Annoyed that, twelve days back, I missed the 16th anniversary of our moon blasting out of orbit, I thought I'd check out some
Space:1999 stuff.
I recall (and I haven't watched it since I was a kid so could be wrong) absolutely loving Season 1 as a kid - oddly I liked Season 2 less even though, if I recall, it had more monstery stuff in it and was a bit more run down corridors.
So I watched Episode 1: Breakaway and actually quite enjoyed it.
The Production Design (and effects) are pretty much top-notch and still mostly stand-up. The pacing is a little off but, hey, that's how they did telly back then.
Things I didn't remember:
- The whole focus on the planet "Meta" and how that might be a home for them.
The whole "space radiation madness" plot which led to the blast off.
Philip Madoc!
How interchangeable all the leads are: they struggle to display much emotion and characterisation apart from the avuncular Barry Morse.
How little effort they make to try get back to earth. "Oh, we blasted out of orbit. The computer says we're screwed. Never mind." was about the level of it. They could have at least shown an effort by earth to reach them or vice versa.
How completely stupid the concept is. But, fuck it, I ran with it.
How, if you didn't know what the concept was, and if they hadn't given it away in the titeles, you'd have been suckered into it being a space mystery stopping us starting a Star Trek mission and then "Bang! Bloody hell! The whole moon has gone"
Things I did remember:
- How fucking cool is the "electroknux" style phaser and the Eagle!
As much as I love the Enterprise and the Millenium Falcon, the Eagle is gorgeous piece of design. Possibly my favourite spaceship as a child (until the real Shuttle came along).
I shall be watching more. Which season is it that has an alien beastie in the back of an Eagle? And when do Christopher Lee and Brian Blessed turn up.
Oh and any good "Making Of" documentaries that people would recommend?
But It doesn't beat UFO for madness, design and paranoia
Did the alien lady only appear in the second season?
Should've opened with the theme tune fucking ROCKS!
I love the gun and spaceship designs
This is still knocking around at home somewhere
(http://www.plaidstallions.com/racktoys/1999pistol.jpg)
My abiding memory however, is this..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WKfEj5JpwA
Oh! I remember that toy gun - didn't it fire little plastic discs?
Yes, yes it did. My sister knows all too well the sting of my mighty Stun/Kill gun. I always used the kill setting on her. :)
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 25 September, 2015, 12:33:04 PM
How fucking cool is the "electroknux" style phaser and the Eagle!
Completely this... well except the part about the Eagle being better than the Falcon, which is clear baloney. I worthy runner up to the Falcon, is I assume what you meant!
I seem to recall it was genuinely scary at times too? I was young and haven't seen it since, but I seem to remember being haunted two things (both of which dominated doorways creepily) one was some kinda giant space spider, that in my head seem to devour crew members in a quite terrifying manner.
Secondly was there some kinda space foam that rotted people.
Both of those I can picture in my head... but then my head has been through quite a lot since then, but yeah it was scary to a small kid.
Quote from: Satanist on 25 September, 2015, 01:15:00 PM
Should've opened with the theme tune fucking ROCKS!
I apologise. I assumed this was already accepted as one of the immutable facts on which the universe is built.
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 25 September, 2015, 12:33:04 PM
I shall be watching more. Which season is it that has an alien beastie in the back of an Eagle? And when do Christopher Lee and Brian Blessed turn up.
I think the alien you mean is the one from Dragon's Domain in season one. Lee and Blessed are both in season one, and Blessed plays another character in season two.
Quote from: Grant Goggans on 25 September, 2015, 02:22:37 PM
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 25 September, 2015, 12:33:04 PM
I shall be watching more. Which season is it that has an alien beastie in the back of an Eagle? And when do Christopher Lee and Brian Blessed turn up.
I think the alien you mean is the one from Dragon's Domain in season one. Lee and Blessed are both in season one, and Blessed plays another character in season two.
Okay right, so it turns out it wasn't a space spider but this. Am I right in thinking that it sucked people in and kinda liquefied them?
Bloody terrifying!
