So I am going to be honest here...

MARTIN LANDAU has a long cv of films & Tv and although I've seen him in a few things including NORTH by NORTHWEST, a superb Hitchcock film (although his role here was small) the role that brought him to my attention HAS & WILL ALWAYS BE that of COMMANDER KOENIG (even the name was strange) in the superbly inventive 1970's Gerry Anderson Tv series "SPACE 1999"

As John Koenig he was SUPERB.

Season 1 is clearly the better of the 2 seasons but you can't help but love that one too with Mya (the shape changer)

This series was like a COLOURFUL comic book brought to life for Tv & I LOVED IT, every Sunday afternoon on ITV after my dinner.

Funky multi coloured SPACESUITS, a fun ALIEN MONSTER each week (usually) MOONBASE ALPHA itself with it's TURBO CHUTES, his wife of the time Barbara Bain playing Dr HELENA RUSSELL (with that quietly spoken voice) the communications device with Tv screens that opened doors (COOL STUFF) and the hand phasers wrapped around their knuckles like knuckle dusters, ALAN as chief pilot of EAGLE 1 (damn those EAGLES were COOL too)
The Professor was highly intelligent & got them out of plenty of trouble in that first season.

And you know what despite the somewhat CAMPY feel about it, it works & still works today with some very nice episodes, including one in which Catherine Schnell (Maya in the 2nd season) appeared playing someone else in season 1...I remember even at that young age thinking how attractive she was....BUT it was MARTIN LANDAU's show!!! and he was a GREAT COMMANDER of MOONBASE ALPHA.

He was about the age I am now when he made this so it's sad to reflect on his passing but he holds great 1970's memories for me as a very young child on a Sunday afternoon...no bike rides or football in the park whilst this was on...OH NO.

If ever a BIG BUDGETED Film REMAKE was ripe for the making it's THIS....

SPACE 1999 was COOL.

It's just that back then....around 1976 / 77 I never dreamed we would not have a MOONBASE by now, I actually thought we would have had one & numerous flights to the MOON by the actual year of 1999.

Silly me, we were scared off by what was witnessed up there it would seem & that's a shame!

www.imdb.com/name/nm0001445/

Because I was such a fan of SPACE 1999 at the time & still to this day I do remember back then in the late 1970's BBC2 used to show both The Twilight Zone & The Outer Limits and I think I do remember watching him in both of these older, classic & wonderfully written shows (it is a shame we have nothing like it today on Tv) perhaps the BBC could try some more short horror, sci-fi, fantasy stories? for a change rather than the usual hospital, cop stuff.

I can't really vouch for how good of an actor he was as I saw him in very little to be honest but he certainly made an impression on that 8 year old kid way back then for even today SPACE 1999 holds great memories of what might be in store for we humans one day?
I just didn't expect it taking this long.

Rest Easy Commander.

Now enjoy the very 1st episode...AFTER first hearing the THRILLING THEME Tune & OPENING CREDITS from Season 1



I LOVED this series.

Oh and here is one lucky devil with the phaser & communicator COOL.


And another BONUS for you folks...



ENJOY

Oh ok ONE MORE just for Martin...



Now that was FUN wasn't it?

Don't know why but it brought back memories of TIME AFTER TIME (a wonderful Time Travel movie)