GOD in SPACE: 1999
When Space: 1999 blazed across the screens of televisions,
and soon after the initial excitement died down, it became Criticism: 1999 from
almost everyone and for many reasons.
Isaac Asimov panned the show for being scientifically
inaccurate. He had many valid points. The explosion which sent the moon into
space would have destroyed the moon and most of the earth--a fact mentioned
many times in the series. The flight of an unplanned, accidentally driven body
in space would bring it nowhere near inhabited planets, if near any planets at
all.
STAR TREK fans are quick to point out that this problem was
handled with a warp drive on that show. The only trouble with that was no one
on the series itself ever really explained what a warp drive was, even in its
basic forms.
It is true that many explanations in 1999 were not given.
This does not mean these problems were totally ignored. 1999, being the most
expensive show at the time, did not want to hit viewers over the head with a
dozen ready-made reasons for everything they were seeing. In the end, each
episode leaves it up to the audience as to what actually happened. The meaning
if often left open. This may have been both its downfall and its uniqueness.
The ideas I am about to embark on are my own opinions, some of
which I do not believe were the reasons the writers had but which are just one
more way of looking at a misunderstood and open ended show. I present enough
evidence to back up the views and I feel sometimes the writers did inject these
things purposefully but not at other times. The unknowns are there. In
addition, I wrote the original of this a long time ago and my own views on the
subject matter have changed slightly. I do not think a lot of this at the
current time but again, it is just another interpretation of an excellent and
mysterious series.
To being with BREAKAWAY, the pilot episode, seems
appropriate. As the logical Asimov stated, there should have been no survivors
when the moon was blown out of Earth's orbit. In fact, there would be no moon. By
man's logic and reasoning, everyone should have died. The moon is thrown into
space for a purpose by some stronger being who wanted this it happen. God may
have saved the moon for some purpose. The Alphans, in many episodes of both
seasons, should have died many times (WAR GAMES, THE AB CHRYSALIS). Man
constantly fails on his own merits in 1999. To many this showed a pessimistic
view of space and the future. This may or may not have been the case. On the
surface, it looked awfully bleak for the Alphans and a sad, lonely voyage. Some
fans liked the show due to this. Yet, maybe there is another way or several
other ways to look at this.
Maybe God was helping the Alphans, who needed to know him
better. Whenever man failed on his own, God stepped in to help. Victor
Bergman's force field fails inside the BLACK SUN. And the fleeing Eagle is
light years on the other side of the sun's gateway with no way of getting back
to the moon, which survived after all. No apparent reason. Suddenly, the
thought-lost Eagle is able to find the moon and land. Bergman tells John,
"I'm a scientist. I don't know anything about God. Ultimately, I suppose
we all believe what we want to believe." Although, to God and religion,
this attitude may be wrong, the Alphans seem to be learning about God. Victor
and John heard a voice as the moon passed into the deepest part of the black
sun opening. The voice is feminine and claims she is helping them along and
that she thinks a thought every thousand of our years. John and Victor become
invisible (spirit or spiritual), hear their own thoughts and the thoughts of
each other (the soul which is the mind of the individual) and age rapidly (the
body and the flesh). This voice may be the reason the Alphans have survived and
gone on through un-survivable encounters. This voice, being female, may not
have been God, but may have been a watcher angel in space or perhaps God,
coming to them in a feminine voice to see what their reaction to that would be.
In WAR GAMES, Alpha is destroyed in what ultimately turns
out to be an illusion. The Earthlings are given an enactment of how easily they
could be destroyed. Helena realizes, as part of the aliens mind-world machine,
"We are what we are---with all our faults and fears." Although they
lose the beauty of what seemed a cold, unemotional alien world, the Alphans
still survive. God gave them a look at what could happen if he did not help
Alpha---even guiding the moon to habitable worlds. Perhaps he doesn't want the
Alphans to get too prideful on their own merits and their own sciences,
forgetting there is a God and a spiritual realm.
