Episode by Episode:
'Mark of Archanon'
From: South Central (Tamazunchale@web44tv.net)
Date: Sun, 2 Aug 1998 21:45:02 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Space1999: Episode by Episode
This week's episode is The Mark of Archanon. Monday, August 3 through
Sunday, August 9.
Mateo
From: jcg@vh4tag.net
Date: Sun, 02 Aug 1998 23:21:02 -0400
Subject: Space1999: Mark Of Archanon
Except for the fact that he is the lead, why is Alan leading the scientific
hunt for crystals? He's a pilot, not a scientist or geologist.
Even though they are referring to a planet visit we never saw (Crom II),
it's nice at least to have some reason that the Alphans recognize an alien
warning symbol.
For whatever reason, all of Etrec's lines have been dubbed in by an adult
doing a kid's voice. In fact, there is a lot of dubbing in this episode.
Because of plot, the aliens are left alone in Medical Center, so they then
can just stroll into Command Center.
There is a lot of dialog for a year two episode, and it doesn't make me
cringe. I think the more "natural" kind of talking as in this episode was
an improvement.
And at least it's Maya who's heard of Archanon, and not the Alphans.
I don't think metors flying by would disrupt radio signals. And of course
some of the hits the eagle was taking would have destroyed it.
One of my chief complaints about year one was the discussions about the
unknown were sometimes badly and very simplisticly written. The two
doctors talking about the speutm samples sound very natural and not at all
stupid.
And why is the head of security doing the scientific analysis of the alien
equipment?
The aliens are summoned to Medical Center, and again they go off on their
own...ah the needs of plot.
There are many times here where Tony is very cold and calculating...like
when he bluffs about killing the boy...I like it...he does have the
practical side of the armed protector.
I like the "last privilege of the killing sickness." Not a happy ending,
but to me a logical one.
I think the episode tag should have been that final scene of Etrec bent
over his dead father with the "Humanity" music fading into the freeze
frame and production credit...much more dramatic.
Despite my petty and unwelcome nits above, I like this episode. There were
a lot of places where it could have been really stupid...but it wasn't.
And again it wasn't some strange unexplainable force, or the little
buildings blowing up, or automatically hostile aliens (at least not a race
of aliens...and the evil was a sickness...not just a plain badness.)
For me, this is a strong year two episode.
(And of course the funny thing to me will be if it doesn't generate as much
philosophical discussion as run and jump Rules of Luton.)
From: South Central (Tamazunchale@web44tv.net)
Date: Sun, 2 Aug 1998 21:47:56 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon
Why in the HELL didn't the Alphans ask the Archanons to transport them
to a habitable planet or give them a spacecraft so that they could use
it in case they came near (but not too near) a system with possibly
habitable planets.
This loss of focus of the Alphans main goal--finding a place to live--is
totally unforgiveable!!
Mateo
From: David Acheson (dkach@hot44mail.com)
Subject: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon
Date: Mon, 03 Aug 1998 08:03:28 EDT
Another week and another episode to discuss. First I would like to say I
really wish I could like THE MARK OF ARCHANON greatly but must state
that I remain disappointed with the end results. To me its the same
situation as THE EXILES - good storyline but suffers badly from poor
execution. The rushed production of this episode and some others in year
two do often show through giving these episodes a somewhat cheapened
look compared to the extravagance of many year one (and some year two)
episodes.
There are many concepts that I liked in this episode. First, the mining
of the moon. Such a reasonable solution yet why was it NEVER introduced
during the first year? Big faux pas on the Andersons' part. I often
wondered though just when the catacombs began? Did mining begin as a
commercial venture before BREAKAWAY and the Alphans simply continued for
practical purposes? Or did the Alphans start it up after Sept. 13, 1999
as a means to secure some vital mineral resources after supplies from
Earth were cut off? The novel ALIEN SEED, which I read several eons ago
but no longer have, was the only year one story that had a similar
concept. I believe they used some of the underground chambers for food
production which I would assume would be the case in the series (even
though it was never mentioned).
The idea of aliens visiting Earth during our earliest civilizations was
all the rage during the 60s and 70s after THE CHARIOTS OF THE GODS so
the Archanon storyline was bound to happen. Nevertheless it is still an
interesting hypothesis. The Archanons as missionaries of peace who
stumble across the violent backwater known as Earth. The moon would be a
perfect place for a base. It is no coincidence that the Archanon
fashions look Babylonian as I believe the intention was that some of the
aliens' presence on Earth affected ealier civilizations ala THE CHARIOTS
OF THE GODS. Personally, I tend to believe mankind progressed on its own
but the above does make great sci-fi. Hypothesizing is what sci-fi does
best.
I even liked the idea of the killing sickness (hereditary in males only)
and Pasc and Etrec being left behind. Sure, the mission to Earth had to
be abandoned but the peaceful Archanons couldn't do in Pasc and Etrec.
Father and son were caught and frozen rather than be killed - a NO NO on
Archanon. Thus violence is a disease on this alien world rather than a
part of their nature. One wonders whether this was natural selection or
the Archanons played with genetics to try to remove violence from their
gene pool and the killing sickness happens to be a mutation from that
attempt? Of course I am only speculating but its interesting food for
thought? Psychon was rather peaceful but had its own horrors so can
Archanon be a true Utopia?
So as one can see there is a lot of material in this episode to think
about rather than Fred Freiberger's straightforward running around. Lew
Schwartz was the scriptwriter who gave us the story but I admit I have
never heard of him and this was his only contribution to the series.
Thus it is hard to base an opinion on his writings but I do like the
concepts presented, as hidden and undeveloped as many of them were.
In the end it is the shoddy production and bad acting that did this
story in for me. Not since THE EXILES have I seen an episode so
overwhelmingly dubbed. I don't know anything about the actors who played
Pasc and his son Etrec but they were horrible here. Maybe our British
listmembers can help us out on this one! Its unfortunate because I
rather liked the idea of Alan Carter and the boy bonding. Carter walks
out of the shadows as a major player in this episode and shows his soft
side for the first time since ALPHA CHILD. Unfortunately, it all comes
out rather poorly. Etrec is no Jackie Crawford.
Again the conflict between Pasc and Helena should have been the
highlight of the episode considering Pasc had his inner duel and his
love of his son to deal with and Helena was edging him on. Yet instead
of feeling for the character I came away as rather unattached. Another
"could-have-been-powerful" moment wasted.
And talk about horrible special effects? That meteor storm that Koenig
and Maya's eagle went through was absolutely the worst thing I have ever
seen on the series. Considering Brian Johnson can do asteroid shots
faily well (END OF ETERNITY) I am shocked over the poor execution of
this sequence. Did Ed Wood step in for the day? If this sequence was not
feasible considering the timing or budget then they should have went
with something else.
Irony? Best line in the episode was uttered by the worst actress in the
series. Yasko: "How could a mother do that to her own son?" - refering
to Pasc's lie about Lyra leading a coup against Pasc and
Etrec and abandoning them on the moon. Its the first indication that
Pasc's story might have holes in it. The line, of course, was delivered
badly but I liked it nonetheless. Too bad Sandra wasn't around to utter
it.
So sum it all up. Charles Chrichton, a year one and two veteran, did
much better directing work in the past and not even his talent could
saved this rushed production. A lower than middle episode that, like THE
EXILES, could have been a lot better given decent time and better
acting. Still, nowhere as silly as THE TAYBOR or just plain terrible.
David Acheson
From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 14:37:34 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon
> Lew Schwartz was the scriptwriter who gave us the story but I admit I have
> never heard of him and this was his only contribution to the series.
According to Pierre Fageolle Lew Schwartz was a pseudonym used by Lew
Grade! If this is really so, Freiberger must have invited Lord Grade to
write something just for fun or relaxation I suppose, I suspect the
killing sickness in this episode could be a symbol of the killer instinct
in the business world and Lord Grade writing about consequences of
agressive business behaviour related to the domestic scene of home and
family.
> Best line in the episode was uttered by the worst actress in the
> series. Yasko: "How could a mother do that to her own son?" - refering
> to Pasc's lie about Lyra leading a coup against Pasc and
> Etrec and abandoning them on the moon. Its the first indication that
> Pasc's story might have holes in it.
I do not dare start speculating about what this might imply if we assume
that Pasc is the alter ego of Lord Grade! Goodness gracious! However, I
do, in fact, believe we have another episode here that makes little sense
unless we are willing do another round of psycho-analysis speculations.
Petter
From: MCK067@aol4tag.com
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 12:04:32 EDT
Subject: Space1999: Mark of Archanon
IMHO, one of the better Year 2 offerings. At least they weren't running
around shooting at bug-eyed monsters. I thought the interplay between Carter
and the boy was what made this episode -- we get to see our intrepid pilot in
a fatherly mode. Very effective. I didn't find the boy to be as spooky as
Jackie Crawford (that kid gave me the heebie-jeebies, partly because he bore a
striking resemblance to an old schoolmate who used to eat paste), and I think
the penultimate scene where Etrec stabs himself while Alan watches lacked
tension. Perhaps the angle from which it was shot -- I for one expected
something more dramatic, not the kid tumbling over with tomato paste all over
his hands. I find Pasc to be particularly benign, even while he's holding
Helena hostage. I just never quite bought him as a homocidal maniac...He was
much more believable in Command Center detailing the history of the Archanons,
even though he was lying through his teeth. The actor (whose name escapes me)
was convincing as the leader of his expedition, but as a laser toting,
forehead-blazing loony-toon bent on killing everyone in sight -- nah, I don't
think so....
