From: "Petter Ogland" (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 10:30:18 +0000 Subject: Space1999: Dragon's Domain Mark Meskin wrote: >[Petter wrote, in another thread:] >> 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, > > 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! There are many fine things about DRAGON'S DOMAIN, I think, some even excellent such as the use of Albinoni's Adagio and much of the elements involving Cellini. What I find less fortunate with the episode is the apparent attempts on sit-com in many of the scenes involving Landau or Bain, Koenig joking with Kano, John and Helena sharing toothbrush jokes, the young Helena and Cellini discussing his sex-life, the young Koenig and Cellini hanging around on Alpha, Helena's "motherly" voice over during much of the episode. It makes you cringe, doesn't it? Martin Willey says that he actually read the early script with special concern to the Carter character, or whatever he was being called at the time, written by some American not appearing as writer on any of the other stories. It seems likely that after they went to production the script was not consistent with how things was developing and in this case, similar to Johnny Byrne's reworking of MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, Chris Penfold made DRAGON'S DOMAIN possible to produce. Even if Penfold made drastic rewriting, it seems highly different from his normal output, I think. In fact, I think it is highly STAR TREK and Art Wallace's OBSESSION from the end of season two seem strikingly similar. In this episode Alpha is indeed "home, safe and familiar". I would not be surprised if the writer of the original draft was someone who had previously worked with STAR TREK having the S.S. Enterprise in mind. More than anything else I feel that this episode is a symptom of the writers for the series beginning to get tired. As we know, Penfold had already left the boat, and apparently even Johnny Byrne didn't feel commited enough to conform the rags of a script to SPACE:1999 standards. A very uneven entry I would say about DRAGON'S DOMAIN, containing some of the very best and some of the very worst of what was contributed to the first season. Petter
From: djlerda@juno4tag.com Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 10:57:39 EDT >What I find less fortunate with the episode is the apparent attempts on >sit-com in many of the scenes involving Landau or Bain, Koenig joking >with Kano, John and Helena sharing toothbrush jokes, the young Helena >and Cellini discussing his sex-life, the young Koenig and Cellini >hanging around on Alpha, Helena's "motherly" voice over during much of >the episode. It makes you cringe, doesn't it? No, quite the opposite. It helps bring the characters to life. One of the frequent damming criticisms levelled at Year One was that the characters were not real people. Well, this episode blows that charge out of the water. The scenes you describe really help the characters come alive. David J Lerda
From: "Petter Ogland" (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 17:29:10 +0000 Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain I can agree there are many fine things with DRAGON'S DOMAIN; special effects, music and good direction given by Charles Crichton in the sequences where none of the SPACE:1999 regulars appear. For some mysterious reason as soon as Koenig or Helena appears, however, all that has been previously good about SPACE:1999 evaporates before ones eyes. They even wear ghastly jackets just like in Year Two! If only they had made this episode earlier in the series, when they were doing MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, BLACK SUN and RING AROUND THE MOON, perhaps somebody would have realised how much DRAGON'S DOMAIN could have benefitted from having to do with real people. Now, if you would be looking for an episode with life, real people, emotions and intelligent script, I believe an episode like RING AROUND THE MOON would be a nice place to start. Here there should be enough psychological content for conference, I believe. I assume that people who attacked SPACE:1999 for lack of life and emotions can't have seen much of the episodes really, at least not the first ones anyway. I feel that the early SPACE:1999 had far more psychological content than anything I've certainly seen in the same category of entertainment. Petter
From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 16:42:28 +0000 Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain > > Martin Willey says that he actually read the early script with special > > concern to the Carter character, or whatever he was being called at the > > time, written by some American not appearing as writer on any of the > > other stories. It seems likely that after they went to production the > > script was not consistent with how things was developing and in this > > case, similar to Johnny Byrne's reworking of MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, > > Chris Penfold made DRAGON'S DOMAIN possible to produce. > > Just to correct that- I know there are a number of early scripts by > American writers, of which Wallace's was one. All eventually became > episodes... but all were radically different. Byrne and Penfold have > both stated this. Apart from Siren Planet, I have seen one other early > script (I don;t recall the author or title). I do not know which episode > it relates to (it was that different!) Thanks Martin, but what I stated seem to have been was correct then, wasn't it? I have no idea if this early script you are talking about had anything to do with DRAGON'S DOMAIN, but from my point of view the MOBY DICK concept seems rather American, I think, much more in the style of the Terpiloff episodes than anything to do with Penfold or Byrne I think, and from our previous discussions I believe you said it focused on the character that later developed to be Alan Carter. Catani? Well, only speculating as usual, but I find most of this episode so extremely out of character that I would be very surprised if this turned out to be Penfold from scratch. In that case I believe somebody else must have altered the script after Penfold was finished with it, and I feel Johnny Byrne is a man of far to good taste to have added sit-com elements of the very slothiest kind. It feels totally Year Two to me, probably something Fred Freiberger would have liked! Ugh. > It's possible Dragon's Domain was one of these- but I don't know it was. > > Incidentally Johnny emailed me to congratulate me on my site. Here's a > quote... > > >Seeing the old Face Of Eden script took me back - > >I don't have it and haven't seen it since Pinewood > >days. Likewise the Wallace script. I purposely put it away for good > >when writing MOLD and I'm still not sure how much it influenced me. You certainly deserve all the acknowledge you get, Martin. Your site must certainly be the most informative source on SPACE:1999 on the internet. Congratulations. Nice to see that Johnny Byrne is surfing. Your comments on FACE OF EDEN and SIREN PLANET are tremendous fun to read, I think, SIREN PLANET in particular, giving some insight on what Art Wallace's writing was actually like. I've seen his work OBSESSION for STAR TREK and enjoyed it quite much in fact, very similar to DRAGON'S DOMAIN in a way. His other contribution I've not managed to find. Petter
From: djlerda@juno4tag.com Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 16:55:37 EDT >For some mysterious reason as soon as Koenig or Helena appears, however, >all that has been previously good about SPACE:1999 evaporates before ones >eyes. They even wear ghastly jackets just like in Year Two! You've got to be kidding. The acting among all of the regular cast is some of the best of the series. I'll agree Gianni Garko is a weak choice for a guest star but that was forced on Gerry Anderson by RAI. >If only they had made this episode earlier in the series, when they were >doing MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, BLACK SUN and RING AROUND THE MOON, >perhaps somebody would have realised how much DRAGON'S DOMAIN could >have benefitted from having to do with real people. Why is it I knew we'ld get back to RATM? I just knew it. But to put BLACK SUN into the same catagory as MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH and RING? No way. I must strongly disagree. MATTER made absolutely no sense whatsoever. And it had one of the worst endings of the series: Helena clicks her shoes three times, says "there's no place like home," and everything's OK. As for RING, the less said the better. I think we have beaten that one to death ad nauseum. David J Lerda "Just because we haven't experienced something doesn't mean it doesn't exist" - John Koenig
