The Power Records Podcast 25 – Space: 1999!

THE POWER RECORDS PODCAST 25 - SPACE: 1999

Chris and Rob are back with special guest Brian Heiler to discuss two SPACE: 1999 audio adventures, "Return to the Beginning" and "Breakaway."

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Opening and closing themes courtesy Peter Pan Records.

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12 responses to “The Power Records Podcast 25 – Space: 1999!

  1. What a great way to spend a lazy Sunday morning. A new episode of The Power Records podcast.
    I remember watching reruns of Space: 1999 on Sunday afternoons, paired with In Search Of…
    I was only 7 or 8 at the time they were being aired, so I never fully understood what was going on in those episodes, but it was guys in spaceships, and that was enough to fascinate me.

  2. Hi guys,

    I enjoyed the listen. I have no familiarity with Space 1999, so this was all new to me.

    I’m trying not to comment too much (don’t want to be pesty), but before you cover The Scarecrow’s Mirage, I had a little trivia. E. Nelson Bridwell based his script for The Scarecrow’s Mirage on a story in Batman 114 called The Mirage Maker, named after the story’s villain. As far as I know, I don’t think it has been reprinted, but 114 is one of a few issues from the 50s I have. I was shocked when I got the issue and recognized the story from the Power Record.

    https://www.comics.org/issue/14269/

  3. The Future *is* Fantastic!

    Another fun podcast from you guys and guest Brian Heiler! As with most of the Power Records productions, the voice actors included:
    Elliott Lewis (Commander John Koenig), Mike McNally (Professor Bergman) and Don Wescott (Narrator).

    A bit off topic, but did you know that there’s yet another “Conan the Barbarian” album from Peter Pan? It’s actually a story record of the motion picture adapted by Arthur Korb from 1982 (the cover even includes the movie poster art by Renato Casaro!). Have a copy, but it’s still unopened. So there’s yet one more album for you to look up!

  4. Impressive pod cast. Most impressive. I think Victor was voiced by the same guy who voiced J.J Jameson. In some of the Spider Man Power records. Mostly when Spidey fought the Dragon Men. As well as a villain in a WW power records. I 2 didn’t get to watch Space 1999. Maybe it didn’t play in the South. I’m not sure. Well that and I was 3 when it went off the air. About 1 when it came on the air. So I maybe wrong. I did see a few episodes of it threw U-tube when Maya, was on the show. Spasifacly when they show her dad. Played by Brian Blessed. So that went to the next level of sean chewing.

    And it was great. Yep the ship the Falcon was based on the eagle. To the point ware the first design of the Malunion Falcon was what became the Tantive IV .Tantive IV Alderaan Diplomatic Envoy But, Mr. Lucas was told it looked to much like the Eagle. So he changed the Flacon to look like a bite in Ham burger with an ovle by it. Hey ya’lll got the Mego guy. I watch his stuff on U-Tube some times. Moving on. What I like that they meet Noah… fine they could have done more with it. But, ah well. Still waiting for the Kojak Power Records show. Moving right along. So that was the first episode? Ah ok.

    Now I want to see Mat Lando playing a Kirk like Captain. Since he was offered the role of Spock at one time. But, he passed. Still I think it worked better with Leonard Nimoy. Can’t wait to hear the next episode.

  5. Thanks for another excellent episode. I’d heard of Space : 1999 before, but can’t recall ever having seen an episode. So, I enjoyed learning about the series from your discussion.

    I think it would have been relatively easy to make “Return to the Beginning” into a real story (i.e., where the characters do something). Have the earthquakes and flooding be caused by Moonbase Alpha passing too close to the Earth. As Moonbase Alpha approaches the Earth, the crew tries desperately to prevent the destruction it’s about to cause, but they’re only able to convince one man (and his family) to build a boat and save themselves. It’s only after they head back to base that they realize where and when they are in Earth’s past.

