title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: Logic performed his song "1-800-273-8255" along with Alessia Cara and Khalid. Their stage was outlined with survivors of suicide loss and attempts, who wore T-shirts that had the phone number on the front and the phrase "You Are Not Alone" written on the back. During their performance, Logic gave a speech about thanking the audience for giving him a platform to talk about the issues "that mainstream media doesn't want to talk about: mental health, anxiety, suicide, depression." He further added, "I don't give a damn if you're black, white, or any color in between. I don't care if you're Christian, you're Muslim, you're gay, you're straight – I am here to fight for your equality, because I believe that we are all born equal, but we are not treated equally and that is why we must fight." Following the performance, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline experienced a 50% increase in calls.


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: Cardi B, the most nominated artist of the night, opened the 2018 show with a brief speech, holding a VMA like a baby. While receiving one of her awards, Cardi B stated, "all the love.. it's genuine, it's beautiful, and that's something that God give me that you can't buy. B-tch." Camila Cabello won Video of the Year for "Havana" and Jennifer Lopez received the Vanguard Award. With Maluma among the performers as well, it marked the VMAs with the most Latin music artists present at the ceremony since the 2005 show.


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: Before introducing Cabello's category, Madonna gave a tribute to the late Aretha Franklin. Most of the speech said the early origins of Madonna's career and was only tangentially Franklin-related, which made critics describe the "bizarre" tribute as a "lengthy" anecdote about herself that involved Franklin's music. Afterwards, Madonna explained that she was there to give the Video of the Year award as asked by MTV and to speak about some experience in her career with some connection with Aretha, not to make any kind of tribute.


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: The viewership of the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards was down 9% overall and 15% in the important 18- to 49-year-old demographic group. The total viewership was 4.8 million.


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: The 2019 show was held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. This was the first time the VMAs took place at the venue and in the state of New Jersey (it became the fifth state to host the show after New York, California, Florida and Nevada).


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: The show was hosted by Sebastian Maniscalco. Taylor Swift won three awards, including Video of the Year for "You Need to Calm Down". She became the second artist and first female artist to have won the award for a video she co-directed, and the fourth artist to win the category twice overall. Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus's "Old Town Road" won two awards, including Song of the Year. Missy Elliott received the Vanguard Award introduced by Cardi B and performed a medley. The performance was heavily choreographed and the set pieces alluded to her music videos "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)", "Get Ur Freak On", and "Work It". Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello performed their hit single "Señorita" for the first time ever in a performance characterized for its kissing tension. Lizzo performed a set featuring her singles, "Truth Hurts" and "Good as Hell". During the performance she gave a short self-empowering monologue, and featured a figurative shadow of an oversized CGI rear end. Normani gave a performance of her song "Motivation", that featured her doing intense gymnastic styled choreography that echoed the music video. Rosalía became the first lead Spanish act to ever perform at the VMAs, performing a medley of "A Ningún Hombre", "Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi" (alongside Ozuna), and "Aute Cuture". She also won Best Latin and Best Coreography for "Con Altura", becoming the first ever Spanish act to win a VMA, for which she was congraturated by many personalities including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2020. The show was originally scheduled to take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City, but was moved outdoors because of security concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the 37th annual ceremony would "highlight the boroughs in an exciting show and return to Barclays Center in 2021." For the first time in its history the VMAs aired on over-the-air television on The CW, which is jointly owned by MTV parent company ViacomCBS and AT&T parent company WarnerMedia.


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: Keke Palmer hosted the show from a VR model of the infamous Manhattan staple, Empire State Building. The Weeknd won Video of the Year for "Blinding Lights", which he also performed as the show's opener. During his speech he showed support for the Black Lives Matter movement and demanded justice for Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake.


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: Lady Gaga received the first ever Tricon Award, introduced by Bella Hadid. After giving her speech, Gaga performed a medley of her songs, including "Chromatica II"/"911", "Stupid Love" and "Rain on Me", the latter performed with Ariana Grande. Grande also won four awards, including Song of the Year and Best Collaboration.


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: The show was dedicated to actor Chadwick Boseman, who died less than 48 hours before the ceremony due to colon cancer.


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: The 2021 MTV Video Music Awards were held September 12, 2021, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City, for the first time in eight years. The award show also served as a celebration of MTV's 40th anniversary. An opening monologue was delivered by Madonna. Artist Kehinde Wiley redesigned the year's moonperson trophy, marking the third time that the statue had been transformed and the first from an artist of African-American descent.


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: Lil Nas X won three awards for "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)", including Video of the Year and Best Direction. He became the second artist and first LGBTQ+ artist to win both categories for a video they co-directed. He jokingly thanked the gay agenda in his acceptance speech.


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: Olivia Rodrigo and Justin Bieber also received awards in big categories, winning Song of the Year and Artist of the Year respectively. BTS won three awards, winning Group of the Year for the third consecutive time, in addition to Best K-Pop and Song of Summer for "Butter".


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: Taylor Swift announced the release of her tenth studio album "Midnights" during her Video of the Year award acceptance speech. Swift also became the first ever artist to win Video of the Year three times.


title: MTV Video Music Awards

text: Ratings are not available prior to 1994 because MTV was not subscribing to Nielsen Media Research's program ratings prior to 1994. The field "Cumulative viewers" shows the audience of the live simulcasts of the ceremony across many ViacomCBS channels as a whole.


title: Kho kho

text: Kho kho or kho-kho is a traditional Indian sport that dates back to ancient India. It is the second most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connecting two poles which are at either end of the court. During the game, nine players from the chasing team (attacking team) are on the field, with eight of them sitting (crouched) in the central lane, while three runners from the defending team run around the court and try to avoid being touched. Each sitting player on the chasing team faces the opposite direction of their adjacent teammates.


title: Kho kho

text: At any time, one player on the chasing team (the 'active chaser'/'attacker') may run around the court to attempt to tag (touch) members of the defending team, with one point scored per tag, and each tagged defender required to leave the field; however, the active chaser cannot cross the central lane to access the other half of the field, and can not change direction once they start running toward either pole. The chasing team can get around these restrictions if the active chaser either switches roles with a sitting teammate (by touching them on the back while saying "Kho") who is facing the other half of the court and therefore has access to it, or runs to the area behind either pole and then switches direction/half. Each team has two turns to score and two turns to defend, with each turn lasting nine minutes. The team that scores the most points by the end of the game wins.


title: Kho kho

text: The sport is widely played across South Asia, and also has a strong presence in the regions outside South Asia, such as South Africa and England. It is played most often by school children in India and Pakistan and is a competitive game. The first league of its kind called Ultimate Kho Kho was unveiled in India in August 2022.


title: Kho kho

text: The name comes from (), the word "kho" is an onomatopoeia of the sound invoked while playing the game.


title: Kho kho

text: Certain aspects of kho-kho's gameplay may have been mentioned in the Mahabharata. In pre-modern times, it is believed that a version of kho-kho known as Rathera was played on chariots ("rath" meaning "chariot" in Hindi). The modern form of the game was invented in 1914, with its rules and formalised structure being given by Pune's Deccan Gymkhana club. Kho-kho was demonstrated at the 1936 Berlin Olympics alongside other traditional Indian games. It is now a medal sport in the South Asian Games, having been played in the 2016 edition.


title: Kho kho

text: In July 2022, the player draft for Ultimate Kho Kho was completed, which is a six-team franchise-based Indian Kho Kho tournament. Its inaugural season ran from August 14 to September 4, 2022.


title: Kho kho

text: The field is , with a distance of between the two poles, and the central lane having a width of . Each of the cross lanes (which pass through the sitting areas that the chasers sit in, and go from one side of the court to the others while you are coming) has a width of . Each pole is high and in diameter. The poles are smooth and round, with no sharp edges. There are -long extensions of the court behind each of the poles known as "free zones", in which there are no restrictions on chasers' movements.


title: Kho kho

text: At the start of play, the active chaser starts off in one of the free zones, and can run into either half of the court to tag the three defenders. Once all three defenders have been tagged out or otherwise "dismissed", the next "batch" of three defenders comes onto the court.


title: Kho kho

text: The active chaser can switch roles with a sitting teammate by touching them on the back and shouting "kho"; this is known as the active chaser "giving a kho" to the sitting teammate. For the kho to be valid, it must be given before the active chaser has gone past the cross lane that the teammate is sitting within. Once a sitting chaser becomes active, they may only enter the half of the court which they were facing while they were sitting; additionally, once the newly active chaser steps to the left or right of the cross lane they were sitting in (or turns in such a way that their shoulders face towards either pole), they must continue in that direction until they have reached the free zone.


title: Kho kho

text: Violating any of these rules results in a "foul", in which case the active chaser can no longer attempt to tag any defenders. In order to clear the foul, the active chaser must move in the opposite direction of the one they were running in (i.e. away from the defenders they were chasing) until they have either given a kho to a teammate, or reached the appropriate free zone.


title: Kho kho

text: The chasing team scores points each time a defender is ruled "out" (dismissed), which happens either when a chaser tags a defender without breaking any rules, when a defender steps out of the court (with no part of the body remaining grounded within), or when a defender is late to enter the court after the dismissal of the previous batch.


title: Kho kho

text: In one variation of kho-kho, a team is no longer allowed to chase once it has tagged all the players on the other team. The team that tags all of its opponents in the shortest amount of time wins.


title: Kho kho

text: Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) is an Indian kho kho competition, and its first season took place in 2022. Many of the rules of kho kho are changed in this league:


title: Kaiju No. 8

text: , also known in English as Monster #8, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto. It has been serialized for free on Shueisha's "Shōnen Jump+" application and website since July 2020, with its chapters collected in eight "tankōbon" volumes as of October 2022. Viz Media has licensed the series for English release in North America. An anime television series adaptation by Production I.G is set to premiere in 2024.


title: Kaiju No. 8

text: As of December 2022, the manga had over 10 million copies in circulation. The series has been praised for its premise, characters and art.


