SPACE: 1999 Nitpickers Thread....

Mark IX Fan · 07-06-2007, 02:57 PM

A few years ago, Phil Farrand released a series of books nitpicking all the production screwups, plot oversights, and other mistakes found in the various STAR TREK series. It was a scream to read and was borne out of one man's almost fanatical love for the shows.

I was wondering if we could start a thread devoted to pointing out some of the errors (obvious and not so obvious) found in our favorite show. The science in SPACE is sufficiently wonky that it should provide quite a wealth of material!

Fire away...

Stu73 · 07-06-2007, 03:16 PM

okay for starters, two words:

YEAR TWO

Mark IX Fan · 07-06-2007, 04:27 PM

Well, Year Two is looked at much the same way that STAR TREK's third season was, but moving right along....

THE METAMORPH - When did Alpha suddenly acquire the firepower to destroy an entire planet with just one Eagle? Sure would have been nice to have one of those on hand when they were threatened with planetary destruction in COLLISION COURSE.

ALPHA CHILD - Earth technology must be the intergalactic rage. The alien race that shows up at the episode's climax is the same ship used in WAR GAMES, a ship identified as an Earth weapon.

Which of course begs the question, what was going on on Earth to justify the creation of such a bomber? (Not to mention the Hawks).

THE LAST ENEMY - We're supposed to believe that alien races advanced enough to build ship like the Deltan and Bethan gunships can't find a way to shoot around that pesky sun? Haven't they heard of guided missle technology?

Y'know, little stuff like this......

07-06-2007, 04:40 PM

the number one thing that always bugged me was seeing the lines holding the eagles.

and i dont know what episode it was but the one where alpha had atmosphere and koenig slides open the command center window to enjoy the fresh air? what the hell is a moonbase doing with slide open windows??

cricket · 07-06-2007, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northerner

...and i dont know what episode it was but the one where alpha had atmosphere and koenig slides open the command center window to enjoy the fresh air? what the hell is a moonbase doing with slide open windows??

Uh oh... CR's pet peeve... prepare to duck! Incoming!!

(Might want to see page 19 of this thread, 5th entry down...

http://www.eagletransporter.com/foru...=asc&start=360 )

P.S. Last Sunset

cricket · 07-06-2007, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark IX Fan

A few years ago, Phil Farrand released a series of books nitpicking all the production screwups, plot oversights, and other mistakes found in the various STAR TREK series. It was a scream to read and was borne out of one man's almost fanatical love for the shows.
.

I've got these for TOS and TNG. And I agree, it's fun to read the synopsis and then watch the ep.

captainjamie · 07-06-2007, 08:02 PM

Didn't MST3K give their treatment to the Cosmic Princess feature? Has anyone seen it?

Mark IX Fan · 07-06-2007, 08:32 PM

Andnof course how many times do the visors on the space helmets keep popping open while on the lunar surface?

Neal · 07-06-2007, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by captainjamie

Didn't MST3K give their treatment to the Cosmic Princess feature? Has anyone seen it?

I have. It's one of their very early efforts.

mad-rat · 07-06-2007, 10:21 PM

Much as I love the Eagle, why did they make it sound like a food mixer when in flight.
Take off sounds were OK, but the space shots with that pathetic twirlly whirring noise

ashford · 07-06-2007, 10:44 PM

There are a lot of production glitches documented on the Catacombs site. Like you say "from a place of love" because we're all very fond of the dear old thing really.

I particulary like (can't remember which epi) a scene where John tells Alan to programme a timed explosive to go off at such and such hours and if you watch closely you can see Alan keying in a quite different time. "Whoops! Sorry Commander"

cricket · 07-06-2007, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashford

I particulary like (can't remember which epi) a scene where John tells Alan to programme a timed explosive to go off at such and such hours and if you watch closely you can see Alan keying in a quite different time. "Whoops! Sorry Commander"

Space Brain

**Bishop** · 07-06-2007, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashford

There are a lot of production glitches documented on the Catacombs site. Like you say "from a place of love" because we're all very fond of the dear old thing really.

I particularly like (can't remember which epi) a scene where John tells Alan to programme a timed explosive to go off at such and such hours and if you watch closely you can see Alan keying in a quite different time. "Whoops! Sorry Commander"

The Catacombs has errors listed for each ep. Wrong pods, missing furniture from one scene to the next etc But I agree with Stu73, Series 2 was certainly one big mistake, with lots of good bits in it, almost by accident.

Yes and why do the eagles sound so dreadful in flight?

