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This is great news Mateo! (but the release dates for the 2012 books say 2011 in brackets instead of 2012).
& yes, I am on the mend health-wise so I will be trying to make more regular appearances on the Forum going forward 🙂
[b]Procyonstar wrote:[/b]
[quote]Did you read… ‘Gray Moon’?…Steve – I think I know the story you’re referring to…
http://www.ellenceleste.com/fanfic%20website/fanfic/public_html/devplanet.html
Hope this is the link. There’s also another great story about this episode by Caitlyn Carpenter:
‘Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Universe’http://izzieelsa48.tripod.com/catesspace1999alcove/id37.html
She’s a good friend of mine and I love her work.[/quote]
Procyonstar, I agree: “Gray Moon” is UTTERLY superb. So is “Gray Moon – Part 2” for that matter. Both are set not long after “Breakaway” & prior to Simmonds “death” in “Earthbound”. Well worth a look imho.
As for that “Devil’s Planet” ff link, I’m going to have a look at it later today. Hopefully, it is indeed the link to that long lost piece of “Devil’s Planet” related ff I’ve been trying to find for years… 😉
I’ll have a look at “Child’s Play” & “Between the Devil And The Deep Blue Universe” while I’m at it.
Oh, & whilst we’re on the subject, can I recomend a ff story called “The Long Night”.
It’s set after “The Dorcons” and examines Maya & Tony’s relationship. They basically come to terms with what’s happened through “pillow talk”. There’s no sex (Thank God as I’m not into slash fiction of any kind!) but they discuss a lot of issues in a very honest & intimate way. The story takes place almost entirely in Tony’s quarters. Their love relationship is deepened by their discussions. The author probably didn’t intend this (as the ff story came out long before “Born for Adversity” was published by Powys) but reading this particular piece of ff before embarking on a re-read of “Born for Adversity” is HIGHLY recomended by this particular Year 2 fan 😉
http://www.space1999fiction.com/story.asp?id=night2
Glad we can discuss ff on the message board & perhaps draw people’s attention to some of the better stuff that’s being written by other fans.
We all know that the Powys releases are official & absolutely superb, but there is definately some very good ff out there.
If nothing else, reading ff makes the wait for a new Powys book a little easier to bear imho.
Zack’s examples aside (& I’m completely in agreement with him. Those types of stories are very dissapointing to read), there is still a fair bit of truly excellent ff out there. Yes, there’s lots of dross, written by amateurs who are simply writing those stories out of affection for the series. But there’s some very good stuff out there as well.
I once came across a particular piece of ff set during the Year 2 episode “Devil’s Planet”. It’s set on Alpha and shows the Alphans reacting to the news of John Koenig’s death on Entra. The scene where Alan tells Helena and her reaction to it was very moving to read. I wish I’d printed off a copy of it as it was a very good story. The only problem with it, is that it would contradict the continuity that Powys has established in the Year 2 Omnibus version of “Devil’s Planet” in that…
[spoiler]in the Omnibus, “Devil’s Planet” is set after “The Seance Spectre”. Much of Alpha is still uninhabitable & badly damaged following the sudden 2 degree shift in the Moon’s course. The main members of the cast are on the orbitting “Alpha 2” (basically, all of Alpha’s Eagles docked together in orbit around the Moon) & busy doing other things. Alpha itself only has a skeleton crew (explaining the absence of Helena, Tony, Maya & Alan from the televised episode & from Command Centre). In the Omnibus, if memory serves, Bill plans to break the news to Helena and the others in person when he & Alibe return to Alpha 2. The ff story takes place after “Dorzak” and Alpha is fully manned and operational. Bill contacts Alpha shortly after take off (after the scene where we see Alibe break down in tears) and breaks the news to everyone via the Big Screen in Command Centre. With the main characters busy doing other things, it takes time for the news to filter through to Tony, Maya, Alan & Helena and we get to read about their individual reactions to Koenig’s “death”.[/spoiler]
The ff story ends with Koenig returning to Alpha and being reunited with Helena (who’s still grieving for him). It’s a lovely bit of writing… I just wish I could find the damn thing so I can read it again! :laugh:
So, in essence, what I’m trying to say, is that not all ff is automatically bad just because it’s ff.
