ALL SCI-FI

[Gord Green]

Hardly any competition for Space 1999 , Moonbase 3 is a British science fiction television program that ran for six episodes in 1973. It was a co-production between the BBC, 20th Century Fox and the American ABC network. Evidently it would have found its' way to American TV if it was a hit.



Created by Doctor Who producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks as a realistic alternative strand of TV science-fiction, it was not a commercial or critical success (Dicks himself has stated in a foreword to a collection of Tom Baker-era Doctor Who scripts that they "overdid the grimness and forgot about the sense of wonder that science fiction is all about").



It starred Donald Houston as Director David Caulder, who is appointed to the position after the previous director was killed while returning to Earth. Ralph Bates was Michel Lebrun, the deputy director, who was concerned about keeping to the rules.



Fiona Gaunt played Doctor Helen Smith, the base's psychiatrist, and Barry Lowe played Tom Hill, the head of the base technical section.



The program was notable for its combination of realistic spaceflight procedures, ensured by hiring BBC technical adviser James Burke, and its strong character-based writing. Although very dated in terms of its looks and assumptions about the future, it remains well regarded in retrospect.

Moonbase 3 was set in the year 2003 — some 30 years into the future at time of broadcast — and dramatised life in the enclosed environment of the titular moonbase.



Five world powers have colonised the Moon: America (Moonbase 1, commanded by Bill Jackson), Russia (Moonbase 2), Europe (Moonbase 3), China (Moonbase 4, commanded by General Cheng[5]) and Brazil (Moonbase 5).



The European Moonbase 3 has been in existence for 8 years at the time the series starts.

With oversight provided by the European Space Assembly and the European Aeronautics and Space Administration, Moonbase 3 is a shoestring operation when compared with the Russian and American efforts and much of base director David Caulder's job is to stave off budget cuts or a complete shutdown in the face of sceptical bureaucrats.

Alongside technical problems such as stranded astronauts, explosive decompressions[ and failed experiments, the inhabitants of the moonbase must also deal with psychological problems arising from the cramped, dangerous environment they live in.



In "Departure and Arrival", a mental breakdown suffered by a shuttle pilot has tragic consequences. "Achilles Heel" and "Outsiders" deal with the fallout from crew members' difficulty with living up to the standards they have set for themselves. "Behemoth" and "View of a Dead Planet" deal with forms of mass hysteria.



As was normal procedure at the BBC at the time, the original PAL master tapes of the series were wiped some time after broadcast and, for many years, Moonbase 3 was believed to be lost forever.



However, in 1993, NTSC copies of all six episodes were found in co-producer Fox's archives and returned to the BBC.

The series was subsequently released on VHS videotape over three volumes in 1994 by BBC Video and on DVD in 2002 by Second Sight.



You can view all six episodes on Youtube, Start with episode one here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oavJ3nQHhP4&t=642s
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]

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What a magnificent post, Gord!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[tmlindsey]

I tried to get through the first episode and failed. What a slog.

Space:1999 did it much better two years later.
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"Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?"