I know that Helena's in love with Koenig, but I got really peeved when Alan told her that Eagle 1 was on the other side of the space warp thing and she asked "How long has he got?" I immediately corrected her, "How long have they got, Helena - Tony's there too, y'know!"

Well, my honey was stuck a couple light years away, I don't know if I'd be thinking about the smarmy smart-alec Security Chief, either...

I actually think this is one of year two's better episodes. It is at least taut and suspenseful, and had me totally engrossed when I watched it for the first time. It's much, much better than Frieberger's other two scripts (the stinkers "Rules of Luton" and "Beta Cloud")

The costume for the alien on board the wrecked space craft is one of the worst I have ever seen. I did like the mention of Mentor and Psychon, this reference to Maya's species would be brought up again in 'Dorzak' and 'The Dorcons', pity more couldn't have been made of it.

>
Yeah, it looks like he got his head caught in a gumball machine.

Okay, so "Space Warp" isn't great by any means, but compared to Freddie's other two scripts ("The Rules of Luton" and "The Beta Cloud"), this one is a Hugo award-winner.

It should be noted that the alien's message was changed for the Cosmic Princess film version to help link The Metamorph and Space Warp together. The original narration says nothing about Psychon, not surprisingly since Space Warp is set months(or is it years?) after The Metamorph.

My nit with this one is a continuity one with the rest of the series that follows. The episode ends with the Alphans having a warp drive spacecraft, albeit a damaged one. Yet its never mentioned again, nor is there any evidence that its technology was used by the Alphans. I find it hard to believe they'd just let the thing drift away without tearing as much of it appart as possible and finding out its secrets.

Good one Tim. Count up the number of times that advanced technology is just left to apparently rot. We never see any evidence of salvaged technology from the Bethan and Deltan gunships in 'The Last Enemy', yet someone does a pretty good job of sweeping up the lunar surface. This happens in more than one episode. We never hear anymore of what info, Voyager One has in its data banks. Maya, even with the limited resources on Alpha surely could help make some improvements to the base, especially a uniform without 200 different colours on it. I mean, I know the first season uniforms were accussed of being rather bland, but this takes it to the extremes. Also the space craft in 'Space Warp' must have other technology, medical info, weapons, even different materials tht the hull might be made of. I guess recycling only went so far on the Moon.

Hey! Charles Woodgrove is a helluva writer! (Sarcasm Dripping). This was a great Alan episode, he finally got some good screen time. A lot of people dislike it for the 'comic-strip' quality, I like it for the action. Where the heck are we gonna see a great Eagle crash like that??

The eagle crash was very spectacular but seriously flawed.... Most people must agree that getting Maya out of that intense conflagration would have been of subordinate priority, compared to the threat posed to the whole of Alpha. With all the eagles in that underground hangar there would undoubtedly have been a nuclear reaction of some sort, triggered by the fire and explosions. Consider all that atomic fuel within the nuclear reactors on board the eagles!

In any case, there is no way two men in heat resistant suits could manage to fight there way through that lot to rescue Maya. On the whole though, I find this episode a highly watchable piece of escapism and one that I am particularly fond of!

The Tony/Koenig section of Space Warp contained the makings of a good episode. We could have been shown the two of them working away to figure out how to get home, the folks on Alpha trying to figure out a way of finding them and bringing them back, and both sides considering what happens if they can't reunite. Some time might also have been devoted to the crew of the alien spacecraft and how they got there instead of a brief message. Instead we had the Maya half of the episode, with everyone on Alpha too busy dealing with her to worry about their missing comrades. The latter half comes across as "well, I don't have much more of a idea of what to do with Tony and Koenig, so lets have Maya go nuts and change into stuff." It doesn't take much effort to write a bunch of fight scenes.

I agree, definitely Freddie's best attempt at an episode, and yet it still has holes big enough for Alpha to pass through. ARABIC numerals on the alien control panel?!?! Did Captain Duros have LARYNGITIS? And a simple coat of green makeup (and even that same wig used on both Christopher Lee AND Peter Cushing) would have been more appreciated than that dorky Flash Gordon relic sitting on that poor actor's head. Though Alan, my favorite character, does have some great moments in this one, ultimately it's just like "Beta Cloud" only this time Maya's the monster, not the monster chaser.

The alien's helmet looks suspiciously like it was inspired by some character in a Marvel comic book of the 70s.

While this episode is partly redeemed by
1999's usual top-shelf miniature model and
pyrotechnic photography, The plot flaws are
awful-- like someone(Carter or Verdeschi, I
forgot which one) giving the order to shoot the
alien creature on sight, when who else could it
possibly be but Maya?