[b]PatS wrote:[/b]
[quote]…that an email from BL can change your whole day.[/quote]I know EXACTLY what you mean Pat. I’ve had one from him as well B)
[b]Ultra wrote:[/b]
[quote]I believe you missed the point of the article, which was not “what is the worst season of an SF show”, but
“what is the worst season of an SF show that started good and then went bad” ergo – the first season of the show can’t be the clunker by definition.[/quote]Ah. I hadn’t realised that. Methinks you have demolished my argument Mr Ultra! LOL! (although I wouldn’t agree that Year 2 is “bad” merely flawed. Year 1 is flawed as well imho, but in very different ways). Buck Rogers-wsie, I think Season 2 is better than Season 1. Perhaps that’s why Season 2 of that series didn’t make it onto the list.
I have to admit, I’m a big fan of some of SF TV’s “Resident Aliens” such a Maya & Hawk. Maybe that’s why I seem to like the second seasons of these 2 series so much! 😉
It’s been interesting to read everyone’s thoughts on what I’ve said… I’ve been trying to get a bit of debate/discussion going on the message boards recently. Nice to see that that’s beggining to happen B)
Glad to see that I’m not the only reader who’d like to see the AI Kano return to Alpha full time. And to think… I remember a time when, as a big Year 2 fan, I was dead against having Kano, Matthias & Victor returning to Alpha in Year 3! Though I still don’t see the point of…
[spoiler]bringing Bob Matthias back in “Born for Adversity” only to kill him off 2 books later! Still, at least by doing that, there remains the possibility that Doctors Ben Vincent & Ed Spencer will start to get some “onscreen” time in future novels. I’m very keen to read more about them. Hopefully, Petrov will make an appearance in a future novel too.[/spoiler]
I’ve realised that my vision of where I thought the series should go after Year 2 was far too narrow. Bringing Victor & Kano back in the way that Powys has, along with returning everyone to Main Mission & leaving Command Centre behind now makes sense to me. I guess… I just found it hard to let go of Year 2… but I can always revisit Year 2 anytime I like…
[spoiler]which I’m VERY MUCH looking forward to doing when Powys release “The Whispering Sea”.[/spoiler]
All I know, is that whatever actually happens in the Year 3 novels will probably come as a complete and utter surprise to all of us! Afterall, who would have thought that…
[spoiler]Arra would turn out to be a fibber? Or that the good MUF was actually trying to destroy the Alphans whereas the bad MUF was actually the one that kept saving them!?![/spoiler]
Those Powys writers sure are a devious bunch! (But that’s one of the many reasons why we love ’em! LOL!).
Thanks for your comments everyone :kiss:
[b]PatS wrote:[/b]
[quote]Steve, you are quite the romantic.[/quote]You bet I am Pat! 😉
Talking of me being a bit of a romantic, I forgot to mention how much I LOVE the final scene in “Dorzak”. The warmth & affection Alan & Sahala show towards one another is wonderful. Both actors give really nice, convincing performances throughout the episode. Compare this to many of the “Romances of the Week” seen in various incarnations of Star Trek. Most of them are quite phoney despite the efforts of the talented actors involved. Here, that’s not the case. Both actors shine. The last line: “The way you say it is better” as Alan & Sahala say goodbye with a single kiss serves as a perfect ending to the episode & a really lovely closing scene that DEFINATELY makes me smile every time I see it :cheer:
On the subject of Sahala…
[spoiler]I have to admit, I was saddened to read of her death at the hands of the Pychons in “Born for Adversity”. Saying that, the brief return of Dorzak, was totally unexpected & very welcome. His scenes, though brief, served to highlight how right Sahala was to warn the Alphans about the nature of Dorzak & the Psychons in general. If only the Alphans had listened to her. Sahala is ultimately a tragic figure but in death, she proves herself to be a strong leader and a stand-out female character. It’s a shame we won’t be seeing her in any future Powys novels as I really liked the relationship she had with Alan & felt it had a lot of potential.[/spoiler]
[b]Tex wrote:[/b]
[quote]SHAZBOT! It’s Mork from [b]Ork[/b]. Orson was the long-suffering superior he’d report to at the end of the episodes.Don’t be a Bleem!