If ever there was a Blu-Ray set worth buying to show how an old TV show can be brought to vibrant life, it's Space: 1999. Look, the show can be a bit of a snore sometimes. Some of these episodes feel like a looooooooonnng hour but they've done such a spectacular job restoring it, it's pretty astounding. I was amazed there actually is color on the show! I'd always remembered everything being washed out shades of white and beige. They've restored the discs from the original film stock so the truth is, the show looks better now than when it aired on TV. Well worth your money. Seriously, can't recommend it enough.
Also, Dragon's Domain has the scariest TV creature of all time.
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 25 September, 2015, 01:52:25 PM
Quote from: Satanist on 25 September, 2015, 01:15:00 PM
Should've opened with the theme tune fucking ROCKS!
I apologise. I assumed this was already accepted as one of the immutable facts on which the universe is built.
That's good to hear as I wasn't actually aware of this show until about 20 years ago. I shared a flat with a mate who was a massive fan as a kid and BBC2 started showing an episode every weeknight at 6pm. It quickly became a post work/pre pub staple.
I'll be back later when I've more time to gush about the show that came a very close second to Dr Who as THE BEST THING ON TELLY WHEN I WAS A KID, but I'll drop in now to mention those chunky little remote-control /communicators with the tiny telly screen in the top.
I don't know how many of you good people are reading my classic TV blog Fire-Breathing Dimetrodon Time, but I'm watching some great 1960s-1970s adventure shows with my four year-old. I'm totally planning to drop "Dragon's Domain" on him when he's seven or so, and plan for him to sleep in our bed that night.
https://firebreathingdimetrodon.wordpress.com/
Quote from: Grant Goggans on 25 September, 2015, 03:23:26 PM
I don't know how many of you good people are reading my classic TV blog Fire-Breathing Dimetrodon Time, but I'm watching some great 1960s-1970s adventure shows with my four year-old. I'm totally planning to drop "Dragon's Domain" on him when he's seven or so, and plan for him to sleep in our bed that night.
https://firebreathingdimetrodon.wordpress.com/
Considering you Avatar, when are you doing The Princes' Bride?
Quote from: Richmond Clements on 25 September, 2015, 01:07:06 PM
Did the alien lady only appear in the second season?
Haven't you done enough damage with the
Underware Thread?
Quote from: Grant Goggans on 25 September, 2015, 03:23:26 PM
I'm totally planning to drop "Dragon's Domain" on him when he's seven or so, and plan for him to sleep in our bed that night for the following three years.
That one scarred me pretty bad...! Haha!
Excellent timing for this thread. The second season is due out on blu ray next week according to amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Space-1999-Complete-Second-Blu-ray/dp/B014L3XBAC/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1443194917&sr=1-2&keywords=space+1999 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Space-1999-Complete-Second-Blu-ray/dp/B014L3XBAC/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1443194917&sr=1-2&keywords=space+1999)
Quote from: blackmocco on 25 September, 2015, 02:54:52 PM
I'd always remembered everything being washed out shades of white and beige.
It was merely black and white on our telly.. :P
But yeah, looking forward to re-visiting these 2 series of Space 1999.
Season One was released on Blu-ray a few years ago now, and it looked like season Two wasn't coming for some reason, but yes, it'll finally get here in a week or two, from good old Network.
Not really seen these since I was a nipper, but BBC2 did repeat at least some of these in the 90's iirc.
And whilst the Falcon is cool, it'll never be Eagle transporter cool.
Man, the second season is really bad though. I'll pick this up I'm sure, but just out of duty.
As for the Eagle design, it just looked (and still does) completely functional. Great lines.
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 25 September, 2015, 12:33:04 PM
How completely stupid the concept is. But, fuck it, I ran with it.
Even as a nipper (watching the 90s repeats) I remember thinking how stupid it was. Which is not to say that I didn't think it was rather brilliant in its audacity.
