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Space: 1999 Moonbase Alpha Technical Operations Manual
A lavishly illustrated premium hardback with hundreds of brand new illustrations detailing every aspect of Moonbase Alpha's structure, vehicles, locations, technology, and operations.
Based upon the 1970's Technical Notebook, this edition is hugely expanded covering all aspects of the 1975 Gerry Anderson series.
Produced by Anderson Entertainment team led by the extraordinarily talented Chris Thompson the book is a guide to life and technology on Moonbase Alpha.
Standard Edition
A lavishly illustrated 272 page edition of the book packed with information about life on Moonbase Alpha featuring over 250 brand new illustrations.
The book has been produced to feel like the manual given to Alphans as they depart from Earth ready to take up their new position on Moonbase Alpha.
Based upon the 1970's Technical Notebook, this edition is hugely expanded covering all aspects of the 1975 Gerry Anderson series.
Produced by Anderson Entertainment team led by the extraordinarily talented Chris Thompson the book is a guide to life and technology on Moonbase Alpha.
Standard Edition
A lavishly illustrated 272 page edition of the book packed with information about life on Moonbase Alpha featuring over 250 brand new illustrations.
The book has been produced to feel like the manual given to Alphans as they depart from Earth ready to take up their new position on Moonbase Alpha.
- GenresScience FictionReference
272 pages, Hardcover
Published December 1, 2021
2 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Chris Thompson
152 books8 followersChris Thompson is the Artistic Director of St Martins: The Victorian Centre for Youth Arts. A writer and director of many plays for young performers and young audiences, he has also written two feature films and is a regular reviewer of youth literature for Viewpoint magazine and youth theatre for Lowdown magazine. Chris was a member of the Writers' Jury for the 1993 Australian Film Institute Awards. He is currently working with author Geoffrey McSkimming on a stage adaptation of Cairo Jim on the Trail to ChaCha Muchos. His first short story 'The Passing of Aunty Erl' was published in the anthology 'Family: A Collection of Short Stories'.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 31, 2024
At the time I’m writing this, I’m only about 40% finished. But to be honest, that’s enough to know that this is one gorgeous book. This is set up as an in-universe manual that provides an overview of everything a person coming from Earth would need to be comfortably oriented to live on the Alpha Moonbase. The layout, the accompanying text, the art and design of the book is spectacular and clearly a labor of love from everyone involved. This is an indispensable books for any and all fans of Space: 1999. Looking forward to finishing this book very soon.
Update: I’m now about 90% finished and my inner 12-13 year old fanboy is totally geeking out. This book is a gorgeous love letter to Space: 1999 fans all over the world. While it is vastly superior to the original Alpha Moonbase Technical Notebook produced decades ago, it is still an homage and tribute to the work done for that edition.
Final assessment: After finishing this book, I am enormously pleased with the purchase. I hope the publisher might consider doing similar “in-world” volumes for other Gerry Anderson productions, like UFO or Thunderbirds.
Update: they’ve now added a similar book for UFO: SHADO Technical Operations Manual, but still waiting on one for Thunderbirds, maybe someday.
Update: I’m now about 90% finished and my inner 12-13 year old fanboy is totally geeking out. This book is a gorgeous love letter to Space: 1999 fans all over the world. While it is vastly superior to the original Alpha Moonbase Technical Notebook produced decades ago, it is still an homage and tribute to the work done for that edition.
Final assessment: After finishing this book, I am enormously pleased with the purchase. I hope the publisher might consider doing similar “in-world” volumes for other Gerry Anderson productions, like UFO or Thunderbirds.
Update: they’ve now added a similar book for UFO: SHADO Technical Operations Manual, but still waiting on one for Thunderbirds, maybe someday.