Confronting the aliens in WAR GAMES, John Koenig says,
"We have survived. How, I don't know. There's no rational explanation for
it. What I do have is an absolute faith in the strength of the human spirit and
the belief that someone or something is looking after us, God, if you like. And
we will survive!" And they do. It is not the Alphan's true destiny to be
like the unemotional alien world, so they must lose the beautiful planet---perhaps
they are not ready for it. Or perhaps a planet like that is without love, real
love or a more perfect love which is what Alpha may be guided toward. Maybe,
they should rest easy though, trusting that God has better worlds for them in
the future.
Alas, Alphans, like many TV characters (DARK SHADOWS, DOCTOR
WHO) do not have mountain-moving faith but seem to be taught as this force,
God, if you will, teaches and shows them. When Helena yelled, 'We are what we
are with all our faults and fears," it is true that the Alphans have lots
of faults and fears at the present time.
In that same episode, Alan Carter is killed and John faces
death in his spacesuit, floating in the void of space as part of the illusion.
John will float endlessly. Since it is all an illusion they both
survive---John, by conquering his fear of death here, learns something. The
alien tells Helena, "He has faced his death and won." This is what
God wants them each to do. And in Christian theology, this is what God has done
Himself.
There appears to be a link between John and Alan in several
episodes--a link of unshaken faith. Alan tries to avert a COLLISION COURSE
between the moon and alien woman Arra's massive planet and smaller but still
just as dangerous moon. When he is lost in an ill-timed detonation to stop the
alien moon, Arra saves him and later sees John face to face. John is told by
her not to avoid the collision and by faith, he believes her that this is the
right thing to do. Only Alan stands behind John when all his other friends and
co-workers dessert him for the logical, cold reasoning of avoiding the
collision. Arra claimed they must do nothing and only John and Alan have seen
and believed her.
An important part of John's faith in Arra is that she knows
Alpha's future somehow (who showed her? God? Is she from the future? Can she
look into the future? Or future time doorways?). She knows the Alphan's past
and future. She has had a revelation of their meeting and represents a leader
who seems to know more---possibly God. There are many friendly aliens in 1999,
countering a criticism that all the aliens in the show are hostile. Arra's
words give the Alphans a purpose to go on. "You shall go on. Your odyssey
shall know no end. You shall prosper and increase in new worlds, new galaxies.
You will populate the deepest reaches of space."
Although John is confused, he has faith. Helena, at a table
conference meeting on Alpha, says, "Of all the factors since we left
Earth's orbit, two have been constant---we survived them all and John Koenig
has been at command." While she was tricking John Koenig, whom she and the
others thought was suffering from radiation sickness---what she said was true.
A faithful leader has to be in the head of the flock.
When Arra's planet and the Earth Moon touch---that is all
they do, touch. Arra's world vanishes into a higher realm of existence---which
Arra, previously told John could be a change that could be considered a
spiritual one. Where did it go? Heaven? Most of the answers are left up to the
viewer. After the touch, not only is Arra's world gone, Alpha is kicked into
new space.
ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE affords Alpha the chance to see
their own future or at least, a possible future. That they can start a new life
on a new planet or in this case an old one (since the planet was Earth) could
give them renewed hope. Even if this is an alternate Earth, they got to see it
is possible--somehow. All it was, was a look. Helena realizes this, "Our
place and our time is on Alpha." God wants them there, too, for the time
being, to continue their journey, giving them reasons to do so. John and Alan
discover their counterparts have died in an Eagle crash (on the alternate
Moon). While this disturbs John and Alan it does not seem to cause them fear.
They still fly in an Eagle and even though knowing this might be a future for
them, they are not afraid. Their faith, perhaps, has overcome their fear of
death.
As stated before, God wants John in command and his place is
on Alpha. In one of the weirdest episodes, MISSING LINK, John must decide to
either remain with his alien love Vana or return to his command on Alpha. To
those on Alpha, Koenig appears to be in a deep coma. Vana's father, alien
scientist Raan (Peter Cushing) has brought Koenig's life force (spirit) to
Zenno, his planet, in an attempt to bridge their two worlds. Raan's people
think too much without feeling. Koenig's Alphans feel too much as evidenced by
their building frustration back on the moon without John in command and lying
dying. They are all on edge as John nears death. Paul scolds Kano who yelled at
a woman serving him coffee which she dropped.
