SALVAGE 1 (1979) TV Guide Ad

"I want to build a spaceship, go to the moon, salvage all the junk that's up there, bring it back and sell it."

The TV movie, Salvage 1, starring Andy Griffith, Joel Higgins and Trish Stewart, debuted on ABC on January 20th, 1979. The telefilm, which chronicled a salvage expert's attempt to build a spaceship and travel to the moon (to salvage all the stuff NASA's Apollo astronauts left behind, as noted above), was a surprise ratings smash.

The weekend it aired, I was staying at my cousins' house while my folks were on a snowmobiling excursion in Canada. I vividly recall commandeering the TV set and forcing everyone to watch the movie, which I, as I remember, I found incredibly engrossing. The characters were likable, the junkyard spaceship - named The Vulture - was oddly believable and the actual trip to Luna seemed entirely possible (Isaac Asimov, according to his own autobiography, was a scientific advisor). I haven't seen it since, though, so I have no idea how it would play today.

The ratings success of the telefilm led to a 20 episode (although only 13 were aired in its network run) Salvage 1 weekly series. I only saw a few of those, and I remember them being a real letdown, with mostly earthbound stories, and The Vulture being used only sparingly.

As far as I can tell, just two of the episodes are available as Manufacture-On-Demand DVDs from Sony, and neither is the pilot film. The titles available are "Golden Orbit" and "Hard Water," both of which originally aired as two-parters.

Countdown: this is Space: 1970 post #996...

THE BLACK HOLE "Press-Out Book" (1979)

Here's a cool artifact of the 1970s, a Black Hole "Press-Out" Book, with fold-up paper spaceship models from Disney's 1979 outer space epic.

The book was printed on a light cardstock, and you'd press-out perforated images of the various Black Hole ships like The Cygnus and The Palomino, and fold them into cool little replicas of the cinematic spacecraft.

I kind of want this book now, though I doubt today's kids would find it much of a diversion. Not many people - adults or children - seem to build models anymore, of any kind. Why bother when everyone'll have a 3D printer soon, I guess?

Countdown: this is Space: 1970 post #995...

MESSAGE FROM SPACE: GALAXY WARS Graphic Novels (1979)

I haven't posted much about the Message From Space: Galaxy Wars television series, spun off from the Japanese feature of the same name, because until recently, I knew very little about it. I still don't have a lot of information about the series, but I know it was popular in Europe (especially France), and in English-speaking markets it was known as Space Ninja!

There was also a feature-length compilation/condensation, called Swords Of The Space Ark. I actually found and watched it on YouTube some months ago. It was fun, although it made little sense. The strongest connection to the original movie seemed to be the re-use of both miniatures and actual effects shots.

This artwork is from the cover of one of a pair of graphic novel adaptations, published in France by Dargaud in 1979 and 1980, written and illustrated by Pierre Frisano.

Thanks to August Ragone for the info!

BUCK ROGERS on CD

A couple years ago, Intrada released two multi-disc CD collections of incidental music from both seasons of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century. The two volumes represent pretty much all of the original musical cues composed by Stu Phillips, Johnny Harris, Les Baxter, Bruce Broughton and several others for the 1979-80 NBC space opera series.

They've gotten a bit hard to find, and are expensive when you do, but they come highly recommended, as they transport you back to Buck's 25th century and provide hours of nostalgic listening.

Today's post, though, is primarily to showcase the gorgeous cover art by Paul Shipper. They're great illustrations.

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.

News: THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME (1979) Coming to Blu-ray this Summer

On August 30th, video label Blue Underground will be releasing director George McCowan's 1979 Canadian space opera, The Shape Of Things To Come on Blu-ray disc.

Although frequently cited as among the worst of the 70s Star Wars rip-offs, I have admitted here on this site more than once a certain fondness for the low budget interstellar "epic," and I am looking forward to having a high definition edition on my shelves next to Battle Beyond The Stars and Starcrash.

Yeah, it's a pretty dumb movie, but I find it kinda charming in its low budget ineptitude. I like the cast, which includes Space: 1999's Barry Morse, and Buck Rogers veterans Jack Palance and Eddie Benton (a/k/a Anne-Marie Martin) and I also enjoy the miniature effects, which are surprisingly decent for such a cheap production.

