Devil's Planet
Encyclopedia
"Devil's Planet" is the twenty-second episode of the second series of Space: 1999
(and the forty-sixth overall episode of the programme). The screenplay was written by Michael Winder; the director was Tom Clegg
. The original title was 'Devil's Moon'. The final shooting script is dated 9 September 1976. Live-action filming took place Monday 1 November 1976 through Thursday 18 November 1976.
is passing a solar system containing a pair of potentially habitable planets. John Koenig
takes Eagle One on a reconnaissance flight; his co-pilot is Blake Maine, who also serves as a medic
on Moonbase Alpha's search-and-rescue team. On approach, one planet is revealed to be much smaller and orbiting the other like a moon. A sensor sweep of the larger world reveals a breathable atmosphere and vegetation. Through the clouds, Maine spies what could be a city. Koenig's spectro-scan confirms buildings, roads...and coloured dots that may be people. Sensors, though, register no sign of life.
A humanoid life-form is detected outside the city and they set down. The two men follow the life reading, which ceases abruptly. In a neglected, overgrown park, they find a freestanding booth...surrounded by dozens of corpses. Maine scans the bodies, which are free from decay and show no sign of wounds. He consults with Doctor Ed Spencer on Alpha; Spencer calls for a closer examination of a corpse, which reveals that some agent—a neurological pathogen or nerve-gas—has caused the explosion of the optic blood vessels just prior to death.
The investigation is interrupted when a shimmering aura forms around the booth. A man materialises and exits, then drops to his knees in great distress before keeling over dead. Fearing contagion, Spencer orders them to leave the planet. Flying over the city, they see corpses everywhere. Humans must be immune to the agent responsible for this mass death.
Scans of the satellite planet reveal identical atmosphere and botanical life. While making a close pass, the Eagle blunders into a force-field. As the ship plummets out of control, Koenig manages a quick mayday
call to Moonbase before the electronic systems fail. At the last minute, Koenig conjures a short burst from the retro-rockets to level the ship as it ploughs into a wooded area and crashes. The Eagle is totalled, and Koenig drags the semi-conscious Maine outside.
In the forest, they witness a bizarre ritual: a running man pursued by a trio of whip-wielding young women dressed in red catsuits. It is a hunt, with the man trying to reach a sculptural column in a small clearing. The huntresses ensnare their desperate quarry just short of his goal. When Koenig and Maine move to assist him, the medic runs into an invisible energy barrier and is vapourised. As Koenig gapes at his smouldering remains, he is set upon by one of the women and clubbed unconscious with the hilt of her whip.
This small planet, Entra, is a prison for political dissidents sent from the larger world, Ellna. As the huntress-guards carry Koenig to their headquarters, a trial is underway there in a large hall. Crael, a senior prisoner and 'trusty', pleads on behalf of a fellow inmate. The man is accused of organising an insurrection against the ruling authority. The recipient of this plea is a strikingly beautiful woman, the cruel and cunning Elizia, mistress-governor of this penal colony
.
The proceedings are interrupted by the senior guard, Sares, who reports the captured alien has been delivered to the Interrogator. She presents Koenig's stun-gun to her mistress—who passes judgment on the accused by shooting him with it. Merely stunned, he is then sentenced to 'The Hunt'. Crael denounces 'The Hunt' as inhuman, as only one in a hundred survive. Elizia asserts that any prisoner offered the chance to outwit the Hunters and reach the 'Sanctuary Column'—winning instant parole
and a return to the home planet—will accept the challenge.
As Eagle Two lifts off from Alpha on a rescue mission, Elizia goes to observe Koenig's interrogation by her Head of Security. He is unconscious, and the Interrogator obtains information with a mind-probe—including the fact that he knows everyone on Ellna is dead. Having kept this secret from all but the Interrogator, Elizia orders it extracted from his brain...regardless of the damage it may cause.
Elizia rejoins Crael to grant an early parole to a deserving inmate. After the transbeamer conveys the man home (and to his death), Crael takes the opportunity to bring up topics of concern. His fellow convicts are questioning why the Ellnan government stopped sending new prisoners to Entra. They are also unhappy with the recent rules banning live contact with Ellna. She responds with plausible lies, concerned only with preserving the status quo of her personal empire. He cites her cruel policies as human rights
′ violations, for which a guard lashes him for impertinence. The mistress just smirks, stating he is lucky he amuses her.
