a crack at a few of them too.
On Sat, 10 Jan 1998 jcg@vh.net wrote:
Where did they come up with the pronunciation for Regina? Is it a British thing? Why do they say it like it is spelled Regheena?
Giving the "G" a hard sound as in "give" instead of a soft sound is not unheard of. I kind of liked the different pronounciation.
Isn't it great when VIctor starts philosophizing. And I'd like to think that it drives the rest of the base nuts when he does it.
I always thought the same thing. I expect it amuses some people too.
Why is Helena whispering all the time?
Beats me. Could it be the same trouble with the sound on the sets? The whispering really annoyed me.
Regina has two brains? And each one is only half size (or is it one quarter size?) Nothing is done with it and it is just dumb. Does that mean the planet Regina has no brain?
This was a bothersome problem. I always felt uncomfortable with this explanation. Obviously, the Regina on the planet should drop dead immediately without a brain. The timing seemed odd. Why would it take her so long to die. There had to be a better explanation, but I haven't figured out one yet.
I know it was done for drama and story, but would the Alphans have left two bodies in a crashed eagle on the suface of the moon? Do they not take care of their own?
Yes, if they could. Victor does state that they canabalized all resources, including Eagles. I expect this was the only one left, for emergency use. So what was so important that they had to go back for it?
Before they know the two moons are going to collide, why is Koenig so anxious to start Operation Exodus? The know there are unknown problems down below...maybe deadly, and Alpha is fully functional and safe. They are in orbit and have all the time in the world.
Alpha may be fully functional, but so many weird things have happened to them, that I would guess they would all be anxious to get off while they could. Once they've gone into orbit, why wait? How long would the other Alphans wait if Koenig dragged his feet?
For economic reasons the Alphan's disperse into different settlements? After a few generations maybe, but not when they are still trying to stay alive on a damaged world with limited resources.
I can think of several reasons. Natural disasters would be less likely to effect the entire population. Hail or floods could wipe out centralized fields, but even if they are separated by only a day's walk, some of the crops could be uneffected. An epidemic-- something as simple as the flu, could be stopped easier with smaller communities, and not effect some groups at all. Spreading the population out could also have psychological benefits, instead of everyone seeing each other every day, visits between communities could become special occasions. The communities would create differences and varieties, they would be able to specialize in different things and offer alternative lifestyles.
Have they been on the planet five years? Then the older child is too old.
Nope, you've interpreted this wrong. John and Alan have been dead for five years. We don't know how long they've been on the planet, but I'd estimate 10 years, at the very least. Maybe more. They also left the number of children on the planet vague. Although Victor alludes that these two are the only ones, he never really says that, just says there will be more as their situation improves.
Why does the older Helena just decide to die? I think it is less interesting that way. For a really good read on the subject of people meeting their future and past selves, I recommend the novel The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold.
I agree with David Lerda on this one. Helena was finding an escape back to her loved one, and feeling that her replacement was there and she was no longer so desparately needed. However, The Man Who Folded Himself is Gerrold's best work, I also highly recommend it.
Why are they wearing simple robes? It looks good and rustic, but would late 20th century technical people go back to simple robes? I wouldn't.
Do you know how to manufacture zippers? Elastic? Robes are easy to make, requiring very little skill. Have you ever tried to make a pair of pants? Did you know that you have to have the curves for the front and back just right, or they are extremely uncomfortable. Plus they take a longer time to make than robes. Robes can be opened if you're hot, pulled tighter if you're cold, you can bend in them easily without running the risk of tearing the seat out of them. I expect most groups of people would revert to robes pretty fast.
It's one thing if they find a good planet and abandon the moon. But I don't buy them completly abandoning a fully operational base in safe orbit to live a rustic life. I think they would have kept Alpha and its technology up and running, to help supply the efforts on the surface.
If you could. Again, these guys haven't had much luck with their space program. Most of their efforts have been unsuccessful. And this place isn't a picnic. In order to build anything they may have needed everything on Alpha. And what if some kind of disaster strikes the Moonbase and you don't have enough people up there to deal with it, and not enough people on the ground to send adequate help. As Victor said, it was a decision that had to be made. There would have been a lot of options. None of them completely attractive. Koenig had some tough choices.