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 25 September, 2015, 12:33:04 PM
Annoyed that, twelve days back, I missed the 16th anniversary of our moon blasting out of orbit, I thought I'd check out some Space:1999 stuff ... any good "Making Of" documentaries that people would recommend?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0vIxkS7LTs
And yes, the shape changer alien lady only turned up in Series 2 when they decided to dumb it down/make it kid friendlier (delete as appropriate)
Yeah, I totally loved this show, also a close runner up to Dr Who, with Blake's Seven in the mix too. I never totally understood the plots as a kid, but loved the production values and special effects. I was always totally envious of any friend that owned a toy Eagle. Very tempted to get that aforementioned Blu-Ray.
Thanks to Tips starting this thread I pulled out the first series blu-ray and watched the first episode with my wife. She'd never seen it she says!
It's still a very decent show. The tech and the effects are dated, but the story itself is far more original and interesting that most of the drek they spew forth today and call entertainment.
Ordered Season 1 on blu-ray.
That fan documentary (focumentary?) was quite interesting. Is Gerry Anderson really that nice and polite?
I love space 1999.
there is a lot of crap but the design is beautiful and the score devine.
series 2 was a step in the wrong direction but there were some excellent episodes.
The Rules of Luton is a personal fave because i can smell the Roast dinner cooking in me mums kitchen whenever i watch that.
also the one where people from earth come to visit in a super fast space ship (a two parter). I had it on VHS called alien attack or something.
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 27 September, 2015, 05:03:08 PM
Ordered Season 1 on blu-ray.
When the announcement that they had finally decided to release season 2 came out I went looking at the season 1 price again. Down to £25 so decided to take a punt. They really have cleaned it up nicely with the added bonus that you can play all where the DVD had you watching an episode at a time. The sound mix is quality too. And as has been mentioned previously, the theme tune really does rock, especially with the remastering.
There have been attempts to remake / redo this for a good few years now and I believe there is a website dedicated to it. Last I looked it didn't look like it had been updated in along while so I guess that one is not going to happen. Shame!
What a lovely box set this is.
Up to Black Sun - science isn't going to be this series strong point is it? But I can live with that.
As an aside, when did the term Black Hole come into common parlance?
From SF, I imagine: I think Larry Niven started using the (already widely used in Astro/physics circles) term in the early-mid 1970s, and it sort of spread from there. Prior to that it was singularities and dark stars and collapsars and all sorts of things. I'm dimly remembering something about it in the indispensible Trillion Year Spree?
I think the astronomer John Archibald Wheeler came up with the term Black Hole in 1967, and the first one was discovered in '71.
Black Sun is a great episode though (back in the 90's I had a truncated video version of this story, spliced with another episode, and pitched as a Space 1999 movie release - alas, I didn't know any better).
I'm liking all the SP1999 adoration on display here, and am having a few like-minded (sad :-[) friends around this weekend to watch selections from the new remastered Season 2 set, plus a Blake's 7 & Pertwee-era Doctor Who boozy night.
God, I love the 70's! :D
anyone else scared shitless as kids by the blobby one eyed aliens pretending to be humans?
Like many others, it seems, I have very fond, if vague, memories of the programme but have never attempted to watch it as an adult. Must give it a try.
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 25 September, 2015, 12:33:04 PM
As much as I love the Enterprise and the Millenium Falcon, the Eagle is gorgeous piece of design. Possibly my favourite spaceship as a child (until the real Shuttle came along).
I'd put it a close second to the Liberator but it is a beauty. Despite having a ludicrous amount of Star Wars crap as a kid I was always insanely jealous of the couple of friends who had the toy Eagle with the detachable mid section.
I was that kid, although it was picked up at a parish sale and the attitude jets were a bit chewed.. I had the conventional green diecast hab-pod model, but oh how I coveted the white cargo freighter version for the full effect The whole modular thing was the very definition of play value, but the best bit being the spring-mounted landing legs that bounced as it landed, unloaded the pod and rocketed off again. Man, that was a toy. Way better than the show, in fact...
