Space: 1999

Space:1999 – Moonbase Alpha casualty report (Year Two)

Continued from Year One

The second season of Space:1999 saw Moonbase Alpha become a noticeably safer environment to live and work in than it had been during the first, with a significant decrease in the number of fatalities among its population.

We ended our look at the first season with a surviving Alphan population of 272, but Doctor Russell’s log entry at the beginning of second season opener The Metamorph states that Alpha’s population is now 297. If you consider the show’s second season a direct continuation of the first (rather than a slightly alternate universe take on the same concept, for which the same figure might not apply) it would seem that this population rise is surprisingly not down to off-screen births, as we learn in The Exiles that “we can’t even permit any new births on Alpha. We can barely support the people we have!” Where these 25 extra people came from remains a mystery, but we’ll resume this list at 297!

The Metamorph

Lew Picard is the first fatality of the second season, disintegrated when the beam from his laser rifle is deflected back onto himself.

Eagle pilot Ray Torens, having had his mind drained into the biological computer Psyche, is subsequently killed by a rockfall during the breakup of the planet.

We also have an addition to Alpha’s roster, as Maya joins the crew following the destruction of her home planet Psychon.

Moonbase Alpha population = 296 (-2) (+1)

The Beta Cloud

Eagle pilot Tom Graham is assigned to investigate the mysterious space cloud that appears in Alpha’s path, but his Eagle subsequently returns to the base without him. No further mention is made of the character, with the safe assumption being that he was presumed lost.

Moonbase Alpha population = 295 (-1)

The Bringers of Wonder part 1

The camera-happy Clive Kander of Alpha’s records division is mentally influenced by the alien visitors to the base, who cause him to vent an emergency oxygen cylinder into a closed compartment. Kander is then killed in the subsequent explosion.

Moonbase Alpha population = 294 (-1)

The Lambda Factor

The love triangle of Sally Martin, Mark Sanders and Carolyn Powell is permanently ended when Carolyn develops psychic powers and turns them against Sally and Mark.

Moonbase Alpha population = 292 (-2)

The Séance Spectre

Greg Sanderson attempts to murder Commander Koenig out on the lunar surface, but ultimately falls to his death in a nuclear waste silo which is then blown up.

Moonbase Alpha population = 291 (-1)

Devil’s Planet

Blake Maine of the Medical Rescue Unit accompanies Commander Koenig to the moon Entra, but is disintegrated after running into a laser boundary fence.

Moonbase Alpha population = 290 (-1)

The Immunity Syndrome

Joe Lustig is the first of the Alphans to encounter the being that inhabits a seemingly idyllic new world. Driven insane, he is subsequently accidentally killed by his own laser during a fight with Tony Verdeschi.

As the planet’s environment turns hostile, Les Johnson dies after eating fruit which then becomes toxic inside his body.

Similarly, two more Alphans die after drinking the planet’s water.

Moonbase Alpha population = 286 (-4)

The Dorcons

Eagle pilot Thompson is the only named fatality of the Dorcon attack against Alpha, although Helena’s subsequent line “that’s two dead, eleven injured, two missing” gives us an unconfirmed total of between two and four Alphan deaths during this episode.

Moonbase Alpha population = 284 (-2) (and two more potential deaths)

Honourable mentions

Mentor destroys a manned Eagle during the events of The Metamorph, but as with The Infernal Machine we can’t be sure whether one or two pilots were aboard.

Technician Johnson is assaulted by Pasc in The Mark of Archanon, and described by Tony as having a “severe head injury”. The character is then never mentioned again, and so cannot be confirmed as a fatality.

This leaves us with an end of season (and series) total of 284 remaining residents on Moonbase Alpha, with The Metamorph and The Dorcons each accounting for one or two more potential deaths each!

Written by
Chris Dale

Writer, editor & voice actor on Big Finish's Doctor Who, Terrahawks, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet audio ranges. Host of the Randomiser on the Gerry Anderson Podcast.

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