Did anyone notice that the helmets on the dead John and Alan had the names under the visor, while our live John and Alan have their names on the outside of the visors? I think this was a subtle reminder that these were not "our" Alphans, and this was not their history.
On a completely different topic, I saw the movie "Wag the Dog" last night.. This political satire has no car crashes, no sex, and no explosions-- well, almost. But it is fantastic. Very much like Mission: Impossible. Robert DeNiro's part could easily be Jim Phelps. Go see it?
From: Deborah Capuano (magneto@bc.seflin44.org) Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 21:41:36 -0500 (EST) Subj: Re: Space1999: Two brains AT,AP
I somehow doubt that the Santa Maria of the story was based on the California one...in a disaster of the sort hinted at, ie the Earth shifting on its axis, there'd be a lot of upheavals before all the volcanic ash settled. and California just happens to be an extremely upheaval prone area. the California Santa Maria would likely have sunk into the sea...
From: South Central (Tamazunchale@webtv44.net) Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 20:18:22 -0800 Subj: Space1999: Re: Two Brains
I think if you listen to Victor's comments about the location of Santa Maria he is indeed referring to Santa Maria in California. My VCR is on the blink but if I am not mistaken he says it is in North America and points it out on a map or globe.
Can anybody verify this?
Mateo
From: Mark Meskin (plastic.gravity@newrock44.com) Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 22:25:42 -0600 Subj: Space1999: Kalifornia
California would not sink into the sea during anytype of upheaval, and the small section of it that is located on the Juan de Fuca? plate is not going to "break off" either. A subduction zone exist off the coast, but most of the activity in the area is related to plates rubbing against on another, not one plate being subducted under another. There are no Volcanoes in this area. On the map victor has, its wuite obvious that Santa Maria is either in BAJA california, or just plain California.
On the other hand, its obvious that Santa Maria was decimated pretty heavily too, but since the Alphan Settlers arrived well after the Earth had stabilized this is irrelevant.
-Mark
From: djlerda@juno44.com Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 23:56:41 EST Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
David Lerda did a great job of answering these questions, but I wanted a crack at a few of them too.
And I thank you for the compliment. :-)
Nope, you've interpreted this wrong. John and Alan have been dead for five years. We don't know how long they've been on the planet, but I'd estimate 10 years, at the very least.
I always thought it was five years as well. The line wasn't very well written. Instead of Helena saying, "Their Eagle crashed on the moon about 5 years ago", she should have said, "They were killed on impact when their Eagle crashed. I estimate they've been dead at least 5 years." Just the way the original line was written had me thinking they were 5 years into the future of a parallel universe. Never thought to interpret it the other way. Thanks for pointing that out.
However, The Man Who Folded Himself is Gerrold's best work, I also highly recommend it.
Anyone out there know if it is back in print?
isn't a picnic. In order to build anything they may have needed everything on Alpha. And what if some kind of disaster strikes the Moonbase and you don't have enough people up there to deal with it,
Not to mention as Koenig stated in "Death's Other Dominion", Alpha could not function without all of its trained personnel onboard. Everyone would have to stay on Alpha or go to the Earth. And after everything they had been through, I'm sure popular opinion would have been to take a stab at restoring life to a devestated world as opposed to continuing to live cooped up on Alpha.
From: David Acheson (dkach@hotmail44.com) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 03:36:43 PST Subj: Space1999: Santa Maria
Is the Santa Maria the Alphans went down to on the future Earth the same one that is in California? I say it is supposed to be. I seem to remember that at the time Victor was explaining that Santa Maria was the only spot left capable of supporting human life that he was pointing to the west coast of the United States on Koenig's globe. I don't have the episode on tape but hopefully someone can check this scene out. This is the way I remember it.
And why shouldn't Santa Maria (or the general area) still be around. We know something disastrous happened to the Earth but we never once were told what exactly happened. The Earth's axis was tilted so great devastation would be caused by flooding, volcanoes and earthquakes. Even if the "Big One" hits not all of California will sink into the ocean. The myth has gotten so blown out of proportion. But we also hear talk about radiation. Did a nuclear holocaust also take place? The exact cause of the destruction of life on Earth was never pinpointed.
