I sooo wanted to fly a Space: 1999 spaceship and wear kick ass polyester zipper suits with colored sleeves and a big plastic belt. I would have been the man!Not a lot of entertainment news out there this week, so I'm gonna discuss an adventure as lame, er, big as space! I''m talking one of my favorite TV shows of childhood that I just got on DVD, Space: 1999.
I came across the full series on DVD shortly after Christmas and could not resist picking it up. I used to spend Sundays mid afternoon happily catching the exploits of Commander Koenig and crew of Moonbase Alpha. I had toys (including a giant Eagle spaceship with dolls and a flying Eagle that could pick up nuclear cannisters), models and a treasured Comlink replica my late Grandpa made out of a block of wood.
Watching the TV show now, it's amazing how much of the cheese factor I missed seeing it through the eyes of a kid. The stories defy logic or common sense, the aliens are usually incorporeal spirits who speak in stuck up British echo chambers and as my wife has noted, Commander Koenig makes the worst command decisions possible. Despite this, I'm having a blast revisiting this classic show and enjoy the campiness (my poor parents, they probably watched me devote hours of time to this program and thought it sucked). Because let's face it, the future is meant to be experienced backed by a Eurodisco soundtrack.
For the millions who missed this show when it was on, Space: 1999 is set in the future where a manned base on the Moon has a nuclear accident resulting in the Moon being ripped out of orbit. It then hurtles through space on its momentum encountering a plethora of hostile alien life. It's antiquated vision of the future is fascinating and while I can't recommend this for everyone, if you love 70's Sci Fi chesse this show is a must.
Are the Terrible Towels still there? - Styx will be performing at a NFL Championship game soon, it seems the Pittsburgh Steelers have taken to "Renegade". The last time I followed football Terry Bradshaw was QB, still it's great to see them get more exposure with a great jam.
Whoa Ooh Whoa Oh - American Idol starts up on January 13th, let the mediocre talent search begin! I love me some American Idol.
Kelly Clarkson! - Cover art for her new disc is all over the web, can she dominate again?
When The Levee Breaks - Sounds like the Led Zep minus Robert Plant reunion has been called off. I'm pretty tolerant of lead singer switcheroos, though in this case I'm glad to see it fail without Plant. At this point in their career, it's not worth doing without him.
Ron Asheton - Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton passed away at age 60. I liked the Stooges, a sad passing.If You're Into It - Flight of the Conchords returns on January 18th! Yes!
More Space: 1999 - To close here's two clips from You Tube that summarize the series while playing that wicked awesome Eurodisco.
7 comments:
How in the heck did I miss this one? Oh yeah, we didn't have control of the television. Spent most of our time outside playing on the weekends. Way better than watching the crappy old John Wayne westerns that my step-dad always seemed to have on. :) Still can't stand them to this day. John Wayne walks like a baby with a full diaper. Cowboy, indeed...
Lots of stuff in this post, Mr. Mike. Let's see, no sooner had I heard of the Led Zep tour sans Plant, I read your blog that says it's a no go. Thank God.
Bletch. No Idol for me. Can't stand it. Not so much the mediocre talent, but the mediocre "judges" are just too stupid to live. Get them out of the gene pool, please.
Clarkson? See above. She really bummed me out. I thought she might actually go somewhere with her fame and her talent. I was wrong. She wasted them both.
Did Lt Gerard's hair dryer get stuck on 'hot?'
Wayne walks like a baby with a full diaper? Never thought about it that way, that's funny!
The only downer to no Zep tour is if Plant had agreed to do it, maybe they could have boosted the economy a little bit. It's sad when you have to think a rock band could affect the national economy, but at this point every little bit helps.
Good question about Barry Morse's hair in Space 1999, I assumed his fly away comb over was a character choice. Either that or Martin Landau and Barbara Bain took up the entire hair budget. There is only so much hair spray in space.
Hey Mr. Mike, are you sure hairspray is a useful item in space? I mean, it SPRAYS stuff. Stuff that is most likely flammable. I don't want no heifer with a serious updo on my space travelling apparatus. Probably blow the whole thing up. I bet they really used some sort of space age, ionic cleanser type thingie adn then some kind of stabalizing foam that when translucent as it dried. Bet that's how t was done.
And pardon me for getting perhaps a little too into it. I took a sleepy time pill and it's starting to hit me, plus I don't have my glasses on. I really have no idea what I just wrote. I'll leave it here and let it be a surprise in the morning, okay with you?
I'm going to bed now. Sweet Dreams for Mr. & Mrs. Mike, and the Dixie Dog. Peace beautiful friends.
That's so funny, since I just said in the last episode we watched, "What the heck is up with Morse's hair??" I guess it was very noticeable! What a cheap show- it would have cost about a nickel to keep those few strands down with hairspray.
Space: 1999 had such potential. If it were to be remade today, with a decent budget, it would be a great show.
Oh, I almost forgot: "I'm David Prowse- a fish head space monster from the beta cloud. Run!!" Poor Dave Prowse! Good thing a better role soon came his way.
Hi SKW! I like your idea about how they do hair on that show! Thank you for the surprise.
Hi Bunny! Poor Dave Prowse, always skulking around with some kind of rubber helmet on his head no matter where he goes. So many jokes to go with that, so little time.
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