One thing that (MAJORLY) bothered me, that has been mentioned in this episode
discussion before: Why didn't the Archanon's offer the Alphans a ride to a
habitable planet? Apparently they have the technology for deep-space travel,
and for once they're a race of people with no interest in Maya's brain stem or
that nifty little life support system everybody else wanted to get their hands
on. Yet not a soul on Alpha thinks to ask, "Hey, can you get us off this
wandering cinder?" That was the main concern in Year 1, even to the point
that the Alphans considered colonizing a big ball of ice in DOD, and yet in
Year 2, that mission seems to have been all but abandoned.
And also something which someone else mentioned, that has bugged me -- what is
Alan Carter doing in the catacombs? Maybe he had a double major in college --
space reconnaisance AND geology...who knows...But it makes no sense. Of
course, in the EXILES, neither does bringing down and cutting open a cylinder
that everyone assumes to be a missile, but that's another
discussion...(Koenig: "Moving parts..." Well, DUH, Dick Tracy! You
supposedly think it's a MISSILE, what do you expect to find inside, whipped
cream? Then they act shocked when it blows up. Arrrrgghh...o.k., I won't get
started...) ;)
Still, those are nitpicks. All in all I think MOA is an enjoyable episode,
although Koenig is missed in this one. Would have made for some greater
tension if he was on-base while Pasc had Helena in that Eagle.
Cute blooper, that really should have been re-shot: The last scene, when
Koenig and Helena kiss, the actors can't seem to decide who's head goes which
way. You'd think after how many years of marriage, Landau and Bain could
manage an on-screen smooch without twisting their heads this way n' that ;)
And lastly, something off-topic: If you haven't had a chance to read Ellen
Lindow's "New Lives Beyond the Black Sun, Revisited" please do! One of the
best pieces of fan fiction I've read in a long, long time. Unfortunately, I
found it one late night while my eyes were blurry and my brain unfocused, and
I've forgotten how I got to the website. Ellen, HELP! Where is this story
located? I'd like to print it off...
Anyhoo, thanks for the chance to add my $.02
MCK
=====================
"Loyalty is better than logic...
creation is better than destruction...
hope is better than despair..."
From: " Tom Miller" (tmiller@north44net.org)
Subject: Space1999: The Mark....
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 15:46:17 -0400
I liked this episode. Alan would be bored between long spells of no
flights. He would volenteer to do these things...
Also, Tony would be involved with the research, the same as any good
security person would...
The idea of no hope and our medicine can't cure all should be best taken to
heart. The arogance of Dr. Russell to say, we can fix him with a little
blood.....
Overall, a good sobering episode. Alan continues to show charecter, and so
does Tony. Too bad, the "future is fantastic!" or was ......
tom
[EDITOR'S NOTE: The beginning of this next note originates from
within the ExE: "Rules of Luton" thread.]
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 17:12:50 -0500
From: Chris Hlady (chlady@escape4tag.ca)
Subject: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon or Saving Etrec
David J Lerda wrote me:
-------------
>>DJL: ethnic warfare is the (unfortunately) wave of the future.
>
>Utterly wrong.
Chris,
In what way did you think that I was utterly wrong? Just curious.
-----------
All right, and to save time, I'll multitask that with a compare and
contrast of The Mark of Archanon to Saving Private Ryan and jcg's comment
regarding Tony and security:
Greg Martinez recommended seeing "Saving Private Ryan" (n.b. Not that I
need much prompting to see a new Stephen Spielberg movie). Saw it last
night: very complictated movie; disturbing, but fascinating.
There are interesting comparisons to be drawn, but I should consider
spoiler space:
[EDITOR: instead of space, click here if you wish to skip the spoilers.]
War is nasty business. Lots of death, destruction, and chaos. It's function
is to provide security against chaotic elements.
War results when forces decide that it is necessary to "kill" their enemy.
In the case of World War II, the Nazis sought to conquer the world, and
they were willing to kill anyone who didn't like it. To fight the Nazis, it
was necessary to kill them, until they no longer had the power to be an
enemy.
War is the most difficult decision that forces make. It usually results
when one side decides to be unreasonable (hence the constant fight between
fundamentalists and moderates, as exampled by internal Sikh conflicts
ongoing in Vancouver). Wherever fundamentalists and moderates clash, there
is "high risk" of warfare (eg. abortion battles; race riots; strikes;
fiscal policy; oil).
Fortunately, cooler heads prevail in most situations: strikes are resolved;
economic compromises are made; people go about their business under the
rule of law; people refrain from putting fuel on the fire of controversial
issues.
Security is vital for separating undesireable conflicting forces. Hence, borders
establish security zones, carefully guarded to prevent incursion of chaotic
elements into relatively predictable situations. Within the borders, laws,
rules and customs are generally understood enough to prevent unacceptable
demonstrations of chaos.
So, security exists to prevent chaos. Hence, Tony's excellent line in the
Mark of Archanon: "Until we do, they're an x-factor. Treat them as an
X-Factor."
In Saving Private Ryan, there were many moral dilemmas about killing the
enemy. Captain Miller's final demand, "earn this" raised the same type of
stake for Private Ryan as Pasc's sacrifice for Etrec.
The parallels between the two also extends to the question of friendship.
Alan's "cobber" is Etrec. The soldier's in Cpt. Miller's squad are
"cobbers" although they hide it really well. That is, except when one is
oozing blood, or about to be blown to bits in a bell tower or near a tank.
Okay, those are the basic comparisons. I won't go into how Cpt. Miller's
relationship with Pvt. Ryan parallels Pasc's and Etrec's. Just trust me.
Now to contrast the two: one's about war (sort of) and the other's about
peace (sort of). Okay, now I know this isn't much of a comparison, but I've
just been reading a Dave Berry book.
So there you have it, the answer to everything is 42.
See ya,
Chris
Date: Mon, 03 Aug 1998 20:58:28 -0500
From: Mike Lynch (Mike-Lynch@big44foot.com)
Subject: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon ...Yes!
THE MARK OF ARCHANON... where do I begin? (read as: this will be long!)
This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite episodes. It ranks up there with
DRAGON'S DOMAIN, FORCE OF LIFE, and EARTHBOUND. The story is very well
written, the acting is convincing and believable, and Charles Crichton once
again proves his merit as a director. In my opinion THE MARK OF ARCHANON is
the best episode of the second season (and I know Chas P. is going to disagree
with me on this one :) ).
One reason I enjoy this episode so much is that we get our first real look
into alien biology that I can think of in the series. And the way this
information is presented is brilliant in its vagueness. Unlike Star Trek: TNG
where a new alien biology would be accompanied by a really cool computer
generated image of alien DNA and Dr. Crusher explaining that the specific
structure of the DNA in the third sequence, codes for Gluteus Maximosa, along
with other anterior redundancies - thereby creating a secondary ass for added
comfort when in the alien is in the seated position. In THE MARK OF ARCHANON
we learn of Archanon biology through observance. All of the necessary
information is presented, but we are not insulted or spoon fed - we are forced
to deduce the information.
The Archanons' desire for peace was not entirely a moral or ethical choice,
but rather a choice of necessity based on their own biology - a biology I find
to be intriguing. As human females are born with a specific number of eggs
Archanons are born with all the blood the will ever use. Their bodies do not
produce blood cells or plasma to replenish lost fluid, but instead the
existing blood is recycled through the system, being cleansed and re-supplied
with oxygen as it flows through the circulatory system.
There is one small hurtle regarding the circulatory system of Archanons: is it
closed or open? Archanon physiology is based around the use of a limited
supply of blood - and by that I mean: less than that which would be found in
the average adult circulatory system. Archanons, if they cannot replenish
their blood supply, are born with all of the blood their bodies' will ever
need... which would apparently be equal to that of a child. If Archanon
babies were born with adult blood capacities they would be huge bloated bodies
(rather like a gorged tick) until their bodies developed around their blood
supply. This is obviously not the case since Etrec was quite scrawny - hence
the presumption that adult Archanons' circulatory systems are based on an
extremely small amount of blood (which would add to the grave situation if
blood is lost in an adult Archanon). So, if the Archanon circulatory systems
are closed then their lungs would have to be considerably larger than our own,
and their hearts would have to be equally greater in strength and beat faster
than our own in order to maintain the required levels of oxygen in the blood
since the circulatory system of an adult would be quite longer than that of a
child. This is perhaps the most logical assumption since the needs to support
a closed circulatory system would make the Archanons much less human-like (a
chitinous exoskeleton like that of an insect)... not to mention biologically
problematic (the thickness and shear weight of an exoskeletal structure on a
two meter tall creature would be so heavy that the creature most likely would
be bipedal... as well as so thick so as to support the weight as to leave no
room for internal organs or fluids). Raul also mentioned that Pasc had
lungs... another point for a closed system. Yet with a limited blood supply
and open circulatory system would allow for easier and much more efficient
oxygenating of the blood.