Returning to the security ward, Elizia is told the alien anatomy of Koenig's brain will prevent the Interrogator from erasing the damnable secret. Fancying him, Elizia asks if his species knows passion; the mind probe visualises an intimate moment between Koenig and Helena. Ignoring her mistress' lust, the no-nonsense Interrogator discusses the growing unrest among the prisoners. She advises telling the truth about the Ellna plague. Elizia refuses, knowing the inmates would become ungovernable. The Interrogator predicts Koenig will tell all. Elizia is confident no one will believe him and, putting this to the test, orders the Alphan man taken to a cell.
Koenig awakens to find himself under the scrutiny of three Entran prisoners. As expected, in trying to glean information on his situation, he reveals the mass death on Ellna. As the convicts try to process this shocking information, the 'weekly news' from Ellna is played over the public-address
system. (Fabricated by Elizia, this broadcast is the only mode of information available to the prisoners.) As an announcer recounts false news of friends and family, the angry prisoners brand Koenig a liar and the Commander soon finds an improvised noose around his neck.
Koenig is saved in the nick of time by the guards. While escorted from the cell, Elizia ogles him like a male sex object. She brazenly invites him to stay with her and experience undreamed-of pleasure—until she tires of him. After Koenig refuses her crass offer, any further repartee is interrupted by the arrival of Eagle Two in orbit. Koenig is imprisoned in a sound-proof force-field as Elizia contacts the ship. She attempts to warn them off, but Astronaut Bill Fraser is determined to rescue his comrades. Lying, Elizia responds that both men were killed in the crash.
A shaken Fraser demands permission to recover their bodies. Ignoring the threat of the Entran defence shield, the astronaut declares they are coming in, shooting if necessary. After scanning the Eagle for weapons, Elizia craftily changes tactics, granting permission to land. She smiles coldly, telling the Interrogator that all they will find is evidence of two deaths...
Crael leads a work-party to the clearing near the crash site. While all evidence of Koenig's footprints are swept away, another inmate, Phirly, dons the Commander's uniform. He is told by Crael to leave a trail, walk up to the deactivated energy fence, and strip. It will appear that Koenig, too, died on contact with the fence—thus avoiding any unpleasantness with his comrades. Trusting Crael, Phirly does as he is told. However, Elizia reactivates the fence early, reducing him to a smoking heap...to give the remains verisimilitude.
Koenig, wearing Entran garb and installed in a private cell, watches from his window (invisible from the outside) as Eagle Two touches down. Elizia and an honour guard greet the Alpha party and they proceed to the crash site. A consummate actress, Elizia radiates sympathy as she relates her version of the tragedy—the two men, having survived the crash, blundered into a boundary fence before help could arrive. Fraser and Alibe are shown the staged footprints and two piles of charred clothing. The grieving Alphans then depart. Koenig watches their ship ascend, then looks down to see Elizia gazing up at him with a triumphant smile.
The Commander is brought to the reception hall where an enticingly-gowned Elizia awaits. A hunter at heart, she finds the thrill of seduction in the chase as well as the conquest and plays cat-and-mouse games with him. In the face of his defiance, she reminds him that, though alive, his people believe him dead. Remaining alive depends on his 'entertainment quotient'...until he irritates or bores her. Koenig seems to capitulate, taking her in his arms and kissing her—then sends her tumbling into her personal guards before escaping outside into the woods.
Giving him a head-start, Elizia gathers an elite posse. Being an alien who has shown contempt for their culture and authority, she vows he must die slowly when captured. While the guards track him, Koenig comes across the wreckage of Eagle One. His attempt to contact Moonbase is heard by the huntresses. Elizia smirks; while no transmission can penetrate the defence shield, it has pinpointed his location. Koenig sees the women closing in and deploys the ship's laser—which has been sabotaged.
As Elizia and company board the ship, he salvages a homing transmitter and a fire extinguisher
before jumping down the command-module escape chute. Three guards soon overtake the fugitive, but Koenig incapacitates them with bursts from the fire extinguisher and right-crosses to the chin. As he activates the transmitter, Sares grabs him, boasting their shield is blocking his signal. Breaking her grip, he flips her over his shoulder. With this new information, he changes tactics and begins walking toward the prison tower. Believing he has surrendered, Elizia orders the guards to stand down.
