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I should just add that these are just my thoughts & opinions. No offence is intended & hopefully, I’ve not upset Kerry or anyone else by posting what I have.
The new series is provoking a lot of online discussions & sparking a few passionate debates about both the original version of the series & the new one. Which I think is a good thing 🙂
Thankfully, there’s always room in the Alphan online community for differences in opinion & for different points of view 😉
Wow, it’s a great time to be a [i]Space: 1999[/i] fan. The year 2012 seems to be quickly becoming the [b]new[/b] 1999. First, Powys Media is releasing [b]three[/b] new books in the coming weeks, with several others in the pipeline. I am especially excited about Pat’s “Powysverse Compendium” and am impatiently waiting for the Year One Omnibus, but I want to get my hands on all of them. Also, another company is finally (after years of teasing) releasing a series of new and reprint [i]Space: 1999[/i] comics and graphic novels later this year. I’ve seen some of the pages and artwork from these, and they will hopefully be very good. And, let’s not forget that A&E and Network are busy prepping a HD version of Season 2 for blu-ray release hopefully later this year.
And now comes word of a new, reimagined television series: [i]Space 2099[/i]. It seems like this news would be welcomed with as much excitement and imagination as anything else coming out based on our beloved series. Instead, though, it seems like most fans are up-in-arms about the new show. Frankly, I’m a bit baffled. At the very least, I find the possibility of seeing a new version of this exciting concept intriguing. This new show will likely bring new fans into the fold, or at the very least give the original series wider exposure. But more than that, the new show might end up being good. Don’t know yet, since it ain’t out and won’t be for some time. But I do not personally see a potential reimagined series as a bad thing.
Remakes and reimagined series and movies are certainly not a new phenomenon, and they are, at best, a mixed bag. There are the good ones — [i]The Fugitive[/i] and [i]The Untouchables[/i] are examples of tv shows that were turned into awesome movies (and in the case of [i]The Untouchables[/i], it also became a reimagined television series that was really pretty good back in the early 1990s). [i]Battlestar Galactica[/i] is certainly one of the best examples, and most pertinent for [i]Space: 1999[/i] fans, of what a reimagined sci fi series from the 1970s can be. Although it’s not my cup of tea, the new version of [i]Hawaii Five-O[/i] is supposed to be pretty good too. Unfortunately, there are also dogs, like the recent remake of [i]Charlie’s Angels[/i], among others. And let’s not forget all the various incarnations — some good, and others… well? — of properties like Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan and so many others. There is even, believe it or not, a new, reimagined version of [i]The Munsters[/i] coming to television. Seriously! Google “Mockingbird Lane” to find out more about it.
When you stop to think about it, even Year 2 of [i]Space: 1999[/i] is sort of a reimagining of Year 1. The second year had only a passing resemblance to what was done in the first series, along with a few of the same actors. That Mateo, Bill, John and the Powys team managed to find plausible ways to tie the two years together into a cohesive whole in the book series is a testament to their creativity and imagination. But even this effort, which we all love so much, is their version… their reimagining of [i]Space: 1999[/i]. And Drew Gaska is busy prepping [b]his[/b] version of the series for comics and graphic novels, and it, too, will be different than Mateo’s version.
So why not [i]Space 2099[/i]? And yes, I know about the fan effort “Space: 2099,” which is a very noble effort to update and re-edit the original series with CGI effects, and to potentially follow that up with “Moonbase Alpha’s Legacy,” which would take place after “Message from Moonbase Alpha.” Heck, it’s something I’d like to see, but, realistically, it will never happen on anything other than a fan-produced level. Nobody but the most die-hard of fans of the original series — that’s anyone reading this, folks — would understand or appreciate it. But now, a [b]new[/b] version, a [b]new[/b] interpretation, made by people who know and appreciate the original series has the potential to be very good indeed. If a new series can take what was unique and mysterious and scary in the original and make it resonate with a 21st century audience, what’s wrong with that? I hope it works, and I hope it’s good.