From: David Acheson (dkach@hotmail44.com) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 04:10:37 PST Subj: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place, Another Analysis
Why would the Alphans leave the technological world of Alpha for a rustic start on the devastated future Earth if there was no rush to leave Alpha? Why wouldn't they? I would probably do the same thing. Being holed up on a barren airless world is no picnic either. Space living is also harsh even in the futuristic moonbase of the series. Besides one can start having what is more of a normal life down on the planet. People can live in their own homes and marry and raise their own children. Alpha, at least in the early days, was just not equipped for raising a future generation. People would also begin to have a sense of self-worth. Sure life would not be easy but they would be living their own lives which I believe is important to the human soul. So we can see why the Alphans would sacrifice their technology in order to start all over again.
Don't get me wrong. I am not a granola-crunching environmentalist (no offence intended). I myself would love to live in a futuristic technology-filled space age but when face with the same predicament the Alphans ran into I would do what they did.
Helena's whispering? Well I always thought the low-keyed chat between the two Helenas as being very dramatic. This is television after all - not real life. I myself find the scene to be the highlight of the episode.
The alternate Helena's death makes sense to me. Like others had previously stated, she had died internally since the future John's death. It is possible that it was time that her soul made peace with herself and decided it was time. The human body is more mysterious than we think. Look at how many elderly people die shortly after their spouse dies after spending a long lifetime together. This was the case with my great grandparents. After a long marriage my great grandmother died early in the year of their deaths and several months later my great grandfather died. We all knew it was a broken heart. He just was not the same and missed her greatly. Sort of touching when we think about this situation. I believe the future Helena's confrontation with our Helena was really a cleansing of the soul. Now it is hard to believe it happened instantly but television has time constraints.
As for Alan and Koenig's bodies on the lunar surface? There may have been a reason. Sometimes the greater good is more important than the wants of a few. Unfortunately, we never really are told why they were left behind but I believe that the Alphans had a good reason to do so. I'm sure that the Alphans were heart broken over any decision to leave them their.
That's about all. ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE still is one of the better year one episodes. Tomorrow is the start of MISSING LINK week.
David
From: LKJ1999 (LKJ1999@aol44.com) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 07:16:13 EST Subj: Space1999: Another Time-Place
My VCR is on the blink. But if I am not mistaken he says it is in north america and points it out on a map or globe.
Yes I can verify that he does point at a map . And Victor points at Santa Maria...
Chas P. LKJ1999
From: "Petter Ogland" (petter.ogland@dnmi44.no) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 14:55:06 +0000 Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
This is a year one weird stuff happens episode [ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE], but it is understandable.
It depends what one means by understandable, I suppose. It is a story which seems much more linear and is told in a much more linear way than for example RING AROUND THE MOON and MISSING LINK. In this way it is perhaps more understandable.
If it is more understandable in other ways, I'm not too sure. I have watched this episode repeatedly this week, but am still a bit uneasy on what Byrne et al is trying to tell us, the meaning of the story as such.
I think one of the best analysis I've read on ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE so far was the letter by Quintin some months ago when he drew parallells to the writing of Jean-Paul Sartre, Sartre's famous "La Nausee" (1937) in particular.
All the play on doubleness in the episode and the play on living two lives, one life as modern man trying to find a home in the universe by use of science and technology and one life as modern man having regressed to primitive measures living of the land, or what's left of it.
ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE is a grim story in many ways, I think. It is, like most of Johnny Byrne's stories, not too optimistic on the behalf of the way mankind is evolving, almost like Lope di Vega and other writers of the renaissance dreaming of an Arkadia of the past when life was simple and all we had to think of was sheparding and working on the fields.
In some ways THE TESTAMENT OF ARKADIA almost seems like a remake of ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE. The moral seems to be the same: The life we humans are meant to live is the rustic life of our forfathers. This is the life we would like to live if it were not for the complexity of modern life with its science and technology.
