Episode by Episode
'Space Warp'
From: South Central (Tamazunchale@web44tv.net)
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 09:18:21 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Space1999: Episode by Episode
This week: SPACE WARP. Discussion goes from Monday, September 28 to
Sunday, October 4.
Chas P. Calm down. :-) Just kidding! You've waited a long time--have
fun!
Mateo
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 11:39:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Anthony D." (atd64@yahoo4tag.com)
Subject: Space1999: Space Warp
Here's my initial 2 cents on this episode:
As a kid, I loved it because we got to see lots more of Alpha than
ever before! How did you like the monster in the travel tube? Kinda
neat. All-in-all, it was a pretty fun romp throuhgout the base.
Nowadays, I can see the episode for what it is - the third leg of
the Frieberger "action" trilogy. It's not bad; it serves a purpose (I
guess to allow double-filming of episodes). It brings up the Maya
issue - how does she change into so many creatures in such short
intervals? Helena's line about not "knowing this species so how can I
treat it" brings up the issue of whether Maya was the creature itself.
If she physically (inside and out) becomes the creature then how does
turning into another creature "heal" her previous injuries? How does
she return to being Maya?
The part with Tony and Koenig was absolutely stupid. The idea of
using alien technology hooked into Earth technology is stupid and
overused in sci-fi. Does anyone recall how many times this was done in
the first season? I don't think it was done that often -- while it was
certainly too highly coincidental in Year One to constantly bump into
other humans that got lost in space, it was a better logic device (ie,
they could use the same technology and speak English) than mixing
alien technology and Earth technology. We can't even mix PCs and
Macs...never mind alien stuff!
Anyway, that's my quick view...hope others' comments spur more
discussion...there are probably lots of holes in this story....but
hey, what can we expect from Fred?
Anthony
From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 10:42:40 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: Space Warp
The third leg or the third part of Freiberger's Woodgrove trilogy, that's
how I see it to. As the final piece in the Woodgrove "action" trilogy
it is quite an interesting piece, at least in terms of understanding
Year Two of SPACE:1999, although I think there are other Year Two
episodes, perhaps less influenced by Freiberger, that are more interesting.
Nevertheless, its nice to read about how much Chas likes this episode.
Its almost difficult to watch SPACE WARP without thinking of Chas'
enthusiasm for this episode, I think, which is nice.
> It's not bad; it serves a purpose (I
> guess to allow double-filming of episodes). It brings up the Maya
> issue - how does she change into so many creatures in such short
> intervals?
Maya being one of the most essensial Freiberger contributions to the
series, it is natural that he brings attention to her character in the
Woodgrove trilogy. I'm not sure of the deeper meaning of SPACE WARP,
if there is one, but the transformation ability of Maya is very much
its focal point I think.
Maya being ill most of the time could, of course, reflect that Freiberger
felt that the British writers did not make full use of her in their
scripts, and SPACE WARP being perhaps about his growing recent and
problems with SPACE:1999.
> Helena's line about not "knowing this species so how can I
> treat it" brings up the issue of whether Maya was the creature itself.
> If she physically (inside and out) becomes the creature then how does
> turning into another creature "heal" her previous injuries? How does
> she return to being Maya?
Helena's line is very interesting indeed, I think. Perhaps Freiberger
is admitting that Maya was indeed a wrong inclusion to the series, that it
is impossible to understand her character in human terms and therefore
difficult to integrate as a vital character of the series.
Of the three Woodgrove episodes this is perhaps the most aggressive one,
perhaps Freiberger being more frustrated on this stage than he had been
before as the series is perhaps not turning out the way he wants it to.
Anyway, the Alphans spend a lot of time smashing their own equipment. A
very bad sign indeed.
I wonder if this was SPACE WARP or THE BETA CLOUD, I keep mixing up the
episodes, but in one of these Tony is teasing the monster to smash the
Alpha video screens for no apparent reason, probably another outlet for
Freibergers anger and frustration with the series. Thinking about it,
it must have been in THE BETA CLOUD.
