Space Island One

45min

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Drama

Space Island One is a British/German science fiction television series that ran for 26 episodes beginning in 1998. A co-production between the UK's Sky One channel and the German Vox channel, it starred Judy Loe as Kathryn McTiernan, the commander of the multinational crew of the space station Unity. Described as “a mix of Moonbase 3 and Jupiter Moon, but more turgid than either, other sources describe it as "The best science fiction show you've never heard of… The show unflinchingly looks at the implications of for-profit science… and provides the most realistic look ever at life in space, including bone-mass loss. A few episodes are dull, but the show is often surprisingly weird and fun… It also features some of the most complex, believable characters of any television show". Apart from the show's creator, Andrew MacLear, other script-writers for the show included well known TV writer P. J. Hammond, acclaimed science fiction novelist Stephen Baxter and young adult writer Andrew Lane.

Episodes

Cast

Message from Keeler

1. Message from Keeler

45min

7th Jan 1998

Newly arrived environmental specialist Paula Hernandez finds slotting into place with the rest of the Unity team is harder than she expected after her over-curiosity triggers a bomb left behind by her mysterious predecessor.

All the News that Fits

2. All the News that Fits

45min

14th Jan 1998

A visiting journalist uncovers the background to an aborted space mission, as Paula begins her sexual pursuit of Dusan, and Harry has some startling news.

Quarantine

3. Quarantine

45min

21st Jan 1998

Rogue Satellite

4. Rogue Satellite

45min

21st Jan 1998

Dangerous Liaison

5. Dangerous Liaison

45min

4th Feb 1998

A visitor has a personal agenda, which involves the destruction of Unity when his child prodigy, a member of the crew, appears to have turned against him.

Crew Test

6. Crew Test

45min

11th Feb 1998

A group dynamics expert exposes cracks and resentments in the crew by purposely digging into their privacy and provoking arguments and confrontations.

The Barrier Of Second Attention

7. The Barrier Of Second Attention

45min

18th Feb 1998

Sarcophagus

8. Sarcophagus

45min

25th Feb 1998

A devious entrepreneur utilises Unity as a platform from which to perform somewhat questionable space burials for the benefit of new television audiences.

Spring Fever

9. Spring Fever

45min

4th Mar 1998

Crew discipline slides when Kathryn takes ground leave and Shannon is left in charge. An experiment in pheromones results in Paula attempting the seduction of an increasingly distant Dusan.

The Third Man

10. The Third Man

45min

11th Mar 1998

Desperate circumstances aboard a stricken mining vessel result in madness and cannibalism to stay alive after being lost for three years. The survivors are rescued by Unity and attempts must be made to uncover the truth.

Awakening

11. Awakening

45min

18th Mar 1998

A laser, designed to zap space junk, malfunctions resulting in chaos aboard Unity. Shannon's poor health raises concerns with Paula. While tensions aboard Unity climb, Harry, Lyle and Commander McTiernan are unable to be awakened from an induced sleep experiment. Kaveh and Dusan ignore Paula's concerns, and as a result Shannon's health deteriorates resulting in a stroke.

Nemesis

12. Nemesis

45min

25th Mar 1998

Abandoned stealth armoury is accidentally reactivated by one of Shannon's probes and it identifies the space station as a hostile entity.

A Child is Born

13. A Child is Born

45min

1st Apr 1998

The various personal problems of Unity's crew have been driving them apart, but the occasion of the first child to be born in space brings a return to harmony...eventually.

Edge of Night

14. Edge of Night

45min

First air date

7th Jan 1998

Last air date

9th Nov 1998

Status

Ended

Type

Scripted

Original language

en

Networks