Likewise, I saw this when I was 5 or 6. FAR too young. I suspect it's because they had difficulty selling the show in America to a proper network so they ended up dumping it cheap and it ended up as Saturday or Sunday afternoon filler. Sheesh, this was practically rated R material. Shouldn't have aired until after 9pm.
As a little kid at the time this first aired, this episode was the scariest thing I'd ever seen. That 'trauma' has since turned into an appreciation of horror, especially of the Lovecraftian variety. Loved all your observations. If I was Commander, I'd probably equip the security teams with cutlasses as a standard backup weapon.
So true. Saw this episode when I was 8 yrs old. The burned and digested corpses scared the eff outta me. Had a Space 1999 metal lunchbox in 1st grade. with that monster on it. scared me to the point that my Mom scraped the paint off of it. Seen worse since then, but this episode has stuck with me as one of the creepiest and most horrible things ever. I hate it, but I keep watching it. Also, very Lovecraftian.
Absolutely, give me a nightmare at the time, love Lovecraft, you should check out Ian's readings on Horrorbabble if you like audio books, he really is next level at readings.
It gave me nightmares too..My older brother and sister would play sci-fi games and recreate them and I wouldn’t play this recreation…this episode scared the bejesus of me 😂
This episode was broadcast, uncut, as part of Saturday morning kids' TV. I was 12, and my brother was 5. We could not take our eyes off it, and my brother gripped my arm like grim death. It was the most frightening thing I had ever seen, worse than some 'proper' horror movies I had seen. My brother refuses to rewatch it, even now - it kept him awake for months afterwards. Saying that, it is a brilliant episode.
Oh man! I was 8 years old when this aired. I'm in my 50s now. I'm still waiting for the day I stop having nightmares about this one. The kids and I t the day-care center I went to would specifically wear belts on the day after each episode of Space: 1999 aired, so we could un-tuck our shirts and wrap our belts around our waists to look like we had Alpha uniforms. We were SOOO in to this show. You wouldn't believe how much we discussed this episode. 8 year old boys talking about a one eyed, space monster like it was the deepest philosophical concept imaginable.
04:22 that’s Michael Sheard, he was in everything filmed in the uk during the 70/80s, including Star Wars and Raiders Of The Lost Ark, he was a main character on Grange Hill and Coronation Street, and he appeared on Doctor Who so much he must’ve had his own coat peg!
Space: 1999 was filmed at Pinewood Studios in England where the Bond films were also shot. As alluded to at the final scene, this indeed was a futuristic spin on St. George and The Dragon. The Guest Star playing Tony, Gianni Garko, spoke very little English, and he asked Nick Tate (Allen) to be his tutor.
the script says St. George and The Dragon but it played out more like the Beowolf story - though that might be because Martin Landau wanted to be the one who killed it since he was the star (originally the episode was supposed to be built around Nick Tate but as others have said the RAI company wanted an Italian).
Hi Alexa, I just found the reviews for Space: 1999 here and I LOVE the reactions to the show. You're making me smile and feel like I'm watching the shows for the first time! Really enjoying watching these and hearing your comments. Dragon's Domain is my fav episode of the series. I've seen your review of "Breakaway" , Another Time Another Place, and now "Dragon's Domain." I am hooked. Appreciate so much watching you watch for the first time and hearing your comments. Really enjoying and taking me back! Thank You!
One of my top 3 Space:1999 episodes! A ghoulish slice of Lovecraftian, cosmic horror. And if you're noticing the preponderance of Italians on Alpha, it isn't because Gerry Anderson thought that Italy would be the preeminent spacefaring nation in 1999, but simply because the programme was produced in conjunction with RAI, the Italian state broadcaster...
@@redcardinalist i think tony was dubbed by another italian actor (a few of the italians in the series were because their english wasn't thought to be good enough)
If you're in the UK, and in your mid to late 50s like me, then I can virtually guarantee there are three things responsible for more childhood nightmares than everything else put together. They are.... Space 1999 Dragons Domain. The Nigel Kneale Beasts episode "Baby". The Peter Cushing / Edward Judd movie "Island of Terror" All three had terrifying sound effects, which I think is one of the reasons they scared us so much.
My favourite episode Alexa. A few things, the classical music piece was Albinoni's Adagio in G minor. Apparently also used in the original Rollerball film. One piece I like about this episode is Helena typing up her report on Space Commission notepaper. When first I saw this episode, I assumed the part about 'Tony Cellini confronting his old enemy' was being reported as it happened and was being typed up as part of Helena's routine paperwork. Now I see it differently. Helena was part of the team assigned by the Space Commission to investigate Cellini's report and his medical condition, this also later briefly causes a slight rift between herself and Koenig. I assume this is her closing the case so to speak and more or less admitting that she was wrong 'on the record', and that her whole narration happened, along with her new typed report after the events of the episode.