  6. I remember Space: 1999 very fondly – perhaps it was a bigger thing over here in the UK? If my ageing memory serves, Doctor Who was shown on the BBC on Saturday evenings whilst Space:1999 was on Sunday afternoons on the rival ITV channel – what a weekend’s viewing!

    The Breakaway record sounded like a pretty good “Readers Digest” adaptation, but the second record was weird; a bit like someone had tried to wrap up a Sunday School lesson in Sci-Fi trappings to make it “down with the kids”.

    I’m so glad you mentioned the design of Space:1999, as I think it was one of the most stylish (albeit mid-70’s style) science fiction shows I can remember. Doctor Who was famously made on a shoestring, but Space:1999 put all the money up on screen. The sets were impressive, the costumes designed by a fashionable couturier, and the props were highly detailed. For my money, there’s no cooler ray-gun in all of geekdom than the Space:1999 n-shaped gun. (https://www.monstersinmotion.com/cart/space-1999-ufo-c-9_442/stunkill-gun-prop-replica-p-7393.html)

    I think the excellent design aesthetic of the series was one reason why there was so much merchandising available – it just all looked so cool!

    I recall one story from the time (possibly apocryphal) which made the die-cast Eagle toys rather controversial for a while. These were sturdy models, made by Dinky Toys.
    The Eagle Transporter toy had a clip-in module for carrying crew around. The rarer Freighter varient did away with the box for the crew and instead had underslung cylindrical pods marked with the “Radioactivity” symbol. Apparently, police were called when these little canisters were lost by careless kids, only to be discovered by alarmed citizens who were worried that they had accidentally stumbled across a cache of life-threatening isotopes!

    I really enjoyed this trip down memory lane, guys. Better get back to reading the Bible now, I guess! ;o)

  7. I’ve been waiting for Space 1999 to be featured here. I loved the show as a kid and adored the power records adaption. If memory serves I had 2 space 1999 lps, but only 1 had the comic book. These were the only way to relive these episodes and in my 8 year old mind, I was flying the Eagles and reporting to The Commander.
    Thanks for reviving childhood memories and bringing a smile to an old man’s face.
    I’m still holding out for KOJAK, and still wondering why that was chosen for a kids record.
    Great job and I am eagerly awaiting the next episode.

  8. Well, I can tell you just as far as stories go my 7 year old so enjoyed both stories. Though his knowledge as it were of Space:1999 is this program.
    Not that mines much more as I have only seen the pilot

  9. I was around for Space:1999. I remember a feature story in Dynamite magazine about it, nut I never watched it. I did not know the premise. Earth’s moon is destroyed? And the crew is in their Moonbase ship doing interstellar travel? That’s pretty hard to swallow, but the second story was even worse. I wanted the crew to recognize the planet by the continents, and then realize that the easily recognizable metropolitan centers were not there! And there was no electric light on the dark side of the planet. They could have at least taken the time to explain to the populace that the entire planet couldn’t flood. Sure sounds like a script idea delivered mere minutes before the recording started!

  10. Oh how weird! I’m sitting here listening to the Super Mates’ catalog of shows all evening while working on my stuff (details at my Twitter) and I just happened to be on Episode 20 from 6 years ago where Brian Heller is the guest. When they mentioned the Power Records podcast it prompted me to look it up and BOOM. This latest episode exists! Looking forward to listening to this catalog as well!

  11. ONE of the narrators for the 1970’s Power Records was DON WesScott; he was also a narrator for the PBS series NOVA for as far back as the mid-1980s, or even farther back in the 70’s. It’s really hard to find this info until I came here & one of the comments mentioned this. Nowhere on the net could I find his name linked to Power Records. I knew it was him but just wanted that confirmed. Who were the other narrators?
    You can listen to him on NOVA: The Magic of Special Effects on youtube. This Nova special was also co-produce with the BBC with a different narrator & differently edited with new stuff NOT on the NOVA version. Both can be seen on youtube.
    The NOVA in 5 parts, (incomplete), the other in whole and is listed along with the NOVA parts but is not titled HoriZon. I don’t remember the title at this moment.

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