2. Matter of Life and Death
Written by: Art Wallace and Johnny Byrne
Directed by: Charles Crichton
Guest Artist: Richard Johnson
Filming dates: Monday 14th to Wednesday 30th January 1974
World Premiere broadcast: 16th September 1975 (USA)
UK Premiere broadcast: 27th November 1975 (ATV/Yorkshire)
Richard Johnson was (and still is) regarded as a major actor, which makes it slightly off that he
is given the lesser billing of Guest Artist instead of Guest Star. This differentiation in credits was peculiar to Space:
1999 and was abandoned late in the season.
Stuart Damon features briefly as Eagle pilot Parks. He was to return in Year Two's The
Bringers of Wonder as Tony Verdeschi's brother Guido. Clifton Jones is introduced as David Kano, his dialogue written
in the script as for Benjamin Ouma.
Art Wallace's original script, Siren Planet, was written for an earlier version of the series format
and was thus unusable in its current form. Johnny Byrne was hired as prospective Script Editor on the series, and his
rewrite of Wallace's script earned him the position for the rest of the season. Most of Wallace's plot was rejected
during the rewriting process, leaving only the basic idea of Helena Russell's husband returning. He still received a
screen credit for his work, perhaps a political decision to appease ITC New York who wanted American writers on the series.
Due to overruns and reshoots on Breakaway, Matter of Life and Death was the first
episode in the series to be scored and edited. It was prepared with a temporary version of the opening credits
to be sent out to American TV stations, a practice which ITC had done previously with The Prisoner.
Space: 1999 was held back for seven months before its eventual broadcast in the UK
as the biggest new shows were traditionally launched in early September. Matter of Life and Death was evidently
regarded as being one of the weaker episodes and subsequently buried mid season as the thirteenth broadcast.
3. Black Sun
Written by: David Weir
Directed by: Lee H. Katzin
Guest Artist: Paul Jones
Filming dates: Thursday 31st January to Thursday 21st February 1974
World premiere broadcast: 6th November 1975 (ATV/Ulster/Yorkshire).
Black Sun had an enormously long gestation period. David Weir's first draft script was delivered
in November 1973 but was estimated to be double the required length. His second draft was dated December 5th, while
the final shooting script was delivered on January 21st 1974 with final revisions (including the notion of a female deity)
by Christopher Penfold three days later.
Filming overran by a week and a half, with Abe Mandell of ITC New York demanding further changes when
he saw the finished episode, which he found impossible to understand. Future scripts would be vetted by the New York
office, causing enormous problems and delays to the production. Despite this, the episode was a favourite with cast
and crew, though Lee Katzin found his contract terminated at the end of the shoot.
The Main Power Unit set seen both in this episode and in Earthbound is a redressing of the
Commander's Office set. Keith Wilson disliked the Alpha unifroms, arguing that their tight fit and lack of pockets made
the actors self-conscious and uncomfortable. The silver jackets introduced here are a preview of the costume changes
to come in Year Two.
