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The Gerry Anderson Vaults
Space: 1999: The Vault
The lavish science-fiction drama Space: 1999 has captivated audiences around the world since its debut in 1975. The series starred Martin Landau and Barbara Bain and was created by legendary Gerry Anderson.
The ambitious premise exceed the scope (and budget) of many of the era’s disaster movies - following and accident that blows the Moon out of Earth’s orbit, the stranded crew of Moonbase Alpha embark on an interplanetary quest for a new home.
This definitive and fully authorized book includes a wealth of previously unpublished images - including shots of original studio models and vintage merchandise.
The ambitious premise exceed the scope (and budget) of many of the era’s disaster movies - following and accident that blows the Moon out of Earth’s orbit, the stranded crew of Moonbase Alpha embark on an interplanetary quest for a new home.
This definitive and fully authorized book includes a wealth of previously unpublished images - including shots of original studio models and vintage merchandise.
- GenresReference
224 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 19, 2022
When Space 1999 first premiered in Canada in 1975 I was smitten. We had Star Trek reruns of course, but all those stories were pretty much memorized by then. There was Lost in Space, but really? Lee Majors was doing his thing, but that was not outer space fun. The Starlost had come and gone and there were some other shows kicking around, but no quality hard science fiction. After UFO had concluded (Big cheer for UFO) I was desperate for some high quality Sci-fi. Enter Gerry Anderson's big budget runaway moon epic. The First season was incredible. The second season okay, although I loved it when younger, I realized it was directed for more main stream sensibilities (And suffered because of it). Still, I continue to re-watch to this day. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of new product out there. There are some great novels, both written and graphic, plus the outstanding Big Finish audio dramas, but nothing about the show. Enter, Space:1999, The Vault!
This is a thorough look at the series. Details include how it originally came to be, how the main cast ended up in their roles, information about the scripting process, how the models were made, how the sets were designed, where all that funky furniture came from, and so on. There is even a few pages dedicated to Rudi Gernreich. Who is Rudi Gernreich? During the credits I would always read, "Mooncity costumes designed by Rudi Gernreich." I remember asking myself, why does this person get such recognition for designing the Moonbase Alpha outfits? (To be fair, my knowledge of fashion fits on the head of a pin, after you inscribe War and Peace there first). Well, now I know! Do you want to learn about the diecast toys? That is in here. Do you want to know about the action figures? They are in here too. Curious about who guest starred, was uncredited in an episode, who re-wrote what script? All in here. In fact, everything you could possibly want to know about Space 1999 is contained within these covers. "That's where you are wrong moondust breath!, I hear Johnny Carson sneer. Okay, he would be correct, but pretty damn close nonetheless.
I have been waiting for this book since the last episode aired in 1977. I miss this show and have been disappointed that any reboot attempts have expired in development hell. However, sometimes maybe it is best for classics to remain classics. All I know is that I had an itch that needed to be scratched and scratched it was. But wait! Four stars? Why only 4 stars? Well, I may be alone in this, but I found the tiny shoebox photos that illustrated most of the book to be a little frustrating. I would have hoped for a higher page count with full size shots of much of what this incredible series had to offer. The commentary was first rate, but I was let down by the illustrations. Should you buy the book? Absolutely, I just feel it could have been notched up one more level.
This is a thorough look at the series. Details include how it originally came to be, how the main cast ended up in their roles, information about the scripting process, how the models were made, how the sets were designed, where all that funky furniture came from, and so on. There is even a few pages dedicated to Rudi Gernreich. Who is Rudi Gernreich? During the credits I would always read, "Mooncity costumes designed by Rudi Gernreich." I remember asking myself, why does this person get such recognition for designing the Moonbase Alpha outfits? (To be fair, my knowledge of fashion fits on the head of a pin, after you inscribe War and Peace there first). Well, now I know! Do you want to learn about the diecast toys? That is in here. Do you want to know about the action figures? They are in here too. Curious about who guest starred, was uncredited in an episode, who re-wrote what script? All in here. In fact, everything you could possibly want to know about Space 1999 is contained within these covers. "That's where you are wrong moondust breath!, I hear Johnny Carson sneer. Okay, he would be correct, but pretty damn close nonetheless.
I have been waiting for this book since the last episode aired in 1977. I miss this show and have been disappointed that any reboot attempts have expired in development hell. However, sometimes maybe it is best for classics to remain classics. All I know is that I had an itch that needed to be scratched and scratched it was. But wait! Four stars? Why only 4 stars? Well, I may be alone in this, but I found the tiny shoebox photos that illustrated most of the book to be a little frustrating. I would have hoped for a higher page count with full size shots of much of what this incredible series had to offer. The commentary was first rate, but I was let down by the illustrations. Should you buy the book? Absolutely, I just feel it could have been notched up one more level.
