Tonight we'll take a brief intermission from the miniatures to showcase the cast & characters from "Space: 2022" - Year Two. I've salvaged most of the original cast in one way or another (as they were transitioned in the original series), plus I've added, resurrected, and restructured the cast as I see fit, basically a Fantasy Premier League but with "Space: 1999" actors and characters.
There are 13 primary and secondary characters which will be in most episodes, among many guest stars and artists where one will be likely to say, "Oh, I saw him on that other so & so show...", or "Wasn't he in that film last week..?" Etc., etc.
Another thing I am injecting into the plot lines will be more conflict among the characters. I will be avoiding all those squishy and unnecessary "Freiberger-isms" with bratty, younger characters (who were too young to be out in space anyway), and forced emotions. I have created a more mature cast dealing with an impossible and unexpected situation, again more like Year One, but with a lot more conflict and shouting! So, lets meet the dramatis personae!
Commissioner John Koenig (Martin Landau)
Ex-Astronaut, ex-Alpha Commander, and ex-Commissioner (Buzzard Fleet), Koenig is now employed with EUROSEC as a head hunter. After his dismissal from the Buzzard service, (see Episodes 11 & 12 - Yr 01), he was hired to recruit astronauts, pilots, and other scientific specialists for the new PHOENIX project. He has assembled a crew of 109 of the finest Earth and the Moon has to offer. As he was inspecting the ship on it's test flight to Jupiter, he is now trapped with the rest of the displaced crew. Angry at first, he now sees an opportunity to reclaim his previous status as a Commander and restore his former glory, which will of course cause conflict with:
Commander Alan Carter (Nick Tate)
Alan was recruited to command the PHOENIX by Koenig himself. When the military took over the radio-active waste disposal after the Icarus incident, Alan was demoted to basically a mechanic since no civilians were permitted to pilot Buzzards any longer. Except for Koenig, he has logged the most hours of any other space pilot in Eagles, Buzzards, Doves, and other various space vehicles. His "flying by the seat of his pants" attitude, and years of experience in space, make him perfect for command.
CMO Doctor Helena Russell-Koenig (Barbara Bain)
After the averted disaster on the moon, Helena left Moonbase Alpha to form up the new Moonbase Gamma, a separate purpose built Lunar hospital. This facility would research zero G medicine, effects of magnetic and other radiation, (brain damage), plus act as an isolation lab for diseases and viruses too dangerous to remain on Earth. Chief Medical Officer Doctor Helena Russell reconnected with John Koenig at his court martial (psychological assessment, etc), and not soon after they became involved and eventually married. Doctor Russell was accompanying her husband on the tour to inspect the medical facilities, and now she is trapped on the ship as well. The irony is most of the medical staff have trained with her at some point or another. (I decided to marry John and Helena in between seasons as to avoid all that lovey-dovey stuff. We'll see how the marriage survives in cramped quarters and large egos! Neither is supposed to be on board and each may blame the other for their situation.)
Science Officer Maya (Catherine Von Schell)
Maya is an alien from the (destroyed) planet Psychon. She joins the crew in Episode 04, "The Biological Computer". We will discuss her back story and role on the ship in a later post.
Data Analysist Sandra Benes (Zienia Merton)
Her tour on Alpha was over, (as was her relationship with Controller Paul Morrow), so she decided to sign on to the PHOENIX to "get away from it all" rather than return to Earth. Her station is in the command module where she compiles data, manages the sensors & scanners, (working in unison with the science officers), and is in charge of communications. Known as "Sahn" to her friends, she brings many years of experience to her new role on the ship, and is also a qualified Eagle co-pilot.
Security Chief Tony Verdeschi (Tony Anholt)
In charge of ship security and administration, Tony's station is in the Hub where he can control the comings and goings of ship personnel & visitors, as well as monitor the crew activities, their locations, ship status and duty rosters. Tony is unique in that this is his first assignment in space. The youngest individual ever to be a Chief Superintendent in the Met, Koenig saw his potential and service record and offered him an opportunity he could not refuse! Adaptable, a quick thinker and fast learner, Tony is also trained as a co-pilot. His staff consists of seven guards, or constables, as he likes to call them.
Doctor Robert "Bob" Mathias (Anton Philips)
There are two medical bays on the ship; the full gravity bay (in the habitat ring), and the zero-G bay (in life support). Doctor Mathias is in charge of the gravity bay, assisted by two nurses. First a doctor on Alpha, then a brief stint at Gamma, he signed on to the PHOENIX as the Chief Medical Officer with high praise from Doctor Russell. Experienced in many forms of space medicine, he is also a qualified co-pilot. Now that his former mentor is also on board, there will likely be some conflict as to who is in charge, treatments, etc. (I wanted to keep Dr. Mathias for the entire run of the series; I did not like the way he just disappeared after only the first two episodes, which really only amounted to some male model posing with a clipboard...)
Data Analysist Yasko (Yasuko Nagazumi)
Her duties are basically the same as Sandra; they rotate duty assignments. She, however has a different background. Assigned to the Japanese cosmo ship "Tsuburaya Maru", she spent three years on board as Science Officer and a brief six month stint setting up the first International Mars Base. (It is one of the fewer planetary missions that didn't disappear under mysterious circumstances!). She therefor has more experience in zero-G and living in confined spaces. She cultivates Bonsai in her spare time and prefers to be quartered in the lesser gravity section of the habitat ring.
