SPACE 1999 TRIVIA

Thought it might be fun to start a 'SPACE 1999 TRIVIA' page where people can post short bite size nuggets of information and the rest of us can think "wow, that's interesting - I never knew that.' (unless you happen to be an absolute SPACE 1999 know it all)

ok - I've got one for starters.

Did you know that the letters 'AMC' on the patches worn by many pilots on Alpha in Year 2, stand for 'Alpha Moonbase Courier.' ?
(source - an article entitled 'The Second Season Patches' by Mare Ganea Fitzgerald, featured in the Space 1999 Convention 1979 programme booklet).

And there's plenty more 'patches trivia' where that came from, for another time

Very interesting indeed, but is this canon or fan-based?

I suggest the source of any information be cited, otherwise this may quickly deteriorate into here-say. The source for the patches information is what I would call 'soft' unless more supporting information is available.

Valid point there, s99 fan - stating the source of trivia postings would be good policy.

'Heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend' trivia would be very 'soft' for example, but 'heard it from the actor themselves at a Space 1999 convention' trivia would be very 'hard' for example.

ok - I know that you are all hungry more Space 1999 Year 2 patches trivia - so here's some more (from same source as before) -

The V.J.C. Patch - The letters stand for Verbinski-Jacob-sen Celestia.

Dr. Joseph Verbinski and Dr Blair Jacobsen were among the earliest planners of the Moonbase and her programs of operation. Their ultimate goal was to see man go into deep space, hence Celestia.

The patch is often seen on Medical Centre regulation clothing (including pyjamas) as a tribute to the two doctors.

Fascinating stuff - I hear you all thinking...

Ah, I now know your source, and yes, it is purely fan based. Per the Catacombs (quoting designer Keith Wilson), the patch designers on a whole were simply following FF's commands to enliven the set as he saw it. Most of the abbreviations had no initial meaning, such as LSRO, and the meanings that evolved were entirely based on fan whimsy.

I still quite enjoy my set of badges, picked up from Patches'n'pins and a few scifi cons over the years.

http://patchesnpins.com/Space_1999_page.htm

Mmm, well according to my booklet, the LSRO badge stood for 'Lunar Space Research Organisation', the technical branch of Alpha. Worn by those directly involved with laboratory research, communications and experimentation in the space sciences - and ALSO as worn by crew members doing precisely those kind of jobs in the current sci-fi drama 'Defying Gravity'...

So - just wondering - is that a subtle tribute to Space 1999 by 'Defying Gravity' but also do the people working on 'Defying Gravity' realise that LSRO has no meaning ?

Probably not. If it was in fact a tribute, I'd place money on a google search finding the same fan-based info you have been presenting. I did not watch DG (now canceled and unavailable), are you able to post a link to a screen cap with this insignia being used on that show?

oops - well I got that slightly wrong didn't I - see below - it's 'ISO' (and not LSRO) on their patches. And ISO stands for 'International Space Organisation' (source = scifiandtvtalk.com).
Still, it's easy to get rather distracted by all those beautiful astronaut babes !!
http://www.entertainmentwallpaper.com/images/desktops/movie/tv_defying_gravity05.jpg

ok - here's a piece of trivia from wikeopedia that you may or may not already know.

'Maya was considered to be the breakout character of Space 1999 Year 2, and very early on the producers began grooming her for her own spinoff show," - although as we all know, it did not happen in the end.

Maybe it would have been kind of like the 'Sarah Jane Smith Adventures' spinoff from 'Doctor Who'. I think it would have been really cool - imagine the teaser trailer to each episode - "Hey kids - guess what Maya is going to transform into this week !"

That's one piece of trivia I'll be checking the validity of with Catherine Schell herself, if I get the chance, when I go to the Birmingham Memorabilia Show this weekend.

SPACE 1899 wrote:'Maya was considered to be the breakout character of Space 1999 Year 2, and very early on the producers began grooming her for her own spinoff show," - although as we all know, it did not happen in the end....
That's one piece of trivia I'll be checking the validity of with Catherine Schell herself, if I get the chance, when I go to the Birmingham Memorabilia Show this weekend.

Oh yes, please ask lots of questions if you get the chance, and take lots of photos too. Look forward to hearing all about it.

Will do. Again, if the guests charge per photo, I'll try and take some from a distance with the zoom lens for free !!!
Never been to a memorabilia show before, so not really sure of the set-up, but I'll certainly report back after the event.

http://www.space1999.net/catacombs/main/merc/images/ivmpatches.jpg

ok - if your Year 2 Patches knowledge is still a little patchy - here's another fascinating piece of trivia information, this time regarding the AM technical patch (same source as before) - see bottom right patch in the diagram in the catacombs link above.

Worn by technical personnel in research sciences, the numbers on the patch vary depending on the person's field of speciality. The '1' represents technical rank; '12' is the section number; '3' is the specifice Alpha department and 'AM' is Alpha Moonbase.

Zienia has joked that her LSRO patch stood for "Little Sexy Radio Operator".

OK - time for some more Space 1999 trivia !

According to the Space 1999 Year 2 promotional handbook, some of the markings and patches on the uniforms had a small magnetic transmitter to allow certain individuals access to areas where others were forbidden to go.

A predecessor of current chip ID technology. Our show once again shown to be clever.

On the subject of trivia, Season 1 episodes started with an introduction before the drum roll leading into the opening music score and credits. Wheras Season 2 episodes started with the opening music score and credits. Does anyone know the following -

1. Which Season 1 episode had the longest introduction before the drum roll ?

2. Which Season 1 episode had the shortest introduction before the drum roll ?

The longest is Space Brain, which is a little under seven minutes.

The shortest is Dragon's Domain, less than two minutes.

Andrew Kearley wrote:The longest is Space Brain, which is a little under seven minutes.

The shortest is Dragon's Domain, less than two minutes.

Thanks Andrew

I still quite enjoy my set of badges, picked up from Patches'n'pins and a few scifi cons over the years.

http://patchesnpins.com/Space_1999_page.htm




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SPACE 1899 wrote:OK - time for some more Space 1999 trivia !

According to the Space 1999 Year 2 promotional handbook, some of the markings and patches on the uniforms had a small magnetic transmitter to allow certain individuals access to areas where others were forbidden to go.

Which is effective unless you loan your jacket to another, which happened with great frequency in the second series.

s99fan wrote:Which is effective unless you load your jacket to another, which happened with great frequency in the second series.

Indeed - slight flaw in security measures there. Reminds me of a certain Arnold Swarzneger film where a door access required a finger print, so he uses someones cut off finger to improvise - and gets to use a funny line - 'I seem to be all fingers and thumbs'

could Maya have left her dear sweet Tony though? and unless they loaned her an eagle how would she be able to get about in space? Or keep the ship in a tidy state? sleeping on the chairs in the passenger section with only supplies given to her by Alpha and how would she reach other planetary systems unless she was going to stay on just one alien planet?