I recently wrapped up my two weekly webcomics (Perils On Planet X and the crime comic Gravedigger), and completed a couple other long-gestating writing projects. As I slowly clear my commitments from my desk, I'm looking forward towards the new year, and figuring out what I want to do next. One thing I definitely want to do is get back to regular posting here on this site.
I doubt I'll ever get back to the nigh-daily updates of a few years ago, but I'd very much like to manage a post two or three times a week. I have a surprising number of unfinished articles, dating back a couple of years. One of my goals is to finish those up, along with a few long-belated reviews (The Aliens Are Coming, Star Maidens, Beyond Westworld, Space Stars, Meteor, Saturn 3, etc.) and get back to some old features (like "Fave fives" and "Favorite Episodes"). I'm also considering doing an episode-by-episode review of The Fantastic Journey television series, one of the few shows from the era that's still not on DVD (many episodes can be found on YouTube, though). We'll see how I do over the next few months, I guess.
For what it's worth... I have been re-watching a lot of 70s sci-fi shows over the last few weeks....
To be honest, though, I'm kinda glad they didn't replace the effects with new CGI, no matter how nice and slick it might look. Part of my love for these shows is the handcrafted practical effects, and I'm glad they're being preserved.
The long-awaited second season Blu-rays of Space: 1999 appear to finally be on the way, as well. Network has announced that Year Two will be released on Blu-ray in the UK in the Autumn of '15. There will also be a standalone HD release of the two-part "Bringers Of Wonder" episodes.
Before American fans get too excited though, here's the less-good news: there has been no official word as yet about a Region 1 Blu-ray release through A&E, the show's US licensors.
I've mentioned it here before (a long while back), but I'm quite taken by what I'm seeing of Spectrum Games' Retrostar RPG, which endeavors to recreate the feel of the kind of 70s space operas we celebrate here at Space: 1970. I get a very strong Star Frontiers vibe off the thing, so you Old School gamers might want to give it a look.
• Space: 1970 Still Wants You: As mentioned in my last "Captain's bLog" (back in July!), I've always been open to - and grateful for - submissions from my readers. Now I want to outright encourage you folks to send me any cool Space: 1970-era stuff you might think would be interesting to your fellow Star Kids. Rare photos and production art, behind-the-scenes stills, nominations for "Space Babes" or Reader Polls, personal photographs of you and your friends with your favorite 70s sci-fi toys, pretty much anything, really. Hell, even if you'd like to write a Guest Post, just e-mail me. I'll do my best to credit any contributions I use, of course.
That's it for now, I guess....
I should write a story/review of the first time that I saw the Black Hole. It is hysterical and tragic at the same time. Anyway, welcome back to regular posting. This is the best site on the web.
ReplyDeleteI would love to read it and I may post some memories of my own..that movie means a lot to me for many reasons including that its one of the few cinema outings i had with my father
ReplyDeleteYeah, it is one of my favorites too. I saw it with my dad (actually the entire family) also. To be honest I think that it might be one of the last movies that my entire family went to see together. Hmmmmm. I believe we saw Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back, Poltergeist, E.T., Return of The Jedi and then Cocoon and then we stopped having family movie night. So, it was actually the seventh to last movie that I saw with my entire family. Still, to think about the quality of all of those movies compared to the stuff that makes it to theaters these days is amazing. Too bad Cocoon doesn't fit into the Space time line I love that one. You should write about your experience seeing the film. It is always interesting how someone (that is a fan) perceives a movie the first time that they see it.
ReplyDeletewell just to start with, it made such a huge impression on me..all that weird dark stuff in what is still regarded unfairly as a kids movie....for example when anthony perkins removes the humanoid's visor to reveal.....one of the living dead..!...or how about the super freaky ending when max schell seems to end up trapped INSIDE the maximillian robot.....images not easily forgotten...this blog has some great stuff on THE BLACK HOLE for instance i never knew jack kirby had drawn a newspaper strip based on the movie but no comc could ever capture the strangeness of the movie itself
ReplyDeleteOver the last couple of weeks I received my Battlestar Galactica Blu-ray boxset in the mail, I'm about halfway through the original show's run and while there are noticeable improvements in terms of picture detail and sound quality there hasn't been any restoration work done on the episodes so there are the occasional scratches and dirt marks to be seen during some episodes.
ReplyDeleteI recieved the standalone Space 1999 disc containing Bringers of Wonder parts 1 and 2 along with Destination Moonbase Alpha today and I'm looking forward to watching those episodes again while I wait for the full series 2 Blu-ray release.