Space 1999 - Planets of Peril

Planets of Peril by Michael Butterworth. Novelisation of "The Metamorph", "The AB Chrysalis", "The Rules of Luton" and "New Adam, New Eve". The new series receives a new style of writing. Butterworth has a complicated prose style, heavy with descriptive passages and character insights. The characters sometimes speak and behave melodramatically. Great licence is taken with the scripts and major changes are made in these stories to suit their assembly into one consistent plotline. Only some of this can be attributed to his being supplied with draft scripts. Butterworth acknowledges the never-mentioned backstory that the Alphans have relocated underground. Major changes include: (1) The use of the character names Simon Hays, Mark Macinlock and Jameson (later revised to Tony Verdeschi, Alan Carter and Petrov) as they appeared in the final draft of "The Metamorph". In a schizophrenic attempt to accommodate different drafts of the script, Butterworth has Hays accompany Koenig to Psychon (and sometimes forgetting that he is there) while Verdeschi is left in command of Moonbase Alpha. After the events of "The Metamorph", Macinlock would take a "well-deserved rest" and Alan Carter becomes the main pilot. (2) The mineral that would send the Alphans to Psychon is named Tiranium (as it was also called in the final shooting script). Tiranium is described as a radioactive metal that had replaced plutonium as fuel for the nuclear reactors due to its significantly higher potency and harmless by-products. (3) In "The AB Chrysalis", the shockwaves threaten the Moon directly after the destruction of Psychon. Maya accompanies the reconnaissance party to their planet of origin, not as an official crew member, but at Helena's request to give the girl refugee "something to do" to keep her from grieving over her losses. (With Maya unfamiliar to the Alphans, Butterworth actually makes sense of the filler where Koenig and Carter marvel over her extraordinary ability of mental arithmetic.) (4) Verdeschi replaces Koenig on the Luton survey mission with Maya, in an attempt to force these characters together and accelerate their romance. (5) Maya becomes the newly appointed scientific officer with a desk in Command Centre in "New Adam, New Eve". (6) Benes and Yasko appear in Command Centre together on several occasions.

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