This episode was the first show or movie that gave that gave me nightmares as a child. What was so wild was that they stated they just threw the thing away and let it out that for the dogs to do their business on, lol.
As I commented before, Space: 1999 was really hiiting its stride by the end of Year One (this is really episode 23, so the one before the last to be produced for the first season), and I think that is quite clear here. Dragon's Domain is at least on most fans' top five episodes and is one of my personal favourites.
Apparently they were shopping the series around trying to get an American backer and the feedback was 'where are the monsters' and this was hastily slotted in to the end of the run.
This is my all-time favorite episode of the series. You have a sharp eye Alexa! It's been a while since I've watched the classic Bond films. I always love spotting props, costumes, sets and locales in various movies and shows. Yes, Tony did have poor strategy. I guess he just wanted to settle his score and get it over with As they say, "haste makes waste." And I must agree with you about those eagles. They truly are things of beauty!
I have the Eagle toys from 1975 and a newer model of more recent vintage. In 1975 I made it very clear what I wanted for Christmas and I got both versions! Love your series of reactions.
Not just props and sets from elsewhere, but that monster is also from the prop cupboard: a film called 'The Lost Continent' or something close. A nearly-modern ship's crew and passengers are threatened by pirates among the crew, a toxic and inflammable cargo, dissension in the ranks, and, when they all finally escape the ship, they discover a seaweed sargasso (poisonous seaweed, to boot) on the ocean, that contains the wrecks of ships from earlier times. Phew: while dealing with that (raids by what seem to be Conquistadores / sailors from the Spanish Armada), they discover that the apparently time-slipped locals are sacrificing people they capture to a monster in the seaweed. Guess which one. It's one of the oddest films I've ever seen, seems to have been written up from scenes from rejected scripts, and is made with standing sets and available costumes from other movies. Then the monster is used in Space: 1999.
9:28 has a VERY good point. Nothing like that exists on Earth, deep space could be an entirely different story. That is reason I have always believed that if we encounter extraterrestrial life someday, it will be entirely different from life as we know it.
Another thing, regarding your comment on Eagles, as a child I had two Dinky die cast Eagles and had great fun with them. One with the passenger pod and one with the winch and radiation canisters. The landing legs were spring loaded and you could have great fun dropping them on grass simulating another Koenig or Carter crash. :D
This was by far the most memorable episode. In the mid 70's I had a Space 1999 lunch box with an image of this episode on the lid. Took it to school every day.
One of my favourite episodes in the show. I loved the idea of Helena's voice-over denoting the passage of time. i think Tony Cellini is a great character & i wish we'd seen him earlier in the series as produced, but hey-ho. This episode (cue titles) scared the absolute crap out of me at the time & again, I was watching it in black & white. For trivia fans, there is a slight continuity error in this episode. It occurs during the "Space News" sequence. Bob Shearman, an American actor who appeared on screen got the date wrong. He said "Dateline September 3rd 1996" That's because he misunderstood the line because here in the UK we express a date as Day/Month/Year &, being American, he expressed it Month/Date/Year. so the date should've been 9th of March 1996. No one in the production team picked up on it (or they didn't have time to re-record) so the line stood. Helena states the launch date as 6th June 1996. "666!" (portent of doom). I mean no detraction of the episode here - I think it's great & Alexa, you're observations were shrewd as ever. Thank you:)
a website has put all the episodes in date order (taking the dates given in them by helena etc) and the list is all over the place - e.g. some year 1 episodes have a later date than some year 2 episodes.
The show wasn't big on continuity or even checking out its science. It was more Flash Gordon than 2001. I loved this show and have been recently revisiting it, hence my out of date comments. If you're old enough to have seen this when originally broadcast we were starved on science fiction before Star Wars showed up.
This and the Troubled spirit episode terrified me as a 10 year old. But they are the best ones. The dragons domain was one of the inspiration s for the film Alien.
To this day this is one of my fave episodes. Never forgot the desiccated husk being spat out of the monster... just horrifying and unforgettable!! Plus the soundtrack, acting , this is one of the series best episodes without a doubt.