It was one of those shows that was caught between times. In the mid seventies realism on Tv was still the vogue so to produce a Sci Fi show was always going to be a tough call. The computer effects that made Star Wars into the mega bucks spinner weren't available for Tv and the production design looks very dated now with glitter and flowing capes for aliens, plastic walls, flared trousers etc. Still nostalgia has given it some charm but Star Trek did it better with better storylines and characters that's why there's plenty of spin offs and new Movies about Star Trek- and why there's only 2 seasons of Space 1999. I still enjoy them though and like all cheap people I watch them on YouTube.
Quote from: Grugz on 03 October, 2015, 09:55:44 AM
anyone else scared shitless as kids by the blobby one eyed aliens pretending to be humans?
Yes - genuine 'hide behind the sofa' moment for me.
Quote from: IAMTHESYSTEM on 03 October, 2015, 11:00:35 AM
The computer effects that made Star Wars into the mega bucks spinner weren't available for Tv...
Computer effects were not really available to movies in the seventies either.
Oddly I think the production design, certainly of moonbeam, still holds up. Haven't hit any silver caped aliens yet though.
What has been slightly disappointing are some of the optical effects for swirly space anomaly things and force fields. You can almost see the coloured light shining through greaseproof paper.
But so far, so spiritual and philosophical. They almost don't care about the resolution of the threat and tend to finish episodes with a "Makes you wonder, doesn't it?"
Quote from: DaveGYNWA on 03 October, 2015, 11:21:20 AM
Quote from: Grugz on 03 October, 2015, 09:55:44 AM
anyone else scared shitless as kids by the blobby one eyed aliens pretending to be humans?
Yes - genuine 'hide behind the sofa' moment for me.
Oh god yes, had forgotten about those........
Quote from: Grugz on 03 October, 2015, 09:55:44 AM
anyone else scared shitless as kids by the blobby one eyed aliens pretending to be humans?
I missed those guys until I was too teenage to be frightened by them, but yeah, I can believe those were world-ending to the under-eights.
Surely the thing Space: 1999 achieves better than most other sci-fi shows is an overpowering sense of loneliness and desolation. Even as a kid, it struck me as a pretty haunting show. At least there's shit to do on the Enterprise and there's huge splashes of warm colors. Moonbase Alpha looks like an Apple store crossed with a mental asylum. It's cold and sterile and that's before you even look out the window (The window that you can smash with your bare hands and a space helmet if you so desire, just to remind you all). On top of that, you always get the feeling that before the particular episode you're watching began, everyone sat around for months, bored shitless, waiting for something to happen. It's an interesting atmosphere to set a show like this in.
Quote from: Tordelback on 03 October, 2015, 10:27:45 AM
I was that kid, although it was picked up at a parish sale and the attitude jets were a bit chewed.. I had the conventional green diecast hab-pod model, but oh how I coveted the white cargo freighter version for the full effect The whole modular thing was the very definition of play value, but the best bit being the spring-mounted landing legs that bounced as it landed, unloaded the pod and rocketed off again. Man, that was a toy. Way better than the show, in fact...
I have the green one as well. Never had it as a kid though. One of the first things I bought with my first paycheck when I moved to LA. (Along with some other goodies I could never afford as a kid...)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee49/blackmocco/1172314_10151824971945985_1576630586_o_zpsruw5amkx.jpg) (http://s233.photobucket.com/user/blackmocco/media/1172314_10151824971945985_1576630586_o_zpsruw5amkx.jpg.html)
Quote from: blackmocco on 04 October, 2015, 03:33:23 PMOn top of that, you always get the feeling that before the particular episode you're watching began, everyone sat around for months, bored shitless, waiting for something to happen.
Doesn't season 2 supposedly take place over something like 19 years?
Quote from: blackmocco on 04 October, 2015, 03:41:38 PM
I have the green one as well. Never had it as a kid though. One of the first things I bought with my first paycheck when I moved to LA. (Along with some other goodies I could never afford as a kid...)
Nice! :D
Until I saw your pic there I'd forgotten that the little red door on the side of the module opened up, and there were stairs on the reverse. Or was that only in my head? Alas, the Eagle was recycled to another jumble sale decades ago by well-meaning parents, so some collector has probably paid silly money for my one now. If anyone here has one with teeth marks on the rear red attitude thrusters, please return it immediately.
