The Taybor

Nitcentral's Bulletin Brash Reflections: Space: 1999: Season Two: The Taybor
PLOT SUMMARY: The Taybor is an intergalactic merchant who offers the Alphans the technology to return themselves home in exchange for Maya.

NOTES: This is the only second season episode that Michael Butterworth failed to adapt for his Year Two Warner novelizations.
By Joe Semboli on Tuesday, July 13, 1999 - 2:54 pm:

Major bothersome thing in this episode -- after Taybor kidnaps Maya and Koenig and Russell are about to do the wild thing, we see Taybor watching them from his spaceship (kinky!) Since when does he have camera access to Dr. Russell's bedroom???


By Douglas Nicol on Saturday, July 17, 1999 - 5:34 pm:

I must admit I thought this was one of the worst episodes of Year 2. Taybor's mannerisms are downright irritating


By BarbF on Thursday, August 05, 1999 - 6:53 am:

He's also hard to understand. There are scenes in the command center when he's talking to Koenig and crew about space that I rewound the tape several times trying to figure out what he's saying. I felt like yelling, "Get the sh** out of your mouth, pal." (in the Space 1999 documentary, Emma Porteous the costume designer for year 2 said that Willoughby Goddard was so big that she had to have an assistant take one side and one tape measure and she took the other because one tape measure wouldn't fit around him). Whooo, boy! Switch to salad, sweetheart!


By Douglas Nicol on Wednesday, August 18, 1999 - 5:42 pm:

No wonder even Michael Butterworth didn't novelise this episode, it is one of the only episodes of Space:1999 in which I can find absolutely no redeeming features.


By BarbF on Thursday, August 19, 1999 - 11:56 am:

I liked this one when I was a kid (but then I liked clogs and Pop Rocks, too, so what did I know?) Watching it now, it's pretty embarassing. The only redeeming feature is Yasko, as usual slaughtering her lines. She's always good for a laugh.


By Douglas Nicol on Sunday, June 11, 2000 - 11:57 am:

What is it with Yasko, she's more wooden than the entire Brazilian rain forest.


By Anonymous on Tuesday, January 08, 2002 - 2:35 pm:

She's not really wooden per se. She just always emphasizes the wrong word in the sentence.

To wit: "I think I'd rather take my chances (blah blah blah - I forget the line).."then end up in SPACE." As if space is the most important word in the sentence. Yes, dim-bulb, we all realize we're in SPACE.


By Craig Rohloff on Wednesday, January 23, 2002 - 11:01 am:

This is one of those eps I missed as a kid but saw as an adult (see my posting in Metamorph). I wish I'd continued missing it.


By Anonymous on Wednesday, February 13, 2002 - 2:31 am:

Just a silly thought, but is it possible that Taybor was the Space 1999 equivalent of Star Trek's Harry Mudd character?


By Kinggodzillak on Wednesday, February 13, 2002 - 2:22 pm:

Oh yes, and he could have returned had there been a 3rd series.
Ugh.


By Todd Pence on Friday, February 15, 2002 - 4:33 pm:

Actually, he more closely resembled the trader character from "Lost In Space".


By Anonymous on Monday, February 18, 2002 - 6:33 am:

He reminds me more of the giant talking carrot in Lost in Space ;)


By MD, Hpool on Monday, March 04, 2002 - 6:35 am:

Towards the end of the episode, when Taybor has kidnapped Maya and gone into hyperspace, when Maya starts changing into various animals, he exclaims "You're a transmorph!" in surprise. But didn't Maya give him a small demonstration of her powers earlier in the episode, when Taybor, drunk, put his hand on her knee, saying that this was a sign of friendship. She crunched his hand when she transformed her hand into a claw.


By Craig Rohloff on Monday, March 04, 2002 - 8:57 am:

I've tried to forget this ep, but did Taybor actually SEE the claw? Perhaps his memory was affected by being drunk.


