Missing Link

Nitcentral's Bulletin Brash Reflections: Space: 1999: Season One: Missing Link
PLOT SUMMARY: Following an Eagle crash, Commander Koenig appears to go into a coma. In reality, he has been transported to a strange world called Zenno, where he becomes a subject in an alien scientist's evolutionary research. The scientist's beautiful daughter Vanna is his key to freedom.
By Todd Pence on Thursday, April 08, 1999 - 5:59 pm:

CH video came today! (also has "AB Chrysalis") You know what that means! Big nits to come soon! (I'm gonna watch it as soon as "Elaan of Troyius" is over.)


By Todd Pence on Friday, April 09, 1999 - 5:35 pm:

Here's a doozy. While Koenig is exploring the surreal moonbase that Zenno has created in his mind, he approaches the medical scanners in the command center that have his and Sandra's name on them. A long shot shows his name spelled correctly as "Koenig", however a close up with his POV shows it mis-spelled "Keonig!"


By Todd Pence on Friday, April 09, 1999 - 5:41 pm:

Are people in comas able to blink? Koenig appears to do so a couple of times in the scene where Carter first discovers his unconcious body.


By Todd Pence on Friday, April 09, 1999 - 5:45 pm:

Geez! Somebody remind me never to spill any coffee around Kano!


By BarbF on Wednesday, August 04, 1999 - 11:07 am:

Koenig must fall in love easy...the ep makes no mention of how much time has passed, but he seems to fall for Vana relatively quickly. Maybe he prefers women wearing drapes to all that drab gray polyester...


By Douglas Nicol on Sunday, September 05, 1999 - 4:21 pm:

The novelisation of this episode was, I felt, better than watching the episode itself. It's not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just not the most compulsive episode to watch. Despite his low-key (for him) part, Peter Cushing turns in another excellent performance.


By Todd Pence on Sunday, September 05, 1999 - 9:48 pm:

The episode novelization actually incorporated a little bit of the unused "Earthbound" - for it has Koenig and Bergman discover the crashed alien sleeper ship (unoccupied) in Koenig's dream sequence when Ran first experiments on him.


By Douglas Nicol on Saturday, November 13, 1999 - 11:39 am:

Was the misspelling of Koenigs name deliverate to make him suspicious or was it a production error? I did like the scenes with the alternate Victor trying to convince Koenig to abandon the rest of Alpha, it was refreshing to see Victor act in a way totally at odds with his usual self. Would that not have made Koenig suspicious too early, if I remember rightlly Raan was a telepath and should have been able to pick up on the fact that Koenig knew Victor so well he wouldn't have been fooled by this illusion.


By Zantor on Thursday, August 31, 2000 - 8:53 am:

The mispelling of Koenig's name very well could have been a production error, because similar errors occur in other episodes--("Breakaway" for example--Bergman's monitor in the opening scene is labeled "Nordstrom" but the helmet of the actor is labeled "Nordstom") but I have read somewhere (I think it was on Martin Wiley's Catacombs site) that the mispelling in "Missing Link" was intended to tip off the audience that Koenig was undergoing an alteration of his senses, i.e., something was "not right" about the dreamlike state he was experiencing. That's either a brilliantly sutble dramatic device or a really good save...


By Peter Stoller on Sunday, September 10, 2000 - 3:25 pm:

Kind of fun to watch this one, well in tone with
the general feel of Year 1. I can't believe no
one on the Eagle is securely strapped into
their seat before the crash, they had enough
time. They end up sprawled on the floor.
Helena's attempts to resuccitate Koenig are
unintentionally hilarious (electroshock
therapy? That weird punching is supposed to
be CPR?) The crew of Alpha once again
proves to be incapable of functioning as
professionals under pressure as they snap at
one another. (Now if she'd just spilled hot
coffee ON Kano I could understand his
blowup.)


By tim gueguen on Sunday, September 10, 2000 - 7:02 pm:

Another 1999 myth has been shattered. Someone asked production designer Keith Wilson at last week's convention whether the misspelling was deliberate or not. He said it was a mistake by his assistant.


By Anonymous on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 3:29 am:

I suppose it's a part of Koenig's "dream sequence" that his photo on his commlock is different from usual - in landscape format (sideways) rather than portrait.


By Douglas Nicol on Wednesday, April 03, 2002 - 6:06 am:

Anne Robinson joke "You are the Missing Link - Goodbye" :)


By Craig Rohloff on Wednesday, April 03, 2002 - 7:04 am:

Good one, Douglas!


By tim gueguen on Saturday, October 18, 2003 - 10:06 am:

If you watch very carefully in the opening scene you'll see a woman with a purple sleeve walk behind Morrow. She doesn't seem to be wearing a stun gun and the Security "sash," so apparently she's not on guard duty. Her hair is brown, so its not the blonde lady security guard who can be seen in "Breakaway," and if I'm not mistakan said footage was reused elsewhere in year one.