From: David Acheson (dkach@hot44mail.com) Subject: Space1999: Octopus' Domain Date: Thu, 06 Aug 1998 06:46:26 EDT DRAGON'S DOMAIN having sitcom elements to it? Come on Petter. I see no where in the entire episode (including the sequences you describe) where the direction of the show changes from the previous year one stories and head off to year two style. I like the episode but it is not my absolute favourite so I think I am defending it with a bit of objectivity. First and foremost it definitely have the Christopher Penfold/Charles Chricton look and feel to it and not once do I believe that some hack stepped in at the last minute to rework it. This seems to be what you are suggesting - again to accomodate your reasoning why you feel the episode appears out of place in year one. Penfold may have left the series near the end but this episode was probably already penned. Do you even know for sure the actual time of Penfold's departure? The toothbrush joke was not written as a sitcom joke (where is the laugh track?) but rather Helena's attempt at sarcasm to cut down a commander who just wasn't listening to her. Remember, they were fighting in this episode but both are stubborn characters at time. This confrontation and the one Helena has with Luke and Anna in the Eagle in TESTAMENT OF ARKADIA are the two best tough-Helena scenes around. Just because some additional touches were added doesn't mean the series falls apart and gets silly. One needs a Freiberger to do that! Why is it that when one of the first five episodes has a different touch its considered a classic and if it happened later in the series it ruins the show and was done to accomodate year two. Remember all of year one was completed even before airing thus year two was just a sparkle in Gerry Anderson's eyes at the time. Something ITC was really not too serious to commit to until the last possible moment. Thus upon completion the cast and crew did what they tried to do and hoped that people liked it enough when it hit the airwaves. Now, RING AROUND THE MOON, is totally devoid of any humanity. It is a turkey to me but I do honour your complete belief in that episode. Yet I get the impression from your writings lately that anyone who complains about lack of characterization in year one is completely out of it and doesn't understand the show. I am a year one fan and love the 2001 aspects of it but television works best when people adapt to characters that they come to love and relate to. It was, at times, hard to do that with the Alphans. Philosophical ideas work best on a large television audience when you present it in a form palpable to the masses. I believe that was the whole idea behind changing formats for year two. The problem was not the ideas but rather the manner in which they were executed. How was anyone going to know that Fred Freiberger's well-meaning intentions was to make the show more one dimensional that ever before? So I end by once again saying characterization does not equal cartoon/sitcom figures. Dragon's Domain was a fine attempt at showing the Alphans comfortable with their new surroundings and with each other to the point they can yell back at the Commander without reprecussions. Its called character growth. David Acheson Site Administrator, Return to Moonbase Alpha http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Heights/4376/moonbase.html
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Most of the material in the next note is off the immediate topic of 'Dragon's Domain'] From: "Petter Ogland" (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1998 12:13:02 +0000 Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain > You've got to be kidding. The acting among all of the regular cast is > some of the best of the series. I'll agree Gianni Garko is a weak choice > for a guest star but that was forced on Gerry Anderson by RAI. Do you think so? I thought Garko was rather good actually, just like Giancarlo Prete in THE TROUBLED SPIRIT who contributes greatly into making that episode what it is. In fact I would say Garko's performance is one of the highlights of DRAGON'S DOMAIN, very convincing I would say, and in high contrast to Landau and Bain shallow appearences. I must say that if you are content with the mere presence of Landau and Bain in DRAGON'S DOMAIN you must revel over the episodes like BREAKAWAY, MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, BLACK SUN and RING AROUND THE MOON where they actually behave like humans. > Why is it I knew we'ld get back to RATM? I just knew it. But to put > BLACK SUN into the same catagory as MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH and RING? > No way. I must strongly disagree. BREAKAWAY, MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, BLACK SUN and RING AROUND THE MOON, the very first and very best episodes in my opinion. Especially with respect to general performance from the actors four episodes are significantly above the general level of the series, I feel. Not surprising, I suppose, the actors being less secure about who people like Koenig, Helena, Victor and Alan actually were, the performances are extremely complex, reaching climax with what I consider the finest episode in the history of SPACE:1999, namely RING AROUND THE MOON, and sadly to plummet with the next entry, EARTHBOUND. If only EARTHBOUND had been rewritten by Johnny Byrne, like he did so brilliantly with MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, perhaps the series could have continued the focus on people like in the four initial episodes. Unfortunately this was not so, and Terpiloff's abstract story of power, belief, loneliness and society seems almost like a milestone as his type of writing seems to support routine acting without any apparent challenge to the actors. Very sad, I think, as the series started off so nicely. Nevertheless, EARTHBOUND is not one of Terpiloff's worst. From my point of view it is actually his best, perhaps having to do with Landau, Bain, Morse etc. still having RING AROUND THE MOON in fresh memory and still not quite sure whether to continue serious acting or selling out and do routine. There are of course ups and downs through out the series, some scenarios apparently being more inspiring than others. Unfortunately, the way I see it anyway, DRAGON'S DOMAIN is one of the episodes where Landau and Bain seem the most misguided. I find this very sad, however, as DRAGON'S DOMAIN is so elaborate and stylish in other aspects. Think what could have become of DRAGON'S DOMAIN if it had been reworked by Edward di Lorenzo and made more similar to RING AROUND THE MOON for instance! > MATTER made absolutely no sense > whatsoever. And it had one of the worst endings of the series: Helena > clicks her shoes three times, says "there's no place like home," and > everything's OK. MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH is a magificent episode, I think. It is an episode I've watched many many times, and it is still some extremely fast 50 minutes which gives absolutely fascinating insights to Alpha through the eyes of Helena in particular but also feature performances of Landau and Morse that are on equal level as of BLACK SUN, I think. I think the ending was very good too, I've always enjoyed seeing the growing panic in the minds of these extremely calm people as one disaster following upon the other, culiminating with the destruction of the moon, siege them. One of the best endings of all, I would say. Now, of course one couldn't have the moon blown up and all the main characters killed in episode no. 2 out of 24, so I have no difficulty in understanding the need for a surreal ending. Even so, the point about Helena facing her past in terms of Lee and the parallell of Alpha finding a paradise similar to Earth makes very much sense to me. In a way I think the episode sums very nicely up one of the major themes of SPACE:1999, that in a rapidly developing technological world we can't continue living by looking at pictures of the past. One of my favourites actually, MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, magnificently find episode, I think. > As for RING, the less said the better. I think we have > beaten that one to death ad nauseum. I feel rather differently about this, David. Personally finding that RING AROUND THE MOON more or less summarises all the best things about SPACE:1999 I feel it has been discussed far to little actually! Watching this marvellous episode every now and then I continously find ever increasing levels of depth to it. If SPACE:1999 ever came slightly on the border of being viewed as having anything to do with art, I feel this is the masterpiece. I see an excalating growth of quality in the beginning episodes, beginning with BREAKAWAY, which is one of the best pieces of TV drama ever written as far as I'm concerned, continuing with MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH as a compelling investigating of the psychology of Alpha, then the magnificent BLACK SUN which discuss the structure and meaning of life with calm desperation as the Alphans are prepared to leave it, using a psychological context that would have benefitted peopel like Terpiloff tremendously using real people and believable contexts, and finally reaching the climax with RING AROUND THE MOON, the episode which with brilliant psychological insights investigates the essence of knowledge and existence with implications to the meaning of life as we know it. Breathtaking! Petter
