Matter of Life and Death (Space: 1999)
Encyclopedia
"Matter of Life and Death" is the second episode of the first series of Space: 1999
. The screenplay was written by Art Wallace
and Johnny Byrne; the director was Charles Crichton
. The original title was 'Siren Planet'. The final shooting script is dated 8 January 1974. Live-action filming took place Monday, 14 January 1974 through Wednesday, 30 January 1974.
enters a new solar system on a path that will carry it close to a habitable planet. With the hope this could be the end of their captive journney, the Moonbase Alpha
staff assigns the planet the code-name 'Terra Nova
'—New Earth. As per the first phase of the Operation Exodus colonisation protocol, Eagle One is sent on a low-altitude reconnaissance. While the staff awaits its return, preliminary data from the on-board computer is processed and confirms the planet has unlimited resources to sustain human life. Astronauts Parks and Bannion check in, marveling over the planet's similarity to Earth; with no sign of intelligent life, it seems to be waiting just for them.
Contact is broken when the ship is struck by an energy bolt snaking up from the planet surface. Before visual contact is lost, both men react as though being electrocuted
. For a brief moment there is no communication from the ship, then flight status and medical telemetry transmissions resume—but no word from the pilots. The Eagle proceeds under automatic pilot and John Koenig
orders preparations for an emergency touchdown. As the ship comes in for a landing, there is still no contact.
The Commander signals a red alert and goes to meet the ship with the medical team. The two pilots are found alive, but unconscious. A search of the ship turns up a third person in the passenger module. Helena Russell
examines this unexpected casualty. After turning his head to look into his face, the doctor freezes, announcing in a shocked whisper that this is her husband—who died five years ago.
Lee Russell was medical officer on the Astro 7 mission. In 1994, the ill-fated exploratory vessel arrived at Jupiter
and became trapped in orbit. When contact was lost, the ship was believed to have been burned up by that planet's intense radiation. In spite of the uncountable billions of miles they have travelled from their solar system
, Helena is certain this man is her husband. Adding to the mystery, the electronic monitors in the care unit do not register his vital signs.
While Helena maintains a vigil at her husband's bedside, a command conference is convened. While the executive staff cannot explain the mysterious stowaway, the overriding topic of discussion is Terra Nova and the next phase of Operation Exodus: a manned survey of the surface. Koenig insists on caution, delaying the launch of the Phase Two probe by ten hours. Ignoring a barrage of protests, Koenig is resolute; he wants answers to the engima of Russell before jeopardising any more lives.
Koenig later meets with Victor Bergman
, who is at a loss as to why their instruments cannot record Russell's life signs. The professor can only speculate that it is a side effect of his body having adapted to exist in an alien environment. As for Koenig's other questions—such as how Russell boarded a ship in flight, and who or what affected the crew—only Russell himself has the answers. The Commander orders him brought out of his unconscious state with metrazine, a powerful stimulant. Helena protests, but relents when he reminds her they will be in range of Terra Nova for only three more days. The fate of the three hundred men and women on Alpha rests on the information Russell can provide.
The injection is administered and Russell awakens. He is barely coherent and will not speak with anyone but his wife. When left alone with Helena, he is suddenly lucid. She tells him of their predicament and how they came to be trapped on the runaway Moon. When she expreses her hope of settling on his planet, he becomes greatly disturbed. He takes her by the shoulders—and she is thrust across the room by the electric shock he dispenses. Both are rendered unconscious by this act. Later, Koenig visits the recovering Helena in her quarters, but there is little for her to tell; she has no memory of why she passed out or what Russell revealed when he spoke.
Bergman presents him with another anomaly. Three thermographic x-rays
of Lee Russell are displayed in the professor's quarters-cum-laboratory. The first and third films show the normal temperature profile of a living man. These were taken when Helena was present. The second, taken in her absence, recorded no appreciable body heat—despite his having appeared to be alive and well at the time. When viewed as a whole, the series does not represent the metabolism of a normal man. Koenig is stumped; human physiology could never adapt this radically in just five years. Bermgan reminds him they are travelling through an incomprehensible universe; Earth-based logic and laws of nature no longer apply.