The cockpit door number on Eagle One before the crash is 4, but after the crash its 6.

When Koenig is walking to Alpha and sees the rescue Eagle pass over he tries to contact it and calls it Eagle 4. How would he know that? Perhaps the rescue Eagle on duty is numbered as Eagle 4.

Why detach the cockpit of Eagle One to move Koenig back to Alpha? Its a neat special effects shot, but I can see no real medical reason for it. If you look carefully tho' you can see that the cockpit is a cardboard cutout in the last shot of the sequence.

In some shots Koenig has his missing number commlock, while in others he has a commlock with a full set of numbers.

The gold tint of Raan's skin seems to change between shots.


By Will on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 10:15 am:

Helena performs CPR on Koenig by pounding on his chest and then putting her ear to his chest to hear if his heart has restarted. Huh? Wouldn't it be easier if she used that new-fangled gadget called a Stethoscope to listen even better? I felt like I was watching Space:1899 instead of 1999. (I know, they probably had stethoscopes in 1899 but 1899 looks better by contrast than 1873.)
BarbF mentions that she felt Koenig fell for the girl pretty fast, but that's not all. If we discount his sexual fantasy of being with an alien woman, does he really know her all that well? Do they really have that much in common? I think they'd last about as long as T.H.C.O.T.W. (The Hollywood Couple Of The Week)


By Anonymous on Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - 7:06 pm:

Advanced medical technology is also shown in 'Alpha Child', where the Alphans are shown to be totally unaware of the unborn child's sex... Poor Alpha, ultrasound technology obviously hasn't made it to the moon yet.


By CR on Thursday, February 05, 2004 - 6:57 am:

LOL!
On the other hand, perhaps the mother didn't want to know, and as a result, no one besides her doctors would be aware of the information.


By CR on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 8:17 am:

Based on an idea by Curious on the Sink 1999 2 board, here's my list of improved effects for "ML". Not many for this one...
I'd leave the misspelled "Keonig" nameplate on the medical monitor! However, I'd insert a shot of Koenig pondering the misspelling, looking slightly bemused.
The walls of Raan's home should look less like fabric drapes and have a very subtle shimmering effect, to enforce his statement that his home is "made of light." The effect should also be carried over to Koenig's "quarters" on Zenno.
During Koenig's nightmare sequence, the walls should not even be visible, especially in the shot where he's strapped in the Eagle chair, covered with cobwebs. Ever seen THX-1138? In that film, there's a holding cell of sorts (where malcontents are housed) with no walls, just whiteness apparently stretching to infinity. A similar effect here (but keeping the blue hue) would be creepy, especially as Koenig gets farther away. I would keep the mist on the floor for this shot, though, to give some sense of depth so that it doesn't just look like a photo of Koenig being shrunk down to simulate receding motion.
I'd love to fix the nit with the detached Eagle command module having the connecting corridor with it. I'll just hop into my time machine and re-shoot the scene... uh, I mean...
OK, seriously, now... I'd have the whole front of the Eagle (command module plus the service module immediately behind it) lifted by the cargo Eagle. Having a few astronauts on the lunar surface nearby, holding cutting gear, would indicate that a salvage crew had cut away the framework so the forward part of the Eagle could be lifted away. Perhaps a quick shot of said crew at work could be inserted while Helena & Alan prep Koenig for transport.
I can't think of anything else for this one.


By Curious on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 11:11 am:

The effect they were going for in Raan's home was achieved in countless early 80's videos. Simple overexposure would achieve a look of a bright white expanse. Remember, Zenno was supposed to be a "City of Light", not a city of fabric cheesily draped over illuminated Alphan panels.
One nit not noticed often; in many eps the direction of the shadows on the lunar hills (outside the windows) doesn't match the direction of the light shining onto the windows of Alpha.
Perhaps, Koenig's nightmare could be made more elaborate (with added nightmarish CGI images), or was that quite enough for you?


By CR on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 11:41 am:

It wasn't exactly scary to me, even as a child, so yeah, some spicing up would be nice. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to see the scene be made too over-the-top. In other words, no gorier than some of the other S99 episodes.

A few years ago, I wrote (under a pseudonym) a magazine article about the "monsters" (aliens) in S99's first season, including the creatures in the nightmare scene. I brought up the point about how they were parts of Koenig's subconscious fears about being little more than a lab animal, apparently brought to life. I pointed out that such an idea (the subconcious brought to life) wasn't new in sf, citing the classic film Forbidden Planet as one example. (In a neat coincidence, a line from that film would work in this episode, too: "Monsters, John! Monsters from the Id!")

