Space Babe: Catherine Schell

Stunning Catherine Schell as the shapeshifting Psychon Maya, the token alien from the second season of Space: 1999. No matter what your opinion of producer Fred Freiberger's handling of Year Two, there's no question that the lovely Ms. Schell made a very fetching extraterrestrial, despite some decidedly unflattering (and inconsistent) make-up. Despite what I've heard fans say, she did not have "sideburns," although what exactly the brown, airbrushed markings that accented her perfect cheekbones were supposed to be is something I guess only Freiberger and her make-up artist knew for sure.

I've always liked the character of Maya, even if her addition to Space: 1999 contributed to the unfortunate (IMO) change in the series' tone. Schell always managed to be charming and likeable despite the contrived nature of her character and the ridiculously low-tech "effects" that signified her metamorphoses. And even with that absurd make-up, she was gorgeous.

Born in Budapest, Hungary, her real name was Katherina Freiin Schell von Bauschlott, and she appeared in dozens of films and television shows between 1964 and '94. Her science fiction credits include a memorable appearance in the Doctor Who serial "City of Death," and a co-starring role in the 1969 "space western," Moon Zero Two. It's rumored that she was the producers' first choice to play Captain Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager in 1995, but obviously, she didn't get/take the part.

Anyone know what she's up to these days?

New Look for SPACE

Obviously you've already noticed - unless you read this blog though an RSS feed - that I've changed the site template and some of the graphics. I wanted to make Space: 1970 a bit more distinctive, and allow for slightly bigger images, etc. (I still would like to figure out how to load my own starfield background image into the new Blogger template, but I'm pretty stupid about coding.)

I've been occupied with other things of late - primarily my freelance comics writing and my main DVD review site - and I'm afraid this blog has suffered some benign neglect. I have not abandoned it, though, and actually have a couple of long articles in incomplete drafts waiting for me to finish them up. These include two "Favorite Episodes" features (one from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and one from Space: 1999) a review of the 1978 Spaghetti space opera snoozefest War of the Planets, and some Planet of the Apes reminisces. I also have been thinking about The Black Hole (witness the new masthead) and Spacehunter, the first (and I think last) 3D movie I've seen in a cinema.

According to my counters, traffic remains pretty steady here at Space: 1970, so let me thank all of you who keep dropping by. There's a lot on the way - I haven't even begun to scratch this particular nostalgic itch - it's just a matter of making the time to write my ramblings down. Stay tuned....

Coming Attractions: SPACEHUNTER (1983) TV Spot

Here's a TV spot for Spacehunter: Adventures In The Forbidden Zone (in 3D!). The audio is kinda low, so you may need to crank up your speakers. I think I'll try and watch this again soon... and maybe write up a review/article. It's about time I got back to this blog....

It's a Watch... and a Video Game!

Ah, the wonders of technology, circa 1982. Another treasure that I didn't have because I couldn't afford it. Oh, Starlog, why did you tease me so?

Thanks to Marty McKee for reminding me....

News: STAR CRASH Blu-Ray and DVD Now Available for Pre-Order

I'm still finding it difficult to believe, but Shout! Factory will be releasing Luigi Cozzi's Starcrash on DVD and high-definition Blu-Ray disc on September 14th.

I've long lamented that there wasn't a good, authorized DVD edition of this personal favorite available, and the thought that in a few months I'll have a copy on Blu-Ray is just so exciting. Ever since I read Cozzi's article about the making of the film in Future magazine (anyone remember that companion mag to Starlog, later known as Future Life?), I've been fascinated with the film, and when I finally saw it on VHS with some friends around 1990, I couldn't believe just how much giddy, shameless, stupid fun it was.

There isn't much I don't love about the movie, to be honest. Caroline Munro is gorgeous, the special effects are psychedelic, the characters so ridiculous... it's pure, rainy Saturday afternoon bliss.

