News: MESSAGE FROM SPACE (1978) New on DVD

Kinji Fukasaku's 1978 Star Wars-inspired space opera, Message From Space, starring Vic Morrow and Sonny Chiba, received a Region 1 licensed DVD release from Shout! Factory this week. The disc - DVD only - contains the United Artists, English-language version of the movie.

Message has been available in the U.S. on DVD from Eastern Star since 2010 (it's the version I have), which contained the Japanese print with both Japanese and English audio. (My review of that disc can be found HERE.) I haven't seen the Shout! Factory edition as yet, so I can't speak as to the picture and audio quality, but the company usually does an exceptional job on their cult releases. As to the movie itself, it's one of my favorites of the International Star Wars rip-offs, and a lot of giddy fun.

The new Message From Space DVD is in stores now, and can be ordered through online retailers such as Amazon: Message From Space

Nimoyday

Today marks the 82nd birthday of actor Leonard Nimoy, the first, best and only Spock. Without Star Trek, I wouldn't be the guy I am today, and without Nimoy's Spock, there wouldn't have been a Star Trek - at least not the one we know today. As I've said before, in the mid-90s, I had the great honor to collaborate with Mr. Nimoy ("Call me Leonard.") on a comic book project, and it's one of my most treasured personal & professional memories. Happy birthday, sir!

Shatnerday

As we do every year, Space: 1970 once again wishes the very happiest of birthdays to the first and best James Tiberius Kirk - William Shatner. He was my first space hero and the creative trek he launched me on continues today - and every day - here on this blog... and in my personal and professional endeavors.

News: BEYOND WESTWORLD (1980) TV Pilot on Blu-ray

Yep, the pilot episode of the very short-lived Beyond Westworld television series has been included as bonus feature on Warner Brothers' forthcoming Westworld Blu-ray (along with a vintage featurette and the theatrical trailer).

The obscure television spin-off, Beyond Westworld, was canceled after only three episodes were aired (although five were shot) by CBS in 1980. It starred Jim McMullan as Delos Security Chief John Moore, who had to stop a rogue roboticist named Quaid (James Wainright) from using the Delos robot technology to replace key political, military and corporate leaders and thus, conquer the world.

The Westworld HD disc is due in stores next Tuesday... and will be followed on the 26th by Shout! Factory's Blu-ray release of the American-International sequel, Futureworld.

I'm still hoping that Warner's MOD division, Warner Archive, will release the entire Beyond Westworld series this month, but they usually don't announce their new titles until the week they become available, so who knows?

You can pre-order the Blu-ray from Amazon: Westworld [Blu-ray]

A Birthday Blast for Buck!

From those of us who are still living in Buck Rogers' 25th Century, here's wishing our very best to 70's space hero - and intergalactic Romeo - Gil Gerard on his 70th birthday.

News: UFO Movie in 2013?

Well, according to the production company's website, the long-in-development feature film based on the late Gerry Anderson's 1970 television series UFO will begin shooting in the "first quarter of 2013," directed by Matthew Gratzner (a visual effects veteran who's worked on films like Alien: Resurrection, Iron Man and Spielberg's War of the Worlds) from a screenplay by Ryan Gaudet and Joseph Kanarek. Of course, the same site provides no definite casting information (not even the previously-announced Joshua Jackson as Paul Foster), so I'm not sure how ready to film they really are.

In any case, it's the first new "news" we've heard on this production in a couple years....

Happy Birthday, Stella Star!

This Star Kid wants to wish the lovely Caroline Munro - Stella Star herself - a very joyous and happy birthday today. The interstellar siren of Luigi Cozzi's pulp romp Starcrash (who also portrayed the savage Dia the Beautiful in Kevin Connor's At The Earth's Core, among many other memorable genre roles) turns a youthful 64 today.

Caroline is a personal favorite of mine, and although I've never had the good fortune to meet her, she remains something of a muse to me in my writing. Many of my heroines resemble Ms. Munro, and that's not a coincidence. It's also notable, I think that Caroline was the very first "Space Babe" on this site!

Obit: Mariangela Melato, R.I.P.

More sad news: Italian actress Mariangela Melato, who so memorably portrayed General Kala, Klytus' right-hand woman and head of Mongo's secret police in director Mike Hodges' 1980 film, Flash Gordon, passed away from pancreatic cancer last Friday, January 11. She was 71 years old.