They conclude that Russell is somehow linked with Helena and the life-force sustaining his body is being drawn from her. The viewer is given a demonstration of this unnatural fact as, for a brief time, any motion made by Russell—sitting up in bed, touching his face, flexing his fingers—is duplicated by Helena in her quarters. Russell then gets out of bed, crosses to a mirror and is transfixed by his reflection. He demands to see Helena, but Bob Mathias
tries to steer him back to bed. Raging, Russell swats the doctor across the room and Security is summoned to restrain him. Only Helena's arrival calms him down.
Russell is taken to Koenig's office for interrogation. He claims to know neither how he arrived on the planet nor how long he has lived there. While he seems to have difficulty vocalising his thoughts, he can tell them they are in danger. The planet is inhabited, but not in a manner they would understand or recognise. If they land there, they will face power beyond understanding—their ‘opposite’—which will annihilate them. When he realises they will go despite his warning, he sits, whispers Helena's name (a farewell or a severance of their link?) and quietly dies. Later, Koenig pays his respects to Helena, who tells him these events have left her numb. She has come to the painful realisation that Lee Russell never really returned.
With time running out, Koenig is now impatient to launch the Phase Two survey. He rejects Bergman's advice to wait for the results of Russell's autopsy. He does agree to allow the professor one hour to run tests on skin samples taken from the dead man. Preparations for the survey Eagle are nearly completed when Bergman gives his report. While 'alive', Russell's skin cells appeared normal; after death, the particle analyser shows their atomic struture is changing, reversing polarity. This is the first step toward a conversion to antimatter
—when complete, the opposing forms of matter will meet in mutual annihilation.
Koenig scoffs at this speculative evidence and orders Eagle Two launched immediately. He, Helena, Alan Carter
, Paul Morrow
and Sandra Benes
will comprise the crew. He orders Bergman to remain on Alpha and, if things go wrong, to assume command. As they board, Mathias begins the autopsy. When making contact with Russell, an electrical discharge throws the doctor across the pathology unit. When rising from the floor, he sees the cadaver has vanished. Bergman calls Koenig with this news and, with the threat of encountering antimatter, implores him to abort the mission. Koenig refuses and lifts off.
They touch down on Terra Nova. When readings confirm an Earth-type environment, the survey party steps out onto the lush, fertile landscape. They separate into teams of two, with Carter remaining to guard the ship. Koenig and Helena set off into the woods and soon come across a pond surrounded by fruit trees. After remote analysis shows both water and produce to be safe for human consumption, they decide to sample the native fare. Bergman and the Main Mission staff are delighted by the visuals the pair transmits of their impromptu picnic.
A short while later, Bergman calls with alarming news: all the Moonbase atmosphere seals are inexplicably melting. The problem even extends to their Eagle. Knowing he pushed their luck too far, Koenig cancels the expedition. Carter calls in his own sit-rep that the Eagle's insulation panels are emitting heavy smoke. He tries to abandon ship, but the failure of the auto-systems has jammed the doors. Hurrying back, Koenig and Helena encounter Morrow and Sandra. As Morrow runs, a sample case he carries knocks against his holstered stun-gun—which explodes. Morrow is killed and Sandra left blind. Helena tends to the hysterical girl as Koenig watches the Eagle explode.
Bergman call to convey the rapidly deteriorating conditions on Alpha. After his signal cuts out, Koenig's attention is directed skyward by a terrified Helena. As they watch, the Moon is blown apart by a tremendous explosion. Koenig leads the women in search of shelter, but they are overwhelmed by the blast wave
from the exploding Moon as it rolls across the planet surface. Hurricane-force winds rip through the forest and Sandra is lost in the confusion. Unable to find her, Koenig and Helena find marginal shelter in a shallow depression under a steep slope. Looking up, he sees a rockslide
bearing down on them. Koenig is pummled by heavy debris as he protects Helena with his body.