Hi Alexa, what a great piece of intuition on your part! M's office! Coincidentally, I've always thought Douglas Wilmer who plays Commissioner Dixon who sits in M's chair and grills them all would have been a great M, say after the original, Bernard Lee, died. Btw, Wilmer also plays the psychiatrist in UFO's episode ESP, the guy who tries to help Croxley.
Also, you say that you like props and sets. In the Moore Bond film Moonraker, in the radar jamming room on Drax's space station there were Alpha desks with the small white angled desk lamps. Some say that this episode gave some ideas for Alien. Dr Darwin King was played by Michael Sheard who played the unfortunate Admiral Ozzel in Empire Strikes Back. The creatures way of killing and regurgitating it's victims was graphic and unusual for the time.
Dear old Michael Sheard is Dr King, famously strangled by Vader in the Empire Strikes back. He's been in loads of stuff but is perhaps famously known as Mr Bronson from the UK children's drama series Grange Hill.
I'd recommend his autobiography, 'Yes Mr Bronson : Memoirs of a Bum Actor' which is full of anecdotes, including Space 1999, his appearances in Star Wars and classic Dr Who and also he once shared accommodation with someone called Donald Sutherland.....Sadly Michael is no longer with us having passed away in 2005.
Because he was "granted" to be a part of the team he had to "lay low" and not mess his chance to go out there is why he did not bring a spear. One thing to remember although he as a strong will he is still under some influence from the monster's power to draw him to it. And yeah I am one of the many who had an eagle model as a kid waaaay back then ! I even made myself a paper craft of the eagle before the kit came out.
Yes, I imagine Dr Russell and others who thought Tony to be dangerously unstable might have raised a few objections if they saw him toting a multitude of melee weapons around.
Great spot with 'M's office Alexa! This is yet another fantastic episode . Mixing true horror with the psychology of deep space exploration. It was brilliant to see the pre breakaway sequences too. It reallly helps to ground the series and fleshes out the main characters' backgrounds and pasts. Great informative post as always 'hit the blue eye-thing!' Sage counsel indeed! Many thanks Alexa 😊
This episode freaked me out as a kid! Great job spotting M’s office! Unfortunately, I’ve read that this was originally supposed to be about Alan Carter but due to their agreement with an Italian studio to provide part of the funding, they had to use an Italian guest star. The other guy on the Ultra probe was the first guy choked by Darth Vader in Empire Strikes Back. I had an Eagle as a kid until my dog peed on it! Love your reviews!
I’ve never spotted M office before, and I’ve grown up on those Bond films. This episode scared me sh@t less as a kid in the 90s. My best friends older brother had a model Eagle, I wanted it so bad.
Just rewatching the reaction Alexa, and enjoying just as much as usual. I've gotten to the part where you mention that you're a massive classic Bond fan. There's quite a few people on this season of 1999 who have appeared in Bond films, Catherine Schell of Guardian of Piri was in On Her Majesty's Secret Service for example. No spoilers, but you're REALLY going to like UFO when you get to it - 'nuff said!
When it came to Tony arming himself out with his bedroom weapons, I'm sure Alpha Security would have had something to say - especially when Tony was still considered to be a bit off kilter. As for Tony not obviously going for the eye, I think it was conceived that he was hampered by the tentacles to reach it, but this still being the days of strings and air hoses it couldn't be well executed, when of course a bit of CGI now would better convey that. As for Koenig easily killing the beast - another criticism you didn't raise Alexa, but heard throughout the decades ever since - the answer is that Tony had already mortally injured the creature, hence the dragon's growl already heard to be winding down before Koenig delivered the killing blow. Anyway, I'm glad you're still enjoying it. Again, having an intelligent young lady like yourself become a new generation, justifies me not being mad when I loved it as an early teenage kid. SF was something of a secret hush-hush club when I was young. Something others used to make you feel embarrassed about.
I was 7 when I first saw this episode when it aired back in the 70s. This, the Star Trek Episode Arena, The Night Stalker, and the 1973 movie Gargoyles scared me but also peaked my interest in scifi horror whih peaked with 1982s The Thing! :) So muh fun to see others react. Although I care nothing for new Trek I really enjoy your TAS reviews and hope you do UFO at a later date. :)
(Again I don't know if this has been mentioned already in the comments). Alan Carter was supposed to be the central character of this episode, but it seems Martin Landau vetoed that and instead a new character was written (Italian since their state TV station RAI was a co-financer of the first season). I don't know how this episode would have ended if Alan was the lead. Obviously he couldn't be killed off, but how they would have worked Landau's pursuit and Carter's confrontation with the creature (and his survival) is not apparent to me. You can't really have both Carter and Landau defeating the creature, since it's Carter's guilt that is the driving force.
the original series plan was for the eagle captain to be an italian (courtesy of rai) but nick tate impressed in auditions (for a lesser part) so was given that major role instead - with italian guest stars in episodes instead - placating rai. that episode was all supposed to be built around alan cater (nick tate) in the tony role - and that he killed it at the end too - but landau objected (as the series star) and a compromise is what we saw - built around an italian guest star but landau killed it at the end - carter very minor in this one but a series main character.
