Boy those commlocks must have some range if they can communicate with Alpha from the surface of Terra Nova.

I always wondered who was holding the camera on Koenig and Russell on the planet surface so that everyone on Alpha could see them.

Probably the same cameraman who also worked for the Metrons, the Triskellions and the Excalbians in Star Trek.

I can see the commlocks communicating directly to Alpha when the signals are being relayed through the Eagles, but the signals were still happening after the Eagle blew up.

Just what happens at the end of this episode? Do the characters go back in time so the explosions, etc. never happened? Are the memories of the Alphans erased? At what point do the memories stop? At the end, Carter says Paul and Sandra are back in the eagle as ordered, but that order was given after the crisis started, after Bergman contacted Koenig. But Bergman's still doing a countdown to Operation Exodus at the end. If Carter remembers the order, does he also remember the insulation "acting up a bit"? Why does Koenig know what Helena means by "We cannot stay here, John." (Maybe the closer one is to Helena, the more you remember? Helena seems to remember everything.)

Why does Koenig's going down to the planet make the moon blow up, anyway?
And that water doesn't look like "clear, fresh, water." Looks a tad orange, a little too orange for it to be just a reflection from the sky.

No, this is not one of my favorite episodes.

Nor mine, if this was the first episode after the pilot, it certainly didn't do the show any good. Some of the premise behind the episode wasn't too bad, but it just didn't work here.

The best thing about this episode I can
remember is the clever double-entendre
regarding antimatter in the title, not nearly as
clever when someone tried it again titling "A
Matter of Balance".

I haven't seen it recently, but I liken Lee
Russell to David Bowman, cooperating with
some advanced alien race and warning the
Alphans in their usual vauge
incomprehensible way, then when all has
gone wrong reappears to offer them a second
chance by turning back the clock. Typically
too-easy plot device used more than once in
the course of the series.

Terra Nova is supposed to be the new name
given to the planet Meta by hopeful Alphans.

This episode, and Space Brain, are stretches because supposedly the characters can't communicate the problem until something terrible goes wrong or will go wrong.

Why didn't Lee tell Koenig? And if he's made of anti-matter, how did he avoid reacting with the Eagle? This episode challenges everything we know about how matter and anti-matter behave in the vicinity of each other. There would have to be several protective energy barriers to prolong exposure.

Second episode of the series and already we get the Reset Button.

The planet didn't look very inhabitable to me. The planet sets looked as cheesy as anything on TOS; thought I'd never see that again (but then again, this series was made in 1975).

I notice that quite often, the characters were seen going through an already-open door or the door opened and closed off-camera. I knew they'd get tired of those door-opening gizmos in a hurry.

Watched it tonight and noticed a couple of things.

Bits of Lee Russell's dialogue made me think of Zathros on Babylon 5 because of the way they were delivered, especially when he's going "Hell-en-ah."

In the scene immediately after he dies the way Barbara Bain delivered a couple of her lines made me think of Gates McFadden doing Doc Crusher on Trek. Its also interesting that the two characters are somewhat similar, being chief medical officers on a travelling space facility who are widows and have an attraction to their boss.

Before leaving the Eagle, Helena warns the party not to approach any animal life, no matter how harmless or friendly it seems. So what's the first thing Koenig does upon disembarking? Goes up to examine closely a couple of pretty parakeets!

How about the dirt blowing off of the soundstage floor during the windstorm (not TOO obvious), or the styrofoam rocks blowing around as the wind dies down (painfully obvious)?

Another nit is the explosion of the moon...it doesn't quite line up with the moon itself, which disappears from the sky as the explosion erupts. (My understanding is that the effects crew rarely had time to review some of their shots, often using the one-and often only-take they had time to shoot before going on to the next shot. What a hectic pace!)

I figured out a solution to the commlock nit, re: communicating with Alpha after the Eagle exploded (see Douglas Nicol's July & September 1999 postings). After the Eagle was gone, Koenig's commlock was only able to receive signals from Alpha. His calling out "Victor?" into the commlock was probably just a habit (such as when we say "Hello?" into a phone even though we know the line is dead) or a reaction of fear to what was going on around him.

But, in solving that nit, I've found another: why didn't Koenig have eveyone pitch their commlocks away with their guns? It seemed that powered tech items were prone to exploding, at least at first.