March 5, 2023
This is my first book written by Chris Thompson and Andrew Clements which was promoted on the Gerry Anderson website (Little plug there) as the final word on all things Space: 1999. It would appear to be a bit of a daunting task to write a technical manual for a fictional show. Where writers' bibles have evolved over the years, it is unclear just how much technical detail would have been put into such a document back in the mid-70s when this show was produced. It turns out the authors did not let a little thing like this stand in there way and have produced a through analysis of all the technical aspects of this fictional moon base that had long been in operation by the year 1999. Growing up on UFO, 2001 A Space Odyssey, and Space 1999 I had high expectations of just what was in store as the 20th century drew to a close. Yes, there was more than a little disappointment, but it is books like this that help fill that gap.
Ostensibly a manual that is handed out to new personal arriving at Moonbase Alpha, with an introduction by the 9th commander, John Koenig, the book takes the new arrival through all the information they would need to know to adapt to life on the moon. There are detailed layouts of the base itself, the travel tubes that will help you get around, the locations of the lifts (And stairways), communication nodules, and where you can get a bite to eat. Great detail is provided on the individual departments and the equipment they contain. For instance you can find out where to obtain a 3d imaging scanner or a laser rifle, depending on what you have planned for the day! All in all, this a thorough look at the mechanisms and layouts of the base.
Moving on we get a good look at all the spacecraft that inhabit this fictional universe from Hawks, to Eagles, The Meta and Utlra Probes, to smaller craft like the Talon Interceptor. We learn about the nifty little moon buggies, the space suits worn, and lots of other nifty bits and bobs. We even get answers to some questions like: How come the inhabitants of the base experience micro gravity when outside, but normal gravity inside? Even on the spacecraft? (That one bugged me for years!) Or, just how much nuclear waste would need to explode in order to shoot the moon out of orbit, without disintegrating the mass? And, where does their food come from? It is all there and more.
I should also mention the quality of this book shows an attention to detail ensuring it will be on your shelf for a long time. The pages are glossy, the binding is sewn, and the attention to editorial detail is evident. With some terrific Easter Eggs, that I would not dream of giving away, but that are sure to bring a smile to your face, this is an incredible book that is sure to satisfy the yearning fans of the show have for more material Yes, there are the terrific Big Finish audio dramas (Is that another plug?) but if you want something to hold in your hands to take you back to 1975 and the most incredible show you had seen up to that point in time, here it is.
Ostensibly a manual that is handed out to new personal arriving at Moonbase Alpha, with an introduction by the 9th commander, John Koenig, the book takes the new arrival through all the information they would need to know to adapt to life on the moon. There are detailed layouts of the base itself, the travel tubes that will help you get around, the locations of the lifts (And stairways), communication nodules, and where you can get a bite to eat. Great detail is provided on the individual departments and the equipment they contain. For instance you can find out where to obtain a 3d imaging scanner or a laser rifle, depending on what you have planned for the day! All in all, this a thorough look at the mechanisms and layouts of the base.
Moving on we get a good look at all the spacecraft that inhabit this fictional universe from Hawks, to Eagles, The Meta and Utlra Probes, to smaller craft like the Talon Interceptor. We learn about the nifty little moon buggies, the space suits worn, and lots of other nifty bits and bobs. We even get answers to some questions like: How come the inhabitants of the base experience micro gravity when outside, but normal gravity inside? Even on the spacecraft? (That one bugged me for years!) Or, just how much nuclear waste would need to explode in order to shoot the moon out of orbit, without disintegrating the mass? And, where does their food come from? It is all there and more.
I should also mention the quality of this book shows an attention to detail ensuring it will be on your shelf for a long time. The pages are glossy, the binding is sewn, and the attention to editorial detail is evident. With some terrific Easter Eggs, that I would not dream of giving away, but that are sure to bring a smile to your face, this is an incredible book that is sure to satisfy the yearning fans of the show have for more material Yes, there are the terrific Big Finish audio dramas (Is that another plug?) but if you want something to hold in your hands to take you back to 1975 and the most incredible show you had seen up to that point in time, here it is.
