Why does an apparently peaceful lunar research base need Laser Tanks

I would assume after awhile they'd get tired of getting their butts kicked by every alien coming and going and they'd put some man-hours and material into arming themselves.

This is a good episode. Despite Gwent's attitude all through the episode you can't help but feel sorry for him/it when it dies.

Since none of the tanks are identical in design, they may have been custom built by the Technical Section and added to Alpha's defenses. My favorite is the one with the Eagle nosecone. I can see Koenig ordering Alan and Victor to come up with some sort of defense idea. The tanks' shape would result from using exsisting Eagle parts. Guess the Alphans were as good at kit-bashing models as Brian Johnson!

Possibly the best episode ever. It's among the
best science fiction plays produced. It stands
proudly among the finest efforts of Star Trek
and the like. It's suspenseful. It's well paced.
It's got good FX and action scenes. Most
importantly, it lacks any significant plot flaws.
Good example to show to people unfamiliar
with Space: 1999. Has another one of their
sad endings. It's a pity Gwent didn't stay with
the Alphans. They could have offered, "Join us
instead. Share your experiences with us. Help
us find a new home. Become OUR
companion."

Nitpicks:
--Companion collapses during the first battle.
Dr. Russell immediately goes to his aid, but
Bergman's first action is to tend to
companion's fallen chair.
--Shouldn't Gwent's "jump-starting" of
Bergman's heart cook Bergman like a hot
dog?
--Gwant attacks Alpha's personnell with some
kind of red "agony" weapon. They proceed to
bounce around in front of the camera
screaming in some goofy pantomime of being
tortured.

My guess is that the laser tanks are actually construction or lunar exploration vehicles refitted with laser weapons, armour, and apparently remote control gear. Alpha would surely have need of heavier duty and longer ranged vehicles than the moon buggies.

I, too, thought the laser tanks were retrofitted construction/exploration vehicles. The "eagle nosecone" variant seems to have "evolved" from the other two designs, which appear to be "down and dirty" workhorses. It also looks suited for long range recon missions, with (somewhat limited) interior space that would allow a crew a place to freshen up and sleep.
Peter Stoller's suggestion of the Alphan's offer to Gwent (posted Sept. 2000) was simply elegant. Even if Gwent's suicide run onto the lunar hills was a foregone conclusion on the writer's part, the offer would have been a nice touch, showing humanity at its best.

I'm having alot of problems with my ISP locking up or kicking me out; I apologize in advance if my message for Infernal Machine gets posted twice (or more).

so why werent the laser tanks ever seen again?

There was never really another sequence they fit in with. Probably "The Dorcons" would have been the only place to put them in.

After Tony became head of Security in year 2, all their security problems were solved, so they weren't needed!

After Tony became head of security in Year 2, security became a thing of the past.

awwwww....Taybor complimented Tony on his security, and if that's not the seal of approval, what is? The man had a "licence to approve other species' security setup" badge and all...... ;)

Both "The Infernal Machine" and "The Taybor" feature alien visitors who attempt to "kidnap" a companion. Which fate would be worse- being a captive of Gwent or Taybor?

Hard to say, but I think that Gwent would be a lot more erratic than Taybor.

Besides, with the size of the Taybor it would be easy to keep out of his clutches.

...or Maya might become a chubby chaser!

Both Gwent and Taybor had some positive qualities. Both would take you on a tour of the universe!

After Tony became head of security in Year 2, Space:1999 became a thing of the past. But I don't think it was his fault, I think it was Fred Freiberger's.

Speaking of security, why would a security officer become such a prominent character in year two? I guess it fit in more with Y2's emphasis on action.
It wasn't as if Alpha was suddenly deluged by crime and violence and suddenly needed a 'security' officer as a prominent figure. Tony never struck me as being particularly expert on security matters anyway.
I prefered the Bergman character. He was missed in year two.