After the wind dies, Helena emerges to find Koenig dying. Before she can do anything, he is gone. She looks over the devastation that was once an idyllic woodland and breaks down, sobbing. She is brought up short by a hand touching her shoulder, more so when she sees it belongs to Lee Russell. He had hoped she would heed his warning, he says, but he was unable to fully transition back to her world to articulate the danger. What he is now was once her husband, but the Astro 7 crew was transformed by an unknown form of radiation. He ended up on this planet, the opposite of his former self—antimatter, by her definition.
He tells her she must leave immediately; if she remains, the destruction will continue and get much worse. She begs him for help and he embraces her, telling her to see what she wants to see. Sharing in his power, time rolls back and the world around her reverts to its former splendour. Koenig and the others are alive, the Eagle is waiting, and Alpha and the Moon are intact. She tells Koenig they cannot stay, and the Commander cancels Operation Exodus.
The survey party returns to Alpha. Koenig is stopped by David Kano
, who informs him that the feasibility programmes being run on Computer indicate the Moon's present trajectory should carry them past some ten million planets. Statistically, 3,600 of those planets should be habitable—but it will take over 2,500 years to see them all. His spirits raised by Kano's enthusiasm, he joins Helena on the observation balcony as she watches Terra Nova receding into the distance. As the Moon speeds off into space, she bids her husband a final, silent farewell...
. The electric guitar solo track played while Lee Russell goes berserk was conceived and performed by Sylvia Anderson
's son-in-law, musician Vic Elms. A music track from the Gerry Anderson
film Thunderbirds Are Go
also composed by Gray was utilised. With production delays plaguing 'Breakaway
', the music for this segment was the first to be composed and recorded.
', Meta and Terra Nova are made the same planet. This adds another mystery to the story, as how could a rogue planet far beyond the warmth of the sun maintain a shirt-sleeve environment; (2) Lee Russell is a representative of the alien race, masquerading as Helena's dead husband to gain her trust; (3) The deaths of Koenig and company, the destruction of Terra Nova and the Moon, and Lee Russell's miraculous act of restoration are explained away as a bad 'trip'; the fruit Helena sampled is discovered to contain hallucinogenic compounds and is presented as a more logical explanation for the events concluding the story.
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...
. The screenplay was written by Art Wallace
Art Wallace
Art Wallace was an American television writer best known for his work on the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. He began work in television in the 1940s, on the anthology series Studio One and Kraft Television Theater. Over the years, Wallace wrote for Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, Combat!, Star Trek, and...
and Johnny Byrne; the director was Charles Crichton
Charles Crichton
Charles Crichton was an English film director and film editor. He became best known for directing comedies produced at Ealing Studios...
. The original title was 'Siren Planet'. The final shooting script is dated 8 January 1974. Live-action filming took place Monday, 14 January 1974 through Wednesday, 30 January 1974.
Story
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...
enters a new solar system on a path that will carry it close to a habitable planet. With the hope this could be the end of their captive journney, the Moonbase Alpha
Moonbase Alpha
Moonbase Alpha is a fictional moon base and the main setting in the science fiction television series Space: 1999.-Moonbase Alpha:Located in the Moon crater Plato and constructed out of quarried rock and ores, Moonbase Alpha is four kilometres in diameter and extends up to one kilometre in areas...
staff assigns the planet the code-name 'Terra Nova
Terra Nova
Terra Nova means "new land" or "new earth" in Latin, Galician and Portuguese. Common uses include:* Newfoundland , the island portion of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada was originally called Terra Nova...
'—New Earth. As per the first phase of the Operation Exodus colonisation protocol, Eagle One is sent on a low-altitude reconnaissance. While the staff awaits its return, preliminary data from the on-board computer is processed and confirms the planet has unlimited resources to sustain human life. Astronauts Parks and Bannion check in, marveling over the planet's similarity to Earth; with no sign of intelligent life, it seems to be waiting just for them.
