In case you haven’t heard, Space: 1999 may be headed back to television in an updated format called – wait for it – Space: 2099. As announced yesterday and covered by The Hollywood Reporter, the new series is in development at HD Films, who created ABC’s updated “V” series a couple of years ago.
I’ve had a lot of people email or message to ask my reaction about this and I wanted to take a day to digest the news and see how I really feel. I have to say I’m guardedly pessimistic.
Of course I’m a fan of the original series and I’m happy that there’s belief in Hollywood that its a commercially viable property worthy of a remake. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of ABC’s “V” reboot. It was well cast, beautifully designed and started off well, but it fell victim to bad writing much as the original did during its own series run. My thought was that the producers and writers understood that it’s cool to see giant spaceships hovering over the Earth, that its fun to watch cute girls gobble cgi mice, and that Elizabeth Mitchell looks great rolling around struggling with aliens or running and shooting guns, but they never seemed to understand their characters on a more than superficial level. Maybe it improved in season two, I confess that I didn’t bother to tune back in at that point.
I fear that the same might happen with Space: 2099. Not just because HD Films is developing it – it could be just about anyone in charge of this and I’d still be apprehensive, because the disease that felled “V” is broad reaching and near pandemic in Hollywood; I like to call it “Third Act Syndrome.” It’s easy to come up with a great hook for a television series… but paying it off in the end is another kettle of fish entirely. I’ll point you towards “LOST” and “Battlestar Galactica” as prime examples of this.
More than this, I wonder if the new producers actually understand the unique characters and potential of Space: 1999 and whether they’ll be able to translate them for a new generation. As someone who’s had a lot of interaction with fans of the original series online and in person, I’ve only met a few who really seemed to understand the true emotional appeal of the show and the situations and characters. If people who’ve watched and re-watched the episodes over and over of their own volition are just in it for the production design, special effects, the stars, or the adventurous/romantic/action aspects, what is it that would draw a contemporary film producer to the material?
Jace Hall has been making the rounds to Space: 1999 fan groups on Facebook and bandying about the term “Rest assured” quite a bit. He even took the time to reach out to highly active fans in advance of the announcement and created what might be called a “Fifth Column” within the community in order to help transition fans from the old show into favorable comparisons for Space: 2099. Of this, I’m not sure how I feel; its reeks a bit of the alien leader Anna’s tactics in Hall’s own take on “V”. She famously appeared on worldwide media to tell all of us Earthlings that the Visitors came in peace, and that under no circumstances would we be conscripted as slave labor nor tasty protein. Well… I think we all know how that turned out.
Again, I don’t think Hall is an evil mastermind come unto Space: 1999 in order to wreck it – but then neither was Freddie Frieberger, producer of year two of the original series. Frieberger did exactly what he was contracted to do – lose the cerebral aspects of year one, add a lot of running and jumping, cut the budget, and make the show more interesting to young men and kids. The collateral damage was that he also destroyed that which was unique about the series and the characters in the process.
I fear that this might happen again. History has a nasty way of repeating itself.
In 2003, I had the pleasure of talking with original series story editor (and writer of many memorable episodes) Johnny Byrne about a proposed new Space: 1999 comic book series that I was developing with a now (and shortly thereafter, in fact) defunct publisher. Johnny told me about his vision for a new series, and he and I worked to put his vision into accordance with the material I had developed. We were pretty successful I think – the proposal was approved by Carlton Media, the rights holders at the time. Unfortunately, we were never able to get the comics published as the company went out of business.
Byrne’s updated storyline was a continuation, which made sense on the scale of his original idea for a new television series and for mine as a comic book series. Having developed the original characters, Johnny’s perception of them was razor sharp and it really showed in the material – it would have made for a very entertaining show/book for old fans and new viewers/readers alike.
I hope that Jace Hall understands the material half as well as Johnny Byrne, and if he doesn’t, then I hope he hires the other story editor from the original show, Christopher Penfold, to help him reinterpret it for a new generation. Though many think there was a random mystical element to the series that became little more than deus ex machina, that isn’t the case. Johnny (and I assume Christopher as well) knew where he was going with that “mysterious unknown force” and if he’d been given rein to develop it, it would have made for some unbelievably good television. Johnny really cared about entertaining and enlightening the viewers, especially the ones who were paying real attention.
I’d hate to see someone who’s just in it for the paycheck get hold of the material and phone it in, or worse yet – a whole writers room full of such creatures. Bryan Singer told me once that he thought it was “about time for a really twisted remake of Space: 1999”, a statement which I found both exciting and terrifying. No clue what he would have come up with, but it would have been interesting to watch.
I don’t think any of us believe the new show will be Space: 1999 – that is past and frankly immutable – but please let it at least be quality science fiction that makes us feel emotionally lifted or transported.
In the end, I do wish HD Films luck with it – I’d really be happy to be amazed and overjoyed by what they come up with. The key to that – like any endeavor – is to under-promise and over-deliver.