> The part with Tony and Koenig was absolutely stupid. The idea of
> using alien technology hooked into Earth technology is stupid and
> overused in sci-fi. [....]
As I've only seen the German version of this episode, the subplot about
Tony and Koenig on the alien space ship didn't make much sense. Perhaps
it was edited down.
> Anyway, that's my quick view...hope others' comments spur more
> discussion...there are probably lots of holes in this story....but
> hey, what can we expect from Fred?
Agreed, but then again, it was probably not the intent of Freiberger
to make an episode free of plot holes. Quite to the contrary, I feel,
the Woodgrove trilogy focusing on action, the only thing that seem to
matter is to flow of the story, logic is perhaps more or less irrelevant.
Petter
From: Jeff Doyle (jdoyle@computer44land.net)
Subject: Space1999: Space Warp
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 23:27:18 -0700
I wonder who the Psycon male Maya turned into was supposed to be? Her
father, Mentor, or her unnamed brother mentioned in Luton?
Also it is amazing that Maya can (apparently) heal herself by changing
shape. Yet another example of how little the ability was thought through.
-Jeff
From: Petter Ogland (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 12:13:32 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: Space Warp
Jeff Doyle wrote:
> I wonder who the Psycon male Maya turned into was supposed to be? Her
> father, Mentor, or her unnamed brother mentioned in Luton?
Heh heh. Wonderfully put!
Freiberger makes up things as he goes along and we all sit here for
weeks and weeks and try to find out what he really ment. Its absurd, but
I like it. Nice touch, Jeff.
> Also it is amazing that Maya can (apparently) heal herself by changing
> shape. Yet another example of how little the ability was thought through.
The idea of Maya was idiotic from the very beginning. That is my opinion.
Nevertheless, what Catherine Schell manages to get out of this ridicolous
premises is nothing less than astounding. I must admit though that I liked
her better in GUARDIAN OF PIRI.
Petter
From: Petter Ogland
Date: [unknown]
Subj: [unknown]
On Oct 2, 10:04pm, Mark Meskin wrote:
>
> I like the character of Maya, but the way the writers abused her is just
> ridiculous...perhaps it is Catherine Schell that makes the character. I'd
> have to say that no other actress would have filled that role as well,
> thats for sure.
Catherine Schell is a wonderful actress. I liked her very much in
GUARDIAN OF PIRI, the ice cold and mysterious charm. As Maya I don't
know. She may have been better in some episodes than others, but I can't
think of any episode in particular where she excells. ALL THAT GLISTERS
was perhaps not all that bad in terms of Maya, and I think she
looked rather funny in CATACOMBS OF THE MOON quite early on where she
strolls down a corridor and detects the battle between Tony and Osgood.
Petter
From: "Simon Morris" (simes01@global44net.co.uk)
Subject: Space1999: Space Warp
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 17:37:19 +0100
Like THE BETA CLOUD, this episode is one that I hugely enjoyed in 1976 but now
find it to be merely mildly entertaining. My,how my tastes change....
There just isn't much that can be said about this one that I didn't say about
BETA CLOUD. Its a series of admittedly well-staged action pieces but not a hell
of a lot else. Catherine Schell must have had an hour's work shooting her
scenes before handing over to a series of actors in frog/gorilla/monster suits.
Changing from one creature to another on the rather shaky pretext that she is
ill makes me hollow-eyed with boredom and tedium. Watching Alphans continually
being thrown about corridors by these creatures also is a pleasure I can easily
pass over. Sloppiness and general carelessness in production I can't ignore: in
one of the numerous creature-throws-Alphans-around routines,the wall visibly
shakes as a security guard hits it. And the oft-quoted(and unfortunately easily
spotted)moment when Carters visor flips open should have been cut from the
final print if the editors had been doing their job properly.