Contact is broken when the ship is struck by an energy bolt snaking up from the planet surface. Before visual contact is lost, both men react as though being electrocuted
Electrocution
Electrocution is a type of electric shock that, as determined by a stopped heart, can end life. Electrocution is frequently used to refer to any electric shock received but is technically incorrect; the choice of definition varies from dictionary to dictionary...
. For a brief moment there is no communication from the ship, then flight status and medical telemetry transmissions resume—but no word from the pilots. The Eagle proceeds under automatic pilot and 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:...
orders preparations for an emergency touchdown. As the ship comes in for a landing, there is still no contact.
The Commander signals a red alert and goes to meet the ship with the medical team. The two pilots are found alive, but unconscious. A search of the ship turns up a third person in the passenger module. Helena Russell
Helena Russell
Helena 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....
examines this unexpected casualty. After turning his head to look into his face, the doctor freezes, announcing in a shocked whisper that this is her husband—who died five years ago.
Lee Russell was medical officer on the Astro 7 mission. In 1994, the ill-fated exploratory vessel arrived at Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
and became trapped in orbit. When contact was lost, the ship was believed to have been burned up by that planet's intense radiation. In spite of the uncountable billions of miles they have travelled from their solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
, Helena is certain this man is her husband. Adding to the mystery, the electronic monitors in the care unit do not register his vital signs.
While Helena maintains a vigil at her husband's bedside, a command conference is convened. While the executive staff cannot explain the mysterious stowaway, the overriding topic of discussion is Terra Nova and the next phase of Operation Exodus: a manned survey of the surface. Koenig insists on caution, delaying the launch of the Phase Two probe by ten hours. Ignoring a barrage of protests, Koenig is resolute; he wants answers to the engima of Russell before jeopardising any more lives.
Koenig later meets with Victor Bergman
Victor Bergman
Professor Victor Bergman is the name of a recurring character on the UK science fiction television series Space: 1999. The role was portrayed by actor Barry Morse.-Character Biography:...
, who is at a loss as to why their instruments cannot record Russell's life signs. The professor can only speculate that it is a side effect of his body having adapted to exist in an alien environment. As for Koenig's other questions—such as how Russell boarded a ship in flight, and who or what affected the crew—only Russell himself has the answers. The Commander orders him brought out of his unconscious state with metrazine, a powerful stimulant. Helena protests, but relents when he reminds her they will be in range of Terra Nova for only three more days. The fate of the three hundred men and women on Alpha rests on the information Russell can provide.
The injection is administered and Russell awakens. He is barely coherent and will not speak with anyone but his wife. When left alone with Helena, he is suddenly lucid. She tells him of their predicament and how they came to be trapped on the runaway Moon. When she expreses her hope of settling on his planet, he becomes greatly disturbed. He takes her by the shoulders—and she is thrust across the room by the electric shock he dispenses. Both are rendered unconscious by this act. Later, Koenig visits the recovering Helena in her quarters, but there is little for her to tell; she has no memory of why she passed out or what Russell revealed when he spoke.
Bergman presents him with another anomaly. Three thermographic x-rays
Thermography
Infrared thermography, thermal imaging, and thermal video are examples of infrared imaging science. Thermal imaging cameras detect radiation in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum and produce images of that radiation, called thermograms...
of Lee Russell are displayed in the professor's quarters-cum-laboratory. The first and third films show the normal temperature profile of a living man. These were taken when Helena was present. The second, taken in her absence, recorded no appreciable body heat—despite his having appeared to be alive and well at the time. When viewed as a whole, the series does not represent the metabolism of a normal man. Koenig is stumped; human physiology could never adapt this radically in just five years. Bermgan reminds him they are travelling through an incomprehensible universe; Earth-based logic and laws of nature no longer apply.