From: djlerda@juno4tag.com Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain Date: Thu, 06 Aug 1998 15:17:22 EDT >Do you think so? I thought Garko was rather good actually, just like >Giancarlo Prete in THE TROUBLED SPIRIT who contributes greatly into making >that episode what it is. In fact I would say Garko's performance is one of >the highlights of DRAGON'S DOMAIN, very convincing I would say, and in >high contrast to Landau and Bain shallow appearences. Sorry, I must disagree. I felt Garko was weak in the final scenes in which the Probeship was discovered. He did a good job in the earlier part, the flashbacks, but I found his performance uneven as a whole. I would hardly characterize Landau and Bain's performances as shallow. I would consider them among the best of Year One. Probably only exceeded by ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE. It would have been interesting if the script had proceeded as originally planned with the episode revolving around Alan Carter, although it would have caused some ghastly continuity problems for the season. >I must say that if you are content with the mere presence of Landau and Bain >in DRAGON'S DOMAIN you must revel over the episodes like BREAKAWAY, >MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, BLACK SUN and RING AROUND THE MOON where they >actually behave like humans. Two out of three anyway. BREAKAWAY and BLACK SUN they shine because the STORIES shine. The other two episodes you mention feel like one paragraph story premises that were padded out to full teleplays. >[....] Landau, Bain, >Morse etc. still having RING AROUND THE MOON in fresh memory and still >not quite sure whether to continue serious acting or selling out and >do routine. Serious acting?! Barbara Bain proved that she can do a great job as a drugged out zombie and Landau and Morse showed that they can do supposedly serious dialogue without exploding into fits of laughter. >Think what could have >become of DRAGON'S DOMAIN if it had been reworked by Edward di Lorenzo >and made more similar to RING AROUND THE MOON for instance! Yes. It would probably be regarded as one of the worst episodes of the series. >I feel rather differently about this, David. Personally finding that >RING AROUND THE MOON more or less summarises all the best things about >SPACE:1999 I feel it has been discussed far to little actually! No, I'm not going to fall into this trap. We have had three major threads about this episode in the last three months and I have no intention of helping you beat this dead horse once more. David J Lerda
From: "Mark Meskin" (plastic.gravity@new44rock.com) Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1998 16:44:48 -0500 From: Petter Ogland > I must say that if you are content with the mere presence of Landau and Bain > in DRAGON'S DOMAIN you must revel over the episodes like BREAKAWAY, > MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, BLACK SUN and RING AROUND THE MOON where they > actually behave like humans. What Peter actually meant to say was "they actually behave like humans who are actors who are acting like automated, emotionless, wooden zombies........." In those episodes, anyway. The Humans you know must be different from the humans I know. Mark
From: "Rene'" (langly@home4tag.com) Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain Date: Sat, 8 Aug 1998 00:44:51 -0400 >What Peter actually meant to say was "they actually behave like humans >who are actors who are acting like automated, emotionless, wooden >zombies........." In those episodes, anyway. The Humans you know >must be different from the humans I know. I suppose that's one theory to explain why Peter likes "ROTM"! Although I really loved the "cosmic" elements in Year 1, I enjoyed the humour of Year 2 and general overall dearth of wooden acting that plagued Year 1. Helena either had no reaction to most things, or simply opened her mouth in an "O" for surprise. She was like an Ice Queen. Victor was always like, "Well, John, I think ... but of course, you're free to totally ignore my logical opinion". Sandra had a much better part in Year 1, but I did not lament the absence of Prentiss and his overacting. Carter had much more personality in Year 2. I suppose one reason I really like "Force of Life" is that it was mostly about Zoref AND it had that cosmic element. The pacing is a bit slow, though. "Death's Other Dominion" had great elements of humour to it with Jack's little sayings and of course having Brian Blessed around is usually a good thing. I always like the movie "Lost Horizon" and this episode reminded me of it. "Lost Horizon" in space! He might make a good Dr. Who, not sure. "Dragon's Domain" -- the best thing about this episode is that Helena has no faith and is totally wrong, and Koenig has faith and believes in Cellini. Koenig also tells her off -- gotta like that. The bad thing is that there's no way a distant planet could be anything like Earth. At extreme distances from the Sun, an Earth-like atmosphere would freeze. That, plus the fact that the entire command staff went to investigate the graveyard -- which is ludicrously stupid. Rene'
From: djlerda@juno4tag.com Subject: Space1999: Dragon's Domain Date: Sat, 08 Aug 1998 15:32:47 EDT >"Dragon's Domain" -- >That, plus the fact that the entire command staff went >to investigate the graveyard -- which is ludicrously stupid. No more stupid than on Star Trek where Kirk and Spock (the captain and first officer and the ship's two most important officers) were constantly beaming into the thick of things! :-) David J Lerda
From: "Brian Dowling" (brian@hellion-prestel-co.uk) Date: Sat, 8 Aug 1998 11:21:27 +0100 Subject: Space1999: Favourite episodes and series Hi folks, After reading the posts about favourite episodes, I would have to put my name in the Dragon's Domain camp. Well executed, with an alien which scared me when I first saw it (and I was 21 at the time!) and, despite the terrible continuity glitch with the dates (how the hell did they miss that?), it's a story which adds to both the atmosphere of the base, the history of the Alphans pre-Breakaway, and the general history of the timeline. The novelisation of this story was based around Captain Jim Calder, who I imagined to be a Scotsman (Calder being a Scottish name). Hence I was a little surprised when the Scot from the story became and Italian. But credit to the writers and production team - the inclusion of Gianni Garko as Cellini helped to make Alpha a more international community. Would you trust a guy who keeps tomahawks in his quarters? Surely there would be regulations about weapons? Hang on, ignore that last question until I finish my story... Some of the attempted humour doesn't quite work - Barbara Bain's "He didn't even take his toothbrush" line would have been funny if it were better delivered IMHO. Now there's an oxymoron - IMHO... :-) Soon after watching it for the first time, I found out that the story was originally intended for Alan Carter. Now that would be really cool I thought, as it adds an extra bit of the ingredient that "we're not all perfect". David Lerda wrote something about it screwing up the continuity, but I can't quite see where that would happen. We don't know for sure when Alan started on Alpha, and it would have added an extra dimension to everyone's favourite pilot. When Koenig talks about the best all round astronaut he ever saw, I thought it would be better aplying to Alan rather than Cellini. The scenes on Earth dealing with Commissioner Dixon are well written, and I can imagine a scenario where Doomwatch (or a 1999 variant of it) is hanging over the ILC like the sword of Damocles, especially with the atomic waste problem. Maybe there's room for those two timelines to cross over, especially after the rocket and astronaut based episode Re- Entry Forbidden, which deals with the psychological condition of astronaut Dick Larch and the subsequent failure of a mission he is sent on. Now there's a thought for a pre Breakaway story... DD is a good old fashioned monster story with that season 1 philosophy about it. It withstands repeated watching and the hardware looks well cool!