By Anonymous on Friday, March 08, 2002 - 6:51 am:

I don't think he saw the change, as I recall he had his face in his beer.


By Douglas Nicol on Wednesday, April 03, 2002 - 5:46 am:

Isn't there a parallel though between this episode and a Star Trek TNG episode? In TNG there was an episode called IIRC, "The Most Toys" where an intergalactic trader wants Data for his rarity value, here Taybor wants Maya for her rarity, and this episode was done well before TNG existed.


By Anonymous on Monday, April 08, 2002 - 7:05 am:

Doug, I don't think Taybor was interested in her "rarity." The old lech had the hots, big time.


By Douglas Nicol on Tuesday, September 10, 2002 - 12:12 pm:

It could have been as he stated many times 'rare beauty'. And he was undeniably a lech.

I don't think I would even want to imagine any bedroom scenes.

I just recently picked up Volumes 1 and 2 of the second season DVD's very cheap (£12.99 for the two), and this was one the second disc. I must admit that this episode is NOT one which improves a single bit with further viewing.
Was it me, or did that 'pendant' that Taybor gave Maya in some ways resemble the one she wore on Pyschon? If not exactly the same, it seemed similiar. Then again, he had seen her in her Pyschon dress at dinner and was probably paying special attention and wanted to give her something she might like to 'butter her up'.
This episode, unfortunately, is the type that people think of when they are trying to put Space:1999 down.


By tim gueguen on Friday, September 13, 2002 - 7:20 pm:

I wouldn't be surprised if they were going for a Harry Mudd type character and failed. Scary thought being that if there had been a year 3 we might have seen him again.


By Sir Rhosis on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 9:03 am:

RED IS DEATH! RED IS DEATH!


By Kinggodzillak on Sunday, June 01, 2003 - 9:05 am:

Why is this ep called THE Taybor? Its like calling Dorzak 'The Dorzak'.


By Anonymous on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 6:32 am:

Probably because "Sack of Sh**" wouldn't make it past the censors.


By Todd Pence on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 4:34 pm:

The writer of this episode, Thom Keyes, made an indirect and unintentional contribution to British rock and roll history. Keyes was also a novelist. His first novel was titled "All Night Stand". As a gimmick to publicize the novel, his publishing company hired a rock band named The Thoughts to perform a song titled after the book and written by the Kinks' Ray Davies. The single became a rock and roll classic, while Keyes' novel was almost instantly forgotten.


By Joe Semboli on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 - 9:31 am:

Too bad this episode didn't end up on the garbage heap with his novel. He should have renamed it All Night Hangover, because seeing it drunk is the only way it makes sense.

Actually most of Season 2 is good for a drinking party - every time there's a cheap rubber monster suit, spray glitter, crappy dialogue or incoherent plot, DRINK UP!


By CR on Thursday, June 26, 2003 - 7:32 am:

Is there enough alchohol for that? :O


By Anonymous on Thursday, June 26, 2003 - 2:22 pm:

Is Red death?


By Mark on Monday, December 29, 2003 - 2:48 pm:

I think That "The Tabor" is one of the most underrated episodes of Space:1999. Other non-1999 fans I showed it to enjoyed it. They saw it as a fun and light-hearted whimsical episode. But to listen to die hard Space:1999 fans, one would think it was the worst piece of ••••. It's as if they just don't understand the nature of this episode. Geez! Do they want every episode to be "Dragon's Domain"? I heartily enjoy this episode from its colorful effects,music,humor down to the hammy performance of its guest star. The Emporium was always one of my favorite spaceship designs from 1999 (the others being the booster Eagle from "The Metamorph" and the Swift from "Brian the Brain"). The trading sequence in the recreation room was one of the most delightful scenes in the entire series. I thought Barbara Bain just about looked her most beautiful in this episode too... I loved the scene in Command Center where she looks in wonder at the arrival of Taybor's ship on the big screen. I just thought she glowed in this episode...and please don't reply that she only looked good because she was in soft-focus. Not every woman has to be Britney Spears age to be beautiful!


