We're very thrilled to bring you this exclusive interview with Space: 2099 head-honcho Eric Bernard. Enjoy this little insight into what 2099 is all about:

TTIMEGATE: Eric, thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview for the TimeGate website! First, tell our readers a little bit about yourself.

ERIC BERNARD: I am 38 years old and live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  I have trained in media and communication and I’ve been working as a professional editor for television shows since 1992.  I am currently a Director of Post Production meaning more of my time is spent dealing with scheduling than editing   I always knew that I wanted to work in television.  The day-to-day reality may not be as fun and entertaining as I'd hoped but it always depends on the project I’m working on.

TG: Do you remember the first time you ever saw Space: 1999?

EB: I don’t remember exactly when I first saw Space: 1999, I was around 6 years old. I saw it in English and French and it only took a few seconds for me to become attached to this show and it has been part of my life ever since.  One thing I remember perfectly is when I sat in front of my TV to watch the show and it had been completely changed without any explanation.  That was the beginning of Season Two and I was totally shocked by what I was seeing.

TG: What is it about the show that makes it so special to you?

EB: When I was 6 years old, it was the look and the special effects that captivated me of course. The show was later rebroadcast in French in the eighties and I was still watching every episode.  At the time, I didn’t know that its philosophical stories were also a big influence.  It’s only when I bought the laserdisc in 1994 that I’ve realised that the show was very adult in its story and acting.  Today, if the episode were all like some of the more childish ones of Season Two I would not be doing Space: 2099 and for me it would simply be an old sci-fi show of my childhood.

But fortunately that is not the case and Space: 1999 is for me one of the most adult sci-fi TV show ever made.  I was also a Star Trek fan and never saw Space: 1999 as a copy.  In fact, I believe that Star Trek: The Motion Picture was more inspired by Space: 1999 than Space: 1999 was by Star Trek TOS.  Space: 1999 has a lot of flaws, but name one sci-fi show which doesn’t.  I think that Space could have evolved into a great epic (and long-running) series if it hadn’t been for the bad decisions made by the heads of ITC.  Finally, one very important aspect of the show that I loved was that the Alphans were like you and me, with no super power and still living in our century.  Martin Landau was already in his forties, that made him a believable Commander, not a young hunk with no experience.  So, 35 years later, I still find him as credible as he was then.

TG: Where did the idea for the Space: 2099 project come from and how did you put together the team that's currently working on it?

EB: In 1996, I had an Avid editing room for myself and decided to practice using an episode of Space: 1999 from the laserdisc.  I wanted to solve some error in the special effects and then it evolved with changing the pace in the editing.  In fact I simply wanted Space: 1999 not to get old.  I finally showed my work at the Main Mission Convention in 2000 and the response from the fans was amazing.  I still have kept copies of the hundreds of email I got after that; the whole experience was a real pleasure.  

Since then a LOT of ideas were moving around in my head.  Two years ago, I started to work again on the series with the new Network DVD’s.  My friend Richard Bendell, whom I met at Main Mission, has brainstormed with me since 2000.  At one point, I realised that if I wanted to keep the show as fresh as possible I had to change the title.  Thus, I then started to look at every episode where there were time references and found solutions on how to change it to fit with 2099.  

I believe that the year 2099 was the best choice.  First it sounds almost as good as 1999. Second, if we would have a moonbase the size of Moonbase Alpha on the moon, I don’t think it will be in my lifetime.  

But to achieve all these ideas I had in my head, I knew I couldn’t do it all by myself.  As I had met a few people at Main Mission I decided to contact them. Then I wrote on a few forums about Space and got replies from some of them that had the experience and love of the show I was looking for.  The fact that I was already known from Main Mission really helped!  I can’t say enough how lucky I was to get the assistance of those talented people.  It has been a fantastic experience and they all have been very generous with their time, talent and energy for 2099.  When passion is there, everything seems possible and it has been with them.

TG: The obvious first step in creating an updated Space:1999 is addressing the special effects.  But in all honesty, many of the special effects used in the show were very good for their time.  Are there any original effects shots that you left untouched in the new version?

EB: Plenty.  In fact if I am working so hard to keep Space 1999 fresh, it is mostly because the show's look, design and special effects were all of such high quality. Most of the new effects I am offering use model work of the show that are now adapted with new CGI elements.  When in the original series they use cardboard photos for a planet or spaceship, I am adapting those new scenes with other shots from different episodes and adding CGI background.