Koenig enters the hall and, before anyone can prevent him, darts into the transbeam booth. Elizia raises a weapon, threatening to disintegrate him. Koenig cagily reminds everyone that if she shoots, she destroys the transbeamer—their only method of returning home. The guards are distressed at this notion, and the Interrogator reminds Elizia that, with no hope of parole, the prisoners will revolt. Crael addresses Koenig regarding his claim of a plague-ravaged Ellna. Koenig tells them not only is it true, but Elizia knows and has been lying to them all. A verbal battle of wits ensues, with Koenig and Elizia each challenging the other's veracity. Koenig issues her a final challenge—follow and bring him back alive—before energising the transbeamer.
On Ellna, he activates the homing device. As hoped, the signal is no longer blocked by Entra's defence field and is received by Eagle Two. On Entra, Elizia's reign of terror ends. The Interrogator will no longer suppport her lies and the guards' loyalty is broken. She transports herself to Ellna, emboldened by the fact that she will at least kill Koenig before dying. But death comes swifter than expected; she collapses after only two shots at her nemesis. The Eagle arrives, and Koenig grimly walks away from the body of his ruthless adversary...
and draws primarily from the scores of 'The Metamorph
' and 'The Exiles
'.
published in 1977. Few changes were made to this narrative when the author chose to blend this story with 'The Séance Spectre
'. Koenig and Maine were scouting ahead of the Moon after its emergence from a space warp. As the ship went down, they observed 'Sandor' and his mutineers overruning Command Centre. Elizia was portrayed as more psychotically sadistic, wanting to fashion Koenig's skin into a whip after he rejects her.
In the reworked omnibus Space: 1999—Year Two, the absence of Helena, Maya, Verdeschi and Carter is rationalised by placing them out of communications range on the Eagle fleet housing the Alphans while repair crews tend to the damage done to Alpha by the waste-pit detonation in 'The Séance Spectre'.
Space: 1999
Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
(and the forty-sixth overall episode of the programme). The screenplay was written by Michael Winder; the director was Tom Clegg
Tom Clegg (director)
Tom Clegg is a British television and film director. He was born in Lancashire in 1934.-Selected filmography:Television* Special Branch * The Sweeney * A Captain's Tale * Sharpe ...
. The original title was 'Devil's Moon'. The final shooting script is dated 9 September 1976. Live-action filming took place Monday 1 November 1976 through Thursday 18 November 1976.
Story
It is 2306 days after leaving Earth orbit, and the MoonMoon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
is passing a solar system containing a pair of potentially habitable planets. John Koenig
John Koenig
John Koenig is a fictional character from the television series Space: 1999. He was played by Martin Landau. He is American, apparently in his early forties.-Character Biography:...
takes Eagle One on a reconnaissance flight; his co-pilot is Blake Maine, who also serves as a medic
Medic
Medic is a general term for a person involved in medicine, especially emergency or first-response medicine, such as an emergency medical technician, paramedic, or a military member trained in battlefield medicine. Also the term is used toward a Nurse in pre-hospital care and/or emergency...
on Moonbase Alpha's search-and-rescue team. On approach, one planet is revealed to be much smaller and orbiting the other like a moon. A sensor sweep of the larger world reveals a breathable atmosphere and vegetation. Through the clouds, Maine spies what could be a city. Koenig's spectro-scan confirms buildings, roads...and coloured dots that may be people. Sensors, though, register no sign of life.
A humanoid life-form is detected outside the city and they set down. The two men follow the life reading, which ceases abruptly. In a neglected, overgrown park, they find a freestanding booth...surrounded by dozens of corpses. Maine scans the bodies, which are free from decay and show no sign of wounds. He consults with Doctor Ed Spencer on Alpha; Spencer calls for a closer examination of a corpse, which reveals that some agent—a neurological pathogen or nerve-gas—has caused the explosion of the optic blood vessels just prior to death.
The investigation is interrupted when a shimmering aura forms around the booth. A man materialises and exits, then drops to his knees in great distress before keeling over dead. Fearing contagion, Spencer orders them to leave the planet. Flying over the city, they see corpses everywhere. Humans must be immune to the agent responsible for this mass death.
