The Case for Space Hippies

Recently I made a bargain basement DVD purchase and picked myself up a copy of that ludicrous television series from the 1970s, Space: 1999. You know the one: on the 13th of September, 1999, Martin Landau leads an international team of moonies as a nuclear explosion pushes our planetary companion out of orbit and off into the far reaches of space, with the moon occasionally travelling faster than light (to cover the interstellar differences) and then mercifully slowing to take in the scenery of the star systems they pass on the way. With special effects from the Gerry Anderson fold and outfits most decidedly from the 1970s, it was definitely a product of its time.

But, looking back, one thing that now fascinates me is the underlying ethos that comes through in the series. It's completely hippie. There are explosions galore, but when it comes to the characters and some of the underlying themes of the show, it's all about transcendental meditation, joss sticks and high human ideals, including responsibility for actions of the past. Very enlightened.

And it got me to thinking. Where has that thought of thinking gone? Compare this with the most incredible Sci Fi show of this decade, the new Battlestar Galactica, and witness how we view things now: not as a rosy future to be embraced and mistakes taken and dealt with, but more as an age much like now, rife with hatreds and prejudice and incredibly hot babes, where sins of the past come back to punish us. Very different.

When did we get so pessimistic? The positivity of the hippie 1970s, that the world could be a better, greener place by 1999 (though putting all the nuclear waste on the moon did have some negative side effects) seems to have been replaced by a much more negative, defeatist outlook. A "Bob the Builder" attitude seems to have given way to a bit of hand-wringing and battling each other rather than dealing with the bigger problems.

So what happened? The 1980s and the "me" decade, I reckon. The idealism of the commune of hippies saving the world was replaced by the me first mentality. And I think the problem is, as a society, we can never go back from that way of thinking. We still have some hippies left, fighting the good, idealistic fight, completely sure of their moral compass and living a "good" life as that is true to their moral beliefs, but they are rare. But they tend to battle alone.

It's a shame really. Though, if they had their way, we would no longer have a moon to guide us at night.

Verdict: Sci Fi has come a long way, from the light towards the darkness. Or from the hokey towards the damned good. Whichever way you want to see it. Space: 1999 gets 3 Eagles out of 5 for its sheer... self, and the new Battlestar Galactica gets 7 Vipers out of 5 for being so damned good, though it will be interesting to see how they end it...