I want to keep the original feel of the show; it will not look like the new Battlestar Galactica because it can’t be.  The style, pace and feel of the show require a more classic approach for the effect.  If it was a new series, than it would be different, but this is the original one and I want to respect the spirit of the show while enhancing it for longevity.

TG: Some of the episodes have been slightly re-edited to speed up the pace of some of the scenes.  But re-editing the scenes also means reediting the incidental music.  How difficult a task was that and how was it accomplished?

EB: As strange it may sound, this problem did not occur that frequently.  And since I have access to the original music score, I have used it a few times to create new sequences, like in the episode "Sidon’s Revenge".

Now re-editing the original season two is a more difficult task as it has a lot of loud music that sometime takes over the scene.  I wish I could have access to the episode without music like the Network Season One DVD’s; I would try to use Barry Gray’s music more often to bring the two series closer in style.

TG: One major change you've made is to alter the structure of the seasons.  The original show was two seasons of 24 episodes each, and 2099 is divided up into seasons half that length.  How was that decision reached?

EB: Firstly, I wanted to bring Space: 2099 closer to the type of television we have today.  Today’s series are now in 16:9 format, Space: 2099 has been carefully reformatted into that format…and looks terrific.

Also, current series are more like soaps and have continuity in their storyline. This was not the case for most series of the seventies and eighties, but Space always had some sort of continuity hidden in its story and character development and while making the new chronology I realized that some important episodes could be considered as season ending and opening.  Since many new series today have no more than 13 episodes, I decided to cut the seasons in half.

TG: In reviewing the 2099 episode list there seems to be one missing from the original Season One.  What happened to "Ring Around the Moon"?

EB: This episode is for me the most irritating episode of the first series.  It simply didn’t fit in my new chronology at the time.  With the way the characters interact with each other, the episode needed to be very early in the chronology, but at the same time its flaws were bringing the series interest down which is not very helpful at a beginning of a season.  But for your information, I have recently come up with a solution for this problem and I am working on it at the moment.  Let’s just say that "Ring around the Moon" will now be retitled "The Eyes of Heaven" and will have an important place in the series' stories.  I’ll have to stop there as I’ve already said too much!

TG: After the success of the first season of 1999, Season Two was a big departure for the show stylistically.  Fan opinion of Season Two is very mixed to say the least.  What are your thoughts of Season Two?

EB: Well, I do think Season Two brought some interesting elements. I love Catherine Schell as Maya and the new music has its good moments but I cannot forgive them the fact that they changed the opening sequence.  Also, there was no reason to give up the marvellous Main Mission or to eliminate the philosophical stories.  And worst of all, Victor, Paul and Kano’s departures were never explained. Those were bad moves that shouldn’t have occurred in such an important production.  I wanted to resolve those issues with 2099 and I think I have.  Unfortunately, I do not have all the means of production to complete them all at this time, but I am ready to do it whenever we can get the official go-ahead to proceed with Space: 2099.

TG: It looks like you are proposing a three-season plan for 2099, using only half of the episodes from the original Season Two.  Will there be a fourth season of 2099?

EB: Yes there will be, but I have to keep it to myself for the time being.

TG: And finally, what are your hopes for the future of Space: 2099?

EB: My hopes... (sigh), my hopes are that someone will see the potential there is to bring Space: 1999 into a new future, to keep the original series alive and give it a second life as 2099.  A new timeline that could be the perfect platform for a new series.  

I believe that the series still has a lot to tell.  To do so, Space needs to start in the year 2099.  We could re-imagine the series and redo it all over again, but when the original one looks so amazingly good, why bother?  Why not simply continue the stories of Moonbase Alpha and save the original series from being drastically changed as it would be if it were to be redone or reimagined.  Let’s just adapt the original one and see how well it can do.  

I think this new way of recycling television series could be the wave of the future.  If properly done, the show still can attract a new audience and allow its original one to be seen in a new way, and ultimately isn’t that the best of both worlds?

TG: Indeed! Eric, thank you so very much for taking the time to answer these questions for us. Best of luck to you and to Space: 2099!

[Pictured above: Eric at age 7 in his very first Commander Koenig uniform.]

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View the Space: 2099 trailer here!