While I watch a lot of shows like Star Trek and Stargate they aren't really my ideal form of science fiction.
I prefer programs that feature reasonably realistic space vehicles and spacesuits, something like the classic 2001 a Space Odyssey - but including action and explosions so it isn't so bum-numbingly boring!
As a result the 1970's television series Space 1999 is nearly perfect for my tastes whilst in the film world Moon Zero Two is my firm favourite.

Made back in 1969 by the British horror specialists Hammer, this was their attempt to cash in on the publics new interest in space travel caused by the Apollo Moon landings. The film starred James Olson as a maverick space pilot caught up in murder and the illegal plans to crash-land an asteroid on the far side of the moon. It was directed by Sir Roy Ward Baker and featured some excellent special effects by the renowned Les Bowie, however its hard to tell if the film was trying to be serious or is actually a spoof, especially after the opening three minute cartoon credit sequence featuring fighting astronauts!
This was one of the film studios most expensive projects and was billed as the first Space Western - unfortunately it wasn't a great success.

The SFX models seem to have disappeared after filming was completed and don't appear to have been used in any other production. However the spacesuits did turn up on numerous occasions, most notably The Double Decker's, Doctor Who and Space 1999.

Having already bought a Space 1999 spacesuit I was eager to add another prop to my collection and so when a Moon Zero Two helmet showed up on ebay I just had to have it.

The helmet had been damaged over the years but was easily repairable. Most of the inner lining was missing and the outside was battered, scratched and affected by the fact that numerous decorative bits had been glued on over the years.

The spacesuits on the film came in many different colours and this helmet being a dark orange colour seemed to suggest that it belonged to the supervisor at Farside Five who gets his head melted by a thruster at the end of the film. But it had been painted several times and so it was not really possible to tell which was the original studio filmed colour, orange, red or maybe one of the hero's light grey ones. However the visor frame was clearly yellow under its orange paintwork indicating that it was originally part of a different helmet, the villain Whitsun's - played by Dudley Foster.

Two screws released the visor, the metal collar was removed and the last remains of the rotten cloth lining were ripped out. Then the helmet could be rubbed over with wet & dry paper to get a clean smooth finish. The metal collar was also given the same treatment but with very fine abrasive paper and then rubbed over with metal polish.
Some minor holes were filled and then the helmet was sprayed with acrylic car paints. As I already have a yellow Space 1999 helmet and I wasn't too sure I liked the orange I decided to go for a red finish.

The interior was now relined using pieces of black velvet. Then blocks of sponge foam, wrapped in more velvet, were glued around the inside as padding to give a nice snug fit.

Finally the dirty scratched visor was carefully cleaned using soap, water and Brasso metal polish. Unfortunately there is one deep scratch but considering how old this item is I guess it's lucky to still be in one piece.

The remains of four of the film spacesuits. Sadly most of the rubber parts have disintegrated over the course of the last 38 years and the fibreglass shells are battered and broken in several areas.
The midsections are like a wet-suit material that, whilst worn, are still usable. White edging is just foam strip, which also covers holes where the rubber is sewn to the shells.

Inside the fibreglass pieces are lined with felt for the comfort of the wearer, heavy duty zips seal the back. Holes have been cut into the back on two suits, Green and Yellow, probably for the wire rigging used for the spacewalks. The Green top section has been lightly oversprayed silver. There are names inside but these relate to the 'Double Deckers' episode and not the film.

As a long time fan of this film I have collected a few photographs over the years. I present them here with a general overview of the film for those of you who haven't seen it before or wish to be reminded of this great classic (!).
Most of the pictures are old publicity photographs, but also included are film frame enlargements from what appears to be an advert for the film and unused SFX shots apparently rescued from the studio floor - Enjoy.

Go find the world you're seeking, Where star's are new in the making, Its time to fly, Deep space is calling you.....

The film opens with astronauts Bill Kemp and Dmitri Karminski salvaging a dead communications satellite in their private Moon ferry 'Moon Zero Two'(featuring the dirty/used spacecraft look, popularized years later by Star Wars)

UNUSED SFX shot of the MZ2 featuring the hatchway open with miniature figure of astronaut Kemp. By now you notice there are no stars visible in the SFX shots and in fact there aren't any in the entire movie.
A technical/budget drawback that actually makes it seem more real because you often don't see stars in real NASA space footage due to the extreme brightness of the sun.

Go far, Go wild, Go lonely, New worlds are there for the taking, I'm set to go, Lets travel just we two...

First view of the Moons surface and we can see the landing site in the distance with the Hyroponics domes. Then pan right to see a small model of the MZ2 approaching with the Moon Arrival Centre in the foreground. Much of the city, including hotel and bar, is built into a rock face.
You can take me soon, I'm goner be riding.....Riding to the Moon...

Take a trek from here to nowhere, Every place looks about the same, Dry as dust and cold is breaking up, I'm as hard as stone again....

