Space: 1999 (TV Series) The Taybor (1976) User Reviews

Best performance by a pink-haired and morbidly obese alien award goes to Taybor.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 25 May 2010]

Willoughby Goddard stars as Taybor--one of the most gregarious and jovial aliens during the run of the series. His character is certainly NOT subtle but loud and eager to make a trade with the Alphans. Commander Koenig is eager to trade--for Taybor's jump drive that will enable the humans to make it back to Earth. In exchange, Koenig offers Taybor the Moon--literally. However, it turns out that Taybor really wants something else...he wants Maya! Naturally, the Commander cannot just trade a sentient being and so it looks like, once again, the humans are out of luck--especially since Taybor is about as honest and trustworthy as a politician! Tune in to see what I mean--I won't say more, as I don't want to ruin the show.

Overall, while an interesting episode, I must admit that Goddard's performance was a bit over-the-top. While fun at first, his bit gets old pretty fast. Still, the show is different and worth seeing, though it's certainly not among the best of the series.

A Poor Man's "Harry Mudd."

[clwyd-92205 · 5/10 · 5 February 2019]

The Tabor is another 2nd season episode of SPACE:1999 that is essentially a pale copy of an earlier and better episode of Star Trek. Tabor (Willoughby Goddard) is a jovial, flamboyant intergalactic trader who is far less trustworthy and scheming that he at first appears. Basically, he's supposed to be Harry Mudd.

To Goddard's credit, he plays the part with suitable bombast and slipperiness. It would have worked better in smaller doses. In fairness, it's kind of hard to limit the screen time of your guest star/nemesis of the week. I just wish he'd dialed it down to a 7 or 8 a couple of times.

Another plus in the episode is the pretty decent writing for both Landau's Koenig and Tony Anholt's Tony Verdeschi. Both men are believably suspicious and wary of the too-good-to-be-true offers of Tabor, and Koenig exercises some clever initiative that was often lacking for his character in S2 scripts.

The downsides to the episode are pretty much everything else. We suddenly learn that Dr. Russell can make robotic copies of crew members. We've never seen this technology used before, and I don't think it's ever used again in the show. It's a cheap gimmick to advance the plot. The F/X are subpar, with most of Tabor's collection of wondrous treasures looking like dollar store knockoffs of QVC jewelry. The resolution borrows heavily from "I, Mudd", and isn't humorous so much as it Is cringey.

It's still worth a look, but even by the lowered expectations of S2, it's not one of the better episodes of 1999.

Setting the record straight: plagiarism and this episode

[Flubber69 · 6/10 · 12 September 2021]

Other reviewers posit this episode is a rip-off of the Harry Mudd Star Trek TOS episode. Oh, how wrong they are.

Fact: Harry Mudd was a straight up con artist and drug pushing pimp. Taybor is an intergalactic trader.

Fact: Harry Mudd was suave and sophisticated, flitting about the galaxy with 3 hot babes in tow. Taybor behaves like a lecherous used car salesman and molests Maya at the first opportunity.

Fact: Harry Mudd's receding hairline is clear evidence he suffers the ignominy of male pattern baldness. Taybor's purple mohawk is a clear sign of self confidence and an emblem of nonconformity.

Fact: the Taybor character is not a Star Trek rip off. No way. Taybor is a rip off from Lost in Space TOS. Yep, Taybor is the same type of campy, flamboyant villain "Lost" turned to in Season 2 to battle "Batman" for ratings. The proof is incontrovertible.

Fact: this script refers to "jumping" and "hyperspace" and does this in 1976. That's a full year before anyone heard of "Han Solo". That, my friends, can only mean one thing: this episode did not plagiarize Star Trek at all. No sir. Or madam. It means George Lucas totally plagiarized S1999 to make Star Wars.

Mic drop.

Another Attempt To Be Like Star Trek

[StuOz · 28 May 2021]

A character that resembles Harry Mudd from Star Trek appears.

This episode and the recent "Brian the Brain" are the worst episodes of Space 1999. Both hours attempted to inject comedy into the premise of the series and both failed totally. But it is not just these two shows that bombed in the comedy department.

Thanks to the new misguided producer from the US, many second season episodes had little moments of awkward forced comedy (often in the final minute) that just damaged my memory of Space 1999 as a whole.

But season two has some fine hours, mainly at the start and at the end, it just went through these bumpy moments in the middle. Things will pick up soon.

very disappointing but not the worst

[marcgreenman · 3/10 · 28 November 2019]

This episode features a very loud and overwhelming performance from willoughby goddard, who is far from subtle. he simply overshadows everyone else. i think he was drunk while making this story and it shows. martin landau and tony anholt and catherine schell don't do too badly but one actor swallows most of the screen time. it does have the benefit of being and different. the plot doesn't have much to it apart from taybor saying or doing one dodgy thing after another, koenig fares well as he suspects taybor from the beginning and landau carries off this performance. there is not a great deal of peril and it is all wrapped up fairly neatly with little consequence.