In neither the case of ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE nor THE TESTAMENT OF ARKADIA is this a viable solution. In the case of THE TESTAMENT OF ARKADIA a couple jump of modern society in order to start a new life of their own, closer to nature, but this jepordizes the whole community.
In ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE the central point is that the two worlds will unite and time will resurrect itself. Does Johnny Byrne mean by this that both set of values, the modern and the archaic, should unite in order for humans to lead a better life? Byrne does not state it as a question, it is rather just the way thing goes.
Perhaps his philosophical input is that the values of the communities in ANOTHER TIME ANDOTHER PLACE and THE TESTAMENT OF ARKADIA is so inherit in us that they will return no matter how much we may flirt with science and technology.
Other comments from JCG and David Lerda:
See how much better Helena looks with a different hair style (the older Helena)?Does anyone know who created Barbara Bain's hairstyle in Year 1?
Personally I find Helena looks excellent in Year One, both the way she talks, her body language and appearance in general is in my opinion superb and by all means much, much better than for instance in Year Two of the same series. In Year Two people also have a disturbing tendency of shouting instead of speaking, as JCG has pointed out so frequently.
I think she died inside a long time ago when John died. She hadn't really gotten over her grief and now she has a way to go back and be with him in another life. Kind of touching to me.
I definitely agree, David. Just look at the eyes of Landau as he sees the older Helena approaching while the younger is in the background. He seems utterly confused.
While I don't regard this episode as highly as MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH and RING AROUND THE MOON, it certainly has its moments, the scenes on earth, with its excellent eerie lightning and colour are tremendous. It makes quite a contrast to the paradise in the finale of MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH.
From: Patricia Embury (Patriemb@sprintmail44.com) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 12:22:21 -0500 Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
Yes, if they could. Victor does state that they canabalized all resources, including Eagles. I expect this was the only one left, for emergency use. So what was so important that they had to go back for it?
This is going to sound incredibly stupid, but I have to say it anyway. If Alan and John went back for something, then how did the Alphans know they died? Obviously the other Alphans probably guessed something bad happened when they didn't return, but they had no concrete proof. Victor says "You've come back" when he first spots John. Did the duplicate Victor think it was the duplicate John?
As for the Regina has two brains, the other Regina probably suffered from the same thing as the regular Regina, an incomplete separation.
From: "Mark Meskin" (plastic.gravity@newrock44.com) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 12:31:04 -0600 Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
Yes, that sounds right, Ive always thought that line sounded funny until now! I think one of the biggest problem 1999 writers had was keeping things coherent in the early episodes.
From: djlerda@juno44.com Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 16:18:42 EST Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
This is going to sound incredibly stupid, but I have to say it anyway. If Alan and John went back for something, then how did the Alphans know they died?
I would imagine they would have kept some communications equipment operational to maintain contact with any Eagle that was sent to Alpha. And of course John or Alan would do the dramatic, "We're in trouble! We're going to crash!". I'm sure the Alphans would have been able to put two and two together.
From: Patricia Embury (Patriemb@sprintmail44.com) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 12:35:30 -0500 Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place, Another Analysis
Why would the Alphans leave the technological world of Alpha for a rustic start on the devastated future Earth if there was no rush to leave Alpha? Why wouldn't they? I would probably do the same thing. Being holed up on a barren airless world is no picnic either.
Excellent points, David. Don't forget, Earth was, and still his, their home. The pull to go home is probably the the strongest impulse they had. Look at how eager Carter was to go down and look around.
From: judas@netmatters44.co.uk (B J Dowling) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 19:28:29 +0000 Subj: Space1999: Another Time Another Place
Hi folks,
I've spent the weekend (or most of it) away. Here are some brief thoughts on ATAP:
I don't know why, but I'm a sucker for mirror universe stories. Some of them are complete garbage, but the good ones do stand out, and usually have several excellent scenes. The Doctor Who story "Inferno" from 1971 pretty much tops my list as the best P-U story, and I would commend it to anyone who is starting to get into the series or would like to see an excellent performance from the late Jon Pertwee. Anyway, I digress...
Top performance from Nick Tate in this story - the scenes where Regina throws herself at him are truly heart rending (must be his aftershave :-) ) and the scene where he and John find their duplicate corpses in the crashed Eagle is chilling to the bone. Seeing one's own dead body, like being buried alive, is the stuff of the worst nightmares and horror stories.