title: Kaiju No. 8

text: In Japan, monsters known as "kaiju" regularly attack the populace with the Japanese Defense Force tasked with killing them. After their town was destroyed by kaiju when they were children, childhood friends Kafka Hibino and Mina Ashiro both vowed to become members of the Defense Force. Mina has become famous as commander of the Defense Force's Third Unit, but Kafka has failed the examination numerous times and is a member of the clean up crew, Monster Sweeper Inc., whose job is to dispose of the monsters' dead bodies after battle. After a small talking monster flies into his body via his mouth, Kafka gains the ability to turn into a monster himself, which gets dubbed "Kaiju No. 8" by the Defense Force. Kafka remains fully cognizant while in the form, but gains superhuman strength, and becomes the first monster to escape the Defense Force. With newfound resolve, Kafka decides he wants to fight by Mina's side and finally joins the Defence Force while also keeping his new abilities a secret.


title: Kaiju No. 8

text: "Kaiju No. 8" is written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto. The series began on Shueisha's "Shōnen Jump+" application and website on July 3, 2020. In August 2020, Matsumoto and "Kaiju No. 8" adopted a schedule where a new chapter is published every week for three weeks, followed by a one week break. Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual "tankōbon" volumes. The first volume was released on December 4, 2020. A promotional video, presented as a news program, was shown on the big screen of Yunika Vision at Seibu-Shinjuku Station from December 4–10, 2020. As of November 4, 2022, eight volumes have been released.


title: Kaiju No. 8

text: The series is simultaneously published in English by Shueisha on their "Manga Plus" website and application as it is published in Japan, under the title "Monster #8". It is also simultaneously published in English by Viz Media under the title "Kaiju No. 8". In February 2021, Viz Media announced that they will publish the first volume of "Kaiju No. 8" in fall 2021.


title: Kaiju No. 8

text: These chapters have yet to be published in a "tankōbon" volume. They were serialized on "Shōnen Jump+".


title: Kaiju No. 8

text: A 4-chapter side story light novel, written by Keiji Ando and illustrated by the original manga author, Naoya Matsumoto, was released on November 4, 2022.


title: Kaiju No. 8

text: On August 4, 2022, it was announced that the manga would be receiving an anime adaptation. It was later revealed to be a television series set to premiere in 2024, with Production I.G animating and Studio Khara supervising the "kaiju" designs and artworks.


title: Fear Factory

text: Fear Factory is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial metal. Over the years, Fear Factory has seen frequent changes in its lineup, with lead vocalist Burton C. Bell being the only consistent member for 31 years until his departure in 2020. Other than guitarist Dino Cazares, there are no original members left in its current lineup. The band went on hold in March 2002 following some internal disputes, but resumed activity a year later without founding member Cazares. Previous bassist Christian Olde Wolbers replaced him as the new guitarist, and bassist Byron Stroud joined the band. In April 2009, a new lineup was announced. Cazares returned as guitarist, and Gene Hoglan as drummer. Bell and Stroud reprised their respective roles, and this lineup recorded the band's seventh studio album titled "Mechanize" (2010). Former members Wolbers and Raymond Herrera—both of whom were playing in Arkaea—disputed the legitimacy of the new lineup, and a legal battle from both parties had begun. Despite this, Fear Factory has since released three more albums: "The Industrialist" (2012), "Genexus" (2015) and "Aggression Continuum" (2021).


title: Fear Factory

text: The band has performed at four Ozzfests and the inaugural Gigantour. Their singles have charted on the US Mainstream Rock Top 40 and albums on the Billboard Top 40, 100, and 200, and they have sold more than a million albums in the U.S. alone.


title: Fear Factory

text: Fear Factory was formed in 1989 under the name Ulceration, which the band agreed would "just be a cool name". In 1990, the name "Fear the Factory" was adopted. The name was inspired by a factory that the band supposedly saw near their rehearsal space which was guarded by men carrying rifles. Later, they shortened the name to just "Fear Factory".


title: Fear Factory

text: The band's origins can be traced to an outfit formed by guitarist Dino Cazares—formerly of "The Douche Lords"—and drummer Raymond Herrera in Los Angeles, California. Their first lineup was completed with the addition of bassist Dave Gibney and vocalist Burton C. Bell (ex-"Hate Face"), who was allegedly recruited by an impressed Cazares, who overheard him singing "New Year's Day" by U2. Cazares played bass on the first three Fear Factory albums "Concrete", "Soul of a New Machine" and "Demanufacture", on which Cazares changed many of the riffs during the recording. It took Cazares two weeks to get the appropriate guitar tone. Cazares created, wrote and recorded all the music on the album. Wolbers joined the band two weeks before they were scheduled to go on tour to promote the album and, although he contributed musical changes to a couple of songs on the album he stated that these were not significant.


title: Fear Factory

text: Fear Factory's earliest demo recordings are strongly reminiscent of the early works of Napalm Death and Godflesh, an acknowledged influence of the band in the grindcore-driven approach of the former and the mechanical brutality, bleakness, and vocal stylings of the latter. According to Brian Russ of The BNR Metal Pages, the demos are remarkable for integrating these influences into the band's death metal sound and for Burton C. Bell's pioneering fusion of extreme death growls and clean vocals in the same song, which was to become a significant and influential element of the band's sound throughout their career. The use of grunts and "throat singing" combined with clean vocals later defined the nu metal and other emerging subgenres of metal. Many vocalists in today's metal scene use two or more methods of singing and vocalizing lyrics. The band contributed two songs to the "L.A. Death Metal Compilation" in 1990. The band played its first show on October 31, 1990.


title: Fear Factory

text: In 1991, Fear Factory recorded a series of cuts with little-known producer Ross Robinson, in Blackie Lawless's studio. Afterward, the band members were unhappy with the terms of their recording contract, and they refused to sign. The band retained the rights to the songs, many of which they re-recorded in 1992 with a different producer, Colin Richardson, for inclusion on their debut release "Soul of a New Machine". Meanwhile, Ross Robinson obtained the rights to the recording, which he used to promote himself as a producer. The album was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records under the title "Concrete" after the band's breakup. The release was controversial because the album was issued without the approval of Fear Factory. "Concrete" is viewed by the band as a demo; a developmental step toward "Soul of a New Machine".


title: Fear Factory

text: Fear Factory shopped the "Concrete" demo to various labels, and was rejected by a number of well-known metal record labels, such as Metal Blade, Earache, Nuclear Blast and Peaceville Records. Eventually, after presenting the demo to Max Cavalera, Max was so impressed that he recommended Fear Factory to A&R representative Monte Conner, of the then-death-metal-focused Roadrunner Records label, which offered the band a recording contract. While the band signed the contract, it has since become controversial because of Roadrunner's treatment of the band during the events surrounding its 2002 breakup. This was reflected in the first album "Archetype" (2004), which was released following the band's re-formation. The opening song with lyrics by Burton C. Bell, "Slave Labor", was direct about the band's feelings on the matter. After working with numerous bassists, Andrew Shives was hired as a live bassist prior to the release of "Soul of a New Machine".


title: Fear Factory

text: "Soul of a New Machine" (1992), which was recorded with producer Colin Richardson, gave the band greater exposure in the music scene. The sound of the album presages the mixing of metal genres which would soon be called alternative metal. The production combined Bell's harsh and melodic vocals, Herrera's machine-like drums, the integrated industrial samples and textures and the sharp, down-tuned, rhythmic, death metal riffs of Dino Cazares. Cazares and Herrera wrote all the music. Because the band had no bass player, Cazares played both guitar and bass on the recording. Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic called the album "groundbreaking" and said that "it ushered in the '90s alternative metal era".


title: Fear Factory

text: To promote the album, Fear Factory embarked on extensive U.S. tours with Biohazard, Sepultura, and Sick of It All. During this period, sampler-keyboardist Reynor Diego joined the group. An album tour of Europe with Brutal Truth, then Cannibal Corpse, Cathedral, and Sleep, followed. The next year, they hired Front Line Assembly member Rhys Fulber to remix some songs from the album, demonstrating the band's willingness to experiment with their music. The results took on a predominantly industrial guise, and were released as the "Fear Is the Mindkiller" EP (1993). "Soul of a New Machine" and "Fear is the Mindkiller" were released (2004) as a package in a new re-mastered reissue by Roadrunner Records.


title: Fear Factory

text: In 1994, Andrew Shives was forced to leave the band. Cazares recorded both the guitar and bass for the entire album. In November the same year, the band met Belgian Christian Olde Wolbers through Evan Seinfeld of Biohazard. Wolbers auditioned for Fear Factory's permanent bassist. Wolbers joined the band immediately since the band's tour was starting in two weeks.


title: Fear Factory

text: Fear Factory's second album, "Demanufacture", was released on June 12. Generally considered to be the band's defining work, features an alternative metal sound characterized by a mix of rapid-fire thrash metal/industrial metal guitar riffs and tight, pulse driven drum beats, roaring (rather than growled, but still aggressive) vocals that made way for melodic singing and powerful bass lines. The album's production is more refined and the integration of atmospheric keyboard parts and industrial textures upon Cazares' and Herrera's precise musicianship made the songs sound clinical, cold and machine-like and gave the band's music a futuristic feel. There were extensive contributions from Reynor Diego as well; adding key samples, loops and electronic flourishes to the group dynamics.


title: Fear Factory

text: "Demanufacture" was awarded the maximum five-star rating in the UK's "Kerrang!" rock magazine. It went on to become a fairly successful album; whereas "Soul of a New Machine" failed to chart anywhere, "Demanufacture" made the Top 10 of the Billboard Heatseekers charts and a video was produced for the song "Replica". The video was featured in the "Test Drive 5" video game for the PlayStation. The song "Zero Signal" was featured on the "Mortal Kombat" film soundtrack (1995). Instrumental versions of "Demanufacture" songs were later used in PC video games "Carmageddon" and "Messiah".


