Jupiter Moon is a science fictionsoap 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 space ship 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.
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 fulfill 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 Januaryand 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.