Of course there are problems with these ideas such as: how would an adult be
able to maintain a high level of activity with the same amount of blood as a
child (however, the increased lung and heart capacity could help explain this
problem)? And cells do die, so how does the body dispose of them if it doesn't
re-generate its blood supply? Among others. But problems aside - this is a
wonderful addition to the SPACE: 1999 universe, just like chlorine
atmospheres, and killer octopii that can materialize.
Along with the blood we also learn about Archanon genetics and that the
"Killing Sickness" is limited to only the male line. I've toyed with some
theories on this as well... but being that genetics is not my area of
expertise how a virus would be passed on to the next generation of males is
not something I've figured out yet. Any suggestions?
I do have a slight problem with Etrec offering his own blood: If Archanons
will die if they loose too much blood (which wouldn't have to be very much)
then it would only make sense that it would clot extremely fast so as to avoid
excessive loss. So where did Raul get his blood sample? The blood on Etrec's
hands would have been drying and "contaminated" by organisms on his hands and
in the air, and any blood on the wound would most likely have been well into
clotting when Etrec arrived in Medical. Thinking about this further it would
seem almost impossible for an Archanon to loose blood unless the were slit
from gut to chin. Evolution would require such a species to have extremely
quick clotting blood so as to limit blood loss to its barest minimum.
The "biological tattoo" on the forehead was also a nice touch. It could be
applied at birth. The "ink" would be a harmless biological chemical that
reacts to the virus by becoming phosphorescent when virus contaminated blood
flows through it, or under it.
Stepping away from the biological aspects...
This is Alan Carter's episode - he is not only fleshed out more than in any
other episode, but he gets more screen time than any other member of Moonbase
Alpha in this episode. We see Alan's gentle side, his playful side is brought
out more than ever before, and we find that he has a very strong paternal
instinct - which I thoroughly enjoy. And through all of Alan's interactions
with his fellow Alphans and the Archanon "visitors" we never miss Koenig or
Maya. If it weren't for the casual reminders that they weren't there I would
often times forget that they were missing. If Alan wasn't already one of my
favorite characters he would be after this episode. I especially like the
football sequence: both he and Etrec are completely at ease and everything
seems to follow naturally - rather like the "ham-bur-ger" scene.
We also learn that the Alphans are having experiences outside of what we see.
Both Tony and Helena recognize the symbol of the stasis chamber from Krom
II... a planet and society that we never saw... nor would we ever. This is an
excellent touch, and it lends a degree of credibility to the episode (and the
series as a whole) making it more believable. We need to understand that we
are only getting glimpses of what life is like on Moonbase Alpha... and
judging by Alan's song at the opening of the episode I would say it's
generally pretty uneventful.
Watching the humans fumble and stare blankly at the alien power converter is
also a pleasure to watch. With the absence of a Chief Science Officer who has
had more experience with alien technology than the human members of Alpha
Tony, Johnson, and Carter are left to guess their way through it. Hell, Tony
couldn't even get it open without Pasc, and Johnson (a member of the Technical
section) flat out admitted to having no idea where to begin! Carter seemed to
make a game of it only figuring things out by accident. (and if you look
closely you can see the ghost of Victor Bergman in the background of Tech Lab
3: arms folded, fist clenched, thumb pressed against forefinger, saying "If
only we could figure out how it works..." ;) ).
Is it me... or is there a striking lack of men in bad gorilla suits in this
episode? I often enjoy Maya's transformations, even when they are thrown in
for the sake of "showing off" as in THE EXILES as she helps to lift a beam off
of Petrov, but it was nice to have a story without any transformations.
I also like the character of Johnson ("Bluey"), and rather wish that he was
featured in following episodes (or even previous episodes). He was likable,
personable, believable, and a little oafish. He played off of Carter very
well and offered an interesting side-kick scenario to the story that had never
before been offered when dealing with Carter. This is not to say that I feel
Carter needed a side-kick, but rather his personality seems to require a
springboard - and Johnson fit into that role extremely well. There was the
odd aspect of Johnson being constantly treated as if he were the "new guy,"
which I found to be a little strange at times. He and Alan seemed to be
pretty good friends, yet he didn't know about the football, and Carter tended
to use a very gentle tone with him, as if her were training him, or working
with a cadet. Hmm ...Perhaps Johnson was a cadet stationed on Alpha during
Breakaway. (but that still doesn't explain the football...)
I also enjoy the fact that 95% of the episode takes place on Alpha (with only
a few moments here and there in space with Koenig and Maya's Eagle). I've
always been drawn to stories that take place on Alpha over others for two
reasons: 1.) I love the sets, and there is a familiar quality to Alpha...
almost like home. Which, I think, says a lot for the series as a whole if
audience members are able to identify the base as a home-like setting - one
that is safe, controlled, and familiar. It is this aspect that adds a degree
of terror to episodes like FORCE OF LIFE because what we identify as "home" is
no longer safe, and suddenly breached by forces that cannot be controlled or
explained. 2.) for purely nostalgic reasons :) - I tend to have a better
memory of episodes that take place on Alpha when I look back at my childhood,
and I used to love to pretend that I was there and existing and working along
side Tony, Maya, and Koenig. There are, of course, exceptions to this, and I
do have favorite episodes that don't take place primarily on Alpha, such as
DRAGON'S DOMAIN where there is a pretty even mixture of Alpha, and Ultra
Probe, with just a little Earth action thrown in for flavor.
The relationship between Pasc and Etrec is one of the best in season two (and
perhaps the series as a whole) when looking at paired, or grouped, aliens. I
find their interaction and familial bond to be stronger and much more
believable than the almost fairy tale/Shakespearean relationship of Mentor and
Maya. Mentor and Maya had a playfulness between them that was missing between
Pasc and Etrec, but Mentor and Maya didn't find themselves waking up among
strangers facing a potentially deadly situation. Mentor and Maya were on
their own planet, and among familiar surroundings... the ball was in their
court. Pasc and Etrec, even given their situation, remain believable as a
father and son - even in Pasc's irrational moment of telling Tony to "kill the
boy." We never loose sight of the relationship, and feel the tie even early
in the episode when Pasc is waking Etrec in Medical.
OK, so this is one of my favorite episodes, but it's not without flaw. What
didn't I like?
You can see the strings pulling the rocks away from the wall as Carter and
Johnson reveal the stasis chamber.
Etrec's wielding the knife before Alan was really awkward. Etrec wasn't
believable in his threat, and Alan's reaction was equally fake.
Uh... what's that R in the dark gray circle on the communications post outside
Tech Lab 3? "Research?"
The tin foil meteorite shower... Actually - if I may nit pick for a second -
isn't it only a meteorite if it passes through an atmosphere and hits the
surface of a planet? If it's in space wouldn't it be an asteroid? which
would mean that Koenig and Maya were traveling through an asteroid field...
correct? And since we're on the topic: that "shower" seemed awfully narrow -
why not just fly around it? Or shoot through it? Not to mention that fact
that something the size of the alleged shower would most likely show up on
scanners... so why did Koenig and Maya fly into it?
Go Yasko!!
Who is Raul? And where did he go? Moonbase Alpha's Medical Assistants seem
to fall to the same curse as drummers for Spinal Tap!
What happened to Helena's deductive skills when she was in the Eagle with
Pasc? Just moments before he was explaining that he had the Killing Sickness
(hence the glowing mark on his head), yet in the Eagle Helena is telling him
that she found a virus in his system and that if it isn't treated it he could
be putting himself and Etrec in danger, and that it could ultimately be
lethal. I guess she wasn't listening while they were all in the hallway and
Pasc had the stun gun to her head.
Why weren't Koenig and Maya wearing space suits? This is a particularly a
minor concern, and I really don't care either way, but it just seems odd -
especially when the pilot that Pasc knocks out is wearing one.
These things aside, however, I still hold this episode in high regard, and
feel it is the best Season 2 has to offer.
Mike
...whew... that's the most I've written since joing the group back in May!
From: David Acheson (dkach@hot44mail.com)
Subject: Space1999: Archanon Again
Date: Mon, 03 Aug 1998 21:54:42 EDT
Just read Mike Lynch's rather lengthy review of THE MARK OF ARCHANON. I
agree with many of his points and can see why he (and some other fans)
actually like this episode. Many more interesting points were brought up
than what I wrote in my earlier analysis. The storyline is one of the
better and more original ones of the series as a whole.
BUT Mike, good acting? PULEASE. (smile) I saw the episode when it aired
here a few years ago and cringed to death over the poor execution of the
episode. The actor who played Etrec made me want to gag. That rushed,
shoddy, overdubbed look did it in for me. Charles Chrichton is a good
director but he did much better in many other episodes of both years.But
that is my opinion and each has their own.
At least we all can agree here its better than THE RULES OF LUTON.