Quoteanyone else scared shitless as kids by the blobby one eyed aliens pretending to be humans?
yeah those were the one i mentioned in my post (albeit less eleoquently)
http://i.stack.imgur.com/HvyM2.jpg (http://i.stack.imgur.com/HvyM2.jpg)
Quote from: Tordelback on 04 October, 2015, 05:47:54 PM
Quote from: blackmocco on 04 October, 2015, 03:41:38 PM
I have the green one as well. Never had it as a kid though. One of the first things I bought with my first paycheck when I moved to LA. (Along with some other goodies I could never afford as a kid...)
Nice! :D
Until I saw your pic there I'd forgotten that the little red door on the side of the module opened up, and there were stairs on the reverse. Or was that only in my head? Alas, the Eagle was recycled to another jumble sale decades ago by well-meaning parents, so some collector has probably paid silly money for my one now. If anyone here has one with teeth marks on the rear red attitude thrusters, please return it immediately.
Nope, you remember correctly. The doors open. There's quite a few of them on eBay at reasonable prices if you feel the need to revisit your childhood...
Still got mine :D must dig it out that and the SHADOW Interceptor...
EARTHBOUND
I had been wondering if Roy Dotrice's character had been simply written out but he turns up here with Christopher Lee. Good to have a bit of conflict on the Command Deck.
Aliens in suspended animation turn out to be [spoiler]really nice people actually.[/spoiler]
We finally get a bit more talk about heading home (or why they don't) and some lovely model work.
Great stuff, even if the final reveal was no suprise to anyone who has ever... well, no suprise to anyone ever, really.
MISSING LINK
Hey, Peter Cushing. Great stuff as Kong, in the best Kirk fashion, PG shags his way out of a mental prison.
It also boasts a short but really brilliant little fight between Alan "I drive an Eagle" Carter and some security guards and doctors wanting to pull the plug on the commander.
Tremors 5: Bloodlines
The missus loves her some Graboids (ooo-err), so in we dove, despite my finding the last couple pretty much unwatchable. Turned out way to be way more fun that it has any right to be, lifted by an entertaining South African supporting cast including the gorgeous Pearl Thusi, and bizarrely injected with life by Jaimie Kennedy's constant ad libbing. Now I'm not a fan of Kennedy's comedy by any means, but the out-takes on the DVD confirm that huge chunks of his dialogue were off the cuff (and admittedly about half of this is his quoting better action movies at appropriate moments), and that the reactions of the rest of cast were often genuine, which goes a long way.
Less fortunately some of this humour was borderline racist, but this is sadly in keeping with the picture the movie as a whole paints of SA, much of which would be at home in Daktari or even a Johnny Weissmuller flick. 25 years on Michael Gross struggles a bit as both USP and straight man in all this (Rebe McEntire is missed), and the extensive Deleted Scenes make sense of odd gaps which were CGI-heavy sequences obviously jettisoned due to budget.
The plot makes no sense whatsoever ([spoiler]Where did that last egg come from? How do the locals not know about the Graboids when they have elaborate tribal dances in graboid costumes?[/spoiler]), and while possibly the strongest sequel it's still the palest shadow of the original, but actually not a bad way to waste 90 minutes. Hopefully it does okay and Bacon and Ward can be enticed back for Tremors 6.
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 08 October, 2015, 08:24:43 AM
EARTHBOUND
I had been wondering if Roy Dotrice's character had been simply written out but he turns up here with Christopher Lee. Good to have a bit of conflict on the Command Deck.
Aliens in suspended animation turn out to be [spoiler]really nice people actually.[/spoiler]
We finally get a bit more talk about heading home (or why they don't) and some lovely model work.
Great stuff, even if the final reveal was no suprise to anyone who has ever... well, no suprise to anyone ever, really.
Yep, this one's great. Space Seed from Star Trek essentially, but because it's Space:1999, it's got that dark and fucked-up twist at the end. This one haunted me for years after as [spoiler]I thought about Simmons starving to death in that chamber.[/spoiler]
Think I read somewhere that the episodes are presented out of order and this one was meant to air very early on, hence Simmons reappearing after the pilot.
