Thread: Article: How Should Space 2099 Be Launched?

I think having the crew understand their environment is part of the fun, like the castaways on Lost.

I always enjoyed episodes that took place on the base; I enjoyed exploring it.

I support the idea of an incident with a particle collider as the catalyst for launching the moon on its voyage. The key is that it should be an INCIDENT. I'd even vote for the collider to be so damaged from the Breakaway incident that it cannot be used for a return to Earth orbit OR an escape from, for example, Dorcons.

I intensely dislike the concept that the Alphans could just fire up the collider and jump through wormholes at will. As a plot device, it would be as derivative as a monster of the week to save the day. As a literal device we couldn't even have an actor with the charm and skill of a Catherine Schell to make it believable and endearing.

As Robert Wood and others have mentioned, the allure of the original 1999 was that the Alphans could not control the journey onto which they were unwillingly thrust. I'd argue that the inability to control their destiny was even true for Year 2, though the emphasis was not so overt. Journey to Where, The Bringers of Wonder and The Taybor, to name three episodes, were entirely about the Alphans trying to get back to earth.

Simply put, the desire to return to earth was the thread that was woven through the tapestry of the journey the Alphans didn't want, couldn't control and could not end. That is the lightning that Jace needs to capture in the proverbial bottle. Thought provoking stories told of characters we care about, in an entertaining way must be at the core of 2099.

Originally Posted by Mike Campbell

I support the idea of an incident with a particle collider as the catalyst for launching the moon on its voyage. The key is that it should be an INCIDENT. I'd even vote for the collider to be so damaged from the Breakaway incident that it cannot be used for a return to Earth orbit OR an escape from, for example, Dorcons.

I intensely dislike the concept that the Alphans could just fire up the collider and jump through wormholes at will. As a plot device, it would be as derivative as a monster of the week to save the day. As a literal device we couldn't even have an actor with the charm and skill of a Catherine Schell to make it believable and endearing.

'Quantum Leap' in Space.

Originally Posted by al feersum

'Quantum Leap' in Space.

Oh, please no!

Originally Posted by Mike Campbell

Oh, please no!

Not a suggestion... a warning....

I just found this...

Black Hole Punch Can Launch a Planet : Discovery News

Originally Posted by al feersum

Not a suggestion... a warning....

I agree with that wholeheartedly, that's the danger with any kind of wormhole device, is that the moon becomes a giant TARDIS or Stargate.

I certainly look forward to seeing how the writers of this show solve this conundrum.

Originally Posted by Robert Wood

The whole thrust of Space: 1999 and Year One is that the Alphans do NOT have control over their trajectory.

Well if the warp device is pulling them to some random point in space/time (maybe it always lands them at a certain distance from some source of gravity, so they are near a system/planet) they would not be determining their trajectory. They would be pulled somewhere random, never knowing where they were going. This would come very close to how the original show worked, but be more plausible in terms of the science.

The device could at times be non-operational as well due to lack of a fuel element or some other reason, so that writers could essentially deactivate it for certain episodes.

A wormhole device just shouldn't be used as a way for the Alphans to drive the moon where they want it to go. Used as a mechanism to launch the moon on it's journey is one thing. To become, as a previous post said, Quantum Leap in space would be an immediate kiss of death. I'll take bug eyed monsters over that cliche. A collider should be damaged beyond repair so that plot device can only be used once. It should never be able to be used to jump the shark.

This is why some kind of device that jumps the moon around the galaxy should be incomplete or imperfect so the Alphans have little control over where they are going. The device is safe enough so the Alphans don't jump the moon into the middle of a star, astroid belt or black hole, but uncontrolled enough where the Alphans have literally no idea where they're going. The moon has to be able to go to multiple places. A one-time accident that is non-repeatable will just get the moon and Moonbase Alpha stuck. In essence they would be all dressed up with no place to go.

One reason Stargate worked for so long (multiple seasons) was that gate travelers were able to go to many places and get into many different situations and predicaments.