Being a fan of many aspects of Y2,and a supporter in general of Freiberger's
more positive influences,its depressing indeed to report that there is very
little I can say about SPACE WARP in 1998. I find it amusing that Nick Tate
always slags off Freiberger and yet Y2 episodes like this one gave him more to
do(and more screen time)than most of the Y1 episodes. Its just a pity that he
wasn't given a chance to act and speak dialogue rather than just acting as some
kind of stuntman throughout. There is some excruciating dialogue in the
epilogue spoken by Anholt,Bain and Landau (who is sorely underused in the
entire proceedings)and the whole episode becomes a series of admittedly
smooth-flowing and fast moving action set-pieces,without even much of the
character work that lifted many Y2 stories.
There are only a couple of really good elements. The spectacular Eagle Hanger
crash was a fantastic piece of filming(and having seen this once on a full size
screen,I can tell you its a thousand times better on a big screen than on a
normal tv screen). And once again Derek Wadsworths score carried the
episode,with his action themes providing pace and excitement. I also liked his
elegaic theme for cello(?) which played when Maya as a creature sank down into
the cockpit of the Eagle. Truly this underrated composer's score fit every
scene like a glove.....
But that's about it folks. A fast moving 50 minutes but no substance
whatsoever...just like BETA CLOUD,in fact. I actually liked Freiberger's RULES
OF LUTON,and even episodes like ALL THAT GLISTERS and (to a lesser extent) THE
TAYBOR.These all had some redeeming features,not least some pleasant character
work. So its with some regret that I declare BETA CLOUD and SPACE WARP to
represent much-if not all-of what was actually *wrong* with Year 2. Good job it
didn't get any worse than this,and I look forward to watching the remaining
episodes!
Simon
From: "Petter Ogland" (petter.ogland@dnmi4tag.no)
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 17:16:24 +0000
Subject: Re: Space1999: Space Warp
> Changing from one creature to another on the rather shaky pretext that she is
> ill makes me hollow-eyed with boredom and tedium. Watching Alphans continually
> being thrown about corridors by these creatures also is a pleasure I can easily
> pass over.
I agree about this, although I find BETA COULD and SPACE WARP far superior
to RULES OF LUTON, one of the most boring hour of SPACE:1999 even in the
faster edited 40 minute German version. At least in SPACE WARP we have
sets, not just people walking around at randomn in the outskirts of Pinewood.
> Being a fan of many aspects of Y2,and a supporter in general of Freiberger's
> more positive influences,its depressing indeed to report that there is very
> little I can say about SPACE WARP in 1998.
Supporter in general of Freiberger's positive influences?
It is interesting that you say this, Simon. Personally I believe the
Woodgrove trilogy is the best hint of what Freiberger wanted SPACE:1999
Year Two to look like, and consequently I don't find his influence all
that positive, but, nevertheless, perhaps by giving the more respected
writers, such as Byrne, Terpiloff, Penfold, Feely etc. some friction to
work with, he may have had them work over their scripts more thorougly
than they would otherwise have done.
Even so, as what he wanted the final result too look like was probably
along the lines of the Woodgrove episodes I find it a bit difficult
seeing that there was all that much positive to say about Freiberger's
influence.
> I find it amusing that Nick Tate
> always slags off Freiberger and yet Y2 episodes like this one gave him more to
> do(and more screen time)than most of the Y1 episodes. Its just a pity that he
> wasn't given a chance to act and speak dialogue rather than just acting as some
> kind of stuntman throughout. There is some excruciating dialogue in the
> epilogue spoken by Anholt,Bain and Landau
In the Woodgrove episodes the dialogue seems more like sound effects than
having anything to do with what one usually thinks of in terms of
dialogue. I don't think I would have lost much even if I watched a
version dubbed into Russian or Japanese.
> There are only a couple of really good elements. The spectacular Eagle Hanger
> crash was a fantastic piece of filming(and having seen this once on a full size
> screen,I can tell you its a thousand times better on a big screen than on a
> normal tv screen).
Well done, I agree, although risking the Eagle Hanger against Maya is not
a very good idea, I think. Just like BETA CLOUD the script seem to have
been written like THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980), smashing up things just for
the fun of seeing things being smashed up. Not a politicy I'm all that
enthusiastic about.