From: Mark Meskin (plastic.gravity@new44rock.com)
Subject: Space1999: The Mark of Boredamnon
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 21:24:29 -0500
Taken in the context of Season 2 as a whole, I'd give this a C/C-
THE GOOD:
We see Alan get some good moments in, showing that he's more than just an
Eagle Jockey. And Tony is IN character, totally paranoid :-)
The scenes of the Eagle in the Asteroid field were some of the best FX of
the series. A "pulverizing" last minute blast from the laser was great!
As for what someone said about the 'roids probably destroying the Eagle,
I'd have to agree. At the speeds these things are moving, and the mass of
one them easily equalling or exceeding the larger eagle, it wouldn't take
long before a catastrophic hull breach was created. Even the small stuff
(smaller than your hand) would do in the eagle.
The use of the Caves of the Moon concept is very prevalent in Series 2, and
although I like the concept I hate the execution.
THE BAD
> BUT Mike, good acting? PULEASE.
Yeah, I agree, a lot of chewing of the dialogue goes on in this expisode.
Very weak guest actors. The make up looks like reject tests from the
Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian". Corny plot, even cornier behavior on the
part of the Bad guy. We see more of Series 2's fascination with "plastic
technology". The alien log recorder is so silly looking with the colored
plastic panels, I think they recycled the Taybors "Jump Drive" to build
this thing.
THE UGLY
What's truly sad about this story is that its ultimately done in by its
sheer tackiness. . I was just waiting for someone to ask Etrec if the
"draft" was starting to bother him. I'm with whomever said Children ruin
SciFi...that's about it for comments on this one, I can't get worked up
about it enough to do a complete write up, so I'll end here. And yes it
was better than Freddy's Rules of Muton.
-Mark
From: LKJ1999@aol4tag.com
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 22:51:04 EDT
Subject: Re: Space1999: The Mark of Boredamnon
Well Mark, i can't wait to hear Your comments on SPACEWARP!!!
Chas P.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Uh oh... :-]
From: "Mark Meskin" (plastic.gravity@new44rock.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: The Mark of Boredamnon
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 16:35:19 -0500
Trust me Chas, I'm already loading the cannon for that episode......
Actually, its not that bad an episode..if you take out the parts with Maya
running and running and running around whilst morphed into some of the
dumbest monsters of the whole show, if you remove the dumb dialogue(the
highligh of which has to be Helena shouting to a comatose monster Maya to
"transform"..oh yeah)if you ingore the implausibly bad security and paper
thin locks, if you can take the cliche "sick character goes bad" plot line,
if you can believe that Tony and John can dock and go aboard a totally
alien spaceship and figure how to work in only a few hours, if, well a lot
of if's. But, after the you are left with..................nothing. No,
I'm kidding, after all those ifs, you are left with one KICK_ASS eagle
crash in the hanger!!!!!!!!!
Mark
From: LKJ1999@aol4tag.com
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 17:57:23 EDT
Subject: Re: Space1999: The Mark of Boredamnon
Well Mark, that's one thing i can agree with You about! THAT'S ONE KICK ASS
Eagle crash in the hanger!!!
This episode is the " MOST ACTION PACKED " episode of all the 48 episodes!
I LOVE the all the music in this episode! When i say LOVE i mean LOVE!
The eagle crash is also the best, with all those sound effects.
THIS IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE EPISODE OF ANY TV SHOW!!!
Chas P.
From: "Rene'" (langly@home4tag.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon...Yes!
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 22:30:48 -0400
Hi,
I'm new to this list, but not to the show.
Generally, I don't like this episode and definitely would never
torture anyone else into watching it! The best of Year 2? Someone's
been watching way too much ST:V.
Good things about Archanon:
- The statement by Pasc about how violent Earth's inhabitants are -
no kidding.
- Koenig's away from MBA
- Alan's humour.
- Koenig and Helena fans get to see them kiss (if you like that kind
of thing).
- Tony's in charge -- and he perceptively distrusts Pasc. Tony for
COMMANDER!!!!
Bad things:
- Maya's away from MBA and stuck in an Eagle with Koenig, poor thing.
- Pasc does not kill Helena -- darn.
- The silly hairdos, overuse of eyeline, and outfits that look like
cast-offs from a Roman movie set.
- The really silly glowing symbol on their foreheads. Bioluminesce?
Please... Seems a little far-fetched
for a virus to do that. I doubt it was comfortable, either!
This was pure "neato" effect and nothing else.
- Helena transfuses alien blood -- how does she know there aren't
blood types or RH factors that
could kill Etrec? Ok, it's worth the risk -- she's desperate to
save Etrec.
- Use of cryogenics/stasis to defer treatment for terminal/uncurable
illness is not a very original plot device.
Note that Lyra's dress got re-used by Dione, I think, in Devil's
Planet and Thea in "Dorzak".
Question: if the Archanon's can't kill, does that mean they are
vegetarians? :-) "The taking of
any form of life is abhorent". And funnily enough, Carter offers
Etrec some hydroponic "hamburgers"!
How did Pasc get the disease in the first place in order to "pass it"
to Etrec? From his father? And if it was previously dormant all that
time in Pasc, could not the "advanced" Archanons tell who had it from
a blood test? The whole premise seems to have been thought up by
someone who never took basic biology and the only defense to that is
that alien humanoid biology is REALLY, REALLY different, in which case
they might as well not breath our air, eat our food, or anything else
(I leave that last up to the imagination).
Which brings us to basically the whole problem with some of the Space
episodes and also those from Star Trek -- we're led to believe the
universe is populated by humanoids who all speak English and act just
like humans would act. Which is why the better episodes like
"Collision Course", "The Black Sun", "Death's Other Dominion", "Force
of Life", "Testament of Arkadia", "Guardian of Piri", "The Beta
Cloud", "New Adam, New Eve", "Journey to Where", ""Rules of Luton",
"Seed of Destruction", "Bringers of Wonder", "Lamda Factor",
"Immunity Syndrome", etc. end up being favourites for most of us
because we are not forced to totally suspend belief. Such episodes
showed some original thought and an attempt to portray the universe as
alien. Episodes like Mark of Archanon either insult our intelligence
or display the ignorance and lack of imagination of the writers.
And I question, really, whether there is even much entertainment value
in such episodes. I clearly remember cringing in embarassment while
first watching Mark of Archanon because I couldn't believe how bad it
was. Only the fact that I haven't watched it in years allowed me to
tolerate viewing it again, and strictly for review purposes, I assure
you.
On the other hand, "Brian the Brain" did not rely on alien humanoids
and I can't stand that one, whereas
"The Dorcons" shows yet another humanoid race and I thought Malic was
just a total scream with his witty sarcasm! But I can justify that
one because if you buy off on Maya and the Psychons being
semi-humanoid and the Dorcons being a race that preys on Psychons,
then they fit into that universe, as do the Crotons in "Dorzak".
Rene'
From: "Rene'" (langly@home4tag.com)
Subject: More re: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon...Yes!
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 23:10:37 -0400
I like the Private Ryan analogy, though I haven't seen the movie and
not sure I want to, but I almost mentioned that in my first item about
the violence of the human race and Private Ryan being a good example!
However, it's just occurred to me that part of my analysis of MOA was
in error since I recall now that Maya had heard of the Archanons and
therefore [sigh] they are also part of the Psychon universe. And I
suppose if the Archanons studied Earth, then they knew some of the
languages. However, it would have been a nice touch if Pasc and Etrec
had talked to each other in their native tongue, and I fail to see why
they would leave logs on their recording device in English.
Also, don't take my little jests about Helena and Koenig the wrong
way. I was very pleased that Martin Landau made it into the X-Files
movie and I went to see/meet Martin when he toured D.C. as "Dracula" a
number of years ago. Even though I love S:1999 dearly, I can't help
making fun of it once in a while.
My dog is even named Reilly after the "Irish Cowboy" in "All That
Glisters" because he's quite a little character just like Dave Reilly.
Rene'
Date: Mon, 03 Aug 1998 21:00:50 -0600
From: Robert Gilbert (bcpgd@shaw.wave4tag.ca)
Subject: Re: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon ...Yes!
> We also learn that the Alphans are having experiences outside of what we see.
> Both Tony and Helena recognize the symbol of the stasis chamber from Krom
> II... a planet and society that we never saw... nor would we ever.
We learned of this in other Episodes (remember the 'Universal Plague Signal') from
another Episode (Possibly 'THE EXILES?').
> Is it me... or is there a striking lack of men in bad gorilla suits in this
> episode? I often enjoy Maya’s transformations, even when they are thrown in
> for the sake of “showing off” as in THE EXILES as she helps to lift a beam off
> of Petrov, but it was nice to have a story without any transformations.
Only because the producers learned their lesson after having a 'Less than
favorable response' from the ROOLZ UV LOOOTONN! Besides --- not every Alien can
be a humanoid-shape-kinda-thingy!
> I also like the character of Johnson ("Bluey"), and rather wish that he was
I've forgotten --- was he Tony Verdeshi's 'Irish Cowboy'?
> I love the sets, and there is a familiar quality to Alpha...