Scans of the satellite planet reveal identical atmosphere and botanical life. While making a close pass, the Eagle blunders into a force-field. As the ship plummets out of control, Koenig manages a quick mayday
Mayday (distress signal)
Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications. It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning "come help me"....
call to Moonbase before the electronic systems fail. At the last minute, Koenig conjures a short burst from the retro-rockets to level the ship as it ploughs into a wooded area and crashes. The Eagle is totalled, and Koenig drags the semi-conscious Maine outside.
In the forest, they witness a bizarre ritual: a running man pursued by a trio of whip-wielding young women dressed in red catsuits. It is a hunt, with the man trying to reach a sculptural column in a small clearing. The huntresses ensnare their desperate quarry just short of his goal. When Koenig and Maine move to assist him, the medic runs into an invisible energy barrier and is vapourised. As Koenig gapes at his smouldering remains, he is set upon by one of the women and clubbed unconscious with the hilt of her whip.
This small planet, Entra, is a prison for political dissidents sent from the larger world, Ellna. As the huntress-guards carry Koenig to their headquarters, a trial is underway there in a large hall. Crael, a senior prisoner and 'trusty', pleads on behalf of a fellow inmate. The man is accused of organising an insurrection against the ruling authority. The recipient of this plea is a strikingly beautiful woman, the cruel and cunning Elizia, mistress-governor of this penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
.
The proceedings are interrupted by the senior guard, Sares, who reports the captured alien has been delivered to the Interrogator. She presents Koenig's stun-gun to her mistress—who passes judgment on the accused by shooting him with it. Merely stunned, he is then sentenced to 'The Hunt'. Crael denounces 'The Hunt' as inhuman, as only one in a hundred survive. Elizia asserts that any prisoner offered the chance to outwit the Hunters and reach the 'Sanctuary Column'—winning instant parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
and a return to the home planet—will accept the challenge.
As Eagle Two lifts off from Alpha on a rescue mission, Elizia goes to observe Koenig's interrogation by her Head of Security. He is unconscious, and the Interrogator obtains information with a mind-probe—including the fact that he knows everyone on Ellna is dead. Having kept this secret from all but the Interrogator, Elizia orders it extracted from his brain...regardless of the damage it may cause.
Elizia rejoins Crael to grant an early parole to a deserving inmate. After the transbeamer conveys the man home (and to his death), Crael takes the opportunity to bring up topics of concern. His fellow convicts are questioning why the Ellnan government stopped sending new prisoners to Entra. They are also unhappy with the recent rules banning live contact with Ellna. She responds with plausible lies, concerned only with preserving the status quo of her personal empire. He cites her cruel policies as human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
′ violations, for which a guard lashes him for impertinence. The mistress just smirks, stating he is lucky he amuses her.
Returning to the security ward, Elizia is told the alien anatomy of Koenig's brain will prevent the Interrogator from erasing the damnable secret. Fancying him, Elizia asks if his species knows passion; the mind probe visualises an intimate moment between Koenig and Helena. Ignoring her mistress' lust, the no-nonsense Interrogator discusses the growing unrest among the prisoners. She advises telling the truth about the Ellna plague. Elizia refuses, knowing the inmates would become ungovernable. The Interrogator predicts Koenig will tell all. Elizia is confident no one will believe him and, putting this to the test, orders the Alphan man taken to a cell.
Koenig awakens to find himself under the scrutiny of three Entran prisoners. As expected, in trying to glean information on his situation, he reveals the mass death on Ellna. As the convicts try to process this shocking information, the 'weekly news' from Ellna is played over the public-address
Public address
A public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
system. (Fabricated by Elizia, this broadcast is the only mode of information available to the prisoners.) As an announcer recounts false news of friends and family, the angry prisoners brand Koenig a liar and the Commander soon finds an improvised noose around his neck.
Koenig is saved in the nick of time by the guards. While escorted from the cell, Elizia ogles him like a male sex object. She brazenly invites him to stay with her and experience undreamed-of pleasure—until she tires of him. After Koenig refuses her crass offer, any further repartee is interrupted by the arrival of Eagle Two in orbit. Koenig is imprisoned in a sound-proof force-field as Elizia contacts the ship. She attempts to warn them off, but Astronaut Bill Fraser is determined to rescue his comrades. Lying, Elizia responds that both men were killed in the crash.