Popular in Europe, Melato starred in a variety of roles in over 60 films and television productions, but is probably best known for her role in 1974's Swept Away.

Rest in peace, Mariangela.

News: MESSAGE FROM SPACE (1978) DVD Coming From Shout! Factory In April

I don't have much information on this yet, but a pre-order listing has appeared on Amazon for a domestic DVD release of Kinji Fukasaku's 1978 space opera epic, Message From Space. I don't know if it will be just the U.S. United Artists version, or will include the original Japanese language version as well, nor do I know if any bonus material will be included. As more information becomes available, I'll post it here on the site.

Message From Space has already been available in the U.S. on DVD from Eastern Star for a while (it's the version I have). My review of that disc can be found HERE. I was quite satisfied with the quality of that edition, and I'm curious to find out what difference - if any - there is between the Eastern Star and forthcoming Shout! edition. However, if they offer the title on Blu-ray, I'll definitely pick it up!

The Shout! Factory edition is due on April 16th, and can be pre-ordered here: Message From Space

News: PERILS ON PLANET X Webcomic Ready For Launch!

I hope you'll all forgive me for plugging a personal project, but I wanted to announce here that my new webcomic series, Perils On Planet X, with art by the exceptional Gene Gonzales, will debut on February 1st, with a new page being posted every Friday at perilsonplanetx.com.

Perils On Planet X is an interplanetary adventure in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars or Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, though it incorporates influences from virtually every science fantasy/space opera you can imagine, including plenty of Space: 1970 favorites. (For one example: the green skies of our planet Xylos are a "homage" to the green skies of Blackstar's planet Sagar.)

The plan is to serialize the entire graphic novel (around a hundred pages or so) online, and then collect it in a print version upon its completion. We already have six month's worth of pages completed - and nearly six months' more drawn and lettered - so maintaining the weekly schedule won't be a problem.

I'm confident that anyone who reads this blog regularly will enjoy what Gene & I have come up with for this comic series, and hope that every Space: 1970 Star Kid will make a weekly habit of reading Perils On Planet X. I've literally been working on it for more than a decade and am eager to see how it's received. Please check it out come February 1st. Thanks!

News: KORG: 70,000 B.C. (1974) On DVD

Not strictly sci-fi, but close enough for my blog, Korg: 70,000 B.C. was a 1974 live-action Saturday morning children's series revolving around the day-to-day struggle for survival of a family of  (English-speaking) Neanderthals.

Created by Fred Frieberger (producer of Star Trek Season 3 and Space: 1999 Year 2), the show was a rare foray into live-action by Hanna-Barbara and starred Jim Malinda as Korg.

A plaintive hunting horn, heard over a ruddy sunrise, signaled the start of something different on Saturday mornings in the mid-seventies. Clan Korg had arrived to take kids and kids at heart on a series of live-action anthropological adventures across the dangerous terrain of prehistory. Aided by consultants from both New York's American Museum of Natural History and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Korg ditched battling dinos and discovering fire for a more mature focus on the dawn of cooperation and compassion amongst our Neanderthal brethren as personified by it's pre-nuclear family. Korg is the patriarch of the clan, which includes Mara, his mate; Bok, Korg's younger brother; and Korg's three offspring: Tana, 15; Ree, 12; and Tar, 11. Together, they brave opposing tribes, cave bears and fire while discovering the roots of art, diplomacy and commerce in the world of 70,000 BC. Burgess Meredith narrates.

 I'm not quite sure how I missed it, as I usually try to stay on top of releases from Warner Archive, but I guess they released the complete series of Korg earlier in December as a 2-disc Manufactured-On-Demand DVD set containing all 16 episodes.

I can't say I remember the show well; I rarely watched it, preferring the more fantastic primeval thrills of the Land of The Lost. But I do know that it had its fans among the era's Star Kids.

The discs can be ordered directly from Warner Archive or through Amazon: Korg: 70,000 B.C.

News: WESTWORLD (1973) & FUTUREWORLD (1976) Coming To Blu-ray In March

Here's some good news for those of us Star Kids who are equipped for HDTV: Warner Home Video will be releasing the 1973 Michael Chricton killer android thriller Westworld, starring James Brolin, Richard Benjamin (Quark) and the unstoppable Yul Brynner (The Ultimate Warrior), on Blu-ray disc in March of 2013.