CR · 08-06-2007, 04:43 AM

Ferrand's website, NitCentral, is a place I used to frequent, but have abandoned. Part of it was that I outgrew it, I guess, part of it was that it got to be not as fun (had a few flame wars erupt all too often at one point).

Anyway, there's a dedicated section for S99 there. Don't know if posting's still active in those parts, but the threads should be archived. (Unless some moderator over there deleted them all... that happened to several boards, too, without warning so that none of us could archive them ourselves!

)

Anyway, before you all go crazy re-inventing the wheel here, go over there and have a look! http://www.nitcentral.com/discus/mes...3728/3728.html
I had been thinking of copying over to here all my NitCentral posts about fixing sfx gaffs (using minimal CGI to hide wires, flop Eagles so boarding tubes dock to the correct side, that sort of thing), but wasn't sure about it. Now, you can all just go there and read them yourself.

And thanks, cricket, for fielding The Window Thing for me. I'm going to go off someplace secluded and quietly scream to myself.

CR · 08-06-2007, 04:47 AM

As for Eagles sound fx in flight, my wife used to have a musical keyboard that did sound fx... one of them was "waves", which, as you plunked various keys, sounded a bit like waves crashing onto a shore. If you held a single key down, however, it sounded exactly like the Eagle flight noise, complete with the echo-y whooshing sound at the end! (Whish-whish-whishh-whisssshhhh-whiissshhhhh!)
That's the only reason I wanted to keep that keyboard, but we needed money, so my wife sold it. Wish I had it to use with my PE fleet...

CR · 08-06-2007, 05:24 AM

Oh, I have mentioned NitCentral a few times here in the past...

http://www.eagletransporter.com/foru...r=asc&start=20

http://www.eagletransporter.com/foru...=1357&start=13

This one specifically brings up The Window Thing! http://www.eagletransporter.com/foru...=2235&start=19

And of course, cricket mentioned this, but here's a link right to my post: http://www.eagletransporter.com/foru...=asc&start=364

**Bishop** · 08-06-2007, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CR

As for Eagles sound fx in flight, my wife used to have a musical keyboard that did sound fx... one of them was "waves", which, as you plunked various keys, sounded a bit like waves crashing onto a shore. If you held a single key down, however, it sounded exactly like the Eagle flight noise, complete with the echo-y whooshing sound at the end! (Whish-whish-whishh-whisssshhhh-whiissshhhhh!)
That's the only reason I wanted to keep that keyboard, but we needed money, so my wife sold it. Wish I had it to use with my PE fleet...

Forget the keyboard....make your own noises, I d...

CR · 08-06-2007, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony42

Forget the keyboard....make your own noises, I d...

Oh, so do I... I just thought it was cool to have a real sound effect maker, you know, to show off the real effect to anyone I could corner.

**Bishop** · 08-06-2007, 05:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CR

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony42

Forget the keyboard....make your own noises, I d...

Oh, so do I... I just thought it was cool to have a real sound effect maker, you know, to show off the real effect to anyone I could corner.

Ah do you trap people into tours of your models as well???

mad-rat · 08-06-2007, 09:42 AM

I remember noticing that in 'some' shots of the moon, where we saw it orbiting a planet, or eagles flying past, that the moon is seen rotating!

In most shots it isnt.

The moon doesnt rotate. Does it?

Or did the Alphans gain control over that? Was that large Red Button on Koeneg's desk the 'Rotate Mode On' control.

Did they turn it on when they had washing on the line, to help it dry?

Ah! thats what the opening window was for!!!! Checking on the washing

07-06-2007, 02:57 PM	#1
Mark IX Fan Weapons Technician Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 148	SPACE: 1999 Nitpickers Thread.... A few years ago, Phil Farrand released a series of books nitpicking all the production screwups, plot oversights, and other mistakes found in the various STAR TREK series. It was a scream to read and was borne out of one man's almost fanatical love for the shows. I was wondering if we could start a thread devoted to pointing out some of the errors (obvious and not so obvious) found in our favorite show. The science in SPACE is sufficiently wonky that it should provide quite a wealth of material! Fire away...

08-06-2007, 04:43 AM	#14
CR Science Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: wandering the universe Posts: 5,471	Ferrand's website, NitCentral, is a place I used to frequent, but have abandoned. Part of it was that I outgrew it, I guess, part of it was that it got to be not as fun (had a few flame wars erupt all too often at one point). Anyway, there's a dedicated section for S99 there. Don't know if posting's still active in those parts, but the threads should be archived. (Unless some moderator over there deleted them all... that happened to several boards, too, without warning so that none of us could archive them ourselves! ) Anyway, before you all go crazy re-inventing the wheel here, go over there and have a look! http://www.nitcentral.com/discus/mes...3728/3728.html I had been thinking of copying over to here all my NitCentral posts about fixing sfx gaffs (using minimal CGI to hide wires, flop Eagles so boarding tubes dock to the correct side, that sort of thing), but wasn't sure about it. Now, you can all just go there and read them yourself. And thanks, cricket, for fielding The Window Thing for me. I'm going to go off someplace secluded and quietly scream to myself. __________________ I really need to get a new sig...