They conclude that Russell is somehow linked with Helena and the life-force sustaining his body is being drawn from her. The viewer is given a demonstration of this unnatural fact as, for a brief time, any motion made by Russell—sitting up in bed, touching his face, flexing his fingers—is duplicated by Helena in her quarters. Russell then gets out of bed, crosses to a mirror and is transfixed by his reflection. He demands to see Helena, but Bob Mathias
Bob Mathias (Space: 1999)
Bob Mathias is a fictional character from the British science-fiction television series Space: 1999. He is played by actor Anton Phillips.-Character Biography:...
tries to steer him back to bed. Raging, Russell swats the doctor across the room and Security is summoned to restrain him. Only Helena's arrival calms him down.
Russell is taken to Koenig's office for interrogation. He claims to know neither how he arrived on the planet nor how long he has lived there. While he seems to have difficulty vocalising his thoughts, he can tell them they are in danger. The planet is inhabited, but not in a manner they would understand or recognise. If they land there, they will face power beyond understanding—their ‘opposite’—which will annihilate them. When he realises they will go despite his warning, he sits, whispers Helena's name (a farewell or a severance of their link?) and quietly dies. Later, Koenig pays his respects to Helena, who tells him these events have left her numb. She has come to the painful realisation that Lee Russell never really returned.
With time running out, Koenig is now impatient to launch the Phase Two survey. He rejects Bergman's advice to wait for the results of Russell's autopsy. He does agree to allow the professor one hour to run tests on skin samples taken from the dead man. Preparations for the survey Eagle are nearly completed when Bergman gives his report. While 'alive', Russell's skin cells appeared normal; after death, the particle analyser shows their atomic struture is changing, reversing polarity. This is the first step toward a conversion to antimatter
Antimatter
In particle physics, antimatter is the extension of the concept of the antiparticle to matter, where antimatter is composed of antiparticles in the same way that normal matter is composed of particles...
—when complete, the opposing forms of matter will meet in mutual annihilation.
Koenig scoffs at this speculative evidence and orders Eagle Two launched immediately. He, Helena, Alan Carter
Alan Carter (Space 1999)
Alan Carter is a fictional character from the television series Space: 1999. He was played by Nick Tate. He is of Australian origin and is in his early thirties.-Character biography:...
, Paul Morrow
Paul Morrow
Paul Morrow is a fictional character who first appeared in 'Breakaway', the premiere episode of the science fiction television show Space: 1999, and was portrayed by Prentis Hancock. He is a British national who appears to be in his early thirties....
and Sandra Benes
Sandra Benes
Sandra 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:...
will comprise the crew. He orders Bergman to remain on Alpha and, if things go wrong, to assume command. As they board, Mathias begins the autopsy. When making contact with Russell, an electrical discharge throws the doctor across the pathology unit. When rising from the floor, he sees the cadaver has vanished. Bergman calls Koenig with this news and, with the threat of encountering antimatter, implores him to abort the mission. Koenig refuses and lifts off.
They touch down on Terra Nova. When readings confirm an Earth-type environment, the survey party steps out onto the lush, fertile landscape. They separate into teams of two, with Carter remaining to guard the ship. Koenig and Helena set off into the woods and soon come across a pond surrounded by fruit trees. After remote analysis shows both water and produce to be safe for human consumption, they decide to sample the native fare. Bergman and the Main Mission staff are delighted by the visuals the pair transmits of their impromptu picnic.
A short while later, Bergman calls with alarming news: all the Moonbase atmosphere seals are inexplicably melting. The problem even extends to their Eagle. Knowing he pushed their luck too far, Koenig cancels the expedition. Carter calls in his own sit-rep that the Eagle's insulation panels are emitting heavy smoke. He tries to abandon ship, but the failure of the auto-systems has jammed the doors. Hurrying back, Koenig and Helena encounter Morrow and Sandra. As Morrow runs, a sample case he carries knocks against his holstered stun-gun—which explodes. Morrow is killed and Sandra left blind. Helena tends to the hysterical girl as Koenig watches the Eagle explode.
