News: STAR WARS Blu-ray Details

The wait is over, and all has been revealed... and it doesn't appear that Lucasfilm will be including the theatrical editions of the original Star Wars trilogy in the upcoming Blu-ray releases. Big surprise. Guess I'm hanging onto my old laserdisc set. Here's the official press release:

 Bring home the adventure and share Star Wars™ with your whole family – when STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA comes to Blu-ray Disc from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment! To be released beginning on September 12 internationally and on September 16 in North America, the nine-disc collection brings the wonder of the entire Saga direct to your living room, where you can revisit all of your favorite Star Wars moments – in gorgeous high definition and with pristine, 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. Dive deeper into the universe with an unprecedented 40+ hours of special features, highlighted by never-before-seen content sourced from the Lucasfilm archives.

    Special Features:

    STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA ON BLU-RAY is presented in widescreen with 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. Special features include:

    DISC ONE – STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE

    Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires

    Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

    DISC TWO – STAR WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES

    Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow

    Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

    DISC THREE – STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH

    Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett

    Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

    DISC FOUR – STAR WARS: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE

    Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren

    Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

    DISC FIVE – STAR WARS: EPISODE V THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

    Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren

    Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

    DISC SIX – STAR WARS: EPISODE VI RETURN OF THE JEDI

    Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren

    Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew

    DISC SEVEN – NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES I-III

    Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; a flythrough of the Lucasfilm Archives and more

    DISC EIGHT – NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES IV-VI

    Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; and more

    DISC NINE – THE STAR WARS DOCUMENTARIES

    NEW! Star Warriors (2007, Color, Apx. 84 Minutes) – Some Star Wars fans want to collect action figures…these fans want to be action figures! A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of Star Wars costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world.

    NEW! A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (2010, Color, Apx. 25 Minutes) – George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back on the making of The Empire Strikes Back in this in-depth retrospective from Lucasfilm created to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the movie. The masters discuss and reminisce about one of the most beloved films of all time.

    NEW! Star Wars Spoofs (2011, Color, Apx. 91 Minutes) – The farce is strong with this one! Enjoy a hilarious collection of Star Wars spoofs and parodies that have been created over the years, including outrageous clips from Family Guy, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother and more – and don’t miss “Weird Al” Yankovic’s one-of-a-kind music video tribute to The Phantom Menace!

    The Making of Star Wars (1977, Color, Apx. 49 Minutes) – Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original Star Wars movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2. Includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.

    The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX (1980, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) – Learn the secrets of making movies in a galaxy far, far away. Hosted by Mark Hamill, this revealing documentary offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the amazing special effects that transformed George Lucas’ vision for Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back into reality!

    Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) – Go behind the scenes – and into the costumes – as production footage from Return of the Jedi is interspersed with vintage monster movie clips in this in-depth exploration of the painstaking techniques utilized by George Lucas to create the classic creatures and characters seen in the film. Hosted and narrated by Carrie Fisher and Billie Dee Williams.

    Anatomy of a Dewback (1997, Color, Apx. 26 Minutes) – See how some of the special effects in Star Wars became even more special two decades later! George Lucas explains and demonstrates how his team transformed the original dewback creatures from immovable rubber puppets (in the original 1977 release) to seemingly living, breathing creatures for the Star Wars 1997 Special Edition update.

    Star Wars Tech (2007, Color, Apx. 46 Minutes) – Exploring the technical aspects of Star Wars vehicles, weapons and gadgetry, Star Wars Tech consults leading scientists in the fields of physics, prosthetics, lasers, engineering and astronomy to examine the plausibility of Star Wars technology based on science as we know it today.

Pre-orders are open now. There are three different options – original trilogy, prequels, or all six films. Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray will be available for $139.99 US, discounted to $89.99 on Amazon right now. The Original Trilogy is RRP $69.99 but currently$44.99 US. Same for the Prequel Trilogy.

•   Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) [Blu-ray]

•  Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (Episodes IV - VI) [Blu-ray]

•  Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy (Episodes I - III) [Blu-ray]

The UK Complete Saga is to be £89.99, currently £69.99 via Amazon. The Original Trilogy and Prequel Trilogy are to be £44.99 RRP, currently £33.99.

News: STAR WARS on Blu-Ray in September

It was announced yesterday by 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm that the original three Star Wars films (and the three fake Star Wars films) will be released in high-definition on the Blu-Ray format in the U.S. in September.

George Lucas's sci-fi adventures will be released in three different box sets and are available to pre-order now. The 9-disc Star Wars: The Complete Saga includes all six films, Star Wars: Prequel Blu-ray Trilogy contains Episodes I-III on 3 discs and Star Wars: Original Blu-ray Trilogy has Episodes IV-VI across 3 discs.

The Complete Saga features 30 hours of extensive extras, including deleted and alternate scenes and a look into the Star Wars archive.