A shaken Fraser demands permission to recover their bodies. Ignoring the threat of the Entran defence shield, the astronaut declares they are coming in, shooting if necessary. After scanning the Eagle for weapons, Elizia craftily changes tactics, granting permission to land. She smiles coldly, telling the Interrogator that all they will find is evidence of two deaths...
Crael leads a work-party to the clearing near the crash site. While all evidence of Koenig's footprints are swept away, another inmate, Phirly, dons the Commander's uniform. He is told by Crael to leave a trail, walk up to the deactivated energy fence, and strip. It will appear that Koenig, too, died on contact with the fence—thus avoiding any unpleasantness with his comrades. Trusting Crael, Phirly does as he is told. However, Elizia reactivates the fence early, reducing him to a smoking heap...to give the remains verisimilitude.
Koenig, wearing Entran garb and installed in a private cell, watches from his window (invisible from the outside) as Eagle Two touches down. Elizia and an honour guard greet the Alpha party and they proceed to the crash site. A consummate actress, Elizia radiates sympathy as she relates her version of the tragedy—the two men, having survived the crash, blundered into a boundary fence before help could arrive. Fraser and Alibe are shown the staged footprints and two piles of charred clothing. The grieving Alphans then depart. Koenig watches their ship ascend, then looks down to see Elizia gazing up at him with a triumphant smile.
The Commander is brought to the reception hall where an enticingly-gowned Elizia awaits. A hunter at heart, she finds the thrill of seduction in the chase as well as the conquest and plays cat-and-mouse games with him. In the face of his defiance, she reminds him that, though alive, his people believe him dead. Remaining alive depends on his 'entertainment quotient'...until he irritates or bores her. Koenig seems to capitulate, taking her in his arms and kissing her—then sends her tumbling into her personal guards before escaping outside into the woods.
Giving him a head-start, Elizia gathers an elite posse. Being an alien who has shown contempt for their culture and authority, she vows he must die slowly when captured. While the guards track him, Koenig comes across the wreckage of Eagle One. His attempt to contact Moonbase is heard by the huntresses. Elizia smirks; while no transmission can penetrate the defence shield, it has pinpointed his location. Koenig sees the women closing in and deploys the ship's laser—which has been sabotaged.
As Elizia and company board the ship, he salvages a homing transmitter and a fire extinguisher
Fire extinguisher
A fire extinguisher or extinguisher, flame entinguisher is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations...
before jumping down the command-module escape chute. Three guards soon overtake the fugitive, but Koenig incapacitates them with bursts from the fire extinguisher and right-crosses to the chin. As he activates the transmitter, Sares grabs him, boasting their shield is blocking his signal. Breaking her grip, he flips her over his shoulder. With this new information, he changes tactics and begins walking toward the prison tower. Believing he has surrendered, Elizia orders the guards to stand down.
Koenig enters the hall and, before anyone can prevent him, darts into the transbeam booth. Elizia raises a weapon, threatening to disintegrate him. Koenig cagily reminds everyone that if she shoots, she destroys the transbeamer—their only method of returning home. The guards are distressed at this notion, and the Interrogator reminds Elizia that, with no hope of parole, the prisoners will revolt. Crael addresses Koenig regarding his claim of a plague-ravaged Ellna. Koenig tells them not only is it true, but Elizia knows and has been lying to them all. A verbal battle of wits ensues, with Koenig and Elizia each challenging the other's veracity. Koenig issues her a final challenge—follow and bring him back alive—before energising the transbeamer.
On Ellna, he activates the homing device. As hoped, the signal is no longer blocked by Entra's defence field and is received by Eagle Two. On Entra, Elizia's reign of terror ends. The Interrogator will no longer suppport her lies and the guards' loyalty is broken. She transports herself to Ellna, emboldened by the fact that she will at least kill Koenig before dying. But death comes swifter than expected; she collapses after only two shots at her nemesis. The Eagle arrives, and Koenig grimly walks away from the body of his ruthless adversary...
