I was just five years old and yet my parents somehow knew to sit me down in front of the television one Saturday night in September; for the premiere of the brand-new TV series, a "science fiction spectacular," Space:1999.That was way back in 1975, and in all honesty, the viewing experience probably changed my life. That's not an exaggeration. Before Space:1999 I was into Sinbad movies, King Kong and Godzilla. Afterwards, I was a changed man...my eyes forever watching the skies...directed to the cosmos.
Anyway, what really made Space:1999 so appealing to me followed shortly after the debut. The second episode aired on WPIX, Channel 11 in New York, "Dragon's Domain" - and man, it scared the crap out of me. Although this was the 23rd episode produced, the station opted to air it after "Breakaway," probably because it is one of the series' strongest (and most memorable) outings.
As a five year-old, "Dragon's Domain" terrified me (and prepared me for Alien in 1979). The story involved a tentacled, cyclopean beast that haunted a "spider's web" of derelict spaceships. The thing was creepy (and would periodically shoot out jets of saliva...). And if it got a tentacle on an errant astronaut it would drag that poor unfortunate into its gaping maw...and spit out the smoking bones in mere seconds. It may not sound like much now, but in 1975, and to the mind of a 5 year old, this was amazing stuff...
It was grotesque, and terrifying, and bloody...and I loved every minute of it. So for my third trading card close-up, I recall the horrors of Space:1999's "dragon," featured here on card # 10 from the 66 card series released in 1976. Take a good, long look at that monster. It's probably the reason I'm a writer today...
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