News: THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME (1979) Blu-ray Details Announced

Proving that even movies that are generally considered to be bad ones can still get some high-def love, Blue Underground has announced details for its upcoming Blu-ray release of George McCowan's sci-fi adventure film The Shape of Things to Come (1979), starring Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, Barry Morse, John Ireland, Eddie Benton, and Nicholas Campbell. The release, originally scheduled for late August, has been slightly delayed (due to the adding of additional bonus features), and will now be available for purchase on September 27.

As I've stated here many times before, I rather enjoy this film, regardless of its weaknesses. All it takes are a few miniature spaceships and a robot or two to make this Star Kid happy.

So, I'm pleased that Blue Underground has put together such a cool release and am looking forward to having this Blu-ray on my shelf next to Battlestar Galactica, Battle Beyond The Stars and Starcrash!

Synopsis: Planet Earth is a devastated wasteland, and what's left of humanity has colonized the Moon in domed cities. Humanity's continued survival depends on an anti-radiation drug only available on planet Delta Three, which has been taken over by Omus, a brilliant but mad mechanic who places no value on human life. Omus wants to come to the Moon to rule and intends to attack it by ramming robot-controlled spaceships into the domes. Dr. John Caball, his son Jason, Jason's friend, Kim, and a robot named Sparks embark on Caball's space battlecruiser on an unauthorized mission to Delta Three to stop Omus.

Special Features:

• Jason's Journey - New interview with Star Nicholas Campbell
• Symphonies In Space - New interview with Composer Paul Hoffert
• French Trailer
• TV Spot
• Poster & Still Gallery
• Pressbook Gallery

Tech Specs:

• Audio Specs: English 5.1 DTS-HD & DTS-HD Mono
• Optional Subtitles: English SDH, Français, Español
• All Regions

The Shape of Things To Come Blu-ray is now available for pre-order through Amazon and other online retailers.

Remembering QUESTAR Magazine

Another Starlog wannabe, MW Communications' Questar ran for 13 issues between the Spring of 1978 and October, 1981. Originally a semi-pro fanzine covering SF fandom with original fiction, the magazine received national newsstand distribution with its 7th issue, and shifted emphasis toward the sort of science fiction film and TV coverage seen in magazines like Starlog and Fantastic Films.

Though slickly produced and nicely art-directed, Questar was editorially inconsistent and uninspired, with considerable sub-par writing. Still, it did include some good interviews with noted SF authors (and personalities like Forrest J. Ackerman), and even a comic strip or two.

I rarely saw Questar on local newsstands, but I'm pretty sure that I do have a couple of issues stashed away somewhere....

The Official BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Scrapbook (1978)

One of several Galactica book tie-ins from 1978, James Neyland's Official Battlestar Galactica Scrapbook was a reasonably in-depth look at the making of the "Saga Of A Star World" pilot film, and featured tons of cool stills from the show (including an 8-page "cosmic color" photo insert).

The book includes interviews with Glen Larson, John Dykstra, costume designer Jean-Pierre Dorleac, and pilot director Richard Colla, as well as extensive background on all the major cast members and the characters they portrayed.

There's a lot of stuff crammed into its 104 pages, but the one note that always stuck in my head was the revelation that the much-derided Colonial motorcycles seen in the Galactica: 1980 spin-off were actually planned to be part of the heroes' land transportation "fleet" as early as the planning of the pilot!

I still have my copy of this book sitting on my film/TV reference shelves, although it is, admittedly, a bit scuffed and dented after all these years.

(Yes, I have mentioned this book here on the blog before, but thought it worth revisiting.)

PROJECT U.F.O. (1978) TV Guide Ad

Here's NBC's TV Guide advertisement for the premiere episode of legendary producer Jack Webb's Project U.F.O. (and if you remember the program being called anything else, you're mistaken. Trust me, we've investigated it exhaustively.)

I'm thinking of maybe publishing episode-by-episode capsule reviews of the show (and, possibly, The Fantastic Journey, as well). Is there any interest in that?