From: djlerda@juno4tag.com Subject: Space1999: Dragon's Domain Date: Sat, 08 Aug 1998 15:32:47 EDT >I found out that the story was >originally intended for Alan Carter. [....] >David Lerda wrote something about it screwing up the >continuity, but I can't quite see where that would happen. We don't know >for sure when Alan started on Alpha, and it would have added an extra >dimension to everyone's favourite pilot. Well, if the script had featured Carter as origninally planned it would have caused problems with "Breakaway" for one. I can't see the IFLC letting a guy they blame for the failure of their last big-budget space probe being allowed to pilot the Meta probe. And Cellini died at the end, so no more Alan Carter. I liked the character and felt he was a strong plus in Year 2. David J Lerda
From: " Tom Miller" (tmiller@north444net.org) Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain Date: Sat, 8 Aug 1998 16:32:49 -0400 >No more stupid than on Star Trek where Kirk and Spock (the captain and >first officer and the ship's two most important officers) were constantly >beaming into the thick of things! :-) Defence of Star Trek: In the origonal series, the ship was sent to explore, and the captains were more of cowboys than commanders. This was nessasary for the expansion of the federation, and when it was deemed unnessasary, the first officer lead the away teams....
From: "Petter Ogland" (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 11:43:06 +0000 Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain > What Petter actually meant to say was "they actually behave like humans who > are actors who are acting like automated, emotionless, wooden > zombies........." In those episodes, anyway. > > The Humans you know must be different from the humans I know. I feel the way Alpha is portrayed in RING AROUND THE MOON seem like a fairly realistic portrayal of the kind of people one would expect to be on such a project. Everything seems to make sense in this episode, I feel, from wonderful interplay between Alan and Koenig to Victor philosophical nature. Furthermore, the actors seem to be enjoying themselves, just look into their eyes, it doesn't even seem like acting, it's more like they are just responding to the circumstances as if they were actually John, Helena, Victor etc living these strange experiences. While the hardware and music in DRAGON'S DOMAIN is impressive, the acting is not, I feel. From my point of view it seems like the Flintstones or Simpsons in outer space. In 2001 Kubrick also tries to make the people seem as vulgar as possible, relating to his theme of humans being nothing more than apes with technology, and, from my point of view, this would be the only redeeming thing about the sequences involving Koenig or Helena in this episode. Perhaps having them behave indifferently and irresponsibly like people who do not care for either their own future or, more importantly in this case, the future of the space programme, could be read as some sort of comment on human kind. Personally I prefer the more serious approach in the earlier episodes, however, feeling more comfertable with doctors, scientists, philosophers etc. who seem to have more of a purpose with life. Petter
From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 17:57:55 +0000 Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain Hi Jeff, > > Furthermore, the actors seem to be enjoying themselves, just look into > > their eyes, it doesn't even seem like acting, it's more like they are > > just responding to the circumstances as if they were actually John, > > Helena, Victor etc living these strange experiences. > > ***Yes, I agree. S19's acting could really draw one into their world, > unlike the pale imitations that pass for sci-fi today. In Star Trek the > Pepsi Generation, the acting is beyond stiff. By comparison S19's cast is > loose and emotive. It's magnificent, isn't it? Personally I find the early episodes to be the best examples of stylish SPACE:1999 acting. BREAKAWAY is one of the very best episodes in many aspects, I feel. Barbara Bain insisted on having MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE director Lee H. Katzin on the pilot episode, being perhaps more confertable with somebody she knew she had good rapport. Apart from some minor sequences, the opening shots of Victor and Helena for instance which are a bit below par, I feel, seemingly too occupied with catching Bain's beauty and too little concerned with her character perhaps, the episode is a work of art as far as I'm concerned. Brilliant from beginning to end, especially the beginning 3/4 of the episode. The drama elements of the episode being no less than terrific, the SFX-oriented final act is almost an anti-climax, I feel, the focus on hardware perhaps the only thing that slows the episode down although the special effects in themselces are quite impressive. MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH is a very good dramatic episode, I feel, excellent in its investigation of the Alpha inhabitants in a highly psychological mode. This is one of the best of the Byrne episodes perhaps, although what he did was to rewrite Wallaces STAR TREK like original draft which appears to have been drained with emotions on a level more close to kitch. The episode is perhaps a little bit marred by the typical Charles Crichton touch which always is reliable for fast pace, interesting camera work, but seldom make the actors excell significantly beyond the normal. BLACK SUN is a better episode in acting terms, I feel. Lee Katzin is once again heading the adventure, and the actors once again seem more relaxed. Especially Victor, Carter and Kano are given nice exposure with each individual actor the ability to investigate how his character will respond to different situations. RING AROUND THE MOON is the definitive SPACE:1999, I feel. Here we have former stuntman Ray Austin producing perhaps the finest piece of space drama ever made for TV. Austin's rapport with the actors is nothing less than astounding. If BLACK SUN gave the opportunity for the minor characters to investigate their parts, RING AROUND THE MOON is a tour de force for Landau and Bain. Personally I don't think I've ever seen anything as impressive as this in a similar context. From the magnificent chaotic scenes in the end of the prologue to the exquisitly philosophical ending it's high quality drama much beyond what one would expect from anything of such calibre. In fact, it seems more related to something written for the contemporoary live theatre than anything to do with action adventure for the young at heart. Brilliant! I don't know how many times I've seen this episode, but each time is almost like a revelation of psychological insight to the Alpha community and beyond to the shores of our own lives. I'm very much convinced that the partnership between Edward di Lorenzo and Ray Austin made up the chemistry that let SPACE: 1999 show of it possibilities of what it could really be like at its best. Di Lorenzo's awareness for human emotions and social dynamics and Austin's emotional style of filming and inspiring the actors. As Barry Morse said in the context of discussing BLACK SUN, it's quite sad, really, that they didn't concentrate more on the winning sides of SPACE:1999. What went wrong? Difficult to say really, but apparently there was a lot of rewriting on the di Lorenzo scripts which would consequently lead to him resigning his post as script editor in frustration. Although not feeling MISSING LINK is quite as brilliant as RING AROUND THE MOON, having a norm such as RING AROUND THE MOON it would be very difficult to write anything that would be slightly reminicent of this in quality I suppose, it still shows what the best of SPACE:1999 could be like, and it's very sad that di Lorenzo did not continue his good influence on the series, only leaving an unfinished draft of ALPHA CHILD behind before he left. No use crying over spilt milk, however. As the series went slightly silly with the Terpiloff contributions, EARTHBOUND shot immediately after RING AROUND THE