Kemp (James Olson) and his co-pilot, Karminski (Ori Levy), enter the Moonport with the salvaged satellite and try to get it passed an over-zealous customs official (Leo Britt). Enter the rich and powerful Mr J.J. (100%) Hubbard (Warren Mitchell) and friends (Amber Dean Smith & Simone Silvera). Also arriving on the scene is Miss Clementine Taplin (a pre-Space 1999 Catherina Von Schell) looking for her brother Wally.
Hubbard's entourage passes through the Arrival centre bumping into Kemps old Space Captain friend (Neil McCallum) who wants Bill to rejoin the Corporation as a passenger pilot. Meanwhile Clementine wants to meet Bill to know if he's seen her brother - but the big news is that Otto von Bech had just died in a spacewreck.
Everyone boards the monorail for a trip to Mooncity. An effective little sequence with model landscapes rear-projected into the windows, which together with the reflection of the actors is again very realistic as Olson ponders if man should ever have come to the Moon.
The moonscape was approximately 30" long, built on tables from carved polystyrene blocks covered in cement dust.
(Pic above) The scale of the model interior can be worked out by the Revill Lunar Lander kit parts on either side of the frame.
Bill isn't too interested in Clem's problem and after a brief tour of the Space Centre and an explanation that her brothers mine is on the far side of the moon (which takes about 6 days by moon bug convoy, or twenty minutes in his ship) he dumps her at a boutique. This is because he has a rendezvous with girlfriend Liz Murphy (Adrienne Corri) who also happens to be an agent for the United Nations Bureau of Investigation. She tells him that following Otto's death he had better replace his rust bucket space tub or she will have to ground him for safety reason's.

Emptyness is all I'm breathing, Stars are dead, Clocks are slow, On the Moon where I'm living, need some help to make me grow...

After the appearance of the Pan Am shuttle in 2001, the Pan Am Moon Express was to appear at the very beginning of Moon Zero Two. However after spending considerable time and money on the sequence it was cut from the movie (apparently at the request of the airline) and is only mentioned on the live-action set and over the radio as MZ2 comes into land.
In this rare UNUSED SFX shot we can see the Moon Express docked at the landing site with a small MZ2 in the foreground.
Why the spaceship should dock a couple of hundred feet above the lunar surface is frankly ridiculous!

Bill heads to the bar at the Moon Hotel where he finds a semi drunk Dmitri drinking a toast to his old dead comrade Captain Otto. Len the barman is played by Sam Kydd who a few years later would appear on The Double Decker's TV series wearing a Moon Zero Two spacesuit. A slight blooper occurs as Olson almost knocks over his chair whilst sitting down and the supposedly drunk Levey instantly grabs it.

Left; trying to enjoy his drink Kemp is interrupted by Harry (Bernard Bresslaw) who wants him to visit Mr Hubbard. The wooden box Olson's chair is perched on isn't actually visible on screen.

Right; a surviving original prop - The bar room dancers are first seen wearing white leotards and these black & white helmets, that are constructed on a wire head frame and then covered with a black vinyl material sewn on in sections. The appendages sprouting from the helmets are simply coat-hanger wire, they are then wrapped in black cotton and again the end sections are simply clear sections of both thin plastic and vinyl. The helmet is then decorated with black plastic discs which are sewn onto the helmet, it is lined with a simple black material liner. The helmets were made by Berman & Nathans. Picture & info courtesy of Simon Greetham Modelled by Jill.

Kemp arrives to find Hubbard playing 'Moonopoly' with his entourage, one of whom is Whitsun (Dudley Foster) who begins to show Bill a film recording of an asteroid - although Kemp is more interested in the bottle of Scotch on the table. Hubbard was getting Otto von Bech to divert the asteroid to a crash site on the far side of the moon but with Otto dead he now needs Kemp and his ship. The asteroid turns out to be 6000 tons of a ceramic crystalline form of corundum aluminium oxide - SAPPHIRE!
Kemp is hesitant to commit a crime but the careful planning and the offer of a new ship makes him agree to help. The next day he loads up and prepares for the first trip to the asteroid with Harry and Whitsun as passengers.
In the departure lounge several drink dispensers feature close up on screen and are just typical 1970's versions with no apparent dressing to disguise them. A strange anomaly in an otherwise impressive set. Product placement maybe?

Its a dry life, Its a hard life, who can make this dancer bloom, I could use a kind of loving, could give someone living room...

Moonbugs load 3 old rocket engines onto MZ2 under the pretext of testing them, but they are to be used to move the asteroid.
Whilst the spacecraft has a mid-section cargo area the lower section is also used for airlocks and storage which begs the question where is all the fuel and oxygen stored?.......................... Stationary Moon Bugs are photo-cutouts (courtesy Hilton Fitzimmons)

The party arrive and set up the three engines that will power the asteroid into close orbit around the far side of the moon.
One slightly poor effect is the matte painting that represents the top of the spacecraft, as only the middle and lower sections were built full size. Kemp stays behind on the asteroid to fire off the three engines manually. This explains that by starting one engine all three will light - which sets the scene for the films climax.
Double exposure of miniature figure spinning away from the model asteroid. One of the more noticeable continuity errors is that the model asteroid doesn't resemble the full size prop at all.

'Are you alright Bill, are you walking home or do you want a lift'.
The bar shuts soon and we need to get to
Part 2

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