I saw this in 1975. People don't realize how dark and scary this was for its time. I also like this woman's rhythm when she is breaking it down. She is nerdy, chill and not trying too hard to be cool. I like her style. Subscribed.
Probably because of my age when I first saw it, this is one of the scariest episodes of television I've ever seen, and it still haunts me now ... I'm so pleased you have your text covering a lot of the screen, lol. I blame this episode for giving me a life-long phobia of tentacles, whether its the giant squid in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea or the monster at the Gates of Moria in The Lord of the Rings. Tentacles have freaked me out ever since ... all because of this TV episode, lol
The creature had mind pressuring abilities to subdue its victims. When the lights swirl about their heads they fell under it’s sway enabling it to ensnare them. This inability to fight back against such a foe is what made the creature so terrifying. Tony was too strong willed for it which was why he escaped but it followed him.
I remember watching Dragon's Domain when it first aired, I was so scared I had to turn the TV off halfway through the episode, to be fair I was only six.
I love the asthetic of this show, in Season 1 especially. This show looked really good and stands the test of time. The 'CommLock' prop was a really cool prop, also season 1 had a lot of scary, creepy things, also the 'computer guy' at Alpha actually has a cybernetic implant that allows him to enter the 'mind space' of computer, i also like how there's no explanation about the creature, or the other ships, they're just another terrifying mystery that the Alphans have to face. Also.. the creature messes with peoples minds... it did not affect John because he has been altered by the being he encountered in an earlier episode.
In an earlier draft of this episode, two Eagles converged on the derelict, and obliterated the Ultraprobe as Koenig’s Eagle returned to Alpha…to creamate the bodies, and as an additional guarantee that the creature was dead.
When he brought her a flower, their characters interact so well because they're really married! (most people know that by now and it doesn't act as a spoiler for any plot lines)...
@@alexachipman They were married while doing this and Mission Impossible together and a number of other projects, too. They have a *lot* to do/say with what goes into production of the show. I appreciate you and what you're doing on several levels, most people just prattle on about shows and if they like or dislike but don't know or understand (or care to understand) about the history, set structure, character development, etc., etc.. Their reviews are pedantic and... Pedestrian. Only happy if pleased at a shallow depth of understanding or expectation. Thanks 😊 (And a spear wouldn't have been as dramatic or get the audience involved going "no, you idiots.' 😉).
@@alexachipman this is one of the things that becomes more obvious when you watch the episodes in production order, as intended by the writers. They knew that they would have no control over the order in which each station would choose to air them, so they couldn't load it with lots of character development, but they did include many subtle hints regarding the developing relationships between several charachters (not just Koening and Dr. Russel) that wouldn't stick out too much if people saw the episodes out of order, but would be noticeable to those who did, This being right a the season's end, Koenig and Russel's relationship is far warmer and almost obviously romantic in nature, which was not the case in the earlier episodes.
@@MtnBadger Too true, this way we feel more involved as an audience! If he had just one-shotted it, the ending would not have been as interesting to watch.
@ 8:50 Same here. Have all seven Sean Connery's and George Lazenby's one movie on DVD, my favorites. Good catch BTW. @ 11:28 My younger brother got an Eagle for Christmas back then. He was 10, I was 20. I played with it too! LOL! It was a really nice toy. They're still available Alexa! 😁 This episode is the one I was kidding about on your 1X4 concerning spiders. This one a big horrible space spider. Yikes!! 😲 Again a nice reaction to a good episode and it'll be fun to see whatever next one you get. ✌️😎
That is indeed M's office - such sharp eyes Alexa! So I was already having a good Monday morning, and then, lo and behold, you're reacting to Dragon's Domain, one of the most well-remembered episodes of season 1. Bit of trivia - this was originally written as an Alan episode, with Alan in Cellini's place, and Alan eventually killing the "dragon" with the hatchett. However, this became a "Protect Your Leads/Commander's Syndrome" episode, when Martin Landau decided that Koenig should be ultimately be the one who kills it. This sucked for Nick Tate...but I do think Cellini is one of the more memorable guest Alphans. Also, a GREAT John/Helena episode, I love their interplay throughout, and the flashback with Helena before the loss of Lee Russell. Great Eagle action too - the pickup of the passenger pod and the compatiility of the Command Module with the Ultra Probe. Mattel made a *beautiful* large scale Eagle toy that came with action figures of John, Helena, and Victor. I put mine through hell, multiple crashes of all kinds, including aquatic! There's something of an Eagle renaissance currently going on, with many new models and toys being produced. They're there if you want them Alexa! Glad you enjoyed Dragon's Domain!