> I actually liked Freiberger's RULES
> OF LUTON,and even episodes like ALL THAT GLISTERS and (to a lesser extent) THE
> TAYBOR.These all had some redeeming features,not least some pleasant character
> work. So its with some regret that I declare BETA CLOUD and SPACE WARP to
> represent much-if not all-of what was actually *wrong* with Year 2.
ALL THAT GLISTERS and THE TAYBOR seem like Shakespeare compared to SPACE
WARP and the rest of the Woodgrove trilogy. Unlike Simon, however, I feel
RULES OF LUTON is the weakest part in the trilogy. SPACE WARP I would
place in the middle, however, finding BETA CLOUD slightly more amusing in
its own insane way.
> Good job it didn't get any worse than this,
> and I look forward to watching the remaining episodes!
According to my list we are going to do THE BRINGERS OF WONDER next week,
at least the first part of it. I'm still reading John Fowles THE MAGUS
(1965), however, which seemed highly relevant for understanding NEW
ADAM/NEW EVE.
It shall be nice to have to discuss something of more substance again,
although my impression is that Feely was not all that happy with the
"positive" influence of Freiberger in THE BRINGERS OF WONDER. Well, more
about that later.
I suppose we have only scratched the surface of SPACE WARP, and are just
about ready to do some serious analysis of what it was really all about.
I wish Chas P. would contribute to the discussion. He must be one of
the members on this lists who seems to enjoy the episode the most. Perhaps
he could point out some of the nicer things about it.
Petter
From: South Central (Tamazunchale@web44tv.net)
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 10:36:26 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Space1999: IN DEFENSE OF SPACE WARP
C'mon Chas P.!
The week is almost out and you have hardly said anything. Well, I LOVE
the music where the creature eases itself wearily into the cockpit. I
don't know if the intention was to make us feel sympathy for the
desperate creature (Maya) but the match of the actor's movements and the
music is wonderful.
BTW, for those of you who do NOT have a copy of the Y2 promo CD--THIS
PIECE IS NOT ON IT!! I was disappointed by that!
Unlike Chas P. I really don't like the action music so much--it seems
bombastic (rightly so, I admit) and dated. That's just my opinion
though!
Mateo (searching his brain for a good suggestion for the list when ExE
comes to a close)
From: LKJ1999@aol4tag.com
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 16:31:23 EDT
Subject: Space1999: SPACE WARP
All i can say is, I love it! Love the music, the actoin , and everything
about this episode!!!
Chas P. LKJ1999
From: "Brian Dowling" (hellion@easy44net.co.uk)
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 22:48:30 +0100
Subject: Space1999: Space Warp
Hi folks,
Once again we have an episode which I enjoyed as a younger person,
and like Simon, can't quite figure out why some years later. The high
points we are all pretty much agreed on, especially Derek Wadsworth's
score and the scene in the Eagle Hangar. but there doesn't seem to be
much else to endear it to me now.
Of course, all aliens have the good taste to speak English - the language
of the universe, unless the Alphans have a secret supply of Babel fish! -
all spacecraft have one universal docking fitting, and bits of alien kit fit
quite easily into Eagles. And are seen in later episodes doing something
completely different (Devil's Planet).
Doctor Russell is happy to carve up an alien species she knows nothing
about (maybe too much exposure to hairspray addles the thought
processes), Carter survives yet another certain death (how does he do
it???) and the command crew allow yet another alien creature (ie - Dave
Prowse, Albin Pahernik or some other guy in a rubber suit) to rampage
around Moonbase Alpha unhindered.
Oh, and in a freak happening even more unlikely than yours truly opening
the innings in the next Ashes test match, John and Tony get home safely
and in time for tea.
There is one scene which is a permanent memory for me now...
Maya in Medical Center, wearing silk pyjamas, hair loose and looking
*damn* foxy, begging to be tied down... "PLEASE use restraints!".
The possibilities are very interesting.... and I'm off for a cold shower.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Triggers a thread on Space Babes and Hunks.]