And in a nice bit of marketing syncronicity, Shout Factory has licensed the rights to the 1976 American-International-produced, Richard T. Heffron-directed sequel, Futureworld, starring Peter Fonda and Blythe Danner (with a cameo by Brynner) and will also be releasing it on Blu in March!

I can't wait! Wouldn't it be extra-cool if Warner Archive would take this opportunity to unearth from the vaults and dust off the short-lived 1980 television series Beyond Westworld at the same time?

Both of these eagerly-anticipated Blu-ray discs are available for pre-order from Amazon:

Westworld [Blu-ray]

Futureworld [Blu-ray]

Hailing Frequencies Open!

Here's wishing the multi-talented Nichelle Nichols - the Star Trek franchise's first, best, and (with apologies to Ms. Saldana) sexiest Lt. Uhura - a very happy and joyous 80th birthday. Ms. Nichols was the Space: 1970 Space Babe for January, 2011.

Obit: Gerry Anderson R.I.P.

I've just learned that producer Gerry Anderson, creator of the Space: 1970 television favorites UFO and Space: 1999, has passed away at age 83. Anderson, who also produced the 1969 sci-fi feature, Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun (a/k/a Doppleganger), the TV special, The Day After Tomorrow: Into Infinity, and the 1990's program, Space Precinct, was diagnosed with mixed dementia two years ago, and moved permanently to a care home in October of this year. He leaves behind four children and his widow, Mary.

Of course, in England and elsewhere, he is probably best-known for his "Supermarionation" programs - including Fireball XL-5, Thunderbirds, Supercar, Stingray, Terrahawks and Joe 90 - which combined sophisticated puppetry with extensive miniature effects. Many of these shows aired in the U.S. during the 60s and 70s, but didn't have quite the cultural impact here that they did at home.

Obviously, I am a huge admirer of Anderson's live-action genre efforts. Space: 1999 and UFO are both milestones in the realm of 70s sci-fi, and classics of their kind.

R.I.P. Gerry, and thanks.

News: Cathy Lee Crosby WONDER WOMAN (1974) Coming To DVD... Next Week

Not too long ago, I wrote about the 1974 Wonder Woman television movie/pilot that starred Cathy Lee Crosby as DC Comics' star-spangled Amazon princess from Paradise Island. At the time I actually mentioned that I thought it would make a good candidate for DVD release by Warner Brothers' manufacture-on-demand Warner Archive Collection.

Well, apparently, someone was listening.

On December 11th, Warner Archive will be releasing Wonder Woman on burned-to-order disc:

Before Lynda Carter took the heroine back to World War 2 for her “New, Original” incarnation in 1975, statuesque tennis pro-turned-performer Cathy Lee Crosby swung the magic lasso in a very different TV incarnation of Wonder Woman. As developed by scribe John D.F. Black (Star Trek), and seemingly influenced by her recent turn as a mod, cat-suited crime-fighter in the pages of her DC Comics home, this Amazon Princess was more superspy than superhero. Still, many of the expected wondrous elements from bracelets and lassos to Paradise Island and invisible jets all make an appearance, albeit with a sleek, seventies espionage super-action refit. Three years before taking up residence on Fantasy Island, Ricardo Montalban (Star Trek II: The wrath Of Khan) plays laconic lothario Abner Smith, who lurks at the top of the conspiracy to make off with ultra-secret code books – leading Agent Prince to discover an Amazon sister-in-exile (Anitra Ford).

Although not a 70s show, fans of superhero television may be interested to know that Warner Archive will be releasing the second season of the 80s syndicated Superboy series on the same day. (I happen to be a fan of that show, so I'm excited by this news, as well.)

Neither title appears to be available at the Warner Archive site as yet, but I'm sure they'll be listed shortly. Needless to say, I'll be trying to get my hands on a copy as soon as I can, and when I do, I'll post a full review here on the site.

News: THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN Season 3 DVDs Coming in February

As reported over on the indispensable TV Shows On DVD site yesterday, Universal will be releasing the standalone DVD set of the classic middle season of The Six Million Dollar Man to retail outlets on February 19th, 2013. For fans like me, who couldn't afford the exclusive Complete Series megaset from Time-Life, and have been patiently (and often impatiently) waiting for the individual seasons to be released, this is great news!

Season Three features the classic return/resurrection of Lindsay Wagner as Jaime Sommers (and the set includes the relevant Bionic Woman episodes) and the introduction of Steve Austin's most iconic adversary: the Bionic Bigfoor (Andre the Giant)!

