Comments on: Portugal: 1999

By: Gonçalo Aguiar

Gonçalo Aguiar — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 01:15:28 +0000

If you really want to be in Portugal then you should come.
It is a really cool place to make tourism.

By: Ed Myers

Ed Myers — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:50:35 +0000

BVStaples:

I don’t suppose you are referring to the one at Scott Carpenter (!) Park in Boulder, CO? I used to play on that same one! Way cool! It’s been there forever.

I agree with several other posters…being 44 absolutely would NOT stop me from playing in that playground in Portugal.

By: Gabriel

Gabriel — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:03:05 +0000

Heck, we even had the original Battlestar Galactica series running on our national TV at the time (the only massively available channel until the 90′s).
I also remember seeing Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future and V – The Final Battle.
I also can’t be grateful enough for the fact that we did and still do not dub foreign films or series.

By: João

João — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:15:27 +0000

StevoR @ #2:
Yes, we had Space 1999 in Portugal and it was a great hit. I remember watching it every Saturday at 6 p.m. in our old black and white TV. But, unlike our Spanish neighbours, TV is not dubbed in Portuguese. Everything is broadcasted in its original soundtrack (even The Simpsons). And what a pleasure it is to hear wonderful voices or accents like Carl Sagan’s or Richard Attenborough’s.
Anyway, that playground is in Sines, a small town 160km away from Lisbon. If it wasn’t that far away I’d visit it next weekend…

By: CR

CR — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:51:36 +0000

BVStaples, I used to play on a playground rocket just like that, only the one in our park had a slide extending from the second ‘stage.’ I always assumed that was the ‘escape ramp’ for when the rocket was going to crash.
Good times…
**********************
Just because I earlier mentioned that S99 has flawed science, I should point out that MOST sf has flawed science, including, for example, Star Wars & Star Trek. Why people are so willing to suspend disbelief for those shows (to the point of writing whole BOOKS about it, in the ‘Physics of Star Trek/Star Wars’ vein), while summarily dissing S99 for its scientific inaccuracies is beyond me. It’s all sf, and S99 had many good tales to tell just like (in a few cases, even better than) the other popular sf out there.
Also, one needn’t apologize for being a S99 fan, any more than one would need to apologize for being a Star Trek fan. Just sayin’.

By: Petrolonfire

Petrolonfire — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:10:41 +0000

@ 20 Elmar_M:

What I loved about the show as the general dark mood, the claustrophobic and lonely tension on the moonbase and of course the models.

Now *which* type of model would you be meaning there I wonder?

Shades of Barbarella?

By: Elmar_M

Elmar_M — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:01:50 +0000

Gosh, I love the design of the eagle.
The playground eagle is cool but the proportions are not 100% accurate (yeah I am strict like that). The 4 “boxes” on the sides are too small.
Space 1999 got most of the science wrong, unfortunately.
What I loved about the show as the general dark mood, the claustrophobic and lonely tension on the moonbase and of course the models. They were wonderful. Gery Anderson always had really cool models in his shows. Space 1999 definitely had the best though.
The eagles are beautiful, the rovers were great, the moonbase itself looked awesome too. The whole hanger and launchpad stuff was great as well. The effects were not too bad for the time. The guy who did 2001 worked on them as well. If you pay attention to the moonbase in 2001, you will notices some similarities with the moonbase in Space 1999.

Bad was: most of the costumes, the make up, the acting, the stories, the science, pretty much everything else. But what does a 6 year old care about these things when there are cool spaceships

By: JupiterIsBig

JupiterIsBig — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:35:00 +0000

#12 @CR wrote
By the way, if I could go to Lisbon, I’d play on that Eagle, and I’m around Phil Plait’s age. (I may not be 8 physically, but being able to climb around in that thing would make me FEEL like I was 8 again! My muscles might regret it later, but it would be worth it!)

++++++++++1 I’m 43 and I would gladly fold myself into the cockpit and throw my kids into the freight section … for a while anyway.
If I ever go to Lisbon, I’ll post a photo !

Thanks Phil !

By: Bruno

Bruno — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:31:50 +0000

Wow. I’ve been visiting your website for so long and I believe it is the first time I see something related to my country. I didn’t know we had such interesting playgrounds

By: BVStaples

BVStaples — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:26:01 +0000

When I was a kid, a playground near my house had a rocket playscape. It was about three stories tall. It was an open framework sculpture of a 50s styles rocket ship with fins and all. There was a set of stairs leading to the lower platform, a spiral staircase up to the second level, and a ladder up to the third, where there was, of all things, a ship’s wheel! That rocket took me anywhere I wanted to go in our wondrous Universe (in my mind of course).

To me the coolest thing about this Eagle model is that kids get to play on it. Even if they don’t know about the original show or this very cool transport system, just playing in such a detailed model of a space ship will take kids of today to those places in the Universe that I visited in my youth.