Re: Salvaging alien technology:
It's been suggested that Bethan and Deltan leftovers were incorporated into Alpha's perimeter defenses, not to mention bits of Gwent.

It was nice for Alan to get a bit of the spotlight, but the scene where Maya is beating the stuffing out of the guys in the embarkation area is a tad annoying...during the seemingly endless scuffle, Carter keeps shouting over the intercom: "What's going on in there?! Can you hear me? What's happening?!" etc. When Maya finally leaves and an understandably exhausted guard tells Carter that the creature was just there, Carter's response was "Yeah, I figured."
Good deductive reasoning, Sherlock.
If anyone thought Alpha would be running short of eagles throughout the series, this episode must have dwindled the supply practically to nothing! Great fx, but one major nit: how'd the crane carrying the eagle pass through the doorframe to the hanger (and for that matter, the door which had retracted upward into the frame)?

Peter, I suppose thats possible. However, the Bethan vessels were missile ships. The Perimeter defenses were lasers, or thats what they were called. However, as you say, some technology could have been incorporated. It would certainly explain why they weren't seen in Season 1 as it would take time to salvage, research and implement.

I think one of the Bethan guns ended up as a fixed laser-cannon in a later ep. No explanation on how a missile-rack became a laser, but you know...*shrug*

Since every ep seems to consume 1-5 Eagles, how does Alpha manufacture Eagles, or was there originally 1 Eagle per Alpha inhabitant, to use according to their mood?

I realize that Alan's order to shoot-to-kill the alien was for dramatic purposes, but it's an incredibly reckless and dangerous order. He doesn't know who this alien is, where it came from, and if there's more. Killing this one without trying to communicate with it could lead to Alpha getting wiped out. Apparently Alphans haven't learned the lesson that just because an alien looks like a 'monster' to us doesn't mean it doesn't have intelligence.
The Eagle explosions in that hangar are spectacular, but the consequences are terrifying. There could have been people there, and a chain reaction could have led to the entire launch pad and hangar getting blown apart, leaving nothing more than a new crater to match all the others on the moon. Personally, I think too much irreparable damage was shown.
Maya's Eagle is lowered from the surface on a '+' platform, but when it comes to rest at the bottom of the hangar it's somewhat oblong like this ' . What happened to the platform on the way down?

The changing landing pad nit is almost as good as the doorframe nit mentioned earlier, but at least it can be explained away: perhaps the Eagle was transferred to the smaller lift pad at some point during its descent. (Now why that would have been done is beyond me, other than the fact that the effects crew was concerned more with getting the idea across for the shot, rather than for the actual mechanics that would be involved in a real situation...)
I don't remeber if I covered this on the Alpha Tech Section board, but the smaller rectangular pad could be used for getting surface vehicles (such as a couple of tanks) up to the surface (say, from inside the oblong part of the launch pads) without tying up the main cross-shaped pad, thus allowing an Eagle to launch while the tanks use the smaller lift. Just an idea.
Another nit: the lift shaft covers that slide into place over the descended cross-shaped pad would not fit within the confines of the circular launch pad.

Geez, when 1999 was on our local station back in the 70s and 80s, they didn t show this episode at all....Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

After 1982 it was removed from syndication, being used as part of the Cosmic Princess "movie," which combined it with "The Metamorph."

Although marred by some cheesy gaffes (such as the spacesuit visors flipping open and obvious doubles for the actors in the moonbuggy), I find this ep to be very entertaining. The basic story elements of the space warp and Maya losing control of her powers are both intriguing and fun. Derek Wadsworth's original score for this ep also is a plus. No tired canned music for this one.

Why didn't they just open the launchpad up after Maya's crash and let the air get sucked out?

Good question. I've only ever known two shows to use the vacumn of space as a fire suppressant, both were Battlestar Galactica, the first being the episode "Fire in Space", the second being the Sci Fi Channel miniseries.

I wonder myself why it's not more commonly used.

The film Red Planet did the same thing. (By the way, it's an enjoyable sf adventure film that doesn't completely stretch credibility the way Mission to Mars did a year earlier.)
Anyway, one would have to make certain the area to be vented was completely evacuated first, or that anyone left alive inside was wearing a sealed and functioning spacesuit.

I haven't seen Red Planet, I was put off after seeing Mission to Mars which in my mind was one of the most uninspiring movies it's been my experience to watch.

Since you recommend it, I might watch it after all.

