History YMMV / Space1999

** The show have some extremely poor matte paintings, mostly in the case of the surface of alien planets.

** The show has been nicknamed ''Space: £19.99'' because some (not all) of the special effects are rather cheap-looking. It is sometimes claimed that this refers to the whole series being a low-budget effort, but this was definitely not true at the time: in 1975, it was the most expensive TV series ever made.
** The spaceship FX are extremely high quality, and usually achieved using double-exposure rather than blue screen. This means the images are captured on the original negative and don't suffer from extra grain, although this does limit the angles that can be used. On the other hand the show does have some extremely poor matte paintings.
** As has been said, the overall production value was very high, approaching feature-film quality in many areas. The fly in the ointment is the writing; many cast members have made the point that the producers seemed more interested in the special effects than the scripts. That said, some of the actors rose above the material and there are some excellent character scenes, mainly those involving Creator/BarryMorse as Professor Victor Bergman.

** Allegedly thanks to the low budget; inevitably, it was nicknamed ''Space: £19.99''. At the time, it was the most expensive TV series ever made, so either the critics didn't check their facts, or focused on the failed special effects (some of which do indeed look rather cheap) rather than the good ones.

** Many of the customs worn by the aliens encountered during the series were almost ridiculously over the top, though that was not uncommon in SF series of the period.

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: ''Two'' of them in "The Bringers of Wonder." First, part one begins with Koenig flying back in his Eagle, having had his brain made loopy by the aliens. The giggling and chortling, loud whooping, and wildly manic expressions Martin Landau adopts have to be experienced to be believed. Secondly, when one of the MonsterOfTheWeek aliens, disguised as a gorgeous (and notoriously vamp-y) woman from back home, starts putting the moves on Tony, Maya [[GreenEyedMonster immediately glowers]] and turns into a monstrous creature behind her back. Just as she's about to strike, Tony sees her and quickly (but non-verbally) urges her to cut it out; the alien turns to see Maya back in her humanoid appearance, and both her disarming pose and innocently smiling expression are hilarious and ''priceless''.

** As has been said, the overall production value was very high, approaching feature-film quality in many areas. The fly in the ointment is the writing; many cast members have made the point that the producers seemed more interested in the special effects than the scripts. That said, some of the actors rose above the material and there are some excellent character scenes, mainly those involving Barry Morse as Professor Victor Bergman.

** Despite the first-season uniforms being designed by famous fashion designer Rudy Gernreich they didn't look very cool or interesting even back in 1975. It didn't help that the uniforms were designed not just to be unisex, but to de-emphasize the women's bodies (they were rather loose-fitting and worn without bras) - the effect was more bland than interestingly androgynous. Both the Andersons admitted later that Gernreich's involvement was far more for the "marquee value" of his name in the opening credits, making the show look as prestigious as possible, than because they thought he'd be the best person to design the uniforms. The fact that Gernreich was a personal friend of Barbara Bain also played some part in it. It was not entirely surprising that for the second season, the uniforms were changed without Gernreich's involvement, both to make the somewhat more colourful and more feminine or masculine depending on the wearer.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Dave Reilly from "All That Glisters" is played by Creator/PatrickMower, who would later be best known for playing Rodney Blackstock in ''Series/{{Emmerdale}}''.

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments:
** John and Victor's warm conversation as the moon approaches the Black Sun [[spoiler:and their conversation with the "cosmic intelligence" as they go through]].
*** Particularly Victor gently protesting John's toast to "what could have been" and insisting they toast to "what was".
** "We're all aliens until we get to know one another"
** Victor's farewell recording in "War Games", where he gives a brief history of Alpha, explains why humans were in space to begin with (to learn) and gives a soft plea that someone someday find the log is almost as touching as ''Film/BladeRunner''[='s=] "Tears in Rain" speech. The themes are so similar that Victor's speech almost feels like a forerunner to "Tears in Rain".

** Victor's farewell recording in "War Games", where he gives a brief history of Alpha, explains why humans were in space to begin with (to learn) and gives a soft plea that someone someday find the log is almost as touching as ''Film/{{BladeRunner}}'s'' "Tears in Rain" speech. The themes are so similar that Victor's speech almost feels like a forerunner to "Tears in Rain".

** "Dragon's Domain" uses Tomaso Albinoni's "Adagio in G Minor"[[note]]Actually (according to Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}) written by Remo Giazotto[[/note]], later made famous by its use in ''Film/{{Gallipoli}}'', to great effect.

** Victor's farewell recording in "War Games", where he gives a brief history of Alpha, explains why humans were in space to begin with (to learn) and gives a soft plea that someone someday find the log is almost as touching as ''Film/BladeRunner''[='s=] "Tears in Rain" speech. The themes are so similar that Victor's speech almost feels like a forerunner to "Tears in Rain".