Fox Home Entertainment president Mike Dunn said: "The Star Wars saga is the most anticipated Blu-ray collection since the launch of the high-def format.

"The epic franchise pioneered sound and visual presentation in theatres and is perfectly suited to do it again in the home, with a viewing experience only possible with Blu-ray."

Lucasfilm vice president of marketing, online, distribution Doug Yates added: "With all six episodes available for the first time in one collection, this is a great way for families and home audiences to experience the complete saga from start to finish."

 Presumably, these are the re-worked "Special Editions" of the original trilogy, and not the theatrical editions, which means that Greedo will shoot first in HD...

Pre-Order: Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) [Blu-ray]

•  Been busy with some deadline-tight comics work this week; sorry for the lack of posts. Have a number of articles in draft form (including a couple more End of the World posts), and will polish them up and get them online as soon as I can squeeze in the time. Stay tuned!

STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL (1978)

Although Star Wars was a HUGE part of my childhood fascination with space opera and science fiction adventure, I probably won't be posting a lot about it. The one thing the internet has more of than porn is Star Wars. Besides, these days, the Star Wars universe is vast, with hundreds - maybe thousands - of books, comics, video games, etc. I long ago lost any ability or interest in trying to keep up with all.

Still, back in the day, there wasn't a lot of new Star Wars stuff to enjoy if you were one of those first-generation fans - there were the Marvel comic books, Kenner toys, and Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster. And before that - the legendary (and now officially disavowed) Star Wars Holiday Special.

A two-hour mix of wookiee domesticity, odd comedy sketches, strange musical numbers and stock footage, the Holiday Special aired on CBS television on November 17, 1978. Still, it was new Star Wars, and extremely exciting at the time.

It was, to be honest, pretty awful. But one bright spot in the otherwise ill-conceived television spectacular (well, aside from Carrie Fisher's off-key singing) was this 9-minute animated adventure from Canada's Nelvana Studio (Rock And Rule). With bizarre-yet-appealing character designs, wonky animation, the original cast providing voices, and the first-ever appearance of bounty hunter Boba Fett, the cartoon is an offbeat gem.

Enjoy.

Stuff: The Art Of STAR WARS Comics 2013 Calendar

Despite what many might think, I don't really own a whole heck of a lot of Space: 1970 era merchandise.

Most of the toys, model kits, comics and trading cards I had as kid are long gone, and I never really collected action figures back then (man, I wish I had!). I don't buy vintage stuff - outside of old paperback novelizations I'm missing - and I sure don't buy much new stuff other than DVDs/Blu-rays of the films & shows I cover here (who could have guessed back in the 1970s that owning the actual movies & TV shows would be cheaper than the toys, etc.?). I simply don't have the sort of money that modern collectibles usually cost.

But I was in my favorite media store tonight (Bull Moose Music in Waterville, Maine) picking up a couple of this week's Blu-ray releases, when this item caught my eye: The Art Of Star Wars Comics 16-Month 2013 Calendar.

I needed a calendar for my home office, and this one was perfect - 12x17" oversized reproductions of 13 of my favorite Marvel Comics Star Wars comics (my absolute favorite Star Wars continuations of all). Suggested retail price is $15, Bull Moose had it marked at $10, and with my store points, I got it for just $5. Sweet.

The reproductions are nice and sharp, and every illustration pulls me back to when Star Wars wasn't yet an institution (or an industry), and those monthly Marvel issues were almost the only new stuff a fan could enjoy between movies.

If you'd like one, but can't find it locally, here's the Amazon link: (12x17) Star Wars Art of Comics 16-Month 2013 Oversized Wall Calendar

Vinyl Movies... In Space Age Stereo!

It's sometimes difficult to remember a time before home video. We have so much media literally at our fingertips these days, that a time before VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, Tivo, streaming video, etc., seems almost unbelievable. Those of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s loving TV and movies had to resign ourselves to watching the shows we liked only when network programmers scheduled them (assuming our parents let us at all), and if we wanted to revisit a favorite film, the only option we usually had was a paperback novelization (by Alan Dean Foster, most likely) - if we were lucky and the film we liked even got novelized.

When Star Wars came along and surprised everyone with its incredible mainstream popularity, Lucas, Fox and hundreds of licensors scrambled to create new products that they could sell to Wars-hungry masses while said masses waited impatiently for the sequel. Among those new products was The Story of Star Wars - a long-playing record album that contained an abridged version of the film story, composed of dialogue, sound effects and music from the movie soundtrack, with additional narration (by actor Roscoe Lee Browne, who had played "Box" in Logan's Run) to smooth out the audio narrative.

I had this album on cassette, and I listened to it so often that even today, I can recite large swaths of the dialogue in Star Wars from memory.