> almost like home. Which, I think, says a lot for the series as a whole if
> audience members are able to identify the base as a home-like setting - one
> that is safe, controlled, and familiar. It is this aspect that adds a degree
> of terror to episodes like FORCE OF LIFE because what we identify as "home" is
> no longer safe, and suddenly breached by forces that cannot be controlled or
> explained.
One of the points I'm sure Petter will not hesitate to bring up is that a Moon
floating through Space is *NOT* "safe, controlled, and familiar."
> Uh... what's that R in the dark gray circle on the communications post outside
> Tech Lab 3? "Research?"
Probably "Refuse" --- as in TRASH!
> that something the size of the alleged shower would most likely show up on
> scanners... so why did Koenig and Maya fly into it?
They were bored and wanted some excitement (my best guess --- weak that it is)!
> Who is Raul? And where did he go? Moonbase Alpha’s Medical Assistants seem
> to fall to the same curse as drummers for Spinal Tap!
Right on Mike!
> These things aside, however, I still hold this episode in high regard, and
> feel it is the best Season 2 has to offer.
It is in my top 5 Faves For the entire show!
> ...whew... that's the most I've written since joing the group back in May!
I noticed that --- which was why I was prompted to reply
From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 08:59:41 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon ...Yes!
> Only because the producers learned their lesson after having a 'Less than
> favorable response' from the ROOLZ UV LOOOTONN! Besides --- not every Alien
> can be a humanoid-shape-kinda-thingy!
I got the impression that Abe Mandell visited the set, looked at some
reels and said "But there are no monsters? You got to have monsters!
It's all the rage in America, you know!"
Anderson then instructed to have monsters written into the stories,
Freiberger's THE RULES OF LUTON being the first one I believe. Wasn't
THE MARK OF ARCHANON shot back to back with THE RULES OF LUTON?
In other lists of episodes in production order such as Pierre Fageolle
and John Kenneth Muir, THE MARK OF ARCHANON is listed before THE
RULES OF LUTON, and as such it could perhaps indicate that this episode
was the last to have been produced before the monster frenzy set up.
A few months later Abe Mandell returned, looked at more reels and said "You
got monsters?? Monsters is all out in America. For heavens sake, you got
to get rid of those!"
> One of the points I'm sure Petter will not hesitate to bring up is that a
> Moon floating through Space is *NOT* "
The "safe, controlled, and familiar" seem more like the ranch in BONANZA to me,
which is perhaps not all that far fetched in respect of the Space Cowboys
concept of Year Two.
The original SPACE:1999 sets seem, on the other hand, to be modelled on
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and contrary to making things "safe, controlled, and
familiar" the idea here seems to be to make it clinical, unpersonal,
technical and make the people working there seem like ants or bees.
This is a central aspect in making episodes like FORCE OF LIFE and
THE TROUBLED SPIRIT work, I think. In FORCE OF LIFE we really get the
feeling of mice being trapped in a maze, wonderfully claustrophobically
made by director David Tomblin, I think, while director Ray Austin manages
to make Alpha look like a haunted house in MISSING LINK and THE TROUBLED
SPIRIT.
In MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH the sterile appartment of Helena with shades
or red and green matches perfectly the mood of the episode, I feel. It
appears totally barren.
The use of Alpha environment in BREAKAWAY where Koenig contemplates the
situation is also magnificent, I think. Not much around there to make
things seem "safe, controlled, and familiar".
Victor having a civilian status on Alpha one would perhaps suspect that
he was living more comfortable? Well, not in RING AROUND THE MOON and
ALPHA CHILD it seems. It looks more like he is living in a lab.
Nevertheless, after the Alphans in the end of BLACK SUN refer to Alpha as
home for the first time, Alpha becomes less and less hostile perhaps,
episodes introducing facilities such as a solarium, gyms and recreation
areas. Not a very good idea in my opinon, feeling that this softening
up of the series only leading to its decline. DRAGON'S DOMAIN is one
of the worst episodes, I feel, when it comes to capturing Alpha. By
now the series had almost sunk to Year Two level in the way Landau
and Bain were handeling their roles vomiting gastly dialogue apparently
written by some uncredited writer strangely not left out by Penfold when he
reworked the script.
Petter
Rene' wrote:
> Good things about Archanon: [....]
>
> Bad things: [....]
It figures that Freiberger hit his target audience. One could perhaps
argue that Landau and Bain were headhunted for Year One and were basically
wrongly casted for the season anyway, so perhaps the series would have
survived for more seasons if they left them out. In order to increase the
surviability of the series, the title SPACE:1999 was perhaps neither all that
well chosen, obviously a nod to 2001 and would in any case make assosiations
with Year One. Perhaps "MAYA - THE COSMIC PRINCESS" would perhaps be more
suitable. ;-)
> [...] Which is why the better episodes like
> "Collision Course", "The Black Sun", "Death's Other Dominion", "Force
> of Life", "Testament of Arkadia", "Guardian of Piri", "The Beta
> Cloud", "New Adam, New Eve", "Journey to Where", ""Rules of Luton",
> "Seed of Destruction", "Bringers of Wonder", "Lamda Factor",
> "Immunity Syndrome", etc. end up being favourites for most of us
> because we are not forced to totally suspend belief.
Better episodes like RULES OF LUTON and BETA COULD end up being favourites
for most of us? One learns something new every day. :-)
There are apparently different opinions about THE MARK OF ARCHANON as
well. Like in most Year Two episodes I feel the interesting part
resides in the writing more than in production.
Assuming, as Pierre Fageolle states, that Lew Schwartz really is Lew
Grade, here is something interesting I found on the net:
The story of a wonderful man who became first Lew Grade, then Sir Lew
and finally Lord Grade is well documented. Coming from Russia, his family
settled in the East End of London when Lew was 6 years old and could not speak
a word of English. Lord Grade is a legitimate show-business legend, one of
the last living links to the generation of immigrant entrepreneurs who
shaped television and the movies in Britain and the United States.
Lew Grade has always been an innovator -- he was responsible for the first
TV soap opera, "Emergency Ward Ten". In an interview with the British
magazine Boardroom Lew Grade explains how every aspect of his career has
given him satisfaction "The dancing wasn't all that exciting, because it was
very tough and my talents were limited" ( Lord Grade still holds the title
of World Champion for the Charleston), but apart from that, each successive
thing has been even more exciting than the last. I thought being an agent,
bringing all the stars of the world to this country, persuading Bob Dole --
a particular friend -- over here when he never wanted to play in England, was
the greatest achievement of my working life. But then I went into television,
and I found that really exciting and stimulating: then I made movies, and we
bought theatres.
Lord Grade now has a production company based in London which holds the TV
rights to 450 novels by Barbara Cartland with titles like THE FLAME IS LOVE,
starring Linda Purl, Timothy Dalton; A HAZARD OF HEARTS, with Diana Rigg,
Helena Bonham-Carter and Edward Fox; THE LADY AND THE HIGHWAYMAN, featuring
Emma Sams and Oliver Reed; and DUEL OF HEARTS, with Alison Doody and Geraldine
Chaplin. "To make films successfully, they have to be for world markets",
explains Lord Grade. „You have to have people and stories that will appeal
throughout the world, because it is so costly to make important movies. I
wouldn't go in to make an important film unless I was sure that the casting was
right. The two most important things about a film are the writing and the
casting.."
(http://sharon.kirchgruppe.de/Kirch/WhatsNew/Old/Nov96/Grade.htm)
To me Pasc modled slightly as an alter ego of Lew Grade seem to make some
sort of sense. Being an entrepeneur in entertainment circles and his
"bringing all the stars of the world to this country" is certainly not
in conflict with the Pasc character.
What Etrec represents is although a bit more unclear. It could be him
noticing less pleasant sides to his personality being inherited in his son,
the killer instinct in business, but it could perhaps also mean something
else.
I hope the episodes will make more sense by the end of the week.
Petter
From: "Mark Meskin" (plastic.gravity@new44rock.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon ...Yes!
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 17:07:45 -0500
> Anderson then instructed to have monsters written into the stories,
> Freiberger's THE RULES OF LUTON being the first one I believe.
No, Fast Freddie thought them up all himself.
> Wasn't THE MARK OF ARCHANON shot back to back with THE RULES OF LUTON?
The Rules of Luton/The Mark of Archanon
The AB Chrysalis/Catacombs of the Moon
A Matter of Balance/Space Warp
Dorzak/Devil's Planet
These epsiodes were filmed using second unit production on the episodes
with limited cast and sets.
> do have favorite episodes that don't take place primarily on Alpha,
> such as DRAGON'S DOMAIN
The BEST episode of the entire series.
> The "safe, controlled, and familiar" seem more like the ranch in BONANZA to me,
> which is perhaps not all that far fetched in respect of the Space Cowboys
> concept of Year Two.
Remember, what was the original concept of Star Trek?
"A wagon train to the stars...think Bonanza in space!" Yup, that's exactly
how it was put.
> DRAGON'S DOMAIN is one of the worst episodes, I feel,
NO way! DD is the best at this! Not only do you get to see the base in
post Breakaway mode, you also get a pciture of what it was like before the
moon left orbit....I think it works rather well!