John teaches Vana, Raan's daughter, to feel. And though he
tells Raan, "I still think it is more important to feel than to
think," what he tells Vana disproves this. He has learned the fine line
between thinking and feeling.
John calms Vana when she finds he intends to go back to
Alpha. "Cross the bridge between your world and mine. With your mind and
your heart. As long as you think of me, feel for me, I'll be with you." He
chooses both mind (knowledge, wisdom) and heart (emotion, feelings). This is
how it is believed we can know God--with both wisdom and emotions. Neither the
raw feelings or raw logic will get them close to God or a communion with love.
As Raan corrects John, "It is the perfect balance between the two that
must be achieved. Both our worlds have yet to learn how." Raan has added
another dimension--humility and humbleness. All three---Raan, John, and Vana
have learned they must grow further and change.
Once again, Alan comes to John's rescue. Helena is about to
disconnect John's life support system. Alan's interference gives Raan enough
time to return John. Alan had enough faith to believe John could return to full
activity. "He's still breathing and while he is--he's still the
commander!"
Raan's people were very like humans. In fact, most of the
aliens in 1999 are very Earth-like. The friendly but very tall Caldorians in
EARTHBOUND are similar to Earthlings but they have learned to use their
emotions wisely. They think before acting and face the truth instead of denying
the inevitable. When the Alphans accidentally cause the death of one of the
Caldorians, whom they tried to reawaken from their suspended animation states,
the other Caldorians realize it was just a mistake and do not act against
Alpha. Commissioner Simmonds, an annoying man and bureaucrat (this show's LOST
IN SPACE's Dr. Smith), acts irrationally and stows away with them, the aliens
do not act against the other Alphans. Simmonds fulfills the role of villain,
forcing himself on the aliens, holding Alpha hostage until they agree to let
him go in place of the person chosen by the computer. He (along with the aliens
and Alphans) did not realize he, being human and not Caldorian, would not be
put into a suspended state, thus he has made himself a prisoner in the chamber.
Their ship, headed for earth, has him in a coffin like cubicle. The irony in
all of that is the computer, after Simmonds pulled his demands, selected
Simmonds as the Alphan to go. Does he die? Or does the Caldorian device have
some mechanism that will let him out?
The Sidonians in VOYAGER'S RETURN are too proud to accept
the fact that they act on emotion, not logic. They will not accept the term
"revenge", yet will punish the innocent, using revenge without
acknowledging what it truly is. Most of the other aliens are all too human in
their desires and fears. Why? Perhaps they are examples for Alpha to learn
from. Be like the Caldorians and other friendly aliens and do not be like the
Sidonians and other unfriendly, cold aliens.
Perhaps these aliens are, as suggested by MISSING LINK, are
our brothers and God is sending Alpha back out to them to interact. Isn't it
possible that some of these aliens have forgotten God and that through contact
with the relatively inferior and more primitive struggles of Alpha, they can
recall how God wants them to be? In a sense Moonbase Alpha is the ark carrying
the Israelites through space for the purpose of spreading his memory and at
times, the Alphans do not know they are doing this.
The last episode of Season One---TESTAMENT OF ARKADIA, had
Alpha stuck in orbit over a dead world. Two of the Alphans---Anna and Luke
Farrell--are given a vision that they must restart life on this world--where
the Alphans find a form of Sanskrit--an ancient Earth language. They discover
the Arkadians left to colonize other worlds--one of these worlds was Earth.