Of course, being Star Wars, and with affordable videocassettes of the movie itself still several years away, the Story Of... album sold like crazy. Millions of kids like myself re-experienced that movie over and over in our heads for years. It was so successful that similar story albums were released for the next two Star Wars films, and several other genre productions, too. I know there were similar albums for Raiders of the Lost Ark ('natch), Battlestar Galactica, and The Black Hole. Probably others, as well.

If you hunt around online, you can find downloads of most of these records. They're actually pretty amazing. Most of the abridgements are expertly done (the Saga of Battlestar Galactica LP plays better than the actual pilot, in my opinion), and they're damned fun to listen to.

In fact, I often listen to them while I work on various projects - this blog, for example - at my computer.

Summer Rerun: Vinyl Movies... In Space Age Stereo!

It's frankly too damned hot to sit in front of this computer and try to compose a new and interesting, nostalgic Space: 1970 article for the weekend. So, I'm doing what the TV networks always did during the Summer when I was a kid - offering up a rerun. This post is from March 2009, and was one of the first things I wrote on this blog that really seemed to strike a chord with a lot of people. If you haven't read this already, then I hope you enjoy it - and if you have, well... 

It's sometimes difficult to remember a time before home video. We have so much media literally at our fingertips these days, that a time before VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, Tivo, streaming video, etc., seems almost unbelievable. Those of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s loving genre TV and movies had to resign ourselves to watching the shows we liked only when network programmers scheduled them (assuming our parents let us watch at all), and if we wanted to revisit a favorite film, the only option we usually had was a paperback novelization (by Alan Dean Foster, most likely) - if we were lucky, and the film we liked even got novelized.

When Star Wars came along and surprised everyone with its incredible mainstream popularity, Lucas, Fox and hundreds of licensors scrambled to create new products that they could sell to Wars-hungry masses while said masses waited impatiently for the cinematic sequel.

Among those new products was The Story of Star Wars - a long-playing record album that contained an abridged version of the film story, composed of dialogue, sound effects and music from the movie soundtrack, with additional narration (by actor Roscoe Lee Browne, who had played "Box" in Logan's Run) to smooth out the audio narrative. I had this album on cassette, and I listened to it so often that even today, I can recite large swaths of the dialogue in Star Wars from memory.

Of course, being Star Wars, and with affordable videocassettes of the movie itself still several years away, the Story Of... album sold like crazy. Millions of kids like myself re-experienced that movie over and over in our heads for years. It was so successful that similar story albums were released for the next two Star Wars films, and several other genre productions, too. I know there were similar albums for Raiders of the Lost Ark ('natch), Battlestar Galactica, and The Black Hole. Probably others, as well.


If you hunt around online, you can find downloads of most of these records. They're actually pretty amazing. Most of the abridgements are expertly done (the Saga of Battlestar Galactica LP plays better than the actual pilot, in my opinion), and they're damned fun to listen to.

In fact, I often listen to them while I work on various projects - this blog, for example - at my computer.

STAR WARS Graphic Novel Giveaway

Thanks to a donation from a generous Space: 1970 reader, I have extra copies of three Dark Horse Star Wars graphic novels/collections that I'm going to give away to some lucky Star Kid this holiday season. If it all goes smoothly, I may do more of these giveaways in the future.

For this first Space: 1970 Giveaway, I have the 1997 graphic novel adaptation of the first Star Wars movie by writer Bruce Jones and artists Eduardo Barreto and Al Williamson, the 1997 trade paperback of the original Marvel Comics adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back by Archie Goodwin & Al Williamson, and the Star Wars Omnibus Volume Two, which collects issues #28 through #49 of the original Marvel Comics Star Wars comic book series from the 70s-80s. These are not mint condition collectibles, but very good reading copies.

To simplify things, I'll be picking only one winner for all three books.

All you have to do to qualify for the random drawing is a.) be a U.S. resident (sorry!) and b.) send an e-mail containing your name and mailing address to chris@atomicpulp.com with the words "SPACE:1970 GIVEAWAY" in the subject line. One entry will be chosen at random, and I'll mail the graphic novels to the lucky winner. Entries must be received before midnight, Friday, December 14, 2012. The winner will be announced here on Monday the 17th. Good luck!

One entry per person, please. Double entries will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the above instructions precisely will be disqualified and discarded. A winner will be drawn at random and announced on December 17, 2012. The winner's name will be posted here at space1970.blogspot.com and they will be notified via email. All entries will be deleted immediately after the contest’s close, and no personal information will be retained or transmitted to any third parties. The contest is open to U.S. residents only. Prizes will be shipped via media mail. Unfortunately, Space: 1970 cannot assume responsibility for items lost or damaged in transit.

ADDENDUM: I'm having to discard almost half the entries because people aren't reading the directions closely. You must include your full name and mailing address in your e-mail, or I chuck it. Period. 

ADDENDUM II: Sorry for sounding so grumpy above; I was frustrated.