Tex
(Na-Nu Na-Nu)[/quote]LOL! My apologies Tex. I stand corrected! 😆
[b]Zack wrote:[/b]
[quote]I used to love the fact that every episode of year one left me with a question of either morals or science. I used to spend hours pondering just what those questions could have meant for the Alphans. Year2, every episode left me with a cheap, forced laugh.[/quote]Surely not every episode Zack? Yes, the closing scenes of “Rules of Luton”, Space Warp”, “The Beta Cloud” & “A Matter of Balance” to name just four, are all awful. They’re certainly very good examples of the point you’re trying to make whereas “One Moment of Humanity” & “Seed of Destruction” both end on sombre, dramatic notes. The impact of Elizia’s death at the end of “Devil’s Planet” (or “Escape from Entra” as I prefer to call it) is totally undermined by the inapropriate upbeat incidental music used over the scene rather than anything being wrong or shallow about the scene itself whereas the last scene of “The Dorcons” is quite rightly damned by the critics because it’s false and inappropriate. Thankfully, Powys re-dresses this in the subtly altered, bleaker version of this scene in the Year 2 Omnibus, which sets up Koenig’s mood in “Born for Adversity”.
[spoiler]In fact, the Year 2 Omnibus cleverly sets up the undercurrent of Koenig’s increasingly fatigued, tired, angry mood throughout, leading into the events seen in the Year 3 Powys novels very nicely indeed imho.[/spoiler]
Sometimes, I think the comedy works. The ending scenes of “The Exiles”, “The AB Crysalis” & “Bringers of Wonder – Part 2” always make me smile whilst the ending scenes of “The Metamorph”, “The Mark of Archanon” (when Koenig says “Is that all you have to be grateful for? & he & Helena then embrace & kiss oneanother), as well as the final scene of “The Lambda Factor” (where John falls asleep and Helena gently kisses him on the forehead) are all scenes I find touching.
On the subject of those “unanswered questions” that we see at the end of many a Year 1 episode, I agree, they are quite wonderful & thought provoking. My favourite episode endings of Year 1 are the closing scenes of “War Games” (“We’ve lost it”) & “Another Time, Another Place” (where Helena looks at the roses the alternative Victor gave her and our Victor looks away, embarassed perhaps, at having his true feelings for her revealed).
I like the fact that you can put on a Year 1 episode, and be satisfied in so many different ways, and then put on a Year 2 episode and be completely satisfied in an entirely different set of ways.
I suppose what I’m trying to say is that Year 2 is, imho, a mixed bag. There’s no doubt about that. But it’s not ALL bad. I can find so many faults with it… but in equal measure, I can find so many good things to say about it.
One final thing: You haven’t seen Year 2 until you’ve seen it in French! (in France, it’s called [b]COSMOS: 1999[/b]) It’s hilarious! :silly:
[b]Zack wrote:[/b]
[quote]My list of the ten worst seasons of TV would not include Space either, but I do understand where they are coming from.[/quote]& so do I 🙂 nice to know [b]SPACE: 1999[/b] wouldn’t be on either of our lists, but then, we’re biased aren’t we? Because we LOVE the show 😉 B)
[b]Zack wrote:[/b]
[quote]…Compared to season one the show was just awful…[/quote]I don’t really see Year 2 as being awful. Radically different to Year 1, certainly. But both seasons had their faults. I think this is where Powys have made the right choice in taking all the strongest elements of Year 1 (the mystery & the grandeur of the Odyssey concept, gothic horror, high concept science fiction ideas, the gorgeous Main Mission set, Victor & Sandra etc) mixing them together with all the good things that came out of the changes wrought in Year 2 (more likeable, overtly emotional, more human characterisations, pace, immediacy, action & adventure, the deepening of John & Helena’s love relationship, the addition of Maya & Tony, Ben Vincent, Petrov, Ed Spencer, Bill & Annette Fraser & Alibe to the cast etc.) and combining all these elements in Year 3.