MOON, it is difficult to know if di Lorenzo could have done very much good in the end after all. In his three contributions, there is a very outspoken tendency of quality drop, I feel, although it is a bit difficult to know exactly which parts of ALPHA CHILD that were di Lorenzo and which parts were Penfold. Nevertheless, ALPHA CHILD is definitely not bad, and most of the Penfold and Byrne episodes are close to brilliant themselves, particulary finding the Penfold episodes much to my taste, so there is still much to enjoy. > > While the hardware and music in DRAGON'S DOMAIN is impressive, the acting > > is not, I feel. From my point of view it seems like the Flintstones or > > Simpsons in outer space. In 2001 Kubrick also tries to make the people > > seem as vulgar as possible, relating to his theme of humans being nothing > > more than apes with technology, and, from my point of view, this would be > > the only redeeming thing about the sequences involving Koenig or Helena > in > > this episode. > > *Agree with you on this. But think this episode has a "grand" feel about > it that overshadows any weakness in charactorization. The fascinating part of MOBY DICK is perhaps more the very idea than the actual characters. I think this works in this episode too, and even if one is not too impressed by Landau, Bain, Morse, Tate etc., Gianni Garko makes a fair try, the actual main character of the episode. By the time they made DRAGON'S DOMAIN it seems that very much of the original SPACE:1999 blood had dried out. Personally I feel there are symptoms of the formula tiering even as early as with FORCE OF LIFE, the ninth episode. This is the first episode where Koenig, Helena and Bergman play only second violins to a guest star. On the other hand, Byrne's catholic approach and concern with using Alpha more like an environment for displaying his ideas may well be forgive the little use of the main characters in such fine episodes as FORCE OF LIFE and VOYAGER'S RETURN, perhaps even END OF ETERNITY could be watched in light of this. After Penfold's THE LAST SUNSET, however, there are quite a few misses before they hit the nail again with WAR GAMES, and the rest of the production is very uneven, I think. DRAGON'S DOMAIN seems like a new effort by Crichton to make something as worthwile as WAR GAMES, even using a Penfold script once again, but even as the production values are more or less equally impressive as in WAR GAMES, the script seem to lack the normal intelligence of Penfold, unless one is willing to read it more as a anti-SPACE:1999 adventure of the MOBY DICK kind where the Dragon is the symbol of nature and Alpha, symbolised by the inane stupidity of people like Koenig and Russell and the more sympathetically portrayed tormented Cellini, as the force of evil. This is the perfect reading of ALL THAT GLISTERS, I feel, an episodes that works just because it is so extremely silly in an Ed Wood sort of way, but DRAGON'S DOMAIN feels more like a terrible mix of apples and oranges, difficult to put it into any sort of category. The main problem, I think, as have also been pointed out by others, was the contract or agreement that stated that Landau and Bain should be present for a certain amount of time in each episode, and obviously things had to be rewritten in order to have them appear more although the original writers had no idea what to make of them. DRAGON'S DOMAIN and THE TROUBLED SPIRIT are two such episodes that suffer significantly from this, I fee. Although Bain and Landau are not deliberatly annoying in THE TROUBLED SPIRIT, they perform their regular duties, they are a bit louder that the story requires, I feel, perhaps not too happy with being reduced to feeding off lines in the same manner as Tanya and Sandra. However, THE TROUBLED SPIRIT is saved by Byrne's brilliant writing, I feel, its combination of environmental concern by relating to plants in the spirit of James Lovelock et al which probably was the rage of the time, and using the Alpha eco-system intelligently in the typical Irish ghost story of seeing ones own death. I can well understand that Mateo likes this so much. DRAGON'S DOMAIN, on the other hand, is an almost-episode, I feel, quite a lot of things speaking for it, especially when reading it as a MOBY DICK of the 1970s, very good indeed, but very badly savaged by Landau and Bain apparently compensating for their underwritten parts. Quite sad, really, as this could easily have become one of the most interesting episodes of the series. Petter
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 19:59:23 -0500 From: Mike Lynch (Mike-Lynch@big44foot.com) Organization: LSRO To: Online Alpha (space1999@buff44net.net) Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain Last Wednesday Petter made the comments that DRAGON'S DOMAIN had sit-com elements and seemed to have very "Star Trek" qualities. Neither of these is at all accurate, in my opinion. First off I've never seen a sit-com that was so dark, dismal, and horrific... and I don't think I'm likely too. If this statement was made in reference to the tooth brush remark then, Petter, I think you are paying too close attention to the wrong aspects of the episode. This particular line from Helena is no more out of place that Carter saying, "What's that guy have against me?" Helena was being sarcastic... not trying to be funny, but they line does work as comic relief - which this episodes desperately needs. Carter's comment, though not sarcastic, does add an additional comedic moment, and displays Carter's easy-going personality (which has shone through in episode after episode from BREAKAWAY on). There are very few comedic moments in DRAGON'S DOMAIN, but it is very strong in drama, and horror. Had moments like the tooth brush and Carter's line later on been left out, or not written into the script, then the episode would be almost unbearable... just look at the film SE7EN - there was no humor at all in that film and when I left the theater I felt drained, lifeless, and totally defeated. Had even small moments of humor been added then it would have still worked as a dark thriller, but it would have been much more tolerable. Comedy is necessary in the creation of any successful drama/thriller/horror flick. Take SAVING PRIVATE RYAN for example: the film is very dismal, overwhelming, and filled with horrific violence, but when the soldiers are alone, or not engaged in a battle there is playful banter to lighten the load. Such things not only add moments of levity, but add a realism to the on-screen display. As far as Star Trek... You would never have seen an episode like this in the classic Star Trek. The desicated bodies being "spit out" by the Dragon, the Dragon's flowing blood in Cellini's last stand, and Koenig burying the ax in the Dragon's eye would never have made it into Trek. These moments are some of the most graphic we see in the entire series, and - in my opinion - surpass the decomposing body in DEATH'S OTHER DOMAIN (which was frighteningly realistic for a 1975 television show). What do we see in Star Trek? We see people turned into piles of dust, ashed silhouettes representing charred remains, people fading away, etc. Due to clever editing we may see the second prior to an attack, we cut to a creature moving away or someone turning as they hear a scream, and then a black ashy silhouette that is supposed to represent the person that was just attacked (as we see in DEVIL IN THE DARK), but we never see the attack, and the body is reduced to something that is recognizable as human, but nothing that would really incite an emotional reaction. As far as blood? There was so little blood shown in the classic Star Trek (alien or otherwise) that it's difficult to pin point a specific episode or instance - except the numerous times that Kirk got a split lip from fighting... but that only seemed to last as long as it took to wipe it with the back of his hand. There is also the fact that there is dialog in DRAGON'S DOMAIN that would never have made it into a Trek script: Cellini's dig at discussing his sex life... the word "sex" was never