In 1975, when Star Trek had already left both its original TV and cartoon incarnations behind and Star Wars had yet to hit theatres, Space:1999 debuted as the story of the crew of the Moonbase Alpha.

The series grew out of a one season predecessor show, UFO, and it featured an intrepid band of heroes who survived a massive nuclear explosion which hurled the moon out of Earth orbit and sent it careening through space.

The series starred real-life married couple, Martin Landau and Barbara Bain as Commander John Koenig and Dr. Helena Russell (they had previously been seen together on Mission: Impossible). Produced in the UK and distributed both there and in the U.S., Space:1999 hoped to build upon Star Trek's momentum to become a compelling space opera focusing more on the lives of the crew and less on their far-flung missions.

The internatinal cast included Barry Morse (The Fugative), the special effects were stateof-the-art, and there was a fair amount of promotion, but the series' sometimes preposterous plots (in one episode, the entire Moonbase Alpha crew dies and are brought back to life, presumably by aliens but without any real explanation) failed to strike a chord with viewers.

The second season tried to liven things up, but it ultimately proved to be the series' last. Space:1999 was canceled before its intended third season began filming.

Even so, the show still boasts fans the world over. A directory of sites related to the show can be found at http://www.space1999.net.