Yeah, I miss Command Centre & I kinda wish Maya was still a Transmorph, but at least we can look forward to books that feature all that’s wonderful about both Year 1 & Year 2 of [b]SPACE: 1999[/b] set in Year 3.
I’m sure that will keep us both happy Zack because we’re getting the best of EVERYTHING from both series & more! B)
[b]Enik1138 wrote:[/b]
[quote]io9 placed Space: 1999 season two as the ninth worst season of science-fiction/fantasy televsion:[url=http://io9.com/5855113/the-10-most-mortifying-seasons-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy-tv-shows]The 10 Most Mortifying Seasons of Science Fiction and Fantasy TV Shows[/url][/quote]
What surprised me about the list was the fact that there was no mention of that truly DIRE tv series “Lost in Space”. Virtually every episode is utter drivel. Also, I was surprised that Season 2 of The Next Generation was voted number one! This is the season that had “Q-Who”, “The Emissary” (with K’ehleyr), “Elementary Dear Data” & several other brilliant episodes to its credit. Surely he must have meant Season 1 of TNG which, imho, is virtually unwatchable so bad is the writing and so wooden and forced the acting. I think only “11001001” (a favourite of mine), “Datalore” & “Too Short A Season” are the only episodes I can bear to sit through!
Compared to Season 1 of TNG, Year 2 of [b]SPACE: 1999[/b] (for all its many faults) is far more enjoyable and satisfying to watch!
Then there’s Season 1 of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Now, I love the pilot episode/movie “Awakening” & find the characters (Buck, Wilma, Twiki, Doctor Theopolis & Doctor Huer) very likeable, but after the pilot, the series goes downhill from thereon in!
How can anyone compare brilliant episodes of Year 2 like “One Moment of Humanity”, “The Exiles”, “Seed of Destruction” etc. to nonsense like “Flight of the War Witch”, “Space Rockers” & “Cruise Ship to the Stars” & then say Year 2 of ’99 is one of the worst seasons of sci-fi ever screened on tv!! The 3 episodes I’ve named are some of the lamest & most embarassing episodes of Buck Rogers (or any series) I’ve ever watched. They are, imho, utter rubbish!
…but then so is “The Rules of Luton” (although the scenes with Maya talking about her father and Koening talking about his late wife are lovely), “Catacombs of the Moon”, “All that Glisters” (the opening scene in the Eagle’s Pilot Section and the closing scenes where Koenig says “Let’s go home” are the only good things about it tbh! LOL!), “The Taybor” (although Helena’s seduction scene with Koening is a definite highlight of the series for me!) & “A Matter of Balance” (I love the scenes in Command Centre when Tony nearly chokes on a sample of his latest batch of beer. The excuses everybody comes up with to avoid having to try it themselves are priceless. Bill’s “Sorry, I’m on a liquid-free diet” is my favourite!).
Yes, there is a small handful of Year 2 episodes that are pretty poor but compare this to the fact that pretty much EVERY episode of Buck Rogers Season 1 & TNG Season 1 are poor to the point of being unwatchable!
That being the case (imho), Year 2 shouldn’t really be in the Top 10 at all.
I suppose it’s all down to personal choice in the end. I’m sure my top 10 would look very different to i09’s. I’m sure yours would too… & that’s OK 😉
[b]blatham wrote:[/b]
[quote]Steve F. — you’ll find this interesting. I was plotting out a portion of “The Final Revolution” last night and hit a moment where I thought to myself…wow, it would be really useful if Maya could change her shape right now. I think I tapped into the mindset of FF for a moment — Maya just made it too darn easy to solve plot problems![/quote]Bill, you’re right. She did. But what people sometimes forget, is that like Twiki in “Buck Rogers”, Maya (either as a Metamorph or a woman) brings a lot of joy & happiness to the preceedings (you only have to watch “The Exiles” to see how much Maya makes the viewer smile!) she also ADDS a very important element to the series: she makes it a series you can LOVE imho. Thank God for Catherine Schell! What a wonderful actress! But putting Catherine’s undoubted talent aside for a moment, this, I think, is the ultiimate gift of Fred Freiberger. Yes, the awe, the majesty, the mystery, & in a lot of ways, the dark, unique & fascinating atmospheric horror of Year 1 was lost as a result of his involvent (& the massive budget cuts & shortened filming schedule he had to accept when he took on the job), but many of the changes he made to [b]SPACE: 1999[/b] made it accessable and likeable, good or bad, to the “mainstream” family audience of that time period. I personally, am no longer a part of that audience, but at the time, in the late 1970’s/early 80’s in the UK, Year 2 and awful episodes like “The Rules of Luton” & the much better (but massively flawed) episode “Space Warp” (both of which I have VERY clear memories of watching in “first run syndication” as you Americans would call it) as a kid bought me to the series and made me a life-long fan!