Date: Thu, 01 Oct 1998 17:52:50 +0000
From: Mike Lynch (Mike-Lynch@big44foot.com)
Organization: LSRO
Subject: Space1999: Space Warp... or Beta Cloud?
As Petter alluded earlier SPACE WARP and THE BETA CLOUD are almost
interchangeable: they are 100% action eye candy with little the lend in the
way of plot or adding to the mythos of SPACE: 1999. The creatures in the two
episodes are almost identical which makes me wonder about Maya's Metamorph
capabilities (more on this in a bit), the music is very similar, and the tour
of the base via monster chase is damned near the same as well. And to be
honest - I often get these two episodes confused.
So, yeah, about Maya's transforming abilities - in THE BETA CLOUD she said
that she couldn't transform into the creature because it wasn't a living
being... so how in the world did she turn into the same creature in SPACE
WARP. Not only did she turn into it, but she was able to withstand complete
vacuum, noxious gas, getting shot, and so one just as the creature in BC... so
what happened? How did she suddenly gain the ability to transform in to this
creature? I also noticed there was a distinct lack of movement in its jaw as
compared to THE BETA CLOUD - I guess Maya had a hard time with that part of
the creature's anatomy.
Is tape standard issue by NASA, the ESA, and the RSA for ruptured air tanks?
Wouldn't Carter's tank have burst when it was punctured? Not that it would
matter since his visor flipped open as he was bouncing off the rock after
being thrown by Maya in the above mentioned state.
In all honesty I can overlook to the two above problems - they are just some
nit-picks, but I can't stand the whispering alien that Koenig and Tony meet
via recorded message on the derelict. I really find the whole concept of the
whispering alien annoying - I didn't like it in RING AROUND THE MOON and I
found it to be almost unbearable in SPACE WARP - I just wished the alien would
die and cut the message short.
This is not one of my favorite episodes, by it is fun in that it supplies us
with a rather steady stream of action, and it was rather fun to watch Helena
getting tossed around. I would have liked to have seen how Victor would have
handled the whole situation, and I think that this episode would have
benefited greatly by Victor's presence - there is just something about it that
requires Professor Bergman. And i also like the fact that there was some
thinking involved in the writing on this episode: Helena's remarks about not
knowing the alien anatomy and not being able to judge dosages or undergo
operatting procedures. I also rather enjoy the fact that Maya's first
transformation enjoyed watching the lights move past the elevator and travel
tube. ...And do I need to say that the Eagle crash in the hanger was great? So
aside from my problems with logic, and the limited plot I can still enjoy
sitting through this episode (though I have been known to fast forward through
the tape of the whispering alien a couple of times).
Mike
From: Ariana (ariana@ndirect4tag.co.uk)
Subject: Space1999: MST: Space Warp - Part 1
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1998 15:38:43 +0100
PRODUCTION SCHEDULE
===================
An alternative version of "Space Warp"
by Ariana
Well, I hesitated and thought I wouldn't have much to say after my Beta
Cloud spoof, but finally the temptation proved too strong. I'm not mad about
"Space Warp", but I just want to remind you I love Space:1999 and its
characters and its groovy music and flares, and I have nothing personal
against Fred Freiberger!
This is a draft, so if there's anything you think could be improved, do let
me know! Here's hoping some of this is funny...
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Ariana has the Space Warp MiSTing
up at her website, Space: 1999 Fiction Archive,
so I will not repeat the full text here.]
From: jcg@vh4tag.net
Date: Sun, 04 Oct 1998 18:47:45 -0400
Subject: Space1999: Space Warp
There's no science personel on the eagle to check out the ship. Maya's not
the only science person.
Why is Koenig in his pink parka? He's not expecting to go outside.
I'll get a little artistic here and say the wide shot of the eagle cockpit
when they realize Alpha is now beyond reach gave a good feeling of isolation.
I can see Maya fighting the guards when they attack her, but I do not care
how delirious she is, she would not attack Helena the way she does.