By CR on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 - 11:46 am:

Speaking for myself, I think it was the lighthearted whimsy of this ep that made it so un-enjoyable for me... even for a Season 2 ep, it was just too different from the usual feel of the series. (For those who don't know/remember, I'm more of a Season 1 fan, but I'm trying to ignore that fact for the sake of this post.)
On the other hand, Mark makes some interesting points which are often overlooked. While I still don't like this ep, at least some of his points give me food for thought.


By taybor on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 7:55 am:

i think "fried-burger" should be introduced to black death


By CR on Saturday, January 03, 2004 - 11:14 am:

Well, he has died, you know...


By Mark on Tuesday, January 06, 2004 - 12:12 pm:

In an earlier message, it is noted that this episode was the only one to not be novelised. That's a shame. In this episode, Taybor speaks of some of the colorful and interesting places he's been to. I wouldn't mind seeing some of them. This episode hints of other intesting places never shown in the series (and handled in a better way than "Mark of Archanon" when Tony mentions a planet we know that Alphans never visited)...One thing that I always loved about this episode;its special effects. Instead of the usual ball of light, Tayor's ship arrives in an elaborate rainbow of colors. This was a visual treat. The series never boasted elaborate animated effects ( the effect was just a projected light pattern overlayed on a background scene. The same projected patterns show up later on a wall inside Taybor's ship and also on the walls of Sahala's ship in "Dorzak"). The episode also features some cheesy effects shots which should have been edited out. The shots of the minature moonbuggy are totally unconvincing.


By Mark on Monday, January 12, 2004 - 3:01 pm:

A few more thoughts on this episode... For those who think that it's the series worst episode,is it really worse than "All That Glisters" (in which for the better part of an hour,the Alphans are outwitted by a rock),"The Rules of Luton"(in which some talking trees pit Koenig and Maya against alien opponents), "Mark of Archanon" (in which two half-naked aliens in heavy mascara are afflicted by a disease which causes front-screen projection material to be stuck on their foreheads), "The Catacombs of the Moon"(in which a man experiences hallucinations for no discernable reason,while Dr.Russel contemplates implanting a plastic cube,with a flashing light,in his wife's chest),"The Dorcons" (in which a supposedly advanced civilization uses the most low -tech method of communication imaginable-holes in the walls!)?... What I'm saying is that ,in the context of comparison to other Year 2 episodes,it's a fairly good story. ... I think that this episode is also better written and more well thoughtout than it is generally given credit for...One thing I really appreciate is how Taybor recognises the absurdity of the situation of an interstellar moon and questions Koenig about it. Taybor doesn't just matter of factly respond to this situation (as many of the aliens in other episodes do). He wants an explanation. Koenig responds by explaining that the moon has been through space warps (and Taybor responds by saying "so you, too, have been through the doors in hyperspace") It was refreshing to see a writer at least give some thought in accounting for the vast distances the moon has traveled. Most writers just ignored this fact altogether...I was always fascinated by the idea of hyperspace presented here (hyperspace being like traveling through space warps). In a way, it was almost like an early concept of traveling through wormholes...Trade in alien artifacts and objects would be extremely lucrative; I can imagine such a trader becoming very rich , and thus,being able to afford such a ship...I think the character's obesity was meant to convey his affluence and indulgence in the finer things in life...One scene I appreciate on a different level,now, than when I was a kid; the dinner scene. As a kid, I had a gut level reaction to the obese Taybor groping lovely Miss Maya-I wanted to throw up watching it. Now I appreciate how Maya refuses to be victimised; she responds with a grope of her own (If he would have groped Sandra,she would have screamed and fainted)...gotta go now, more later...


By Anonymous on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 9:10 am:

One has to ask...Which is a worse fate -to be a captive companion of a cruel Gwent or to be a captive companion of Taybor (at least Taybor wants to have some fun every once in a while)?


