Comments on: Happy Breakaway Day!

By: Synthesist

Synthesist — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:13:18 +0000

ENTERPRISE at N.N. construction yards.

http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f127/Synthesist909/Star%20Trek/?action=view&current=Enterprise1701construction.jpg

ENJOY

By: Freakin’ sweet! | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine

Freakin’ sweet! | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:31:00 +0000

[...] recognize almost every single thing in that picture. And what’s the first thing you notice? The Eagle, still my favorite science fiction space transport of all time. And three things from [...]

By: Freelance Minion

Freelance Minion — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:07:12 +0000

The show had many of the typical problems of TV sci-fi mixed with the worst excesses of 1970s filmmaking, but the Eagle is worthy of title best sci-fi ship ever, just because it seems so possible.

I watched the first episodes on DVD recently and it had a lot of problems (the moon can travel between star systems within a few weeks? Was the Black Sun supposed to be a black hole?) but I totally expect to see those Eagles flying around just a little after the Orion gets its shakedown.

By: CR

CR — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 06:08:29 +0000

Can’t belive I missed this thread before now…
Anyway, fans of the Eagle may want to check out Eagletransporter dot com for info about all the many toys & models of this popular craft. There’s also a discussion forum about Space: 1999 and, indeed, lots of other Gerry Anderson shows & British sf hardware.

By: Sneak peek: Bender’s Game | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine

Sneak peek: Bender’s Game | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:43:41 +0000

[...] The last movie was pretty funny (much better than the uneven first one), and this one looks like it’s back to usual incredibly intelligent and funny Futurama that I worship, in a totally scientific and secular way. The spaceship demolition derby made me laugh pretty hard… because of one of the ships shown. [...]

By: Gregory

Gregory — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:19:43 +0000

Space 1999 is what got me hooked on the sci-fi genre. I recall coming home one day from school (I was still quite a young-un) and there hanging by a thread in the back yard tree was a plastic model, already assembled by my dad, of the Eagle. Later I also acquired the plastic model of Moon Base Alpha. It had tiny 2 cm long Eagles. That show was awesome and I agree that Maia was one of the coolest characters ever on a tv sci-fi show. Space 1999 and got me watching re-runs of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and last but certainly not least STAR WARS. I’m still a big fan of sci-fi but find the literature more stimulating than the cheese on tv and in the movies these days. Check out the Coyote series by Allen Steele.

By: Alareth

Alareth — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 02:49:54 +0000

If you are a real fan, you might enjoy the virtual monbase tour:

http://www.space1999.net/~alpha3d/vrtours/vrmenu.htm

(I have to pimp it, the art on the walls of Dr. Bergman’s lab was done by yours truly)

By: Arkonbey

Arkonbey — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:05:51 +0000

All that and nobody mentioned that Space:1999 had one of the coolest themes ever.

By: DennyMo

DennyMo — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:59:34 +0000

I have a better copy of the Reliant in “dry dock” somewhere at home, but Google helped me find this one.
http://ytmnd.com/sites/profile/543047

By: Art

Art — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:47:30 +0000

I got to meet Barbara Bain late last year. I’d had a crush on her since “Mission Impossible.” She’s still beautiful and a wonderful person.

By: Maurizio Morabito

Maurizio Morabito — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:22:19 +0000

Marek

You can’t compare TV stuff to Stanislaw Lem’s. It’s like Daffy Duck vs. Picasso.

I do hope more of Lem’s works get translated into movie.

By: KaiYeves

KaiYeves — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 15:35:43 +0000

It’s okay, Ed Myers, when they canceled plans to complete ISS by 2006 because of Columbia, I wish I could have had those guts.

By: Marek

Marek — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:59:14 +0000

Hello from the “a bit in middle-ages” Poland. Of course, the series was broadcasted in Polish TV. But… I was raised on hardcover science-fiction books in late fifties (the previous century, you know). And I have rather high requirements and expectations concerning science-fiction. Combined with rather exact education, I dismissed almost all seen movie and TV productions (even based on renowned novels) as naive and full of errors. Had I seen them in the childhood, I would now recall them with a tear in my eye. But, of course, I can any minute sit down and start reading Lem’s “Astronauts” (a bit naive, of course) or “Cyberiad” with the same tear in the eye.
Space1999 aside, I’m a keen reader of your blog, as well as other sceptic pages, and in the first place, of excellent Randi’s JREF place. I love the man. Thank you all for the work you do to enlighten our surroundings. I would like to see such a light in Poland, but it seems it will take ages here to restore from today’s “middleageness”.
With sincere regards, Marek.

