Space: 1999 "Force of Life" TV episode Screenplay by Johnny Byrne Directed by David Tomblin Original air date: September 11, 1975

A ball of blue unknown energy enters Moonbase Alpha and then one of the Alphans themselves.

 

Read the episode summary at the Moonbase Alpha wiki

 

NOTES FROM THE SPACE: 1999 CHRONOLOGY

 

This story takes place almost immediately before the events of "Guardian of Piri", as Nuclear Generating Area Three, destroyed at the end of our current story, is in the process of being rebuilt at the beginning of the Powys novelization of "Guardian of Piri".

 

CHARACTERS APPEARING OR MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

 

Commander Koenig

Professor Bergman

Paul Morrow

Tanya Alexandre

David Kano

Operative June

Operative Kate

Jane

Anton Zoref (dies [or maybe absorbed into the energy being] in this episode)

Eva Zoref

Lee Oswald

Mark Dominix (dies in this episode)

Dr. Russell

Alan Carter

Dr. Mathias

Quentin Pierre

Hilary Preston (dies in this episode)

Sandra Benes

security guard (dies in this episode)

medical orderly

Alan Harris

 

DIDJA NOTICE?

The woman who appears on the alarm call to awaken the Zorefs for their upcoming duty period is Jane, whom we later see at the solarium in this episode.

At 1:02 on the Blu-ray, a comic book (or maybe a fumetti book) is seen in the Zorefs' quarters.      The alarm clock on the nightstand is a Sanyo Stereocast radio/alarm clock, as pointed out on the Catacombs website. This begs the question whether there are radio stations on Alpha?

At 10:11 on the Blu-ray, the Zorefs have what appears to be a typewriter in their room! Is it just an "antique" or are typewriters really necessary in the high-tech computer-dominated world of Space: 1999?

The sofa sections seen in the Zorefs' quarters are Swany sofa sections made by a company called Steiner. (Thanks to Space1999.net.)

At 10:47 on the Blu-ray, Anton is holding a book called A Far Cry. I can't make out the author's name, though the last name may be Douglas. Maybe Percy Douglas or Perry Douglas? I wasn't able to find an author by those names with a book by that title.

At 29:07 on the Blu-ray, notice a door labeled "SAUNA" can be seen in the solarium.

At 35:23 on the Blu-ray, a medication package that appears to be called Meniderm is seen on a shelf in Medical Center. I have not been able to confirm this as a real world medication.

The make-up effects of the scorched Anton Zoref are pretty good, but the look changes (eyes, scorch effect, amount of hair) from shot to shot.

At about 48:03 on the Blu-ray, as the explosions from Nuclear Generating Area Three rock the base, a crewman is seen hurled through a window to the Moon's surface! You'd think the windows built into Alpha, especially exterior facing ones, would be made of material stronger than common glass!

Nuclear Generating Area Three is destroyed in this episode, areas One and Two are left stable. Dialog suggests these are the only other nuclear generating areas. The novelization of "Guardian of Piri" states that the two generators are enough to maintain operations, but if one of them were to malfunction, Alpha would be in trouble, so Nuclear Generating Area Three is being rebuilt as well.

Notes from the novelization of "Force of Life" by Brian Ball as it appears in the Space: 1999 Year One omnibus published by Powys Media. The page numbers presented here come from the full Space: 1999 Year One omnibus. "Force of Life" begins on page 239 of the book. There will also be notes (as appropriate) from the original adaptation of "Force of Life" by Ball as it appeared in Space: 1999 - The Space Guardians, a merged novelization of the episodes "Missing Link", "Force of Life", and "Guardians of Piri", first published by Pocket Books in 1975. (Roughly speaking, chapters 7-11 cover the events of "Force of Life").

CHARACTERS APPEARING OR MENTIONED IN THIS NOVELIZATION, NOT IN THE EPISODE

ballistics engineer

senior medical assistant

electrician Johnson (Pocket Books novelization)

P. Sullivan (security guard, Pocket Books novelization, dies in this story)

Joan Conway (mentioned only) 

DIDJA NOTICE?

The storytelling of the Powys novelization of "Force of Life" is very different than that of the original Pocket Books version. Part of this is due to the Pocket Books version being based on an early draft of the teleplay that was modified quite a bit before shooting started. But, even with that, the sentences and paragraphs are completely different between the two novelizations, not just modified as the other Powys novelizations have been.

In the original Pocket Books version of the novelization, the Moon is actually said to be leaving our galaxy at the beginning of this story!

In the original Pocket Books version of the novelization, Koenig is still recovering from his experience in "Missing Link" (where, in the original version, he seemingly did have feelings of love for Vana) for the past month and he reads from a book of poetry the lines "All days are nights to see till I see thee/And nights bright days when dreams do/Show me thee." This is from William Shakespeare's Sonnet 43.

In the original Pocket Books version of the novelization, Mark Dominix is referred to as N. Dominix.

On page 247, Bergman suggests getting Conway to take over in Nuclear Generating Area Three after Dominix is found frozen to death there. This must be Joan Conway, mentioned to be one of the workers in the nuclear power generating plant in "Breaking Ground". In the televised episode, Bergman suggested Zoref instead.

In the original Pocket Books version of the novelization, it is an electrician named Johnson who makes the call in the solarium when Zoref begins absorbing power, not Tanya as in the televised episode.

Page 252 explains that the Visible Man and Visible Woman models (erroneously called Invisible Man and Woman here) that Dr. Russell keeps in Medical Center are used to help explain diagnoses to patients.

It's not clear in the televised episode, but page 259 reveals that Dr. Mathias' patient who was in danger of dying due to the power shutdown did survive thanks to the good doctor's unwavering actions to keep the patient's heart beating.

In the original Pocket Books version of the novelization, Dr. Russell tells Eva that Professor Bergman thinks that part of Anton still exists within the energy creature that has finally left Alpha.

Notes from the "The Deadly Light" adaptation of "Force of Light" German comic strip Zack Parade #26 Koralle-Verlag GmbH Text: Farinas Art: Cardona 1977

 

Zack Parade was a German comic book in a paperback format. Books 26-30 featured a Space: 1999 strip. Many of the strips were original stories, others adaptations of the televised episodes. All were written by Farinas and drawn by Cardona (Spanish artist José Maria Cardona Blasi).

 

CHARACTERS APPEARING OR MENTIONED IN THIS COMIC STRIP, NOT IN THE EPISODE

 

Jane Garnett (dies in this story)

 

DIDJA NOTICE?

 

On page 3, panel 6, Victor refers to John as "Victor"!

 

In the comic strip, the character of medical orderly Hilary Preston is called Jane Garnett instead. This seems to borrow the first name of one of the women Zoref later encounters in the solarium.

 

MEMORABLE DIALOG

 

a walk down the corridor.mp3

creative evolution.mp3

there's so many things we don't understand.mp3 

 

Back to Space: 1999 Episode Studies