Sunday, September 1, 2024

Space: 1999 Started Forty-Nine Years Ago Today?

On September 1st, 1975, which happened to be Labour Day, I was introduced to a dramatic one-hour SF television series that would... not live on; except, perhaps, through a few fond memories.

Space: 1999 ended up disappointing a lot of us; including those of us who had just hit our teens. As a matter of fact, of the television stations that acquired the show, many programmed it for Saturday mornings. In my immediate television broadcast area, and in keeping with this kiddie-fare theme, Barrie (Ontario, Canada) station CKVR ran it Saturdays at 10:30am. Those program buyers must have known something.

It was the "French CBC" (Radio Canada) network that premiered the British-produced series in this country: Labour Day at 6pm, and I was there with bells on to watch it through the monochromatic 10-inch Sony television set tuned to CBLFT in my bedroom. (The colour/English version would happen for me on September 6th — the following Saturday.)

Don't be fooled by "St. Laurent". My less-than-basic understanding of the French language allowed me to watch and enjoy "Breakaway", Space: 1999's semi-spectacular opening episode, in relative silence. But I was able to follow the onscreen proceedings, somehow. ("It blowed up real good!")

On September 13th, 2024, I will run a thirteen-part look-back at a series that ran for just two seasons (1975 - 1977), but one that still occupies a tiny bit of the memory bank. Why "September 13th" and not today? That's when the moon blew out of Earth's orbit.... (Don't ask.)



THE DARK SIDE OF THE STARS, too, it would seem.

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