Every September 13 on the blog, I celebrate Breakaway Day.
And for those who don't remember the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson series Space: 1999 (1975 - 1977), some explaining is probably in order.
In series mythology, September 13, 1999 is the day that the moon is blasted out of Earth's orbit in a nuclear catastrophe and sent on a wild junket into deep space, carrying the 311 people stationed on Moonbase Alpha along with it.
I grew up with Space: 1999, have always admired the series, and wished that it ran for more than two-seasons and forty-eight episodes.
One element I enjoy very much about the sci-fi series is the ambiguous, mysterious nature of many of the stories.
Space: 1999 -- very much in keeping with the unrest of the 1970s -- views outer space not as an ocean separated by island (planets), where a benevolent United Nations brings peace and connection, and boats (spaceships) deliver diplomacy, but rather as an almost incomprehensible realm of mystery, awe, and terror.
The thesis here is not that man has conquered his failings and the stars too, but that he is moving into a terrain he may not be psychologically and technologically ready to countenance. In other words, in Space: 1999 we bring all our failings and all our neuroses to the stars, and must grapple with those, as well as the wonders and horrors of space.
So today, I'll be remembering Space: 1999 with episode reviews, and also a look at Space: 1999 merchandise from the 1970s. I hope you'll join the retrospective!
As a boy SPACE:1999 became my favorite television series September 1975 when I saw "Breakaway" and still is to this day. It is so visionary. Some say 2001:A Space Odyssey, I say Space:1999.
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