title: Fear Factory

text: Fear Factory spent the next few years touring with such bands Black Sabbath, Megadeth and Iron Maiden, and opened for Ozzy Osbourne in North America and Europe during late 1995. They went on their first headlining European tour in mid-1996, with Manhole and Drain S.T.H. playing in clubs and music festivals, such as With Full Force, Wâldrock or Graspop Metal Meeting. They also appeared at the Ozzfest in 1996 and 1997. In early 1997, they participated at the Big Day Out festival in Australia and New Zealand. In May 1997, the band released a new album composed of "Demanufacture" remixes by artists such as Rhys Fulber, DJ Dano or Junkie XL called "Remanufacture - Cloning Technology". This was the band's first appearance on the "Billboard" 200. Roadrunner Records re-released, in a 10th Anniversary single package, "Demanufacture" and "Remanufacture" in 2005, which is similar to that of "Soul of a New Machine" (2004). This edition also includes bonus tracks from the digipak version of "Demanufacture" (1995).


title: Fear Factory

text: Fear Factory's third studio album, "Obsolete" (July 1998), was reportedly completed earlier than planned by canceling an appearance at the Dynamo Open Air Festival.


title: Fear Factory

text: "Obsolete" was similar in sound to "Demanufacture", emphasizing progressive metal elements. For the first time, the album featured Christian Olde Wolbers writing and recording full time with the band. It also featured Cazares' debut use of 7-string Ibanez guitars tuned to A tuning (A, D, G, C, F, A, D), and paved the way for a lower-tuned sound than previously. The album is also notable for Rhys Fulber's increased involvement with the band.


title: Fear Factory

text: While Fear Factory had explored the theme of "Man versus Machine" in their earlier work, "Obsolete" was their first concept album that dealt specifically with a literal interpretation of this subject. It tells a story called "Conception 5", which was written by Bell, that takes place in a future world where mankind is rendered "obsolete" by machines. Its characters include the "Edgecrusher", "Smasher/Devourer", and the "Securitron" monitoring system. The story is presented in the lyrics booklet in a screenplay format between the individual songs. The printed story parts link the lyrics of the songs together thematically.


title: Fear Factory

text: "Obsolete" was released during the alternative metal boom of the late 1990s. It was supported by tours with Slayer and later Rammstein, and a headlining spot on the second stage at Ozzfest in 1999 as last-minute replacements for Judas Priest. They also toured in Europe in December 1998 with Spineshank and Kilgore, and went on their first headlining tour in North America with Static-X the next year, though the first leg was interrupted due to the band's tour bus and material being stolen. They also played in Japan for the first time. "Obsolete" became the band's highest selling album, marking the band's first entry into the Top 100 on the Billboard charts. The album also spawned singles "Descent" and a digipak bonus track, "Cars", a cover of the Gary Numan song featuring a guest appearance by Numan on the song. The single made the Mainstream Rock Top 40 in 1999 and was also featured in the video game, Test Drive 6. Numan also performed a spoken-word sample on the album's title track. A video was filmed for the song "Resurrection". To date, "Obsolete" remains the only Fear Factory album to have achieved gold sales in the U.S.


title: Fear Factory

text: In early 2001, Fear Factory was asked to headline SnoCore Rock. The success of "Obsolete" and "Cars" was a turning point for the band; Roadrunner Records was now keen on capitalizing on the band's sales potential and pressured the band to record more accessible material for the follow-up album, titled "Digimortal", which was released on April 23, 2001. Few weeks before its release, they were touring in Europe with One Minute Silence.


title: Fear Factory

text: They went on a long headlining North American tour during 2001, then played in much larger European festivals like Bizarre Festival, Pukkelpop, Lowlands Festival and Leeds & Reading Festival. They then went on the first Roadrunner Roadrage tour in North America, toured Europe with Devin Townsend and Godflesh and played in Japan, Australia and New Zealand.


title: Fear Factory

text: "Digimortal" made the Top 40 on the Billboard album charts, the Top 20 in Canada and the Top 10 of the Australian album charts. The track "Linchpin" reached the Mainstream Rock Top 40. A remix of "Invisible Wounds" was included on the "Resident Evil" film soundtrack, and an instrumental digipak bonus track called "Full Metal Contact" was originally written for the video game, "Demolition Racer". A VHS/DVD release called "Digital Connectivity", which documents each of the four album periods of the band via interviews, live clips, music videos and tour/studio footage, was released in January 2002.


title: Fear Factory

text: Although "Digimortal" had a successful start, the sales did not reach the levels of "Obsolete" and the band received little tour support. The direction of the album coupled with strong personal differences between some of the band members created a rift that escalated to the point where Bell announced his exit in March 2002. The band disbanded immediately thereafter; its publicists said this was "largely because vocalist Burton C. Bell is tired of playing angry, aggressive music and wants to form a band that's more indie-rock-oriented". In a final collaboration, the group recorded two songs for the video game "" that month. Fear Factory's contractual obligations remained unfulfilled, however, and Roadrunner did not release them without controversially issuing the "Concrete" album in 2002 and the B-sides and rarities compilation, "Hatefiles", in 2003. During his time away from Fear Factory, Bell with John Bechdel started a side project called Ascension of the Watchers, which released its first EP, "Iconoclast", independently via their online store in 2005.


title: Fear Factory

text: Over time, tensions within the band developed between Dino Cazares and the other members, particularly Burton C. Bell and Raymond Herrera. When asked about the breakup in May 2002, Cazares made claims and allegations against Bell and the other members, stating that Fear Factory could continue without Christian Olde Wolbers and that he and Raymond Herrera were primarily motivated by money. Herrera responded to these allegations on behalf of the other band members, saying that Cazares was motivated by money and emphasizing Olde Wolbers' influence on the band's sound. According to Herrera, the other band members would often come up with new ideas they wanted to incorporate into Fear Factory's sound, but their suggestions were dismissed or openly ridiculed by Cazares, causing a rift between him and the other members that ultimately led to the band's breakup. In the same interview, Herrera also revealed that Cazares had attempted to control the direction of the band by manipulating their business management and record company, and had openly lied to the other members about his actions.


title: Fear Factory

text: Herrera and Olde Wolbers reunited later in 2002 and laid the foundations for the return of Fear Factory. Cazares was then permanently out of the band. Bell was approached with their demo recordings and was impressed enough to rejoin the band and Fear Factory was re-formed. Olde Wolbers switched to guitar and Byron Stroud of Strapping Young Lad was approached to join the band as a bassist. He was a member from 2003 until 2012. Cazares continued recording and performing with his side project called Asesino, a Mexican deathgrind band. In 2007, he also started a new group called Divine Heresy.


title: Fear Factory

text: Fear Factory made its live return as the mystery band at the Australian Big Day Out festival in January 2004, followed by its first American shows since re-forming on the spring Jägermeister tour with Slipknot and Chimaira. The new lineup's first album "Archetype" was released on April 20, 2004, through new record label Liquid 8 Records based in Minnesota. With "Archetype", Fear Factory returned to an alternative, industrial, metal sound; the album is generally considered to be a strong 'return-to-form' record, if not a particularly innovative effort, with most of the trademark elements of the band firmly in place.


title: Fear Factory

text: Videos were shot for the songs "Cyberwaste", "Archetype", and "Bite the Hand That Bleeds"; the latter featured on the "Saw" film soundtrack. The band performed on further tours with Lamb of God and Mastodon in the US and with Mnemic in Europe. The new Fear Factory has largely abandoned the direct "Man versus Machine" theme prevalent on earlier releases in favor of subjects such as religion, war, and corporatism.


title: Fear Factory

text: Fear Factory announced plans to record and release its next full-length album over a very short period of time with mainstream rock producer Toby Wright, who had worked with Korn and Alice in Chains. This was allegedly due to pressure from Fear Factory's new label Calvin Records, which preponed the album's release date from four months away to just a month and a half so the band would have a new album to support on the inaugural Gigantour, which they had been invited to participate on by Dave Mustaine.


title: Fear Factory

text: The resulting album, "Transgression", was released on August 22, 2005, in the United Kingdom, and on the following day in North America, almost a year after "Archetype". The album garnered highly polarized reviews; some critics hailed the album as diverse and progressive, and other reviewers did not receive the record very well. Although the album starts off as a Fear Factory record, subsequent songs include mellow/alt-rock numbers "Echo of My Scream" (featuring Faith No More's Billy Gould on bass) and "New Promise", a pop-rock song "Supernova", and a faithful cover of U2's rock song "I Will Follow".


title: Fear Factory

text: In 2013, Wolbers posted more details about writing and recording of Transgression and Archetype on his Facebook page. He said he was disappointed with "Transgression", calling it half-finished, and blamed the label for the severe time constraints imposed during the recording sessions and for the inclusion of the U2 cover. However, Burton C. Bell said he is proud of the album and sees it as the band "stepping over boundaries".


title: Fear Factory

text: Late in 2005, Fear Factory toured the U.S. again on the "Machines at War" tour, with an all-star death metal lineup of guests in Suffocation, Hypocrisy, and Decapitated; they played old classics from "Soul of a New Machine", such as "Crash Test", which they had not performed live in many years. During 2005 and 2006, Fear Factory promoted the album on the "Fifteen Years of Fear" world tour in celebration of their fifteenth anniversary. The members invited bands including Darkane, Strapping Young Lad and Soilwork to join them on the U.S. leg, and Misery Index to join them on the European leg.


title: Fear Factory

text: An online statement from Wolbers in December 2006 said the band would return to the studio to record a new album, produced by the band, immediately after the completion of the "Transgression" touring cycle. That month, Bell confirmed in an interview that the band would leave Liquid 8 Records.


title: Fear Factory

text: Rather than begin work on a new studio album, the band members briefly parted and began working with other projects. Bell contributed vocals to the songs "End of Days, Pt.1", "End of Days, Pt. 2", and "Die in a Crash" on Ministry's 2007 album "The Last Sucker", and later toured with Ministry in support of the album. In an interview for the website Metalsucks, Bell called this a "dream come true", describing Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen as "one of [his] heroes". In the same interview, Bell talked at length about his new band Ascension of the Watchers, providing insight into the inspiration behind the project's formation.