Even though Luke and Anna threaten Alpha's survival, stealing supplies to
rebuild the planet, they still want the moon to remain in orbit. When it does
not and leaves them alone on the planet (through no act of its own--for the
moon moves and stops at supposedly random forces), we can tell from the look of
loneliness on their faces that they did not have a choice because it was
ordained (as Luke himself stated). They are a new Adam and Eve, remaining
because they had a higher purpose than their own. The Alphans couldn't survive
on Arkadia due to the sheer number of Alphans that would have needed food and
farming on Arkadia wouldn't support that many of them. Even though the pull of
the planet somehow made a power loss on Alpha, Luke and Anna's chances were
better on Alpha than on the planet. The two still went down to Arkadia to live,
unaware that God would send the Moon on its way once they were set on the
planet. Once the Moon goes on, the Alphans no longer needed the stolen
supplies; Luke and Anna could survive and bring Arkadia to new life.
Helena tells John, "They're all alone down there."
"It was their choice."
"Was it their choice, John?"
"And..." John logs, "So the circle of was
complete. The seeds from Earth, so carefully stored and nurtured by us have
returned to their place of origin. I believe it is futile to try to seek
answers to the incredible things that happened on Arkadia. All we know is that
life has restarted there. Our immediate struggle is over. For them, it has just
begun. They have found their beginnings. We still wander the emptiness of
space, seeking ours. We must keep faith and believe that for us, for all of
mankind, there is a purpose." John does call the creation of Adam and Eve
a myth which shows his unbelief in some of the Bible but his thoughts clearly
showed he did change during the first season. With all of the spiritual events
that happen on Alpha, none of the crew are seen reading a Bible. Perhaps if
they had--some of the answers would have been found.
While this is a basic Old Testament treatment, there are
also New Testament overtones as well. In DEATH'S OTHER DOMINION, the eternal
humans, who have become immortal, did not know they could not leave the planet,
Ultima Thule. One, supposedly insane ("It comes and goes, it comes and
goes,"), named Jack, did know something of it but couldn't express it
properly. When the sneaky, manipulative leader, Cabot, leaves the snow ridden
Ultima Thule with the Alphans, on an Eagle, he turns into a skeleton. John,
later, ponders whether or not death on the flesh gives mankind a reason for
continuing. He calls it an "end" but one of the eternals, Jack, sends
him a last message in the last scene, "...if there really is an
end..." Meaning? Perhaps even those that die, do not experience an end.
For continuing, maybe life after death is the reward as in A MATTER OF LIFE AND
DEATH.
In A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, Helena's husband, Lee Russell
warns them away from what appears to be a livable planet. When the Alphans
refuse to listen, Lee dies and his body vanishes. The Alphans descend to the
planet and are killed. As the Moon itself explodes, once showing how easily the
Alphans could die, only Helena survives---which is her fear---being the only
one left alive. Earlier, John, said, "What's going to stop us,"
meaning, nothing could stop the Alphans from going down to the planet and
living there. This shows his pride and yet, as he sat at his desk, his
expression showed that he realized the folly of his own pride. Then later,
after the total destruction of the moon and everyone but Helena, Lee comes to
Helena to explain.
"Nobody dies. Matter never dies, Helena. It just
changes its form. There are many forms of life in space, and many forms of
death, too." He goes on to reveal he is anti-matter, although he does not
use that word (earlier Helena and Victor did use that word). He also tells them
they cannot survive in each other's worlds. He seems placid, almost angelic and
content.
And after he normalizes the Alphans (or some goodly force
returns things back to the way they were before the almost total destruction),
Helena realizes, "We cannot stay here, John." This once more shows
her knowledge that something wants them back on Alpha and even though she is
unsure as to what and why---it may only be for the time being. Helena even
declares in THE LAST ENEMY, "I'd rather take my chances wandering through
space than to be involved in a permanent state of war. Anyway, it's too late
now." She knows they cannot stay but is none too happy about it.
Even in the much changed second season, these elements were
present. In JOURNEY TO WHERE, Yasko decides, "I'd rather stay on Alpha
than end up somewhere in space." Other Alphans show they agree with her.
