The Andersons separated after the first season and Fred Freiberger was brought in when Sylvia left the show. The tone and production values of the series’ first season were heavily influenced by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey movie.

Others in the diverse cast include Zienia Merton, Anton Phillips, Suzanne Roquette, Jeffery Kissoon, and Nick Tate. The Fugitive’s Barry Morse plays science adviser Professor Victor Bergman. Space: 1999 stars Mission: Impossible veterans (and, at the time, married couple) Martin Landau as Moonbase Commander John Koenig and Barbara Bain as the head of the base’s Medical Section, Doctor Helena Russell. The series was produced by Sylvia and Gerry Anderson, well known for other science fiction series like Thunderbirds and Fireball XL5. With Earth in the midst of devastation, the space station’s 311 stranded crewmembers must resign themselves to search for a new home on some distant world. When a massive thermonuclear explosion in the dump occurs, the moon is ripped from its orbit and sent hurtling through space. The locale is used for scientific research and to watch over a huge nuclear waste dump on the farside of the moon. The series premise was set up in the first episode, entitled “Breakaway.” In the distant year of 1999, Earth has a space station on the moon called Moonbase Alpha. Space: 1999 is a British series that began running in the U.S. This inspired a renewed interest in science fiction and local TV stations started looking for new sci-fi programming.

The series’ ratings had been low in primetime but, in 1970s syndication, Trek became a runaway hit. As you probably know, Star Trek was cancelled in 1969 after three seasons on NBC.

Moonbase alpha whalers on the moon