title: Fear Factory

text: On March 21, 2008, while Fear Factory was on hiatus, Bell spoke in a video interview about the band's future, saying he no longer wanted to contribute to the violence and aggression he saw in the world with the aggressive type of music Fear Factory produced. Wolbers and Herrera started a new band called Arkaea, with vocalist Jon Howard and bassist Pat Kavanagh of Threat Signal. Wolbers said, "Ironically, half of the Arkaea album consists of songs that were intended to be the next Fear Factory record". Arkaea's debut album "Years in the Darkness" was released on July 14, 2009.


title: Fear Factory

text: On April 8, 2009, Bell and Cazares announced the reconciliation of their friendship, and the formation of a new project with Byron Stroud on bass and drummer Gene Hoglan of Testament, Death, Strapping Young Lad, Dark Angel, and Dethklok. On April 28, this project was announced to be a new version of Fear Factory without Herrera and Wolbers. When asked about their exclusion, Bell said, "[Fear Factory is] like a business and I'm just reorganizing ... We won't talk about [their exclusion]". Hoglan in retrospect has expressed some hesitation joining the band, saying that he only did it as a favour for Stroud.


title: Fear Factory

text: In June 2009, Wolbers and Herrera spoke about the issue on the radio program "Speed Freaks". Herrera said he and Wolbers were still in the band. "[Christian and I] are actually still in Fear Factory ... [Burton and Dino] decided to start a new band, and furthermore, they decided to call it Fear Factory. They never communicated with us about it", said Herrera. Herrera also said the four original members—Bell, Cazares, Wolbers, and Herrera—were contractually regarded as Fear Factory Incorporated, and, "it's almost like them two against us two, so it's kind of a stalemate". The drummer also said he and Wolbers had written eight songs for the next Fear Factory record, but that a "personal disagreement" had arisen between them and Bell, which left Bell not wanting to continue work with the band.


title: Fear Factory

text: Bell and Cazares later spoke about their reasons for excluding Herrera and Wolbers. Cazares said Bell wanted to reunite the classic Fear Factory lineup of himself, Cazares, Herrera, and Wolbers, but that Herrera and Wolbers refused to be part of any reunion with Cazares. Bell also said he wanted to fire the band's manager Christy Priske, who was also Wolbers' wife, and Herrera and Wolbers refused. Herrera and Wolbers threatened to sign a new record deal without Bell, prompting him to form a new version of Fear Factory without them. In some interviews, Wolbers said Bell had made "growing unacceptable demands", which were declined. He said, "Ray and I wanted what was best for the business and what he [Burton] was trying to change wasn't really good for the business. It was only bad for the business, so that's why he went into that whole phase of hijacking the name and trying to run with it."


title: Fear Factory

text: Fear Factory featuring Bell and Cazares was due to make its live debut on June 21 at the Metalway Festival in Zaragoza, Spain. However, the show was canceled "at the last minute", apparently because of the legal complications referenced by Herrera. The rest of that lineup's planned performances in mid-2009, which included a tour of the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand that August, had also been canceled. The group said they canceled the tour to finish writing and recording the next Fear Factory album. Despite the canceled performances in Europe, they performed some shows in December in South American countries including Argentina, Chile, and Brazil.


title: Fear Factory

text: During an interview on June 23, 2009, Cazares said he could never have a working relationship with Raymond and Wolbers again, saying they were too money-driven and criticized the music they recorded on "Archetype" for being too similar to the band's earlier output. Despite ongoing issues between the two parties, the new Fear Factory went ahead with the recording process. In late July 2009, a short video shot with a cell telephone showed Cazares recording drum tracks with longtime contributor Rhys Fulber. On November 6, 2009, blabbermouth.net said a new album, "Mechanize", would be released on February 9, 2010, on Candlelight Records. On November 8, 2009, Fear Factory released a track titled "Powershifter" on YouTube. On November 10, 2009, Bell announced the track list for "Mechanize", along with an explanation of each song.


title: Fear Factory

text: In January 2010, Fear Factory played in Australia and New Zealand tour on the Big Day Out tour, playing their first Australian dates since 2005 on January 17 at Parklands Showgrounds on Queensland's Gold Coast. Fear Factory released "Mechanize" on February 5, 2010, and began a U.S. tour titled "Fear Campaign Tour 2010", in late March. In August 2010, the band headlined the Brutal Assault open air festival in Czech Republic. In September 2010, Fear Factory toured Australia, New Zealand, and Tokyo as the opening act for Metallica. The New Zealand concerts were in Christchurch, two shows that were brought about by a petition sent to Metallica asking them to visit New Zealand's second-largest city. After the 2010 Canterbury earthquake, the South Island concerts were in doubt, but on September 15, 2010, an official announced the CBS Arena had escaped harm and both shows went ahead.


title: Fear Factory

text: In an interview during the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise, Bell said Fear Factory was planning to write and record a "full-on concept" album, which was due for release in 2012. He said, "We're gonna kind of take a break a little bit, but we're definitely going into the studio at some point and start writing. We wanna take our time doing it. Personally ... "Mechanize", don't get me wrong, is a good record—I'm very proud of it—but it's gotta be better than that. I've got plans where I'd like to do a full-on concept again—story, artwork. Just make it real cerebral. But there'll definitely be another Fear Factory record, maybe in 2012." On August 3, 2011, Dino Cazares said on his Twitter feed that he was working and demoing new material for the next Fear Factory album. On January 25, 2012, the band announced the new album will be titled "The Industrialist". The album was again co-produced by the band with Rhys Fulber and mixed by Greg Reely.


title: Fear Factory

text: Byron Stroud left the band early in 2012, saying, "Life's too short to spend it with people who don't respect you". In one interview, Cazares said he did not know why Stroud decided to leave and that he could not play the bass parts on "Mechanize", prompting Cazares to do it himself.


title: Fear Factory

text: In February 2012, former Chimaira guitar player Matt DeVries replaced Stroud. On April 19, 2012, Mike Heller of Malignancy and System Divide was announced as the band's new drummer, replacing Gene Hoglan; in a 2013 interview, Hoglan claimed that he only found out through Blabbermouth.net that he was no longer needed, and expressed some disappointment about the course of events. At the same time, Cazares confirmed on his Facebook page that John Sankey of Devolved had programmed the drums on "The Industrialist". Burton described "The Industrialist" as another concept album "sonically, conceptually, and lyrically". Cazares also said he and Burton were the two in control of the record's outcome, and that the songwriting on the album was much more "definitive" in regards to Fear Factory's platform sound. On June 4, 2012,"The Industrialist" was available to stream through AOL Music. The album was released through Candlelight Records on June 5, 2012.


title: Fear Factory

text: On May 2, 2013, Cazares commented regarding the status of Fear Factory albums "Archetype" and "Transgression", which were recorded without his participation, and the band's decision not to play songs from them live, saying "they don't count" as Fear Factory albums. Contradicting this, Fear Factory played the track "Archetype" on its 2013 Australian tour in early July, with minor changes to the song's lyrics.


title: Fear Factory

text: On May 1, 2013, Dino Cazares told Songfacts.com Fear Factory would begin work on their ninth studio album after the end of "The Industrialist" tour. The album was expected to be released in early 2014. On May 13, 2013, Burton C. Bell told Metal-Rules.com, "Fear Factory will continue to tour North America and Europe 2013. We've got some more tours scheduled, some summer festivals next year. During that time our plan is to start writing a new record and we would like to have a new record out by spring 2014". On March 19, 2014, Bell told Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles he would like to have the new album released by August, followed by a tour in September. On September 12, 2014, the band announced it had signed to record label Nuclear Blast and would enter the studio in October. The band also confirmed that the album would be mixed by Andy Sneap, and that Rhys Fulber would again produce it.


title: Fear Factory

text: The band played their first shows in India, in November 2014, as part of the Weekender Tour, and on February/March 2015, they participated at the Soundwave Festival in Australia and New Zealand.


title: Fear Factory

text: On May 1, 2015, it was announced that former Static-X and Soulfly bassist Tony Campos joined the band. Later that month, Fear Factory announced that they would release their ninth studio album, titled "Genexus", on August 7, 2015.


title: Fear Factory

text: They toured in European festivals in July 2015, and then onto North America, as an opening act for Coal Chamber. From late August until mid-September 2015, the band toured the midwestern, southern and southwestern United States with support from Once Human (starring Logan Mader), Los Angeles melodic metal band Before the Mourning and Chicago rock band The Bloodline. They also announced that they would play the entire "Demanufacture" album in Europe between November and December 2015, a tour which again included Once Human with the addition of Irish band Dead Label as openers.


title: Fear Factory

text: In a November 2016 interview with "Loudwire", guitarist Dino Cazares revealed that Fear Factory had planned to release their tenth studio album in mid-to-late 2017. He stated, "Right now we're going to be home and doing a new record. We're writing already and in the process of doing a new record, but it probably won't be out until late summer of next year or maybe even October. I'm not exactly sure."


title: Fear Factory

text: In a December 2016 interview with The Ex-Man, despite an ongoing "huge legal battle" with Bell and Cazares, former bassist-guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers stated that he was "trying to reach out and try to get this reunion thing happening." He added, "There would be nothing better for this band [than] to reconcile our differences, fucking write a killer record, which I know we can, and fucking we would be doing really big tours. My passion for playing and what we have invested in this band is very big, and I know it's really big for Dino as well, 'cause he started it with Raymond back in the day." More fuel to the possibility of a reunion with the "classic" lineup of Bell, Cazares, Herrera and Wolbers was added later that month, when Wolbers posted an image on his Instagram account, suggesting Fear Factory's official website was "under construction."


title: Fear Factory

text: On May 7, 2017, Wolbers posted a blank picture on his Instagram (which was later deleted), claiming that Fear Factory had broken up. Later that day, Cazares was asked via Twitter if they were still together, and his response was, "Not sure why your asking that and rant by who?".


title: Fear Factory

text: In an interview with Kilpop in May 2017, Burton C. Bell said that the new songs were "even stronger than "Genexus", 'cause it just seems even more tight. We're on a groove, and it's kicking ass."