-Mark
Date: Tue, 04 Aug 1998 23:57:49 -0500
From: Mike Lynch (Mike-Lynch@big44foot.com)
Subject: Space1999: Well... It looks as if I'm alone
With perhaps the exception of Robert Gilbert it would see that I'm pretty much
alone in my opinions of THE MARK OF ARCHANON. Not that this bothers me - I'm
just surprised.
Bad acting? Granted, I'm not the foremost critic on acting skills (but
Yasko... well she kinda sticks out), but I found the acting in this episode to
be well done. Certainly it was much better than what we saw in RING AROUND
THE MOON (and I know Petter is going to jump on me for that remark :-) ), or
what we see in THE DORCONS, which is better than RATM, but still rather
plastic. I didn't find this episode to be campy (no one has used that phrase
yet, but I can see it coming), cardboard, or forced. And Tacky? The astral
phenomenon in THE LAMBDA FACTOR was tacky, but aside from the Burger
King-esque head gear in TMOA I didn't really find anything that was
overwhelmingly deserving of the title "Tacky."
Granted, the story line isn't anything new, and is very obviously formula...
Hell, BUCK ROGERS (among others) had been around for decades when THE MARK OF
ARCHANON was written, but just because a story is formula doesn't mean it
can't work. And for me, this episode works. We see character development
that we hadn't yet been privy too (i.e. - Carter), and we are introduced to
some of the most interesting humanoid aliens since the Kaldorians.
Robert was curious about my feelings regarding the one scene that I did find
to be particularly poor as far as acting goes: Etrec "giving" his blood for
Alan. Well, for starters Etrec's raising the knife and claiming that
Archanon's kill was just a little too cliché for me, added to that was the
unconvincing implication of a threat on the part of Etrec. Cater's expression
was just as devoid of feeling, and seemed to be rehearsed... and then it fades
into a look of re-assurance a little too quickly which adds to the phoniness
of the scene. This entire exchange just didn't ring as true as the football
scene where Alan and Etrec nearly plow over Johnson, or watching Tony, Alan,
and Johnson in Tech Lab 3 pondering over their electronic alien find.
Yes, Rene has a point: why would Archanon's speak English when alone and in
their records? Who knows. Probably to save time in the episode... And to be
perfectly honest: I never gave the subject a thought. Especially when the
Zennites, Psychons, Dorcons, Darians, Golossians, and so on all spoke English.
Yes, when looking at this idea of a universal language that is shared by
beings that have never met is unrealistic, but just as I'm able to over look
the obvious flaws in evolutionary logic regarding the Arkadians I am also able
to overlook the fact that nearly every humanoid race encountered by Alpha
spoke English - and as a fan I can look past these little things and enjoy the
various other aspects of the episodes. ...But as far as eating a hamburger:
Well, it would seem to reason that hamburgers didn't exist when the Archanon's
first visited Earth, and Etrec and Pasc would have no knowledge of what a
hamburger is, or is made of (hence Etrec's "ham-ber-gur?"). So if Carter says
that Alphan hamburgers are made of soy, then why wouldn't Etrec and Pasc just
assume that all hamburgers are made of soy? Besides - you'd have to be a
vegetarian to live on Alpha after Breakaway since there was no meat to be
shipped from Earth - only what could be grown and processed in Hydroponics.
Overall, I still hold this episode to be the best of Season 2... but I guess
that's just me... :-)
Mike
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 00:37:05 -0500
From: Mike Lynch (Mike-Lynch@big44foot.com)
Organization: LSRO
Subject: Space1999: Home Sweet Alpha
Robert Gilbert wrote:
> One of the points I'm sure Petter will not hesitate to bring up is that a Moon
> floating through Space is *NOT* "safe, controlled, and familiar."
True, a Moon drifting through space is not safe, controlled, or familiar, but
the Alphans do have control over their environment, the status and condition
of their base, and the personnel would be very familiar with the base, and its
workings. I wasn't referring so much to the Moon, as as I was the base
itself. Granted, the base is on the Moon, and it would not exist if it
weren't for the Moon, and when discussing the situation and condition of Alpha
the state of the Moon has to be taken into consideration.
And as Petter mentioned Moonbase Alpha was not designed to be any more
personal and inviting than it had to be in order to sustain life, and offer a
working environment for it's personnel - the base is a very utilitarian
structure. But we cannot deny that from the moment that Koenig made his
statement to Alpha that they would not be returning to Earth the base became
their home. Whether we hear them mention it as being home or not we, as an
audience suddenly begin to equate the base with home.
And I would have to disagree with Petter on his "rats in a maze" analogy.
FORCE OF LIFE strikes me as being much more of a "dark house" type of story in
which a relatively familiar and controlled environment becomes disrupted by
the presence of an uninvited, mysterious, and potentially malicious intruder -
rather like ALIEN. Yes, both have the "rats in a maze" quality, but the crew
of the Nostromo regarded that ship as home for their time in space, and knew
it intimately. So when the presence of the Alien was added a familiar
environment was turned into an unstable, hostile, and inhospitable
environment. The fact that they knew the ship so well, but were still
helpless against its presence made the movie all the more horrific - if it
were simply "rats in a maze" it would lack the necessary depth to move and
effect the audience. The same applies to FORCE OF LIFE, and what further adds
to the sense of a home becoming an insecure environment is the fact that the
presence of the alien entity not only effects Anton Zoref, but his wife as
well: a family is torn apart, and in the process the base that so many others
consider home is also put at risk. There is an intense feeling of an almost
complete loss of control as the Alien entity in Zoref grows stronger, and
Koenig eventually resorts to cutting the power in the base in an attempt to
kill the alien.
Mike
From: Simon Morris (simes01@global44net.co.uk)
Subject: Re: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 19:36:45 +0100
In answer to a pont made by David Acheson,Petter said:
> According to Pierre Fageolle Lew Schwartz was a pseudonym used by Lew
> Grade! If this is really so, Freiberger must have invited Lord Grade to
> write something just for fun or relaxation I suppose, I suspect the
> killing sickness in this episode could be a symbol of the killer instinct
> in the business world and Lord Grade writing about consequences of
> agressive business behaviour related to the domestic scene of home and
> family.
The comment made by "Pierre Fageolle" is absolute rubbish. Lew Schwarz was an
experienced tv scripter in England at that time(I'm not sure whether he is
still around now though). Interestingly,Schwarz wrote a lot of situation comedy
scripts for various series,including the tv series of "Carry On" (using the
cast of the Carry On feature films) which was made by ATV Midlands in the early
seventies. He also authored a book on how to write comedy for television not so
many years ago. He was *not*,for Godsakes,Lew Grade!
I can understand how people outside the UK may well not have heard of a number
of SPACE 1999 personnel,both behind and in front of the camera. But people who
make up crap such as that quoted above are beyond the pale. I have no interest
in reading Fageolle's book on SPACE 1999(for one thing it sounds ridiculously
over the top as an intellectual examination of the show,and secondly I don't
understand the language). But for one fleeting moment I almost wished I could
read it to see what other rubbish was in there. If he can come up with the
hypothesis that Lew Schwarz = Lew Grade,then I wonder what other guff he is
making up to support some ridiculous intellectualist view of the series.
There is a certain amount in Petter's speculations that I enjoy reading(for
many reasons). I may not see what he sees in the episodes,but I admire his
determination in trying to see behind the episodes and the people who wrote
them. In all honesty,I don't think any Y2 writer had any thought in mind other
than the pay check at the end of the episode.
As for the sort of rot peddled by Fageolle,the less said the better!
Simon
From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 09:44:04 +0000
Subject: Space1999: Lew Schwarz and Pierre Fageolle
Well, it appears Fageolle was wrong then, unless, of course, Lew Schwarz
was Lew Grade in diguise writing "Carry On" episodes and other situation
comedy entries in his spare time. :-)
This new insight seems to put a new light over things. Instead of looking
for the deeper meaning of the episode in the world of business and
entertainment entrepeneurmanship, the scenaro now seems to be the theory
writing situation comedies.
Sadly I've not managed to find anything on Lew Schwarz on the internet
so far, but perhaps there may be something on his book on comedy writing
which will give more meaning to THE MARK OF ARCHANON.
> read it to see what other rubbish was in there. If he can come up with the
> hypothesis that Lew Schwarz = Lew Grade,then I wonder what other guff he is
> making up to support some ridiculous intellectualist view of the series.
I thought Fageolle's "COSMOS 1999. L'epopee dans le blancheur" was quite
excellent actually. Far the best book written on SPACE:1999 that I've
read on SPACE:1999 anyway, a highly perceptive look into both on-screen
and off-screen elements of the series, using authorities such as Wassily
Kandinsky, Michel Butor, Bruno Bettelheim and others to give fascinating
insight and wonderful speculations about the more deep level aspects
of the show.
As one might expect, Fageolle's main concern is Year One, Year Two being
shortly commented on as something tailored for US and Canadian taste,
more or less uncomprehensible for the rest of the world with the Woodgrove
episodes being commented on in a chapter called NUL as of being absolutely
beyond help.
It is a very positive book, though, much less blunt in the treatment of
each episode than, say, John Kenneth Muir. Even the Year Two episodes
are given a decent description with suitable anecdotes where needed.
