Behind-The-Scenes Pix #45: ARK II

Hollywood sci-fi legend Robby The Robot awaits his cue on location during filming of Filmation's 1976 post-Apocalyptic adventure series, Ark II. In the episode, Robby portrayed Alpha-One, a robot created by Ark II crewmember Samuel (José Flores), who nobly sacrifices himself to save his organic comrades. 

A much in-demand automaton, Robby guested on a number of Space: 1970 favorites, including Project U.F.O., Space Academy, Wonder Woman and Mork & Mindy.

July's Space Babe: Jean-Marie Hon

July's Space Babe is pretty Jean-Marie Hon, who co-starred in two Space: 1970 favorites: Ark II and Man From Atlantis. On the Saturday morning Filmation series, Ark II, Jean-Marie portrayed the youthful and idealistic scientist Ruth, who traveled a post-Holocaust America with her equally-idealistic companions Jonah, Samuel, and talking chimp, Adam, bringing technological and humanitarian aid to the scattered remnants of civilization. On Man From Atlantis, she was Jane, communications officer aboard the advanced research submarine, Cetacean, providing back-up support for aqua-mariner Mark Harris's undersea adventures.

I've been able to find out very little about the lovely Ms Hon online. She was born in 1955 in San Francisco, and acted on television from 1976 (Ark II) through 1985, appearing in TV movies and in guest shots on shows like Hawaii 5-0 and The Hardy Boys. According to what little I've been able to uncover in my Internet safaris, she retired from acting to raise a family and became a pharmacist. She appeared in the supplemental interview material on the Ark II DVD set from BCI a few years back, and still looked beautiful.

ARK II (1976) Animated?

In 1976, Filmation produced its first live-action science fiction adventure, Ark II. This single-season, post-Apocalyptic kid's show (think about that for a second - that was the 70s!), chronicled the adventures of three multi-cultural/ethnic young scientists - Jonah (Terry Lester), Ruth (Jean-Marie Hon) and Samuel (Jose Flores) - who, accompanied by their talking chimpanzee, Adam, roamed the barren wastelands, bringing their scientific aid (and superior morality) to the ravaged remnants of humanity. Fun Saturday morning escapism, huh?

Anyway, at some point, Filmation considered reviving the series in animated form. To that end, model sheets were drawn up and the studio presented their proposal to CBS. For whatever reasons, the network didn't bite, and the designs went into the filing cabinet - later to appear as an "extra" on the Ark II DVD set from BCI/Eclipse.

As a fan of the original series, I kinda wish that Filmation had produced an animated continuation. In animation, the Ark II crew could have encountered menaces and environments (mutants and volcanoes and other cool stuff) beyond the meager budget of the live-action program....

ARK II (1976) Vintage Video Art

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It's difficult to find much memorabilia from the Filmation live-action sci-fi shows. As far as I can tell, none of them got domestic releases on VHS (and if I'm wrong, please let me know - and send scans!). Space Academy did get some action figures (again, I'd love some good pix), and Jason Of Star Command did get one tie-in kid's novel (which I hope to have on my shelf before the end of the week - but that's about it. They came and went just too damned fast for any real exploitation by toymakers and other licensors. As far as I know, all that Ark II got was a Halloween costume... and a Swedish VHS release.

What a shame. Can you imagine how cool model kits of the Ark II, Seeker, Space Academy, or Drago's Dragonship would have been?  Or a Ark II vehicle toy with action figures of Jonah, Ruth, Samuel and Adam so you could reenact their post-Apocalyptic adventures in your backyard?

Anyway, the colorful artwork for that Swedish videotape appears above. Oddly, there are no good shots of the Ark II itself on the video sleeve; apparently the jetpack - and Roamer - were considered more of a selling point.

ARK II (1976) Network Promo

Still under the weather, hence this quickie video post. A rare bit of 70s TV ephemera: a very brief (10 second) network promo for Filmation's Saturday morning, post-Apocalyptic sci-fi adventure series, Ark II.

What's with that weird art?

Space: 1970 Mythbusting

Since I started this blog back in November of 2009, I've received a number of e-mails and comments here and on the Facebook page that contain some misinformation about the 70s sci-fi movies and television shows we all love so much. In many cases, these are clearly just made-up rumors, probably originating in schoolyards thirty years ago. In others, they are perpetuations of errors originally published in fanzines or on websites.