Bonus features in this set include audio commentaries by producer Kenneth Johnson on those fan-favorite episodes. The 6-DVD set is priced at $39.98 SRP, and can be pre-ordered from Amazon at a discounted price here:The Six Million Dollar Man: Season 3

I'll try and stay on top of this eagerly-anticipated DVD release; Season Two was available several months before its official release date as a Best Buy exclusive. If that turns out to be the case with this 3rd Season package, I'll try to give Space: 1970 readers a head's up.

News: Roddenberry's QUESTOR TAPES (1974) Now on DVD

As a follow-up to Wednesday's "Behind-The-Scenes" post, Star Kid Don Hilliard informs me that Gene Roddenberry's TV movie/unsold series pilot, The Questor Tapes, is actually available commercially, as a Manufactured-On-Demand DVD from Universal's "Vault Series" and Amazon. I'm not sure how timely this news actually is, because I have no idea how long Universal's been offering the disc - unlike Warner Archive, they don't seem to aggressively promote their MOD offerings.

Needless to say, I'll be ordering a copy as soon as finances permit, and will make a point of reviewing it here on the site.

The Questor Tapes was one of Roddenberry's several attempts to launch a genre follow-up to Star Trek in the Seventies (others include Spectre, Genesis II and Planet Earth).  Written by Roddenberry and his Trek cohort Gene Coon, Questor recounted the origin of an advanced android (Robert Foxworth) on the run from the government and searching for the scientist that built him. He's aided in his search by another scientist, Jerry Robinson (Mike Farrell). Directed by Richard A. Colla (director of the Battlestar Galactica pilot, as well as the TV movie, The UFO Incident), the cast included Trek veterans Majel Barrett and Walter Koenig in supporting roles. (Another Trek alumni, D.C. Fontana, penned the paperback novelization.)

As I mentioned in the previous post, this is the only one of Roddenberry's 70s sci-fi pilots I haven't yet seen. With luck, I'll be correcting that oversight soon.

Buy at Amazon: The Questor Tapes

News: MESSAGE FROM SPACE (1978) on Netflix Instant

One of my favorite 70s space operas, Toei Studios' bizarre Message From Space, directed by Kinji Fukasaku, is currently available on Netflix Instant in the U.S.  If you haven't seen this high-spirited, special effects loaded Japanese take on Star Wars, I suggest checking out my review and the trailer before viewing the film.

Personally, I love the movie- but that is far from a universally-held opinion....

Sorry it's been so quiet around here lately. Hopefully, posting will pick up shortly.

Birthday Heroes

Today marks the birthdays of two major Space: 1970-era icons: Mark Hamill and the late Christopher Reeve. I'm sure I speak for all Star Kids when I wish Mister Hamill - Luke Skywalker himself - a very happy 61st birthday. I'd also like to take this opportunity, on the anniversary of his birth, to remember Reeve, one of the few actors to so perfectly embody the essence of the superhero they portrayed. Both of these gentlemen portrayed heroes of my youth, and I still carry with me the inspiration they sparked in childhood.

News: BUCK ROGERS (1979) Season 2 DVDs to Include TV Version of "Awakening"

Thanks, Universal. According to a news report at the TV Shows On DVD website today, the Buck Rogers In The 25th Century stand-alone re-release of Season Two (which was delayed until the Spring of '13) will now include the TV version of the premiere episode of the show, "Awakening" as a bonus feature.

Previous DVD/home video releases have only included the 1979 theatrical feature film version of the pilot movie. When that movie aired on NBC the following September as the first episode of the weekly series, it contained alternate footage and a new ending designed to set up the subsequent installments.

The comparatively rare TV version of "Awakening" is currently available on Netflix Instant, but this DVD release marks its first appearance on U.S. home video.

This really annoys me. While I'm glad that it's finally becoming available, I chafe at the notion of buying the eleven Year Two episodes I already purchased in the 2004 "Complete Epic Series" set again - at a price greater than that of the aforementioned complete series set - just to get the TV version of "Awakening." Apparently, this is my reward for supporting Universal nine years ago. To some, this may not be an issue, but I cannot easily afford spending another $25 for stuff I already have, just to satisfy my need for completeness.

Oh well. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what my financial situation is like next Spring, and decide then. (Hell, Buck Rogers may end up rivaling Star Trek TOS and Space: 1999 for number of times I buy the same show over and over...) For those who have already decided, the discs are already available for pre-order through Amazon: Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Season Two