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From: @RUTGERS.ARPA:hester@uci-icse
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Space: 1999
Message-ID: <298@topaz.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 17-Jan-85 02:30:30 EST
Article-I.D.: topaz.298
Posted: Thu Jan 17 02:30:30 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 20-Jan-85 05:31:54 EST
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Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
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From: Jim Hester 

The following is from "Fantastic Telivision": a reference book to many
TV-SF serials, and ancient memories.

The spelling of the alien's name was "Maya."  She came from the planet
Psychon.  In four pages of description, the only things "Fantastic
Television" had to say about her were "He (Fred Freiberger - producer
for the second season) also wanted to add new characters, most
significantly an alien named Maya who would serve as Alpha's science
officer" and "The introduction of Maya, however was not the wisest
move.  Audiences looked upon her as a gimmick---a Mr. Spock rip-off, a
token, rather than a resident, alien."  The pertinant details from the
index of episodes follows:

THE METAMORPH:  This first episode of the (second) season ...
introduces Maya to the regular cast.  On the planet Psychon, an
evil-minded alien named Mentor captures the Alphans and tries to drain
their minds.  His daughter Maya who is capable of transforming herself
into any form, helps the Earth people escape.

I vaguely recall this episode.  Their planet was doomed, reason
unremembered.  Mentor had created a 'protein computer' which had
transmutation abilities, but it got it's power from intelligent beings,
using them up in the process.  Maya's father was killing off everyone
in sight trying to charge the computer up to save his planet, and just
about killed off the Space 1999 regulars before Maya finally discovered
him and destroyed the computer, which set off a chain reaction killing
her father and destroying the planet (or at least making it
uninhabitable).  Thus she joined the Alphans.

There was one other episode that had a criminal from her planet who had
been put into some kind of suspended animation and cast adrift.  Same
plot: Maya believed everything he said up until the end when she found
him out and betrayed him.  The episode was called "DORZAK", which was
presumably his name.  The description given in the index is worthless.