Captain's bLog: 1125.13

• It's been a long time since I've posted anything here - over a month, in fact - and this is the first post I've made in November... and that's nearly over. I even missed marking Space: 1970's fourth anniversary on the 1st. Really rather embarrassed about that.

I have no good excuse. November's just been a bad month for me overall, writing-wise, and this site has suffered from that unfortunate (and frustrating) motivational drought along with all my other writing projects.

But that doesn't entirely account for the reduced posting here since the Summer. I've kinda been feeling like it's getting harder to find cool images to post, and the more involved articles - essays, film and DVD reviews, "Fave Episodes," "Fave Fives," "Hall of Fame," etc . - well, it's always been difficult for me to make the time to really do them up properly. And that's always been frustrating, because, for me, anyway, those are the most personal and satisfying posts to write.

Another factor in my Space: 1970 ennui is that due to recent changes in my state's tax laws, I no longer receive any kickbacks from Amazon's affiliate program. Don't get me wrong - this site was never about making money, and it never amounted to much anyway, but the couple hundred bucks a year at least helped me justify to myself the time and effort I put into Space: 1970, and it did allow me to buy more cool 70s sci-fi stuff (videos, books) for my collection. (I do still have the Paypal button over in the right-hand sidebar, but nobody's donated anything in over a year.)

Now, I know this all sounds pretty grim, but I'm not about to abandon this blog. My passion for disco-era sci-fi (and sci-fi disco, for that matter) hasn't diminished one iota. I'm just going through an extended  low-energy phase (or as they're referred to around here, a "funk"), and with a little luck, I'll be back up to speed soon. In the meantime, I'll try to scrape up a few more interesting photos over the next few weeks so the site doesn't go completely fallow. I appreciate your patience.

•  I did pick up the Hanna-Barbara series Space Stars on DVD from Warner Archive, and will try to post a review here soon. I will say now that the transfers are surprisingly good, and Warners has included some fun additional content that was not included in their original network airings. If you're a fan, it's a great package.

In upcoming video releases, I'm definitely still looking forward to the imminent release of 1980's Stanley Donen sci-fi gothic, Saturn 3, on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory, which goes on sale on December 3rd.

I'm somewhat less excited about Sony's new manufactured-on-demand Salvage 1discs - I'm deeply annoyed that the studio has chosen to release only a couple of random episodes on standalone (expensive) discs, rather than assemble a complete series package. Also, my interest in the show diminished after the moonshot pilot, so I have little incentive to pick up these releases. If you're interested, TV Shows On DVD has the release info and packaging pics.

• Friend of the blog/Star Kid Paul Quinn recently sent me some cool stuff - all but one of the Beyond Westworld episodes and the 1983 Roger Corman flick Space Raiders, along with a complete run of Starlog magazine on DVD-ROM. This kind of "audience participation" certainly helps motivate me to keep plugging away at Space: 1970, and I wanted to publicly thank him for his generosity.

• Finally, I'm still working on my sci-fi adventure webcomic, Perils On Planet X, which is illustrated by the talented Gene Gonzales, and colored by the equally-talented Ian Sokoliwski. It runs a page a week, with a new one posted every Friday, and it's absolutely free. We're about halfway through the second chapter now, and the story is moving along like a rocket, packed with Flash Gordon-styled pulp thrills. I hope you'll check it out, if you haven't already.

News: SATURN 3 (1980) Blu-ray Key Art Revealed

Shout! Factory has released the key art for their upcoming DVD & Blu-ray combo of Saturn 3, which uses the original U.S. theatrical poster image of the homicidal robot, Hector.

Coming in December as part of the company's Scream Factory line, this 1980 Stanley Donen "sci-fi gothic" film stars Kirk Douglas, Harvey Keitel and Farrah Fawcett. More product details (i.e. extras, exact street date) to be announced in early Autumn. I'll be sure to pass along the info as it becomes available.