title: Fear Factory

text: In an interview with SiriusXM's Jose Mangin at November 2018's inaugural Headbangers Con in Portland, Oregon, Bell revealed "Monolith" as the title of Fear Factory's tenth studio album and its tentative artwork via his smartphone. In October 2019, this was refuted by guitarist Dino Cazares who stated via his Twitter account that there was no new Fear Factory album. Shortly thereafter, Cazares expressed uncertainty towards the band's future, indicating that a lawsuit filed by former members Raymond Herrera and Christian Olde Wolbers had prevented him and Bell from using the Fear Factory name.


title: Fear Factory

text: On September 2, 2020, Dino Cazares announced he would be releasing new Fear Factory music in 2021. Less than a month later, Burton C. Bell announced he quit Fear Factory citing "consistent series of dishonest representations and unfounded accusations from past and present band members", leaving no original members left in the band besides Cazares. However, Bell's contributions to their upcoming album remained, as he recorded his vocals in 2017. He claimed his relationship with Cazares began to fray when they got into a physical altercation during the recording of "Genexus", "because [Cazares] said something he shouldn’t have".


title: Fear Factory

text: In an interview with Robb Flynn on September 28, 2020, which took place within hours after Bell announced his departure from Fear Factory, Cazares claimed that he was not aware of the split until he "found out [about it] via social media." He also claimed that one of the reasons behind Bell's departure was not only due to the lawsuit that prevented the release of the band's new album, but because the latter's portion of the Fear Factory "trademark ownership became available", which left Cazares as the sole owner of the band name. Cazares reiterated that Bell's vocals would appear on the new album, which was being mixed by Andy Sneap for a March 2021 release, and hoped the pair would continue to work together in order to support it.


title: Fear Factory

text: On April 1, 2021, Fear Factory announced that their first new song in over five years would be released on April 16. A short riff teaser of the song from Cazares was released soon after. The new single "Disruptor" was released on April 16, followed by the announcement of the tenth studio album "Aggression Continuum", which was released on June 18.


title: Fear Factory

text: While deciding on a new vocalist through auditions, Cazares said that gender would not play a role, expressing an open interest in hiring a woman; however, he said that he would not announce it for a while. Out of all the potential talents, he decided on a replacement who had yet to be revealed, with the member being a male and "kind of known" within the metal scene. He also said that the new member would be introduced through new songs. Wolbers expressed support for Cazares carrying on with the band.


title: Fear Factory

text: Fear Factory has been classified under several metal genres, most often as industrial metal and groove metal, but also as nu metal, alternative metal, grindcore, thrash metal, and death metal. The band began as a death metal band with their debut album "Soul of a New Machine", but quickly moved to industrial metal after that album. Fear Factory's influences include Slayer, Exodus, Napalm Death, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and Godflesh.


title: Fear Factory

text: In terms of influences on the group's work, Dino Cazares has cited the band members' interests in fantasy and science fiction alternative universes such as the "Terminator" mythos as well as the "Dune" mythos. As a specific example, their debut album, "Soul of a New Machine", picked up its name directly from a line in a movie critic review of the "" film (discussing the T-1000 villain). Cazares has also cited recurring influences on Fear Factory coming from conventional popular music, outside of the genres of hard rock and heavy metal, for instance looking to singer-songwriter Paul McCartney's sounds in both The Beatles and Wings. Over the years the film "Blade Runner" has become a recurring theme as the band often makes lyrical reference to the plot, as well as directly quote and sample lines from the film.


title: Fear Factory

text: Fear Factory's innovative approach towards and hybridization of the genres industrial metal, death metal, and alternative metal has had a lasting impact on other artists coming later, the band putting a stamp on metal music ever since the release of their first album in 1992. Fear Factory is noteworthy among contemporaries for its lyrical focus on science fiction, with much of the band's music telling a single story spanning several concept albums. The band has been called a "stepping stone", leading mainstream listeners to venture into less-known, more extreme bands, and are consistently appreciated. Despite the heavy use of ambient and sampling sounds, the band has never had an official keyboardist in their lineup; they instead employ session/touring members.


title: Fear Factory

text: In the liner notes of the re-released version of "Soul of a New Machine", Machine Head vocalist Robb Flynn, Chimaira vocalist Mark Hunter, and Spineshank guitarist Mike Sarkisyan cited Fear Factory as an influence. Robb Flynn said his vocal style was influenced by Burton C. Bell's vocals and Machine Head have been wrongly credited for the vocal style. Mark Hunter said Chimaira's drumming was heavily influenced by Raymond Herrera. Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Static-X, and Coal Chamber have also mentioned Fear Factory in their liner notes.


title: Fear Factory

text: Modern bands including Mnemic, Scarve, Stiff Valentine, and Threat Signal contain significant influences from Fear Factory's technique and have also credited a substantial debt of gratitude to the band. Peter Tägtgren of Hypocrisy said, "Fear Factory are close to our hearts" and, ""Soul of a New Machine" was the influence for me to start my other project, 'Pain'". Devin Townsend of Strapping Young Lad said his main influences for "Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing" were Fear Factory and Napalm Death. In an interview on That Metal Show, Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward said Fear Factory is one of the bands he wishes he could play with, and picked "Mechanize" as one of his favourite albums.


title: Space: 1999

text: Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television programme that ran for two series from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, set in the year 1999, nuclear waste stored on the Moon's far side explodes, knocking the Moon out of orbit and sending it, as well as the 311 inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha, hurtling uncontrollably into space. "Space: 1999" was the last production by the partnership of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and was the most expensive series produced for British television up to that time. The first series was co-produced by ITC Entertainment and Italian broadcaster RAI, while the second series was produced solely by ITC.


title: Space: 1999

text: Two series of the programme were produced, each comprising 24 episodes. Production of the first series was from April 1973 to February 1975; production of the second series was from January 1976 to December 1976.


title: Space: 1999

text: The premise of "Space: 1999" centres on the plight of the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha, a scientific research centre on the Moon. Humanity had been storing its nuclear waste in vast disposal sites on the far side of the Moon, but when an unknown form of "magnetic radiation" is detected, the accumulated waste reaches critical mass and causes a massive thermonuclear explosion on 13 September 1999. The force of the blast propels the Moon like an enormous booster rocket, hurling it out of Earth orbit and into deep space at colossal speed, thus stranding the 311 personnel stationed on Alpha. The runaway Moon, in effect, becomes the "spacecraft" on which the protagonists travel, searching for a new home. Not long after leaving Earth's Solar System, the wandering Moon passes through a black hole and later through a couple of "space warps" which push it even further out into the universe. During their interstellar journey, the Alphans encounter an array of alien civilisations, dystopian societies, and mind-bending phenomena previously unseen by humanity. Several episodes of the first series hinted that the Moon's journey was influenced (and perhaps initiated) by a "mysterious unknown force", which was guiding the Alphans toward an ultimate destiny. The second series used simpler action-oriented plots.


title: Space: 1999

text: The first series of "Space: 1999" used a "teaser" introduction, sometimes called a "hook" or "cold open". This was followed by a title sequence that managed to convey prestige for its two main stars, Landau and Bain (both billed as 'starring') and to give the audience some thirty-plus fast cut shots of the forthcoming episode. The second series eliminated this montage. The programme would then offer four ten-to-twelve minute long acts (allowing for commercial breaks in North America) and finished with a short (and, in the second series, often light-hearted) "epilogue" scene.


title: Space: 1999

text: The headline stars of "Space: 1999" were American actors Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, who were married to each other at the time, and had previously appeared together in "". To appeal to the American television market and sell the series to one of the major U.S. networks, Landau and Bain were cast at the insistence of Lew Grade over the objections of Sylvia Anderson, who wanted British actors. Also appearing as regular cast members were the Canadian-based British actor Barry Morse (as Professor Victor Bergman in the first series) and Hungarian-born, US-raised Catherine Schell (as the alien Maya in the second series). Before moving into the role of Maya during the second series, Catherine Schell had guest-starred as a different character in the Year One episode "Guardian of Piri". The programme also brought Australian actor Nick Tate to public attention. Roy Dotrice appeared in the first episode as Commissioner Simmonds and at the end of the episode it appeared that he would be a regular character; by the second (transmitted) episode the character vanished, reappearing partway through the first series in the episode "", his only other appearance on the show, in which it is implied that he dies from asphyxia inside an alien spacecraft.


title: Space: 1999

text: Over its two series, the programme featured guest appearances from Christopher Lee, Margaret Leighton, Joan Collins, Jeremy Kemp, Peter Cushing, Judy Geeson, Julian Glover, Ian McShane, Leo McKern, Billie Whitelaw, Richard Johnson, Patrick Troughton, Peter Bowles, Sarah Douglas, David Prowse, Isla Blair, Stuart Damon, Peter Duncan and Brian Blessed. (Blair, Damon and Blessed each appeared in two episodes portraying different characters.) The English actor Nicholas Young (who portrayed John in the original version of "The Tomorrow People") appeared in a Year Two episode, "The Bringers of Wonder". Several guest stars went on to appear in the "Star Wars" films, including Cushing, Glover, Lee, Blessed, Prowse, Michael Culver, Michael Sheard, Richard LeParmentier, Shane Rimmer, Angus MacInnes, Drewe Henley, Jack Klaff and Jack McKenzie.


title: Space: 1999

text: "Space: 1999" was the last in a long line of science-fiction series that Gerry and Sylvia Anderson produced as a working partnership, beginning with "Supercar" in the early 1960s and including the marionette fantasy programmes "Fireball XL5", "Stingray", "Thunderbirds", "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons", "Joe 90" and "The Secret Service", as well as the live-action drama "UFO". "Space: 1999" owes much of its visual design to pre-production work for the never-made second series of "UFO", which would have been set primarily on the Moon and featured a more extensive Moonbase.


title: Space: 1999

text: "Space: 1999" drew a great deal of visual inspiration and technical expertise from the Stanley Kubrick film "" (1968). The programme's special effects director Brian Johnson had previously worked on both "Thunderbirds" (as Brian Johncock) and "2001".


title: Space: 1999

text: In 1972, Sir Lew Grade, head of ITC Entertainment, proposed financing a second series of the Century 21 production "UFO" to show-runners Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Grade had one stipulation: the new series would be set primarily on the Moon within the environs of an expanded SHADO Moonbase; the ratings indicated the Moon-centric episodes had proved the most popular with audiences. The Andersons and their team would quickly revamp the production, flashing ahead nearly twenty years for "UFO: 1999" with Commander Ed Straker and the forces of SHADO fighting their alien foes from a large new Moonbase facility.