January 29, 2024
This is such an amazing, wonderful book I can’t even tell you.
Information on every episode, wonderful trivia, detailed information on the music, furniture, actors and sets.
If you’re not geeky enough to love this stuff, the priceless pictures should change that.
“Both vibrant and classy, the Series 1 soundtrack is widely regarded as one of the greatest television soundtracks of the 20th century.”
Yup. Since the LP was never reproduced on CD I had to take the LP to a special shop to have it transferred to CD. It’s in my car to this day.
“The 32-year-old actor Michael Boothe portrayed the ‘spirit’ in the silver spacesuit who leads Carter and the Level 7 survivors to Neman and the gene bank. It proved to be his only significant screen role. On 30 April 1990, he was walking home from a dinner party, […]when he was brutally beaten by a group of six young men. […] Boothe’s murder prompted a march by hundreds of lesbians and gay men demanding better policing for the community. “
Once the internet got going it because very clear that Space: 1999 had a tremendous and open gay following. My experience at the 2012 Space 1999 convention definitely reinforced that.
I’ve always wondered why. It’s tempted to blame it on the fashions designed for the show, but that seems a superficial distinction.
Is it because the very romantic notion of the series itself — lost on a wandering island alone in the vastness of space — identifies with the gay experience. I don’t know.
The visionary notion of the moon floating away at random is certainly the most unique thing about Space: 1999 and certainly the thing that sets it apart from anything else ever.
But I’ve always wondered.
The section on Matte paintings and opticals is amazing. I don’t remember the Starlog articles I read at the time (though I still have them) that talked about the special effects, but from today’s view point, the idea of painting on glass and putting it in front of the camera and large painted cut-outs to produce special effects is amazing.
The painting were amazing for their time and still look impressive today.
Not really much to say except that this book covers not only each and every episode but the whole plethora of marketing and promotional materials for the show — much of which I knew about (and have displayed in places of pride) — but many of which I did not know about (and trigger a hunter’s envy I am trying to quell).
The vault is a treasure trove that I will refer to again and again, covering each episode and as far as I can tell every single set of merchandise and tie-in ever done for the show.
The ultimate coffee table book for Space: 1999 fans! 5 stars and definitely keeper!
Information on every episode, wonderful trivia, detailed information on the music, furniture, actors and sets.
If you’re not geeky enough to love this stuff, the priceless pictures should change that.
“Both vibrant and classy, the Series 1 soundtrack is widely regarded as one of the greatest television soundtracks of the 20th century.”
Yup. Since the LP was never reproduced on CD I had to take the LP to a special shop to have it transferred to CD. It’s in my car to this day.
“The 32-year-old actor Michael Boothe portrayed the ‘spirit’ in the silver spacesuit who leads Carter and the Level 7 survivors to Neman and the gene bank. It proved to be his only significant screen role. On 30 April 1990, he was walking home from a dinner party, […]when he was brutally beaten by a group of six young men. […] Boothe’s murder prompted a march by hundreds of lesbians and gay men demanding better policing for the community. “
Once the internet got going it because very clear that Space: 1999 had a tremendous and open gay following. My experience at the 2012 Space 1999 convention definitely reinforced that.
I’ve always wondered why. It’s tempted to blame it on the fashions designed for the show, but that seems a superficial distinction.
Is it because the very romantic notion of the series itself — lost on a wandering island alone in the vastness of space — identifies with the gay experience. I don’t know.
The visionary notion of the moon floating away at random is certainly the most unique thing about Space: 1999 and certainly the thing that sets it apart from anything else ever.
But I’ve always wondered.
The section on Matte paintings and opticals is amazing. I don’t remember the Starlog articles I read at the time (though I still have them) that talked about the special effects, but from today’s view point, the idea of painting on glass and putting it in front of the camera and large painted cut-outs to produce special effects is amazing.
The painting were amazing for their time and still look impressive today.
Not really much to say except that this book covers not only each and every episode but the whole plethora of marketing and promotional materials for the show — much of which I knew about (and have displayed in places of pride) — but many of which I did not know about (and trigger a hunter’s envy I am trying to quell).
The vault is a treasure trove that I will refer to again and again, covering each episode and as far as I can tell every single set of merchandise and tie-in ever done for the show.
The ultimate coffee table book for Space: 1999 fans! 5 stars and definitely keeper!
July 6, 2022
This book contains unlicensed original images created by fans and other authors blithely stolen off of the internet without credit, permission or compensation.
September 23, 2024
More a link to the memories of my childhood. The TV series has sadly aged badly, but this book is a fitting tribute to the TV series and a reminder of my more "eyes wide open" days, so a keeper.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews