User Reviews

Dark, dark episode of Space:1999 - arguably the scariest episode of any TV series from the Seventies. The economy of Dragon's Domain is striking ; How this was achieved in 50 minutes is a real tribute to the director, Charles Crichton, and writer, Christopher Penfold. The flashbacks are most effectively placed in the story, and it is really fun to see pre-Alpha Doctor Russell, sporting an upswept hairdo and looser, more liberated body movements (she could be rather stiff at times!). I think the slightly abstract monster is wonderfully realized, and its regurgitated victims are one of the most vivid TV memories of my boyhood.

This is a special episode because it's all about the history of the people on moonbase. It's being narrated by Dr Helena Russell which gave it a movie atmosphere but not only that. It also has creepy music on board ans some excellent effects done on-camera with a monster. And that part makes this an outstanding episode.

Going back in time before the disaster of 13th September 1999 we also see them on earth and on the moonbase before the moon leaves earth's orbit. But not only that, we do go a lot in space too with various spaceships to discover.

The acting is excellent too even as we don't see the normal crew that much, it's all about another crew discovering a new planet. It's Gianni Garko who really takes this episode to another level.

For many fans this is the best episode of season one, for me it was the best one too.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 4/5 Story 4/5 Comedy 0/5

Space 1999 wasn't a huge success in America, and that seemed to result in it often being shown in off-prime times. I was a child in the 70s. I don't recall exactly when this was shown, but I suspect it was a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. I think it slipped through the cracks, considering I was probably 6 or 7 years old.

The dragon is absolutely terrifying. Even as a much older adult, and seeing the obvious puppet, it's still pretty darn effective. The mind control aspect is terrifying to the viewers and the fellow crewmembers, bewildered as they watch their fellow crew run into the arms of this thing.

Even worse, it immediately ejects the burned, charred and smoking corpse! Sheesh!

This ep shows one of the reasons this show was a flop. The people of Alpha are too much like real life people... you want heroes in your TV, at least in this era. Helena is real here in a sense that she sticks with her belief the guy was lying about the dragon... Even when there is plenty of evidence supporting it, as Koenig does point out.

Victor is good here (as usual) when they reach the ship graveyard, when he points out that it does look like flies caught in a spider web. That's intelligently written and well played by Morse, subtly (slightly) saying he thinks Tony's story is true, hence Helena is being stupid.

When I saw this when I was younger this literally gave me nightmares for years and still does - an awesome piece of horror well before Alien or The Thing and even now it still holds up to scrutiny.

A well deserved 10/10 which I do not give often which means its the best I have ever seen in any episode of a tv series rivalling even early Doctor Who episodes with John Pertwee and Davros!

Scariest episode of any show from the 70s. I have never posted anything of any kind online chat rooms or comments. This episode scared the hell out of me when I saw it when I was 10. The Special effects for back in the day, so to speak, were absolutely awesome! It Gave me nightmares

There seems to be a theme of 10 year olds being scared by this episode back in 1975. Well, I was a 10 year old back then and I can add my name to the list. Having just watched it again I can see why. The special effects are good by 1970's standards and the storyline is one of the better plots.

I usually evaluate an episode knowing when it was done and technology available so I can understand how much effort was done to film the episode. Space came out in time where TV was not used to quality productions and always a happy ending. Dragon's domain was one of the scariest episode I watched along with the ending of Force of life. The monster -for its time and costs - was beautifully done and you see even when it excrete its victims. It is "Alien" in Space 1999. As for the story we see human drama in this episode, something that Space was criticized for not caring too much. This show was contemporary with 6 million dollar man, bionic woman, wonder woman, etc..

