Considering the overall quality of the second season, I have always found this episode very good, remembering it since my first viewing many (lunar) years ago. The only oddity in the plot is why Maya and Tony stay on an asteroid which is about to explode. The scenes of Koenig in the "mirrors hall" are very intriguing.
6 Reviews
Mutiny!
Flubber6914 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
"John" returns from an asteroid behaving erratically and irrationally. When you touch him, he feels like ice. Everyone with half a brain thinks something is amiss except Alan. He's late getting the memo. Tony calls him a "dumb kangaroo". Apparently unperturbed by this slur, Alan continues to stand behind his "Captain Queeg" until Koenig orders a shoot down of Tony and Maya in Eagle 1.
Inexplicably, "Sandra" returns to the command center this episode and it's awesome.
Moonbase Alpha "Security" maintains it's perfect record of being wildly ineffective.
Pro tip: don't watch this episode drunk. The rotating mirror effects may induce bedspins.
Inexplicably, "Sandra" returns to the command center this episode and it's awesome.
Moonbase Alpha "Security" maintains it's perfect record of being wildly ineffective.
Pro tip: don't watch this episode drunk. The rotating mirror effects may induce bedspins.
"Kalthon Lives!"
ShadeGrenade23 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Koenig and Alan are exploring a jewel-like asteroid which has wandered into Alpha's vicinity. In a cavern that looks like a hall of mirrors, Koenig is duplicated by an unknown alien force. The duplicate overpowers the real Koenig, steals his jacket and commlock, and returns to Alpha in his place.
He orders an energy beam be directed at the asteroid. The others, particularly Helena, think he has gone mad. The beam will use up Alpha's remaining power. She also notices he has become cold to the touch...
Suspecting something, Maya and Tony flee the Moon in an Eagle. The fake Koenig orders that it be shot down...
One of the best episodes from 'Star Trek' was 'The Enemy Within' in which an evil Captain Kirk was created as the result of a transporter malfunction. Here 'Space: 1999' ( ahem ) pays homage, with Commander Koenig undergoing a similar division of personality. Alas, Martin Landau isn't given much of an opportunity to make the 'bad' Koenig particularly interesting. Its a one-note performance.
At the heart of the asteroid is the seed of an alien race known as 'the Kalthon', which the fake Koenig wants revived at all costs. Its never explained what the Kalthon intend doing once they regain corporeal existence. They can't live on the asteroid, and Alpha will have been destroyed as a result of the energy drain. Unless there's an underground hangar full of spaceships we haven't been told about, their chances of survival look very slim. That was the trouble with many of the Fred Freiburger produced '1999' episodes, an idea would be created, but never properly developed or explored.
There are other disappointments too; no big name guest stars, and none of the spectacular S.F.X. we expect from this show. Even the cave looks like the hall of mirrors at Coney Beach Fun-Fair, Porthcawl, Wales. One of the weaker Year 2 stories.
He orders an energy beam be directed at the asteroid. The others, particularly Helena, think he has gone mad. The beam will use up Alpha's remaining power. She also notices he has become cold to the touch...
Suspecting something, Maya and Tony flee the Moon in an Eagle. The fake Koenig orders that it be shot down...
One of the best episodes from 'Star Trek' was 'The Enemy Within' in which an evil Captain Kirk was created as the result of a transporter malfunction. Here 'Space: 1999' ( ahem ) pays homage, with Commander Koenig undergoing a similar division of personality. Alas, Martin Landau isn't given much of an opportunity to make the 'bad' Koenig particularly interesting. Its a one-note performance.
At the heart of the asteroid is the seed of an alien race known as 'the Kalthon', which the fake Koenig wants revived at all costs. Its never explained what the Kalthon intend doing once they regain corporeal existence. They can't live on the asteroid, and Alpha will have been destroyed as a result of the energy drain. Unless there's an underground hangar full of spaceships we haven't been told about, their chances of survival look very slim. That was the trouble with many of the Fred Freiburger produced '1999' episodes, an idea would be created, but never properly developed or explored.