Red Planet's about as far from MtM as you can get; I'm not saying it's the best sf film ever made, but it's entertaining and is certainly one of the better Mars films. I saw it just to get rid of the bad feelings MtM left me with (among others, I'd paid full cinema price to see it). I was reminded a little of the old 1950's film Robinson Crusoe on Mars, but don't let that put you off, as RP is nothing like it.
Hey, if we can suspend disbelief for so many things in S99, why not RP? (I know, so why not MtM as well? Go to the Jake's Movies board here at NitC for the MtM board to see lists from several posters, myself included. Bottom line, if you don't have time to do so: MtM is just a badly told story, like some of the worst S99 eps.)
Since this is getting off-topic, Douglas, would you care to discuss this (or other stuff) off the boards? I'm reluctant to leave my e-mail posted in public (as we all seem to be), but maybe we could try to work through the moderator or something...

Okay, no problem.

As an asides, since this is one of the episodes that was mashed together with 'The Metamorph' to make the Cosmic Princess movie, what differences are there in the episode and the movie format. I've heard that the mention of the planet Pyschon doesn't appear on the derelict, but anything else?

The end is just random shots of the Eagles refueling and a few people smiling at each other.

RE the Eagle hangar thing - I wouldn't have expected anyone in there to still be alive after the whole place went up like that. They might have evacuated it anyway, just in case Maya got out.

Didn't every Season 2 ep end with people smiling at each other?

I assumed there was more than one hangar. "Brian the Brain" shows the Swift landing on a cross shaped launch pad (presumably, there's a hangar under each different launch pad).
Also freeze the frames during the moonbuggy sequences- they use obvious doubles for the acters. The stunt doubles' faces are very visible through the visors as they drive right toward the camera!
Did they think we really wouldn't notice?

Some very careless editing in this one!

CR, "One Moment of Humanity" ended on a downbeat note.
No smiling faces there!

According to blueprints in the official Technical Notebook published in the mid 1970's by Starlog, each launch pad does indeed have an underground hanger, and the two pads that are really close together have the largest hanger beneath them.
Of course, not all of the blueprints in the Tech Manual are accurate, but the Alpha plans are at least pretty good. Roberto Baldassari has enhanced them nicely at his Transporter Eagle Pages.

As far the viewer not noticing the obvious stunt doubles I'm sure they didn't expect us to notice, as with certain other nits like strings holding up the Eagles being visible at times. Remember that the series was made in the mid '70s at a time when the first VCRs were just hitting the market. (The first home video tape recorder appeared in '72, the first Betamax machine in '75.) The folks at Pinewood likely didn't expect anyone to be taping the show to watch over and over. If the average viewer was lucky they got to see an episode when it first aired and then a rerun or two. They certainly couldn't predict a format like DVD where you can clearly freezeframe any shot in a production. Some of the things like wires we can see now wouldn't have shown up on most tv sets in 1975, especially given the vagueries of over the air tv reception and the quality of cable at the time.

The idea of a hanger seperate from the launch pad section strikes me as only common sense and similiar to the idea of an aircraft carrier having it's lifts, and seperate hangers for storage of other aircraft. Though that model seems to apply more to WWII carriers unlike the US type carriers where most of the aircraft are stored on deck.

As to tim's comments.
Even as a kid, I noticed the wires supporting the Eagles (the resolution on most tvs wasn't that low). Nits like the visors flipping open were apparent on a first viewing. The thing that is so glaring today is that we expect perfection in today's shows (what would have taken an expensive optical to correct then, can simply be fixed digitally today).

This is the first year two show I've rewatched in a while (I don't like to watch a show too often, if I do, I'll end up only noticing the flaws). One thing about watching the year two shows on DVD; I miss the old red and green spinning 'ITC Presents' logo from the seventies. As a kid, it signaled "Exciting show coming up"! A small nit on the A&E DVD for this ep; it should have included the trailor for "Cosmic Princess".

"Space Warp" had quite an impact on me when I first saw it as a kid. Of course the hangar sequence stands out. The show's music was particularly exciting to me. I had the music on my mind for days after hearing it (especially the thumping music when Helena and Alan drive the moonbuggy out of the airlock). I even hummed it on my way to school!

What was a magnificent episode as a kid, appears to be a bit of a mess when viewed as an adult (but it's still fun).

Peter Medak directs this episode (and "Seance Spectre" too) with real flair. He seems to like low and dramatic angles. He pulls the camera back too far in some shots of the Eagle cockpit, making it appear bigger than it should be. I love the dim and moody lighting for Alpha throughout the ep. A nice consistant red color scheme for the illuminated Alphan panels is used through the whole show too.