Quote from: Tordelback on 28 October, 2015, 01:49:59 PM
Tremors 5: Bloodlines
No idea how I posted this here, my apologies all. The If a mod felt deleting it that'd be cool. I'm off to repost it elsewhere...
Guardian of Piri
Another goody as the whole of the moonbase falls for the charms of a hippy computer with the barely dressed body of Catherine schell. Keonig is unaffected (which is never explained unless I missed a bit) and has to win them back. Also has Gareth Hunt and Captain Needa as Eagle pirates. Lots of manly chest hair on display.
Force of Life
Bloody hell! It's Ian McShane. An entertaining monster of the week romp as a blue pulsating light turns a reactor technician into a space leech. They must have had a memo about showing a bit more flesh as there's a (sort of justified) scene in a sun tan salon. Even Barbara Bain was at it last week. It's all tame stuff but it's nothing I remember from watching as an eleven year old.
Alpha Child
A bit of a duffer as the first baby born on Alpha accellerates growth and becomes a creepy Damienesque five year old and then a creepier adult by a green oulsating light. The Empire and Sith casting continues with General Veers showing up. Hell, even seventies tv staple Rula Lenska shows up. A really odd talky resolution is about the best thing.
QuoteThis one haunted me for years after as I thought about[spoiler] Simmons starving to death in that chamber. [/spoiler]
You were not alone....
Niven did the short story 'hole man' and also referred to the concept in 'borderland of sol'. Z
THE FULL CIRCLE
Another bat shit bonkers episode where they regress to being caveman because of a reversible time warp in some mist or something. Scientific explanations aren't really the shows usP.
Somehow, in the space of two days the have set up a hierarchical society in a cave complete with cave paintings, tools, the remains of mammoths, bowls, powdered paints etc.
I will be generous and suggest that the dialogue about Sandra basically being a trophy that Alan and Paul squabble over, and the scene where she is told "My dinner had best be ready when I land this eagle" are actually clever comments on how little some men have travelled in their treatment of women. Surely they are not just seventies tv tropes.
Cheeses Barbara Bain is a terrible actress.
But double cheeses, look at the gorgeous Eagle model work.
QuoteCheeses Barbara Bain is a terrible actress.
Don't you love Bain's soft focus shots while she whispers about stabilizing patients or something.
Also landau is not much better...shout and attack!!!!!!
Quote from: auxlen on 25 November, 2015, 04:39:04 PM
QuoteCheeses Barbara Bain is a terrible actress.
Don't you love Bain's soft focus shots while she whispers about stabilizing patients or something.
Also landau is not much better...shout and attack!!!!!!
Wait to you get to the second series. It makes S1 seem like Shakespeare in comparison.
(
William Shakespeare, not Marlon..)
Network have announced a restored Blu-Ray of UFO for next year.
I remember good looking, if impractical hardware and Gabrielle Drake (uniform similarly good looking if impractical) and nothing else of UFO. Was there only one series? And was it any good?
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 04 January, 2016, 04:11:19 PM
I remember good looking, if impractical hardware and Gabrielle Drake (uniform similarly good looking if impractical) and nothing else of UFO. Was there only one series? And was it any good?
There were 26 episodes in total. As to standards, it is pretty much 70's tv sci fi fare with some cracking moments and plenty of Anderson model work. About the same standard as Space 1999 but with some better quality acting in places. The DVD's aren't insanely expensive so you wouldn't be massively out of pocket. Considering the job Network did on the Space 1999 blu ray I'm tempted to upgrade.
Oh my, how gorgeous is the model work on this programme?
A few more crackers with guest stars Leo McKern and Joan Collins of all people turning up in silvery space robes.
MISSION OF THE DARIANS
is a bit of a classic generation star ship tale. But what if it all went wrong? One half of the ship still reliant on technology and lording it over the other half who have slipped into the stone ages. There are a couple of "But would you do WHATEVER it takes to survive?" ethical questions thrown about as Barbara Bain is kidnapped by cavemen and screams like a little girl while the Prof and Keonig hang about with leggy lovelies and ponder the question I am sick of "But where do they get their protein?"