Starring
- Martin LandauMartin LandauMartin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
— Commander John KoenigJohn KoenigJohn Koenig is a fictional character from the television series Space: 1999. He was played by Martin Landau. He is American, apparently in his early forties.-Character Biography:... - Barbara BainBarbara BainMillicent Fogel , known professionally as Barbara Bain, is an American actress.-Early life:Bain was born in Chicago. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in sociology. She moved to New York City, where she was a dancer and high fashion model. Bain studied with...
— Doctor Helena RussellHelena RussellHelena Russell is a fictional character from the television series Space: 1999. She was played by Barbara Bain. She is American and apparently in her mid-thirties....
Also featuring
- Dora Reisser — The Interogator
- Cassandra HarrisCassandra HarrisCassandra Harris was an Australian actress.Born Sandra Colleen Waites in Sydney, Australia, Cassandra Harris was a student at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. She enrolled in 1961, aged 12, under the name Sandra Gleeson. She went on to perform in the successful Sydney stage production of...
— Controller Sares - Angus MacInnesAngus MacInnesAngus MacInnes is a Canadian actor. He is most famous for his role as Gold Leader in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and as former hockey great Jean "Rosey" LaRose in the comedy Strange Brew...
— Jelto - Arthur WhiteArthur White (actor)Arthur White is an English actor of stage and screen, best known for his occasional role as police archivist Ernie Trigg in the crime drama A Touch of Frost, alongside his real life younger brother Sir David Jason. His parents were Arthur R White and Olwen Jones...
— Kinano - Michael Dickinson — Blake Maine
- John Hug — Astronaut Bill Fraser
- Alibe ParsonsAlibe ParsonsAlibe Parsons is an actress who has worked extensively in both film and television.On television, she is best known for her regular role in the 1970s BBC drama Gangsters as Sarah Gant...
— Alibe - Sam DastorSam DastorSam Dastor is an actor best known for his appearances in British television series.He is perhaps best remembered for playing Cassius Chaerea in the 1976 BBC adaptation of I, Claudius...
— Doctor Ed Spencer
Uncredited artists
- Geoffrey Greenhill — Phirly
- Alan Harris — Accused Prisoner
- Peter Brayham — Garth
- Robert Reeves — Peter
Music
The score was re-edited from previous Space: 1999 incidental music tracks composed for the second series by Derek WadsworthDerek Wadsworth
Derek Wadsworth was a British jazz trombonist, session musician, composer and arranger....
and draws primarily from the scores of 'The Metamorph
The Metamorph
"The Metamorph" is the first episode of the second series of Space: 1999 . The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne; the director was Charles Crichton. Previous titles were 'The Biological Soul' and 'The Biological Computer'. The final shooting script is dated 19 January 1976...
' and 'The Exiles
The Exiles
"The Exiles" is a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury. It was originally published as "The Mad Wizards of Mars" in Maclean's on 15 September 1949 and was reprinted the following year by Fantasy Fiction, Inc...
'.
Production notes
- With a plot derived from The Most Dangerous GameThe Most Dangerous Game"The Most Dangerous Game", also published as "The Hounds of Zaroff", is a short story by Richard Connell. It was published in Collier's Weekly on January 19, 1924....
, set in an alien prison reminiscent of Devil's IslandDevil's IslandDevil's Island is the smallest and northernmost island of the three Îles du Salut located about 6 nautical miles off the coast of French Guiana . It has an area of 14 ha . It was a small part of the notorious French penal colony in French Guiana until 1952...
, and showcasing a bevy of catsuited, whip-wielding dominatrices, 'Devil's Planet' is the last of the 'Koenig Double-Up' scripts. The episode is unique in that it was intentionally crafted to feature Martin LandauMartin LandauMartin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
alone. Barbara BainBarbara BainMillicent Fogel , known professionally as Barbara Bain, is an American actress.-Early life:Bain was born in Chicago. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in sociology. She moved to New York City, where she was a dancer and high fashion model. Bain studied with...
, Catherine SchellCatherine SchellKatherina Freiin Schell von Bauschlott is an Hungarian-born actress best known for her work on British televison.Schell rose to fame in various British film and television productions in the 1960s and 1970s...
and Tony AnholtTony AnholtAnthony "Tony" Anholt was a British actor best known for his roles as Security Chief Tony Verdeschi in the second season of Gerry Anderson's television series Space: 1999 , Paul Buchet in The Protectors and as Charles Frere in the highly-successful BBC drama series Howards' Way .Anholt was...