There are other disappointments too; no big name guest stars, and none of the spectacular S.F.X. we expect from this show. Even the cave looks like the hall of mirrors at Coney Beach Fun-Fair, Porthcawl, Wales. One of the weaker Year 2 stories.
fair attempt at a standard sci fi concept
marcgreenman27 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
An evil doppelganger replaces one of the crew and proceeds to cause havoc because no-one realises the truth. I am sure that this idea has been done so many times, and space: 1999 finally uses it too. So it's not the most original idea the series has ever come up with. Two things weigh in this episode's favour though. One is that martin landau is very credible in being evil without doing anything that his character has not done before (koenig has ignored his crew and friends, and he can shout when he is angry, and do unusual things without explanation); you might almost believe it is the real koenig, except landau adds careful clues that it isn't. This is good acting. The rest of the cast dig into the chance to mount an actual mutiny, which provides a new challenge for their characters. The second good point is the kalthon set, a crazy hall of mirrors and crystals with bright lights in some places and shadow in others. Through clever filming and camera angles, martin landau and his double often appear together in the same scene. Likewise, actors standing in place are made to look like images frozen in crystal. This is simple but very effective. There are better episodes but this one is solid, thanks to good acting and attention to detail in the visuals. Watch the beginning and you will see an eagle with a laboratory pod suddenly become an eagle with a standard pod, a glaring error. Nothing else stood out.
See the Alphans battle a giant ball of aluminum foil!!
planktonrules7 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This is a rather weak episode from season two of "Space: 1999". Sadly, however, a weak one is actually pretty good for the second season, as the series had long 'jumped the shark' and there was a huge difference in quality of these newer episodes. The beautiful special effects of season one were gone--only to be replaced by monsters in rubber suits and a lot of episodes recycled from TV's "Star Trek"--which coincided with Fred Freiberger (also from "Star Trek") being brought on as producer and occasional writer. While another review said that this is particular episode was a re-write of a Trek episode, to me it was far less a blatant rip-off and more a substantial reworking of the story idea. So much was new that I didn't mind the similarities.
Koenig and Carter land on a shiny ball of aluminum--at least that is what it looked like when seen from Alpha (talk about crappy special effects!). There, Koenig is replaced by a mirror-image lookalike that is willing to destroy Alpha in order to revive a dormant civilization. Oddly, it took a while to see that this maniacal Koenig look-alike was not the real thing.
Apart from some terrible special effects and some silly acting by Martin Landau, this is a watchable but far from inspired episode of "Space: 1999". The bottom line is that if you are a nut like me who wants to see them all, then by all means watch this light-weight episode. But, if you are not so inclined, keep looking--you could do better with your time.
Koenig and Carter land on a shiny ball of aluminum--at least that is what it looked like when seen from Alpha (talk about crappy special effects!). There, Koenig is replaced by a mirror-image lookalike that is willing to destroy Alpha in order to revive a dormant civilization. Oddly, it took a while to see that this maniacal Koenig look-alike was not the real thing.
Apart from some terrible special effects and some silly acting by Martin Landau, this is a watchable but far from inspired episode of "Space: 1999". The bottom line is that if you are a nut like me who wants to see them all, then by all means watch this light-weight episode. But, if you are not so inclined, keep looking--you could do better with your time.
Seed of Destruction had promise
oopboys12 September 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I love it ..and yes they did not take advantage of the evil John ..which Mr Landau played very well.. I wanted to see more ..maybe the evil John try to be physical with Helena sexually ..the torment of the real John as he was force to watch...or had the evil reflection took over John's body and alpha can't destroy the alien without killing John and doing the almost violent sexual encounter with Helena or even Maya but the encounter was stopped because the real John is fighting to get free from the alien's hold and only John and his love for Helena and vs versa causes the Alien to let loose John and be defeated ...I mean they had everything to make this episode explosive ..as for bloopers if you can call it a Blooper.. But what a blooper it was when the camera showed the evil John image coming out of the mirror.. well um that old adage still stands when a woman is so close to a man and says..is that a your hand in your pocket or your just happy to see me ?..so if you look back at that clip , when the reflection of john came out of the mirror and um he was packing more than a laser and his carrying case his um package was VERY visible .. the camera showed how very well endowed our commander was thanks to those tight skin tight pants they wore ..that was my best part of the entire episode...no it wasn't, but it got me looking closely on every episode and some episodes not just John packages are noticeable but not as clear as John's is in the clip... .. I liked the episode ..but they could have done so much it should had been a 2 part episode.they even could have had the evil john slowly take what makes John human as long as the evil John was still on Alpha..lots of possibilities that wasn't explored..Another blooper as itt were when the Alien mirror was finally called out and the real John put the sonar on to break the mirror alien why did it look like it was a shattering flat mirror instead of the mirror John start cracking like glass and it breaks apart instead of it shattering like a regular mirror when the evil john was a 3 -d image of John and he should have broken into pieces from the form it took..not make it look like it was a flat screen mirror that shattered..I guess special effects was not that advance in the 70's
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