Bergman call to convey the rapidly deteriorating conditions on Alpha. After his signal cuts out, Koenig's attention is directed skyward by a terrified Helena. As they watch, the Moon is blown apart by a tremendous explosion. Koenig leads the women in search of shelter, but they are overwhelmed by the blast wave
Blast wave
A blast wave in fluid dynamics is the pressure and flow resulting from the deposition of a large amount of energy in a small very localised volume. The flow field can be approximated as a lead shock wave, followed by a 'self-similar' subsonic flow field. In simpler terms, a blast wave is an area of...
from the exploding Moon as it rolls across the planet surface. Hurricane-force winds rip through the forest and Sandra is lost in the confusion. Unable to find her, Koenig and Helena find marginal shelter in a shallow depression under a steep slope. Looking up, he sees a rockslide
Rockslide
A rockslide is a type of landslide caused by rock failure in which part of the plane of failure passes through intact rock and where material collapses en masse and not in individual blocks.The mode of failure is different from that of a rock-fall....
bearing down on them. Koenig is pummled by heavy debris as he protects Helena with his body.
After the wind dies, Helena emerges to find Koenig dying. Before she can do anything, he is gone. She looks over the devastation that was once an idyllic woodland and breaks down, sobbing. She is brought up short by a hand touching her shoulder, more so when she sees it belongs to Lee Russell. He had hoped she would heed his warning, he says, but he was unable to fully transition back to her world to articulate the danger. What he is now was once her husband, but the Astro 7 crew was transformed by an unknown form of radiation. He ended up on this planet, the opposite of his former self—antimatter, by her definition.
He tells her she must leave immediately; if she remains, the destruction will continue and get much worse. She begs him for help and he embraces her, telling her to see what she wants to see. Sharing in his power, time rolls back and the world around her reverts to its former splendour. Koenig and the others are alive, the Eagle is waiting, and Alpha and the Moon are intact. She tells Koenig they cannot stay, and the Commander cancels Operation Exodus.
The survey party returns to Alpha. Koenig is stopped by David Kano
David Kano (Space 1999)
David Kano is a fictional character who regularly appeared during the first season of the science fiction television series Space: 1999. He is of Jamaican origin and in his mid-thirties. He was played by actor Clifton Jones.-Character biography:...
, who informs him that the feasibility programmes being run on Computer indicate the Moon's present trajectory should carry them past some ten million planets. Statistically, 3,600 of those planets should be habitable—but it will take over 2,500 years to see them all. His spirits raised by Kano's enthusiasm, he joins Helena on the observation balcony as she watches Terra Nova receding into the distance. As the Moon speeds off into space, she bids her husband a final, silent farewell...
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....
Featuring
- Prentis HancockPrentis HancockPrentis Hancock is a British actor, best known for his television roles.He was a regular cast member of the first season of science fiction series Space: 1999 as Paul Morrow, and also appeared in a number of Doctor Who stories throughout the 1970s - Spearhead from Space and Planet of the Daleks...
— Controller Paul MorrowPaul MorrowPaul Morrow is a fictional character who first appeared in 'Breakaway', the premiere episode of the science fiction television show Space: 1999, and was portrayed by Prentis Hancock. He is a British national who appears to be in his early thirties.... - Clifton JonesClifton JonesClifton Jones is an actor, mostly known for his roles on British television.His most prominent role is probably that of David Kano during the first season of the science fiction series Space: 1999....
— David KanoDavid Kano (Space 1999)David Kano is a fictional character who regularly appeared during the first season of the science fiction television series Space: 1999. He is of Jamaican origin and in his mid-thirties. He was played by actor Clifton Jones.-Character biography:... - 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....
— 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:... - Anton PhillipsAnton PhillipsAnton Phillips is an actor who found success appearing in British television. He remains best known for his role as Dr. Bob Mathias in the science fiction series Space 1999.-Early life and education:...