By Gordon Long on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - 10:30 pm:

What if Taybor was formed in a transporter accident, merging Harry Mudd AND Cyrano Jones ala the Tuvix incident on ST: Voyager merging Tuvok and Neelix?


By Mark on Monday, March 22, 2004 - 4:23 pm:

I still think this episode is an unappreciated gem.
Maybe, far in the future it will be recognised as a masterpiece. The people of 2525 might love this. You'll never know... Zontar of Regula One might really dig this!


By Harvey Kitzman on Friday, September 03, 2004 - 10:13 pm:

More good drugs form the writing staff - the psychedelic colors were groovy, man!

I almost turned this episode off. I won't be watching it again. It ranks up there with Spock's Brain, Sub Rosa, Spirit Folk, and that DS9 episode where they all lose their inhibitions during the Bajoran religious festival.


By Anonymous on Thursday, December 30, 2004 - 10:15 am:

" not every woman has to be Britney Spears age to be beautiful" true, but you have to admit that Barbara has a lot more class and style than Britney has at this moment in time


By Curious on Sunday, January 02, 2005 - 10:07 am:

An understatement!


By Mark on Saturday, January 29, 2005 - 12:07 pm:

SFX Comments:
The effects in this episode simply wonderful. Taybor's craft are some of the S99's best designs. The Emporium and the gun platform are superb. It was nice that we were able to see the Emporium from a distance and closeup. The model work for both was excellent. It's obvious that the illuminated light patterns, on a screen in Taybor's ship, provided the effects for both the exterior shots of his ship entering hyperspace and interior shots (where the light patterns are clumsily superimposed over live-action shots of the set). Still, the effects are colorful and entertaining.

Less successful are shots of a radio controlled moonbuggy model. Those shots look ridiculous because of the bouncing astronaut figures in the buggy. A smaller wire-pulled model beneath Taybor's ship is more convincing.

As this is a Year 2 ep, it has one of those cheesy touches all Y2 eps have: Tony is viewed through a "hole in the wall" viewscreen on Taybors' ship. It's a the more incongruous because all the other "viewscreen" shots in the episode are well done.

As for the humorous tone of the episode, it's very subjective. I don't agree with Fanderson's Chris Bentley who consider's this "complete krap...only a Lost in Space fan could love". I think Martin Willey is more on the mark with it being "light, bright, comedy". I don't find anything in the episode hilarious, but it does have a fun feel to it. On the other hand, Trek fans consider "The Trouble With Tribbles" to be brilliant. I don't. I didn't laugh at anything in that either. In fact, some moments in that are downright cringe-worthy. Some tacky sets and acting too. So I guess, everyone has their own opinions as to what is funny.


By Sir Rhosis on Tuesday, February 01, 2005 - 11:49 am:

RED IS STILL DEATH! RED IS STILL DEATH!


By Anonymous on Wednesday, February 09, 2005 - 6:55 pm:

LOL!!!!


By Rocky on Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 9:48 am:

What's humorous? Poor Maya was almost killed by a rock. That quote, screamed in extreme danger, should bring a chill to your bone!


By Anonymous on Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 12:13 pm:

suffering thru this ep again brings a chill to my bone, all right :((


By tim gueguen on Tuesday, September 04, 2007 - 3:43 pm:

Having just watched it I'll say that it isn't that bad, although definitely not stellar. At least it doesn't substitute running around for a plot like "Beta Cloud"


By Spaceman Spiff on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 7:36 am:

hehehe not 'stellar' hehehe he said 'stellar' hehehehe


By Spaceman Spliff on Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 8:14 pm:

Many things about this were dreadful, but for once, I don't think it was the writing. I think Divine would have made a better obese tranny, though.


By Spaceman Spliff on Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 8:20 pm:

Oh - and it's a damned good thing they had a "Limpet Transmitter." How else would they have been able to send their limpets over vast distances?


By Tim McCree (Tim_m) on Friday, October 07, 2022 - 5:28 am:

The Taybor: The poor man's Harry Mudd.

No thank you.


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