once used in Trek - only eluded too by music and prolonged close-mouthed kisses. Not to mention that the classic Trek series never successfully churned out a sci-fi horror episode (I suppose WOLF IN THE FOLD could be considered a horror episode, but is doesn't even come close to DRAGON'S DOMAIN). I've watched the classic Trek series for just as long as Space: 1999, and even as a child I was never so deeply affected by a Trek episode that I was scared of the dark for nearly two weeks. Even now I find DRAGON'S DOMAIN to be an edge of the seat/nail biting classic... I can not say that about a single Trek episode. And let's not over look the directing and production quality of DRAGON'S DOMAIN - which is excellent, and some of the best of the series. The sets, miniatures, creature effects, and acting surpass anything out of classic Trek hands down! I also don't agree with Petter's assessment that DRAGON'S DOMAIN shows a decline in directing, script writing, acting, and general care for the series. Quite the contrary - I find this episode to show a great deal of maturity in writing, directing, and production - as well as the acting. I honestly feel that this episode shows what the series was capable of. On a similar, but somewhat tangent topic: Petter, last week you said that you enjoyed the technical aspects of the show and that you found Garko's portrayal of Cellini was perhaps the best and most realistic element of the episode and was very believable, yet you say that his frustrated and sardonic invitation to discus his sex life added to the poor quality of the episode; and today you compare DRAGON'S DOMAIN to the Flinstones(!?). How did we go from realistic to the Flinstones in less than 7 days? You also said you prefer the "more serious approach" of the earlier episodes... personally, I don't think the episodes get any more serious that DRAGON'S DOMAIN... if anything in paints a rather bleak image of the universe, and how little humans know regarding its (and their own) existence - rather like FORCE OF LIFE. Now, I know that Petter has an extreme interest in RING AROUND THE MOON, but I honestly do not see how RATM can be seen as "more serious" than DRAGON'S DOMAIN! Now, in all honesty RATM seems to be a more comic book approach to the series of Space: 1999 where as DRAGON'S DOMAIN is an epic story - both in presentation, and in content. Mike
From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 10:01:37 +0000 Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain > Last Wednesday Petter made the comments that DRAGON'S DOMAIN had sit-com > elements and seemed to have very "Star Trek" qualities. Neither of these is > at all accurate, in my opinion. First off I've never seen a sit-com that was > so dark, dismal, and horrific... and I don't think I'm likely too. If this > statement was made in reference to the tooth brush remark then, Petter, I > think you are paying too close attention to the wrong aspects of the episode. Albeit there is much good to be said about DRAGON'S DOMAIN, the general impression, from my point of view anyway, is very much marred by things like the toothbrush joke, the flower scene, Bain's ill-judged "emotional" redefinition of Helena (yuck!), Landau's college theatre type of overacting, Barry Morse sleepwalking through the episode etc. Very poor indeed, and apparently for no reason at all. Perhaps somebody from ITC New York had invaded the set and temporarily taken over? > Carter's comment, though not sarcastic, does add an > additional comedic moment, and displays Carter's easy-going personality > (which has shone through in episode after episode from BREAKAWAY on). Much of the easy-going personality of Carter was developed around the time of RING AROUND THE MOON, I think, in BREAKAWAY, MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH and BLACK SUN he is a very different character. Listening to what Zienia Merton says about Ray Austin in THE SPACE:1999 DOCUMENTARY concerning this episode it seems he was rather interested in just this, developing the characters, and with RING AROUND THE MOON he manages this very well not at least for Nick Tate who does magnificent work, I feel, just like BLACK SUN where he gives his highly emotional speach about being the head pilot not being questioned concerning the life boat eagle. Wonderful speach by the way, wonderful for the character, just like Victor's speach in WAR GAMES. While it seems that DRAGON'S DOMAIN was originally written with Alan Carter in mind, it has obviously been rewritten with Tony Cellini more or less eliminating Carter in this episode only to be knocked down twice. The second knock-out was not bad, I think, and the sequence where he rubs his head while Victor is watching is humourous in a more typical SPACE:1999 sort of way, I think, not unlike the scenes with the double Napoleons in Woody Allen's LOVE AND DEATH (1975). The buddy approach, "hey Tony!", resulting in the first knock-out was, in my opinion, more symptomatic of what went so completely wrong with this episode. If the central issue here was that Tony Cellini was an individualist why on Earth would they have Alan buddy him in this ALL THAT GLISTERS sort of manner. I can't remember he did much of this earlier episodes. Bad omen! > Comedyis necessary in the creation of any successful drama/thriller/horror flick. > Take SAVING PRIVATE RYAN for example: the film is very dismal, overwhelming, > and filled with horrific violence, but when the soldiers are alone, or not > engaged in a battle there is playful banter to lighten the load. Such things > not only add moments of levity, but add a realism to the on-screen display. Some episodes of SPACE:1999 contained more humour than others, I suppose, the Tomblin episodes FORCE OF LIFE and ANOTHER TIME/ANOTHER PLACE seem to have been created in a rather serious mode, and often strike me as a bit cold. Other episodes, RING AROUND THE MOON is the first one that springs to mind, does contain remarks which make the characters smile or even laugh. ALPHA CHILD and THE LAST SUNSET are also fine episodes that make the Alphans face the nice sides of life. The problem with the so-called "humour" in DRAGON'S DOMAIN, well not all of it, of course, there are still a few incidences that remain in good taste, is that they are completly un-funny one-liners of typical 1960s or early 1970s sit-com style (I LOVE LUCY, although that was funny I seem to remember). The remarks seem completely unrelated to what is going on, and, as you put it, seem to be calculated just for "comic relief" and therefore only annoying and embarrasing. More than that, it makes the characters (Koenig/Helena) seem completely unreal. How could anyone like the young Koenig and the young Helena end up having playing a serious part in BREAKAWAY from how they are portrayed here? Awful! > As far as Star Trek... You would never have seen an episode like this in the > classic Star Trek. The desicated bodies being "spit out" by the Dragon, the > Dragon's flowing blood in Cellini's last stand, and Koenig burying the ax in > the Dragon's eye would never have made it into Trek. I agree with this. Some elements of DRAGON'S DOMAIN are quite startling to look at. The use of sound effects, music and lighting is quite exquisit, I think, and much of Crichton's directon (and some of the editing by Alan Killick) is tremendously efficient in creating the right atmosphere. I also think Keith Wilson's monster is quite good, although even less close-ups could have benefitted the episode even more and made it more realistic. I believe Penfold was quite satisfied with how it turned out although Byrne enjoyed having his dogs water the octopus-creature while walking around on the lot. > I also don't agree with Petter's assessment that DRAGON'S DOMAIN shows a > decline in directing, script writing, acting, and general care for the series. > Quite the contrary - I find this episode to show a great deal of maturity in > writing, directing, and production - as well as the acting. I honestly feel > that this episode shows what the series was capable of. While some prefer to call it