Captain's bLog: 0726.13

• Not a whole lot to report on this time - I've been very busy with other projects (like my free weekly webcomics Perils On Planet X and Gravedigger) over the last month or so, and it's left me little time to work on this site or any of my other blogs. Fortunately, thanks to the annual geek festival that is San Diego Comic Con, there's been some exciting DVD/Blu-ray news to pass on, so this blog hasn't been entirely dormant.

Personally, I'm most excited about Shout/Scream Factory's Saturn 3 Blu-ray announcement - I've always had a soft spot (in my head?) for that Stanley Donen sci-fi gothic.

• Speaking of my weekly webcomics (see what I did there?) the interplanetary adventure Perils On Planet X, drawn by the talented Gene Gonazles, recently wrapped up its first 24-page chapter, "Captives Of the Corsair Queen." Chapter Two, "Flight Into Terror," begins next Friday, August 2nd. Perils On Planet X is a free, full-color serialized sci-fantasy swashbuckler with a new page posted every Friday.

POPX chronicles the adventures of modern-day Earth astronaut Donovan Hawke, stranded on the lost planet of Xylos, hundreds of millions of years in the past. The story is packed with alien monsters, beautiful women and lots of Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers-styled thrills. If you haven't checked it before, now is a good time to go and read the entire first chapter - if you do, I suspect you'll want to hang on for the rest.

• A Note Of Thanks: I want to express my gratitude to Star Kid C Raymond Pechonick, who recently sent me the last Berkley Battlestar Galactica and Pocket Space: 1999 novels I needed to fill out those particular paperback collections. I greatly appreciate it!

•  The Usual Plug: Anyone who enjoys my writing and the reviews on this blog should check out my DVD Late Show site, where I have been reviewing B-movies, cult films and genre television shows on DVD and Blu-ray disc since 2005. Among the over 700 reviews on the site are plenty of Space: 1970-era favorites, like Battle Beyond The Stars, Damnation Alley, Starcrash, The Starlost, the Space: 1999 Blu-rays, and many more. I haven't posted much to the site this Summer, but new articles will begin appearing in a week or so, including a full-fledged review of Olive Films' Hangar 18 Blu-ray.

News: SATURN 3 (1980) Coming to Blu-ray!

I don't have much info on this as yet, but apparently it was announced at the San Diego Comic Con this weekend that Shout! Factory (under its Scream Factory label) will be bringing Stanley Donen's 1980 space gothic, Saturn 3, to Blu-ray disc, possibly before the end of the year. As I find out more about this release, I'll pass it along.

Previously issued by Artisan Entertainment on DVD about a decade ago, with a fuzzy, unattractive, 4x3 "full-frame" transfer, the film is long overdue for a proper, widescreen anamorphic home video release, and getting it in 1080p HD is icing on the cake. Hopefully, this edition will include some extras - perhaps even the deleted "Blue Dreamers" sequence.

Saturn 3 stars Kirk Douglas, Farrah Fawcett, (a completely re-dubbed) Harvey Kietel and a truly nifty evil robot named Hector. The movie was conceived by Star Wars production designer John Barry, who also intended to direct it before his untimely passing - and it still bears his unmistakable visual style. It's easy to argue the film's dramatic merits, but the cinematography by Billy Williams and superb production design of the movie are gorgeous to behold - Saturn 3 is one of the coolest-looking space films of the Space: 1970 era, and should benefit greatly from the high-definition treatment.

I'm personally very excited by this news, and can't wait to add Saturn 3 to my Blu-ray collection.

UPDATE: Shout! Factory has confirmed that the Saturn 3 Blu-ray will be released in December. I know what I'm getting for Christmas...

SATURN 3 (1980) Lobby Cards

This colorful selection of European lobby cards for Stanley Donen's 1980 sci-fi thriller, Saturn 3, rather nicely illustrate the remarkable production design of the late John Barry - not the famed composer, but the well-respected art director/production designer who had worked on Phase IV, A Clockwork Orange, Star Wars and the first two Superman films before his untimely demise during the development of Saturn 3. In fact, the film was Barry's baby; he co-wrote the story and was set to direct. When he passed away suddenly, producer Donen took over and completed the movie.