This one remained in my mind for years after i saw it as a kid. there was never much in the way of gore on this show, so the smoking, partially digested bodies of the crew of the ultra probe sliding out of the monster's belly and along the deck like little children coming down a slide was a grabber when i first saw this. i was such a fan, i would run around the house right before it came on, singing the theme song.

as far as story, well, it isn't much, but it does have some nifty flashbacks to the crew before they left the earth's orbit. a discredited pilot returns from a probe mission with a crazy story of a monster and a field of abandoned spaceships. hmmm....5 years later, i wonder where the moon is headed...

you have to love the beginning and ending shots of this episode, with dr. helena dutifully recording her little report on moonbase stationary on a cute little orange electric typewriter (where on earth - oops - on moon - did she get replacement ribbons?). when john grabs it from her to read, it's only a page and a half long!

Captain Tony Cellini is being plagued by intense vivid nightmares , so much so that Dr Helena Russell is concerned by his mental state . Is Cellini succumbing to insanity caused by the guilt of a failed space mission several years earlier or are his delusions of a space monster based in reality ?

This is a slightly atypical episode of SPACE 1999 . Instead of the usual pretentious esoteric nonsense that'll have you shaking your head asking WTF was that episode about ? We have a very simple episode featuring a giant rubber octopus . Okay it's all very low brow and could have been a slightly modified episode of DOCTOR WHO but if anyone has vague memories of SPACE 1999 this may well be the episode they remember

The narrative storytelling is again slightly atypical from the rest of the show where Helena recounts Cellini's tale through use of flashback and how he commanded a space mission in 1996 that came across a spaceship graveyard and the scouting party are attacked by an alien . These scenes have a very effective impact and you can feel the genuine sense of wonder as the humans venture beyond the realms of Earth . The episode also features some of the most impressive model work and appears truly cinematic

If there's a downside it's that you can never make a giant rubber octopus appear all that convincing on screen and director Charles Chrichton doesn't entirely succeed in making the monster 100 per cent convincing but its initial appearance where it appears as a light emanating from a derelict spaceship along with the noise and wind effects and the way it kills its victims has an unearthly eldritch punch on the audience

In summary along with Earthbound and possibly Force Of Life this is the highlight of season one of SPACE 1999 , a show that quickly shot itself in the foot due to its pretensions . One wonders if the show might have been a much bigger success if it had kept its deadpan serious nature but had a monster of the week type gimmick ? This might have limited the storytelling but would have made for a much entertaining programme

The absolute best episode in the series. The Capt with nightmares was magnificent with his performance and pathos. You felt for him. You suffered with him. You wanted him vindicated. It's been many years since I saw this episode but I will never forget it. If you can see this one all involved were excellent.

This is an unusual episode of "Space: 1999" because unlike the rest because much of it is told through flashbacks narrated by Dr. Russell. It seems that Tony Cellini is an emotionally scarred Eagle pilot on Moon Base and he's suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. How he got that way is what the flashback is all about--and it's a pretty weird one. It seems that way back in 1996, Cellini was in command of a mission to a far off planet. However, when he alone came back in a command capsule many months later, his story about a 'space monster' were taken as either the ravings of a lunatic or a story he made up to cover up his own incompetence. Surprisingly, however, the man's recent flashbacks turn out to possibly be related to the presence of the monster, as all the wrecked ships that were adrift because of the monster suddenly appear nearby! Now considering this was nowhere near where they were three years ago and they apparently coincidentally drifted to the exact same position the rogue moon now approached, it strains the plot quite a bit--even for sci-fi! Unfortunately, Cellini's obsession with the monster turn out to be pretty much identical to Captain Ahab's obsession with Mob Dick. In fact, he's even loonier than Dr. Russell suspected, as he has a hidden plan to steal a ship and take on the crazy beast all alone! And, in the process, he might be risking his fellow Moon Base officers.

Aside from Moby Dick, this theme of a monster who must be destroyed is quite similar to the one where Captain Kirk is determined to destroy a weird cloud that kills in "Obsession"--so similar that you really have to see "Dragon's Domain" as a bit of a retooling of the story from a decade earlier. This is not a huge complaint--as it's still a good story. Unfortunately, however, Cellini's character is just a bit too stupid to live AND the monster is one of the silliest creations in the show's history--looking almost laughably silly. A case of a pretty good episode with rather crappy job of special effects. Worth seeing but far from perfect.