maturity, personally I feel decline fits better in how the series developed from a fairly serious, well serious within the limits of its concept of course, to one-liners, monster chases and no-content episodes of Year Two. In this respect it is fascinating to watch Part II of THE SPACE: 1999 DOCUMENTARY, I think, were poeple like Gerry Anderson, Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Barry Morse, Zienia Merton, Chris Penfold, Johnny Byrne all explain just how awful they think Year Two was while there are some photgraphs and an interview with Fred Freiberger from 1976 where he speaks quite indifferently about how pleased he is with the new look, his new character Maya, spelled M-A-Y-A he says, etc. trying not to fall asleep in his chair as they are filming A MATTER OF BALANCE. Even if the part of the acting in DRAGON'S DOMAIN was pointing heavily in the direction of Year Two, especially sad coming from two eminent actors we have seen do so much good for this show, luckily Brian Johnson and Keith Wilson and Charles Crichton didn't go camp with the special effects as well. On the contrary, really, in the hardware and suspence department this is probaly the most impressive of all the episodes. > On a similar, but somewhat tangent topic: Petter, last week you said that > you enjoyed the technical aspects of the show and that you found Garko's > portrayal of Cellini was perhaps the best and most realistic element of the > episode and was very believable, yet you say that his frustrated and sardonic > invitation to discus his sex life added to the poor quality of the episode; > and today you compare DRAGON'S DOMAIN to the Flintstones(!?). How did we go > from realistic to the Flinstones in less than 7 days? There are still many things to enjoy in this episode, I feel. Garko's portrayal of Cellini is good, done straight and contributes to an emotional investigation of "a brilliant individualist" as Koenig calls him. When I spoke of FLINTSTONES (1960-66) I was thinking more of the typical "Wilma!! I'm home!!!" connotation that I always get from watching the flower scene. > Now, I know that Petter has an extreme interest in RING AROUND THE MOON, but > I honestly do not see how RATM can be seen as "more serious" than DRAGON'S > DOMAIN! Now, in all honesty RATM seems to be a more comic book approach to > the series of Space: 1999 where as DRAGON'S DOMAIN is an epic story - both in > presentation, and in content. RING AROUND THE MOON is a summary of all the good things about SPACE:1999, I feel, the highlight of the series. It's fine you bring this episode up, Mike, because this is a perfect example, I feel, of what good writing and tremendous acting can do to a story, an episode that seems perfectly coherent from beginning to end, deeply contrasting DRAGON'S DOMAINs unsuccessful mix of comedy and suspence, and with a unisone style in writing and execution. There are many nice things with DRAGON'S DOMAIN, and I agree there is much nice to be said about Garko and the hardware for the episode, but you would need to fast forward quite a lot, now wouldn't you? RING AROUND THE MOON, on the other hand, is a pleasure from beginning to end the way I see it. No need to fast forward here! On the contrary, after the end titles I rather get a hunger for rewatching, actually. Here we have a magnificent study of life on Alpha in all aspects, with endless possibilities for studying character behaviour. This is the one to watch in order to refresh the memory of what SPACE:1999 was all about, I think. Magnificent! Petter
From: MCK067@aol4tag.com Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 13:28:26 EDT Subject: Space1999: Dragon's Domain >Albeit there is much good to be said about DRAGON'S DOMAIN, the general >impression, from my point of view anyway, is very much marred by things like >the toothbrush joke, the flower scene, Bain's ill-judged "emotional" >redefinition of Helena (yuck!), Landau's college theatre type of overacting, >Barry Morse sleepwalking through the episode etc. Very poor indeed, and >apparently for no reason at all. Perhaps somebody from ITC New York had >invaded the set and temporarily taken over? I'm new to this list, and I mean no disrespect to your opinion, but what exactly are you watching???? It couldn't possibly be Dragon's Domain, one of the most engrossing, well-acted, suspenseful and realistic productions of Y1. Maybe you accidentally put an old tape of "Love American Style" in the VCR. From scanning the list, I can see you're exceedingly partial to RATM. Frankly, your admiration for that strobe-light infested snooze-fest escapes me, but hey, to each his own :) However, I couldn't disagree more strongly with your assessment of Dragon's Domain. The acting is first rate. I especially like the sarcasm of Russell in dealing with her bullying commander -- the toothbrush comment was a little jab at him, a way of taking him down a peg, not an attempt at "humor." And the flower scene was nicely acted and a way of relieving the tension from the previous scenes, and it humanizes Koenig and Russell. He overreacted, he cares for her, and it's his stumbling way of apologizing for being a yutz. I don't see it at all as an "I Love Lucy" moment. As far as Alan greeting Tony with a "hey buddy" -- I think that's just an example of Alan's happy-go-lucky personality. >The problem with the so-called "humour" in DRAGON'S DOMAIN, well not all of >it, of course, there are still a few incidences that remain in good taste, is >that they are completly un-funny one-liners of typical 1960s or early 1970s >sit-com style (I LOVE LUCY, although that was funny I seem to remember). The >remarks seem completely unrelated to what is going on, and, as you put it, >seem to be calculated just for "comic relief" and therefore only annoying and >embarrasing. More than that, it makes the characters (Koenig/Helena) seem >completely unreal. How could anyone like the young Koenig and the young >Helena end up having playing a serious part in BREAKAWAY from how they are >portrayed here? Awful! HUH? Again, I strongly disagree. IMHO, the younger Koenig and Helena are portrayed wonderfully -- Koenig as a young astronaut is intense, enthusiastic, a "commander in the making" but marked by deep loyalty to his friend, and an individualist in that he distrusts and dislike for the stuff shirts at headquarters. All these attributes contribute to the commander he will become. And Helena as she appears at the hospital questioning Cellini is the picture of a woman who obviously is used to being in charge. Calm, collected, gracious, a bit more playful than her older, emotionally contained counterpart. I can easily see them taking their future roles... I have seen RATM once or twice since it originally aired, and I'm afraid I just don't get your point here. It was a so-so episode, but nothing special, and certainly not the best of Y1. But again, just my opinion...I guess I'll just agree to disagree with you :)
