Big, exciting changes are coming in the Series Two premiere of Space: 1999.  First up, Mentor of the planet Psychon wants to drain the Alphans’ brain.  His daughter Maya just wants to have fun with her ability to transform into any living creature.  What could possibly go wrong?

Ben and Eugene discuss the Metamorph!

Synopsis

Mentor, from the planet, contacts the Alphans to tell them their pilots are alright, and they can pick them up. Koenig, suspicious, arranged an in space rendezvous. it is a trap, and they are taken to the planet.

The meet Maya, Mentor’s daughter. Maya has the ability to transform into any creature. She is unaware of the evil that lurks in Mentor’s heart.

mentor is sucking the brains dry of living beings to power his computer. Can Koenig save Alpha and convince Maya that her father is a up-to-no-good-nick?

Avon and the crew are playing games.  Deadly games.

Ben and Eugene look at the Blakes 7 episode, Games.

I’m not going to lie to you.  I had a blast recording this episode.  I can’t remember an episode that had so much to talk about it.

Pity, it’s a bit rubbish.

Ben and I discuss the Testament of Arkadia, the series one finale of Space: 1999.

Synopsis

The moon is passing a dead world at extreme range, but the moon’s course is being altered by a force that is neither gravity nor magnetism – at the same time, the Alpha begins to lose power and then the moon, impossibly, comes to a halt.

With a creeping power loss, Alpha has to explore the possibility of either, finding the source of the interference from the planet, or determining if colonization is viable. With the moon only having between 38-48 hours of power left and the flight time for a round trip being 30 hours AND long range communications being inoperative, it’s going to be a close call.

[expand title=”More…” swaptitle=”Less” tag=”strong”]

The planet is dead. It is an ex-planet. It has run down the curtain and joined the choir and vestibule. 25,000 years ago, something happened to destroy all life. But all is not lost, with Alpha’s stores, the soil could be made viable in just 2 years, Unfortunately, Alpha’s emergency rations will only last 6 months.

A cave is discovered, and inside a table surrounded by human skeletons, and some writing on the wall. In Sanskrit! Damn lucky that Ana happens to understand Sanskrit. She translates the inscription. The planet is Arkadia, and it was destroyed by something the inhabitants did. They sent our their seed to another world, awaiting the day for the seed to return.

Another amazing discovery – all of the dead plants are Earth species. What can it mean.

Luke and Ana have a religious experience in the cave when no one else is around and have a new purpose in life.

Koenig and the team return to Alpha, once in range, they give the signal to start operation Exodus. Luke and Ana are overjoyed. Then, the power loss stops and stabilizes. Koenig runs the numbers… they can survive at the current power loss level, with better odds than going to the planet. he calls of the Exodus.

Luke and Ana hatch a desperate plan, the force the way into possession of half of Alpha’s protein stores and an Eagle, using Dr. Russell as a hostage. Koenig tries to reason with them, surely they know that with only half their protein stocks, Alpha will die. Yes, the know that, but their religious fervor is unabated.

Once they have escaped, turning Dr. Russell over to Alan, Koenig prepares to launch a strike team to get the supplies back – and the power is restored and the moon starts moving, stranding Luke and Ana forever on the dead world and somehow making the loss of supplies no longer a problem for Alpha.

Koenig can only conclude that their “accident” on September 13, 1999 and subsequent adventures were not random chance, but a guided plan to bring life back to the world that seeded life on Earth.

All hail the might Space God.[/expand]

What do you get when you combine an infallible assassin, the cunning Commissioner Sleer, a slave auction and the crew of the Scorpio?

Ben and Eugene try to solve that riddle as they discuss Assassin.

Synopsis

Orac suggests that, with a place and date, they get there first and eliminate the threat first.

[expand title=”More…” swaptitle=”Less” tag=”strong”]

They pursue the ship and get the drop on their quarry, an imposing, arrogant man who promises to kill them all. They also rescue Piri, a feeble-minded half-wit of a girl, who takes a shine to Tarrant. As I said, a feeble-minded, half-wit.

The man escapes. Neebrox is murdered. Avon plans to secure the flight deck and stay safe, but Tarrant wants to go hunt for him. Avon and Tarrant nearly come to blows. Then the life support goes out and the decision is taken from them. They must find Cancer.

A game of cat and mouse ensues, but fortunately, Soolin thinks best on her butt because, after a nice sit down and think she realizes that Piri is Cancer and the man is the entertainer! Too late does Avon realize it, as he’s been captured and revealed that the entire thing, including the message that lured them to Domo was Sleer’s cunning plan to destroy them.

But, Soolin, ace gunslinger and killer accidentally kills Cancer and, at the last possible moment, Avon and the others are rescued. Sleer; however, thinks they are dead.[/expand]

There are creatures that eat light. There are Picts and Romans. There is the Doctor, Bill and Nardole.

Throw them all together and a story just writes itself, doesn’t it?

Ben and Eugene discuss the Eaters of Light.

The Monk Trilogy comes to a crashing close.  In the end, did Ben and Eugene like it?

Listen and find out.

Those meddling Monks are back and they’ve worked out just how the human race is going to die.  They can save us, in return for nothing but their love and devotion.

Ben and Eugene discuss The Pyramid at the End of the World.

Tony Cellini has a problem – either he’s an arrogant, incompetent bungler that destroyed the Ultra Probe or he’s an unlucky sod that’s psychically tied to a nasty space alien that wants to eat his life force.

It doesn’t really matter which because he’s Koenig one true man-crush.

Ben and Eugene discuss Dragon’s Domain.

Synopsis

Dr. Russell working the late shift in medical center detects strange readings. From Cellini’s life signs and checks up on him.

“No doctor it’s just a nightmare.”

Soon, Cellini leaves his quarters and tries to steal an Eagle, trying to head out into the emptiness of space. He is stopped by Koenig, but just barely.

[expand title=”More…” swaptitle=”Less” tag=”strong”]

Dr. Russell recounts the story of the Ultra Probe, a deep space mission to the planet Ultra, which may or may not have been a deep space. It was run by Koenig, Bergman and Cellini back in 1996. Cellini was the astronaut to go.

When they got to the far off planet, which may or may not have been in our solar system, they find a fleet of dead ships. Aboard one of those ships, a monster which kills all of Cellini’s crew. He brilliantly saves himself and returns to earth where he’s branded a nut because the black box doesn’t match.

He’s basically put on medical leave, whereas Koenig and Bergman, as a reminder that they need to keep their feet on the ground, are grounded. That sets up the situation they were before they came back to Moonbase Alpha in the event of Breakaway.

Years later, they’re now deep space somewhere between galaxies [sic], in the empty vastness of space, and they find that graveyard of ships. Tony Cellini steals an Eagle again and goes to confront the monster.

Dr. Russell, of course, thinks he’s going to cover up the evidence of his gross incompetence and psychological breakdown.

When they arrive at the ship, the monster is indeed real and it kills Cellini, and then Koenig kills it and they leave.[/expand]

A space station, a distress call and an empty space suit all walk into a bar…

It must be Jamie Mathieson’s Oxygen – the latest episode of Doctor Who.

Ben and Eugene size up this story’s anti-capitalism street cred.

A spooky old house, six college roommates, a creepy landlord and a lot of creaking floorboards… sounds like a recipe for a mystery!

Eugene and Ben discuss Knock Knock.