Space: 1999
The Lambda Factor
TV Flash files “The Lambda Factor” as hour 41 of 48 in the TV Flash guide — Space: 1999 (1975–1977) on ITV / Syndicated, season 2, episode 17, aired 1976-12-23, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E17: listed hour 41 of 48 in the Space: 1999 guide, hour 17 of 24 in season 2. It aired 1976-12-23 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Beta Cloud” (S02E16). Next is “The Bringers of Wonder (1)” (S02E18).

Viewer FAQ
Where does The Lambda Factor sit in the Space: 1999 guide?
S02E17 is listed hour 41 of 48 — hour 17 of 24 in season 2, season 2 episode 17.
When did Space: 1999 S02E17 air?
The Lambda Factor aired 1976-12-23 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Season one gloom or season two action?
Season one is the metaphysical colony-adrift hour. Season two adds Maya and more action. Start with Koenig and Russell either way.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Moonbase Alpha gets blown out of Earth orbit, and Martin Landau plus Barbara Bain try to manage the colony in tailored space chic. Gerry Anderson's live-action swing after the puppets: British design, gloomy metaphysics, model-shop spectacle. International syndication sci-fi that wanted 2001 on a weekly budget.
So about last night's group chat: someone said Breakaway is the whole premise in one word (correct), someone else dropped a Landau/Bain still captioned *Mission: Impossible but make it tailored space chic*, and a third person announced that season two is a different show like that is a personality. This is not new discourse. This is Moonbase Alpha with better lighting and worse sleep. A nuclear accident hurls the Moon out of orbit; Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Space: 1999 (1975–1977) sells the colony as travelers…
Filed against
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- Barbara Bain as Dr. Helena Russell
Barbara Bain’s Cinnamon Carter made Mission: Impossible cool as a Cold War martini — glamour, disguises, and team-craft heists with Emmy-winning poise. Self-destructing briefings never looked sharper. TV Flash salutes the original IMF…
- Barry Morse as Prof. Victor Bergman
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- Catherine Schell as Maya
Catherine Schell played Maya on Space: 1999 — Moonbase Alpha blown from Earth orbit, Martin Landau and Barbara Bain in tailored space chic, Gerry Anderson's live-action swing after the puppets. British design, gloomy metaphysics,…