Space 1999: Review: Force of Life

The whole plot centers on Ian McShane’s character, Anton Zoref, who gets possessed by this strange, glowing alien energy source. What makes it great is how he essentially becomes a human vacuum for heat and electricity. Watching him drain the warmth out of regular lightbulbs and eventually move on to freeze his own crewmates to death is genuinely unsettling. McShane completely carries the episode, playing the part with this desperate, cold intensity that makes you feel bad for the guy even while he’s turning people into human icicles.

Visually, the showrunners absolutely nailed the atmosphere here. The contrast between the bright, clean 1970s aesthetic of Moonbase Alpha and the literal, freezing darkness Zoref leaves in his wake builds a serious amount of tension. When the power starts fluctuating and the base goes dark, you really feel the vulnerability of these people surviving on a floating outpost. The sound design and that freaky electronic music score only add to the surreal, nightmare-like quality of the whole thing.

By the time the climax hits at the nuclear generating area, the stakes feel massive. It’s a tragic ending that shows the cold reality of their situation—sometimes you can’t just reason with the unknown, and you have to do whatever it takes to survive. Overall, it’s a solid, memorable piece of television that proves Space: 1999 was at its best when it leaned into heavy atmosphere and psychological dread rather than just trying to copy Star Trek.