Matter of Life and Death (Space: 1999)
An antimatter doppelgänger threatens the Alphans' hope for a new home.
"Matter of Life and Death" is the third episode of Space: 1999's first series. Art Wallace and Johnny Byrne wrote the screenplay; Charles Crichton directed. The working title was "Siren Planet." The final shooting script is dated 8 January 1974, and live-action filming ran from Monday 14 January to Wednesday 30 January 1974.
While surveying the Earth-like planet "Terra Nova," an Eagle is hit by an energy bolt, knocking its crew unconscious. The Eagle returns to Moonbase on autopilot, where the Alphans find an impossible stowaway: Dr. Helena Russell's husband, Lee, a medical officer on a Jupiter-bound ship believed destroyed when it became trapped in that planet's atmosphere and burned up. Alpha's medical technology detects no vital signs from Lee, who is barely coherent and initially speaks only to Russell. When she says she wants to settle on Terra Nova, he becomes agitated and delivers an electric shock that incapacitates them both. Medical imaging shows Lee has normal temperature and metabolism only when Russell is present, suggesting whatever sustains him draws energy from her. Lee remembers being on Terra Nova but cannot recall how long or how he got there. He warns the Alphans the planet is inhabited in a way they would not understand; landing there would confront them with their "opposite," which would "annihilate" them. Failing to dissuade them, he dies. Russell realizes Lee never truly returned.
As Commander Koenig and Russell fly another Eagle survey team to Terra Nova, examination of Lee's corpse shows his cells undergoing polarity reversal—transforming into antimatter. Professor Bergman notes that matter-antimatter collision causes annihilation. The corpse discharges electricity, then vanishes. Bergman contacts Koenig's Eagle, pleading with him to abort before they hit antimatter, but Koenig refuses. Landing on Terra Nova, the team finds a lush, fertile world. Bergman reports that Alpha's atmospheric seals are melting. The Eagle smokes and combusts, then the Moon itself is shattered by a massive explosion. The shockwave devastates Terra Nova, killing the entire team except Koenig and Russell. Koenig sacrifices himself to save Russell from a rockslide. Russell is met by "Lee," who regrets failing to convince the Alphans of the danger. He explains that he and his crew encountered radiation that transported him through space and turned him into a
- episode_number
- 3 (Series 1)
Quick Facts
- Series
- Space: 1999
- Series No
- 1
- Episode
- 2
- Writer
- Art Wallace & Johnny Byrne
- Director
- Charles Crichton
- Production
- SP 2
- Editor
- Derek Hyde Chambers
- Airdate
- 1975-11-27
- Episode List
- List of Space: 1999 episodes
- Prev
- Breakaway
- Next
- The Infernal Machine
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The episode follows the Alphans as they discover an Earth-like planet called Terra Nova. During a survey, an Eagle is struck by an energy bolt, and the crew finds an impossible stowaway: Dr. Helena Russell's husband, Lee, who was believed dead. Lee exhibits no vital signs and is sustained only when near Helena, drawing energy from her. He warns that the planet is inhabited by a power that will annihilate them, then dies. His corpse undergoes polarity reversal, transforming into antimatter and vanishing.
Reader's Guide
Despite Koenig's refusal to abort the survey, the landing on Terra Nova leads to catastrophic destruction: the Eagle combusts, the Moon shatters, and the survey team is killed except Koenig and Russell. Koenig sacrifices himself to save Russell. Lee reappears, revealing he was transformed into antimatter by radiation. He tells Russell to leave, but she begs for help. Embracing him, she gains his power and reverses time, restoring Terra Nova, the survey team, and the Moon. Koenig cancels the settlement plans, and the Alphans leave the system. The episode introduced the character David Kano, played by Clifton Jones, replacing actor Lon Satton. Zienia Merton's arachnophobia led to a script change that killed Prentis Hancock's character and blinded hers.
Did You Know?
- The original script by Art Wallace was titled "Siren Planet" and was rewritten by Johnny Byrne in two weeks, convincing story consultant Christopher Penfold to bring Byrne on staff full-time.
- The electric guitar solo played while Lee Russell goes berserk was conceived and performed by Sylvia Anderson's son-in-law, musician Vic Elmes.
- Anton Phillips, who played Dr. Mathias, named this episode his favorite Space: 1999 episode in a 1995 interview.
- The novelisation by E. C. Tubb made Meta and Terra Nova the same planet and explained the climactic events as a hallucinogenic 'trip' caused by fruit Helena sampled.
More in Space: 1999 episodes 1-24
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