November 10, 2022
A beautifully printed, bound , and presented book, produced by Anderson Entertainment, centred around TV Producer Gerry Anderson’ s arguably, most ambitious project , that being the two seasons of Space 1999 , which were first screened in the UK in the mid 1970s
At the time it was the most expensive TV series made in the UK up to this point, and it was seen as being Britain’s answer to the hugely popular Star Trek series from the States
The premise was an International Moon Base ( Alpha ), is blown out of Orbit with Earth by a nuclear accident, and the moon ends up spinning through the outer reaches of space with the human contingent exploring, engaging with various Aliens, and looking for ‘ a new Earth ‘
Unfortunately Space 1999 wasn’t the hit the producers hoped, but has since become a Cult Classic, which eventually led to this publication
I’m not the biggest fan of ‘ Space 1999 in the world , and I invested in this hefty tome , on the basis of my high regard for Gerry Anderson’s work over many decades , and my enjoyment of the weekly GA Podcast , and my liking of the team carrying on this particular torch, presenting Gerry’s work to a modern audience
I would say right out of the gate , this one ,in my opinion,is really a fans only book , the idea being, the detailed information, beautiful photographs, artwork, and crew bios, have been compiled to help a new recruit to Moonbase Alpha settle in ( pre Breakaway) to Lunar life as smoothly as possible
This book is a lovely tribute to a hugely ambitious and imaginative (cinematic ?)project back in the day , and is clearly a labour of love , by the writers and illustrators , but as I alluded to earlier, the detail was slightly exhaustive to this non super fan ( by the time of broadcast, this reader had grown up slightly, and moved on to other interests )
That said , this book could be fascinating to Syfi fans who are perhaps unaware of this series, or to fans of 70s pop culture, and cult TV
At the time it was the most expensive TV series made in the UK up to this point, and it was seen as being Britain’s answer to the hugely popular Star Trek series from the States
The premise was an International Moon Base ( Alpha ), is blown out of Orbit with Earth by a nuclear accident, and the moon ends up spinning through the outer reaches of space with the human contingent exploring, engaging with various Aliens, and looking for ‘ a new Earth ‘
Unfortunately Space 1999 wasn’t the hit the producers hoped, but has since become a Cult Classic, which eventually led to this publication
I’m not the biggest fan of ‘ Space 1999 in the world , and I invested in this hefty tome , on the basis of my high regard for Gerry Anderson’s work over many decades , and my enjoyment of the weekly GA Podcast , and my liking of the team carrying on this particular torch, presenting Gerry’s work to a modern audience
I would say right out of the gate , this one ,in my opinion,is really a fans only book , the idea being, the detailed information, beautiful photographs, artwork, and crew bios, have been compiled to help a new recruit to Moonbase Alpha settle in ( pre Breakaway) to Lunar life as smoothly as possible
This book is a lovely tribute to a hugely ambitious and imaginative (cinematic ?)project back in the day , and is clearly a labour of love , by the writers and illustrators , but as I alluded to earlier, the detail was slightly exhaustive to this non super fan ( by the time of broadcast, this reader had grown up slightly, and moved on to other interests )
That said , this book could be fascinating to Syfi fans who are perhaps unaware of this series, or to fans of 70s pop culture, and cult TV
September 1, 2022
An interesting read on the technical background of the Space:1999 universe... which is a tall order given the almost exclusive improvisational background that was made up from one episode to another and completely inconsistent. Not to mention tying to come up with a plausible explanation of how the exploding nuclear waste on the far side of the moon hurled it out of orbit in the first place! The authors do about as good a job as possible with all this. The real standout is of course all the artwork and technical drawings, which are alone worth the price. This volume is a far cry from the 1977 Alpha tech manual (which I preordered back in the day and still have!) and draws from the earlier work. If you are a fan of Space: 1999 you will want this book!
January 31, 2022
Great book. So much information, superbly presented and full of facts you didn’t know you needed. From operations, maps, layout, equipment, spacecraft (the wonderful Eagle has plenty of coverage), clothing, weapons and aliens it has it all. Highly recommended for fans and sci-fi enthusiasts.
December 18, 2021
Recent Reads: Moonbase Alpha Technical Operations Manual. From Anderson Entertainment, an in-depth in-universe guide to the workings of Space 1999's moonbase and all its equipment. Now know everything there is to know about Eagles and much much more! One for the serious fan.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews