Jupiter Moon


Jupiter Moon is a science fiction soap opera television series first broadcast by British Satellite Broadcasting's Galaxy channel in 1990. 150 episodes were commissioned and made, but only the first 108 were broadcast before the closure of BSB. Episodes 109–150 were first shown in the UK on the Sci Fi Channel in 1996.

Premise

The series is set in the year 2050 and concentrates on the spaceship Ilea in semi-permanent orbit above the space city on Jupiter's moon Callisto. The Ilea is home to a university and many of the programme's main plot strands revolve around the lives of the students, helping the programme to deal with more mundane issues despite its far-flung setting. A secondary plot deals with an attempt to travel to the stars known as the Daedalus Project.

Cast

The cast included:

Production

The series was created and produced by William Smethurst, a former long-standing editor of British radio soap The Archers and was recorded at the studios of Central Television in Birmingham. Many of the cast and writers also came from The Archers.
The budget was £6m for 150 episodes.
Dr Bob Parkinson of British Aerospace designed the spaceship Ilea using European Space Agency/NASA projections.
It was a Primetime-Andromeda Production in association with BSB.

Name derivations

The space station Ilea was named after the then-recently abolished Inner London Education Authority. The character Phillipe Gervais was named after associate producer Jane Fallon's partner Ricky Gervais.

Broadcast

Jupiter Moon was commissioned to fulfil the perceived need for a soap opera in British Satellite Broadcasting's line-up and, as such, it was shown three times a week, with an omnibus edition at weekends on BSB's Galaxy channel from 26 March until 30 November 1990. 150 episodes were commissioned and made, but only the first 108 were broadcast by BSB. The series was curtailed owing to the merger between BSB and Sky Television plc and the subsequent cessation of the Galaxy channel. Sky was unable to continue the broadcast of the series, as, unlike BSB, Sky's transmission area covered various European territories where Jupiter Moon was already being shown. The later episodes were eventually shown in the UK on the Sci Fi Channel between 22 January and 19 February 1996, as part of a complete run of the series.
The programme was also broadcast by television channels in countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Jamaica, Zambia, Gibraltar and several of the Gulf States.
The soap was screened on GBC TV ahead of its premiere on BSB's own Galaxy channel. The soap was seen in the British Overseas Territory every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7.30 pm, having taken the slot formerly occupied by EastEnders which had become too expensive for GBC TV.

List of episodes

Galaxy (1990)

The first UK broadcast of episodes 1–108 was on BSB's Galaxy channel in 1990.

Sci Fi Channel (1996)

The first UK broadcast of episodes 109–150 was on the Sci Fi Channel in 1996.

DVDs

Source:

United Kingdom

Episodes 1 to 60 were released by Oracle Home Entertainment on Region 2 DVD in the UK in 9 volumes.
VolumeEpisodesTitle
11–11Invasion From Space
212–20The Plasma Ball
321–30Return to Space City
431–35Mystery of Amalthea
536–40Rescue the Copernicus!
641–45Volcano
746–50Stardust
851–55Lost in Space
956–60The Mystery Ship

United States

The entire series was released by Image Entertainment on Region 1 DVD in the US in 4 volumes.
VolumeEpisodesTitle
11–36The New Frontier
237–75The Pirates of Leda
376–114Ghost in the Machine
4115–150Fires of Io