There’s nothing quite as illuminating as visiting a sci-fi conference and realizing that more than 5,000 model makers are in attendance. It was an eye-opener for actor/producer Nick Tate, who played the stalwart Alan Carter in TV’s Space: 1999 back in 1975. “I thought they wouldn’t take any notice of me because they’re so interested in the models, but I was overwhelmed with the reaction from these guys because they love the Eagle Transporter in the show, and they know that my character Alan Carter was the pilot. I was signing model Eagles, which was extraordinary to find yourself doing.”

Tate may be doing more of that in the near future, thanks to Jeffrey Morris. The filmmaker is diligently raising funds via Kickstarter to produce his much-anticipated documentary The Eagle Has Landed. The doc will feature interviews with Tate and co-star Barbara Bain, who played Dr. Helena Russell on the show, not to mention the interviews with Oscar-winning special effects titans and production designers. The main focus of the doc captures the public’s fascination with the show’s iconic Eagle Transporter. Nick Tate opened up about the show, his character, and the fan fervor in this exclusive MovieWeb interview.

To the Moon, But Not Back

Sci-fi shows like Star Trek, Lost in Space, UFO, Planet of the Apes (remember that one?), V, and so many others informed the movies, television, and streaming series we enjoy today. Nick Tate is quick to note that Space: 1999 came out at a particularly interesting time in history. “People were very interested in science fiction at the time,” he said, adding:

“They all loved Star Trek, and we came on air seven years after that show ended. People were hungry for a new science fiction series with real people in it. And the Andersons decided in their wisdom not to try and make a knockoff of Star Trek, which was very fanciful and had people going into hyper space and being able to transport themselves, which we weren’t able to do in our show.”

The plots of the show, which was created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and also starred Martin Landau, found the Moonbase Alpha crew in a bevy of misadventures after a massive explosion throws the moon from orbit and into deep space. The premise took off.

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“We were on a moon that was at the mercy of being kicked out of the Earth’s orbit,” Tate explained. “And the truth is, of course, that the moon would have been traveling very slowly compared to anybody that could go at the speed of light. So, there were different journeys that were proposed to be had by the people on the moon. The Andersons decided that they were going to make a science fiction show, and they wanted [science fiction writer] Arthur C. Clarke and scientific sci-fi writers. That was the idea with Space: 1999. And I think that a lot of Star Trek fans did love it, and they came over.”

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There was a bit of brouhaha about Trekkies coming over to Space: 1999, in fact. “They were seen somehow or other as traitors,” Tate noted. “Toward the end we garnered quite another kind of viewer, people that wanted to have things that were more based in scientific fact, and that appealed to me as an actor — to accept that challenge. I loved my role in the show but I’m not a fan of science fiction in general. Some of the Star Wars movies and things that have been done since are fabulous, wonderfully done, and they’re hugely spectacular. But I tend to like very down-to-earth, nitty-gritty drama, or outlandish comedy from a personal standpoint as an actor.”

The Impact of Success

Decades after the show launched, Tate still notices how much buzz the show has. It remains pop culture phenom, which is why the upcoming doc The Eagle Has Landed is being made at the perfect time.

“People come up to me and say, ‘Can I please give you a hug?’ and I say sure,’” Tate said of the fan base today. “You know, some of them grasp me and cry in my arms. Makes me very teary too, and they say, ‘You don’t know what this means to me.’ And I say, ‘You know, it’s been 50 years since I’ve done the show.’ And quite frankly, it does mean a lot to me because when you’re in the theater, and you’re having audience feedback, applauding, and laughing and cheering or crying or whatever. But when you’ve done a television series, you’ve only got all the hardened technicians out there who’ve seen you do it a million times and nobody’s crying, nobody’s laughing, or sometimes they do. And so, you never really know how an audience is going to feel about your work.”

Tate went on to note that the production of the series began long before it premiered in 1975. Interesting tidbit: every single episode of the first season was shot before the show was ever shown to anybody in the world. “I don’t quite know why that was the case,” Tate mused. “It was meant to be networked and brought out much, much sooner. We started in November 1973, so we shot all the way through 1974, and in any even into 1975, not knowing whether audiences would like this or not.”

Nick Tate’s Character
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By all accounts, Nick Tate felt lucky to have landed the role. A classically trained actor, he took on Space: 1999, diving into it with a sense of curiosity. His work extended far beyond the show, of course, and in 1976, he nabbed the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor for his performance in The Devil’s Playground. The soap opera boom of 1980s paved the way for the role of James Hamilton in Aussie soap opera Sons and Daughters. He appeared Holiday Island and Open House on television and starred in the films Cry Freedom and Return from the River Kwai.

Related: The 10 Most Rewatchable Sci-Fi TV Shows of All Time

“Initially, the role of Alan Carter was supposed to go to another actor; an Italian actor that had been contracted via the co-production rights that Italy had with the Andersons and ITC,” Tate said. “I had been already cast to play a very small role in the show — one of the pilots that was to die after the nuclear blast. And that would be the end of me. But because it was the pilot episode, then we had to spend at least two weeks rehearsing and trying all sorts of things before we started to film. Two weeks turned to three, then turned into four, then five and the director was annoyed a lot with the production company because he really did almost turn it into a feature film.

“It was a joy for me,” Tate added, “and especially working with Martin Landau because my character had to interact mostly with him. More often than not, he was sitting next to me on the Eagle. I was a very lucky actor for that.”

As for the upcoming documentary, The Eagle Has Landed, which is expected to drop in 2025, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the show, Tate is intrigued with where filmmaker Jeffrey Morris will take the production. “They’re constructing a whole Eagle Transporter back in England right now, so that we can get in it and do some scenes in it. They’re making a little kind of a drama in the documentary, just a few moments, which is going to be quite fun. We’re looking forward to that.”

Learn more about Jeffrey Morris and FutureDude Entertainment’s Kickstarter for The Eagle Has Landed here.