User Reviews

The great Bernard Cribbins recently gave a wonderful performance as 'Wilf', Catherine Tate's grandfather in 'Dr.Who'. In 1976, he appeared ( sort of ) in another British sci-fi show - 'Space: 1999'.

The Moon is suddenly drawn off course towards a black sun, and Koenig orders mass evacuation. A ship appears on the Command Center screen - it is a Swift, built back on Earth. This one was sent into deep space to explore an unknown world known as 'Planet D'. The pilot sounds overjoyed to make contact with the Alphans. But, when Koenig and Helena venture inside, they find it empty, save for a mobile computer known as 'Brain'. It christens itself 'Brian'.

After a brief trip to Command Center, Brian offers to show Koenig and Helena round the Swift. But once safely aboard, it blasts off, taking the Alphans against their will to the mysterious Planet D...

'Brian' itself is a rather interesting creation, a forerunner to those 'R2D2' clones from late-'70's films such as 'The Black Hole'. It is comical in appearance ( cuboid with a head that looks like a road digger's lamp ), making it all the scarier when it turns evil. Cribbins acts his socks off, both as Brian's voice and its creator, Captain Michael. The 'Planet D' explorers died because Brian did not inform them the atmosphere was poisonous. It has gone insane and only needs the Alphans to supply it with whatever it uses for fuel.

To defeat Brian, Maya impersonates the late Captain Michael. The robot is taken in. She has never heard Michael speak, so how does she know what he sounded like? Its my guess she must have assumed the dead man programmed the robot to sound exactly like himself. It is an annoying plot detail that ought to have been addressed.

Jack Ronder, who also penned episodes of Terry Nation's 'Survivors' ( I'm referring to the original, not that travesty with Julie Graham ), wrote this, and while not a great episode, its fun. The 'love test' Koenig and Helena are submitted to provides some genuine suspense.

Directed by Kevin Connor, responsible for those Doug McClure monster movies joked about in 'Red Dwarf'.

The problem with Space 1999 is that you never really know what you are going to get. Like Star Trek which it seems to be trying to emulate in season two, the episodes can sometimes be quite silly. The basic plot is of a psychotic robot which has killed its crew and wants mortality, but needs the assistance of humans to achieve its aim. Luckily it stumbled across the wandering moon - about as probable as winning the euro millions jackpot twice a week for the rest of your life - and, if you can accept this unlikely event, the storyline has promise. However for some inexplicable reason the robot is given a character which I assume was supposed to be comical, except that it isn't and the whole episode comes across as being silly. A shame really as the idea is good and with a more menacing character it could have been a darker episode and have worked well.

As has been stated previously, stay with the series as it has both ups and downs.

"Oh, no," I thought when I heard that cornball voice inviting itself to lunch. This is gonna be a ripoff of LOST IN SPACE's "Haunted Lighthouse"; the one where a lonely and doddering old earthman invited the Robinsons and Dr. Smith to Thanksgiving dinner. Whew, no, it didn't swipe that episode after all, even if Brian appeared to be an early model of the Robot, and one gone rogue in the spirit of HAL in 2001 or COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT. With the abilities of AI escalating exponentially in 2023, the dangerous threat posed by Brian is looking increasingly prescient.

The spotlight is on Koenig and Helena this time, with Maya and Tony in support. Nick was MIA, so John Hug pinch hit as Fraser. Yasko is a distant second to Sandra, but she tries harder and is given more to do than usual. Guest star Bernard Cribbins is heard more than seen, voicing Brian before turning up as its returned-from-the-dead creator.

Speaking of Cribbins, he was second billed to Peter Cushing in DALEKS' INVASION OF EARTH 2150 AD. When Brian revealed he couldn't climb stairs, I immediately thought of those bumper-car Daleks and was sure that running upstairs would be the way John and Helena ultimately outsmart Brian. Nope, no stairs on the Swift. In fact, what exactly was on the Swift? A cabin for piloting (with a wholly unnecessary sign above the entryway), a Tardis-like console island, and two side-by-side airlocks. No restrooms or vending machines in sight. The Swift looked like the stripped-down 1996 model of our elegantly appointed '99 Eagles.

The Love Dare. I groaned when Brian subjected our protagonists to the test of love because c'mon, we knew exactly how it would end, right? And it took forever to unfold. John and Helena's blunt denials of loving one another were harsh to hear, even if their simultaneous self-sacrificial acts cast doubt upon their words. As commander, perhaps Koenig believed he had to put his crew first, and maybe Helena was simply abiding by the Hippocratic Oath she took as a doctor? Naah, they love each other! As with some couples, they're the last ones to realize it.

Hey, what's with Koenig kvetching about his and Helena's work schedules not allowing them time off together? Who's the commander of Alpha, anyway? Rank has its privileges, and John needs to pull it on the HR director.

During the scene where Tony and Maya realized Alpha was blind, I noticed one of the background extras (who are endlessly recording computer data on clipboards) stopped and glanced at the screen for a fleeting moment before returning to his drudgery. I appreciated that because those data drones appear to be always on-task no matter what crisis is unfolding all around them.

Norman, is that you? Strong climax with Maya playing Michael and making Brian blow a circuit. Shades of that time Kirk, Spock, and Harry Mudd also effectively employed weaponized illogic against the android Norman in STAR TREK's "I, Mudd."

Deja vu all over again with Koenig tricking the villain into an airlock. Remember when he did it before to Balor in "Eternity's End"?

On the subject of endings and eternity, I found the story's conclusion a little muddled. Brian restored Alpha's memory banks and was thus able to keep his own, but would he always and forever be floating outside the Swift, tethered by his tail antenna? And if someone stepping on his tail caused Brian to shriek and to suffer a headache, how would Brian feel having that tail pinched in an airlock door... forever?

This was Jack Ronder's sole script for the series, and while not outstanding it was suspenseful and entertaining all the way through. Both Landau and Bain appeared to be invested and giving it their all, enjoying the generous screentime. Brian, despite his ridiculous appearance and voice, proved a formidable foe.

Of all of the "Space: 1999" episodes, "Brian and Brain" was one of the few which have always stood out in my memory. After having first seen it as a child, I have always considered the episode to be one of my favorites.

In "Brian the Brain," the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha encountered a seemingly friendly robot. Initially, the inhabitants were amused and taken in by the robot's quirky personality. However, the mood on Moonbase Alpha quickly changed once the inhabitants realized that the robot had intentionally crippled their main computer before kidnapping two members of the moon base.

Brian the Brain has always been one of my favorite villains from any science fiction series. Every time I saw this episode, I was always impressed by the charismatic robot's charm and then disheartened by the way the robot ultimately betrayed the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha. Even after having seen the episode more than once, I still found myself wanting to like this robot in spite of its shortcomings. When Brian the Brain revealed his evil intentions, he became an extremely frightening character but still managed to turn on the charm. Michael Sharvell-Martin's portrayal of the robot's personality was one of the aspects of the episode which really made it work well. I also liked the robot's design, everything from his trailing antenna to the way he fit into the pilot's slot on board the Swift ship.

"Brian the Brain" featured a great story. The interactions between Brian the Brain and the other characters were fun to watch. The viewer could feel the hopes of the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha rise and fall as the story went on. The story also presented Commander Koenig and Dr. Helena Russell with an interesting problem to solve. Overall, "Brian the Brain" was a very enjoyable episode to watch.