Victor Bergman

Victor Bergman was the original Chief Science Officer on Moonbase Alpha.

Bio Note
Professor Bergman is, to a great degree, the father of Moonbase Alpha, having contributed more to the base's construction than anyone else. He is also a father figure for many of the base's key personnel. As a young man he was deeply involved in early space exploration efforts; however, he can still remember when a visit to the Moon was considered to be only a figment of Jules Verne's imagination. To some extent, he is very much the proverbial professor. He has a brilliant mind and has been responsible for many advances in space science, but he is naive in many practical matters. In some ways, he reminds one of a 19th-century scientist rather than a man of the late 20th century, though physically he is more a part of the new era than he appears. He is something of a philosopher and very much a humanist. Bergman is unusual in one respect. An early illness led to his having a mechanical heart replacement. Because it responds more slowly to nervous stimuli than a normal heart does, it reduces his reactions to most emotional stresses. Whatever the situation, he is physically immune from panic. There is one drawback—a ruthless or desperate person might be able to interfere with his mechanical heart and upset his finely-tuned metabolism.

His best friends on Moonbase are John Koenig and Helena Russell.

Profile
Taken from Space: 1999 Catacombs

Bergman has an artificial heart (Black Sun, Force of Life, Guardian of Piri, The Infernal Machine). He is an astronomer (discovered planet Ultra in 1994, Dragon's Domain) and a physicist (responsible for the artificial gravity systems used by Alpha and their protective force field built in Black Sun). After 1997, he was "grounded", but was back on Alpha by 1999 (Breakaway). Science advisor on various exploration parties (Earthbound, End of Eternity, Mission of the Darians, Death's Other Dominion, The Testament of Arkadia) and sits on command conferences. Enthusiastic about science (Voyager's Return, Death's Other Dominion).

Featured in all 24 Year 1 episodes. He was mentioned in the scripts of The Metamorph (Simon Hayes : "One lousy spacesuit with a faulty helmet and Victor had to be in it.") and Catacombs of the Moon (they are reconstructing the Bergman artificial heart, not the Dorfmann).

In Survival by Brian Ball (Powys, 2005), Bergman is propelled into space during a battle, his suit torn and losing air. The Alphans are unable to find the body. Unknown to them, the epilogue shows the alien scientist Yendys seeing Bergman healing in a stasis chamber within the living ship Susurra. The book names Bergman's former wife as Dorothy.

In the short film The Return of Victor Bergman (recorded 2002, first seen 2010), Barry Morse reprises the role of Bergman, recording a Moonbase Alpha status report in 2030.

Quotes

 * "Alright, Nordstrom. We're watching you closely." (Breakaway)
 * "I haven't enjoyed a picture that much in a long time." (Matter of Life and Death)
 * "I suppose we...all believe what we want to believe. Perhaps that's what reality is." (Black Sun)
 * "Maybe I've had enough of Earth and its so-called civilisation." (Earthbound)
 * "We believe that revenge, sanctioned by authority, is also the sign of a debased culture." (Voyager's Return)
 * "Because, we have learned many things, but most of all, we have learned ..we still have much to learn." (War Games)
 * "I'm having trouble calculating our seasonal variations, but just instinctively I'd say it was spring." (The Last Sunset)