The Dorcons

Lore & Background

The Dorcons are a highly advanced race whose brainstems eventually fail, causing death. They have been hunting down the Psychons to acquire the secret of immortality: a Psychon brainstem, when surgically grafted onto a Dorcon brain, grants virtual immortality. In the episode, an alien probe approaches the Moon, fires an energy beam at Moonbase Alpha, immobilising the crew and scanning their minds before vanishing. The probe then changes its molecular structure to become a spaceship. Maya identifies it as a Dorcon ship and says that its crew are searching for her.

Aboard the ship, the Dorcons debate how to apprehend the last of the Psychons without killing her. Malic, the Archon's son and heir to the throne, proposes an all-out assault on Alpha, but the Archon backs chief advisor Varda's diplomatic approach. Varda contacts Commander Koenig and demands Maya be handed over, threatening to attack. Koenig refuses and puts the base on alert. The Dorcons bombard Alpha with energy weapons, but the base's armaments cannot penetrate their ship. Maya begs to be killed rather than captured. Koenig puts a laser-gun to her head and threatens to kill her unless the attack stops, forcing the Dorcons to cease fire.

Using their meson converter, the Dorcons transport Varda and her guards into Command Center. They overpower the Alphans, seize Maya, and beam her to the ship. Koenig jumps into the beam and follows. Maya is prepared for brainstem extraction while Koenig is restrained. He breaks free, meets Malic, who shoots his own guards and gives Koenig a head start before alerting Varda. Malic then murders the Archon. Koenig rescues Maya, and they head for the converter. Malic declares himself the new Archon, but Koenig fires a laser at the converter, causing the ship to explode.

Reader's Guide

The Dorcons serve as the final antagonists of Space: 1999, providing a conclusive threat that forces the series' regular characters to confront an enemy with overwhelming technological superiority. Their pursuit of Maya for her Psychon biology ties directly to the show's ongoing themes of survival and identity. The episode has had a mixed critical response: SFX magazine rated it a B+, while Dreamwatch gave it 5 out of 10. John Kenneth Muir regarded it as Series 2's best episode, with 'a strong cohesive storyline, an intense pace and incredible production values.' TV Zone magazine commented that even though the script is 'entertaining enough, [...] as a conclusion to a two-year space saga, one might have hoped for something a little more substantial.' Greg Jameson of Entertainment Focus found the episode wanting for a series finale, noting that it 'doesn't resolve the premise of the show.' The Dorcons' meson converters and their quest for immortality are central to the plot, and the episode's production was shaped by budgetary restrictions, with sets constructed from pre-existing flats and set-dressings.

Did You Know?

• The episode's working titles were 'The Last of the Psychons' and 'Return of the Dorcons'.
• The Dorcon vessel's sets were constructed out of pre-existing flats and set-dressings from previous episodes.
• The episode was a replacement for another Johnny Byrne script, 'Children of the Gods', which Byrne wanted for the series finale but producer Fred Freiberger disliked.
• The score was re-edited from previous Space: 1999 incidental music tracks composed for the second season by Derek Wadsworth.