By: Thomas Siefert

Thomas Siefert — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:38:04 +0000

Fell over season one in JB Hi-Fi at a “steal price” (steal something and we will punish you by giving you this DVD) and I bought it on the spot in the hope of reliving my childhood fantasies. For some reason season two is always expensive, even though it is considered inferior by most people including Gerry Anderson.
When I moved to the UK, I saw most of season two on TV and I realised that I completely forgot the two new characters and that one of the old characters was missing (there may be more differences but I can’t remember them now).
All in all I found most of the episodes that had made a deep impression on me was from season one.

Regarding Battlestar Galactica: I think that the camera techniques used is what will make it look dated in ten years, just like jazz music in action movies.

By: Doug Keenan

Doug Keenan — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:07:57 +0000

Copy that:

OrbiterSim + Eagles (and Moonbase Alpha!) = NO WORK DONE

By: Thom MacIntyre

Thom MacIntyre — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 10:13:38 +0000

The ‘UFO’ series (predecessor to Space:1999) mega-set DVDs are awesome! Makes me save me pennies for 1999. We moved to Pittsburgh from UK in 1974, when I was 10. For the longest time I wasn’t sure if I imagined the UFO series or not

By: Quiet Desperation

Quiet Desperation — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 06:22:44 +0000

I still have a diecast metal Eagle.

*AND* I have a metal Interceptor from the UFO series that still fires its springloaded missile.

One of the best ship designes ever. It’s basically and engine, a seat and a big honkin’ guided bomb. Simple and elegant and got the job done.

http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/~bat/GA/OT-MODEL/ds-interceptor-1.jpg

I’d love to get a hold of one of the SID models.

http://www.tyborg.com/media/sid.jpg

Seriously, many of the ship designs from those two shows have rarely been surpassed, IMHO. Even the UFOs themselves were neat.

By: Troy

Troy — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 04:03:11 +0000

1975 was too early for me to be into sci-fi so I never watched the show (I do recall forsaking the Space:1999 lunch box for Scooby Doo however). I do recall in college my calculus book had a challenge question to compute the amount of force required to remove the moon from its orbit, but alas, my calculus skills were never up to snuff enough to do the calculation.

By: The Bad Astronomer

The Bad Astronomer — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 03:58:47 +0000

Julie, wow! I remember you! Of course, it was just you and your husband in my talk. Still, I had a pretty good time at that con; meeting the actors rocked. I have so many stories from there (seeing Barry Morse on the escalator, and having him say “Oh, Phil– I want to talk to you later about something” *rocked* my world) but who can I tell? There aren’t that many fans of the show, sadly.

And Catherine Schell took me aside late in the con to talk to me about the show and astronomy, too. Wow.

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 03:54:08 +0000

Phil, I’ve never posted here before, but I first met you at the Space:1999 conference in 2000 and went to your talk there. You were talking about lasers being invisible and my husband pointed out that you were using a laser pointer. I’ve been a fan of yours ever since!

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 03:39:38 +0000

I remember watching this as a kid in the 70′s, but the only episode that I always seemed to catch in reruns was the one where everyone was devolvoing into cavemen (and women). To a nine year old, that was cool.

I must chime in about BSG. Some of you must be taking too much khamala extract or something. This show has always been exceptional, including season 3. I’m dying for season 4. I’m just glad there’s a decent sci-fi series on that doesn’t rely on techno-babble (I’m lookin’ at you, Star Trek) to drive most of the stories, and that there aren’t any suspiciously human-shaped “aliens” populating the scene. Check out this great homage: http://youtube.com/watch?v=4Kve1oGPjf8

By: Katie

Katie — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 03:10:21 +0000

Even though that show was way before my time, I’m still fairly familiar with it. (At least, more familiar with it than other people my age.) That show had awesome special effects and an unbelievable sound track. Haha.

By: Blondin

Blondin — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 02:06:32 +0000

That was great, Phil. Thanks for posting it.

I’m old enough to have seen all the Gerry Anderson shows since Supercar and I remember watching Martin Landau and Barbara Bain in Mission Impossible and Barry Morse chasing David Jansen in The Fugitive.

By: Baz

Baz — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 01:42:43 +0000

Even today Space:1999 stands out for its excellent production values and special effects — not to mention the design of Moonbase Alpha and the Eagle Transporters. ITC gave its visionaries enormous freedom to make shows (Thunderbirds, Department S, The Prisoner…) the way they wanted, something sadly missing today.

Shame about some of the scripts, though. If only they’d had Harlan Ellison on the payroll…

By: DavidHW

DavidHW — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 23:13:55 +0000

Oh, addendum.

Instead of having a “research enclosure” be trapped, simply have an Eagle transporter that was flying within range of the “anomaly” be what’s sent through. That would give them transportation and provide a link to the old show.