It probably makes some sense to have a Security Chief on the base, even if they aren't expecting any real problems (before Breakaway, that is), since all departments and sections need a Chief. Helena as Head of Medical, Alan as Chief of Reconnaisance, and then Tony as Security Chief. I have to admit though, since pre-Breakway Alpha wasn't expecting unfriendly visitors, it seems strange that the Security Chief would be the Executive Officer. I would expect the Chief of Reconnaisance or Head of Science to be Koenig's backup, or Paul, as Main Mission Controller.
I know this wasn't really a military operation a la Star Trek, but as a science facility, there would be an Assistant Dean or some such.
It would seem that for Y2, Koenig has not only upgraded the defenses, but militarized Alpha for security purposes. At that point, it would be more practical to have the Security Chief be the Exec (especially considering how many hostile aliens appear during the series!)

LMan asked why the laser tanks were never seen again. They were seen briefly (almost out of frame) in the hangar sequence in "Space Warp". Of course, that wasn't very satisfying. They should have showed up in "The Dorcons"; when Alpha had to mount a full defense against the Dorcon ship. "The Dorcons" showed Alpha using the gun platforms from "Last Enemy" as laser weapons. Did Alpha retrieve them from the wreckage and convert them for another use?

For that matter, they could have retrieved something of use from the remains of Gwent's ship.

Actually, I thought the laser tanks were never seen again because Gwent destroyed them. (I know, they could have built replacements if they felt the need to.)
Gwent appears to shoot down no less than three Eagles with direct hits. It's hard to tell if they're supposed to be destroyed outright or just knocked out of action, but I don't see them after the explosions fade.

It could be chalked up to the show's continuity problems. The striped Rescue Eagles disappear after the first season (they were also no where to be seen in operation Exodus to Piri, War Games, etc). In "Infernal Machine" One Eagle is hit by a laser resulting in a huge explosion. If the Eagle wasn't destroyed, what caused that explosion?

Gwent fires at a pair of retreating Eagles during the first skirmish, while they can be seen receding towards the lunar horizon. Although the animated beam seems to connect with the Eagles, the resulting explosion appears to occur on the ground, tearing up the terrain rather than in the sky where the Eagles were. I assume Gwent missed (the Eagles were getting beyond his range of accuracy.)

For that matter, if Gwent is supposed to be blind, how can he find or hit anything at all?
Maybe his blindness is limited to his EM band sensors. He can detect forms and materials like the moon, Alpha's resources, Bergman's artificial heart and Carter's sidearm, but he can't see any light in the visible spectrum or read Koenig's handwriting.

Peter, you raise a good point about Gwent's blindness. How could he be blind? Gwent would need to see to be able to pilot the ship (and avoid obstacles, landings, etc.).

Maybe he was just blind internally. Perhaps Gwent felt no need to see inside himself. Literally, that is.
Of course, "seeing inside himself" could be used figuratively, too, since his inability (or unwillingness) to do so reinforced his feelings of self importance; he felt no need to change.

I like the poetry in your observation of Gwent's lack of insight. I was going to say that Gwent had no internal cameras, but he did probe about with those "spotlights", his internal sensors, capable of identifyng and discriminating between different objects and substances (provided they weren't grouped too closely together). He seemed to have external sensors capable of the same. He even had a visual monitor inside displaying the battle for Koenig to see, but maybe he couldn't process such visual information for himself. He also was able to influence Alpha's internal systems from afar, so there wasn't much he couldn't do, navigating the stars by their radio emissions rather than visual reckoning.

Peter, the novelisation of Infernal Machine states that Gwent fires at the range of hills the Eagles are flying towards, the resulting explosion causing some moderate to serious damage.

Based on an idea by Curious on the Sink 1999 2 board, here's my list of improved effects for "TIM":
Actually, the fx for this ep were pretty good. Offhand, I can only think of a couple of edits, and/or maybe looping in some dialogue for clarification...
Shorten the "red beam of agony" scene just a little, so it seems more dramatic and less silly.
Maybe have dialogue that indicates the lunar tanks are unmanned (as the novilization does), so that Alpha's ever-dwindling population doesn't lose so many people in Season 1. It would also explain why the tanks were just sitting as exposed targets, instead of attempting evasive maneuvers. (Something like "The remote tanks have all been destroyed!" would suffice, though that kind of borders on cheesey exposition, doesn't it?)
As long as I'm looping in dialogue, why not something to clarify that some of the Eagles weren't actually hit? (The scene Peter Stoller mentions above was indeed a little confusing on that point.)
Oh, I did just think of one effect that was a little less than special: the moon buggy leaving Alpha looks rather model-like. It wasn't terrible, but it moved a little too fast to look natural. (This was an ongoing problem with that model, but it hit an all-time low in Season 2's "The Taybor," with really stiff-looking astronauts as well.)