Bonus trivia: There's a continuity error, when the Meta probe first gets a look at the space graveyard, you can see... The Meta probe, docked to the alien ship! This is due to the model makers 'padding' the derelict ships with the USS Enterprise, and a certain London police telephone box. Unfortunately, the models were too noticeable in the shot, and there was no time for a remount. Hence the apparent error....
The Cellini character had a lot of depth. This episode filled me as a 6 year old, with a strong sense of dread. Very astute of you to notice the set usage. Nice.
I love the fact that Commissner Dixons office in this episode was Ms office in the Bond films. Link to a RU-vid video from I think is Gerry Anderson's son. He describes the background of how the Space 1999 production team got to "borrow" M's office to shoot the scene ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_S3Z8U3G8Pg.html
That IS M’s office! You’re good! Also a few actors were shared between the two. I won’t give you spoilers. This episode scared the crap out of me as a boy.
A great episode. I read that someone who lived near the studio, would walk his dog behind the studio. That is where they discarded the monster prop. Which the dog would pee on.
apparently the writer had a holiday cottage and when visiting it would see all the remains of dead insects in webs that spiders had made in the meantime.
You might be right about the office, as they could have been filmed at the same studios, and to try and save a little cash on the budget, they would use an assets the could to their advantage.
It's wild how bull headed Helena remains even after they find the collection of ships. It's weird how many utterly rejected Tony's story of a "monster". I can see maybe thinking he was exaggerating or misremembering the details, but not making up the monster wholesale.
You know, this episode was supposed to be about Alan. Martin Landau objected to having an episode centered around a supporting character, so they rewrote it with the one shot character of Tony.
Best episode ever! Actually gave me a nightmare when I saw it as a kid. It is fair to note this show wasn't all that big on continuity and stuff. Let's face it Tony was Koenig's BFF but had never been mentioned up until this point. Still its heading for 50 years old now so I'm not going to be to nit picking about this. About the colour pallet, a thing to bear in mind when this show was made (1975?) Was that in the uk where it was produced a lot of us still had black and white tv's so Alpha and the Eagles (sounds like a band) were mainly B&W and the colours when used tended to be strong like Helen's dress to provide s strong contrast.
As you found M's office - I recognise the picture on the wall here 16:08 as the same David Shepherd picture that hung on the wall of the Trotter's flat in only fools and Horses.
Most horrifying thing I'd ever seen. 52 yrs old. Saw this episode when I was 7 yrs old. The spitting out of the corpses scared the eff outta me. Had a metal lunchbox. Space 1999 with that monster on it. Mom had to scratch the paint off for me to carry it.
Standing sets were often re-used at British film studios. Watch the Black and White or Colour episodes of 'The Avengers', and you'll see some country house sets from 'The Devil Rides Out', as well as a stables made for the same film showing up in several episodes. Some also seem very familiar from Hammer Horror films as well.
If Tony Chilini had shown up at the Eagle decked out with a spear and similar weaponry, Koenig would have sent him back to his room or confined to sickbay. Tony had to play along with Koenig in order to steal the Eagle at all. Certainly, a Top 5 episode, rich with backstory.
Tony probably did not bring the spear because he knew he would be fighting close quarters with a multi-armed opponent and a spear requires more space for manoeuvring.
Excellent attention to detail! Yes, I agree. Projectile weapons! Downer, not in an a pressurised vessel. Over penitration, get blown out! Edged weapons, too damn close! Yet, it worked. Come to think of it a short pull cross-bow would've been nice. By the way, notice the flint-lock? Tony was on the PTSD train. Instead of helping him, they treated him like shit! All but Konig! Unknown's, to all. Until they are with in arms reach. Exploration, can be with in a hairs width of a war for survival. Hmmm....... Projectile weapons in space. Look up the Soviet project of the 70's and 80's. An eye opener! Always fun! TNT!
If you watch the Gerry Anderson movie "Day after Tomorrow" / "Into Infinity" (it had 2 titles), you should recognise the spaceship & it's sets from that movie.