* IdiotPlot: Many episodes, especially in the second season, had the plot depending on strange decisions by the characters, so much so that even Creator/MartinLandau complained (in particular, he hated "All That Glisters"[[note]]as did the rest of the cast[[/note]] so much that he threatened to quit).

** Victor's farewell recording in Wargames, where he gives a brief history of Alpha, explains why humans were in space to begin with (to learn) and gives a soft plea that someone someday find the log is almost as touching as Blade Runner's "Tears in Rain" speech. The themes are so similar that Victor's speech almost feels like a forerunner to "Tears in Rain".

* WhatTheHellCostumingDepartment: Despite the uniforms being designed by famous fashion designer Rudy Gernreich[[note]]In the first season - they were changed in the second season without Gernreich being involved.[[/note]] they didn't look very cool or interesting even back in 1975. Both the Andersons admitted later that Gernreich's involvement was far more for the "marquee value" of his name in the opening credits, making the show look as prestigious as possible, than because they thought he'd be the best person to design the uniforms. The fact that Gernreich was a personal friend of Barbara Bain also played some part in it.

* {{Narm}}: Suffice to say, the show did have its moments, especially during the infamous [[SecondSeasonDownfall second half]]. For just one example, "All That Glisters" features a character named Reilly who, though born and raised an Irishman, affects the persona of an American cowboy due to spending much of his adult life in Texas, complete with a Stetson ten-gallon hat, cowboy boots and frequent use of Western colloquialisms (which contrast rather jarringly with his thick brogue). Then there's the fact that the episode itself centres around the characters being terrorized by an immobile silicon-based entity - essentially an ''intelligent rock''. It's probably no surprise therefore that Martin Landau and the rest of the cast hated the episode so intensely.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: The whole series might actually make more sense if viewed as [[RecycledInSpace Fantasy IN SPACE]] rather than ScienceFiction.

** Alan Carter was originally planned to be written out as part of the cast changes for Season Two. However, when the producers learned how popular he was with viewers, he was kept on and given an expanded role.

* WhatTheHellCostumingDepartment: Despite the uniforms being designed by famous fashion designer Rudy Gernreich[[note]]At least in the first season - they were changed in the second season.[[/note]] they didn't look very cool or interesting even back in 1975. Both the Andersons admitted later that Gernreich's involvement was far more for the "marquee value" of his name in the opening credits, making the show look as prestigious as possible, than because they thought he'd be the best person to design the uniforms.

** In particular, the quality of the special effects seems to break the base between those who like the special effects for being quite good for the era, and those who focus on the cheap-looking, failed effects. There is something to both of these views; it's probably a question of seeing the glass as half empty or half full.

** Allegedly thanks to the low budget; inevitably, it was nicknamed ''Space: £19.99''. At the time, it was the most expensive TV series ever made and many of the effects still stand up today, so either the critics didn't check their facts, or just thought the show ''looked'' cheap.

** Also [[TheProfessor Professor]] [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist Victor]] [[CoolOldGuy Bergman]]. The man was loved enough by fans that three of the official ExpandedUniverse novels ("Survival", "Alpha" and "Omega") showcase his (only briefly alluded on in a deleted scene) BusCrash between seasons ''and'' then go to work on bringing him BackFromTheDead. "Survival" was even liked enough by Bergman's actor (Barry Morse) that he wrote a foreword for it!

** "Dragon's Domain" uses Tomaso Albinoni's "Adagio in G Minor"[[note]]Actually (according to Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}) written by Remo Giazotto[[/note]], later made famous by its use in ''Film/{{Gallipoli}}'', to great effect

* IdiotPlot: The second season, especially -- so much so that even Creator/MartinLandau complained (in particular, he hated "All That Glisters"[[note]]as did the rest of the cast[[/note]] so much that he threatened to quit).

* WhatTheHellCostumingDepartment: Despite the uniformsbeing designed by famous fashion designer Rudy Gernreich[[note]]At least in the first season - they were changed in the second season.[[/note]] they didn't look very cool or interesting even back in 1975. Both the Andersons admitted later that Gernreich's involvement was far more for the "marquee value" of his name in the opening credits, making the show look as prestigious as possible, than because they thought he'd be the best person to design the uniforms.

* WhatTheHellCostumingDepartment: Despite the uniforms being designed by famous fashion designer Rudy Gernreich, they didn't look very cool or interesting even back then. Both the Andersons admitted later that Gernreich's involvement was far more for the "marquee value" of his name in the opening credits, making the show look as prestigious as possible, than because they thought he'd be the best person to design the uniforms.

* IdiotPlot: The second season, especially -- so much so that even Martin Landau complained (in particular, he hated "All That Glisters"[[note]]as did the rest of the cast[[/note]] so much that he threatened to quit).

* CriticalResearchFailure: "The Metamorph" explains how an Eagle is desperately searching for the "rare metal" that is... titanium.
** Titanium is common. Deposits of titanium ores rich enough to be worth processing are not.