The Shape Of Things To Come Blu-ray can be pre-ordered now through online retailers such as Amazon.

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #52: THE BLACK HOLE

When the inevitable robot rebellion comes... will it look like this?

Some of the cybernetic stars of Gary Nelson's 1979 sci-fi epic for Disney, The Black Hole, pose for a group portrait, presumably during a UK publicity tour. The 'bots are on the Gateshead side of the River Tyne with the Tyne Bridge in the background.

Thanks to Star Kid Jeremy Briggs, who identified the location of the photo over on the Space: 1970 Facebook page.

STARSTRUCK (1979)

I have literally been looking for evidence of the existence of this 1979 failed sci-fi sitcom pilot ever since I started this blog. Couldn't find a reference to it anywhere online. Wasn't even listed on the IMDb.

Then, yesterday afternoon, Star Kid Traie Payne posted to the Space: 1970 Facebook page a link to an A.V. Club article that not only confirmed my 35 year-old memories, but even included video of the entire show - which aired only once, on CBS in June of 1979. Thankfully, Chuck Cirino, who worked on Starstruck as an effects technician, saved his tape of the show and uploaded it to YouTube for posterity. (And, coincidentally, to save my sanity.)

The half-hour show told the story of the Earth-born McAllisters and their family-run restaurant and hotel in space, catering to an intergalactic clientele of bizarre aliens, robots and other space travelers. I remember watching it when it aired, and it stuck in my head, even though I never found any reference to it after that original viewing. Watching it now, I can see that it's not particularly funny, so it's no surprise that it didn't go to series. But the effects, production design and make-up effects/monster masks, are all pretty good for the time.

Anyone else remember this one?

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #49: ALIEN

An effects technician (possibly Jon Sorensen) works on the otherworldly derelict miniature from Ridley Scott's classic 1979 space horror flick, Alien. As you may have noted by now, I'm a huge fan of practical effects work - especially miniatures - and I find these kinds of behind-the-scenes shots fascinating.

News: METEOR (1979) Coming to Blu-Ray in September

On September 16th, Kino Lorber will be releasing the 1979 American-International disaster "epic," Meteor, on high-definition Blu-ray disc. This Ronald Neame-directed tale of death from above features an all-star cast, including Sean Connery (Zardoz), Natalie Wood, Henry Fonda, Martin Landau (Space: 1999), Trevor Howard, Karl Malden, and Brian Keith.

From the Kino's press release:

A brilliant scientist, Dr. Paul Bradley (Connery) is summoned to Washington by NASA chief Harold Sherwood (Malden), who informs him that a huge meteor will smash into earth in six days. The only chance to destroy the meteor is to work with the Soviets, revealing to them top secrets. But as the clock is ticking, fragments of the meteor split off and come crashing to earth, causing enormous damage. And as avalanches and tidal waves take a devastating toll, Bradley works against all odds to eliminate the greatest threat the world has ever known.

Despite a huge PR campaign and plenty of sci-fi elements, the relatively big-budget Meteor flopped at the box office, and took American-International pictures down with it, but I've always enjoyed it for what it was. It's not a great movie, by any means, but it's entertaining.

As I've noted here on the site before, for what was, essentially, just another Irwin Allen-styled disaster flick, the movie generated a lot of tie-in merchandise aimed at the adolescent Space: 1970 crowd: a Marvel Comics adaptation and Warren souvenir magazine, a Viewmaster reel, even an arcade pinball machine.

The Blu-ray is already available for pre-order online.

Look-In: STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979)

Here's another cool cover from a December '79 issue of the British kid's mag, Look-In, featuring the cast of 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I'm not sure who the artist is - it may be the work of Look-In regular (and acclaimed film poster artist) Arnaldo Putzu, but somehow it doesn't quite look like his style to me.Of course, I could be wrong, and if I am, it won't be long before someone lets me know.

THE BLACK HOLE (1979) Lobby Cards

 

Courtesy of Star Kid Paul Quinn, here is a selection of colorful lobby cards from Disney's 1979 entry in the post-Star Wars cinematic space opera wave, The Black Hole. These scans are from a set of reproductions included in the 1999 special "tin box" VHS edition of the film, released by Anchor Bay Entertainment.