This portrayal of such scenes, along with their asking the questions it poses (and leaving us with no definitive answer, as per The Troubled Spirit) is something which makes season 1 stand out from other series. There's usually a really heavy philosophical question asked somewhere which gets the viewer thinking about such things.
By way of comparison, although several series portray scenes like this, with issues like genocide, self-sacrifice, prolonging life indefinitely, spiritual issues et cetera, very few actually ask the important questions related to those issues to get the viewer thinking. Genesis of the Daleks is the only thing which comes to mind which most people here are likely to know about - the scene where Tom Baker asks "Touch these strands and the Daleks are finished... Do I have that right?" is one of a select few which does just that (Let's ignore the fact thet Sylv McCoy gets rid of the whole Dalek race in Remembrance of the Daleks 14 years or so later for this discussion).
I'm not sure exactly what specific question is being asked here, as I've never met my alternate selves (infinite parallel universes and all that kind of thing), but this story seems different in that the alternate Alphans seem to be the same as the "normal" Alphans; reacting in the same way as we would expect "our" Alphans to, despite their going through different experiences. Others (Doctor Who, Trek & DS9) have alternate universes whose characters are very different from what we take as normal.
The bit with Regina having two brains is a bit laughable, though any headaches as a result of such a complaint must be murder. At this point, I couldn't help but think back to a tacky horror film called Inseminoid, which also starred Judy Geeson. If you haven't seen it, it's a poorly written, badly acted film with very dodgy but very gory FX. That I thought back to that film says just how badly that scene failed.
Security must have got a frightful rollocking after that guard got done over (dare I say bonked? :-) ) by Regina. Another gun which shouldn't have been taken. We're looking at what could be called schizophrenia, I think, so why wasn't a full medical analysis done? I can't help but get the feeling that if a full med check was done, all this 2 brain stuff might have been discovered earlier.
Can I sound off a little here? No offence intended to anyone, but... Why do all the episodes with some kind of involvement with Earth point straight towards the US? What's the thing with California and Texas?
I'll agree with David's view of Alternate Helena's death, her simply existing on a physical rather than emotional level until she finds an opportunity to rejoin her beloved John.
Three great scenes in this story get eclipsed by Victor when he tells John, Alan and Helena to go back to Alpha because if they're not there "When time corrects itself, then you will have no place to die". You just can't argue with that kind of statement; its effect is massive, telling them that they could end up in some kind of Purgatory. What an effect that would have on Alpha, if it happened, I dread to think. The tremendous impact of that line does overshadow the ending a little, but from that point onward, there was only one thing for John to do and that was take them back to Alpha, so the overshadowing is quite understandable. What scene could follow that and not be overshadowed?
Possibly one of the hardest hitting scenes in the series from the point of view of philosophical impact - no need to be a scholar here, it hits home with great force. Suffice it to say that Barry Morse delivers the line with the gravitas it deserves, and nobody could have delivered it better.
It's a strange mixture, this one. Works better than Ring Around The Moon, has some great scenes and some that don't work too well. Overall, the good outweighs the bad, so it lies just below Earthbound in my overall ratings thus far.
When are we doing Dragon's Domain & The Troubled Spirit?
From: djlerda@juno44.com Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 18:17:09 EST Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time Another Place
I don't know why, but I'm a sucker for mirror universe stories. Some of them are complete garbage, but the good ones do stand out, and usually have several excellent scenes. The Doctor Who story "Inferno" from 1971 pretty much tops my list as the best P-U story, and I would commend it to anyone
I remember this one also. Although the creature costumes are laughable. :-) Speaking of Parallel Universe stories, don't forget the Star Trek: TNG episode "Yesterday's Enterprise", the original Outer Limits episode "The Man Who Was Never Born" (starring you-know-who), and the new Outer Limits episode "A Stich In Time".