Never thought I’d see the day … but I have a feeling the remake will suck if they mess too much with what made the show memorable, much in the way THE PRISONER remake failed. If Americans are making it, that is another worry, as it was Americans (see one “Fred Frieburger”, the Star Trek killer) that killed Space: 1999 in the first place with that awful “revamped” Year 2 of the program…
My advice??… 1). Don’t mess around too much with the Eagle. It’s a beauty that has stood the test of time. Many a fan will not be too keen on an Eagle that has been too reworked, but just by the looks of that poster, it has already been seriously reworked, and I already don’t like it. Plus, it has that CGI cartoonish look to it (at least in the poster). 2). Stay true to form overall with the back-lit white-panel design of the sets, with minimal use of color. Simply make some of the rooms a whole lot grander though CG, halls a lot longer and complex, update the computers and composts a bit, but don’t stray too far from the original design. Stay true-to-form as possible. Otherwise, fans will piss on it. 3). “Main Mission” needs to be big and bold, much like the Season 1 set, but with some major improvements. 4). Uniforms need to be based more on the Season 1 designs, only better. Season 2 uniforms really sucked!! 5). Music needs to be more in line with Barry Gray and John Williams, rather than Derek Wadsworth, who did an awful job on Season 2. 6). Make sure to hire plenty of people with accents to give the show a similar feel to the original …Australian for Alan Carter, possibly British for Victor, etc. 7). The opening theme is a touchy subject. It needs to be big and bold like Season 1 of the original. Change it too much, and it may not fly. Tread carefully here. 8). Ignore Maya and everything else that came out of the crapfest known as “Year 2” of the series. That is all…
One more thing… The I loved the futuristic lettering/numbering font used in Season 1 (on the composts, above the doors, etc.). I recall hating the change to a more generic font in Season 2. To this day, I still don’t know why they changed it ~ Freddie probably felt us Americans were too stupid and needed to have a dumbed-down, plain-looking font. I hope I’m not insulted again by the font used in the remake!
I agree that the rebooted “V” failed. I wonder if ABC was sold on the image of huge starships floating over cities and forgot about the story. Or maybe they ran out of money. I watched “V” and my biggest complain is that not a whole lot happened in each episode. “Get on with it!” I used to scream at the TV. I especially hated the teenage son, and often wondered how an FBI agent could get so much time off her active investigations to go home to check on her kid and to go home to clandestine meetings. By the end, I just couldn’t care anymore.
As we all know, there are few successful reboots out there, most notably JJ Abrams’ “Star Trek” and Ron Moore’s “Battlestar Galactica”. Both stuck to the original ideas and designs and improved upon them. Granted, there were countless haters of Abrams’ version of Trek, which was suddenly funnier, more action-packed, and did not include the cast of the Next Generation. I for one was glad that Abrams’ Trek was not another long boring under-budgeted episode of Star Trek – The Next Generation, which is what “Star Trek Insurrection” and “Star Trek Nemesis” both were. Moore’s version of “Galactica” was amazing, except for its finale, something it shared with the finale of “Lost”…
Bad reboots? NBC’s versions of “Prime Suspect” (is that cancelled now?) Starz’s version of “Torchwood” which relegated the leads to supporting cast, a big mistake and another case of “Get on with it!”. Even “Mission: Impossible” has gone through so many reboots, but never have those been rubbish. The original “Hawaii Five-O” wasn’t great but it had the charismatic and handsome Jack Lord and a great cast. The reboot, now on its second year, is rubbish and formulaic (every crime that is investigated is somehow related to one of the cast), and it’s doubtful it will last very long.
Like John, I hope the images that have been release of “Space: 2099” are just preliminary mock-ups and nothing nore, because I hate what the conceptual artist has done with the Eagle transporter. Is the artist a fan of the original series? Does he understand why Brian Johnson designed it that way? If Mr Jace Hall is willing to radically alter the design and feel of the hardware, then he’s going to have a lot of haters posting negative reviews and criticisms online. (We didn’t have the internet way back then, and we could have done something about Season 2!)
I wish Mr Hall good luck. Have a plan. Write a good amount of episodes before even shooting the first one. It’s not necessary to write a full season of twenty-four episodes. A short miniseries will work; it did for “Galactica”. Look at the BBC’s “Sherlock”, with seasons that only have three ninety-minute, well-written, terrific episodes. And don’t piss off the fans. Even George Lucas has turned diehard “Star Wars” fans into detractors…
I agree 100% about BBC’s SHERLOCK, Eric, but of course British television works somewhat differently than American. Hard to say what format the new show will wind up in, we can only hope its more SHERLOCK than PRIME SUSPECT (US).
Good post! You understand well the subtleties that made the first season of Space 1999 so special. Without the metaphysical component, this masterpiece of spiritually allegorical Science-Fiction will be lost in the hands of those tempted to make a quick buck by ‘sexing it up’, and catering to a new LCD fan-base.
If the new show can remain thematically dark, yet still hopeful and thought provoking, it has a chance…but for the time being, I too will have to maintain my own guarded pessimism.
I’m so glad that there are also others who loved Space:1999 and respect the things that made it unique (I’m referring to year 1 actually). So much negative critisism on the net that it feels depressing. Everybody is complaining about the Moon leaving Earth orbit without seeing the thematic variety and underlying deepness of the series stories. Yet the same critics tend to forget that it took ‘ST The Next Generation’ a whole 2 seasons before it became good and meaningful and that Babylon 5 didn’t find it’s rythm until the 2nd seanson.Had Space:1999 been given proper time to develop like the aforementioned series(without the format changes between seasons), I beleive it would have transformed into overwhelmingly good science fiction!
And I couldn’t agree more with Chris Taylor, about the series being ‘spiritually allegorical science fiction’ and Anthony Taylor about his article. And I’m also troubled by the altered Eagle design on the poster. Although I beleive that you shouldn’t judge by appearances, this is not a good sign. Then again I may be wrong, and I hope I am.