Captain Bill Fraser (John Hug)
Bill is First Pilot and is usually found in the Command Module, although he will, from time to time, pilot a Dove when necessary. He started doing early Eagle runs to both Alpha and the Space Dock, sometimes with passengers, cargo, and later nuclear waste when the Dark Side was still a dump. He enlisted in the Buzzard Fleet after the averted disaster and remained there until the military take over. He then was recruited to EUROSEC at first as a test pilot for the Doves, then promoted to the PHOENIX. He has a wife, Annette, who as an interior designer, helped create the ambiance of the crew quarters and common areas. She was at the send off observing from a VIP Eagle, but of course, the ship never returned. (I decided to separate these characters since we only saw Annette in the first episode of Year Two anyway, and then mysteriously disappeared...).
Weapon Systems Officer Alexei Petrov (Peter Porteous)
WSO Petrov is stationed in the command module, and is in control of weapons & defense. One of three Russians on board, he was in the Russian Armed Forces until transferring to the UN Space Corps. Also a full pilot (an ace with a Mark IX Hawk!), he is adept at EVA combat and is familiar with both ballistic and energy weapons. He has the authority to assume aggressive response if the Commander or ranking officer is incapacitated. Another long term space veteran, he prefers the zero-G sections to the habitat. (I needed a regular tactical officer, not a casual walk on as there was going to be a lot of space shooting and laser light shows! He had no first name in the original series, so I have called him Alexei, after Alexei Leonov, the first man to walk in space).
Doctor Ed Spencer (Sam Dastor)
Born and educated in Mumbai, India, Ed earned his medical degrees at various Universities and practiced for a short time in regional hospitals until transferring to Moonbase Gamma. Here he specialized in zero-G medicine becoming the first doctor to perform an emergency amputation in free fall (with minimal spillage). Doctor Spencer was urged to join the PHOENIX mission by Doctor Russell and is now in charge of the zero-G medical bay (located in life support) with the assistance of two nurses. Soft spoken, he is always calm and in control of the situation. (It's too bad this character was introduced so late in the series, so I made him permanent! Again, we'll get some dueling egos with Dr. Russell and possibly Dr. Mathias from time to time...)
Captain James Kelly (Shane Rimmer)
Another veteran pilot, his career goes back the furthest as he began flying the basic MTU's to the Space Dock and then for Alpha's construction. A natural space pilot, he quickly rose up in the ranks and eventually ferried dignitaries and VIPs to the Moon and back in the luxury Eagles. He remained there until the Icarus incident (where he participated in various aerial rescue operations after the crash), and then retired. Koenig contacted him with the job offer and Kelly accepted; being grounded was not in his nature. He shares first pilot duties with Fraser, both in flying the PHOENIX and Doves accordingly. Not only an excellent pilot, he can also "get under the bonnet" and do maintenance & repairs even on the fly. Apparently he is very good with a spanner... (With the main ship and two Doves, I needed recurring pilots. Here I was able to correct the mistake that was made in 1999 Year One and Century 21 etiquette in general: YOU DO NOT KILL OFF SHANE RIMMER!!! So out of respect I resurrected him! After all, he was born just down the road...)
V*I*C*T*O*R (Barry Morse)
Our final character is not human at all; it is the main computer that controls every ship function both automatically and with the crew's assistance. Moving away from the flat voice of Alpha's main computer, the designers at EUROSEC created a system with more human interaction, along with a familiar face. VICTOR (yes, here comes another acronym!), stands for:
V - Voice
I - Integrated
C - Computer
T - Total
O - Oratory
R - Response
Not only was Professor Bergman's image used, he had all of his knowledge, experience, and personality programmed into the system. Basically he went full on Gwent. He can discuss ship status, have a chat about the "weather", philosophy, or engage in a game of chess, or what have you all the while maintaining the ship. Prof. Bergman realized he would have been too old to sign on for the mission, and figured this was the only way to enlist, or at least by proxy. Since most of the crew knew Victor back in the day, they enjoy his company & interactions, and many forget he is just a computer. (There was no way I was going to have a Year Two without Victor; he was one of my favorite characters! Just because Freddy wanted to make "Space: 90210" was no excuse to let him go. We needed an experienced scientist and a father figure. So out with that faulty space suit bollocks! We can at least get him on board, in so much as he can "phone it in"! In skulling out for a practical solution, I suddenly remembered "The Starlost", a short lived sci-fi series filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1973. He even guest starred on one episode with John Colicos! In this series (best you Google it; there is a lot of baggage, tragedy & drama), characters interacted with a computer known as a "Sphere Projector", which displayed an older, bearded man on a chroma key screen. VICTOR will not be as robotic as this chap was! So when you want to save a character, make him a digital puppet!)
So that is the mostly primary cast. There will be a constant parade of background extras and one-offs to round up the numbers in various parts of the ship. There will also be a select few which, of course, do not make it to the end credits.
I was always perplexed as to why there was never a recurring Chief Engineer. We saw (expendable) technicians from time to time as well as other personnel working in reactors and power centers, but no consistent go to guys (like Scotty, LaForge, or LaMarr, to name a few). You would think since engines and power were top of the list of essential services, at least one recurring face with a brown sleeve would be necessary. Perhaps as the season progresses, I may yet introduce a new character who was always there but never seen.
Next time, back to the miniatures. Have a better one!