This is a cool collection, because aside from the familiar "rolling meteor" shot above, and the standard aft shot of the Cygnus, there are a bunch of lesser-seen stills from the movie included in this set. Enjoy.

And, before I forget, I'd like to express my appreciation for the late Maximilian Schell, who portrayed the demented Doctor Hans Reinhardt in The Black Hole, who passed away just a few weeks ago on February 1st. The highly-respected and acclaimed Austrian actor was 83 years of age. R.I.P.

Behind-The-Scenes Pix #47: THE HUMANOID

An Italian effects crew sets up a miniature shot during production of 1979's The Humanoid, director Aldo Lado's answer to Star Wars, starring Richard Kiel and Barbara Bach. I finally got to see the film last year, and while it's not as much fun as Starcrash, it is enjoyably goofy.

I actually thought the spaceship miniatures were pretty decent (as evidenced above), even if the effects techniques themselves were primitive in comparison to their Hollywood competitors.

BUCK ROGERS Toy Art by Earl Norem

Despite the low quality of the above scan, it's still clear that this painting by Earl Norem, which graced the box of HG Toys' Buck Rogers In The 25th Century Galactic Playset back in '79, is a pretty fine representation of the Gil Gerard series and its universe (although the blonde bears no resemblance to Erin Gray, whatosever).

The "Galactic Playset" was a repackaging of a space toy that had been around since the late Sixties under various names, with the addition of a few Earth Starfighters and Draconian Hatchet Fighters to tie it in with the series. A quick look around the Internet shows that this set is commanding fairly high prices on auction and collectible sites - though not quite as much as the original Norem painting, which is currently being offered on eBay with an asking price of $1,800!

UPDATE: Here's a higher-quality scan of the left side of the painting:

CHALLENGE OF THE SUPERHEROES (1979) TV Guide Ad

In January of 1979, Adam West and Burt Ward returned to the television roles that they had made famous in 1966 - DC Comics super-heroes Batman & Robin - for a prime time comedy special - The Challenge Of The Superheroes! This live-action NBC "event," produced by Hanna-Barbara Productions (producers of the Saturday morning animated series, Super Friends, for ABC), pitted eight DC heroes against seven super villains, and was the first (and in some cases, only) live-action appearances of many of them.

Aside from West and Ward, the cast included Garrett Craig as Captain Marvel, Howard Murphy as the Green Lantern, Bill Nuckols as Hawkman, Barbara Joyce as The Huntress, Rod Haase as The Flash, Alfie Wise as The Atom, Danuta Rylko Soderman as the Black Canary, and William Schallert as "Scarlet Cyclone/Retired Man." Superman was unavailble to the producers as he was currently headlining his own theatrical film series. Likewise, Wonder Woman was not included as she was starring in her own series for rival network CBS at the time.

This special was followed soon thereafter with a parody of the Dean Martin Roasts, called (logically enough) The Superhero Roast, and featured the same cast. Collectively, these two programs are known as The Legends Of The Superheroes, and for decades, were popular bootleg videos at comic book conventions. These days, they're legally available on MOD DVD from Warner Archive.

New BUCK ROGERS (1979) Soundtrack From Intrada

I haven't seen (or heard) this myself, but I understand that Intrada has recently issued a 3-CD Special Edition soundtrack containing the majority of music cues from the first season of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, composed by Stu Phillips, Johnny Harris, Les Baxter and others. According to the company:

3-CD world premiere release of soundtrack music from Season One of cult sci-fi TV series starring Gil Gerard. Generous set features primary episode composer Johnny Harris, who also arranged & conducted numerous versions of Glen A. Larson theme music, plus episode scores from Les Baxter, Richard LaSalle, Stu Phillips. Styles of music emphasize exciting symphonic splendor and colorful sci-fi atmosphere, but listeners will also find some rollicking outer space pop sensibilitiy to balance. While show was broadcast only in mono, Universal fortunately elected to record in 1/2" three-channel stereo format with vivid, punchy dynamics. Engineers recorded with mono in mind but happily ensured stereo mixes were possible for internal needs. All rolls of tape were vaulted in pristine condition

It retails for a hefty $35 bucks - which is why I don't have it. But I really want it. And I'll want the Season Two set they're promising, too. Sigh...

