Destination: Moonbase Alpha (85 page)

APPENDIX

SPACE: 1999
BOOKS AND MERCHANDISE

NOVELS AND NOVELISATIONS (1970s)

Numerous novels and novelisations have been published based on
Space: 1999
. The first of these even appeared on bookstore shelves prior to the premiere of the series in 1975.

The novels based on Year One are as follows:

1.
Breakaway
by E C Tubb. Published in 1975. (The UK Orbit edition was released in February 1975 – months ahead of
Space: 1999
’s worldwide television debut, while the US Pocket Books edition was released in September 1975 – the same month the series premiered.) Featuring adaptations of the episodes ‘Breakaway’, ‘Matter of Life and Death’, ‘Ring Around the Moon’ and ‘Black Sun’.

2.
Moon Odyssey
by John Rankine. Published in 1975. (February 1975 by Orbit in the UK; September 1975 by Pocket Books in the US.) Adaptations of ‘Alpha Child’, ‘The Last Sunset’, ‘Voyager’s Return’ and ‘Another Time, Another Place’

3.
The Space Guardians
by Brian Ball. Published in 1975. (Its August 1975 release by Orbit in the UK made it the last book published prior to the premiere of the series on television. Pocket Books didn’t release the novelisation in the US until November 1975.) Adaptations of ‘Missing Link’, ‘Force of Life’ and ‘Guardian of Piri’.

4.
Collision Course
by E C Tubb. Published in October 1975 (Orbit, UK) and February 1976 (Pocket Books, US). Adaptations of ‘Collision Course’, ‘The Full Circle’, ‘End of Eternity’ and ‘Death’s Other Dominion’.

5.
Lunar Attack
by John Rankine. Published in November 1975 (Orbit, UK) and March 1976 (Pocket Books, US). Adaptations of ‘War Games’, ‘The Troubled Spirit’, ‘The Last Enemy’ and ‘Space Brain’.

6.
Astral Quest
by John Rankine. Published in December 1975 (Orbit, UK) and April 1976 (Pocket Books, US). Adaptations of ‘The Infernal Machine’, ‘Mission of the Darians’, ‘Dragon’s Domain’ and ‘The Testament of Arkadia’

7.
Alien Seed
by E C Tubb. Published in June 1976 (Pocket Books, US) and August 1976 (Orbit, UK). This is an original novel. Back-cover plot synopsis: ‘The fantastic intergalactic odyssey of the courageous men and women of Moonbase Alpha comes to a terrifying climax when the space wanderers confront the ultimate alien world. A silent planet of never-ending night, its smooth, mysterious surface is thick with an ancient space dust. And buried under the cloak of darkness are innocent-looking pods. Are they the seeds of new hope for Alpha, or of an incredible nightmare no one has ever before dared to imagine?’

8.
Android Planet
by John Rankine. Published in August 1976 (Orbit, UK) and September 1976 (Pocket Books, US). This is an original novel. Back-cover plot synopsis: ‘The mysterious planet Pelorus stares out of Main Mission Control’s star-scanning screen like a monstrous orange unblinking eye. Is it daring Alpha to make the first move? Or is Pelorus – millions of light years from Mother Earth – their long-awaited new home? The Alphans make their fateful choice, and they are thrust into the heart of an android world where superhuman beings wield bizarre weapons. Their only chance of rescue is to trust a humanoid tribe whose friendly smiles hide a secret of devastating impact!’

9.
Rogue Planet
by E C Tubb. Published in August 1976 (Orbit, UK) and September 1976 (Pocket Books, US). This is an original novel. Back-cover plot synopsis (under the heading ‘Turn back, for death awaits you!’): ‘The chill warning echoes from the depths of the unknown, shattering the icy silence of space. But the bold Alphans must spin faster and faster toward an electrifying confrontation with their unknown enemy. Ageless against the stars stands Omphalos. A giant green “brain”, this galactic monster spins a web of deadly horrors, trapping Alpha in a ghastly psychic war!’

10.
Phoenix of Megaron
by John Rankine. This is an original novel, and was published only in the USA by Pocket Books (November 1976). Back-cover plot synopsis: ‘A lush, green planet beckons from Main Mission Control’s star-scanning screen … and to the homeless Alphans, it looks like Earth. But descent reveals a wasteland of towering, silent cities, mute testimony to an atomic holocaust! Two pockets of civilisation survive: the drug-controlled inhabitants of Caster, and the freedom-loving people of Hyria. Soon the Alphans find themselves caught in the treacherous quicksands of civil war, their only allies a beautiful Hyrian with golden-brown eyes and an ancient man, the last custodian of the old wisdom.’

11.
Earthfall
by E C Tubb. This is an original novel, and was published only in the UK (Orbit, March 1977). The plot is a re-imagining of the entire series, encompassing the multi-generational journey of Moonbase Alpha from ‘Breakaway’ through to an eventual return to Earth. It was billed as ‘The epic story of Moonbase Alpha.’

The Year Two novelisations are:

1.
Planets of Peril
by Michael Butterworth. Published in 1977. Adaptations of ‘The Metamorph’, ‘The AB Chrysalis’, ‘The Rules of Luton’ and ‘New Adam New Eve’.

2.
Mind-Breaks of Space
by Michael Butterworth. Published in 1977. Adaptations of ‘Brian the Brain’, ‘The Mark of Archanon’, ‘Catacombs of the Moon’ and ‘One Moment of Humanity’.

3.
The Space-Jackers
by Michael Butterworth. Published in 1977. Adaptations of ‘Seed of Destruction’, ‘A Matter of Balance’, ‘The Exiles’ and ‘The Beta Cloud’.

