My earliest memory of Space: 1999 is a coloring book I had as a kid. The idea of The Moon being knocked out of orbit and hurtling through space is a crazy one, but just the kind of big concept that a budding comic reader like me loved back in the 70's. I am a fan of Martin Landau's work in films like Ed Wood and Crimes and Misdemeanors and I recently checked out the original pilot for Space: 1999 on YouTube. It was a kick seeing the "futuristic" world of 1999 with Landau in his prime.
There something very British about 1999. It's heavily influenced by 2001 and depicts outer space as hostile, implacable but spiritual. It's a far cry from Trek's Final Frontier. The show was promoted in my tv region ( West Central Scotland) as a prime time adult drama. The second series was demoted to Saturday morning kids tv in the late 70s. It also has one of the best themes of any 70s tv show.
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[_____]---{google The Church of Ed Wood, 'tis a gas.}
Anybody who has rented and seen all the old Space:1999 episodes might want to find the series it followed, the shorter lived "U.F.O.". It took place in the 'near future' of 1980, when Nehru business suits and gull-wing cars were ubiquitous. It also features the original Moonbase.
ReplyDeleteIf foggy memory serves, I watched the premiere of the original Space:1999, dropped it with whatever passed for "meh" back then, and never looked back. (Even when my sons told me the redo was watchable. What do they know? They liked Star Wars. Get off my lawn!) Okay, I might've given Space:1999 two episodes.
ReplyDeleteI recognize Space Ghost, but never watched it. I'd gathered he was some kind of campy space-hero toon, Johnny Quest-level kid adventures, but then I got confused one day catching SG on some kind of talk-show format? What th..? ;)
So, for all my decades of comics and SF indulgence, those two are outside my experience.
The great thing about your covers, like reading Mad send-ups of movies you'd never watch, familiarity doesn't matter. I enjoyed this as much as any with more-familiar characters.
Like others where one universe is watching the other on a vidscreen, this cover has a stronger concept than execution, but it's all good -- I LOL'd just to read the title on the feed item, and clicked over immediately to have a look!
I'm waiting for a darker, adult reboot of Space Ghost on film. Even if it ends up being Dark Knight Rises in Space/Judge Dredd. I never got to read the Space Ghost graphic novel that came out a few years ago. I heard they based his origin as a good space cop among many corrupt ones. That sounds like a good premise for a film to me!
ReplyDeleteThis was unexpected; Space Ghost is not the first character coming to mind when thinking of a 1999 crossiver.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you thought of it, but ever consider crossing 1999 with the series it was mercilessly compared to--the original Star Trek? Gold Key's run had painted covers galore, so you would have plenty of options against the 1999 magazine covers!
I've been wamting to do another Space 1999 cover, that has possibilities.
ReplyDeleteHow in the worlds did I miss these two? Brilliant!
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