Who is your favourite Space 1999 character and why?

Miranda knows the answer to this one!

Among my favourite shows to watch when I was younger were Star Trek (the original, although I did enjoy the Next Generation too, after that I'm afraid I lost interest in the various spin-offs), Ironside, The Champions, The Man From Uncle, Land of The Giants... and probably many more that I can't recall at the moment. I was never really a fan of the main characters in the show, the so called hero, and tended to like the second in commands. For instance I prefered the character of Spock to that of Captain Kirk, and the character of Ed Brown to that of Ironside. But when it comes to Space 1999, I remember that Koenig was my favourite character when I first saw the show, and remains so now. What a hero! I guess my second favourite is Professor Bergman, what a wise man to have by your side.

Alan Carter. The one every boy wanted to be. It hasn't changed.

And every girl wanted to be with.

Alan Carter, sursurum puellarum!

My favourite character is Professor Bergman, who was actually more of a philosopher than a scientist. He was always fascinated with the universe, took pleasure in even the bad days (see his celebrating their opportunity to enter a black sun!), was always there to put a hand on someone's shoulder and give them a smile, and was brilliantly portrayed by Barry Morse.

True indeed. Barry Morse more than anything else was the soul of the series, which is why series two felt and feels so utterly gutted.

s99fan wrote:True indeed. Barry Morse more than anything else was the soul of the series, which is why series two felt and feels so utterly gutted.

Amen, except that there were more reasons than just this. I agree with CalgaryAlphan (I agree with two people in the same thread?) too, and I hadn't actually thought of it this way: Victor took great joy in life, and in the universe and the people around him. In a way he was also the mouthpiece for the series, the one who put events into proper perspective for everyone else, and for the viewer.

He's my favorite character also.

Even when under the brainwashing of the Guardian of Piri, the scientist is still at work, inside. Recall how, sitting next to Helena, and any number of scantily clad babes, what does he do? He picks up one of those white spheres, and studies it.
Even then.

In retrospect, Victor Bergman was my favorite (even if some of his philosophical lines made no sense). At the time, Helena and John were my favorites.

And Sandra drove me up a wall!

Sandra was a character of the 70s. In a show only a decade later, I suspect such a meek, fainting character would have been (would be? English verb tenses are slippery things) envisioned quite differently.

It's hard to accuse Sp:99 of sexism when you've got Helena right there as head physician, in plain view... I suppose certain transient directors got away with certain questionable decisions, regarding Sandra and other things, somehow...

Senmut wrote:Recall how, sitting next to Helena, and any number of scantily clad babes, what does he do? He picks up one of those white spheres, and studies it. Even then.

Well, he did have to be careful not to get over excited, with that artificial heart...

Magnus Greel wrote:It's hard to accuse Sp:99 of sexism when you've got Helena right there as head physician, in plain view... I suppose certain transient directors got away with certain questionable decisions, regarding Sandra and other things, somehow...

I'd be among the last to accuse our show of sexism, especially series one. I'd even be willing to say that if Space:1999 had been created in this era, GA would have somehow managed to include interracial or same-gender couples in the same matter-of-fact manner that he created his international and interracial cast of the 70s, but without the obnoxious in-your-facedness that the new Doctor Who has done in the hands of Russell T. Davies.

As an adolescent watching the show for the first time in the mid '70s, Alan Carter was my favorite character.

"War Games" was the first episode I saw and I thought that the character of Carter embodied all of the "hero" qualities that a youngster (and even this oldster today) could relate to.
Although he wasn't in command, he was a younger, more macho, and updated version of Captain Kirk to me.

I am a huge fan of the original Star Trek with it's three main characters, well written for 1960s American television, but viewed from the perspective of the 70's, they were a bit flat.

Nick Tate's portrayal of Carter, even with the limited screen time the character was given, managed to convey a depth of character that revealed, fierce loyalty, self sacrifice, a sense of humor, leadership, a paternal instinct, a sense of sexuality, and an overall nobility of character. This is a tribute, not only to Mr. Tate, but to the writers and producers as well that they could get so much out of so little.

The only time the character didn't ring true for me was that moment in "Black Sun" where Alan confronts Koenig about a survival ship. He comes off looking like a coward. I don't think it was meant to be construed that way, but it was to me. A bit disapointing, but I'll get over it

Watching the show today, there isn't a single regular character from series one I don't like. Paul was the "company man" and Koenig's right hand. Sandra was the (underused) techno-savvy beauty, who seemed to have a lot of boyfriends. Kano was the pessimist who was seemingly in love with Main Computer. Dr. Mathias, who at first glance seems to be superfluous in the Alphan hierarchy (We already have Dr. Russell after all), manages to carve his own niche as a short tempered feisty medico. All had the potential to carry a story for an episode or even a multi-episode arc, but sadly that was not to be.

Koenig, Russell, and Bergman are all beloved characters to me, although as a combat veteran of two conflicts, I probably wouldn't follow Koening into a coffee shop. However, what speaks volumes about Alan Carter is that because HE would follow Koenig, I would as well.

I will probably have some thoughts on series two characters at a later date.

Thanks for reading my ramblings...