God, perhaps, is showing them that Alpha is not so bad as compared to other
places and other times but if they remain in his will and try to trust Him, he
will deliver them, perhaps as a people, or perhaps sooner. At the very end of
the episode, Helena tells John, "Who wants to go back to Earth
anyway." They also find out that Earth did survive and made contact with
the people on it, even though it was further in the future--another supposedly
dead planet, still alive despite reason, science, and logic.
The Alphans are tricked much too easily and in too many
ways. The unseen Ariels give the moon air and food. To the earthlings, it is a
gift. Only at the end of THE LAST SUNSET, the aliens tell them they did this
because they hoped the Alphans would not come to their planet. They do not want
human kind on their own home planet--they have been watching humankind. The
Ariel people (if they are people---they are never seen and never shown, only
heard via a male voice) could have destroyed Alpha but did not or would not.
Perhaps God was dealing with the Ariel beings as well as Alphans. When Paul
becomes a religious fanatic centering on "sacred bread" and saying,
"Another gift from the "gods", he is taking his eyes off God and
making up his own religion--a man made one--and taking his eyes off the truth.
Paul calls Ariel's second coming of devices a blessing. In reality, this new
gift is that of the air being taken off the Moon---perhaps because Paul was
concentrating on the gifts and what he wanted--and not God. Perhaps the Ariel
beings did not even know why they were doing what they were--certainly, they
did not seem like fully realized spiritual beings, nor were they benevolent,
nor malevolent. While the food or something in the bread was affecting Paul,
his inner feelings may have come out. He did not have the ability to use reason
at that point and only emotional fanaticism came out. This had to be seen to be
dealt with. And the other Alphans must have similar buried emotions, which
Paul's example may have helped them deal with.
In FULL CIRCLE, a planet bound time warp fog changed the
Alphans into cave men and cave women, mocking the idea of evolution and showing
the Alphans that mankind has always been caveman-like and never truly evolved.
Victor wonders, "Have we changed that much, I wonder?"
John said, more optimistically, "Maybe."
Earlier, when Sandra attacked the caveman chief, she did not
realize it was John Koenig. Is God telling us when we strike out at others, we
only hurt ourselves and our own kind and those we love? What are the Alphan's
beliefs? Do we ever find out?
In the second season's NEW ADAM, NEW EVE, Helena is taken
in, at first, by alien Megus, who looks like a New Testament version of God but
who is in reality only an alien experimenting with power and devices that
resemble esp powers. False prophets can do magical works to deceive and Megus,
they discover is a first rate villain. Helena calls him, "A fraud and a
cheat." All he wants is to perfect himself, sacrificing other's lives to
do so.
THE GUARDIAN OF PIRI sucks the Alphans onto an ideal life
where they lay around all day and do nothing. Only John can see that when the
struggle is removed from life, there is only a fate worse than death. Here, the
evil is keeping the Alphans tranquil--away from their true destiny and course.
This could be a test or a trial to raise the Alphans up to understand what they
really should be doing and that the struggle, though tempting to give up, is
needed and pointing them in some direction. Where they do not know.
In some predicaments, Alpha must save themselves. In THE
INFERNAL MACHINE, they learn to turn the other cheek and to forgive the
dangerous living spaceship who had its only caretaker, Guardian, die. The
machine learns of its own selfishness and evil ways but cannot accept
loneliness or forgiveness graciously--it cannot also forgive what it has
done--- and destroys itself.
On the other side of the coin is ALPHA CHILD. The first
Alphan birth, first a baby, then rapidly a small child, then a man, has been
taken over by Jarek. Jarek, his mate (who possessed the child's mother Sue by
having Sue die first) and about 300 others are criminals running from their
planet's justice. They take over Alpha and again, Alpha is helpless before the
attackers. The alien police ships arrive--somehow finding Alpha. When the alien
"police" arrive, Jarek and his mate just vanish. The
"police" made it clear they would destroy Alpha to get the pair (or
destroy the pair as well) but they would not come down to the base themselves.
And the Alphans couldn't force Jarek and mate to go. Yet somehow Jarek and mate
do vanish and are back on one of the "police" ships (presumably--we
do not see them on an alien ship). The mother, Sue, and the child, Jackie, are
back to normal---and the baby is growing normally.
