Space 1999: Review: Alpha Child

This episode starts with a really heavy concept. Seeing the first baby born on Moonbase Alpha should be a joyful moment, but it turns into a nightmare when the kid, Jackie Crawford, grows into a five-year-old in a matter of minutes. The psychological horror in those first twenty minutes is genuinely top-tier for 1970s sci-fi. The way the mother screams and how the crew tries to act normal while this kid eerily stares at the base’s technology creates an amazing, unsettling atmosphere. It really captures that classic, cerebral “Year One” vibe where everything feels isolated and unpredictable.

However, the episode takes a massive shift in the second half, and not necessarily for the better. Once the alien spaceships show up and we find out Jackie is possessed by an alien fugitive named Jarak, the creepy mystery just evaporates. It goes from a deeply unnerving psychological thriller, reminiscent of The Midwich Cuckoos, to a standard, somewhat rushed alien invasion plot. The transition feels incredibly abrupt, almost like the writers didn’t know how to sustain the tension of the creepy child trope and decided to throw in laser fights and spaceships just to wrap things up quickly.

The special effects and design choices in “Alpha Child” are definitely a mixed bag but still impressive for the era. The alien battlecruiser design, clearly taking inspiration from 2001: A Space Odyssey, looks incredible on screen. On the flip side, Julian Glover running around in a silver skirt as the grown alien Jarak feels a bit ridiculous and dated today. Even so, the practical effects during the rapid aging scene in the incubator still manage to deliver a genuine visual shock.

Overall, “Alpha Child” is a solid, upper-tier episode of the first season, even if it doesn’t fully stick the landing. It shows the exact strengths and weaknesses of early Space: 1999, ambitious ideas and great visuals mixed with inconsistent storytelling. It’s an entertaining hour of television that starts as a masterpiece of suspense before settling into a fun, slightly campy sci-fi adventure.