Top performance from Nick Tate in this story - the scenes where Regina throws herself at him are truly heart rending (must be his aftershave :-)
There was a line in the novelization that I wished they had left in. When she first comes charging at him in the Medical Center and passes out, in the novel he says, "What was that about? I hardly know her." I think it would have made the scene a little more dramatic.
and the scene where he and John find their duplicate corpses in the crashed Eagle is chilling to the bone. Seeing one's own dead body, like being buried alive, is the stuff of the worst nightmares and horror stories.
Also the scene where John sees his body on the autopsy table before Helena covers it up. Creepy.
Genesis of the Daleks is the only thing which comes to mind which most people here are likely to know about - the scene where Tom Baker asks "Touch these strands and the Daleks are finished... Do I have that right?"
Sort of like "Mission of the Darians." - to what lengths will a race go to survive and how will they rationalize it?
Can I sound off a little here? No offence intended to anyone, but... Why do all the episodes with some kind of involvement with Earth point straight towards the US? What's the thing with California and Texas?
Not to sound arrogant here, but I think it had to do with the fact that in those days the American market was so crucial to the show's profits that the writers probably had to put those references in. Why California and Texas? Beats the hell out of me but I'ld hazard to guess that it's because they are famiiar locations within the US. Not all the locations in SF series related to the US. As a kid, I always wondered why the aliens in UFO were always landing in the British Isles.
When are we doing Dragon's Domain & The Troubled Spirit?
If we are going to continue to follow the production order, not for a while.
From: "Ellen C. Lindow" (sfdxb@scfn.thpl44.lib.fl.us) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 18:22:58 -0500 (EST) Subj: Space1999: Another Time Another Place
So what do you think Helena did with the alternate Alan and John? Did their bodies disappear when the moons collided?
From: Patricia Embury (Patriemb@sprintmail44.com) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 22:39:25 -0500 Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time Another Place
Security must have got a frightful rollocking after that guard got done over (dare I say bonked? :-) ) by Regina. Another gun which shouldn't have been taken.
I'm suprised she could deck him with just a commlock!
Can I sound off a little here? No offence intended to anyone, but... Why do all the episodes with some kind of involvement with Earth point straight towards the US? What's the thing with California and Texas?
It seems it's not just 1999 that uses Texas and California. I've read other survivalist-type things that have used this region, and played Wasteland, which I believe was set in this area. Not only is it the name recognition the writers went for, but it is farther south which might enable it to survive some environmental catastrophe involving any of the polar regions. That's my guess, anyway.
From: Pertti.Ruismaki@datex-engstrom44.com Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 09:02:06 +0200 Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
Where did they come up with the pronunciation for Regina? Is it a British thing? Why do they say it like it is spelled Regheena?Giving the "G" a hard sound as in "give" instead of a soft sound is not unheard of. I kind of liked the different pronounciation.
I believe that it is based on the fact that Regina is a Latin word (=queen) and in Latin g is pronounced that way.
By the way, how are the first names of some of our favourite Andersons pronounced, Gerry and Gillian? Is it like Jerry and Jillian?
-Pertti
From: Riccardo Iommi (r.iommi@mailcity44.com) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 23:26:21 -0700 Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time Another Place
So what do you think Helena did with the alternate Alan and John? Did their bodies disappear when the moons collided?
I think the most logical answer is, from a merely physical point of view, their bodies disappeared and returned to their alternate timeline. Don't ask me where and how!
From: Riccardo Iommi (r.iommi@mailcity44.com) Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 23:40:14 -0700 Subj: Space1999: A question Another Time/Place
Sorry I'm late with Another Time/Place, but check this out: what time is it on the alternate moonbase when commander Koenig switches off the navigation signal?
From: "Petter Ogland" (petter.ogland@dnmi44.no) Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 09:39:31 +0000 Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time Another Place
This portrayal of such scenes, along with their asking the questions it poses (and leaving us with no definitive answer, as per The Troubled Spirit) is something which makes season 1 stand out from other series. There's usually a really heavy philosophical question asked somewhere which gets the viewer thinking about such things.
Good point, Brian. I've also tried to ask myself what Byrne is hinting at in these stories. Perhaps Quintin could eloborate more on this, but Sartre's maximes abount being "doomed to make choices" does seem to make some kind of sense to me. Perhaps the double lives could be read as different ways we perceive ourselfes.