— Doctor Bob MathiasBob Mathias (Space: 1999)Bob Mathias is a fictional character from the British science-fiction television series Space: 1999. He is played by actor Anton Phillips.-Character Biography:... - 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...
— Captain Alan CarterAlan Carter (Space 1999)Alan Carter is a fictional character from the television series Space: 1999. He was played by Nick Tate. He is of Australian origin and is in his early thirties.-Character biography:... - Stuart DamonStuart DamonStuart Damon is an American actor. He is known for thirty years of portraying the character Dr. Alan Quartermaine on the American soap opera General Hospital, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1999....
— Astronaut Parks
Uncredited artists
- Suzanne RoquetteSuzanne RoquetteSuzanne Roquette is an actress, who remains best known for her role as Tanya Alexander in the science fiction television series Space 1999....
— TanyaTanya AlexanderTanya Alexander is the name of a semi-recurring character on the UK science fiction television series Space: 1999. The role was portrayed by German actress Suzanne Roquette.-Character Biography:... - John Oxley — Astronaut Bannion
- Tony Allyn — Security Guard One
- Quentin Pierre — Security Guard Two
- Barbara KellyBarbara KellyBarbara Kelly was a Canadian-born actress, possibly best-known for her television roles in the United Kingdom opposite her husband Bernard Braden in the 1950s and 1960s and for many appearances as a panelist on the British version of What's My Line?.-Early years:Barbara Kelly was born in...
— Computer Voice
Music
An original score was composed for this episode by Barry GrayBarry Gray
Barry Gray was a British musician and composer who is best known for his work for Gerry Anderson.-Life:...
. The electric guitar solo track played while Lee Russell goes berserk was conceived and performed by Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson , born 25 March 1937, is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with Gerry Anderson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1975....
's son-in-law, musician Vic Elms. A music track from the Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
film Thunderbirds Are Go
Thunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
also composed by Gray was utilised. With production delays plaguing 'Breakaway
Breakaway (Space: 1999)
"Breakaway" is the first episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by George Bellak ; the director was Lee H. Katzin. Previous titles include 'Zero-G', 'The Void Ahead' and 'Turning Point'. The final shooting script is dated 22 November 1973...
', the music for this segment was the first to be composed and recorded.
Production notes
- When Irish author and poet Johnny Byrne was hired for six weeks to quickly produce shootable material for the series (which had gone into production with only one completed script—its premiere episode, 'BreakawayBreakaway (Space: 1999)"Breakaway" is the first episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by George Bellak ; the director was Lee H. Katzin. Previous titles include 'Zero-G', 'The Void Ahead' and 'Turning Point'. The final shooting script is dated 22 November 1973...
'), he was handed a screenplay from American television writer Art WallaceArt WallaceArt Wallace was an American television writer best known for his work on the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. He began work in television in the 1940s, on the anthology series Studio One and Kraft Television Theater. Over the years, Wallace wrote for Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, Combat!, Star Trek, and...
entitled 'Siren Planet'. With the script written for an earlier format of the series, Bryne was forced to do a complete re-write. The original material seemed to be more of an homage to the 1970 novel SolarisSolaris (novel)Solaris is a 1961 Polish science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem. It is about the ultimate inadequacy of communication between human and non-human species....
by Polish author Stanislaw LemStanislaw LemStanisław Lem was a Polish writer of science fiction, philosophy and satire. He was named a Knight of the Order of the White Eagle. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. He is perhaps best known as the author of the 1961 novel Solaris, which has...