The Han Solo Adventures (1979)

I've recently re-read author Brian Daley's "Han Solo Adventures" novels, originally published in 1979, and have started on A.C. Crsipin's "Han Solo Trilogy," published almost 20 years later.

Daley's novels are set in the Star Wars universe just two years before the events of Star Wars (1977 - I refuse to call it "A New Hope"). The trilogy follows the smuggling days of Han Solo and Chewbacca as they ply their trade in an area of the Empire known as the Corporate Sector, accompanied by a droid named Bollux. The books were released April, June and August 1979 respectively. They also were published as an omnibus edition in 1992.

When these came out, licensed Star Wars continuations were still a rarity outside of the Marvel comic book, and it was almost as big a deal as Alan Dean Foster's Splinter Of the Mind's Eye. I bought all three books as soon as I could - the first in paperback and the other two in hardcover through the Science fiction Book Club - and read and re-read them dozens of times. Han Solo was pretty much my favorite character in the movie - still is - and although I wasn't a big fan of Bollux (or his companion Blue Max), and didn't quite grasp the concept of the "Corporate Sector," I was just thrilled to have new Solo adventures to read.

In Han Solo At Star's End, our favorite Corellian smuggler has to break Chewbacca and some other allies out of the Corporate Sector Authority's covert prison facility, the titular "Star's End." In Han Solo's Revenge, Han and Chewie break up a slavery operation, and in Han Solo And The Lost Legacy, they go off in search of a legendary lost treasure ship, Queen of Ranroon.

These books were a big part of my adolescence, so I was pleased (and surprised) to discover from Wikipedia that events of these books have been incorporated into the official timeline of the Star Wars universe by "being contextualized in interludes in Rebel Dawn, the final book of Ann C. Crispin's Han Solo Trilogy."

Which is a book I haven't yet read, although I expect to shortly. I did buy a copy of Crispin's first Han Solo novel, The Paradise Snare, back when it first came out in '98, but never got around to reading it until about a week or so ago, when I finished re-reading the Daley trilogy. I actually rather enjoyed it - The Paradise Snare is a chronicle of Solo's early years up until he enrolls in the Imperial Academy - and ordered the other two books through an online dealer who had used copies for a penny apiece. I expect them to show up any day now.

After that, I'll probably try and get my hands on the "The Adventures of Lando Calrissian" novels by L. Neil Smith, which were published way back in the early 80s. I've always been curious about Lando's adventures as master of the Millennium Falcon... although I doubt they'll be as much fun as THIS.

Tripping The (Star)Light Fantastic

Let's face it: thanks to Meco Monardo, and his popular dance arrangements of John Williams' epic Star Wars themes, the science fiction of the late Seventies will always go hand-in-hand with disco music.

While that's a bitter pill for a lot of fans to swallow (I know one second-generation Star Wars fan who flat-out refused to acknowledge the existence of the Meco record), the fact is, I don't mind. I like disco, always have. And while I wouldn't want a steady musical diet of its thumping, mechanical bass line, neither do I object to the stuff in small doses. It's cheerful, and fun, and helps me remember my childhood.

I received the original Meco Star Wars And Other Galactic Funk LP as a birthday gift back in the day (still love that cover art!), and also picked up The Empire Strikes Back 45 RPM single a few years later. I vaguely recall having a couple of other disco "sci-fi" compilations on record and cassette over the years, too.

One I didn't own then was Geoff Love's Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Other Galactic Disco Themes. However, I recently stumbled upon a download of the album, and I can't seem to stop listening to it.

Aside from the CE3K theme, it also features a very catchy arrangement of the Logan's Run TV show theme, a couple of Star Wars themes, Blake's 7 (I really need to see some of those some day), The Omega Man (!) and couple of originals. Love and his orchestra recorded lots of TV and movie theme compilations, and many of them are quite good, but this one is my current favorite.

If you're interested, you can download it here.

Oh, and yeah - that is a Darth Vader disco ball.

Disclaimer: These links aren't mine, I didn't upload the albums, and take no responsibility for 'em. I'm just posting the links for informational purposes.

Captain's bLog: 1217.12

•   Obit: I begin this Captain's bLog with some sad news. I've learned that actress Dolores Mantez, who portrayed lovely Lieutenant Nina Barry, the purple-wigged moonbase commander on Gerry Anderson's 1970 series UFO, passed away in November.

She appeared in 23 of the series 26 episodes, with probably her most memorable appearance being in "Sub Smash," a tension-filled hour of drama where her character was trapped on a crippled SHADO submarine with Ed Bishop's Commander Straker and very little air.

Although a busy actress on British television during the Sixties, she retired from acting in 1972 to devote her attentions to her family. Rest in peace, Ms. Mantez.

•   Star Wars Graphic Novel Giveaway: While I remain disappointed in how few of the folks who entered actually followed directions - even after I repeated the instructions - I'm otherwise pleased by the overall response to this first Space: 1970 Giveaway. After disqualifying all the entries that didn't follow the rules, I randomly drew the winning name of Star Kid Mark Holmes, from far-off Willingboro, New Jersey.

