By way of background, I remember when S99 first hit American TV screens. I was a tween, and I loved Star Trek. So, of course, I was looking forward to the show. My memory of the show from those years is fuzzy. I remember that I liked it at first. I also remember asking my Grandpa Herb about it, and him saying that it was more exciting than Star Trek. But other than that? Not much. I don't know how many episodes I saw, but I don't think it was very many. Oh, yeah, I remember thinking that their laser guns -- which were designed like staple guns -- were pretty goofy.
Fast forward a few decades.
A couple years ago I found some stray episodes on Youtube, and watched them. I've done that with a lot of shows that I remember from my childhood. Maude, Happy Days, Mork and Mindy. Nostalgia an be easily fed by Youtube. Seeing S99 as an adult, I found it virtually unwatchable. It was slow and plodding. Martin Landau and Barbara Bain were wooden. Hell, even the way she turns toward the camera during the opening credits makes Bain look like a mannequin. That two (or so) second sequence starts six seconds into the video below.
It's actually, amazing to watch. Bain and Landau are generally considered to be good actors. Admittedly, I am largely unfamiliar with their bodies of work. But you wouldn't know it from this.
But for some reason, my interest has been piqued, and I'm going to try again. I want to watch the entire series. I am not entirely sure why. So far, I've watched the first two episodes, and I have a few initial thoughts.
My impression from a couple years ago was correct, at least judging from the first two episodes. The pacing is terribly slow, and the stars show little emotion. Is this really the British equivalent of Star Trek? Maybe if the Brits really have that whole stiff upper lip thing. And going along with the slow pacing and the wooden expressions is the complete lack of humor. Trek was written with warmth and humor. This gave the characters depth and personality -- something completely lacking in S99.
In the second episode, "Force of Life," several (I want to say four, but I'm not sure how many) characters died. This strikes me as a big mistake on the part of the production team. Start Trek, takes place on a space ship that's part of a military (or at least pseudo-military) organization. They can kill off characters to their heart's content, and it's not a problem. The ship returns to base and dead crewmen are replaced. No problem. But S99 is set on the moon after a terrible accident blasted it out of the earth's orbit. They're alone out there, hurtling through deep space, with no ability to get reinforcements. That being the case, it seems to me the writers should avoid killing characters. I mean, in Gilligan's Island, they never killed off Ginger.
And, speaking of the fact that they're hurtling through space with no ability to control their direction or speed, I find it amazing that they manage to keep finding planets with life. Seriously. How does that make any sense?
I read recently -- though I forget where -- that the second season had more action than the first. I fail to see how it could have less. But I asked about that on Facebook, and things aren't looking good.
On a closing note, I will say that the opening sequence from Season 1 (shown above) was great. It really made the show seem exciting. It's too bad that the show itself didn't live up to its credits. And the Season 2 opening (below) sucked by comparison. Why did they change it?
The one thing I will say on a hopeful note is that I watched Star Trek Voyager and Enterprise after those shows were cancelled. And, despite the negative comments from the naysayers, I found that both of those shows found their stride, and were quite good by the end. So, we'll see...
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