Good catch, Curious, about those hills outside the windows! I never liked how S99 detractors always complained that there should be no external illumination in deep space... yeah, that'd be exciting: "Here's blackness. There's a cool spaceship in the scene, but you can't see it because there's no external light source. But man, at least that's realistic!" I can forgive general illumination in a scene (just as Star Trek TOS fans never complain about the Enterprise always being perfectly illuminated). But S99's hills-versus-windows discrepancy is going to stand out to me now!


By Douglas Nicol on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 1:15 pm:

Lighting in shows is always a balancing act between realism and the visual impact.

Has anyone on this board tried using Lightwave or similiar programs? To briefly explain it, Lightwave is a CGI animation/stills program, which really made its mark when it was used to do all the space scenes in Babylon 5.

If when making a scene you alter the ambient light, which is the general overall lighting to 0%, you end up seeing nothing. Expecting scientific lighting wouldn't please most fans as there would be little to see.

B5 has handled it well in the past with mood setting lighting without going over the top, but even then this is a far cry from reality. I personally prefer a bit of a departure from reality so that I can enjoy whatever I am watching.


By Mark on Monday, March 22, 2004 - 3:36 pm:

The problem of dim light in deep space was addressed in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The Enerprise was illuminated by its own external spotlights. This lighting concept was abandoned for the most part its sequels.

Speaking of blue screen opticals in other sci-fi productions, the use of in-camera effects in S99 did result in crisp clear effects. In shows from Trek to Battlestar:Galactica, there is often a noticable difference in picture quality from live action and effects shots.

Babylon 5 did represent a breakthrough in CGI effects for television shows. However, subsequent shows' overuse of often awful CGI effects probably dulled their impact overall (think of Sea Quest every time a shot of the ocean surface was called for). Maybe, the digital age allowed for so many effects shots to be used that audiences simply became bored with them.

The effects shots of Zenno in "Missing Link" would definately be handled differently today. If it were done today (in CGI) it would probably start with a panoramic shot and end up in a zooming close-up to a window. Interestingly, the matte painting of Zenno is a beautifully detailed work of art all by itself. The matte paintings used in classic Trek really don't stand up to inspection by themselves. Alone, they aren't well done, but matted with the actors they are convincing. It would have been nice if S99 used matte paintings more often.

On a non technical note, the suggestion that Earthlings were a "Missing Link" for the Zennites (on a planet many light years from Earth) was always a bit troubling to me. Again, another example of ignoring science in the show.

One thing special about this ep: I love the dream-like sequences of Koenig on Alpha. The lighting, music (borrowed from Stingray), and directing are wonderful. It stands favorable comparison to the scenes of a "recreated" Alpha in the second season ep "One Moment of Humanity".


By ScottN on Monday, March 22, 2004 - 3:50 pm:

I would suspect that part of the quality of matte issue in Classic Trek was budgetary. It's well documented that Trek was on a shoestring budget. It was documented that they would go dumpster diving in the "Mission Impossible" trash for the styrofoam packing from varioius standard electronics (tape decks, lamps, etc...) to get items to use as props for alien art and the suchlike. It would have been interesting to see the quality of matte if Trek had had a fullbore budget.


By Douglas Nicol on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 7:46 am:

One film that I felt used lighting effectively for its ships was The Black Hole, with the USS Cygnus being lit beautifully, while the diminutive USS Palamino relied on some running lights.

Regarding CGI, after B5, many shows overused it. I think in fact that Star Wars Episode II:Attack of the Clones was a prime example, with the droid v trooper battle and the chase through the Coruscant cityscape, there was so much CGI that I felt there was little to actually focus on.

ScottN wrote

"It would have been interesting to see the quality of matte if Trek had had a fullbore budget."

It's not so much the budget, but how you use it, B5 had a fraction of the budget of its Star Trek contemparies, but I realise you are referring to Classic Trek, and overall they did fairly well with what they had to work with.


By Mark on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 6:07 pm:

The production designer for original Trek did have a very limited budget. Many eps feature redresses of earlier eps' sets. Space:1999's first season was unique in that an extraordinary amount of time and money was spent on many eps' sets. Year 2 was a disappointment because the show turned to the standard practice of redressing earlier sets (ex: "Metamorph's" Grove of Psyche became "Exiles" Golos control room became "One Moment of Humanity"s Vegan hall).

As to Trek's special effects, they weren't cheap. In fact, Trek featured some of the most expensive optical effects seen on tv of that time. Rival "Lost in Space" used much cheaper in-camera effects (like S99) for its space scenes. S99's effects were actually fairly cheap. The avoidance of costly opticals allowed for many more effects shots in each ep.