By: DLC

DLC — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:54:18 +0000

I confess to being A fan of space 1999, even though it was horribly improbable and really bad science. But the rover vehicles and eagles were cool.
Gerry Anderson had a flair with models.
Oh, and… Space Battleship Yamato was cool. (also impossible, but a cool show anyway)
Battle of the planets had potential, but I just couldn’t get into it. I suspect I was just too old for the target market.

By: CR

CR — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:27:13 +0000

Actually, referring back to Message from Space for a moment, I should point out that Lucas did a lot of borrowing from many films (including Japanese films) for Star Wars, and while there are numerous parallels between MfS & SW, I can’t say for certain that MfS is a blatant “rip-off” of Star Wars. And for purely personal reasons, as bad as it is, it holds a special place in my memory. I must try to get a copy on dvd just for nostalgia’s sake. Well, that and for screen references so I can make my model match the one in the movie…

By: CR

CR — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:04:20 +0000

Ah, the Liabe from Message from Space, and its two smaller craft, the Galaxy Runner and the Comet Fire. Model kits were made of all three by Bandai, released in the US through Entex. The Liabe was a converted space yacht/transport modified to accommodate the smaller vessels (as John Paradox pointed out) on the ends of its foldable wings. Those smaller craft were racers that the heroes used to, well, race. And to dodge the local space police. And ultimately, to fight back against the forces of evil that were trying to subjugate free people throughout the galaxy. I played with the Liabe model for hours on end after I built it, and have plans to restore it someday soon.

Message from Space was something of a Star Wars rip-off… er, I mean homage, but had its own variation on the ‘Death Star Trench Run’ by having the Comet Fire and Galaxy Runner go INTO the enemy space fortress (actually a mobile planet), zip through ever-narrowing tunnels and ultimately fire at the main reactor. Interestingly, George Lucas returned the favor a few years later with the Death Star II in Return of the Jedi.

As for the Phoenix, I also have the Bandai/Entex issue of that kit, and it’s also awaiting restoration. Played the thing to pieces, I did! It was more of a build-it-yourself toy than a model, so yet another project I want to complete someday is a scratch-built accurate replica of the craft. I think I need to live to 300 just to finish all the things I want to!

But, just to get back on topic, the Eagle is my favorite sf spaceship design. I’ve built models of it, collected photos, blueprints & posters, given extra model kits away to kids for them to build. Great design, great fun over the years. And in spite of some of the scientific flaws of the series, Space 1999 remains one of my faves. (Well, the first season more than the second, but I’ve gone off-topic enough already!)

By: Asimov fan

Asimov fan — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:01:22 +0000

@ 12. CR Says:

OT, but since it’s been brought up… The Phoenix rocked! (The original blue & red version that made it to the Americanized Battle of the Planets, that is. There were sequel series aired in Japan that never made it over, featuring a different ship that looked more like a robotic bird.)

That’s the one – the original red & blue Phoenix I mean. Glad to see I’m not alone.

Even further OT… any Star Blazers/Space Cruiser Yamato fans? When I first saw ads for that series in 1979 or 1980, I remarked that “it looks kind of like Battle of the Planets artwork… I wonder if it’s as good.” That one is still one of my favorite anime series of all time.

YES!!!

I loved Star Blazers as a kid too & still got many fond memories of that anime series!

@ 13. John Paradox Says:

Wow! Durn I’m jealous! Didn’t know they had such models – any chance you could post a picture of it here for us please?

Afraid I haven’t heard of the other ones you mention – they sound interesting.

@ 11. Gary Ansorge Says:

7. Asimov fan Says: “Oh Wow! I still think the Eagles where one of the best looking sci-fi spacecraft ever!”

Er, no, that was 4. MichaelL not me. Sorry my vote was for the Phoenix.

I still favor Fire Fly or the space craft in Defying Gravity. Now, THOSE were really cool vacuum craft. Obviously designed to remain in space.

Yeah, they weren’t bad either although I like the dual space-atmosphere capable craft. Y’know things that look like they could fly anywhere. The Starfury fighters and WhiteStars from Babylon -5 are certainly among my favourites too.

By: John Paradox

John Paradox — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:39:05 +0000

On the subject of ‘favorite spaceship models’, I have to give my vote to the model used in Swords of the Space Ark (VHS cover: Space Ninja) and Message From Space. Both are Japanese SciFi/Fantasy (MfS stars Vic Morrow from COMBAT and the Twilight Zone Movie) using the same models. I have (had? stuff’s in storage for now) a model of the ship that had two smaller ships on its ‘wings’, and I always thought that was a ‘kewl’ design. The other ships apparently didn’t have models made/sold of them, and they also (IMHO) weren’t as interesting.
Oh, I do have the Phoenix model kit as well… along with the old ‘Von Braun/Bonestell’ designs for a lunar lander and some other kits that fascinated me (e.g. the Pan Am Shuttle from 2001 IIRC, The ‘Leif Ericson’ that influenced the design of ships in The Mote In God’s Eye, and some other stuff.)

