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Big Finish Space:1999 audio dramas continue in 2021

By John Freeman on July 25, 2020

The countdown has begun. Big Finish’s smash-hit audio drama re-imagining of Gerry Anderson’s 1970s ITV sci-fi classic, Space: 1999, will return in 2021 with a brand-new box set of adventures.

In Space: 1999 – Breakaway, released by Big Finish last year, after the Apollo missions of the 1960s and early 1970s, the re-imagining posits a world where space exploration was very nearly abandoned as public pressure mounted for money to be concentrated on problems down here on Earth. But, by a whisker, funding was granted for a base on the Moon. Greatly expanded, it became the international Moonbase Alpha. 311 personnel serve in a perfect, self-sustaining, artificial environment their mission statement, “to forward the frontiers of human knowledge and science”.

On 13th September 1999, the interplanetary Meta Probe is due to be launched from a platform orbiting the Moon. What could possibly go wrong?

Three new stories will pick up where the much-acclaimed Space: 1999 – Breakaway left off, journeying into the unknown, after the Moon was ripped from Earth’s orbit and flung into deep space.

Led by intrepid Commander John Koenig (Mark Bonnar) and Doctor Helena Russell (Maria Teresa Creasey), also reprising their roles from the first adventure are Commissioner Simmons (Tim Bentinck), Professor Victor Bergman (Clive Hayward), pilot Alan Carter (Glen McCready), scientist Sandra Benes (Susan Hingley) and operations officer Dashka Kano (Amaka Okafor).

Space: 1999 – Volume 1 is now available to pre-order from Big Finish direct at the special price of £19.99 as a collector’s edition three-disc CD box set or £16.99 as a download, from Big Finish, with a Special Edition limited edition set to be released by Anderson Entertainment, following on from the sell-out special edition of Breakaway.

In the new stories, the Moon has been sucked through a wormhole in space and has arrived countless miles away from its proper place. The crew of Moonbase Alpha can only guess at the resultant devastation left behind on Earth, and must decide how best they can survive. Some Alphans find it difficult to let go of the notion of returning to Earth, others are facing the reality that they must find another home to ensure the survival of the human race. They can’t survive on Alpha indefinitely.

Dead ahead of them is the planet they call Meta, the planet that apparently transmitted a signal which caused their predicament. But as their Moon drifts ever onward through space, there are other planets offering hope…

This brand-new three-disc box set will contain two entirely new stories, and one adaptation of a classic 1970s TV episode: The Siren Call by Andrew Smith, Death’s Other Dominion, adapted by Roland Moore, and Goldilocks by Andrew Smith.

Joining the cast for the first time are guest stars Anthony Howell (as Stenbar, leader of the Velarian people), Chris Jarman (as Dr Rowland, leader of the Neptune probe expedition) and Nicholas Asbury (as Jack Tanner, commander of the Neptune probe).

“The really exciting thing for me was how the stories really came to life when the cast got hold of them,” enthuses Director and Script Editor Nicholas Briggs, “After hearing Breakaway, they were confident and bursting with energy and excitement about their characters. They have quickly become my favourite team to direct.”

• Buy Space: 1999 Breakaway from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) | Buy it from Big Finish

• Pre-order Space: 1999 – Volume 1 from Big Finish direct at the special price of £19.99 as a collector’s edition three-disc CD box set or £16.99 as a download

• Space: 1999 Hub on the Big Finish web site

• Anderson Entertainment

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.