Helena asks, "Do you think they gave themselves
up?"
John answers, "Nice thought, Helena, but I don't think
they had any choice."
Why? Did some other force return the two criminals? Was it
perhaps, God? If it was the aliens, why would the aliens bother to return the
mother and child to normal--even if they had the power to do this. And if they
did have the power, why not intercede right away? Why did they wait and
threaten? Some other power must have interceded---perhaps God did this.
Oddly enough, strange camera angles also suggest an outside
force watching Alpha---also a inside force---one and the same as evidence by
John-Alan link to each other and in Helena's Alpha fetish. Camera angles show
something watching the Alphans from behind support beams, from above, and from
out of the room, sometimes moving from outside the room to into it! In RING
AROUND THE MOON as Victor and John talk, the camera pulls back to show the
entire room. This is usually a camera move, done the opposite way in other
shows, to reveal a setting or location--an establishing shot and then the
camera is supposed to zoom in on the conversation. Here, in RING, the watcher
was listening to the conversation from outside, then seemed to fill the room.
There are also other incidents of this. One, TROUBLED SPIRIT, is as Victor and
John talk (again) as well as when Mateo, the possessed Alphan, talk. The latter
conversation is when we see a whole other room and the force---the camera
(God?) moves up to Helena's back and then into the conversation. VOYAGER'S
RETURN has the camera outside the room where two scientists talk. The camera
dollies straight onto a computer pillar, then moves around it, into the room
and onto the talk---while all the time we hear what the characters are saying
anyway. The show, technically superior, even by today's standards, did not have
an incompetent camera team. This was purposefully done. One can argue it was
done this way to make it different from STAR TREK but there seems to be more to
it than that.
Anyone doing God's work is bound to have trouble from
temptation and opposition from the devil. Clearly, Alpha was no exception. In
BREAKAWAY, the radiation sickness was not radiation sickness. No one knew what
it was. We never find out. It makes men turn into zombie faced vegetables, at
first, making them fear being enclosed.
In TROUBLED SPIRIT, a demonic burned ghost haunts a
technician botanist until he causes his own death...the ghost was his own from
the future. END OF ETERNITY showed a mass murderer who could not die---and his
disregard for humanity and lack of caring shows the Alphans how unhappy they
would be if they could live forever in their present form and state--as did
DEATH'S OTHER DOMINION where their pride (except for John, who had his
suspicions of Cabot's plan to have an ever ending space journey with an
immortal crew) and the pride of some of the immortals was put in its place when
they learned that if any of the immortals left the planet Ultima Thule---they
would die, turning to gory skeletons. This is similar to LOST HORIZON, the
older version. The most horrifying monster actually ate an entire crew of the
Uranus probe in DRAGON'S DOMAIN, spitting out charred, chewed bodies and
remains, literally obsessing one survivor, who later found himself on Alpha
when the Moon blasted out of orbit. This man was Tony Cellini and this was a
retelling of Moby Dick and St. George and the Dragon. The monster was like a giant
spider but differently built---it did not show up on any instruments, had one
glowing eye to hypnotize prey, and seemed to burn victims once imbibing them. A
demon? The before mentioned Magus of NEW ADAM, NEW EVE, tried to match Helena
up with the second season Tony Verdeschi while teaming Maya up to John for a
mate. While all were friends, John was in love with Helena while Tony was in
love with Maya, the alien Psychon and new science officer on Alpha. Magus just
wanted to use them toward some kind of evil or sin, not caring about love. To
make a new race of humans here. Clearly evil.
The second season, much more straight forward, showed its
villains more clearly as evil. THE EXILES were young, beautiful and seemingly
innocent children who were really 300 years old due to the cryogenic chambers
their people put them in. They were, in reality, cold blooded murderers who
were put into exile in shut up rockets in pairs or in trios. The devils can
sometimes come as angels of light.