title: Space: 1999

text: However, toward the end of its run, "UFO" experienced a drop in ratings in both the US and the UK; nervous ITC executives in both countries began to question the financial viability of the new series, and support for the project collapsed. In the meantime, production designer Keith Wilson and the art department had made considerable progress in envisioning the look and design of the new series. Their work was then shelved for the foreseeable future.


title: Space: 1999

text: Anderson would not let the project die; he approached Grade's number two in New York, Abe Mandell, with the proposal for taking the research and development done for "UFO: 1999" and creating a new science fiction series. Mandell was amenable, but stated he did not want a series set featuring people "having tea in the Midlands" and forbade any Earth-bound settings. Anderson responded that in the series opener, he would "blow up the Earth". Mandell countered that this concept might be off-putting to viewers, to which Anderson replied he would "blow up the Moon".


title: Space: 1999

text: The Andersons reworked "UFO: 1999" into a new premise: Commander Steven Maddox controlled the forces of WANDER, Earth's premier defence organisation, from Moon City, a twenty-mile wide installation on the Moon. Maddox would view all aspects of Earth defence from Central Control, a facility at the hub of the base and accessible only by Moon Hopper craft, which would require the correct pass-code to traverse Control's defensive laser barrier. The Commander would also have access to a personal computer called "Com-Com" (Commander's Computer), which would act as a personal advisor, having been programmed with the Commander's personality and moral sense.


title: Space: 1999

text: In the half-hour opening episode "Zero-G" penned by the Andersons, Earth's deep space probes have discovered an advanced extraterrestrial civilisation. Maddox is kidnapped for an interview with the aliens. Angered by humanity's innate hostility and WANDER's defensive posture, they travel to Earth with the intent of isolating mankind within the boundary of Earth's atmosphere. Having judged Maddox a noble example of mankind, they return him unharmed. They then use a beam to reduce the Moon's gravitational influence to zero, sending it careening out of orbit into deep space.


title: Space: 1999

text: The project continued forward. Group Three Productions, a partnership of the Andersons and production executive Reg Hill, was to produce the series; ITC Entertainment and Italian broadcaster RAI were to provide the funding. Grade, aiming for a US network sale, insisted the series have American leads and employ American writers and directors. George Bellak, a well-known American television writer, was brought on staff. As stated by series writers Christopher Penfold and Johnny Byrne, it was Bellak who created and polished the series' defining concepts. Bellak wrote a ninety-minute opening episode titled "The Void Ahead", which was a close forerunner of "". Bellak also set up a writers' guide defining the three leads, the facilities of the Moonbase and potential storylines.


title: Space: 1999

text: At this point, the staff seemed to make creative changes that brought the series closer in concept and appearance to "". Even the title "Space: 1999" evoked comparison with Kubrick's film. (Before, the title of the new series had greatly varied: "Space Journey: 1999", "Journey in Space", "Menace in Space" and "Space Invaders"—the invaders of the last title being the Earthmen trapped on the runaway Moon.)


title: Space: 1999

text: For the lead characters of John Koenig and Helena Russell, Gerry Anderson approached the husband-and-wife acting team of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. Landau and Bain were high-profile stars in America after three years in the popular CBS espionage series "Mission: Impossible". Producer Sylvia Anderson let it be known that she would have preferred British lead actors; since Grade insisted on Americans, she would have chosen Robert Culp (star of the 1960s espionage series "I Spy") and Katharine Ross (co-star of 1960s blockbuster movies "The Graduate" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"). Lee H. Katzin, a highly respected American television director with a speciality for pilot episodes, was selected to direct the opening segment and brought into the fold as a primary director for the remainder of the series.


title: Space: 1999

text: The show's vehicles, including the "Eagle" space shuttle and the Moon Buggy, were represented with a mixture of full-sized props, photographic blow-ups, and detailed scale models. Dozens of models for the various alien spaceships and the Mark IX Hawk from the "" episode were built by model maker Martin Bower, often at several different sizes to account for the intended use.


title: Space: 1999

text: Rather than relying on the expensive and time-consuming blue screen process, as for "", Johnson's team often employed a technique that went back to the earliest days of visual effects: spacecraft and planets would be filmed against black backgrounds, with the camera being rewound for each successive element. As long as the various elements did not overlap, this produced convincing results. In technical terms, the advantage was that all of the elements were recorded on the original negative, as opposed to blue screen, which would have involved several generations of duplication. Another benefit was that the camera's exposed negative contained completed effects thereby avoiding the costs of the blue screen "optical" technique. The disadvantage was that the number of possible angles was more limited. For instance, a spaceship could be seen approaching a planet from the side, but could not move in front of it without the elements overlapping.


title: Space: 1999

text: Special effects director Brian Johnson and most of his team went on to work on Ridley Scott's "Alien" and later "The Empire Strikes Back".


title: Space: 1999

text: "Space: 1999" used Pinewood Studios sound-stages L and M. Each studio measures , with a floor-to-grid measurement of . For the first series, Stage L housed the "standing sets"; such as Main Mission, the Eagle interior, the travel tube, and a small section of corridor. Due to the limited studio space, other sets depicting Alpha interiors, such as Medical Centre, were assembled as needed. Stage M was the "swing stage" – used for planet exteriors, spaceship interiors, and whatever else was needed for a given episode.


title: Space: 1999

text: The unisex "Moon City" uniforms for the first series were created by Austrian fashion designer Rudi Gernreich, a personal friend of series star Barbara Bain. Other costumes were designed by Production Designer Keith Wilson, who was also responsible for set design. Wilson's innovative Moonbase set construction, using plastic foam-board panels, linked together Lego-like into whatever room configuration was required, made for a uniform and realistic appearance for the Alpha interiors (not to mention being relatively cheap and quickly assembled).


title: Space: 1999

text: For the second series, the Moonbase uniforms were updated and coloured decorative stitching and turtleneck collars were added, as were various badges and patches. Red, navy, or dark-green jackets also appeared, originally on just the senior staff, then on many of the male extras. The female characters tended to wear skirts and knee-high boots throughout the second series, rather than the flared trousers used in Year One. The costumes for Year Two were designed by Emma Porteous, who later designed the wardrobes for several "James Bond" films.


title: Space: 1999

text: The Moonbase interiors were also upgraded for the second year, with the existing stock of wall panels, doors, and computer panels (along with some bits from other Anderson productions) being assembled for the first time—on Stage L—into a standing complex of interconnected sets (the first series' sets had been assembled as needed and the size of the Main Mission/Command Office complex was prohibitive for the construction of a lasting series of rooms.) Vibrant colour was much more evident in this series' Moonbase sets. Gadgets and equipment with a futuristic appearance typical of contemporary science fiction were also more evident. For example, Helena no longer used a stethoscope, but a little beeping, all-purpose medical scanner similar to Dr McCoy's whistling medical "tricorder" on "Star Trek".


title: Space: 1999

text: The opening credits for the first series featured a dramatic fanfare composed by long-time Anderson associate Barry Gray, whose scores for the series were his final compositions for an Anderson production. Gray scored five episodes—"", "", "Black Sun", "", and "" — Vic Elmes provided a completely electronic score for "", and Big Jim Sullivan performed a one-off sitar composition for "The Troubled Spirit". Library music, classical compositions, and score excerpts from earlier Anderson productions augmented the five Gray scores and gave the impression of an expansive musical repertoire.


title: Space: 1999

text: The second series was scored by jazz musician and composer Derek Wadsworth; American producer Fred Freiberger wanted a more "driving, searing" score for his new action-adventure format. Aside from the new theme music, which was more synthesised than the theme for Year One, Wadsworth also composed original music for the episodes "The Metamorph", "", "", "The Taybor", and "". Much of this music was reused in other episodes.


title: Space: 1999

text: Other Anderson shows influenced the "Space: 1999" spacecraft and elements. The cockpit of the Eagle has a slight resemblance to the cockpit of an earlier Anderson Supermarionation series, "Fireball XL5". Thruster and engine sounds were similar to those previously used in "Fireball XL5", "Thunderbirds", and "Captain Scarlet". Lighting effects for Moonbase Alpha were comparable to those from "UFO", as well as the concept of the elevating spacecraft launch pad.


title: Space: 1999

text: After almost 30 years, the original Moonbase Alpha model reappeared in the public eye online when a site gained exclusive access to photomap the model and solicit its sale.


title: Space: 1999

text: As the November 1973 start date approached, George Bellak fell out with Gerry Anderson over creative issues and left the production. Story consultant Christopher Penfold acted as head writer, bringing in American writer Edward di Lorenzo and Irish poet Johnny Byrne as script editors. Penfold reworked Bellak's opening episode into a one-hour draft first re-titled "Turning Point", then finalised as "Breakaway".


title: Space: 1999

text: One week before live action filming commenced, Visual Effects Supervisor Brian Johnson and his team began work on the visual effects sequences for the first episode at Bray Studios near Maidenhead, Berkshire on 5 November 1973. For the first six weeks, no usable footage resulted until the team discovered a dragging brake had affected film speed. Studio rehearsals commenced at Elstree Studios near Borehamwood, Hertfordshire on 12 November 1973. During filming of the first episode, it became apparent that the troubled Elstree was under the threat of imminent closure. One weekend, the company secretly relocated sets, props, costumes, etc., to Pinewood Studios at Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, resulting in a union blacklisting of the production.


title: Space: 1999

text: Scheduled for ten days' filming, "Breakaway" overran an additional fifteen days. Lee Katzin was a perfectionist and demanded take after take of scenes; even coverage of reaction shots of the background extras required running a whole scene from beginning to end. His two-hour director's cut was assembled and sent to ITC New York for a viewing. Abe Mandell was horrified by the finished product. Anderson re-wrote several key scenes and, after three days of re-shoots, re-edited the pilot into a one-hour episode that appeased the fears of ITC. Katzin was not asked back to the programme after the filming of his second episode "Black Sun", which also ran over schedule.