After Maya/creature is out of the hanger, why don't they just open the
doors to the surface and extinguish the fire? We start to see the fire
fighters go into the hanger as the scene ends.
Why is Alan in the operation field? He should have stepped back when
Helena starts to operate.
Now...did we all see Alan's face plate fly open on the surface? Doesn't
Pinewood have even one role of duct tape? It must have been a factor of
economics that made them keep the shot and not shoot it over again.
Date: Sun, 04 Oct 1998 18:14:13 -0500
From: David Welle (dwelle@itol4tag.com)
Subject: Space1999: Space Warp
This is one I haven't watched for awhile. On further viewing, it is still
enjoyable, to a degree, though parts are yawners, and I have seen many more
questionable sections than I can think of decent explanations for.
I'll review this a little differently. Instead of fully sequential, I'll
split up the two major plot paths this story had, and deal with them
separately.
The first starts out with Maya being ill. I still think that was a good
premise to start with. We already know she can't be infinity strong; now
she can get sick -- but not sick like us. She gets sick like a Psychon,
which, given their metamorphic ability, means uncontrolled, delirious
transformations. It's a good premise. She's having nightmares about the
destruction of Psychon; that's a good touch, fitting well with the fact
she'd probably be haunted by that for the rest of her life.
The episode starts out with some sparkling scenes between Maya and Helena,
with Maya begging Helena to be restrained. Maya knows she's capable of
damaging Alpha, and its people, if she losses control. Helena is reluctant
to restrain a friend, but sees reason soon enough (a
plus for Helena's character, considering how many bad decisions I think she
made in Y1). Maya pleads to talk to Tony, indicating they're obviously
growing close emotionally, and trying to seek some emotional comfort from a
mysterious physical ailment.
Maya looks stunning with her hair down. Too bad she didn't have her hair
down some other time too. Foxy indeed.
Then there is the ailment. The episode seems to intentionally leave it a
mystery. It isn't hard to guess that the space warp we soon see could be
the culprit. Maybe Psychons, given their molecular control abilities,
don't take well to some disruptive fields around a space warp, even before
passing through. At least that's what I assume. In fact, I made a little
further use of it in a somewhat different situation in one of my stories.
Then the space warp hits, turning Alpha topsy turvy (excellent camera
work). You can even hear Maya going nuts, screaming out, obviously unable
to make sense of a jumble of sensations, while Helena struggles to hold her
still in the chaos of the warp.
This seems to be the last straw for Maya, for a short time later, Maya
loses control, transforming into a creature that knocks out Helena. The
creature is soon found wandering the halls. I just love how many things
set on Alpha in both seasons. I'm not being sarcastic, it's just
intriguing how many surprises turn up. This surprise comes internally, and
considering it soon hurts a couple Alphans, it is promptly considered a
threat. No one guesses it's Maya (considering the number of external
threats that materialize on Alpha, it wouldn't be the first thing I think of).
The first problem is with Alan. I've come to realize, in analyzing both
seasons, that Alan is more of a hot headed character than I had first
figured. Between his intent at shooting for kill back in "Full Circle,"
which I criticized then, and him ordering others to shoot to kill in
this episode too, I'm not so sure about his judgement. At times, it almost
seems Tony's cooler when it comes to decisions like this. He looked pretty
sheepish, though, when Helena comes to and fills Alan in on just *who* the
creature is. First, he almost killed Helena when she
was in altered form; now it's Maya he nearly (indirectly) kills. At least
he liked Sandra.
But he catches the guards with new orders, just in time. The resemblance
of parts of this episode to parts of "Beta Cloud" kick in when the guards
try to take on Maya, an obvious exercise in futility, and foolhardiness.
Trying to stun her was one thing, but I'd have backed off after that.
She tries breaking out of Alpha, and Helena smartly connects this with
Maya's nightmares and feverish ravings about Psychon, and decides Maya, in
her delusional state, is probably trying to save Mentor. She'd die is she
breaks out into the vacuum, and when she does, and collapses,
everyone is horrified. They all care a lot about her (and this aspect is
well acted). Then she stuns everyone by getting up, still in that other
form, and heads away, wandering delusionally on the surface. Maya's pulled
another trick out of her hat, as amazing as many of the others.