Barely any of it is set on Alpha so we have a fantastic model of the city spaceship which doesn't quite tie in with the internal matte paintings (exposed quite harshly on Blu-ray) and corridor sets. Must have been an expensive episode.
DRAGON'S DOMAIN
I had always remembered this as scaring my 11 year old self witless and was still impressed with how they build the tension as we move through the alien spaceship graveyard and then the scares for the initial appearance of the monster.
I'd completely forgotten the structure of the tale (well, it was 40 years ago) with the flashbacks to, and Euro guest star of, the Ultra mission. Many of the plot points are bobbins ("Well we on the moon have moved so the spaceship graveyard from the original incident must have also moved") but forgiven as they weave a nice monster tale.
And, on a TV budget and schedule where stop-motion is out of the question, they do pretty well realising the tentacled monster (howling winds, screaming sounds, glowing lights and twinkly mind-control effects all build atmosphere). But would it scare an 11 year old today? Would it fuck!.
Quote from: Tiplodocus on 02 February, 2016, 12:55:14 PM
Many of the plot points are bobbins ("Well we on the moon have moved so the spaceship graveyard from the original incident must have also moved") but forgiven as they weave a nice monster tale.
And, on a TV budget and schedule where stop-motion is out of the question, they do pretty well realising the tentacled monster (howling winds, screaming sounds, glowing lights and twinkly mind-control effects all build atmosphere). But would it scare an 11 year old today? Would it fuck!.
Yeah, nothing's ever explained. Utter pants, yet for some reason with Space:1999 this works in its favor. If the intent was to show how alien and mysterious outer space is, the lack of clarity adds to the show. What the fuck is going on? Doesn't matter. Deep space, chief.
Dragon's Domain still works for me despite it's age simply because it's evident poor Tony is doomed from the pre-credits sequence. It doesn't matter to me the episode makes no sense plot-wise. He's destined to face this creature again and the way the episode builds that sense of dread and foreboding is still impressive by today's standards. The thing that terrified me most about the creature as a kid wasn't so much what it does to someone once it consumes them - although for a TV show in 1975, it's pretty ballsy. It's the unstoppable force of it, both physical and mental. No-one can overcome it.
While we're on the subject of tone, and bearing in mind 1975 was just three years away from Battlestar Galactica (the NEXT show after Space:1999 to take the mantle of most expensive to produce) where the characters react to the annihilation of their entire civilization by partying on a Vegas planet, Space:1999's characters never let us forget how well and truly fucked they all are. Nothing good ever really happens to them. The best is that something shit happens and somehow gets miraculously reset by the end of the episode and simply leaves them as fucked as they were at the start. They're reminded by almost every alien species they meet they don't belong. They're never going to find a home. Even when the moon is given an atmosphere, it's only temporary and anyway, that's all fucked up by Carter crashing all Koenig's besties out in the middle of nowhere. I love the utter misery of the show. The set even looks like an Apple store. Just like Apple, nobody trusts the moonbase's computer. The windows break if someone bashes their helmet against it. No wonder Koenig always loses his cool. If I was stranded there and he was in charge, I'd be pretty nervous. He always looks like he's about to cry. No people skills.
On another note, I have the original soundtrack going here from season one and it's another reminder of how strong the technical aspects of the show were. It's a great score, really lush and strong. Couple that with the fx work and you really start to wish the stories had been stronger to ensure it stayed on the air as it was, rather than the creative changes they went with for season two.
the music and opening credits are fantastic, but as a kid I always hated the montage of clips from the episode - I used to close my eyes for that bit to avoid spoilers, although I wouldn't have called them that back in the day.
I remember seeing the monster from Dragon's Domain on some TV nostalgia programme years ago (pre internet, but long after it scared me shitless as an 8 year old) and was disappointed by how crap it looked - I'd built it up in my mind as the most terrifying thing ever. With hind-hind-sight however, I agree with Tips that it is exteremely effective given what they had to work with.
