Alphan Biographies

Alphan Biographies was a Space:1999 activity that took place in the pages of the zine Command Center.
A similar fanac was The Cast of Ride Forever.
==Its Start==
This activity began as a Topic of the Month in the May/June 1979 issue of Command Center.
==Changing Narratives==
The activity started off as fairly rote and followed a formula: the fan described him or herself and then gave opinions on the main canon characters.
As the newsletters progressed, these entries became much more like a story, always told in the first person.
As time went on, the "line" between the characters and the fan who wrote them became blurred; the early letters made it clear they were playing a game and had a formal introduction, such as "Here's my Alphan Biography." Later letters simply started in on the story, sometimes making it difficult to determine were the character started and ended.
It was in March/April 1980 newsletter when a fan first took Alphan Biographies in a new direction: "Here's something no has had yet! Here is my list of how I get along with people on Alpha who have written biographies into MMA (Excuse me. Gotta dig out the back issues of the MMA newsletter.)" This fan goes on to incorporated fans' characters into the line-up, along with canon characters.Command Center Mar/April 1980 It was also in the fifth issue that it was assumed that the name of the character described was also the name of the fan.
In the May/June 1980 issue, canon characters are pretty much dropped, and the back-and-forth narrative is focused almost entirely on the self-insertion characters; fans are now interacting with each other's characters with short stories, shout-outs, quips, flirting, teasing, and jokes. One fan says she "loves this twist."
The November/December 1980 includes a statement by a fan who says her "twisted alter egos" have "shown up in stories, and therefore doesn't use my name. [My character] appeared in Currents issue II, and will probably show up there again."
==The First Biography==
The first letter was by Kathy Lynn Higley in the July/August 1979 Command Center. She was the only "player." An excerpt: 
==Some Early Examples==
The first letters followed the original format: they were a brief description of each "player" and included that character's opinions of the canon crew members. There was no interaction between created characters.
Some examples:
==A Late Example==
==Other Fandoms==
The "Alphan Biographies" sometimes included other fandoms though they were not crossovers between Space:1999 but a completely separate activity. Some fandoms featured: Battlestar Galactica, UFO, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Star Trek, Buck Rogers, and The Man from Atlantis.
=="Twisted Bios"==
At first, the Alphan bios were fairly "serious." Sometime around the second year, a fan sent in a "twisted bio," a bio that was humorous and over-the-top, not unlike a crack fanwork. After that, some fans stuck with the original premise and some fans gravitated towards the silly.
==Mary Sues==
One fan wrote: "I wish to inform all readers that, regardless of what anyone may say, I am in no way similar to the fictional Alphan in this biography. I'm much weirder." from Command Center Jan/Feb 1980
==Fan Reaction==
Some fans said it was their favorite part of the newsletter, and the number of entries may illustrate that.
At least one fan found them boring and overwhelming.
One fan writes: "I'm intrigued with your idea of the Alphan biographies. You're logical about it, too: every member of the Moonbase MMA starts out as a lieutenant under Alan Carter, because just about everyone on Alpha in Space:1999 know how to fly an Eagle. Some of the biographies in the May/June Command Center are serious, some wild, and I think it's a way of familiarizing Alpha.from Command Center July/ Aug 1980
A bit of backlash begins to show up in early 1981. The January/February 1981 issue has a letter by a fan who says "these various bios are really neat, even though I still think we should draw the line somehow." Another fan writes that "you won't get my Alphan bio and no "twisted bio" either, because I think both ideas were very good in the beginning, and always provided enjoyable, funny reading, but now it begins to get a little worn out. Also, there must be other ways to ensure continual mention in CC's... Evil tongues would say that I'm not able to write an Alphan bio, except in the form of blueprints."
In the May/June 1981, a fan writes: "Sorry if I offended "us bio writers"! Let me elaborate a bit on my previous letter. I wanted to point out that there's been too much emphasis on the bios in the last ishs of CC and that there should be room fro all kinds of interest... without having having to offer a really humorous bio (almost) every two months. Take into account that it's not all members who feel that they can stand up to this standard, and therefore may feel discouraged from contributing....I don't ignore the positive aspects of the bios, the communication and the friendship: in my opinion that communication is the key word in fandom."
==Number of Entries/Players==
* July/August 1979 = 1
* Sept/Oct 1979 = 4
* Nov/Dec 1979 = 4 (including a BSG bio)
* Jan/Feb 1980 = 9 (including two BSG bios)
* Mar/April 1980 = 5
* May/June 1980 = 4 (includes a Star Trek bio)
* July/Aug 1980 = 6 (includes a Star Trek bio, a Star Wars bio, and one of an Alphan dentist!)
* Sept/Oct 1980 = 6 (includes a Seaview bio)
* Nov/Dec 1980 = 5 (includes a Seaview bio and a UFO bio)
* January/February 1981 = 7 (includes a Buck Rogers bio, Man from Atlantis bio)
* May/June 1981 = 5
* July/August 1981 = 6
==References==
Category:Space:1999
Category:1979 Fanworks
Category:1980s Fanworks
Category:Shared Universes