Sometime in the next few days, I'll be shipping out the Dark Horse Star Wars Omnibus Vol. 2 and the adaptations of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. Keep an eye on the mail, Mark!

 •  Press: Last friday, Huffington Post blogger Jason Apuzzo wrote an article about the upcoming Disney Star Wars sequels and 70s science fiction cinema. I enjoyed the article for the most part (especially the parts that seemed to be borrowed from - or at least influenced by - my writings here), but the best part was that he included a link to Space: 1970 at the end of his post. This resulted in a nice uptick in hits from new readers. Hopefully, some of them stuck around!

•  Blatant Cross-Promotion: And here's my usual shameless plug: anyone who enjoys my writing and the DVD 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. 

STAR WARS (1977) Paperback Cover Art

This familiar painting by John Berkey graced the cover of the Ballantine Books Star Wars novelization (penned by Alan Dean Foster writing as "George Lucas") through numerous paperback printings. But this is the first time I've come across it uncropped and uncluttered by text.

He also was the artist responsible for the beautiful X-Wing/TIE Fighter "dogfight" art print that was originally an insert in the Star Wars soundtrack LPs.

Reportedly, Berkey, who composed a couple of the most recognizable Star Wars illustrations of the era, never actually saw the movie! Over the next few years, he did create a few more pieces of art for the franchise, including art for Parker Bros.' Return of the Jedi "Death Star Battle" game cartridge in '83.

The artist passed away in April of 2008.

Defend Your Galaxy With....The Force Beam!

I received this in my e-mail today from a friend: a British magazine ad for one of the very first Star Wars knock-off toys - the "Force Beam!" Basically a flashlight attached to a long plastic tube, this was the closest thing to a lightsaber an aspiring Jedi Knight could buy... at least, for a while. The manufacturers took advantage of Lucasfilm & Kenner's slowness in getting licensed product on the consumer market, and rushed these to K-Marts and chain toy stores months before an official lightsaber toy had appeared. In fact, I'm pretty sure I got one of these (or some other, similar unauthorized lightsaber knock-off) for Christmas in '77!

(A quick Google search found this ad - and some shots of the toy itself - on a site called The Star Wars Collector's Archive.)

What amazes me about the advertisement above isn't the obvious Star Wars-inspired graphics, but the fact that they actually use the Star Wars name (and facsimile logo) in an ad for what was clearly an unofficial product! Like the makers of the Warrior's Battlejacket, these guys had stones!

SPLINTER OF THE MIND'S EYE (1978) Cover Art by Ralph McQuarrie

It would be difficult for anyone who wasn't there to understand what a huge friggin' deal it was when Ballantine / Del Rey Books published the very first Star Wars original novel in 1978. Splinter Of The Mind's Eye, by Space: 1970's favorite author, Alan Dean Foster, was not just a movie tie-in paperback, but a genuine event.

Aside from the monthly Marvel Comics series (which had only just started moving beyond its movie adaptation), it was the first new adventure in the Star Wars universe - ever - and for all of us who had thrilled at The Adventures of Luke Skywalker in the theaters the Summer before, Foster's entertaining novel was our first opportunity to return to George Lucas' fantastic film universe. Okay, so Han Solo and Chewie weren't in it - and many of its details were contradicted by The Empire Strikes Back a couple years later, but damn, it was a fun book, filled with breathless action, and very well-written by Foster, who had penned the original movie novelization for Lucas. Reportedly Lucas asked Foster to write Splinter as a potential film sequel, just in case Star Wars did well enough at the box office to merit one. But he was also asked to write it so it could be filmed more cheaply than the first, hence its entirely planet-bound plot.

Its cover - by Star Wars conceptual genius, Ralph McQuarrie - was iconic. The looming Vader, the crumbling jungle temple backdrop, the crimson flare of the Kaiburr Crystal, Luke & Leia trapped and helpless before the Sith Lord... great stuff. Simple and dramatic.

Now, of course, there have been five more films, an animated cartoon series, countless comic books, novels, radio plays, video games, etc. - but back in '78, this was all there was.

And, as the saying goes: we loved it!

At Last! Beyond the Movie! Beyond the Galaxy!

I was thinking about Marvel's Star Wars comics from the 70's today, and remembering how much fun they were. Of course, this was before Lucasfilm really had their vampiric death grip on the licensing, sucking out all the joy and adventure that Star Wars should have and replacing it with an obsessive, convoluted and restrictive continuity. And though these books are kinda sneered at by today's Star Wars fans for being cheesy (this issue kicked off a six-part take-off of The Magnificent Seven* with one of the mercs being a 6' green space rabbit), I always thought cheesiness was part of the franchise's charm ("Luke Skywalker?").