Anyway, all of this aside, the thought of William Latham, the “Peter David” of [b]SPACE: 1999[/b] writing a novel set or even partially set in Year 2… is the ULTIMATE culmination (I hope!) of our many e-mails back & forth about Year 2 & the Powys novels over the years. I can’t wait to read the Year 2 bits of “Children of the Gods”. “The Final Revolutution”, will, I’m sure, be a real page turner and be just as fascinating, provocative and breathlessly exciting as “OMEGA” & “ALPHA” were to ALL THE die-hard & extremely passionate, knowledgable [b]SPACE: 1999[/b] fans like me.
You channelling Fred Freiberger: I’m sure many a fan would shudder… whereas I just smile Bill!
The radical changes that Fred’s decisions wraught certainly weren’t all bad. Certainly, imho, the (LITERARY) Powys universe of [b]SPACE: 1999[/b] has been enriched by having Year 2 as part of its foundation. The presence of Maya (with or without her Metamorphic abilities), Tony, Alibe, Bill & Annette Fraser, Ben Vincent,
Petrov (his first name is my invention. Pease, PLEASE use it in a novel!), Ed Spencer, Stewart Jackson and what have you, in the books, only enrich & add to the continuity of the series. All of the above are characters that I hope will be mentioned & developed more in future Year 2 and Year 3 Powys novels alongside… [spoiler]…the characters that you brought back to the “Prime” Alpha from the ATAP Earth seen in “OMEGA” & “ALPHA[/spoiler].
[b]kerry wrote:[/b]
[quote]What a cool diversion. Thanks for sharing![/quote]My pleasure Kerry. What can I say? I love [b]SPACE: 1999[/b] & if I’ve spent the evening relaxing with a bottle of wine, even the worst excesses of Year 2’s silliness (Brian the Brain & rubber horned frog monsters to name just two examples of it!) can actually be a source of tremendous enjoyment viewing-wise (even better if you buy the French [b]COSMOS: 1999[/b] DVD Integrale & watch Year 2 in French! Golly, what a hoot! The humour actually works MUCH BETTER in French imo! LOL!). Like I said to Mateo above, it’s just nice to see [b]SPACE: 1999[/b]’s Brain creation being acknowledged amongst the greatest and most loveable androids and robots of sci-fi that are represented in this pic B)
Whilst I’m on the subject, can I just say how wonderful it is to see Vincent & Maximillian from “The Black Hole”, PPA from “Star Fleet”, the Green Cross Code robot (seen in many a road safety commercial in the 1970’s in the UK), “L” from the utterly wonderful “Starcrash!”, Zeroids & Cubes from Gerry Anderson’s “Terrahawks” (which I prefer over and above his other supermarionation/puppet series) & even the robot from British TV’s wonderful “Rentaghost” comedy series represented here!
Coming across this, and looking at it in such detail, has been an absolute joy! :silly:
[b]mateo wrote:[/b]
[quote]But where is the trolley with yellow plastic wheels…??[/quote]Oh Mateo ya great big silly, you KNOW as well as I do that the afformentioned Yellow Wheeled Trolley doesn’t count 🙂 It’s really nice to see that Brian has been included though. I’m sure you know how snobbish people can be about acknowledging anything to do with [b]SPACE: 1999[/b]! I assumed (when I came across it) that Brian wouldn’t be there… imagine my delight when I finally located him! I almost did a passable version of Zack’s “Happy Dance!” 😆