In most cases, these "myths" can be disproven with minimum effort. And as long as that's the case, I'll be happy to disprove them! Here are a few that have actually come up more than once.

MYTH: The Ark vehicle from Filmation's Ark II television series was the repainted and modified Landmaster from the feature film Damnation Alley.

FACTS: I've encountered this myth in the comments section here, a couple of message boards, and at least one fansite. Here are the facts: Filmation's Ark II aired in the Fall of 1976 and was shot that Summer at various locations, including the Fox Ranch. The Ark vehicle was manufactured by the Brubaker Group and built on the chassis of a dump truck. The body was made up of fiberglass sections over a welded steel frame. Some of these sections - including the "nose," were recycled by Filmation to build the full-scale Seeker spaceship for their subsequent show, Space Academy. The vehicle was an empty shell, but did have a functioning ramp in the rear for the small, "Roamer" automobile - which was a modified "Brubaker Box" kit car, built on a Volkswagen bus chassis.

Damnation Alley was released to theaters in October, 1977, a full year after Ark II's debut. The Landmaster was built - at a reported $300,000-$350,000 - by famous custom cars man Dean Jeffries' company, which also built the vehicles for Death Race 2000 and the Logan's Run television series. The Landmaster, with its distinctive, "tri-star" 12-wheel configuration, was a functional (and road-legal) "truck." Although it did not appear on Ark II (which would have required time travel), it did appear in various other TV shows and movies, including Get A Life, Hybrid, and A.P.E.X.

And if none of that convinces you... a quick look at the two vehicles side-by-side above will clearly show that aside from being big, they don't look very similar at all.

MYTH: Here's one about the Man From Atlantis television show - and subsequent comic book - I've heard more than once, most recently over on the Space: 1970 Facebook page, from reader Alex Mohalek:

Universal didn't want to pay Marvel Comics for the rights to use "Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner," so they made up their own undersea hero, as it was easier to have Patrick Duffy portray one water-breathing Atlantean instead of creating costumes, sets, special effects, to show an entire race of blue-skinned water-breathers. When Marvel  heard of this, their legal department threatened to sue Universal, but that plan was nixed as Marvel and Universal already had joint ventures with the Spider-Man and Incredible Hulk television series, as well as failed pilots for Captain America and Doctor Strange. So, a deal was hammered out where Marvel would produced the comic based on the situations and characters in the series.

FACTS: Now, I cannot say for certain whether Marvel ever considered suing over the Man From Atlantis show. Many companies feel that copyrights and trademarks need to be defended aggressively against any perceived infringement, even when there's not really all that much similarity. Mark Harris (Duffy's character on Man From Atlantis) didn't have pointed ears or winged ankles, and as there were other water-breathing superheroes around with Atlantean connections, I think it would have been difficult to prove any specific inspiration from Marvel's character. (In my opinion, the Mark Harris character more closely resembles Aquaman than Namor.)

But the story doesn't hold water (!) for one major reason - Man from Atlantis wasn't produced by Universal. It was independently produced by the Solow Production Company for NBC. My guess is that Marvel licensed the property for comics for the same reasons that they licensed Star Wars, Logan's Run, Godzilla and the Shogun Warriors - it seemed like something kids would like!

MYTH: Much like the Ark II/Damnation Alley item above, another frequently stated fan "myth" also involves alleged recycling of an important prop - in this case, the frequently-made allegation that the Canadian sci-fi series The Starlost used special effects genius Doug Trumbull's Valley Forge miniature from Silent Running as the basis for the Earthship Ark model.

FACTS: It's very easy to understand why people would believe this. Doug Trumbull (2001, CE3K) was initially supposed to supervise the effects work for The Starlost and was credited as a producer for the entire run of the series. He also appeared in a promotional film for the show with star Kier Dullea, and that promo film did use stock shots from Silent Running to show potential programmers what The Starlost's effects were going to look like. Plus, both the Valley Forge and the Earthship Ark feature large, geodesic domes prominently in their designs.

But... Trumbull was already off the show by the time production began in Canada, and while he may have been involved in the initial design of the Earthship Ark, as far as I can determine, he was not present when it was built and did not supervise its photography. The shapes of the two ships are significantly different, and the Starlost vessel has many, many interconnected domes while the Silent Running ship only had six (although several identical ships were seen in the film, only one model was actually built). The Valley Forge model was about 26 feet long, while the Ark was roughly half that length. Photos found online also show the detailing of the domes from Silent Running (left) and The Starlost (right), and the Ark model seems significantly less detailed (and smaller in scale) than the Valley Forge.

