Space: 1999 (TV Series) A Matter of Balance (1976) User Reviews

Set cheesy level to Maximum!

[Flubber69 · 5/10 · 21 September 2021]

Oh yeah, this episode has it all! A putative teenager who's smitten with Moonbase Alpha super stud Tony (Lynne Frederick was 22 when she appeared but doesn't come across as an authentic teenager). Villain dressed like Captain Underpants. Alien sets and costumes that manage to make "Land of the Lost" appear big budget.

But enough with the negativity. As always, and even during season 2, S1999 had uncanny prescience about futuristic time vampires. To wit:

• Maya uses what appears to be an iOS or Android device to record a video inside the alien temple.

• Tony maintains his unhealthy obsession with home brewing. I'm becoming concerned he's concealing a drinking problem under the guise of a quaint hobby and periodic comic foil.

They take 2 Eagles to the alien planet. Eh, better than nothing but left me clamoring for more.

Not one of Series two's highlights

[trevorwomble · 5/10 · 4 December 2019]

Where do I start on this episode. The ridiculous looking alien (looking and sounding uncannily like a bald Benedict Cumberbatch actually), the stupidity of the character of Shermeen (played by the late Lynne Frederick - widow of Peter Sellers) or the fact that yet again the Buckinghamshire countryside stands in unconvincingly for another planet or the dreadfully obvious 'man in a suit' looking alien protecting the temple. And of all the creatures Maya could have turned into to escape the Alien (a bird, a bee) a fox does seem a bit of an odd choice.

Whilst both series of Space 1999 had some duff episodes, series two had more. At least when Fred Freiburger produced the generally (but not entirely) lame third series of Star Trek, he could point to the budget cuts he had to work against for the compromises he had to make. Here however the intelligence of the series was starting to plummet downwards and budget had nothing to do with it. The jokes about Tony's beer making are getting a bit thin and obvious and no Alan Carter to inject some gravitas and passion into the episode (apparently Martin Landau was conscious that Nick Tate was becoming popular on the back of this show and getting concerned that it may be at his expense).

At the heart of this episode is actually quite a good idea but it is let down by a poor script and feels very rushed (which it might have been as sometimes two episodes were filmed at the same time hence the inconsistency of screentime for series regulars between episodes). The directors were also given very short shooting schedules, 14 days was the average for a 48 minute episode so if the scriptwriters were also working to such a deadline it is no surprise that there were misfires like this. Still, the visual effects were still way above what was average for television at the time but otherwise the series was starting to groan and creak at this point.

could have been so much better

[marcgreenman · 5/10 · 23 July 2020]

Space 1999 has produced some fairly intense stories in its time, the idea of a world of anti matter ghosts should have produced some chilling moments. alas, it doesn't really. butterworth manages to do slightly better with his novelisation. a key problem is that stuart wilson is far too laid back as the villain in a poorly written role. it really needed a few more deaths or a good monster or a bleak ending and a few decent scares.

Huh?

[cmdrr · 3 October 2018]

Oh, Freddy, what did you do to this show? '1,702 days since leaving Earth orbit,' Dr. Russell chirps into her giant captain's log computer (it's the size of a VW Bug) and then talks about 'a simple teenaged infatuation.' Teenager? That means Chermine (sp?) was no older than 14 in 1999. It also means she's seen dozens of Eagles explode and scores of Alphans killed... and managed not to mature. Oh, and the rest of the episode is idiotic, too.

Can anyone be that stupid?!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 8 July 2010]

As in most of the episodes in the second season of "Space: 1999", this one ranks very high in the 'cheese factor'. In other words, the special effects were really, really bad at times--and a radical departure from the higher quality and budget shows of season one. In this case, you have a goofy looking alien creature that you just need to see to believe--and it looks like it escaped from a Larry Buchanan grade-Z film. And, to top if off, you have an alien wearing a weird male stripper-type costume!! Whoa...talk about cheese! The show begins with an incredibly stupid crew member (who, naturally, we've never seen before). Shermeen is apparently addle-brained (desite being a biologist), as when a bald alien just appears to her on Moonbase and starts telling her to do his bidding, she just agrees and never questions him!!! And, when she heads down to the planet below and he tells her to walk past a dangerous-looking alien with a weapon, she just does it! Wow, talk about stupid! And, not surprisingly, this baldy turns out to be bad and gets her to do things that jeopardize the crew of Alpha! And even when she sees this, she continues to do what Mr. Klean tells her! What a nit-wit!! She's dumber than a pile of snot! Can the Alphans stop this dummy and her new master? Tune in and see...if you really want.

In addition to the dumb character and silly monster, the show also has some amazingly lame moments with Maya. Either she's pulling answers out of left field (how did she know about the people/creatures made of anti-matter?!?!) or stating the obvious (when a guy is staring into space and is 100% unresponsive, she looks him over and says "he's in a trance"--way to go, Einstein!). Couldn't the writers give her character anything better to say? It's all a bit of a shame, actually, as the basic story idea is pretty cool. Why he's appeared and his evil plan is truly original--something not seen often enough in sci-fi. But, because it was so ineptly handled, it's just not particularly worth seeing.

By the way, watch when Maya turns into a fox. In some scenes, she's actually a dog--not a fox. Way to go!

Sexism on display

[rockford_hinten · 4/10 · 14 December 2016]

I would say this sets feminism back 40 years, but it already was 40 years ago. The plot driver of this episode revolves around a young female crew member who gets emotionally upset from a crush on Tony so that she is deemed unfit to do her job. Nice one, doctor. Apparently she has the vapors or something and needs a fainting couch, right? She then proceeds to make one after another horrible idiotic choice, following the directions of some alien. People, even Cmdr. Koenig, treat her like a child throughout the episode. This kind of old sexism was a little shocking and awkward to see for people with modern sensibilities.

Add to that the bald alien guy in the Speedo and the creature of the week who has a sound like a wailing cat dubbed onto it make for some interesting visuals as well, and I don't mean that in a good way.