What exactly happens at the end of this episode? Does Lee cause Helena to travel back in time? Does he alter reality and bring Koenig and the others back to life so they get a chance to escape? Or was the whole disaster an illusion created by the aliens to keep the Alphans away from the planet? If time travel is involved, then what keeps the moon and the eagle from exploding the second time around?

I always wondered why, if the aliens could make the planet appear like a wasteland after Koenig & Co. arrived, why didn't they just make it look like a wasteland BEFORE and save everybody the trouble? Same issue with War Games. Maybe these aliens get jazzed by messing with the Alphans minds.

Well Anon, if they did that, the episode would be over in 5 minutes. Which in some cases wouldn't be such a bad idea...

The tragedy is, that this is an episode that could have been quite good, but various things seemed to conspire against it. Lee Russell with his monotone 'harbinger of doom' voice didn't help.

One of my fave still shots is the one of Russell kneeling by the orange-water lake with that thoughtful look on her face, the cool high-boots and the stungun in its holster.

I dig chicks with guns and thoughtful looks on their faces.

At the end of the teaser, an Eagle is heading towards Alpha, and they're all uncertain about whether or not it's going to crash or not. The situation is getting pretty tense, so how does the teaser end? Koenig strolls into his office... and does some paperwork, which is where we see him after the opening titles! He's either got nerves of steel, or the writers had a minute to fill.

Astronaut.
Action hero.
Administrator.
John Koenig is Commander, Moonbase Alpha.
Coming soon to a solar system far from you.

Also, do we ever find out if the Eagle crew recovers? Nobody seems to pay much attention to their welfare in the excitement of discovering the Lee Russell-thing.

Well, in "Ring Around the Moon," when Koenig discovers Alan Carter is going to be his co-pilot, Koenig says "I assigned Parks to this mission." So obviously, at least Parks recovered. I assume Bannion did as well.

Mayne what happened to them was all a dream, as well.

Hmm... I never thought of it that way. So, just how far back did the reset button get pushed?
I think it's safe to assume that Koenig's survey team actually was on Terra Nova, since he told them all to get back to the Eagle after Helena "restored" everything. And thus, everything up to that point happened, including the injuries sustained by the first survey team.
Just my two cents.

Actually I was just being facecious.

staging nit: in one scene late in the episode (after Lee Russel "dies" sitting up without letting his head droop), Victor and Helena consult Koenig in Main Mission/Koenig's office. Koenig's desk has been moved forward to straddle the space between the two rooms, clearly blocking the big doors' path. In the very next shot Koenig closes the big doors for privacy, but the desk is no longer in the way, placed back in it's usual spot in his office.

This ep suffers from a few "early in the series" inconsistencies, such as alert status alarm sound fx not used again in later episodes.

One of the recon pilots comments about Terra Nova, "I think we made it this time," implying that other potential but unsuitable worlds have been surveyed before this. This also suggests that Matter Of Life And Death was not necessarily intended to be the second episode and allows for out of sequence airing (which is in fact what happened during the series' initial broadcast.)

That desk movement happened again in "The Full Circle."

I also heard of the addition of some dialog ("I think we made it this time," and "A lot of strange things have happened..." since leaving orbit, for example) and deletion of any mention of Meta. The American distributor had a hand in it, IIRC.

The novelization of this ep (presumably based upon the original script) has a neat line in it that makes a nice counterpoint to Koenig's dying line to Helena ("We... we almost made it..."). After things have been restored, Helena warns John that they must leave, right away. Koenig orders everyone back to the Eagle. The group hurriedly arrives as Alan preps for a fast takeoff, and Koenig says "We made it... just barely." (Or something along those lines.) That might have made the scene a little better.
I know, it wouldn't have been much help, but I still wish it would have been there.

The unexplained reason (MUF) for Lee Russell being on Terra Nova adds to the atmosphere of this episode. If everything had a rational explanation in this story, it would be a less satisfying episode.

One shot I love in this episode is the pan from the scanner on the planet to the computer on Alpha. It's a fun, unexpected shot. It's also nice to see a small scanner (of 1999) that is limited in its capacity. It's more credible if it needed to be linked to a larger computer. The small hand-held scanners used by Maya in the second season seem less credible.

