I found this in IMDB's trivia section:

Martin Landau and his then wife Barbara Bain jointly left the show after the third season due to a contract dispute after their demands for a salary raise weren't met.

They both did guest shots in various other series. Then, of course, they were cast in Gerry Anderson's "Space" 1999" in 1975 as Moonbase Alpha Commander John Koenig and Chief Surgeon Dr. Helena Russell. This series, unfortunately, shared the curse of Fred Freiberger with "Star Trek". He screwed up "1999"'s second season so badly that non-contracted regulars walked off set. Bain & Landau hated him and would have left as well if not for their contracts. Landau came to blows with him more than once. Just consider the TOS episode "And The Children Shall Lead" to get an idea why.

@Jetfire59 I didn't know that Fred Frieberger was involved with Space: 1999! Why would Gerry Anderson use him as a producer? I was under the impression that the show was filmed in England.

Speaking of Gerry Anderson, did you ever see his TV series UFO?

Are you telepathic? I'm binge watching UFO on Hulu right now! I used to have miniatures of all the various craft, but had to sell them. It was filmed in England. Not sure why Gerry turned "1999"over to Fred, but the drop in intelligence is quite noticeable in season 2. Mindless action over decent story. But at least the eps didn't get quite as dumb as some of TOS's season 3 eps did. He has the dubious honor of being partially responsible for the cancellation of two beloved science fiction TV series.

@Jetfire59 said:

I found this in IMDB's trivia section:

Martin Landau and his then wife Barbara Bain jointly left the show after the third season due to a contract dispute after their demands for a salary raise weren't met.

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They both did guest shots in various other series. Then, of course, they were cast in Gerry Anderson's "Space" 1999" in 1975 as Moonbase Alpha Commander John Koenig and Chief Surgeon Dr. Helena Russell. This series, unfortunately, shared the curse of Fred Freiberger with "Star Trek". He screwed up "1999"'s second season so badly that non-contracted regulars walked off set. Bain & Landau hated him and would have left as well if not for their contracts. Landau came to blows with him more than once. Just consider the TOS episode "And The Children Shall Lead" to get an idea why.

That's my least favorite episode in the whole series

Yeah like Jetfire said a contract dispute. That's all I know about it. What about in Patrick White's book? Wouldn't that shed some light on it? I think we discussed this years ago on the other board but I don't remember what everybody said. I can look up the old posts from the imdb board but that thread is probably gone.

" That's my least favorite episode in the whole series."

You're not alone, Jayhn. I got this from IMDB's trivia section:

Leonard Nimoy explained that when he complained about the script to Fred Freiberger, Freiberger said, "This script is going to be what 'Miri' should have been". Nimoy objected, calling "Miri" a beautiful, well-acted story, and felt that Freiberger's comments were as much as saying, "'Miri' was a piece of trash".

Freiberger was clearly a buffoon.

@Jetfire59 I loved that show! I had such a crush on Ed Bishop's character Col. Straker! And I always wondered why Foster (Michael Billington) was always getting court martialed. I loved the theme. BTW, the actress who played Col. Virginia Lake is Benedict Cumberbatch's mother!

The version I heard regarding the firing was from an interview with Martin Landau. He said that he was planning to leave after season three, but Barbara Bain wasn't. The producers thought she was trying to get more money, so they fired her. And that happened right before she got her third Emmy for Mission Impossible. At least that's what he said in that particular interview.

And last but not least, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Sean Connery's Birthday! :-)

Fire....Jet Fire

I'm a bit of a Bee Gees fan. The last surviving Gibb brother, Barry, talks almost exactly like Connery. He pronounces "S"'s as "SH"'s and his voice is only a few levels off Connery's.

Being bisexual, I found Ed Bishop somewhat attractive as well. Did you notice that Foster's hair seem to change color between episodes?

@Jetfire59 : Yes, I remember that too. But what I thought was shall we say, different was the various SHADO uniforms. Remember the purple wigs the women on Moonbase wore?

The real reason for the purple hair is BILC. The series reason is something to do with static build up I think. Gay Ellis is seen on Earth in a few eps with normal brown hair.

Did you have a favorite SHADO craft? Mine was Skydiver.

@Jetfire59 I liked the moonbase jets, especially when the pilots have to go down those chutes to get inside of the jets.

Yeah, that was prety cool.

@Jetfire59 : It really cracked me up when Foster would use one of those cigarette holders when he smoked. And the fact that the year this took place was in 1984.

------Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night---