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 18:42:22 -0500 From: Mike Lynch (Mike-Lynch@big44foot.com) Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain Petter Ogland wrote: > Albeit there is much good to be said about DRAGON'S DOMAIN, the general > impression, from my point of view anyway, is very much marred by [....] > Perhaps somebody from ITC New York had > invaded the set and temporarily taken over? I do not get this impression at all, as a matter of fact, I see DRAGON'S DOMAIN as a very tight, well organized/structured story that never deviates from its premise. The acting is well done, and I don't feel in any way as if it is college-rate or that characters are sleep-walking through their lines and the episode as a whole. If you want college-rate acting then we can discuss Shatner's handling of Kirk on more than a few occasions (going back to the DRAGON'S-DOMAIN-as-a-classic-Trek notion presented last week). Now, I really don't want to turn this into a DRAGON'S DOMAIN vs. RING AROUND THE MOON thread, but RATM strikes me as an episode that was written and edited by several different people (a too-many-chefs-in-the-kitchen scenario). I know this isn't the case, but the episode meanders, lags, and at times I feel as I'm the one sleepwalking through the episode. Yes, RATM, has its graces (although, in my opinion these are few), and can't be completely ignored, but I don't feel that it is near the quality of DRAGON's DOMAIN. > The buddy approach, "hey Tony!", resulting in the first knock-out was, in > my opinion, more symptomatic of what went so completely wrong with this > episode. If the central issue here was that Tony Cellini was an individualist > why on Earth would they have Alan buddy him in this ALL THAT GLISTERS sort of > manner. I can't remember he did much of this earlier episodes. Bad omen! I don't think Carter's line was intended to insinuate that Tony and Alan were buddies, but rather this is just Alan's way of greeting people... after all - Tony was assigned to the same section as Alan, and Alan was his superior. Being that we were never introduced to Cellini prior to this episode and Carter was not present in any of the flashbacks I've never seen Carter's greeting as a "chummy" one, but rather as a general greeting of a fellow Alphan, and a member of Reconnaissance. Now, on the other hand, Koenig's friendship with Tony is easier to presume, and believe, due to their interaction during the flashbacks. Even though Cellini was not present in previous episodes, we are given a glimpse at these two men and their history - we see John and Tony flipping to see who pilots the mission, we see John there when Tony's withered body is wheeled into the base on a stretcher, and we see John standing up for Tony to Victor and again on Earth before the head of the ILFC. There is a closeness between the two men even though Cellini tends to stay rather distant and detached even while in the presence of John. We believe the friendship and camaraderie. ALL THAT GLISTERS? I'm not sure I follow the connection here. Explain? I don't think making Carter more personable with his fellow Alphans was a bad omen - especially when I find THE MARK OF ARCHANON to be the best episode of the second season. I think that the character development in DRAGON'S DOMAIN shows that Anderson was concerned about "humanizing" the Alphans (as Freiberger described his intentions for the second season). We see that they are emotional, caring, and concerned. The build of the characters was, at times, slow in the first season, but there are moments that seem to display a move in that direction, and in some episodes this move even seems to be more of a jump - EARTHBOUND I find to be one such example of excellent character building, ALPHA CHILD is another, BLACK SUN, and DRAGON'S DOMAIN just to name a few more. So I don't see Carter's "chummy" actions to be a bad omen at all. > I also think Keith Wilson's monster is quite good, although even less > close-ups could have benefitted the episode even more and made it more > realistic. I can't argue with you here, except that I did not feel that the close-ups drew away from the impressiveness of the creature. As a matter of fact I feel it adds to the disturbing nature of the beast. This is a creature you would not want to get close to - the further away the better. The addition of the close-ups, especially during the moments of its devouring crew members, and Cellini's ghastly last stand only add to the thrills and horror of the episode. We feel as if we realize they will die. There is perhaps nothing more terrifying than being eaten alive... except maybe being eaten alive by a creature you have never before encountered, and don't understand. The tactic of close-ups at the moment of terrifying death is an excellent filming device - just look at films like ALIEN, ALIENS... hell any of the films in the ALIEN saga. > RING AROUND THE MOON, on the other hand, is a pleasure from beginning to > end the way I see it. No need to fast forward here! Well, Petter, I just can't agree with you here. As a matter of fact I see it as just the opposite. I wouldn't dream of fast forwarding through any part of DRAGON'S DOMAIN (rewind - perhaps... but never fast forward). DRAGON'S DOMAIN is a taut, well crafted story with believable elements and characters. RING AROUND THE MOON, on the other hand, I could fast forward through parts if I really wanted to - such as the prolonged flights to the probe, the moments of watching Helena pretend to type, or the almost embarrassing walk on the Lunar surface as we watch several people pretend to move in slow motion with an oddly overlayed score of upbeat neo-disco that seems strikingly out of place. ...but then again, that's just me. As far as refreshing the memory of what SPACE:1999 is all about - I would choose EARTHBOUND. This, to me, is a classic example of SPACE:1999. Why didn't I say DRAGON'S DOMAIN? Because horror was not the main focus of the series. I feel that EARTHBOUND typifies what the Alphans and their base represented: a peaceful colony of humans who have no control over their destination (or destiny) looking for answers in a universe of questions and uncertainties. Mike
From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no) Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 12:36:22 +0000 Subject: Re: Space1999: Dragon's Domain > He overreacted, he cares for her, and it's his stumbling way of > apologizing for being a yutz. I don't see it at all as an "I Love Lucy" > moment. I wonder what you think of the Gumby performance of THE CHERRY ORCHARD. > And Helena as she appears at the hospital questioning Cellini is the > picture of a woman who obviously is used to being in charge. Calm, collected, > gracious, a bit more playful than her older, emotionally contained > counterpart. I can easily see them taking their future roles... In the SPACE:1999 DOCUMENTARY Barabara Bain is interviewed on the lot where they are shooting A MATTER OF BALANCE. Still at this moment, the 15th episode of Year Two, she expresses that she does not feel that her Helena character is defined properly. I wonder what she thinks about the show today. In the more recent interviews (1996?) she seems more relaxed, speaks about some of her more memorable moments, but most of all she does not seem all that happy with the series. Well, I thought she did a magnficent job, especially in the early Year One episodes. Perhaps she was misguided by critics who misunderstood the subtlty of her performance some of them apparently half asleep when watching. Anyway, the change of direction so apparent in DRAGON'S DOMAIN, anticipating the Year Two style, was, I feel, a very sad development of a show which had so much to go for it in terms of intellectually and emotionally investigating contemporary man confronting an increasingly technological world. In terms of acting the first half of Year One was definitely better than the second, I feel, although there were many fine episodes and concepts investigated in the later episodes too. Chris Penfold once said that WAR GAMES was his favourite. This is a very good episode from point of view as well, summing up very much of the Penfold line of influence to the series perhaps. I also find THE TESTAMENT OF ARKADIA quite interesting storywise, summing up much of the Byrne line of though similar to what WAR GAMES did with Penfold perhaps, if TESTAMENT OF ARKADIA is not as exciting to watch as the early episodes in terms of acting, it certainly carries a message, the somewhat paradoxical "The future is the past". > I have seen RATM once or twice since it originally aired, and I'm afraid I > just don't get your point here. It was a so-so episode, but nothing special, > and certainly not the best of Y1. For me RING AROUND THE MOON represents what I liked best about SPACE:1999, and is rather similar to BREAKAWAY, MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, and BLACK SUN, I think, in the way that it is based on a great extent on the quality performances of Landau, Bain and Morse depending less on hardware concentrating more on pure theatrical terms of investigating the emotional and intellectual sides of the main characters. Tremendously fascinating episode, I feel. Petter