J/P=?

By: CR

CR — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:29:23 +0000

That Eagle playground page in the Catacombs is everyone’s ticket to all things Space: 1999. Seriously, that’s one of the most comprehensive, detailed S99 sites anywhere. Fan of the show or newbie, have fun getting lost exploring the series, including behind-the-scenes production stuff and merchandising & miscellany (like the playground in Lisbon). I’ll bet many people reading this had no idea just how big S99 was in its day (and, of course, critics would balk at why it was popular at all), or that it still has a large international following. Enjoy!

By the way, if I could go to Lisbon, I’d play on that Eagle, and I’m around Phil Plait’s age. (I may not be 8 physically, but being able to climb around in that thing would make me FEEL like I was 8 again! My muscles might regret it later, but it would be worth it!)

Oh, if anyone reading this is interested in all things Eagle, there’s a British website called Eagletransporter dot com that has a ton of fan-based Eagle models, plus a discussion forum. (Disclaimer: I became a member on that forum a few years ago after following a link either from the Catacombs or from a model-building website.)

By: Gary Ansorge

Gary Ansorge — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:17:41 +0000

7. Asimov fan Says:

“Oh Wow! I still think the Eagles where one of the best looking sci-fi spacecraft ever!”

I still favor Fire Fly or the space craft in Defying Gravity. Now, THOSE were really cool vacuum craft. Obviously designed to remain in space.

Of course, if someone offered me an Eagle, I’d take it.LOL!!!

GAry 7

By: OtherRob

OtherRob — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:45:38 +0000

I loved both Space: 1999 and Battle of the Planets as a kid. And while the Phoenix could turn itself into fire, which is always cool, I’m gonna have to give the nod to the Eagle.

By: Alareth

Alareth — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:12:30 +0000

@Asimov fan

Both 7-Zark-7 and I agree

I still see Phoenix design influences whenever I doodle ship designs

By: Pete

Pete — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:57:53 +0000

ters cool. How come our generations didn’t get the cool playground stuff?

By: Asimov fan

Asimov fan — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:51:23 +0000

@ 4. MichaelL Says:

“Oh Wow! I still think the Eagles where one of the best looking sci-fi spacecraft ever!”

The Phoenix from G-force / Battle of the Planets still wins that category for me. Put it down to baby chicken-like earliest conditioning or something as it was the very first SF show I ever recall watching, but I still think that’s one awesome looking starship!

Been looking for a linkable picture to show everyone what I mean but, alas, couldn’t find any …

The best I could come up with is this :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Best_of_G-Force_DVD_Cover_art.jpg

which sadly doesn’t do it justice at all.

By: Messier TidyUpper

Messier TidyUpper — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:30:17 +0000

Off Topic sorry, but posting from an aging off the page thread that I fear the BA won’t see & thus miss & in an attempt to satisfy my vain curiousity :

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/11/25/mr-hubble-goes-to-washington/comment-page-1/#comment-228347

I never used WFPC2 for any published work, but right after launch it was used to look at Supernova 1987A, an object I studied for my PhD. I had made some predictions based on our earlier, fuzzier images, and WFPC2 confirmed several of them.

Cool!

Please Dr Plait, could you elaborate on that for us if you can?

Ideally summarised & without too much maths?

(Okay I’ll put up with some maths if its really necessary just not my thing – I respect those who can follow mathematics better than me; it just doesn’t overly float *my* boat.)

PS. Thinking supernova – can I ask, do we have any idea yet on whether SN 1987 a left a black hole or pulsar behind? What’s the latest on that & did you see the recent Universe today post on Eta Carinae?

Ie this one :

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/11/25/eta-carinae-a-naked-eye-enigma/

By: John Paradox

John Paradox — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:13:19 +0000

Okay, I’m going to find my Eagle AND Hawk models… along with the (unassembled) Moonbase…

J/P=?

By: MichaelL

MichaelL — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:53:59 +0000

Oh Wow! I still think the Eagles where one of the best looking sci-fi spacecraft ever! I just can’t figure out why the Moonbase Alpha residents didn’t use them to evacuate the Moon!

By: Petrolonfire

Petrolonfire — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:53:17 +0000

This is the almost full sized Eagle built in Sines, near Lisbon in Portugal, in the late 1970s and photographed in 1998 by Paulo Jorge Morgado (thanks again, Paulo).

Can’t help wishing he’d waited just one more year and photo’d in 1999 – would’ve been more apt.

Why stop at only *almost* full sized I wonder?

Finally, how I wish the shuttle was being replaced with something like this – only real!