Then they realize a new problem. She has to revert sometime, they think,
and in humanoid form, would most certainly die of exposure. So they have
to try retrieving her. Here, though, the plot starts going a little awry.
First, there's two key personnel going out on such a task. Often, they do
have to (and that makes for good stories); but this does not feel like such
a situation.
They kept the sequence inside Alpha good, and very well-paced; but now, it
slows. The music is great, but the lunar sequence seems too long, and with
no Maya & Tony thing like in "Beta Cloud" or John & Maya thing like in
"Rules of Luton" -- i.e. something "else" to add some depth -- it just gets
weak. (And speaking of lack of depth, there's the time when the soundstage
was revealed under the the "lunar soil.").
Eventually, the creature weakens on its own, and is brought in, but not
before damaging Alan's air tank, requiring help from Helena. I did like
that minute where Helena moves to help him but is slowed by having to move
in low gravity.
Maya, brought back into medical center, shifts directly from one dangerous
form, into another, startling form: a male Psychon. She wanted to get
back to Psychon, so it's not surprising that she turns into one -- but not
herself. Instead, she becomes a male Psychon on a rampage, attacking
people until stunned. Psychons apparently react a little strangely to a
stun beam, for s/he doesn't fall right away, and when s/he does, goes into
some sort of convulsions. In another story of mine, I made use of the
first part of the reaction. In another sense, it's like s/he was on PCP,
in the state that seems to convey incredible strength in not feeling pain.
She's not entirely knocked out, and in fact undergoes another
transformation, into a bizarre looking creature which is scarcely bothered
by stun beams at all, adapting to the temporary setback. I always wondered
whether attempting a "kill" shot might have been enough to stun this
otherwise rather impervious creature, but who knows, "kill" may have been
ten times more energy than "stun." There weren't any in between settings,
after all.
This one makes it through, virtually unimpeded, to an Eagle, and seems more
intelligent than the first creature was. Nonetheless, she's still
delirious, apparently still trying to get to Psychon. Desperate to help
her, they bring down the Eagle, into the hanger bay. That's where the
creature's intelligence ends, or Maya's carried over delusion desperation
starts, for it tries launching the Eagle inside the bay, resulting in
extensive destruction, and leaves Maya, still as the creature, essentially
comatose.
It appears to be injured, and several people have a good scene debating the
merits of meddling with an alien's biology. The creature loses what
medical stability it temporarily had, becoming unfit for surgery (and
saving the medical staff any qualms there). Finally, it reverts back to Maya.
I like Maya's breathy comment about the experience ("Like I've been...
riding the tail of a comet... for days on end."), though I don't like
Helena's too casually spoken follow up ("We all do") -- the tones clash too
severely.
I can imagine Maya feeling quite guilty about a number of things
afterwards: injuring several Alphans, including Helena and Alan, wrecking
several doors, and destroying several Eagles. Imagine someone, be it Alan,
Helena, or Maya herself, finally getting around to explaining what
happened. No wonder they went along with John's cheer and evaded telling
him what happened. Maybe not the most responsible, but at that point, what
could they do with burdening Koenig with something he couldn't do anything
about at that point anyway?
That brings up the other major plot thread, with John and Tony stuck on the
wrong side of the space warp. They had gone to explore the derelict, only
to watch, in shock, Alpha plunged into chaos and the Moon warping away in
space.
They try to find the warp's position, but the Eagle cannot detect it
directly, and it is apparently too small in the vastness of space. Having
nowhere else to go, they return to the derelict. It's in bad shape
internally, but power is still intact (but unusable to the Alphans and
their Eagle), and they find a working console (hmmm, tough technology).