, though receiving on-screen credit, would appear only in library footage seen during Koenig's mind-probe; Bain would also be heard narrating Helena's customary status report in the hook. (Bain, Schell, Anholt and Nick TateNick TateNicholas John "Nick" Tate is an Australian actor best known for his role as Eagle pilot Alan Carter in both seasons of the 1970s science fiction television series Space: 1999, as well as for playing the role of Gordon Hamilton's errant brother James in the 1980's soap opera "Sons and...
were off filming the opposing double-up installment 'Dorzak'.) This decision made for an odd episode, as the viewer would expect to see the reactions of the regular characters to the news of Koenig's demise.
- Entitled 'Devil's Moon' until post-production, the story would undergo other adjustments: (1) The Alphans were to have received a distress signal from Ellna; this was the reason Koenig was flying with a member of the medical rescue team; (2) Significant dialogue between Elizia and Crael was cut. It was inferred that Crael had served his sentence, but remained out of a sense of duty to act as defence counsel for the inmates. It was also suggested that he was aware of the true situation on Ellna; (3) A sequence in the security ward was removed where, faced with Fraser's threat of attack, the Entrans view Koenig's knowledge of Earth warfare. Library footage would have depicted the history of war from marching Roman legions to the HiroshimaHiroshimais the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
atomic bomb
- The supporting cast was to include Bill Fraser, Doctor Ben Vincent and Sandra BenesSandra BenesSandra Benes is a recurring character in the British science-fiction television series Space: 1999. She is of Western European/Burmese origin and is in her late twenties. Her role was played by actress Zienia Merton.-Character Biography:...
. While John Hug would appear as Fraser, Jeffery Kissoon was no longer available and his role was given to newcomer Sam DastorSam DastorSam Dastor is an actor best known for his appearances in British television series.He is perhaps best remembered for playing Cassius Chaerea in the 1976 BBC adaptation of I, Claudius...
, playing Doctor Ed Spencer. Sahn was also replaced, as Zienia MertonZienia MertonZienia Merton is a British actress born in Burma. Her mother was Burmese, and her father half English, half French. She was raised in Singapore, Borneo, Portugal, and England....
was committed to a lead part in the Norwegian film Kosmetikkrevolusjonen. She had intended staying long enough to film this episode, excited that her character would leave the confines of Moonbase. However, delays in the Space: 1999 shooting schedule further pushed back the starting date and Merton was forced to depart for NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The role would be given to American actress Alibe ParsonsAlibe ParsonsAlibe Parsons is an actress who has worked extensively in both film and television.On television, she is best known for her regular role in the 1970s BBC drama Gangsters as Sarah Gant...
. Parsons, playing Alibe, a communications officer, would be given all the Sahn material through the end of the series.
Novelisation
The episode was adapted in the fifth Year Two Space: 1999 novel The Time Fighters by Michael ButterworthMichael Butterworth
Michael Butterworth is a British author and publisher who has written many novels and short stories, particularly in the genre of science fiction...
published in 1977. Few changes were made to this narrative when the author chose to blend this story with 'The Séance Spectre
The Seance Spectre
"The Seance Spectre" is the twentieth episode of the second series of Space: 1999 . The screenplay was written by Donald James; the director was Peter Medak. The original title was 'The Mutiny'. The final shooting script is dated 16 September 1976...
'. Koenig and Maine were scouting ahead of the Moon after its emergence from a space warp. As the ship went down, they observed 'Sandor' and his mutineers overruning Command Centre. Elizia was portrayed as more psychotically sadistic, wanting to fashion Koenig's skin into a whip after he rejects her.
In the reworked omnibus Space: 1999—Year Two, the absence of Helena, Maya, Verdeschi and Carter is rationalised by placing them out of communications range on the Eagle fleet housing the Alphans while repair crews tend to the damage done to Alpha by the waste-pit detonation in 'The Séance Spectre'.
External links
- Space: 1999 - 'Devil's Planet' - The Catacombs episode guide
- Space: 1999 - 'Devil's Planet' - Moonbase Alpha's Space: 1999 page
| Last produced: "Dorzak" |
List of Space: 1999 episodes | Next produced: "The Immunity Syndrome" |
| Last transmitted: "Dorzak" |
Next transmitted: "The Immunity Syndrome" |