Captain's bLog: 0702.14

I haven't done one of these round-up posts since last November. Man, I've really been slacking off, huh? Anyway,you may have noticed that I've been posting a little more frequently of late, and it's my plan to to get back to somewhat regular updates here on the blog. I doubt I'll be posting daily again (there was a while there when I was posting twice a day!), but I'll try very hard to get in at least a couple posts a week. In fact, look for a new "Space Babes" post on Friday.

I want to thank the few loyal readers who generously donated to the Space: 1970 editorial fund (link in the sidebar) over the last few months. I am incredibly grateful, and feel guilty that I didn't post more. I hope to rectify that over the coming weeks.

As an early birthday (coming up next week) gift, my wife picked me up one of the recently re-issued Space: 1999 Eagle Transporter kits from Round 2 models. This is a replica of the original MPC/Fundimensions kit from the 1970's, and I'm thrilled to have it again. (I hope they re-issue the Hawk Interceptor soon!) I also recently picked up the fifth and final season of The Six Million Dollar Man on DVD, and have been really enjoying revisiting it. Steve Austin spends a lot more time as an astronaut this season - even returning to the moon - and there are rematches with Bigfoot and a new Death Probe. Plus aliens. So, you know, all the good stuff.

• On Video: As noted in previous posts, the 1983 Roger Corman-produced Space Raiders is due out on DVD and Blu-ray in August from Scorpion Releasing. It's a fun flick, full of recycled effects footage from Battle Beyond The Stars (and, I think, 1982's Android), and I'll enjoy having a copy in my library.

I missed it, but 1975's Rollerball was released a month or two ago on Blu-ray by Twilight Time. Unfortunately, it was a limited edition, and has sold out from the company. That's disappointing, because I really would have liked to pick up a copy.

Suddenly, I'm also thinking that I've forgotten another upcoming 70s sci-fi release. I really should start making notes.

UPDATE: I was right. I did forget something. Kino Video will be releasing a Blu-ray edition of the 1979 disaster flick, Meteor, in September. I'll post more info on this release soon.

• Space: 1970 Wants You: I've always been open to - and grateful for - submissions from my readers. Now I want to outright encourage you folks to send me any cool Space: 1970-era stuff you might think would be interesting to your fellow Star Kids. Rare photos and production art, behind-the-scenes stills, nominations for "Space Babes" or Reader Polls, pretty much anything, really. Hell, even if you'd like to write a Guest Post, just e-mail me. I'll do my best to credit any contributions I use, of course.

• Shameless self-promotion: 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 closing in on the end of the first story arc, and the story is blasting along like a rocket, packed with Flash Gordon/John Carter-styled pulp thrills. I hope you'll check it out, if you haven't already.

News: SPACE RAIDERS (1983) DVD & Blu-Ray Details

Well, it's official. The 1983 Roger Corman-produced interstellar adventure film, Space Raiders, directed by Howard R. Cohen, and starring Vince Edwards, David Mendenhall and Thom Christopher (Buck Rogers), is coming in September from Scorpion Releasing, in both DVD and Blu-ray formats.

This outer space take on Treasure Island will be presented in its original theatrical widescreen aspect ratio, and special features will include on camera interviews with star David Mendenhall, producer Roger Corman, and production supervisor Clark Henderson.

The low-budget effort from the tail end of the Space: 1970 era (as I loosely define it) recycles copious effects footage from the legendary B-movie producer's earlier space operas, Battle Beyond The Stars and (I believe) Android (which I'll be writing about here soon). The SRP for the DVD will be $19.95 and $29.95 for the Blu-ray.

News: SPACE RAIDERS (1983) Coming To DVD?

I don't have any product details or a release date - hell, I don't even have "official" confirmation - but it looks like the low-budget 1983 Roger Corman-produced interstellar opus, Space Raiders, will be coming to DVD soon, courtesy of niche DVD label Scorpion Releasing.

My evidence of this is the presence of the Space Raiders trailer on recent Scorpion DVD titles (specifically, the kung fu caper Force: Five, which I purchased not long ago). Scorpion also posted the artwork above (without comment) on their Facebook page last Fall, along with the posters of a few other Corman titles.

This flick from the tail end of the Space: 1970 era (as I loosely define it) stars Vince Edwards and Thom Christopher (Buck Rogers' "Hawk") and recycles copious effects footage from the legendary B-movie producer's earlier space operas, Battle Beyond The Stars and Android (Hmmm. Wonder if Scorpion might pick up that one?).

As more information about this release becomes available, I'll post it here.

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.

SPACE RAIDERS (1983)

I wonder if Shout! Factory has any plans to bring the 1983 Space Raiders out on DVD as part of the "Roger Corman Cult Classics" line? This sci-fi variation on Treasure Island recycles all of its special effects footage (and most of James Horner's music) from Corman's Battle Beyond the Stars and Android, but I remember it being kinda fun. Not good, of course, but kinda fun - in that low-budget, Sunday afternoon and I'm single and bored VHS rental sorta way.

As I recall - and mind you, I haven't seen the film since the mid-80s - the plot, such as it might be, revolves around an annoying little kid who falls in with a bunch of space pirates, led by the imaginatively named Captain Hawk, played by Vince Edwards (best known as Dr. Ben Casey on the 60s' TV series of the same name). Interestingly (at least to a trivia-minded Star Kid like me) one of his crew is an alien played by Thom Christopher, who played an alien named Hawk on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century a couple years earlier.

The crew of Hawk's ship (Nell, from Battle Beyond the Stars, with a new and vastly less-imaginatively designed interior) are the usual motley assortment of basically good-hearted rogues, whose criminal activities are forced upon them by the inherent inequities of the galactic economy, which is dominated by an evil corporation known only as The Company. (Looking at these stills, they sorta remind me of the cast of Firefly, actually... hmmmm...)  I remember that for what was ostensibly a "kid's film," a lot of characters died... and it was almost always because of some stupid thing the kid did.

Anyway, I'm sure it's a pretty bad movie, but it would make a good candidate for the Shout! line. Hell, I'd buy it. It was released through Corman's short-lived "Millennium" company, though, and I don't know if any of those titles are included in the film package that Shout! has the rights to.