Whatever flaws the film has - and it has plenty - it certainly looks terrific, with phenomenal sets and tech (especially the robot Hector).

SATURN 3 (1980) Deleted "Blue Dreamers" Farrah Fantasy

A year or so back when Seventies icon Farrah Fawcett was our Space Babe for July, 2011, I had a number of folks questioning a publicity still that pictured her in the black leather ensemble pictured in the Saturn 3 poster above (which, by the way, appears here courtesy of Jerome Wybon's Forgotten Silver blog). As I stated at the time, the actress wore the "futuristic" sexy outfit in a fantasy sequence deleted from most (and, until now, I assumed all) versions of Stanley Donen's quirky sci-fi thriller.

Well, Space: 1970 reader Jon Goss has unearthed a video of the "blue dreamers" scene, dubbed into German. (Thanks, Jon!) So, for all you curious Star Kids, here's that "lost scene" - Farrah shows up in the space dominatrix gear at around 2:36 - accompanied by some late 70s disco music:

Now, if only someone would release a proper, anamorphic widescreen DVD of this movie. The US disc from Artisan is a crappy, 4x3 presentation, and the UK one is widescreen, but not 16x9 enhanced. Saturn 3 is not a great film, but John Barry's production design is remarkable (I still like that robot), and the effects are pretty good, and it certainly has a "name" cast. I'm betting that if Carlton (current rights holders for the ITC library, I believe) re-issued it, it would probably sell pretty well.

July's Space Babe: Farrah Fawcett

July's Space Babe is the late Farrah Fawcett, who we're honoring for several memorable roles from the Space: 1970 era. The stunning feather-haired blonde was a pop culture icon of the 70s, and graced several genre films and television shows with her beauty, presence and talent.

Her role as Holly in the 1976 feature, Logan's Run, was small but star-making, and she also made strong showings on several episodes of her then-husband's TV series The Six Million Dollar Man (most notably in the 1974 episode, "The Rescue of Athena One," in which she played NASA's first female astronaut). In 1980, she co-starred in Stanley Donen's sci-fi gothic, Saturn 3, as Alex, a sexy space scientist, lover of colleague Kirk Douglas (lucky guy), and the object of obsession for both a psychopath (Harvey Keitel) and his equally deranged robot.

Fawcett's life and career was something of a roller coaster, with triumphant highs and tragic lows. Although initially typecast as a lightweight, airheaded bimbo, she eventually proved herself both a formidable dramatic actress and talented comedienne. In the 1970s, she was married to another Space: 1970 icon, Lee Majors, but they divorced in the early 80s. Sadly, she passed away in 2009 from cancer at a too-young 62.

SATURN 3 (1980) Theatrical Posters

I know that it's not a popular opinion, but I actually find Stanley Donen's Saturn 3 to be one of the most interesting flicks of the Space: 1970 era. I'm not going to make any great claims as to its subjective quality, but for all its faults, there are some truly fascinating things going on in the movie.

The production design, by the late John Barry (not to be confused with the composer of the same name) is astounding; the sets, space suits, spaceships, and, especially, the killer robot Hector, are just beautiful late 70s sci-fi creations. The Elmer Bernstein score is also quite good.

It has a bad reputation as an Alien knock-off, and a lot of modern viewers have trouble with the fact that Harvey Keitel was dubbed (although, when I first saw this, I had no idea who Keitel was, so I honestly didn't notice), but I'm not sure it's quite as bad as it's reputed to be.  Admittedly, I've only seen it twice - once back in the early 80s on late night TV, and again on the old Artisan DVD when it first came out in the late 90s - but I remember enjoying it both times. I think its getting to be time to dig out the disc and check it out again....

Coming Attractions: SATURN 3 Theatrical Trailer

A decidedly guilty pleasure I'll be commenting on one of these days....