Now, that's just from observation. I cannot definitively state that there was absolutely no reuse of parts, but it sure seems unlikely. Undoubtedly the Valley Forge design influenced that of the Earthship Ark, but they were completely different models. Stock footage of the Silent Running model did show up on episodes of Battlestar Galactica as the fleet's "Agro-ship," but by that point, the original effects miniature no longer existed.

Whew. That required more detective work (and Googling) than I anticipated. Of course, it is possible that I may be in error myself with some of my deductions, and I'll happily correct any mistakes, if I receive credible information otherwise. Still, I think I'm right. Anyway, I may do more essays like this in the future. If you have suggestions, post them in the comments section.

Rerun: ARK II (1976)

Okay, admittedly, I'm getting off to a bad start with the first Space: 1970 Theme Week: a day late and a re-post at that!, But... I actually intended to re-post some of the more relevant articles from the past year in addition to at least five new ones; I just didn't plan to start the week that way. Unfortunately, I haven't managed my time very well, so... here's my review of the Ark II DVD set from a few years ago, with a few minor revisions and some additional screen captures. With luck, I'll have a brand-new themed post up shortly.

Even as a kid in 1976, I thought that Ark II was a surprisingly bleak and grim premise for a Saturday morning children’s television series. Of course, at the time, it all seemed like a very possible near-future; as a child of the Seventies, I was uncomfortably aware of (even if I didn't understand) the energy crisis, the conflict in Vietnam, and the omnipresent nuclear threat posed by the Cold War.

Set in the 25th Century, after the world has been devastated by pollution and war, three multi-cultural young scientists (the late Terry Lester, Jean Marie Hon of Man From Atlantis, and Jose Flores) and their talking chimp, Adam, roam the post-Apocalyptic wasteland in a super-advanced RV, bringing the benefits of science and good morals to the primitive remnants of humanity. That’s right – it’s Damnation Alley for adolescents!

Surprisingly, the show holds up pretty well. Despite the low budget, the production values are quite good, and the Ark and its accessories are pretty impressive gadgets, even today. Probably the most impressive gadget – besides the Ark itself – was a genuine Bell jetpack. Filmation secured the services of a jet-pack and pilot for an afternoon, dressed the guy up like Terry Lester, and shot as much footage of him zooming around as possible, footage they later reused repeatedly throughout the series. Still – it was cool and undeniably real, instead of an unconvincing bluescreen or rear-projection effect.

Shot on location at the old Fox Ranch, the producers managed to evoke a fairly convincing post-Apocalyptic world, even using some decrepit sets left over from the original Planet Of the Apes features! And, as I mentioned in my Space Academy review, Bill Malone’s Robby the Robot guest starred in an episode, which is always a plus for me. The earnest young cast manages to play their underwritten roles with conviction, and, thankfully, the chatty chimpanzee (voiced by frugal Filmation head Lou Scheimer) is never all that annoying.

Scripts range from quite good to insultingly bad, but are usually somewhere in the middle, and despite the grim setting, the stories all offer hope and a solid moral lesson. Fortunately, these "lessons" are not quite as heavy handed as in later Filmation shows, and are delivered without the usual sledgehammer tactics. Guest stars include Jonathan Harris (Lost in Space, Space Academy), Malachi Throne, Geoffrey Lewis, Jim Backus and a teenage Helen Hunt.

The Ark II set contains all 15 episodes on 4 discs. Unfortunately, the transfers are not very impressive. Presented in their original full-screen TV aspect ratio, the source material, originally shot on inexpensive 16mm film stock, is faded and grainy, although relatively free of damage or debris. Still, considering that the show is nearly 30 years old, and was probably shot on a budget of $100 bucks an episode, we’re probably lucky the episodes look as good as they do.

As with BCI’s other Filmation DVD releases, Ark II – The Complete Series comes with an bunch of bonus features, including audio commentaries on two episodes, a full-length "Making Of" documentary, several photo and art galleries (including designs for a proposed animated version of the series), and all 15 scripts, plus the series bible, on DVD-ROM.