Based on an idea by Curious on the Sink 1999 2 board, here's my list of improved effects for "MoLaD":

Correct the Red Alert sound to match the rest of the season.
Make the moon's appearance in Terra Nova's daytime sky look more atmospheric (red-tinged, like the moon appears blue-tinged in Earth's daytime sky).
Fix that bad lunar explosion with something that looks better, and at least covers up the whole moon. (See Ken Scott's Moonbase Alpha's Space 1999 Pages for a great example. Go to his episode archive for Season 1 and select the correct ep.)
I know I'm forgetting something, but I can't think of it right now.

Ah, I remembered!
Terra Nova should look less jovian (gaseous) and more terrestrial (rocky). (As it is, it looks like what it is--colored ink and water on a glass plate.)

I agree about the black and white appearance of the moon in the sky. It looks like a black and white cut-out in the sky (when there should be a pinkish atmospheric haze to it).

But you disagree about everything else? (Just kidding!)
As for a rocky appearance of Terra Nova, maybe someone could have made a model planet by carving up one of those styrofoam "rocks" that "crushes" Koenig.

The explosion of the moon did have dramtic impact. It's actual execution left something to be desired. As with many of the explosions in year one (MoLaD,Voyager's Return,War Games), simply better editing would have helped. The same thing with overly visible wires (suppporting the Eagles, such as in War Games); editing a bit out before the wires are too apparent would help.
One thing I would never touch in this episode; I love the grandiose music (and pan from the planet to Alpha) in the opening.
Since you mentioned Ken Scott's site, I might add I love the new wallpapers of "Breakaway" he's added in recent monthes!

I can't remember where I first heard the idea, but the "storm" on Terra Nova that kills Benes and Koenig was supposed to be the shockwave from the exploding moon hitting the planet. Bearing that in mind, I would add a view from space of the shockwave just hitting the lead edge of the planet, then cut back to the characters' POV, as they see ripples in the atmosphere above them.

Ken Scott's added alot of new wallpapers (including to "MoLaD") as he's upgraded each episode's archive on a month-by-month basis. The "Breakaway" ones are indeed enjoyable!

Great idea about the shockwave hitting the planet.
Maybe some CGI shots of "lunar" meteorites striking the atmosphere and/or planet too. There are just so many great things that could be done!

One small nit about the episode that could stand correction; one shot shows Alan trapped in the Eagle. Although the shot is supposed to be a close-up of a Commlock, it's obviously a much larger monitor screen and not a Commlock one. A digital fix is called for ( also for a shot of a smoking Eagle in a black and white film insert and not a blue-hued tv image).

Check the Eric Bernard interview pics. It includes an "improved" shot of the moon in Terra Nova's sky. The moon's pink and more subtle... your wishes put in pictures!

Did anyone check out the Ken Scott explosion I posted a link to? As for lunar debris hitting the planet during the shockwave, that would look cool, too, from the orbital POV. Good idea! (By the way, this being a nitpicker's website and all, I have to point out that meteors are objects that enter & burn up in the atmosphere, while meteorites are objects that actually make it to the ground. )

As for the Bernard fx, yes, I've seen that shot of the pink-tinged moon... simple, but effective! He did other shots for "Testament of Arkadia" in a similar fashion (blue instead of pink) which I'll discuss when I get around to that episode. As a side note, in "Guardian of Piri," when the moon starts to leave orbit, it looks a little hazier than the usual photo cut-out, which to me hinted of atmospheric effects. I wonder if that was intentional?

I can't believe I forgot about the Eagle cockpit shot on Koenig's commlock! Does Koenig tell Carter to "switch to wide angle" or something like that? If so, it could help explain the nit sufficiently enough to justify why the shot was filmed the way it was.

As to "Meteor" or "Meteorites", CR do you also want to question the title of the 1979 disaster 'epic' "Meteor" (which also starred Mr. Landau).
Just kidding, boy has Landau been in some stinkers; "Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" (with Barb in that one),"Without Warning" (with Jack Palance),etc.
It was wonderful that he was able to win an Oscar for his terrific portrayal of Lugosi in "Ed Wood".

Martin's performances in the series were variable. I prefer his more restrained acting in the first series. In the second season, he often gave some very forced smiles and awkward laughs.
As to his preference in scripts for the show. I know he and Barb both thought highly of "The Black Sun". He thought Koenig was a "schmuck" in "Another Time, Another Place".
What?
Most fans agree that AT,AP is one of the best eps. As to why he didn't like that script, and yet, wouldn't say anything about an ep such as "Rules of Luton", who knows.

