Thread: What Should SPACE:2099 Look Like?

Just to get a discussion started...

How much should SPACE:2099 resemble the original from the 70's?

What should be re-done?

What should NOT ever be touched?

What would a new series absolutely HAVE to have!?

Let the controversy begin!

For me, the Alpha Base itself shouldn't be touched design wise. It is iconic. I feel the same way about the basic design of the Eagle. If the Mark IX Hawks are worked in, I think those can be played with a litle more in my mind because they weren't integral to the series. Cool, yes, in their design.

I'd like the sleeve colors integrated somehow. That's pretty iconic as well...like the colored shirts on Trek. I'd really like to see sleek spacesuits, something less cumbersome that our orange ones.

Me, I'd like the original character names. I hate when things get remade and they change all the character names and take the concept so far from the original. The Mission: Impossible movies are a major example. All the character names were changed and it became James Bond rather than the team effort that was the hallmark of M:I. Those aren't Mission Impossible and for me, all new character names in 2099 won't make it 1999 based. Sure, I think the personality traits can change. Have to change somewhat.

I really want thought-provoking SciFi with 2099. That to me is the most important part. Gritty, realistic, heck yeah, but leave some mystery in it all.

The one thing that placed the series for beyond anything else that had been seen at the time of release in the 70s was the grandeur feeling and epic scale of the show. There are a lot of digital effects that can achieve this nowadays at a more realistic cost than what the original series had - but this has to be done with style and grace.

While CGI has mainly replaced model work in the miniature department, some things just can't be achieved - some real model work needs to be done. For example, I've never seen an effective CGI crash-land - especially on a lunar surface - the physics involved in throwing all that moon dust around convincingly must be beyond our current programmers abilities.

Green screen backdrops are starting to work good, but green floors? NO! Shadows are always wrong, the characters seem to float on false floors. Again, it's either limited technology at TV level or just bad computer programming we are witnessing.

Whatever happens:- shaky cameras are wrong! Thankfully a current fad that is dying out. Garrett Brown invented the stedicam for a reason - suddenly we had cameras that could brilliantly float across all sorts of terrains and track the actors - and then for some reason somebody thinks that a shaky camera with half a shoulder in the frame is a way of bringing us into a private conversation!
We are now watching programmes on 50 and 60 inch TVs these days - that shaking (whether organic or otherwise) is causing a whole lot of motion sickness.


To keep the epic feel, as done in the original series, we should start the episode with a hook, ending with a drum roll that leads into a fully orchestrated dramatic theme. The 'this episode' sequence should also stay - it's iconic and a real good blood pumper.

Characters - the regular ensemble of the originals worked well, however, there is room for a Commissioner Simmonds type character to play the devil's advocate. Although not annoyingly that it becomes a constant battle of wills un-necessary arguments thus turning the show into a tea-time soap.

Something that just occurred to me about 1999 which would be very good to see continued in 2099.

One of the things that I loved about 1999 was that the ingenuity of the Alphans was not always paramount. Unlike Trek where the ingenuity of the Enterprise Crew always triumphed, in Space: 1999 that was not a given. Sometimes the Alphans were smarter than the other people they came across, but even in those cases it was a struggle to win out.

In short, we always new that the Trek people were going to outsmart the alien races. In 1999, not so. Sometimes the Alphans triumphed through sheer will and determination, but most time the alien races they encountered were smarter and more advanced than they. The Alphans learned lessons. Trek people taught them.

I prefer the 1999 approach.

I would hope they keep some of the look familiar. The artwork on the site's home page seems on the right path. What is important though is make the designs plausible and yet vaguely familiar for the fans. This is hopefully a new show for new fans and us old timers are not nearly as important. Still, keeping some of the designs similar and yet upgraded is perfect!!!

I would like to see a fully fleshed out cast where the main characters are strong but they do not completely dominate/overshadow the secondary characters. I would also like to see an overriding series arc that brings the opening/pivotal plot point of the series (the status quo changer, if you will) to some kind of closure.

Also, while the grim and gritty nature of, say, the reimagined Battlestar Galactica might be a step too far in the wrong direction, the future can't be all shiny and bright. If bad things happen, there have to be repercussions. If people spend months, even years in deep space with no respite, there has to be consequences.

Should the production design be identical from the 70's show to the new one. Well I don't think it needs to be identical but it better be pretty close with a modern flair. The uniforms I think can be updated although the unisex costumes were certainly ahead of their time. Look at the new Star Trek film, they were able to update the uniforms but still look remarkedly like the old ones. I think the Eagle design is just so functional and realistic. It really is a perfect space vehicle and very plausible for 2099. The stun gun was always such a unique design, definitely can be updated. The base itself, still holds up well, one thing is a must, a return to Season 1's vast Main Mission.