About the sets, some good and bad points. The Alphan elevator is obviously just the elevator from "A B Chrysallis" repainted ( I noticed that as a kid too). It's nice to see a new set for the docking station at the launch pad (though a stuntman bangs into it revealing what a flimsy set it is). The interior for the Alien derelict has a nice 'Expressionist' quality to it (sort of like the 1920's "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"). Unfortunately, another leftover from "A B Chrysallis " shows up- the orange acrylic viewscreen. On the viewscreen (conveniently labeled in Arabic numerals), Koenig and Tony watch the derelict's captain explain the fate of his crew. Captain "Whispers" Duro is a master at explaining the obvious "...after a number of unsuccessful attempts to enter the Space Warp we realized our coordinates were wrong ".
What's with the Captain's 'whispering'?
Did he have laryngitis from yelling at his incompetent crew? ..."not another wrong coordinate!"

The illusion of reality is ruined in the scenes of the moonbuggy chasing Maya. As it circles Maya, the buggie's tracks reveal the white studio floor underneath the lunar 'surface'.


The creatures Maya transforms into are a bit cheesy to put it mildly. The "Beta Cloud" creature shows up as her second transformation. This time it's decked out with one of the tackiest wigs I've ever seen (looks like it came off a $2.99 Halloween costume). Maybe the creature was so pissed off because it was having a 'bad hair day'. In Medical Center, Maya briefly turns into what is supposed to be Mentor ( or do all Psychon men wear beards and dress in the same clothes, Dorzak later shows up in the same duds). Speaking of transforming into Mentor, this opens up a host of kinky scenarios best left to the "Jerry Springer Show". Did Maya also transform into daddy back on Psychon?

Landau's acting is subpar in this ep. He looks tired and a old (especially compared to year one). On the other hand, Barb Bain looks terrific in this one. Her acting is quite good too. I love the part where she asks Alan about the chances of the Commander getting back. Her response is moving.

Although Freiberger is a poor science fiction writer in general ("Rules of Luton" exhibit A), he did provide a beautiful poetic line for Maya in this episode. At the end in Medical Center, Helena asks Maya how she feels. To which Maya responds "I feel like I've been riding the tail of a comet for days on end!"

Great Line!

At the end of the episode, Koenig orders "I want you to tow the derelict back to Alpha".
"...so she [Maya] can apply her beautiful scientific mind to reveal the mysteries of this magnificent marvel".

Too bad the show never followed up on this. It would have been fascinating to see what the Alphans would have done with the Alien ship.

Good points, Mark. I laughed out loud at some of your descriptions! I haven't seen the whole ep since I was a child (but saw parts of it later in the Cosmic Princess movie compilation), and it was a favorite of mine back then, especially because of the hanger crash sequence. I also wondered about the whispering derelict captain. (And people complain about the characters in Season 1 talking so softly all the time!)

This next bit is off-topic, but finishes up something started a few days ago...
I said: Since this is getting off-topic, Douglas, would you care to discuss this (or other stuff) off the boards? I'm reluctant to leave my e-mail posted in public (as we all seem to be), but maybe we could try to work through the moderator or something...
Douglas responded: Okay, no problem.
I heard back from Todd the Moderator, Douglas, who just needs you to tell him it's OK for him to give you my e-mail address.
We now return this board to its regularly scheduled topic.

If Koenig and Tony had needed Spacesuits to board the wreck, a plausible explanation could have been that there was an atmosphere leak and the Captain of the vessel was almost breathless due to lack of air, but this wasn't used unfortunately.

Maybe the alien captain's whispering was due to a shortage of air.

The continuity problems in the hangar crash sequence may have more to do with bad editing than anything else. A scene not used in the episode, but shown in "Seance Spectre" alludes to this. In the Seance Spectre, one unused shot (from Space Warp) is shown of an Eagle on a rail being moved from left to right. The Eagle is apparently being positioned into place from an unseen door at the left (an not being moved in a straight line through a door and between the Eagles). Simple editing could have made it perfect.
During the second season, there is often such careless and sloppy editing that one would think the editor was asleep at the job.

I was reading on a net guide to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" that the compilation flick "Cosmic Princess" was featured on the episode of the show originally broadcast on January 22, 1989. I knew many S99 fans considered Space Warp to be bad, now I know how cheesy it was to non-fans!

Did any one see this ep of MST3K? If so, what did they make fun of in particular about this ep?

Does MST3K still have a website? If so, maybe they have something transcribed/archived there.

