SPACE: 1999 Raw Effects Footage

This is pretty cool: raw effects footage from Brian Johnson's Space: 1999 SFX team, of various Eagle transporter landings, on Moonbase Alpha pads and alien landscapes. I think it really demonstrates the care and precision that went into shooting the miniature effects in those pre-CGI days.

January's Space Babe: Tamara Dobson

The first Space Babe of 2015 is the sleek and striking Tamara Dobson, as the mysterious and amnesiac alien, Samantha, on Jason Of Star Command. Discovered in suspended animation within a derelict spaceship by the titular Jason (Craig Littler) at the beginning of Season Two, the stunning Samantha quickly became a valued partner-in-adventure for brash rogue Jason and his Star Command allies. With a variety of vaguely-defined powers, including superhuman strength and assorted psi abilities, Samantha may have been unable to remember where she came from - all she recalled was that her people were conquered by the armies of arch-fiend, Dragos (Sid Haig) - but she soon made a home for herself aboard the Space Academy, and figured prominently in Dragos' final defeat.

The 6' 2" Dobson was a popular magazine model - appearing in publications like Vogue and Ebony in the early 1970s - and actress, who is probably best known for her two turns as blaxploitation tigress "Cleopatra Jones," a kung fu kickin' government agent in two Warner Brothers action films: Cleopatra Jones (1973) and Cleopatra Jones And The Casino of Gold (1975). She also appeared in the Buck Rogers In The 25th Century episode, "Happy Birthday, Buck."

Ms. Dobson passed away in October, 2006.