Anyway, I have very fond memories of buying this series – and this issue – at the local corner store. Writers Roy Thomas and (especially) the late Archie Goodwin, spun some sublimely sweet space opera back in the day, and I still love 'em. Fortunately Dark Horse Comics reprinted the entire Marvel run in some nice trade paperbacks, so I can read them over and over again.

* I wonder if this is was where Roger Corman and John Sayles got the idea for their 1980 Star Wars rip-off, Battle Beyond The Stars, which also used The Magnificent Seven as its story template?

DC Comics' STAR HUNTERS (1977-78)

"Exiled from Earth by the all-powerful corporation now ruling that planet, they scour the galaxy for the one secret that will enable them to return-- the origin of man in the universe! Led by the roguish soldier of fortune, Donovan Flint, they sail the fabulous starship Sunrider on a cosmic quest of danger, discovery, and unparalleled adventure." 

Cover Art by Don Newton & Bob Layton

I was looking through a stack of old comics recently, and came across a couple lone issues of DC Comics 1977-78 space opera series, Star Hunters. The book was the company's attempt to ride the Star Wars comet, premiering in the Fall of 1977. Written by David Micheline, it chronicled the adventures of an Errol Flynn-inspired space rogue named Donovan Flint and his crew of renegades as they battled an oppressive regime.

Like the Ron Goulart/Gil Kane/Archie Goodwin newspaper strip of the same era, Star Hawks, DC's Star Hunters tried to emulate the high adventure and cosmic scope of George Lucas' blockbuster film, hoping that Star Wars fans would find Donovan Flint's adventures a worthy substitute while waiting for the big screen sequels. Apparently those fans just bought the licensed Star Wars adventures from Marvel Comics instead, because Hunters lasted a mere 7 issues before cancellation.

 The characters were first seen in issue #16 of the company's catch-all title, DC Super Stars, which alternated as a reprint book and a showcase vehicle. That first appearance benefited from the classically-styled adventure art of Don Newton, who also drew the first issue of the subsequent bi-monthly series. Other issues were illustrated by a variety of pencilers, including Larry Hama, Mike Netzer, and Rich Buckler, who penciled four of the seven issues - and all of the regular series covers.  I liked Rich Buckler's art on the series okay, but it lacked the gracefulness of Newton's work. Bob Layton was the regular inker on the series, and maintained artistic continuity throughout the title's short run.

DC's "Who's Who" Entry - Click to Enlarge

As far as I know, the story material hasn't ever been reprinted/collected... and I don't even think that the characters ever showed up again in the DC "universe" (though I could be wrong - I may have missed it. A lot of DC comics have been published since '78). As a Star Kid with a voracious appetite for space adventure - in any medium - I was a big fan of this book back in the day, and would like to someday re-assemble the run.

The GOOD Stuff.

If I had been born five or ten years earlier, I most certainly would have been a "Monster Kid," haunting the local newstand for the latest issue of Famous Monsters Of Filmland, scouring the TV Guide listings for Creature Features or Shock Theater showings, and clumsily building Aurora model kits of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and Quasimodo.

As it turned out, I didn't become a "Monster Kid" until I was nearly 30.

I was born in 1965. By the time I was five or six years old, the monster fad of the 60s had mostly faded away. The Groovie Goolies were still rockin' on Saturday morning, but I was more interested in the Star Trek cartoon (from the same studio), and, when I could find them, reruns of the live-action Trek.

By the time I was ten, I had already collected numerous Star Trek books - James Blish and Alan Dean Foster's short story adaptations, The Making of, The Concordance, The New Voyages, The Technical Manual. Then, one of our local stations starting airing Space: 1999. I loved it, and poured over the television listings for more sci-fi. The Planet of the Apes movies, TV series and cartoons, Logan's Run. Then, a year or so later -- Star Wars.

Christmas '78 I received three record albums - my first ever - the Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Battlestar Galactica soundtrack LPs. I started spending my allowance on Starlog and Fantastic Films magazines. I had model kits of all the Star Wars, Galactica and Buck Rogers space ships. I bought the movie novelizations and would use my old cassette recorder to make audio recordings of my favorite sci-fi TV shows.

From the newspaper, I clipped out movie advertisements for Message From Space, The Black Hole and Alien -- and pasted them in a photo album along with TV Guide ads for Galactica (painted by Frank Frazetta!), Quark, and Buck Rogers... and telefilms like The Martian Chronicles and Brave New World.

I was a nut for anything sci-fi, and back then, it wasn't cool. I took massive amounts of abuse from my peers. If I was caught with a Star Trek paperback in school by a my classmates, it was all but guaranteed that it would be shredded by lunch. I was called all sorts of things -- most of them pretty awful.

But I had my magazines and audio cassettes and paperback novelizations and my model kits and comic books... and somehow I survived.