, with facsimilies of the staff's dead relatives appearing on Alpha to prevent their landing on the planet. Rather than give warning, aliens in the guise of Helena's late husband (named Telford Russell at this point) and, in the climax, Koenig's late father would use deception and trickery to manipulate the Alphans. Byrne reconceived the story as a science-fiction mystery, retaining as its core concept the return of Helena's husband and adding the threat of antimatter. Completed in two weeks, it was this script that convinced story consultant Christopher PenfoldChristopher PenfoldChristopher Penfold is an English scriptwriter and editor.Television shows that he has worked on include Pathfinders, Take Me High, The Tripods, One by One, All Creatures Great and Small, EastEnders, Casualty and Midsomer Murders.Penfold is perhaps most well-known for being one of the brains behind...
to bring Byrne on staff full-time.
- This episode introduced the character of David KanoDavid Kano (Space 1999)David Kano is a fictional character who regularly appeared during the first season of the science fiction television series Space: 1999. He is of Jamaican origin and in his mid-thirties. He was played by actor Clifton Jones.-Character biography:...
, head of the Technical Section and resident computer expert, played by Clifton JonesClifton JonesClifton Jones is an actor, mostly known for his roles on British television.His most prominent role is probably that of David Kano during the first season of the science fiction series Space: 1999....
. Jones had been brought in quickly to replace actor Lon Satton, who had proved unpopular with the cast during the filming of 'Breakaway'; the shooting script still contained his character's name, Benjamin Ouma.
- 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....
recalls when reading the script, she was expected to sweep a large spider off the shoulder of Prentis HancockPrentis HancockPrentis Hancock is a British actor, best known for his television roles.He was a regular cast member of the first season of science fiction series Space: 1999 as Paul Morrow, and also appeared in a number of Doctor Who stories throughout the 1970s - Spearhead from Space and Planet of the Daleks...
's character Morrow. Suffering from arachnophobiaArachnophobiaArachnophobia or arachnephobia is a specific phobia, the fear of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions. It is a manifestation of zoophobia, among the most common of all phobias. The reactions of arachnophobics often seem irrational to others...
, she panicked and stormed the office of producer Sylvia AndersonSylvia AndersonSylvia Anderson , born 25 March 1937, is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with Gerry Anderson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1975....
. Taking in Merton's agitated state, Anderson jumped to conclusions and asked if she was pregnant. Fortunately, the real problem was easily solved with a minor re-write of the script: Hancock's character was killed and Merton's blinded.
Novelisation
The episode was adapted in the first Year One Space: 1999 novel Breakaway by E.C. Tubb, published in 1975. Tubb made several significant changes to fit the story into the narrative of his novel: (1) As this story immediately follows 'BreakawayBreakaway (Space: 1999)
"Breakaway" is the first episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by George Bellak ; the director was Lee H. Katzin. Previous titles include 'Zero-G', 'The Void Ahead' and 'Turning Point'. The final shooting script is dated 22 November 1973...
', Meta and Terra Nova are made the same planet. This adds another mystery to the story, as how could a rogue planet far beyond the warmth of the sun maintain a shirt-sleeve environment; (2) Lee Russell is a representative of the alien race, masquerading as Helena's dead husband to gain her trust; (3) The deaths of Koenig and company, the destruction of Terra Nova and the Moon, and Lee Russell's miraculous act of restoration are explained away as a bad 'trip'; the fruit Helena sampled is discovered to contain hallucinogenic compounds and is presented as a more logical explanation for the events concluding the story.
External links
- Space: 1999 - 'Matter of Life and Death' - The Catacombs episode guide
- Space: 1999 - 'Matter of Life and Death' - Moonbase Alpha's Space: 1999 page
| Last produced: "Breakaway Breakaway (Space: 1999) "Breakaway" is the first episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by George Bellak ; the director was Lee H. Katzin. Previous titles include 'Zero-G', 'The Void Ahead' and 'Turning Point'. The final shooting script is dated 22 November 1973... " |
List of Space: 1999 episodes | Next produced: "Black Sun" |
| Last transmitted: "End of Eternity" |
Next transmitted: "Earthbound Earthbound (Space: 1999) "Earthbound" is the fifth episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by Anthony Terpiloff; the director was Charles Crichton. The final shooting script is undated... " |