An alien visage (interesting mask) appears to give their hard luck story,
in a sometimes chilling whisper (I hear the "movie" version "Cosmic
Princess" voiced this over; probably a stupid thing to do). The narrative
gets a bit long, but the Alphans hear an alien hard luck story worse than
Alpha's. Their ship went through the warp, which was obviously bad luck to
start with. Most ships are not long-term habitations, unlike Alpha, so
they try to figure out where the invisible warp is. The second half of
their bad luck is that they suffer another catastrophe, just after they had
figured out the warp's position, but before they could go through.
It's sad, but a bit too easy, plotwise, in that the Alphans are now able to
use what the aliens had already discovered but hadn't been able to use,
which itself brings up questions about being able to use an alien device so
quickly, as well as reintroducing the whole language question again.
Whatever sort of babelfish they seem to have not only confers auditory
understanding, but ability to read writing and math as if they were
familiar numbers and equations, which is really pushing suspension of
disbelief too far. I like to believe some aspect of transmutation rubbed
off in "Collision Course," as if Arra had left them a gift, however
incomplete it was (whatever her people were familiar with), though that is
pure speculation, and though "Space Warp" pushes it in too many ways.
This whole plot thread plays like a puzzle to solve; but things come just a
bit too easily, I feel. Finally, there's the Eagle propelling the much
larger ship. They do refer to the problem, which I am glad to hear; but
I'm still not convinced they could accelerate the combination that fast.
BTW, the alien device does appear in a couple latter episodes (and was it
seen on Alpha in prior episodes?), though it's not clear whether this
represented continuity, or just a too-casual borrowing of prior props.
They do find the space warp, and return to where the Moon had emerged; but
someone was thinking, because the Moon had moved on by that point. Alan
(together with Helena?) had some forsight, sending a refueling Eagle to
wait as long as possible, near the warp. Quite a sight to see not just
John & Tony's Eagle, attached to the derelict.
I split the discussion of the threads for convenience sake (mine), yet they
are largely independent threads anyway, from the moment the Moon
disappears, to the moment the refueling Eagle meets the two other ships.
I don't mind that aspect, though it does feel a little extreme in the
separation, as compared to more moderate separation of plot trains seen in
other episodes. The problem is more that neither thread is too strong.
The one with Maya, Helena, and Tony is exciting, most of the time, but has
some problems, and lacks any major glimpses of depth that even "The Rules
of Luton" and "Beta Cloud" had at points. I happened to like the premise
of Maya getting sick and how devastating it was, though, so that I'm
somewhat more forgiving in this case, because the premise was pretty well
played, most of the time. Character was great, plot was fair, but it's a
"what you see is what you get" theme. Pacing was good, as was the music.
The one with John and Tony was, despite the less pure action plot, the
weaker (well, a little weaker, maybe), because there's just too many
convenient things, which made for a problematic plot. It showed a few
flashes thematically (not many, though). Characterization was okay --
nothing special. Pacing was a bit too slow for the material at hand, I think.
So, I give "Space Warp" maybe a 2.5 rating (0 - 4 scale) altogether.
----David
P.S. I think this is my shortest full (i.e. ExE-based) review of an
episode, ever.
Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 19:37:56 -0500
From: Jenny Lobb (LOBBJ@gunet.george44town.edu)
Subject: Space1999: Space Warp -Reply
>Why is Koenig in his pink parka? He's not expecting to go outside.
Maybe he ran out of clean clothes and he couldn't get to the alphan
Laundromat in time. :)
Speaking of the Alphan Laundromat, how'd you like to be the one to have
to get out the Dragon's Domain monster stains? Bet that's not on the
stain charts!
Jenny Lobb
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 21:06:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Ellen C. Lindow" (sfdxb@scfn.thpl.lib4tag.fl.us)
Subject: Re: Space1999: Space Warp -Reply
That's obviously what you use Space Brain soap suds on!
When I watched this episode with my son this weekend he pointed out
something that I'd never noticed before. In the final scene when Helena
is telling John what an easy time they've had of it, and the camera zooms
in on her, she's sporting two black eyes-- the left one darker than the
right, but both quite apparant. Somehow this makes the line much more
ironic.