Maya, THE METAMORPH, had a father, Mentor, who tried to
restore Psychon by draining the life force of others into his renewing psychic
machine. He wanted to do good but slipped into evil in the process.
MARK OF ARCHANON became a killing sickness which
inexplicable affected the blood of a peaceful, kind race--a race which cannot
give blood. This turned men of peace and calm into horrid killers bent only on
murder.
There are many examples of outright evil in year 2 but the
most devilish is the cloud in LAMBDA FACTOR. Mixed with human mind and
emotions, it caused John to create his own ghosts which haunted him about the
deaths of his two former friends that he had to leave behind on a plagued base;
and he later rebuked these ghosts. Off topic, one must note Landau's acting
here as he gave John a sensitivity, a tearful guilt or command and conscience
not seen in ANY outer space commander before or after with possibly THE NEXT
GENERATION taking this up---20 years later. The cloud also made Caroline
Powell's hate a reality for murder, a tool, for her ESP was pronounced by it.
Truly a first rate villainess, spurned, she made viewers hate her while John
knew any hate toward her, made her powers and link to the cloud, stronger. John
could not hate her. Hate did not good. John told her he nor the others hated
her. After the cloud was "exorcized" from Caroline, she was like a
new born baby who had to learn things all over. Somewhat Biblical, wouldn't you
say?
THE BETA CLOUD shows up, nearly destroys Alpha and then
vanishes. Remaining true to Alpha, God made them survive and showed them they
could survive on---but with Him. Without Him, and totally on their own, they
were lost. Alpha faced total annihilation in AB CHRYSALIS but for some reason,
the aliens decided to show loyalty, compassion, and creation and they saved the
Moon and the Alphans from the power shock waves their own planet and race
needed to survive and evolve. They also saved John's Eagle which was in the
direct path of one of the shock waves. This, despite Alan, in a crazed state, earlier,
almost having accidentally killed one of the aliens. John's speech to the
aliens about hope, loyalty, and compassion taught these advanced aliens
something God wanted them to know.
The second season, much clearer and straight forward also
had its share of mysterious unknown forces---and one episode THE IMMUNITY
SYNDROME was actually written for the first season. Other unexplained things
happened in the second season---AB CHRYSALIS, BETA CLOUD, SEEDS OF DESTRUCTION,
SPACE WARP, A MATTER OF BALANCE, CATACOMBS OF THE MOON (very first season
like), SEANCE SPECTRE, DORZAK, and a few others had a first season feel to
them.
In THE IMMUNITY SYNDROME which was shown last in New York,
Alpha seemed to find a home planet. It was clear they could not stay but maybe
the alien force could have made the Moon remain in orbit. On this world John
had to be veiled just like Moses was when he stood before God. While it is
clear the light being was not God, John had to be veiled in order to see the
light. And Helena says, "We had help from a friend." This was the
powerful and kind alien force---which learned of others' existences for the
first time. Its power accidentally could kill humans if too strongly introduced
to it. John told it that if they learn about others, in time, they could learn
about themselves. Other examples do exist---for instance, Victor in SPACE BRAIN
telling John that, "It's a miracle we're alive, John." He knew that
the Moon passing through a complex organic mass in space--which had other planetary
systems depending on it for survival, should have destroyed Alpha. It didn't.
Also Kano relating that it would be hundreds of years before
they pass into a system with an Earth type planet in A MATTER OF LIFE AND
DEATH, yet we see that this does not take that long. In second season episodes
such as THE TAYBOR and others, more logical explanations are given for such a
trajectory----space warps, black suns, time warps, gravity pulls, and others.
But as SPACE: 1999 is only a TV series and not a science manual can we not
assume that it took poetic license to skip the explanation in Season One?
Perhaps God was controlling the Moon's flight.
All in all, I do not profess to fully understand the show
but these variables are worth thinking about and do exist. Maybe more was being
said than was picked up by the viewers.
In closing, I will leave you with a quote from DRAGON'S
DOMAIN made by Commander John Koenig:
"If we think we know everything that goes on out there
in space then we're making a terrible mistake!"
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