4.
The Psychomorph
by Michael Butterworth. Published in 1977. Adaptations of ‘The Lambda Factor’ and ‘The Bringers of Wonder’ Parts One and Two.

5.
The Time Fighters
by Michael Butterworth. Published in 1977. Adaptations of ‘Space Warp’, ‘Dorzak’, ‘Devil’s Planet’ and ‘Seance Spectre’.

6.
The Edge of the Infinite
by Michael Butterworth. Published in 1977. Adaptations of ‘All That Glisters’, ‘Journey to Where’, ‘The Dorcons’ and ‘The Immunity Syndrome’.

The Year Two novelisations were based on early drafts of the scripts and consequently many details such as character names differ considerably between the books and the televised episodes. ‘The Taybor’ was the only Year Two episode not adapted into a novelisation.

These
Space: 1999
novels were also published as translations into other languages, including Japanese, Italian and German. The German series is of particular note as it was continued on beyond the Michael Butterworth novelisations of Year Two (with Butterworth’s ending for
The Edge of the Infinite
altered to accommodate this), with an additional six original novels that have never been translated or published in any other country or language. These original German novels are:

1.
Das Andromeda-Ratsel
(
The Andromeda Mystery
) by H W Springer. Published in 1978.

2.
Das Erbe der Roboter
(
The Robot Inheritance
) by H W Springer. Published in 1978.

3.
Die Ewigen von Luna
(
The Immortals of the Moon
) by H W Springer. Published in 1978.

4.
Invasion der Esper
(
Invasion of the Telepaths
) by H W Springer. Published in 1978.

5.
Aktion Exodus
(
Operation Exodus
) by Kurt Brand. Published in 1978.

6.
Der Stahlplanet
(
The Steel Planet
) by M F Thomas. Published in 1978.

NOVELS AND NOVELISATIONS (2000s)

The arrival of the new millennium saw the return of
Space: 1999
to the professional publishing world, with books released by several different publishers.

Eagle One Media Inc published a reprint of E C Tubb’s original novel
Alien Seed
in January 2002. The book featured a new introduction by the author.

Fanderson (the Official Gerry Anderson Appreciation Society) then released two
Space: 1999
novelisations under their Century 21 Books imprint. These are:

1.
Earthfall
by E C Tubb. Published in November 2002. A re-publishing of Tubb’s original 1977 novel.

2.
Earthbound
by E C Tubb. Published in August 2003. Featuring new adaptations of ‘Earthbound’, ‘The Exiles’ and ‘Face of Eden’. (‘Earthbound’ had not been adapted in the original run of novelisations, while the latter two stories are based upon early scripts drawn up in the Year One format.) As Chris Bentley wrote in his Afterword to the book, ‘The original Year One versions of the stories offered a fascinating opportunity to explore an alternative
Space: 1999
universe … in which Professor Bergman, Paul Morrow and David Kano don’t mysteriously disappear after the events of “The Testament of Arkadia”, in which the Alphans never meet the metamorph Maya, control of the base remains in Main Mission … and the parameters of the first season’s credible fictional reality are maintained. In short, a continuation of
Space: 1999
’s first season which imagines that Year Two never happened.’

Powys Media have also published a series of books based on the series, beginning in 2002. Their titles include:

1.
Resurrection
by William Latham. Published in May 2002. Featuring an introduction by Johnny Byrne.

2.
The Foresaken
by John Kenneth Muir. Published in January 2003. Featuring an introduction by Prentis Hancock.

3.
Survival
by Brian Ball. Published in March 2005. Featuring an introduction by Barry Morse.

4.
Eternity Unbound
by William Latham. Published in March 2005. This title includes three sections:
Eternity Unleashed
, which chronicles the origin of Balor,
End of Eternity
, in a new adaptation, and an expanded version of Latham’s earlier title
Resurrection
.

5.
YEAR TWO
by Michael Butterworth. Published in April 2006. This volume contains revised adaptations of all 24 episodes of Year Two (including ‘The Taybor’, which had not previously been adapted to novel form), as well as a foreword by the author.

6.
Shepherd Moon
(anthology by various authors including Brian Ball and E C Tubb). Published in January 2010.

7.
Born for Adversity
by David A McIntee. Published in February 2010. Featuring an introduction by Catherine Schell.

8.
Omega
by William Latham
.
Published in February 2010. Featuring an introduction by Christopher Penfold.

9.
Alpha
by William Latham. Published in February 2010. Featuring an afterword by Christopher Penfold.

10.
Chasing the Cyclops: The Making of the Powysverse Mythology
by William Latham. (Non-fiction.) Published in December 2010.

11.
The Powysverse Compendium: The Authorized Companion to the Powys Media Space: 1999 Universe
by Patricia T Sokol. (Non-fiction.) Featuring an introduction by Zienia Merton, and an afterword by Martin Willey. Published in February 2012.

12.
Johnny Byrne’s Children of the Gods
by William Latham (based upon the lost Johnny Byrne script). Published in January 2013. Featuring an introduction by Sandy Byrne.

In May 2010 Powys also released an audiobook version of
Resurrection
, recorded by Barry Morse in 2004. At the time of writing (early 2014), Powys Media has a number of additional
Space: 1999
novels in development, including
Year One
(omnibus edition featuring revised episode adaptations by original novel authors Brian Ball, E C Tubb and John Rankine),
The Whispering Sea
(by John Kenneth Muir),
Black Doves
(by Elena Cambio, with a foreword by Nick Tate),
The Final Revolution
(by William Latham),
Odysseus Wept
(by William Latham) and
The Prodigal Moon
(anthology by various authors).