Exploring Space: 1999 : An Episode Guide and Complete History of the Mid-1970s Science Fiction on Television Series: Amazon.ca: John Kenneth Muir: Books

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From Library Journal

In the mid-1970s, a space adventure series featuring aliens, spaceships, and spectacular explosions debuted and immediately captured a worldwide audience. Yet, though Space: 1999 pioneered many of the elements that made Star Wars a colossal hit a couple of years later, it has been largely ignored or underrated ever since its short run. Muir, a medical transcriptionist and amateur filmmaker, offers a well-written look back at the show. He takes the reader from the stunning pilot film portraying the marooning of Moonbase Alpha onward through two seasons of mystery and menace from beyond the beyond. This personal but thoroughly researched work also addresses the curiously strident attacks the show has received from fans of Star Trek. In the chapter "Defending Space: 1999," Muir compiles the criticism against the show (including a New York Times piece by Isaac Asimov) and provides good counterarguments for the series's place in the pantheon of televised science fiction. Recommended for larger public and academic popular culture collections.?Ben O'Sickey, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"a must for the series' fans" -- VideoScope

"comprehensive...detailed" -- AB Bookman's Weekly

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews

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4.1 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, July 2 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Exploring Space: 1999 : An Episode Guide and Complete History of the Mid-1970s Science Fiction on Television Series (Hardcover)

I'm only a casual fan of Space 1999, but with all of the DVDs being available I wanted to know more. This book was extremely helpful to me. Muir's book has been a perfect companion to the Space 1999 episodes I've been getting on DVD. Very nicely written with tons of informative facts. A+

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Space 1999 Conspiracy!, Sep 21 2003

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James A. Cole (boston, ma United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Exploring Space: 1999 : An Episode Guide and Complete History of the Mid-1970s Science Fiction on Television Series (Hardcover)

If you are a fan of science fiction, this book is one major revelation. It tracks major influneces of space 1999 in the star trek and star wars franchises and goes into detail on the philosophy of the show which made the X-files possible. Its about time somebody exposes the lies of the Trekkies , which sought to kill space 1999s' reputation. Even as recently as last months New York Times , Emily Nussbaum gave the show a bad reveiw without even explayning her problems with the show.
Long live Space 1999!

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5.0 out of 5 stars A very informative and exhaustively well researched book, Nov 20 2002

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Christopher Dalton (Louisville, Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exploring Space: 1999 : An Episode Guide and Complete History of the Mid-1970s Science Fiction on Television Series (Hardcover)

Being a fan of Space:1999 since its debut in 1975, I immediately bought this book to see what it was all about. Like the book Space:1999 - The Future Is Fantastic (which would come out some three years later), this book about the classic British science fiction series was well researched and exhaustively informative. Like Paul M. Sammon's book on the making of Blade Runner, John Kenneth Muir's book really captured every detail about the show. From the synopsis of all 48 episodes, to direct quotes of dialogue from the characters and interviews with various actors, actresses, behind the scenes personnel, and the creators Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, this book was a pure pleasure to read. Muir's comments and criticisms about each episode and the show in general were justifiable in some areas, and in others, not. However, his book on the show, and the information contained were muti-dimensional and layered. Like many fans of the show, Muir's writings clearly indicate that he too is a fan, and truly cares about this classic piece of science fiction. He also goes into detail about how strong a cult-fan following the show has, and why it was on for only two years. Especially the changes made between the first and second seasons.

If you enjoy Space:1999, then you will want to pick up a copy of this excellent and informative book. If you really enjoy Muir's book on this show, then you'll want to check out his book on another classic piece of science fiction and fantasy. A legendary space opera known as Battlestar Galactica.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Thought Provoking Book
If, like me, you remember Space 1999 as a kid and want to know more about the series then get this book. Read more

Published on Jan 6 2002 by Scott Hart

5.0 out of 5 stars # 1
The definitive book on this TV series. Captures the essence of the show, describes its impact on later series, and details the long history of Space:1999, down to criticisms... Read more

Published on Dec 3 2001