The often unfairly derided ’70s sci-fi melodrama Space: 1999 is a classic example of a TV show whose renewal came at the expense of a lot of creative interference. Wanting to ramp up the action and romance in an effort to boost ratings, please the advertisers and justify the expense of making the thing in the first place, ITV demanded a major overhaul of the show. Even the top-line actors weren’t immune: Barry Morse vanished without a trace or even so much as a later mention in dialogue. The carefully-designed, muted-color costumes were covered by new, more colorful jackets. And the show was now being run by none other than Fred Freiberger, a producer whom many credited with making the original Star Trek‘s third season its last.
Oh, and the music changed a bit too. Space: 1999’s first season relied on a library of new compositions by longtime Gerry Anderson collaborator Barry Gray, as well as the music Gray had composed for other Anderson productions such as UFO, supplemented by occasional commercial music library tracks. Gray declined to take part in Space: 1999’s second season, leaving the composer job up in the air. While commercial library tracks would still be used, the new theme tune and all incidental music custom-made for the show was composed by Derek Wadsworth – and like the revised costumes, the new score was as colorful and shiny as the first season’s was dour.
Not that this will rate as an improvement for every listener. Fans of ’70s TV scoring – which often relied on the disco style prevalant on the radio at the same time – will find much to enjoy here, while those who preferred Barry Gray’s outstanding but bleak season one score may be left scratching their heads. Wadsworth’s music seems to be based largely on the arrangement and production style of Gamble & Huff’s “Philly soul” sound – it’s classic early disco, and in places it’s really good listening on its own, especially the track “Escape From Psychon”, from which excerpts were endlessly reused in moments of tension throughout the season. Whether or not modern sensibilities will decree this as suitable music for an ostensibly serious SF series is another matter, though it’s also worth noting that in its second year, Space: 1999 was seriously descending into the “camp” category – and then toward the end of that season, any hope of the show recovering its reputation was literally blown away by a little movie called Star Wars.
Culled from a limited-edition 2-CD set (now hopelessly rare and excruciatingly expensive) originally issued by the Gerry Anderson fan club Fanderson, this general release from Silva Screen concentrates entirely on Wadsworth’s work, which is good in that there’s a stylistic unity to the whole thing. Silva’s first season soundtrack included some library tracks, but that isn’t the case here. Again, I’m grateful to Silva for bringing this music to those of us who aren’t willing to skip a house payment to buy a soundtrack CD.
Space: 1999 Year Two is good listening if you have a stomach for 1970s musical styles. Even if the arrangements were very 1970s, Wadsworth’s dramatic instincts were fairly sharp, and the lush arrangements for orchestra-with-some-rock/disco-elements indicated that the show’s producers were still spending money on the music. For those who can’t conceive of this being the sound of a TV science fiction series, Space: 1999 Year Two will either be an education or it’ll drive you crazy.
- Space 1999 Year 2 Main Theme (0:49)
- Strange Light (3:00)
- Rendezvous In Space (5:53)
- Escape From Psychon (9:14)
- We’re All Aliens (1:57)
- A Swarm Of Space Bees (2:32)
- The First Capsule (3:06)
- The Exiles Emerge (4:40)
- Return To Golos (7:23)
- Make Me A Pretty Nose (1:10)
- Garden Of Vega (2:37)
- The Strongest Passion (2:35)
- Seduction (5:26)
- Alpha Ahoy (1:54)
- The Emporium (4:13)
- The Abduction Of Maya (4:02)
- Sore Loser (1:51)
- Light Years Away (5:28)
- Space Animal On The Loose (4:21)
- Showdown At Copernicus (7:06)
- Space 1999 Year 2 End Titles (0:32)
Released by: Silva Screen
Release date: 2009
Total running time: 79:49