It doesn't seem to be currently available from Amazon, but it can apparently be ordered directly from the Intrada website (where you can find a complete track listing, as well).

CLIFFHANGERS! (1979) NBC Promo

A year or more back, I shared a rare TV spot for 1979's Kenneth Johnson-produced NBC genre oddity, Cliffhangers!, but that vid has since been removed from YouTube (and thus this site, as well). Fortunately, I stumbled across a different, one-minute network promo today, and here it is - for as long as it stays available.

Cliffhangers! was a modern "take" on the theatrical movie serials of the 30s and 40s, composed of three, 15-minute chapters of three different ongoing stories in each episode.

The one that most fit in with the Space: 1970 aesthetic was "The Secret Empire," an update/rip-off of the 1935 Gene Autry vehicle, The Phantom Empire. Both dealt with cowboys battling the inhabitants of secret underground scientific super-cities. In the Cliffhangers! version, the leader of the villains was portrayed by none other than Mark Lenard of Star Trek and the Planet Of the Apes television series, and the cowboy hero didn't sing a song in each installment.

BUCK ROGERS Comic Art By Mel Crawford

Here's the original cover painting for Western Publishing/Gold Key Comics' Buck Rogers In The 25th Century #2, the first issue of their 1979 series adapting the NBC television series (Western had published a Buck one-shot back in 1964, hence the numbering). The painting is by versatile commercial illustrator and fine artist, Mel Crawford. The talented Crawford did countless comics covers for Dell and Western and is especially well-regarded for his children's book illustrations.

THE DAY TIME ENDED (1979)

The 1979 Charles Band production, The Day Time Ended, isn't so much a movie as it is a showreel for some of the era's most talented special effects artist. There's no plot to speak of; there's just a series of disconnected events, each designed to showcase one special effects technique or another.

The story, such as it is, is this: a family moves into its new, isolated desert home on the same day that astronomers witness an unprecedented triple supernova some 200 light years away from Earth. Somehow - it's never really explained adequately - they find themselves in the center of a violent space-time "vortex" and besieged by UFOs, strange (stop-motion) creatures, menacing machines, and a wide variety of glowing lights. It's basically Poltergeist with a sci-fi rather than supernatural basis, but far less narratively coherent.

The cast, led by Hollywood veterans Jim Davis (Dallas) and Dorothy Malone, gamely give it their best, but since most of the time they're reacting to effects that will be created in post, thta's not saying too much. The direction by John "Bud" Cardos (Kingdom Of The Spiders, The Dark) is likewise workmanlike, but one gets the sense that nobody involved - neither cast nor crew - quite knew what the story was supposed to be about.

The movie's saving grace is the aforementioned special effects, a virtual buffet of pre-digital cinematic illusions by some of the best freelance FX guys of the era. There's some terrific stop-motion creatures designed by Lyle Conway and animated by David Allen and Randy Cook; lots of optical rays and zipping ghost lights by Peter Kuran and crew; and some gorgeous matte paintings by Jim Danforth.

As a fan of Old School analog effects work, I do enjoy The Day Time Ended (a title nearly as nonsensical as its story - it was shot under the name Vortex, which is at least a little more apt), but every time I see it, I can't help but shake my head at the non-sequitur-riddled script. It's a weird one, that's for sure.

 The movie was released to theaters in 1979, and subsequently made its way to VHS under several labels over the next couple of decades. I own it on the laserdisc issued in the mid-90s, which sports a decent, if pan & scan, 4x3 full-frame image. I understand that it is also available on a DVD of somewhat questionable provenance. (If you have a Roku or other streaming device, it is also available for free on the Threshold online movie channel, though their presentation looks like it's straight from the VHS.)

BUCK ROGERS (1979) Mediascene Cover By Steranko

Issue #34 of Jim Steranko's Mediascene tabloid magazine was a "Science Fiction Preview" issue, with coverage of Space: 1970 favorites Meteor, The Shape Of Things To Come, and... Buck Rogers. Here's a snapshot of Steranko's terrific cover illustration of the heroic Captain Rogers and friends/enemies!