I'm not sure exactly what specific question is being asked here, as I've never met my alternate selves (infinite parallel universes and all that kind of thing), but this story seems different in that the alternate Alphans seem to be the same as the "normal" Alphans; reacting in the same way as we would expect "our" Alphans to, despite their going through different experiences.
The mirror universe of ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE is very different from the similar mirror effects of the false Victor in MISSING LINK and the evil Koenig in SEEDS OF DESTRUCTION. The destructive Koenig in SEEDS OF DESTRUCTION is an intersting character, I think. SEEDS OF DESTRUCTION is an episode about loyalty, it seems to me, and very much like COLLISION COURSE, it questions the leadership structure on Alpha or how we organize society. An issue also discussed in THE SEANCE SPECTRE and as what you've referred to as the Moses Analogy in MISSING LINK.
Unlike SEEDS OF DESTRUCTION and THE SEANCE SPECTRE, ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE seems less political or less occupoied with raising questions concerning the military type of organization of Alpha. The episode does, however, seem to raise the question about what we do if we should happpen to meet ourselves in the doorway.
The idea of seeing oneself from the outside is a fascinating idea, I think, if horrifying. Sandra's reaction as she sees the double Helena seems quite appropriate.
What does it mean to meet oneself in the doorway, anyway? Some of the best points made on ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE this week was by David Acheson, I find. His description of the Alphans longing for settling down was magnificent. Brilliant insight to the series!
was only one thing for John to do and that was take them back to Alpha, so the overshadowing is quite understandable. What scene could follow that and not be overshadowed?
Great point, Brian, I couldn't have agreed more.
It's a strange mixture, this one. Works better than Ring Around The Moon, has some great scenes and some that don't work too well. Overall, the good outweighs the bad, so it lies just below Earthbound in my overall ratings thus far.
It will be interesting to hear your views on MISSING LINK, Brian, an episode I regard very highly and find very similar to RING AROUND THE MOON. Personally I like the style of RING AROUND THE MOON better than ANOTHER TIME ANOTHER PLACE, perhaps EARTHBOUND too, but I regard it nevertheless as one of the better episodes of the series and perhaps one of Johnny Byrne's very best.
From: "Petter Ogland" (petter.ogland@dnmi44.no) Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 09:49:45 +0000 Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time Another Place
There was a line in the novelization that I wished they had left in. When she first comes charging at him in the Medical Center and passes out, in the novel he says, "What was that about? I hardly know her." I think it would have made the scene a little more dramatic.
I think the original teleplay was excellent here. By using the dialogue from the novel, the result seems to be something quite different.
The charming part of the way it was executed, as I see it, is that it allows Nick Tate some superb acting, displaying a combination of care for Regina and confusion. Come to think of it, the scenes with Regina and Alan Carter represent in my mind some of the best work Nick Tate ever did in the series, well apart from the excellent COLLISION COURSE where he really outdoes himself.
From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi44.no) Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 09:59:22 +0000 Subj: Re: Space1999: Another Time, Another Place
By the way, how are the first names of some of our favourite Andersons pronounced, Gerry and Gillian? Is it like Jerry and Jillian?
In the SPACE:1999 DOCUMENTARY I think Gerry Anderson referes to himself as "Jerry"...
From: LKJ1999 (LKJ1999@aol44.com) Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 06:46:09 EST Subj: Space1999: A question Another time/ Place.
Riccardo wrote.
Sorry I'm late with Another Time/ Place, But check this out what time is it on the alternate moonbase when commander Koenig switces off the navagation signal
The clock showed a time of (3:35) AM or PM ? That I DO NOT KNOW...
Chas P. LKJ1999
From: Riccardo Iommi (r.iommi@mailcity44.com) Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 04:51:57 -0700 Subj: Re: Space1999: A question Another time/ Place.
The clock showed a time of (3:35) AM or PM ? That I DO NOT KNOW...
Yeah Chas, your answer is correct: 3:35.
In this case we see how misleading are sometimes the non-digital clocks!
Should we start a campaign with Polygram to reveal whether it was AM or PM?
See ya
Riccardo
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