16. End of Eternity
Written by: Johnny Byrne
Directed by: Ray Austin
Guest Artist: Peter Bowles
Filming dates: Wednesday 9th to Wednesday 23 October 1974
World premiere broadcast: 15th November 1975 (KHJ/KRON, USA)
UK premiere broadcast: 20th November 1975 (ATV/Ulster)
Yellow lighting was used for some of the wall panels in the Main Mission set and the
Commander's office. Although Main Mission would soon change again, Koenig's office remained with yellow panels for the
rest of the season. Peter Bowles claims that as a result of his appearance in End of Eternity a woman flew
over from America to become his sex slave! His response to the offer is not recorded.
Thsi was not a popular story with either Christopher Penfold or Johnny
Byrne. Byrne found the character of Balor too simple - a psychopath with no real motive for his actions. Penfold
found it symptomatic of the kind of 'monster of the week' stories the production was being pressured by the New York office
to provide.
The script appears to have been a particularly difficult one to complete to everyone's satisfaction,
with the original draft completed on 2nd October followed by rewrites on the 4th, 7th and 8th, the day before shooting started.
17. War Games
Written by: Christopher Penfold
Directed by: Charles Crichton
Guest Star: Anthony Valentine
Guest Artist: Isla Blair
Filming dates: Thursday 24th October to Thursday 7th November 1974
World premiere broadcast: 11th September 1975 (Ulster)
This was one of the story proposals prepared before production began on the series,
but ITC New York initially refused permission to make the episode until it was explained that major characters weren't actually
going to be killed off! The gown worn by Helena when the aliens capture her is the same one she wore when captured by
the Tritons in Ring Around the Moon. We learn here that John Koenig is the ninth commander of moonbase Alpha.
The alien think that Koenig has conquered his fear of death when floating in space after
the Eagle is destroyed. It seems his confidence is misplaced, as the first thing the Commander does when returned to
life on the planet, is fire his gun at a random piece of equipment, causing the whole place to be destroyed. It seems
little wonder that the aliens don't want the Alphans settling on their planet.
A spectacular episode, War Games was promoted from seventeenth in production
order to fourth in screening order for the UK. Christopher Penfold has stated that this is his favourite Space:
1999 episode, a major theme being John Koenig's humanity and the violence within him. He regards War Games
as being one of a pair with Space Brain, the former being about aliens seeking a psychological solution to the contaminant
that is Alpha, whereas in the latter it's a biological solution.
18. The Last Enemy
Written by: Bob Kellett
Directed by: Bob Kellett
Guest Artist: Caroline Mortimer
Filming dates: Friday 8th to Tuesday 19th November 1974, Tuesday
25th to Thursday 27th February 1975
World premiere broadcast: 10th January 1976 (KRON, USA)
UK premiere broadcast: 19th February 1976 (ATV)
Bob Kellett was encouraged to write the script by Barbara Bain who
devised the original, albeit a little vague, idea. Remarkably, he came up with the same 'twin planets either side of
the sun' idea that was the starting point of Doppelganger. Meanwhile, the male against female slant
of the episode (somewhat reduced by casting decisions to 'hot chicks versus old gits) and rather cheap looking interior of
the Bethan spacecraft give this episode a strong flavour of Star Maidens, an Anglo-German series Keith Wilson
and many of the Space: 1999 crew worked on between the two seasons of Space.
Workingtitles for the episode were 'The Second Sex' and 'The Other
Enemy'. The reason for extra shooting after three months was that the initial edit came short. Johnny Byrne wrote
new scenes for which Caroline Mortimer was rehired, sporting a slightly different hairstyle, and filmed after main unit shooting
had wrapped on The Testament of Arkadia.
Originally both Bethan and Deltan ships were to be of the same design, but painted different colours,
until it was realised that the effect would be lost on the many viewers still using monochrome televisions in the mid-seventies.
The effects unit fell back once again on Martin Bower's bomber from War Games and Alpha Child instead.
Scenes appear to have been shot for this episode featuring Moonbase Alpha Laser Tanks, as they can
be seen in the This Episode section, but were removed in the final edit. The tanks make their full debut in The
Infernal Machine.
Watching this episode straight after the previous one produced, War Games, is a somewhat
jarring experience as they have very similar opening sequences. Even after the catastrophic events shown to him in that
story, Koenig reacts to the approcahing ships in precisely the same manner. Even Bergman comments that such a warlike
reaction is hardly Koenig's style. Clearly the man has learned nothing!
In a fabulous display of literal thinking, ATV's programme planners sceduled this episode at the very
end of Space: 1999's run because of its title, completely negating the efforts made to produce a suitable
final episode with The Testament of Arkadia.