Doug, your points about over use now of CGI effects is well stated. Perhaps, the best example of this is "The Mummy Returns". It features tons of impressive ILM computer effects. However, there is such an excessive amount of (admittedly good) CGI, the viewer simply becomes worn out. The old Star Wars films, by necessity, had to rely more on characters and story. The new ones rely on an excess of CGI. The result: the old ones have much more of an impact. SW:ATC's battle scenes may be more technically impressive than "The Empire Strikes Back's" AT-AT battle, but Empire's still the more entertaining. Some one needs to teach today's George Lucas the value of restraint.


By CR on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 6:51 am:

I heartily agree about today's over-reliance upon CGI effects (rather than a good story & characters) to carry a film or tv series.


By Curious on Sunday, March 28, 2004 - 1:41 pm:

About the "lunar hills" background seen through Alpha's windows: it was a painted back drop, so the light and shadows were permanently fixed.

One of the few Y2 eps, "Seed of Destruction", featuring windows shows those "hills" at their most unconvincing. In the life support center, both Koenig and Cranston look out the window. What they see is a painted backdrop of lunar hills that is far too close to the camera. The hills are obviously a flat painting (the reflector dish in the shot is also a gravity tower from Y1, and doesn't match the miniature). At least in the first season, more care was taken to not ruin the illusion.


By Mark on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 11:06 am:

This whole episode starts out on a sour note for me. No one aboard the Eagle about to crash thinks of putting on their seat belt. I know those cockpit seats have yellow seat belts (which seem to have conviently disappeared). In other words, this episode starts out with every one acting in a mindless and careless way!

Koenig should know better considering how many crashes he's been in!


By Curious on Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 7:39 am:

Ken Scott has updated his "Missing Link" guide with some nice new wallpaper montages.


By CR on Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 8:23 am:

Oh, good! I thought it was a long time since the last update!


By Tim on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 7:37 pm:

Zenno tells Koenig that the planet they're on is five million light years from Earth. FIVE MILLION LIGHT YEARS!?!? That's farther from us than the Andromeda Galaxy is!

They really played fast and loose with cosmic terms. The Moon should have at least remained in our own galaxy.


By Fred Learn (Octobercountry) on Saturday, September 12, 2015 - 11:22 pm:

In the long shots showing the moon and planet in the same frame, the moon is apparently in the foreground, much closer to the camera than the planet. However, the exact same cut-out of the moon is shown in the shot of the planet's surface, with the moon in the sky. From the change in angle, the OPPOSITE side of the moon should be in view from the planet's surface, not the same one we see from space.


By Tim McCree (Tim_m) on Friday, January 15, 2021 - 5:31 am:

Some good character moments in this one.

Alan busting into medical and trying to stop Helena from pulling the plug on Koenig, for example.


By steve McKinnon (Steve) on Sunday, May 02, 2021 - 11:33 am:

Todd Pence - Geez! Somebody remind me never to spill any coffee around Kano!"

Even worse, nobody picked up the mess! The woman left, and Kano was told to return to his post by Paul.

I didn't like how Koenig was turned into a trembling, babbling coward with the creatures, ie "Help me, Victor! Help meeee! AAAAUUUGGH!"

Koenig was told he'd remain on Zenno for the rest of his life, but once he gets the hots for Raan's daughter, he's willingly sent back to Alpha by Raan. Huh? If the 'missing link' research was so important, and he wanted Koenig to stay on Zenno, why did he send him back so soon, if Koenig had changed his mind and decided to stay willingly? Talk about a changed premise!

There are too many similarities between this and the Star Trek episode, 'The Mark Of Gideon';

1. Kirk and Koenig find themselves alone in their ship/moonbase, but neither is the real ship/moonbase.
2. Kirk and Koenig encounter a beautiful woman and her father.
3. Kirk and Koenig fall for the woman rather quickly, and talk about staying with her.
4. Kirk and Koenig are told they'll remain on the alien world for the rest of their lives.
5. Kirk and Koenig suffer an injury at the start of the episode- Kirk, a forced blood extraction from the Gideonites, and Koenig a cut on his forehead from the Eagle crash.
6. Kirk and Koenig are going to be used for an experiment of sorts by the woman's father; Kirk for his blood with a deadly virus in it, and Koenig the 'missing link' of Zennite society.
7. Kirk and Koenig are presumed dead (Spock tells Sulu to scan space for Kirk, Koenig is braindead in the medical center).
8. Kirk and Koenig have someone who refuses to believe they're dead- McCoy for Kirk and Alan for Koenig.


By Tim McCree (Tim_m) on Sunday, June 05, 2022 - 5:38 am:

Space: 1999 did something that even Star Trek was unable to do. They got both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee to guest star.


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