That buggy also looks out of scale with the moonbase buildings. The spacsuited figures could stand tall enough to peer in through second story windows.

The moonbuggy and figures miniature also looks pretty shoddy in the 2nd Seasons "The Bringers of Wonder".

With the advent of CGI technology it wouldn't be too hard to show simulated damage on some of the models. While I realise this was done on occasion with the full models this was generally a one off or occasional use.

Back when I first saw "The Taybor" as a kid, I was watching it with both of my brothers. They laughed when they saw the 'moonbuggy' with the phony-looking bouncing figures...followed by a "That's fake looking!" I responded "Well, they can't actually film on the moon". Of course, I knew it looked ridiculous too. Usually I heard remarks about the effects in Space:1999 (with Buck Rogers, it was whether this week's "babe" was as hot as last week's).

Excellent continuity point with Bergman's artificial heart.

Loved the laser tanks as well.

So is this 1999's version of The Ultimate Computer?

Whereas Kirk defeated soulless A.I.s with logical traps, Gwent is a genuine if irrational personality who ultimately relents and commits suicide. That kind of reminds me of "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" Dr. Roger Korby's self-destruction has the same poigniancy.

Douglas Nicol mentioned back on July 31, 1999, 'What does an apparently peaceful lunar research base need laser tanks?'
I'll go one step beyond that and ask,
What does an apparent peaceful lunar research base need laser-equipped Eagles? Not for protection against alien invaders, because the first use of a laser was in 'Black Sun'.
Maybe life on the Earth wasn't too peaceful, and Alpha might have needed to protect itself against those aliens from 'UFO'?

Perhaps the lasers were retrofitted after breakaway. Then again they may have had some utility use before breakaway, like drilling holes in lunar rock or something along those lines.

its because you cant have a SF series w/o laser weapons. Its a law.

What's not peaceful about a laser-equipped Eagle?
Lasers can be used in space for all kinds of purposes, like range-finding. Of course, we only saw them fire it at high power as a weapon. Also, having seemingly dozens of laser "stunguns" handy seems a bit more paranoid-agressive than a lunar base ought to be.

Or as part of a mass spectrometer system...
The Eagle would fire a laser blast at a object, vapourising a sample, which could be captured by various sensors, to determine it's material composition...
(Someone in the mid-1970's came up with a extension of this concept, to refine elements for later processing into finished products. This extended concept was nicknamed the "Santa Claus Machine").

The official explanation for security, especially in Year 2 could be the very nature of the situations that the inhabitants find themselves in.

In year 1, security would probably be used mainly to police restricted areas. If Space:1999 was made today, apart from having a different title, it would be to deny access to terrorists for example to certain areas. While this might seem far fetched to the extreme, don't forget that the 9/11 bombers had been resident in the US for a long time and the plan to destroy the towers was years in the planning. If you take Year 2's explanation in The Rules of Luton about a third world war (the one redeeming part of that episode), the security could be used to stop extremists of any kind.

In the 2nd year, bear in mind that the original tours of duty of the Alphans had been long exceeded, by the time of Bringers of Wonder, its approximately 6 years since Breakaway, so tempers and nerves would be frayed. Security would be used to keep the potential nutters in check, and Year 2 had a few in the case of Patrick Osgood and Sanderson.

Anyway, long post and rather winded explanation over.

Who built Gwent? Did Companion do it? Just before he dies, Companion makes a rather cryptic statement: "I leave behind the worst part of myself." Also, notice Companion and Gwent have the same voice. So was Companion originally the scientist who built the machine to house his conscious mind, and later became a servant to that machine?

All in all, Leo McKern (known best for the British series Rumpold Of The Baily) was an excellent guest star in this episode.

I believe Gwent was built by Companion myself.

What happened to Paul? Koenig mentions some injuried, including two broken ribs. How did he get hurt (I guess Prentis Hancock was on holidays when this episode was made)?

Doesn't Companion resemble Gandalf? That's what I thought rewatching the episode.

Looked like Rumpold Of The Baily to me!