Ultimately, Ark II is good kid’s show with a still-timely environmental message and a relatively decent example of 70’s TV sci-fi, and I really enjoyed watching these episodes again. If it’s a fond memory from your childhood, you may want to pick it up, despite the less-than-reference-quality transfers.

Like the other Filmation live-action sci-fi kidvid series Space Academy and Jason of Star Command, Ark II was released a few years ago on DVD by BCI. That original set is out of print – and BCI is out of business – but just before the company closed shop, it released all three series in one box set. Both editions are still available if you look around for them; in fact, here's some links:

•  Filmation Sci-Fi Box Set
• Ark II: The Complete Series

ARK II (1976) Publicity Shots

I recently came across these cast publicity stills for the 1976 Saturday morning Filmation series Ark II, featuring actors Terry Lester, Jean-Marie Hon, and José Flores, and thought I'd share them here. The post-Apocalyptic Ark II was a childhood favorite, and actually holds up better than many of the other fondly-remembered sci-fi shows of my youth.

By the way, if anyone has a nice, high-quality still of actress Jean-Marie Hon, I'd like to feature her as a future "Space Babe" (she was also a regular on The Man From Atlantis). I'm also looking for a nice pic of Maggie Cooper from Space Academy. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

ARK II (1976)

Even as a kid, I thought that Ark II was a surprisingly bleak and grim premise for a Saturday morning children’s television series.

Set in the 25th Century, after the world has been devastated by pollution and war, three multi-cultural young scientists (Terry Lester, Jean Marie Hon, and Jose Flores) and their talking chimp, Adam, roam the post-Apocalyptic wasteland in a super-advanced RV, bringing the benefits of science and good morals to the primitive remnants of humanity. That’s right – it’s Damnation Alley for adolescents!

Surprisingly, the show holds up pretty well. Despite the low budget, the production values are quite good, and the Ark and its accessories are pretty impressive gadgets, even today. Probably the most impressive gadget – besides the Ark itself – was a genuine Bell jetpack. Filmation secured the services of a jet-pack and pilot for an afternoon, dressed the guy up like Terry Lester, and shot as much footage of him zooming around as possible, footage they later reused repeatedly throughout the series. Still – it was cool and undeniably real, instead of an unconvincing bluescreen or rear-projection effect.

Shot on location at the old Fox Ranch, the producers managed to evoke a fairly convincing post-Apocalyptic world, even using some decrepit sets left over from the original Planet Of the Apes features! And, as I mentioned in my Space Academy review, Bill Malone’s Robby the Robot guest starred in an episode, which is always a plus for me. The earnest young cast manages to play their underwritten roles with conviction, and, thankfully, the chatty chimpanzee (voiced by frugal Filmation head Lou Schiemer) is never all that annoying.

Scripts range from quite good to insultingly bad, but are usually somewhere in the middle, and despite the grim setting, the stories all offer hope and a solid moral lesson. Fortunately, these "lessons" are not quite as heavy handed as in later Filmation shows, and are delivered without the usual sledgehammer tactics. Guest stars include Jonathan Harris, Malachi Throne, Geoffrey Lewis, Jim Backus and a teenaged Helen Hunt.

Like the other Filmation live-action sci-fi kidvid series Space Academy and Jason of Star Command, Ark II was released a few years ago on DVD by BCI. That original set is out of print – and BCI is out of business – but just before the company closed shop, it released all three series in one box set. Both editions are still available if you look around for them.

The Ark II set contains all 15 episodes on 4 discs. Unfortunately, the transfers are not very impressive. Presented in their original full-screen TV aspect ratio, the source material, originally shot on inexpensive 16mm film stock, is faded and grainy, although relatively free of damage or debris. Still, considering that the show is nearly 30 years old, and was probably shot on a budget of $100 bucks an episode, we’re probably lucky the episodes look as good as they do.

As with the company’s other Filmation releases, Ark II – The Complete Series comes with an bunch of bonus features, including audio commentaries on two episodes, a full-length "Making Of" documentary, several photo and art galleries, and all 15 scripts, plus the series bible, on DVD-ROM.

Ultimately, Ark II is good kid’s show with a still-timely environmental message and a relatively decent example of 70’s TV sci-fi, and I really enjoyed watching these episodes again. If it’s a fond memory from your childhood, you may want to pick it up, despite the less-than-reference-quality transfers.