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Space 1999 - Black Sun
episode 1.10
Mondbasis Alpha 1 - Die Schwarze Sonne
UK / Italy 1975
produced by Sylvia Anderson, Gerry Anderson (executive) for Group 3/ITC, RAI
directed by Lee H.Katzin
starring Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Barry Morse, Prentis Hancock, Nick Tate, Zienia Merton, Paul Jones, Victor Wong, Clifton Jones, Anton Phillips, Suzanne Roquette
screenplay by David Weir, created by Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson, music by Barry Gray
TV-series Space 1999
review by Mike Haberfelner
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The runaway moon of the earth - & moonbase Alpha with it - is sucked
into a black sun (which is pretty much the same as a black hole), that is
powerful enough to absorb even radio signaly & light itself. So the
moonbase's scientist Victor (Barry Morse) makes up the stupid plan of using the
gravitational field of the moonbase against the gravitation of the black sun
... a plan so stupid not even he himself thinks it's going to work. Commander
Koenig (Martin Landau) himself though keeps a cool head & mans a szurvival
ship with 6 crewmembers most suitable to ensure survival of the human kind (?),
among them the usual suspects (though not himself): Alpha's physician Helen
Russell (Barbara Bain), data analyst Sandra (Sienia Merton) & crack pilot
Alan (Nick Tate). The others head for the black sun in contemplation of their
deaths & bid farewell to each other ... but once in the black sun, Koenig
& Victor seem to meet something that could be the personified universe (or
whatever else), they have a little chat, then whatever-it-is decides to spit
them out on the other end of the universe ... & wouldn't you know it, the
survival ship - inexplicably - finds itself on the other side of the universe,
too. Was it God ? I have to admit, I'm a bit of a sucker for Space
1999, with its mostly far-fetched plots & its great 1970's outfits, its
great miniatures paired with cheapish effects, & the pseudo-philosophical
message of this episode - paired with some incredibly cheesy sets - provides
some fun too ... but overall the episode is talky to the point of being
annoying, & endlessly shows people preparing themselves for death but in
fact doing pretty little (e.g. a guy plays a few accords on his guitar, a girl
comes in & asks "may I join ?", end of sequence), & the
solution (divine intervention) leaves a lot to be desired indeed ( from a
narrative standpoint, you might still laugh your head off !!!).
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