title: Space: 1999

text: Scheduled for a twelve-month shoot, the twenty-four episodes took fifteen months to complete, with the production experiencing a number of difficulties. Britain's mandatory three-day work week in the early months of 1974 and the unplugging of the National Grid during the coal shortages due to industrial unrest of the early 1970s did not delay filming, for Pinewood had its own generators, but it affected film processing because the lab was an off-site contractor.


title: Space: 1999

text: Group Three's commitment to its financial partner, RAI, to include Italian actors in the cast also had to be addressed. Originally, two supporting roles were intended for Italian actors; with the casting of Nick Tate and Zienia Merton in those roles, a solution had to be worked out. Four of the later episodes produced ("The Troubled Spirit", "Space Brain", "" and "The Testament of Arkadia") featured Italian guest artists.


title: Space: 1999

text: The necessity to telex story outlines and scripts to New York for approval caused further production delays. The incessant re-writing this brought about eventually caused Christopher Penfold to resign during the shooting of "Space Brain", after completing his writing commitment with the script "Dragon's Domain". In a later interview, Johnny Byrne stated that "one episode they (New York) would ask us to speed things up, forcing us to cut out character development; then the next episode, they asked for more character moments, which would slow down the action; then they would complain there weren't enough pretty girls in another." Years later, Byrne and Penfold would agree that the process they worked under made "good scripts less than they had been" and forced them to waste time re-writing "bad scripts to make them acceptable". Byrne remained until the end of production; his last tasks were writing filler scenes for the desperately short "" and a re-shoot for the troublesome "Space Brain". The scenes re-mounted for "The Last Enemy" concluded principal photography on 28 February 1975.


title: Space: 1999

text: Countries where the show was sold include France, Italy, Yugoslavia, Poland, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, Iran, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Peru, Japan, Malaysia, Canada, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. One of the first previews of the series was in Australia on the Seven Network in July 1975, but the station later split the first series into two series. The second series was shown in 1979.


title: Space: 1999

text: Response to the series varied; some critics praised it as a classic, citing the production values and multi-layered storytelling (""Space: 1999" is like "Star Trek" shot full of methedrine. It is the most flashy, gorgeous sci-fi trip ever to appear on TV..." and ""Space: 1999" is a visually stunning, space-age morality play..."); others panned it for poor plotting and wooden acting, especially on the part of Barbara Bain ("the plots and characterisation on "Space: 1999" have been primitive..." and "A disappointing collage of wooden characters, boring dialogue and incomprehensible plots...").


title: Space: 1999

text: Isaac Asimov criticised the scientific accuracy of the series by pointing out that any explosion capable of knocking the Moon out of its orbit would actually blow it apart, and even if it did leave orbit it would take hundreds of thousands of years to reach the nearest star. He also noted that describing Moonbase Alpha as being on the "dark side" of the moon was an error as no part of the Moon is permanently dark. If the far side was meant rather than the dark side, Asimov points out, then the explosion would drive the Moon towards Earth, not away from it. He praised the programme for the accuracy of the representation of movement in the low gravity environment of the Moon, and for its realistic production design. Asimov's responses were based on the pilot episode only. Subsequent episodes (such as "The Black Sun", third in production order, and "Another Time, Another Place", sixth in production order) suggest the Moon reaches the stars by passing through wormholes and hyperspatial tunnels, a plot point made more overt in the second series' episodes, notably "The Taybor" and "Space Warp". This issue is left somewhat enigmatic in the first series as episodes involving other planets invariably begin with the Moon having already reached a planet and in the first few episodes of this kind, such as "Matter of Life and Death" and "Missing Link", the episodes actually begin with the Alphans on their way back from a planet, an initial Eagle flight having taken place before the episode even begins.


title: Space: 1999

text: In the February 28, 1976 edition of "TV Guide", critic Cleveland Amory panned the series. In his review he noted, "[T]here was practically no dialogue for quite a while, which, in view of what was to come, was a terrific idea. Then came lines like… 'We're sitting on the biggest bomb ever made.' In a show like this, that's one line they should have avoided at any price." He criticized the acting, saying, "The special effects are good, but the actors are awful, even Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, whom you will remember from Mission:Impossible; and Barry Morse, of The Fugitive. Miss Bain's part is the zombiest, which is some distinction, as the cast is huge."


title: Space: 1999

text: Gerry and Sylvia Anderson were surprised and disappointed that the public (and critics) never granted them the suspension of disbelief given to other science-fiction programmes.


title: Space: 1999

text: The characters seem aware of the apparent implausibility of their situation. In "Black Sun", Victor Bergman asserts the chances of their surviving the explosion which knocked them from orbit are "just about infinite." In "Matter of Life and Death", Koenig remarks "many things have happened since we broke away from our own solar system, unexplainable things." How they survived and are able to travel the Universe seems to be a central mystery to which the Alphans, and the audience, have no concrete answers.


title: Space: 1999

text: Speaking about the show in 2010, Bain reflected: "We had some very good science fiction people as advisors who knew what they were talking about. For instance, they knew that sound up there wouldn't travel, and it would just be quiet up there. But then we wouldn't have a series, so we couldn't do that. There were various considerations that had to be made, but they were based on what is, or what was, known at the time. For all I know now it's out of date. I don't really know."


title: Space: 1999

text: She added that some of the technology on "Space: 1999" has come to pass: "We made up a scanning device for Dr Russell. Someone would simply be lying on the floor half dead, and I would [scan them] with this funny little thing that was a prop. I could read all his vital signs. They can pretty much do that [with a medical device] nowadays. There were times that we were playing with props that didn't read anything — I just had a bunch of dialogue to say after. We had the Commlock. All of those things were on the verge of happening anyway. Now we're way past it. When we made it, 1999 seemed so far away."


title: Space: 1999

text: Following the completion of the first series, the production team prepared for a second series to commence production in the autumn of 1975. Gerry Anderson had staff writer Johnny Byrne prepare a critical analysis of the first twenty-four episodes, assessing their strengths and weaknesses in order to mount a new and improved second year. Byrne then commenced writing scripts in an improved first-series format: "The Biological Soul", "The Face of Eden", and "Children of the Gods". He engaged British writer Donald James to develop his first-series format story "The Exiles". Director Ray Austin was again contracted as one of the main directors of the show and stayed with the show until leaving to direct in America.


title: Space: 1999

text: The largest stumbling block for the staff had been having all material vetted by ITC's New York office. ITC's compromise was to hire a high-profile American staff writer-producer. At this time, Sylvia Anderson left her role as producer when she and Gerry Anderson formally separated (and subsequently divorced). Fred Freiberger, whom Gerry Anderson had considered for the writing position, was then brought on board to help guide the series as a producer and acted as show-runner. Freiberger had produced the third and final season of "" in 1968–1969 and eight episodes of the first season of "The Wild Wild West" (including one in which Martin Landau guest-starred) before being dismissed. Immediately after "Space: 1999" he would go on to produce what would be the final season of "The Six Million Dollar Man". His writing credits included "Slattery's People", "The Iron Horse", "All in the Family", "Petrocelli", and "Starsky and Hutch". Though Anderson and Grade were satisfied with this choice, Abe Mandell had concerns about why he was unemployed and available at the time.


title: Space: 1999

text: Then ITC Entertainment President Sir Lew Grade abruptly cancelled the series' production in late 1975 when ratings in the United States had dropped during the later autumn months of the year. Grade had already been disappointed by the lack of an American network broadcast sale. Gerry Anderson and Fred Freiberger rallied and pitched the idea of a new series with the addition of an alien character to Moonbase Alpha, who would shake up the dynamic of interaction on the Moonbase and regain viewer interest in the United States. On the strength of Anderson and Freiberger's proposal of adding an alien character from the planet Psychon named Maya, Mandell approved a renewal of the series for a second year.


title: Space: 1999

text: In addition to the alien Maya character, to be played by Catherine Schell, numerous other changes were made for what was branded Year Two. The most visible change was the absence of Professor Bergman (Barry Morse). Morse's departure was due to a salary dispute, but he later claimed that he was glad to leave, and he had told Anderson: "I would rather play with grown-ups for a while." With Morse gone, the role of the boffin on Alpha was filled completely by Maya, whose people's science was far in advance of mankind's. Also, her character was conceived to be able to provide "outside observation of human behaviour" as had been provided by the character of Mr. Spock on "". Maya shared Spock's logical approach to problem-solving and advanced intelligence, but differed in that she was a charming, fully emotional person. Most importantly, however, her Psychon abilities as a metamorph with the power of "molecular transformation" allowed her to convert herself into any living thing for an hour at a time, were designed to add a certain "wow" factor to the newly revamped series. Maya had an impish sense of humour. When love-interest Tony Verdeschi offered her some of his home-brewed beer, Maya tried it, then turned herself into Mister Hyde. Schell had previously guest-starred as the Servant of the Guardian in the Year One episode "Guardian of Piri".


title: Space: 1999

text: In addition to the cosmetic changes, the characters were "warmed up." Koenig and Russell went from a barely noticeable courtship to a physically passionate, full-fledged romance, in which the devotion ran so deep that they offered to die for each other ("Brian the Brain"). In addition to Bergman, Year One supporting characters Paul Morrow (Prentis Hancock), David Kano (Clifton Jones) and Tanya Alexander (Suzanne Roquette) were also removed from the cast (Paul and Tanya's disappearance is explained in the Powys Media book "The Forsaken" by John Kenneth Muir. In the 2022 "Space: 1999 Moonbase Alpha Technical Operations Manual" he is revealed to be in a year-long coma following an accident. David Kano's job is assumed to be no longer based in Command Centre and no mention is made of Tanya). Dr. Bob Mathias (Anton Phillips) was present in the first two Year Two episodes, was mentioned in the third episode, and then also disappeared without a trace. His character was replaced by several recurring physicians. Alan Carter (Nick Tate) was to have been written out of the series, but he had become so popular with fans that he remained. Sandra Benes (Zienia Merton) remained with the series in an on-again off-again association, but the character only appeared in a fraction of the episodes, albeit more prominently in some than in many of those of the first series.