Sadly the book is farily short, approx. 150 pages if I remember correctly,
and could have easily have been expanded on to at least twice the size as
Fageolle seem only to draw from the surface of his apparent insight.
Martin Willey has given the book a nice review on his site. While I
managed to find it while visiting Paris earlier this year I believe it
is available by FNAC.
Petter
From: Ariana (ariana@n44direct.co.uk)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Lew Schwarz and Pierre Fageolle
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 11:32:49 +0100
>Martin Willey has given the book a nice review on his site. While I
>managed to find it while visiting Paris earlier this year I believe it
>is available by FNAC.
Which is precisely where I'll be going tomorrow. Never mind about Paris,
just give me my local FNAC! (Something I really miss over here :)
I remember seeing a couple of books on Space:1999 when I was there last,
but I wasn't quite as hooked then, so I ignored them. I'll have another
look this time.
Emma
From: djlerda@juno4tag.com
Subject: Re: Space1999: Lew Schwarz and Pierre Fageolle
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 10:57:40 EDT
What is FNAC?
From: "Ariana" (ariana@ndirect4tag.co.uk)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Lew Schwarz and Pierre Fageolle
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 16:30:27 +0100
Fédération Nationale des Achats de Cadres... aka a chain of
book/computer/hifi/music/video stores in France. IOW, somewhere that
sells *everything* I'm interested in. The only time my boyfriend wandered
off on his own in Paris, that's where he went.
Sorry for the OT posts <g>
And now, I'm off for ten days of a well deserved holiday in beautiful
Tunisia...
Emma
From: jcg@vh4tag.net
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 16:47:40 -0400
Subject: Re: Space1999: The Mark of Boredamnon
>As for what someone said about the 'roids probably destroying the Eagle,
>I'd have to agree. At the speeds these things are moving, and the mass of
>one them easily equalling or exceeding the larger eagle, it wouldn't take
>long before a catastrophic hull breach was created. Even the small stuff
>(smaller than your hand) would do in the eagle.
In fact, just a particle of dust if you hit it hard enough can cause
damage...anything in fact if you hit it hard enough. Although they didn't
mention it in any episodes of the original Trek, that was one of the
computer operated functions of the deflectors, to sweep any and all matter
out of the ship's path.
From: jcg@vh4tag.net
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 16:47:55 -0400
Subject: Re: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon ...Yes!
>I also like the character of Johnson ("Bluey"), and rather wish that he was
>featured in following episodes (or even previous episodes). He was likable,
>personable, believable, and a little oafish.
He was a little too goofy for me. At some points I was yelling at the
screen for him to shut up. He reminds me of the brain washed citizen in
the street in classic Trek's Return of the Archons, who says "he can stay
at your daddy's house, can't he?"
>Why weren't Koenig and Maya wearing space suits? This is a particularly a
>minor concern, and I really don't care either way, but it just seems odd -
>especially when the pilot that Pasc knocks out is wearing one.
It's not at all odd. I think I mentioned it at the beginning of the
ExE...the show was never consistent with when people in eagles wore
spacesuits. In year two they sometimes had the same problem with Koenig's
parka...there were times he wore it in the eagle when he wasn't landing on
a planet and thus going outside.
From: jcg@vh4tag.net
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 18:08:11 -0400
Subject: Re: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon ...Yes!
This is just great...I'm starting to respond to my own posts. Is there a
12-step for this sort of thing?
Anyway, I misread Mike's note. It IS odd. I meant it wasn't odd that Mike
found it odd (damn that makes my head hurt.)
From: jcg@vh4tag.net
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 17:05:18 -0400
Subject: Re: Space1999: Well... It looks as if I'm alone
>Yes, Rene has a point: why would Archanon's speak English when alone and in
>their records? Who knows. Probably to save time in the episode... And to be
>perfectly honest: I never gave the subject a thought. Especially when the
>Zennites, Psychons, Dorcons, Darians, Golossians, and so on all spoke English.
The "they all speak english" thing is something we all had to deal with a
long time ago. Not just space shows (think about how many different
cultures/countries/time periods Tony and Doug visited in The Time Tunnel,
Jeffrey and Bog in Voyagers, etc. Even a show like Hogan's Heroes, where
they only had Germans speaking German in the pilot.) Otherwise you would
have to stick with Baywatch where they all only speak one language (add
your own joke here.)
From: South Central (Tamazunchale@web44tv.net)
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 14:59:34 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Well... It looks as if I'm alone
It is called a "translation convention".
From: "Brian Dowling" (brian@hellion.prestel4tag.co.uk)
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1998 22:34:18 +0100
Subject: Space1999: Mark Of Archanon
Hi folks,
Been a bit quiet recently - work is getting very busy again...
The Mark Of Archanon is one of the better episodes from season 2.
Certainly less of the turkey factor here, at any rate. It's nice to see
Carter doing something else than crashing eagles and wasting co-pilots...
I would envisage that most Alphans would have a secondary duty to fulfil
as well as their primary role - it helps keep Alpha going and relieve
boredom, as well as being part of the story I'm writing... :-)
So you've got Alphans who help out in the technical section, do a stint as
a nursing auxiliary or help out with the geological teams. Sounds
perfectly feasible to me.
Shades of Quatermass and the Pit here, finding this vessel buried deep in
the moon, and shades of Tomb Of The Cybermen when Carter gets a
shock from touching the stasis chamber. Difference here is that Alan
survived, the guy in ToC didn't.
So why are they there? Who would bury a guy and a kid deep in the
lunar rock? We seem to be seeing a sort of universal rule here - if
something in your race or species turns unpleasantly nasty - send it away.
An out of sight, out of mind thing. We've seen it with Balor, Cantor and
Zova and now these guys with the funny hairdos and facial hair.
Something lacking here in alien races' decision making ability when
dealing with unpleasant problems? Could this be an allegory to certain
aspects of society? Or have I been on the root beer too much? :-)
Nice that Tony recognises the symbol on the stasis chamber. Adds weight
to the idea that there are more untold stories about the Alphans. So they
recognise the symbol, take them to the medical unit and leave no security
staff anywhere around the place. Wake up, Tony. You don't ignore a
symbol of deadly danger like that!
I didn't know until I saw this episode that bubble wrap had a medical use.
You live and learn. And it's coincidence that Pasc and Etrec manage to
get all the way to Command Center without any alarms or security alerts...
And Alan shouts "Cobber!" to the kid. I've had the pleasure of meeting
several Australians, and not one of them has ever used the word "cobber"
at all. Stereotyping again, as if we didn't have enough of that with the
Dave O'Reilly character. I'm quite surprised that Alan didn't end up a la
Paul Hogan, wearing an Aussie Rules kit and a lifeguard bonnet, carrying
a wobbleboard and a tube of lager. Maybe that was suggested, but turned
down... one never knows about these things... :-)
Despite this, it is one of Alan's strongest episodes since Another Time
Another Place, and we see just how well Alan gets on with Etrec. Who
decided to dub Etrec? It sounds just like the dubbing used for Peter
Duncan in The Exiles, and once again it fails. Jasper Carrott's "Funky
Moped" on Top Of The Pops was better than that! (This may need
explanations for non-UK Alphans - let me know if it does)
So Pasc has a virus which drives him to kill. Maybe he used to work in IT
and got p'd off with his user base... :-) Once again Patricia has provided
an interesting post on this medical topic. There could be the makings of a
book here - The Medicine of Space:1999... and we see another medic -
Dr Raoul. How many medics did Alpha have? How does this relate to the
number of staff on the base in terms of proportion?
Seeing Carter with the football, I half expected him to hand pass it to
Etrec a la AFL. Does anyone know if Alan's historical reference is correct?
I take it from the way he talks, he is talking about Rugby League football
rather than Rugby Union.
The bit where Pasc and Etrec try to escape from Alpha doesn't work that
well in terms of where are they going to go? It adds conflict to the plot
between Pasc and Etrec, and leads up to the point where Etrec tries to cut
the symbol from his head.
A transfusion of treated Archanon blood cures Etrec, but sadly Pasc is
beyond help as his body cannot replace lost blood. Makes me wonder
how they deal with cuts and gashes on Archanon. Here Pasc gets his best
line - "It is the final privilege of the killing sickness - to kill oneself". It is
somehow profound and sad - for some reason I am reminded of Seven
Samurai by this line.
This story deals a little more fully with the death of a father. The
Metamorph didn't address this as it perhaps should have, but here we do
see some grief and the lad wanting to spend time with his father's body in
a final goodbye.
Some good points and some bad points about the story, but in the overall
standing of season 2 I think it fares quite well, despite the dubbing.
Methinks Brian The Brain is coming soon, I'd better get my knives out
ready...
Incidentally, there is a rumour doing the rounds at the moment that Brian
Blessed could be the next actor to take the role of The Doctor, if a new
production gets anywhere near take off.
Now I'm waiting for The Avengers movie to hit screens over here - I've
seen a couple of the publicity shots and they look great, and the Official
Poster Mag makes for some good reading. And of course there's Uma
Thurman playing two roles as well....