Regarding the appearance of the planets in 1999, some were more plausible than others (Starlog said any astronomer would wince at their depiction). CR states "Terra Nova should look less jovian and more terrestrial". I disagree. The striped cloudy appearance of the planet from space is reflected by its striated cloudy sky as seen from the surface. In this ep, the "jovian" appearance makes sense. I would expect a rocky appearance (from space only if there were no or few clouds in the sky. I do think CR's comment apply to another episode in particular; "The Gaurdian of Piri". In that, the "jovian" look from space isn't consistant with the cloudless clear sky depicted at ground level. One planet in the series that should definately look more terrestrial (from space) is the unnamed planet from "All That Glisters".

In the Space:1999.com interview with Brian Johnson, the interviewer describes some of the planets in the show as being ugly. Immediately, what comes to mind is Ultra in "Dragon's Domain". That was no beauty. Although in another context this might sound silly, I think Terra Nova is one of the 'prettier' planets depicted.

OK, I just bought the Space: 1999 Megaset of DVDs last week and watched this episode last night. I remember enjoying this series in the 1970's, but I haven't seen some of them in almost 30 years, and I was 8 when the show came out. Love the theme song!

Someone mentioned it earlier, but was this the second episode shown? If so, there must have been a great deal we didn't see between this episode and Breakaway. I think this episode might have been shown out of order.

I agree with the Zathras comment too. Nobody listen to poor Lee. Sad life, probably sad death. Oh well, at least there is symmetry.

One other thing - do we know what generates the gravity in the Eagles? Why aren't the occupants weightless?

Artificial gravity... it's mentioned a few times throughout the series that Earth has gravity control technology, though I don't believe the actual term "artificial gravity" is actually used.

It was the second episode filmed, but there was no definitive airing order ever offered. In fact the episodes were required to be showable in any order, the idea being that stations were not likely to follow an airing order given that it was a syndicated show. Watching them in filmed order makes the most sense tho' given set changes and so forth.

Thanks for the information, CR and Tim. That does make sense now given the line Koenig says about the many strange things they have seen.

watched this one again last night. Still digging "hell-len-ahh" in her hot boots and stungun. Man, I love chicks w guns. Esp middle-aged space-chicks w guns.

Would you like Arra in booties?

sure. im still diggin the chicks with guns.

It's been a long time... doesn't it strike anybody unusual to find that there are perfectly terrestrial animal life forms present on Terra Nova, namely those parrots?

even more amazing, Terra Nova also has evolved styrofoam rocks. Must be an anti-matter thing.

What the heck is wrong with Koenig in this episode? This mysterious guy appears, seems to have strange powers, is partially anti-matter (according to Victor). The guy, Lee Russell, tells Koenig in no uncertain terms NOT to go down to Terra Nova. If you ask me, I'd listen to what this guy has to say.

Of course, Koenig does go down, and gets everyone, except Helena, killed. Luckily, Lee, or the powers on the planet, allows time to rewind, so Helena can talk Koenig out of staying on Terra Nova.

Koenig, next time you get a warning like that, LISTEN!!

Why doesn't Alan have some fire extinguishers in his Eagle?

What happened to Planet Meta? Everyone seems to have forgotten it on Alpha..

Prof Bergman says that reverse polarity is the first step towards becoming antimatter.

It turns out, from what I've found online, that antimatter is ordinary matter with its (charge) polarity reversed....

Seems that Bergman / the show was wrong

What happened to Planet Meta? Everyone seems to have forgotten it on Alpha

Maybe the Moon never got close enough for a landing.

Nice to see some activity in these threads again.

It always did bother me that they never did explain what happened with Meta. I don't think the writer of the pilot, Geroge Bellak, ever wrote another Space:1999 episode.

In the novelization by the late E.C. Tubb, Meta was made to be the planet in "A Matter of Life and Death", seamlessly blending those two epsiodes together. But this is clearly not the case in the TV show.

This episode took place a while after the pilot. In the teaser, one of the two astronauts checking out Terra Nova says that perhaps they "made it that time." This indicates that they'd surveyed, and rejected, previous planets.

By the time of Dragon's Domain, nearly three years have passed since the Moon got blown out of Earth's orbit. Clearly, we missed some stuff.