Yeah, that balefully glowing and mind-controlling single eye on the creature in Dragon's Domain? It's a car headlight. I think you even see the wire patterning on the glass.
In a couple of episodes we've had shots of the Moonbase crew doing jigsaws as if that's the only entertainment available to them.
Trying to piece together something, anything, out of what they have left. Brilliant.
I always wondered what happened to the Earth. Surely the Moon being torn from orbit would have had cataclysmic consequences. Even if they did make it back to Earth through some miracle, humanity would surely have been wiped out.
Not that anyone needs any reminding, but man o man - Season 2 could easily be one of the worst TV shows ever made. Appalling. I'm trying to slowly work my way through it but it's really tough going. Mind-numbingly slow pace (this was supposed to be the 'ACTION!' season), ghastly acting, dreadful soundtrack. Quite literally everything about it is fucking shite. Nonetheless, I'll soldier on so none of you have to.
(Of note, although not enough that you should actually watch it yourself, the episode Journey To Where mentions a Texas City and another city that takes up the entire eastern seaboard of the US, with the rest of the continent rendered uninhabitable.)
Quote from: shaolin_monkey on 04 February, 2016, 01:13:57 PM
I always wondered what happened to the Earth. Surely the Moon being torn from orbit would have had cataclysmic consequences. Even if they did make it back to Earth through some miracle, humanity would surely have been wiped out.
Securing my credentials as a nob-end filled with only useless information, Season 1's Another Time, Another Place sorta kinda addresses this. I don't know if that's enough of a reason to revisit it.
Testament of Arkadia
Is it a hokey [spoiler]Adam and Eve by way of Chariots of the Gods[/spoiler] futureshock or is it a fantastacilly atmospheric and philosophical piece about the origins of humankind and its detiny among the stars.
I genuinely have no fucking clue but this is a cracking good bit of telly with a euro guest star hamming it up to great effect. Again, the model work is exemplary ( especially a great shot of the away team disembarking from the Eagle), again Helena and Computer are useless and again nothing is explained. It just happens that way.
It's very much a game of two halves; a great set up and dilemma and investigation of a desolate planet followed by a tense hostage thing.
None of the science makes sense and there's a glaring continuity error when Victor walks into a deserted cave with electric lights. And there's a terrible Captain's Log bookending.
But I think it might be my favourite so far.
You can now read the first 250(?) issues of Starlog online. Issue 2 contains an episode guide for Space:1999. All of the first season and half of the second:
https://archive.org/stream/starlog_magazine-002/002#page/n31/mode/2up (https://archive.org/stream/starlog_magazine-002/002#page/n31/mode/2up)
Also on page 2-3 of this issue they mention the filming of Star Wars finishing.
I'm just going to leave this right here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0vIxkS7LTs
I am about half way through season 1 box set and really enjoying it. Used to watch reruns on BBC 2 when it showed cult scifi at 6pm slots midweek. Have also purchased season 2 which I never got to see much of. Whats happened to the remake aka space 2099 I remember reading about couple of years back? :)
Space 2099 seems to have died a quiet death unfortunately. Other than the few promo shots the web site has not been updated in a looooong time.
Season 2 tends to be a bit of a slog at times. Granted there were parts of season 1 that you were left wondering what they were thinking of. The change in direction and its affect on the quality of writing really are felt at times. On the plus side you still have the lovely Anderson model making and set design.
Cant believe they replaced the late great Barry Morse for season 2? Just watched episode with Ian Mcshane which I really enjoyed. My fave so far was the episode with Christoper Lee though. :)
Series One is one of my all time favourite shows and looks stunning on Blu ray.
The end of the EARTHBOUND episode certainly being one of the most memorable.
I'm not sure if this has been posted earlier in the thread, but if you have a minute...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIUW10UptuI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIUW10UptuI)
Ed
:lol: no one does 'wait a minute' like good ol' Landau!
Now wait a minute... :)
(http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3f/0d/50/3f0d50ba6fea415b7eadfc3685158a2a.jpg)
An exception? ;)
(http://catacombs.space1999.net/main/images/spacehd/tle/sptle1850.jpg)