08-06-2007, 04:47 AM	#15
CR Science Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: wandering the universe Posts: 5,471	As for Eagles sound fx in flight, my wife used to have a musical keyboard that did sound fx... one of them was "waves", which, as you plunked various keys, sounded a bit like waves crashing onto a shore. If you held a single key down, however, it sounded exactly like the Eagle flight noise, complete with the echo-y whooshing sound at the end! (Whish-whish-whishh-whisssshhhh-whiissshhhhh!) That's the only reason I wanted to keep that keyboard, but we needed money, so my wife sold it. Wish I had it to use with my PE fleet... __________________ I really need to get a new sig...

08-06-2007, 05:24 AM	#16
CR Science Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: wandering the universe Posts: 5,471	Oh, I have mentioned NitCentral a few times here in the past... http://www.eagletransporter.com/foru...r=asc&start=20 http://www.eagletransporter.com/foru...=1357&start=13 This one specifically brings up The Window Thing! http://www.eagletransporter.com/foru...=2235&start=19 And of course, cricket mentioned this, but here's a link right to my post: http://www.eagletransporter.com/foru...=asc&start=364 __________________ I really need to get a new sig...

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07-06-2007, 03:16 PM	#2
Stu73 Communications Officer Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Scotland, UK Posts: 1,336	okay for starters, two words: YEAR TWO

07-06-2007, 04:27 PM	#3
Mark IX Fan Weapons Technician Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 148	Well, Year Two is looked at much the same way that STAR TREK's third season was, but moving right along.... THE METAMORPH - When did Alpha suddenly acquire the firepower to destroy an entire planet with just one Eagle? Sure would have been nice to have one of those on hand when they were threatened with planetary destruction in COLLISION COURSE. ALPHA CHILD - Earth technology must be the intergalactic rage. The alien race that shows up at the episode's climax is the same ship used in WAR GAMES, a ship identified as an Earth weapon. Which of course begs the question, what was going on on Earth to justify the creation of such a bomber? (Not to mention the Hawks). THE LAST ENEMY - We're supposed to believe that alien races advanced enough to build ship like the Deltan and Bethan gunships can't find a way to shoot around that pesky sun? Haven't they heard of guided missle technology? Y'know, little stuff like this......

07-06-2007, 04:40 PM	#4
Guest Posts: n/a	the number one thing that always bugged me was seeing the lines holding the eagles. and i dont know what episode it was but the one where alpha had atmosphere and koenig slides open the command center window to enjoy the fresh air? what the hell is a moonbase doing with slide open windows??

07-06-2007, 08:02 PM	#7
captainjamie Communications Officer Join Date: May 2007 Location: Somewhere in Kent Posts: 918	Didn't MST3K give their treatment to the Cosmic Princess feature? Has anyone seen it?

07-06-2007, 08:32 PM	#8
Mark IX Fan Weapons Technician Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 148	Andnof course how many times do the visors on the space helmets keep popping open while on the lunar surface?

07-06-2007, 10:21 PM	#10
mad-rat Alphan Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 8	Much as I love the Eagle, why did they make it sound like a food mixer when in flight. Take off sounds were OK, but the space shots with that pathetic twirlly whirring noise

07-06-2007, 10:44 PM	#11
ashford Life Support Technician Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Des Res in "nice bit" of Ultima Thule Posts: 89	There are a lot of production glitches documented on the Catacombs site. Like you say "from a place of love" because we're all very fond of the dear old thing really. I particulary like (can't remember which epi) a scene where John tells Alan to programme a timed explosive to go off at such and such hours and if you watch closely you can see Alan keying in a quite different time. "Whoops! Sorry Commander"

08-06-2007, 09:42 AM	#20
mad-rat Alphan Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 8	I remember noticing that in 'some' shots of the moon, where we saw it orbiting a planet, or eagles flying past, that the moon is seen rotating! In most shots it isnt. The moon doesnt rotate. Does it? Or did the Alphans gain control over that? Was that large Red Button on Koeneg's desk the 'Rotate Mode On' control. Did they turn it on when they had washing on the line, to help it dry? Ah! thats what the opening window was for!!!! Checking on the washing