This blog is devoted to those science fiction films and shows that were such a large part of my childhood. I loved those programs, and still do today. In fact, I enjoy them as much now as I ever did, and prefer them over most modern genre product. (Guess which Battlestar I think is the better one?) I still admire the handcrafted model spaceships and stop-motion animated monsters (you won't ever find the word "cheesy"used to describe those effects here!), the gallant space heroes and sizzling space babes, the comic relief robots (Twiki! Peepo!) and the sense of wonder those shows stirred in me.

I don't expect that I'll be posting to this blog often. In fact, many of the initial posts will probably be revised versions of pieces that I've written before that appeared elsewhere. But when I do feel like writing about one of those childhood favorite space operas, I'll be doing it here instead of at one of my other sites.

Journey with me back to when the future was...fun!

Post #600 - Same As The First

This marks my 600th post since I started this blog on the first of November, 2009. Since that time, the readership of this site has grown to then-inconceivable size, and I still can't quite believe that anyone cares enough to stop by here regularly to read my silly remembrances and ramblings. But a surprising number of you folks do, and I thank you. To commemorate this (and because I obviously missed recognizing my 500th post), here's... a rerun. The very first post I wrote for this blog, which I guess you can look at as a reaffirmation/re-statement of my intentions with this site.. Here's to the next 600!

The Good Stuff.

If I had been born five or ten years earlier, I most certainly would have been a "Monster Kid," haunting the local newstand for the latest issue of Famous Monsters Of Filmland, scouring the TV Guide listings for Creature Features or Shock Theater showings, and clumsily building Aurora model kits of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy and Quasimodo.

As it turned out, I didn't become a "Monster Kid" until I was nearly 30.

I was born in 1965. By the time I was five or six years old, the monster fad of the 60s had mostly faded away. The Groovie Goolies were still rockin' on Saturday morning, but I was more interested in the Star Trek cartoon (from the same studio), and, when I could find them, reruns of the live-action Trek.

By the time I was ten, I had already collected numerous Star Trek books - James Blish and Alan Dean Foster's short story adaptations, The Making of, The Concordance, The New Voyages, The Technical Manual. Then, one of our local stations starting airing Space: 1999. I loved it, and poured over the television listings for more sci-fi. The Planet of the Apes movies, TV series and cartoons, Logan's Run. Then, a year or so later -- Star Wars.

Christmas '78 I received three record albums - my first ever - the Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Battlestar Galactica soundtrack LPs. I started spending my allowance on Starlog and Fantastic Films magazines. I had model kits of all the Star Wars, Galactica and Buck Rogers space ships. I bought the movie novelizations and would use my old cassette recorder to make audio recordings of my favorite sci-fi TV shows.

From the newspaper, I clipped out movie advertisements for Message From Space, The Black Hole and Alien -- and pasted them in a photo album along with TV Guide ads for Galactica (painted by Frank Frazetta!), Quark, and Buck Rogers... and telefilms like The Martian Chronicles and Brave New World.

I was a nut for anything sci-fi, and back then, it wasn't cool. I took massive amounts of abuse from my peers. If I was caught with a Star Trek paperback in school by a my classmates, it was all but guaranteed that it would be shredded by lunch. I was called all sorts of things -- most of them pretty awful.

But I had my magazines and audio cassettes and paperback novelizations and my model kits and comic books... and somehow I survived.

This blog is devoted to those science fiction films and shows that were such a large part of my childhood. I loved those programs, and still do today. In fact, I enjoy them as much now as I ever did, and prefer them over most modern genre product. (Guess which Battlestar I think is the better one?) I still admire the handcrafted model spaceships and stop-motion animated monsters (you won't ever find the word "cheesy"used to describe those effects here!), the gallant space heroes and sizzling space babes, the comic relief robots (Twiki! Peepo!) and the sense of wonder those shows stirred in me.

I don't expect that I'll be posting to this blog often. In fact, many of the initial posts will probably be revised versions of pieces that I've written before that appeared elsewhere. But when I do feel like writing about one of those childhood favorite space operas, I'll be doing it here instead of at one of my other sites.

Journey with me back to when the future was...fun!

Space: 1970 Super-Scribe: ALAN DEAN FOSTER

If you go by sheer volume, then Alan Dean Foster was probably my favorite author when I was growing up (from say, ages 11 to 17). Sure, I read the works of Heinlein, Clarke, Bradbury, Burroughs (Edgar Rice, not William) and dozens of other science fiction scribes, but it was Foster - and his novelizations of the movies and television shows that I loved - that I probably read the most. In those ancient, pre-cable, pre-home video days, novelizations were the only way to re-experience those adventures, and Foster was the novelization man.

Oh, I had all the James Blish Star Trek adaptations, and dug 'em, but Foster's volumes based on the animated version of the show were more rewarding. Instead of taking hour-long scripts and turning them into short stories, as Blish was doing, Foster took half-hour scripts and expanded them into novellas... and eventually, full-length novels. And he nailed those characters and their voices, too, bringing them to life on the printed page more vividly than the talented but workmanlike (at least on Trek) Blish.