> How much should SPACE:2099 resemble the original from the 70's?

I'm fine with just the basics. 1999 was very optimistic, very human, very cerebral. The future was clean and shiny. The alien worlds looked very alien, almost surrealistic at times. The special effects and miniatures work were as much as star as Landau and Bain. The music was epic, in Season 1 at least. The weekly guest stars were fantastic, and the cast as a whole was completely, deliberately international.

I'd like to see those elements remain, and the "science" in the "science fiction" be strengthened. But 1999 looked and felt completely different from any other sci-fi at the time. That was a real strength, and I want to see that happen again. I don't want 2099 to be like the BSG re-imagining, all gritty and dark and heavy. JJ Abrams' Trek reboot is somewhat closer to what I'd like to see with 2099.

> What should be re-done?

Like 1999 did then, it should still look like a plausible, familiar future to viewers today. I'm not so much in favor of a big heavy arc like B5 or BSG. But there was an implication in some stories of the original series that what happened was part of Humankind's destiny among the stars. I would like to see that dug into deeper, better, more consistently. Ideally, it should also come to a natural end.

> What should NOT ever be touched?

I can't think of anything that shouldn't be considered fair game to be reimagined. I suppose the basic premise of 1999 ("the moon is blasted out of Earth's orbit") probably has to be considered as up for grabs. I'd be bummed to see it changed to something like "The great big spaceship Alpha has been hurled far away from Earth, but with its Eagle Shuttle the crew meets fantastic new situations each week". We've seen that. Lost In Space, Voyager, Stargate Universe. There was something very cool about it being Alpha Moonbase and the Moon spinning through the galaxy and space/time warps. Can it be reimagined into something more feasible this time? I don't know. But I'd like to think so.

> What would a new series absolutely HAVE to have!?

THE EAGLE(s)! (done! see, that was easy!)

Im just looking forward to having a good SciFi series again

Two things absolutely cannot change: Alpha and eagles. I won't be a naysayer but the new Eagle artwork already is a bit of cold water on this amazing announcement. As a child when Space:1999 first ran, I HATED Year Two and most everything about it, from the music to Command Center and most everything in between. As an adult, I gradually came to not only just appreciate, but prefer many of those changes. Hang with me here. Having spent my adult life in the sciences in industry, I have an- ahem- appreciation for budgets. The part of me who has to provide services to my employer that are value added, of high quality, on budget and on time recognizes that an Alpha financed by politicians like Commissioner Simmonds would not- repeat NOT- waste the square footage that was occupied by Main Mission, Koenig's office and the observation deck. Command Center would just...be... in the plausible world. And that's OK!

The one thing that Year Two didn't change was the Eagle design (more or less). The additional module between the pilot seats added a sense of realism to the cockpit and the missing steward section between the pilot section and the passenger module was not missed. The design is beyond iconic and, as such, beyond re-imagining. It is just that simple.

I realize this project is not Year Three- bigger, better and more exciting than 1977! Trust me, most everything else can be re-imagined, nipped, tucked, updated, whatever. Jace just has to understand that the Eagle and Moonbase Alpha designs are not just iconic in the Space:1999 universe, they are classic Sci-Fi. Period.

OK. I've waited on this since I was twelve years old. So I'm going to talk over the music cue to get off the stage. A little more and then I'll be done :-)

As for the storyline, I'm happy that Jace is looking at the kind of stories that made the show not Star Trek. Even Year Two had some nice stories. Sue me. I like Bringers of Wonder, A B Chrysalis, Catacombs of the Moon, Devil's Planet. Yes, the catsuits were hot but there was some nice human rights dialogue buried in between the whips and the hunt.

The one bit of advice I'd give Jace on story lines and character development is buy the Firefly box set and watch. Repeatedly. Buy Serenity and watch repeatedly. For gritty, thought provoking story telling, there is no equal! Go find Joss Wheden. Find him now and get him involved as a writer, consultant, muse, whatever. Threaten to give out his cell phone number to this board if he doesn't agree to contribute in some capacity. Repeat the cycle until he's onboard!

OK. They are playing the music louder but I have to say one more thing. Thank you! Really. I've waited thirty five years for something like this. I do wish you well and I hope ITV makes money hand over fist off of this project. May you have many seasons of stories to tell.