title: Space: 1999

text: Security Chief Tony Verdeschi also joined as a new character, played by Tony Anholt. Verdeschi, who assumed the base's second-in-command role, neither appeared, nor was ever mentioned, in Year One. However, Moonbase Alpha personnel treated Verdeschi as if he had been in their midst since "Breakaway". His character was designed to serve primarily as a secondary male action hero, and became a romantic interest for Maya.


title: Space: 1999

text: No on-screen explanations were offered for the cast changes. One scene in "The Metamorph" mentioning Bergman's death was scripted and filmed, but cut from the final edit. "The Moonbase Alpha Technical Manual" produced by "Starlog" magazine picks up this explanation, stating Bergman died due to a faulty spacesuit per the scripted scene. Likewise, it was mentioned in this publication that Morrow and Kano had died in an Eagle crash between series and explained that Dr. Mathias, supposedly Alpha's psychiatrist (although he seems to be more Russell's assistant), was on sabbatical doing research. Fred Freiberger felt that these characters were one-dimensional and had no fan support; he told Nick Tate that the audience would not remember them and that, as far as he was concerned, they were just "somewhere else" on Alpha, lost in the crowd of three hundred other people. Freiberger failed to appreciate the value of the supporting characters to the show and its fans.


title: Space: 1999

text: Other changes included the main titles and theme music. Year One's opening montage of events from "" and the episode about to unfold was dropped in favour of a special-effects sequence depicting the Moon being blown out of orbit into space. With Morse gone, Schell was featured in his place as a regular alongside Landau and Bain, and all three were depicted in action-oriented images as opposed to the mannequin-like stances Landau and Bain had assumed in the Year One main titles. New series composer Derek Wadsworth's new theme dropped Barry Gray's alternation between stately, orchestral passages and funky rhythmic ones in favour of a more consistently contemporary piece.


title: Space: 1999

text: Rudi Gernreich's minimalist costume was considerably modified from the original unisex design to include an optional skirt and leather boots for women and much more detail work on the tunic portion, including turtleneck collars, coloured stitching, patches and photo-ID badges. In addition, colourful jackets (generally red, blue or green) became part of most characters' ensembles.


title: Space: 1999

text: The expansive "Main Mission" set, with its balcony and windows revealing the lunar surface, was replaced by a more compact "Command Center" (they used the American spelling on the set), supposedly deep underground (again, this change was explained in the Year Two Writers' Bible and "Technical Manual" as necessary for security, but never explained onscreen). Medical Centre, Generator Section, Life Support and the Alphans' living quarters became smaller, while the interior of the Eagle command module was updated with additional buttons, flashing lights and television monitors, while the Eagle also lost a section of corridor (the galley/storage area) between the passenger module and the cockpit. (This was to accommodate its placement on Pinewood Soundstage "L", with the other standing Alpha sets; the Eagle was permanently affixed to the boarding tube/travel tube set and jammed between the travel-tube reception area and the Medical Centre.)


title: Space: 1999

text: The sombre mood created in Year One by the effective use of light and shadow in the filming of Moonbase Alpha interiors was abandoned in favour of a generally brighter cinematography, and even the lettering used in signage and costuming—most noticeable on spacesuits and Eagle Transporter doors—changed to a simpler, less futuristic style.


title: Space: 1999

text: Production Designer Keith Wilson stated in an interview in "Destination: Moonbase Alpha" that he was always being ordered by Producer Fred Freiberger to make sets smaller, taking away the expansive (and expensive) look of the first series' interiors. Freiberger was very budget-conscious and, despite press releases to the contrary, the production team was working with less money this series. If there had been a budget increase, the 'stagflation' economy of the 1970s would have cancelled it out. When interviewed, many of the actors state they were asked to accept less money, including Landau and Bain (who were the only ones with enough clout to be able to refuse).


title: Space: 1999

text: Freiberger emphasised action-adventure in Year Two stories to the exclusion of metaphysical themes explored in Year One. Of Year One, he commented, "They were doing the show as an English show, where there was no story, with the people standing around and talking. In the first show I did, I stressed action as well as character development, along with strong story content, to prove that "1999" could stand up to the American concept of what an action-adventure show should be." Since Year One was quite serious in tone, one of Freiberger's ways to accomplish this objective was to inject humour into Year Two stories whenever possible, but much of it seemed to the more vocal fans to be forced, especially at the conclusion of an episode, where the Alphans were seen as jovial and light-hearted despite whatever violent or tragic events might have previously befallen them. Freiberger had appropriated this approach from "Star Trek"; the endings of many of that show's episodes featured an upbeat discussion among the cast of the lessons learned during the episode and closing on a joke; this approach was copied for "Space: 1999" with Koenig, Verdeschi, Russell, Carter and Maya enjoying a laugh in the Command Center. Given Landau's intensity and the brooding nature of the Koenig character, the approach did not fit the series.


title: Space: 1999

text: Members of the "Space: 1999" cast were disenchanted with the scripts. Martin Landau: "They changed it because a bunch of American minds got into the act and they decided to do many things they felt were commercial. Fred Freiberger helped in some respects, but, overall, I don't think he helped the show, I think he brought a much more ordinary, mundane approach to the series." One particular episode ('', which dealt with the threat of an intelligent rock) was of such allegedly deficient quality that it sparked a confrontation between Freiberger and the cast. Landau disliked the story so strongly that he wrote the following notes on his copy of the script: "All the credibility we're building up is totally forsaken in this script."; "...Story is told poorly."; and "The character of Koenig takes a terrible beating in this script — We're all schmucks." Anholt revealed that, "the more the cast complained about a script's flaws, the more intractable and unyielding Freiberger became." Dissatisfaction on Landau's part about scripts was not new to Year Two, though. Sylvia Anderson remembered that he often voiced criticisms of scripts during production of the first series.


title: Space: 1999

text: With the last-minute renewal from Grade, the production team hit the ground running for Series Two. Johnny Byrne's script "The Biological Soul", involving the Alphans' encounter with the unstable Mentor of the planet Psychon and his biological computer "Psyche", was rewritten to include the new character and the rest of the format changes; the episode produced from this script was retitled "The Metamorph". Production began on 26 January 1976 and was scheduled to last a mere ten months for all episodes.


title: Space: 1999

text: To fulfil the scheduling requirement and cut production costs, Freiberger used the "double-up script" solution. During "double-up" instalments, two first-unit production teams would film two episodes simultaneously. Landau and some of the supporting cast would be given expanded roles and would film an episode on location or on sets constructed for that story in Pinewood's Soundstage "M", while Bain and the remaining supporting cast (also in expanded roles) would film their episode in the standing Alpha sets on Soundstage "L". Landau and Bain would then be given minor roles in the opposing episodes. This measure was used to complete eight stories as four pairs: "The Rules of Luton" and "The Mark of Archanon"; "The AB Chrysalis" and ""; "A Matter of Balance" and ""; "Devil's Planet" and "Dorzak". A ninth episode, "", was intentionally scripted with only one day's worth of work for Landau and Bain to allow their planned holiday to the French Riviera not to delay the series' production; the four supporting cast members (Schell, Anholt, Tate and Merton) were the recipients of much greater than usual exposure.


title: Space: 1999

text: Relations between new producer Freiberger and the Year One veterans were strained. Landau complained about stories he felt were lightweight or absurd when compared to the previous year's efforts. He wrote on the cover of one script: "I'm not going out on a limb for this show because I'm not in accord with what you're [Freiberger] doing as a result ... etc. I don't think I even want to do the promos—I don't want to push the show any more as I have in the past. It's not my idea of what the show should be. It's embarrassing to me if I am not the star of it and in the way I feel it should be. This year should be more important to it, not less important to it ... I might as well work less hard in all of them." Johnny Byrne said that Freiberger was a good man and good producer, but not good for "Space: 1999". He had gotten them a second year after the cancellation, but the changes he made did not benefit the show.


title: Space: 1999

text: Principal photography came to an end on 23 December 1976 with "The Dorcons". An article regarding a third series was printed in the trade papers: "Now entrenched in its successful second season boom, ITC is looking forward to a third season with more fantastic events and additions, although mum's the word at the studio. They will only say that Maya and Miss Schell will be kept in and that the budget may be raised again, but that's all until final preparations and an official announcement are made."


title: Space: 1999

text: The producers and studio intended to continue the show with a third series. This was to be shorter than the previous two, with 13 episodes, for budget reasons. Maya was considered to be a successful character, and the producers began grooming her for a spinoff show that would run concurrently with the third series of "Space: 1999". Had this project gone ahead, Maya would have been absent from "Space: 1999". The "Maya" series was also intended to run for 13 episodes a year.


title: Space: 1999

text: As filming on Year Two came to its conclusion, it became apparent that there would be no third series, and the second series ended with the episode "The Dorcons". The Maya spin-off was also abandoned. According to statements by Martin Landau on the "Space: 1999/UFO – The Documentaries" produced by Kindred, the reason for cancellation was due to financier Lew Grade's decision to redirect funding to new movie projects, such as "Raising the Titanic".


title: Space: 1999

text: Filmed on 29 August 1999, "" is a fan-produced mini-episode made with the co-operation and involvement of "Space: 1999" script editor Johnny Byrne, who penned the script. Filmed inside a private house on a working replica of Moonbase Alpha's Technical Section and utilising the original prop of Koenig's Command Center desk and Sandra Benes's original Year Two Alpha uniform, the short film was first shown at the "Space: 1999 Breakaway Convention" in Los Angeles, California on 13 September 1999—the day the events in episode 1 of the series were supposed to take place. With the permission of (then) copyright owners Carlton Media International, the film includes brief clips from seven episodes to illustrate the deserted Moonbase Alpha and the Alphans' exodus to planet Terra Alpha. Previously unused footage shot for the Year Two title sequence and "The Last Enemy" was used to create a sequence showing the Moon being affected by a gravitational disturbance and thrown into an unknown solar system. Short excerpts from 12 other episodes appeared in a montage as Sandra Benes recalls her life on Alpha.