There's tons of MST3k websites still alive, but I think what you guys might want can be found at Sloe Gin Circus, a definitive reference-compiling site.

Here's the link to the notable riff list for that ep.

http://sgc.chaoscafe.com/sgc_guide.php3?l1?10

Thanks a lot Snick!

"I'll take-ppp my shhhhanncesssstthhh in spacthhhhhhhhhh"

I am glad that someone else noticed the door frame nit. When do we see wires on the Eagles?

For a second season episode, this one is pretty good. And the best part, as has been already mentioned, is the superior miniarure work with the Eagles in the landing bay. The miniature work is the one best thing that I remember from this series.

Too bad it was marred by the rubber alien suits...

One other thing - when was it established that Maya can only hold a form for one hour?

"One other thing - when was it established that Maya can only hold a form for one hour?"

I think it was 1st said at Luton. Near the end when the last alien catches her in a cage.

The frog-alien Maya changes into sure looks alot like the alien-robot from The Beta Cloud episode, minus the big ears. And in that episode Maya couldn't change into such a creature because it wasn't a living thing.

Too bad Maya didn't possess these fighting skills against the Beta Cloud's alien-robot, or else she might have done a better job at stopping it.

I'd whisper and disguise my voice, too, if I had to wear such an embarassing helmet as the captain! I wouldn't want to be recognized, either!

The scenes of Command Center spinning round seems to indicate that the perception of gravity is going crazy, because the alternative is that the ENTIRE MOON spins around completely in ONE SECOND, and I'm pretty sure that kind of g-force would kill everyone and fling everything into space, tearing the outside buildings apart.

Many S2 episodes seemed to be "What can Maya turn into this week?"

This show really lost something when Sylvia Anderson left (she oversaw the much superior Season One).

Tim Gueguen - "It should be noted that the alien's message was changed for the Cosmic Princess film version to help link The Metamorph and Space Warp together. The original narration says nothing about Psychon, not surprisingly since Space Warp is set months(or is it years?) after The Metamorph.

I checked on-line and 'The Metamorph' has a log entry of 342 since leaving Earth orbit, and 'Space Warp' is 1,807 days after breakaway.

Craig R. - "...during the seemingly endless scuffle, Carter keeps shouting over the intercom: "What's going on in there?! Can you hear me? What's happening?!"

Why doesn't he just turn on a surveillance/closed-circuit TV camera down there to actually see what's happening?

Mark - "Barb Bain looks terrific in this one. Her acting is quite good too. I love the part where she asks Alan about the chances of the Commander getting back. Her response is moving"

Really? She sounded very stuffed up in the nose to me when I hear her speak her lines!

That space warp mechanism Koenig and Tong used to get back should came in handy in subsequent episodes. Oh, wait a minute-- it was never used for that again! It was used as a scanning device in the Eagle cockpit that Koenig looked into when he and his shipmate visited the planet of the dead in 'Devil's Planet'.

And speaking of John and Tony, shouldn't they have exited the space warp where the Moon originally did, hundreds of thousands of miles behind where the Moon was presently at?

Sonia reports, after the space warp, that the Moon's speed was back to 'normal'. Normal? What's normal about a runaway Moon? And what would be it's 'normal speed'?

It was nice to see someone (Alan) spend most of the episode in their almost-original uniform. Alan didn't put his jacket on until the last couple of minutes of the episode.

That space warp mechanism Koenig and Tong used to get back should came in handy in subsequent episodes. Oh, wait a minute-- it was never used for that again! It was used as a scanning device in the Eagle cockpit that Koenig looked into when he and his shipmate visited the planet of the dead in 'Devil's Planet'.

That mechanism had nothing to do with creating or controling the warp. It was an advanced scanner to detect the warp's location and allow one to enter it. Using it as a scanner in subsequent epsodes was therefore exactly at it should be.

And speaking of John and Tony, shouldn't they have exited the space warp where the Moon originally did, hundreds of thousands of miles behind where the Moon was presently at?

They did. Alpha had stationed an eagle near the warp on their side to provide support to the Commander's eagle if and when it came through, and assist them in catching up with the Moon.

Sonia reports, after the space warp, that the Moon's speed was back to 'normal'. Normal? What's normal about a runaway Moon? And what would be it's 'normal speed'?

Presumably, it is the speed the Moon travels at when not being shunted through a space warp.

Sonia? Who's Sonia?

I think you mean Sandra Benes. Mind you, they kept calling her "Sahn" for some reason in S2.

OopS! Brain freeze!

At least I never said Commander WALTER Koenig!

Another "What can Maya turn into this week?" one.

Ho hum.