But if it’s awesome or even if it sucks, [i]Space 2099[/i] will never replace [i]Space: 1999[/i]. Or the Powysverse. We will always have those. I love the new version of [i]Battlestar Galactica[/i]. It’s one of my favorite shows… I love the grittiness and the darkness. But it will never replace the original [i]Battlestar Galactica[/i] of my youth. I still love that show too. I see them as two seperate entities that happen to have some thematic similarities. So I guess what I’m trying to say is: keep an open mind. A new version of [b]our[/b] show can’t be a bad thing, even if it ultimately tanks. It has the potential to bring new attention (and potentially new customers) to the original version. And, ultimately, isn’t that a good thing?
[quote]I should just add that these are just my thoughts & opinions. No offence is intended & hopefully, I’ve not upset Kerry or anyone else by posting what I have.
[/quote]No offense taken, Steve. I respect your passion and opinion, even if we disagree.
The original Space:1999 was the first sci-fi series I watched on TV. (During those times I could find it on my parents’ small, rabbit-ears for reception, black & white, second TV) It was quite simple the most amazing show I’d ever seen. It was a sad day when I realized it was no longer on the air.
Since then sci-fi has always been something I enjoy. I’ve watched and read lots. Even written a few books in the genre myself.
All that to say, I’m excited and intrigued by what may result from 2099. There is a lot about the original that has never been fully duplicated in another series. I’m curious to see if they can catch fire in the Alpha barrel again. We’ll see…
I agree, slindvall…In my universe (haha) there’s enough room for everything Space:1999. That includes Space 2099:The TV Series, Moonbase Alpha:Legacy, Eric’s Space:2099, Powys Media books, BLAM! graphic novels, even fan fiction (so long as it is thoughtful and well written). Personally, I welcome it…and if I don’t think I will like it, it’s pretty simple – I just don’t read it or watch it. I suspect I’ll gobble it all up – at least once. 😛
I patterned Powys Media on Virgin Publishing’s Doctor Who books. Virgin began publishing Doctor Who books after the series was canceled (about three years later). The interest in Doctor Who was kept alive and the fires stoked by their “New Adventures” and “Missing Adventures” lines of novels and their “Decalog” anthologies.
A Doctor Who movie was even made for TV in 1996. Now the series is back on TV and extremely popular.
We’ve got a line up of forthcoming tiitles that we hope will meet your Space: 1999 needs. It’s amazing to me to look at the front page of this site and see all the books we’ve published. To think it all started out as a dream…
To have been able to read and enjoy so many original novels set in the classic [b]SPACE: 1999[/b] universe has been… a dream come true to be quite honest! I’ve enjoyed each & every one of them B)
[b]mateo wrote:[/b]
[quote]I patterned Powys Media on Virgin Publishing’s Doctor Who books. The interest in Doctor Who was kept alive and the fires stoked by their “New Adventures” and “Missing Adventures” lines of novels and their “Decalog” anthologies.A Doctor Who movie was even made for TV in 1996. Now the series is back on TV and extremely popular.[/quote]
I think the fact that a new version of [i]Space: 1999[/i] is being prepared for television is a testament to the Powys Media books. These books have kept alive and rekindled interest in the classic series just as surely as Virgin Publishing’s efforts did for [i]Doctor Who[/i]. At least that’s true for me. [i]Space: 1999[/i] was just about my favorite show growing up, but it had faded into the recesses of my mind over the years (cough… decades) until I accidentally discovered Powys Media a few years ago. Now, I not only purchase all of the new [i]Space: 1999[/i] books as they are released, but I managed to track down all of the earlier Powys books as well (including a copy of “The Forsaken” (Rose Petal cover) autographed by John Kenneth Muir, which is a prized part of my collection, and a first edition copy of “Mary’s Monster” by none other than William Latham). So these books are a dream come true for me as well (albeit a long dormant dream), and I hope they continue for a long time to come.
[i][b][size=4]Viva, Powys Media!!![/size][/b][/i] :laugh:
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