And then there was Star Wars. The book was credited to George Lucas, but we all know now that Foster also penned the Star Wars novelization, and maybe that's why it was so compulsively re-readable.

I wore out at least three paperback copies of that thing (the photo section in the middle kept falling out), and when Foster's original Star Wars novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye - the first authorized continuation outside of the Marvel comics - was released, it was a huge deal. I bought that book as soon as it was available, and friggin' devoured it. I don't know how many times I read that story as a kid, marveling at the very existence of a new Luke Skywalker adventure (remember when the franchise was "The Adventures of Luke Skywalker?").

I was too young for the R-rated movie, but his novel of Alien gripped my teenage mind and squeezed it in a sharp-clawed grip. I didn't actually see Ridley Scott's film until a few years later on VHS, and I thought then that the book was scarier - though I've come to appreciate the movie since. I remember when Aliens was released in '86 how college-aged me - and several of my geekier friends - were actually almost more excited about getting Foster's tie-in novel than we were about seeing the movie!

The Black Hole, Dark Star, Outland... great adaptations all, and these books eventually led me to his original science fiction works, like the Humanx Commonwealth stories and the Icerigger trilogy. I haven't read everything he's written in the past thirty years (the man's been too damned prolific), but I do take some pride in the fact that I introduced my nephew to Foster's Flinx & Pip series several years ago, and he's still a rabid fan of the author.

Hmmm... I think I need to dig through some boxes and pull out some of these books. I'm thinking it'll be a lot of fun to re-read some of those old classics on these hot Summer weekend afternoons....

(By the way, this is Space: 1970's 100th post.)

Fifth Coolest Toy Ever: Milton Bradley's STAR BIRD

In the late Seventies everybody wanted a piece of the Star Wars merchandising goldmine, even companies that didn't have a license. In 1979, Milton Bradley Electronics introduced the best of the wannabe products, though, incorporating then-cutting-edge electronics into a sleekly-designed starship toy that, while original, looked like it should have been in Star Wars. They called it The Star Bird - and it was the coolest 70s space toy that wasn't based on a movie or TV show.

The toy was equipped with electronics that created an engine sound when turned on. If the toy was pointed upwards the sound would be altered by a ball bearing switch to generate an acceleration or taking-off effect, while a nose down orientation produced the sound of decelerating engines. A button at the rear of the cockpit activated the red LEDs at the front of the toy, along with a blast noise, to simulate the firing of the vessel's blasters.

MB offered a couple of variations on the Star Bird design, including a "fighter" configuration known as The Avenger and black plastic-molded version of the fighter, called the Intruder. A Star Bird Command Base was also offered. 

The Star Bird is, in this Star Kid's opinion, the fifth-coolest toy ever - it would probably ranked higher if the ship had actually appeared in a TV show or movie.(And unlike the other really cool non-TV/movie ship, the Interplanetary U.F.O. Mystery Ship model, you could really play with the more rugged Star Bird!)

For those keeping score, the coolest 70s toy ever was the Mattel Space: 1999 Eagle Transporter. The second-coolest toy of the Space: 1970 era was Kenner's 18" Alien. The third was Kenner's Bionic Bigfoot from The Six Million Dollar Man, and the fourth was Mego's Star Trek Communicators.

Fifth Coolest Toy Ever: Milton Bradley's STAR BIRD (Holiday Re-Post)

This is the first in a series of special re-posts for the holidays, remembering the coolest sci-fi toys of the Space: 1970 era. Hope you enjoy these "reruns" and have a great holiday season. 

In the late Seventies everybody wanted a piece of the Star Wars merchandising goldmine, even companies that didn't have a license. In 1979, Milton Bradley Electronics introduced the best of the wannabe products, though, incorporating then-cutting-edge electronics into a sleekly-designed starship toy that, while original, looked like it should have been in Star Wars. They called it The Star Bird - and it was the coolest 70s space toy that wasn't based on a movie or TV show.

The toy was equipped with electronics that created an engine sound when turned on. If the toy was pointed upwards the sound would be altered by a ball bearing switch to generate an acceleration or taking-off effect, while a nose down orientation produced the sound of decelerating engines. A button at the rear of the cockpit activated the red LEDs at the front of the toy, along with a blast noise, to simulate the firing of the vessel's blasters.

MB offered a couple of variations on the Star Bird design, including a "fighter" configuration known as The Avenger and black plastic-molded version of the fighter, called the Intruder. A Star Bird Command Base was also offered. 

The Star Bird is, in this Star Kid's opinion, the fifth-coolest toy ever - it would probably ranked higher if the ship had actually appeared in a TV show or movie.(And unlike the other really cool non-TV/movie ship, the Interplanetary U.F.O. Mystery Ship model, you could really play with the more rugged Star Bird!)