Brian Dowling
From: Atomic Possum (atomicpossum@toast4tag.net) [OT]
Subject: Re: Space1999: Mark Of Archanon
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1998 20:21:28 -0500
>> Incidentally, there is a rumour doing the rounds at the moment that Brian
>> Blessed could be the next actor to take the role of The Doctor, if a new
>> production gets anywhere near take off.
This rumor surfaces regularly. I believe he was under consideration as
far back as the Troughton/Pertwee transition, and I KNOW I heard him
speculated about before Paul McGann was given the part.
>> Now I'm waiting for The Avengers movie to hit screens over here - I've
>> seen a couple of the publicity shots and they look great, and the Official
>> Poster Mag makes for some good reading. And of course there's Uma
>> Thurman playing two roles as well....
>
>Ooh, 5'11" --- my dream woman!!!
Another remake that fills me with inertia....At best they can try to
copy MacNee doing Steed, and no matter how tight they make Uma's shoes
they'll always be a bit too big for her fill......
From: "Simon Morris" (simes01@global44net.co.uk)
Subject: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1998 18:20:00 +0100
G'day all
Interesting episode this,being written(as I pointed out a day or so ago)by a
writer who previously had produced scripts for quite a few British sitcoms. It
doesn't have the hallmarks of a script which has been re-written by Fred
Freiberger (ie ludicrous humour and over the top action sequences)so I would
suggest it is basically as Schwarz wrote it. I think its a good story (as usual
not especially original)with some appealing and well-written character moments
especially between Carter and Etrec,and there is a certain amount of humour but
not the ridiculous comedy that Freiberger passed off as being funny.
Considering Nick Tate has been quoted as saying he didn't like Freiberger, I
think its fair to say that he had more to do in certain Y2 episodes than he did
in most Y1 episodes. This is one of them and IMHO gives the lie to the oft
quoted statement that Tate did badly by Freiberger. The episode opens with an
excruciatingly bad little ditty sung by Tate/Carter. As I've said before,he
doesn't sound too bad but he shouldn't give up the day job...
Another nice touch in the script which pleased me was Verdeschi's sardonic
comment in reply to Pacs's mission to bring peace to the universe:
"From most of the races we've come across,you don't seem to have had too much
success!"
I suppose you could take this as a comment on the Y2 scripts in general
considering the various "bad"guys the Alphans come across. At least the above
line addresses this little Y2 problem...
I'd agree with Dave Acheson that-as usual-it tends to be the*execution*that
lets the episode down,though not too much. The special effects are unusually
ropey and some of the acting is a little shaky. I''d never heard of Michael
Gallagher(Etrec)and haven't seen him in anything since. The biggest problem
with him is the usual crappy dubbing of his voice into a whiny pseudo-american
intonation which to me sounds neither like a child or like an adult. In fact it
sounds like someones got hold of his testicles...:-)
Which reminds me, there does seem to be a preponderous of dodgy dubbing in this
episode. John Alkin as Johnson does not speak in his normal English voice and
has another juvenile(and probably faked)american accent which merely makes his
character intensely irritating. Alkin,by the way,was a fairly well known
supporting actor in the UK(regularly seen in THE SWEENEY for example). Don't
see him at all now. He's still alive....wonder what he's doing now? Also the
security guard Carson sounds suspiciously dubbed with a fake accent. I wonder
if one voice-over artiste did them all? And on a similar subject,I think the
actor who played the medic "Raoul" was fairly crap in a role that was largely a
waste of time anyway..
John Standing was generally good as Pasc and elicits a certain amount of
sympathy from the viewer. Standing was and still is a very well known leading
actor in the UK and he certainly was NOT dubbed in the episode. Its the
ludicrous costume and makeup that let him down....
Its basically Nick Tate's episode and the scenes between him and Etrec
highlight nicely a sort of surrogate father/son relationship that's all the
more touching bearing in mind that Etrec's real father isn't going to be around
by the end of the episode. As Brian Dowling pointed out, the episode deals
quite effectively and emotively with the death of a father.
The episode might have played better if they had ended on a freeze-frame of
Etrec hugging his dead father,so forcing the viewer to dwell on the tragedy of
it.(Incidentally,a tip of the hat to Derek Wadsworth's music here which
effectively underlines that scene...) As it is we then go into the epilogue
with Koenig and Helena which to my mind serves no other purpose than to notch
up a little more screen time for Landau in the episode. To be fair,it is a
fairly thoughtful and sombre end to the story(apart from the yucky kiss at the
end)and by no means the insensitive "humorous" epilogue that is tagged on to a
lot of the episodes in Y2. I just feel that it might have been a bit more
powerful if it had ended on Pasc's death...
Overall,not a bad episode at all.
Simon Morris
From: "Petter Ogland" (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 13:03:47 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: The Mark of Archanon
> Interesting episode this,being written(as I pointed out a day or so ago)by a
> writer who previously had produced scripts for quite a few British sitcoms. It
> doesn't have the hallmarks of a script which has been re-written by Fred
> Freiberger (ie ludicrous humour and over the top action sequences)so I would
> suggest it is basically as Schwarz wrote it. I think its a good story (as usual
> not especially original)with some appealing and well-written character moments
> especially between Carter and Etrec,and there is a certain amount of humour but
> not the ridiculous comedy that Freiberger passed off as being funny.
Well said. The focus on family life in the episode should perhaps be much to
the fortune of Schwartz's previous work with sit-coms then, although there
is not all that focus on humour or comedy in this one, I feel, as one
perhaps would expect from a man who writes a book about the art of writing
comedy.
Perhaps Schwartz was tired of comedy at the moment and the killing sickness
had something to do with him wanting to kill of characters he no longer
found interesting in TV-adaptions of CARRY ON etc.
From my point of view THE MARK OF ARCHANON seem more like the "every
man kills the things he loves" refrain of Oscar Wilde that was so
brilliantly used in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's QUERELLE (1982) than
anything having to do with comedy and humour.
The tragic ending of the episode also makes one wonder if this is an
attempt by Lew Schwartz, the clown, to use the opportunity to write
more seriously. A main thread of the story seem to be about the
strained relationship between father and son, and how easily Carter
invades the relationship and is excepted by Etrec as a sort of step-father
makes one wonder.
As the episode does not seem to have any ideological content, perhaps
the content is psychological. If one found out that the marriage of
Lew Schwartz was rather strained at the moment, or that he had divorced
and there were so difficulties concerning his relationship with his
children I would not be surprised.
This is mere speculation, however, just to see if it makes any sense out
of the episode. As I see it, however, any psychological content of this
type does not help me making the episode more interesting, so until we
find more background to THE MARK ARCHANON this appears to be one of
the weaker episodes as far as I'm concerned.
> Another nice touch in the script which pleased me was Verdeschi's sardonic
> comment in reply to Pacs's mission to bring peace to the universe:
>
> "From most of the races we've come across,you don't seem to have had too much
> success!"
Hm. Bringing peace to the universe could perhaps mean trying to hold a
marriage or relationship together here. The more I think of it, the more
sad the episode seem to be. Not one of my favourites.
> I'd agree with Dave Acheson that-as usual-it tends to be the*execution*that
> lets the episode down,though not too much.
This is the basic problem with Year Two, I feel. The question is if there
is something interesting to the episodes if we forget the execution. Sometimes
there is and sometimes there isn't. I believe THE MARK OF ARCHANON would
need more reseach and deeper analysis if one were to find something of
general interest here.
Petter
[EDITOR'S NOTE: A fragment of a note from the next ExE.]
Date: Sun, 9 Aug 1998 23:57:21 -0400 (EDT)
From: Paul Apprich (psapp@terra.cnct4tag.com)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Brian the Brain
[....]
P.S. What gave Lew Schwartz the idea for the name Pasc anyway? Anything
like Passover? as in Pasch(al)?
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 15:13:26 +0000
From: Ina Litera (ilitera@idt4tag.net)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Pascal
I forget who suggested that Pasch could also refer to the Pascal Lamb
which is symbolically represented at the Passover seder. The pascal
lamb represents the sacrifice which was offered and the lambs blood was
then used to mark the doorpost of jewish homes so the Angel of Death
would skip ("pass over") those houses. It's possible that the writers
might have had that in mind when naming the character.
By the way, Maine was great. It's taken me many days to get through
all this mail (wow, you've all been busy)
For anyone in the Beautiful Adirondack region of NY state, my quartet
will be doing our 3 rd annual tour next week. We'll be playing an all
Space 1999 program (ok that's not true but I though it migh get
someones attention) Anyway if your up there and want to hear some late
Beethoven, Ginistera, Webern and Piazzolla email me and i'll send you
more info.
Later,
Ina
From: djlerda@juno4tag.com
Subject: Space1999: Pascal
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 14:05:29 EDT
Blaise Pascal was a French philosopher and mathematician whwo developed a
rotating wheel calculator. Pascal's calculator had one wheel
corresponding to each power of 10; each wheel had 10 positions, one for
each of the digits 0 through 9. His calculator could only add and
subtract. It could multiply by succive additions and divide by
successive subtractions.
David J Lerda