In any case, it looks like it's definitely on the way - Shout! Factory has released the cover art - and the title is already listed at Amazon for pre-order. In fact, you can use the link below to do so, if you're so inclined.

Starcrash (Roger Corman Cult Classics) [Blu-ray]

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA TV Guide Advertisements

More vintage TV Guide clippings from my collection. Someone at ABC really liked that one Dirk Benedict publicity still, didn't they? "Boltar?"

Coming Attractions: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) Theatrical Trailer

Thirty(!) years ago today, the first (and still the best) Star Wars sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, was released to theaters. I vividly remember standing in line at the long gone and forgotten, one-screen movie theater at the Turnpike Mall in Augusta, Maine (same screen where I saw Star Trek- The Motion Picture and Moonraker), wearing a bright orange T-shirt with an image of Darth Vader holding his lightsaber on the front.
I was fifteen.

A long time ago and far, far away, indeed.....

Space Babe: Wanda Ventham

Gorgeous Wanda Ventham as the no-nonsense Colonel Virginia Lake on Gerry Anderson's UFO. In the second production block for the series, actor George Sewell didn't return to reprise his role as Colonel Alec Freeman for some reason, so the producers brought back the statuesque, blonde Ventham, who had appeared briefly in the pilot, to take his place as Commander Straker's No. 2 at SHADO.

Lake was a very strong character, a tough and tough-minded officer who also happened to be a very sexy woman. She was competent, commanding and able to hold her own on screen with Ed Bishop's Straker - not an easy task.

Ventham has had a long and prolific career on British television as a popular guest artist and as a regular on numerous series. Among those appearances were roles in three Doctor Who stories.

DARK STAR (1974)

While attending USC, students John Carpenter (Halloween, Escape From New York) and Dan O'Bannon (Return Of The Living Dead) produced a $60,000, 68-minute science fiction black comedy called Dark Star (1974). The film was picked up by producer Jack H. Harris (The Blob, Dinosaurus), who paid the young auteurs to film additional scenes and bring the running time to feature length.

In an unspecified future time, the patrol ship Dark Star, with its crew of five - Dollittle (Brian Narelle), Boiler (Cal Kuniholm), Talby (Dre Pahich), Pinback (Dan O'Bannon) and the cryogenically frozen corpse of ship's Commander Powell - is on a mission to destroy unstable planets with artificially-intelligent "thermostellar" warheads. Unfortunately, the ship has been away from Earth for twenty years and is falling apart, damaged by meteors and plagued with system malfunctions. The crew isn't in much better shape - unkempt, neurotic, and apathetic. When one of the aforementioned malfunctions causes warhead #20 to threaten to explode and take the ship with it, Lieutenant Doolittle has to try and talk the bomb out of fulfilling its prime directive.

Written by O'Bannon (who later co-wrote Alien) and Carpenter, and directed by Carpenter, Dark Star is a crudely crafted but ingenious science fiction film, executed with style, wit and humor. The comedy is of a decidedly dark variety - very 1970s - and the amateur cast isn't always up to the task of carrying it off, but there are plenty of chuckles to be had, especially during Sgt. Pinback's extended struggle with the ship's alien mascot - a beach ball with claws.

The special effects are surprisingly decent, especially considering the microscopic budget, and the sets and props demonstrate considerable ingenuity on the part of the tyro filmmakers.

VCI Entertainment offers two versions of Dark Star on its DVD. The theatrical version, and a shorter, "Special Edition," which purports to recreate the original student film. Both transfers are in 1.85 widescreen, with the "Special Edition" version looking slightly better than the theatrical. Both versions, though, are rather soft and dark, which is to be expected, considering the film was shot in 16mm. Both also show some wear & tear, but nothing egregious. Supplemental material is limited to the theatrical trailer and some text bios.

Dark Star is an entertaining curio and fascinating look at the nascent talents of Carpenter, O'Bannon and their crew. It is extremely accomplished for a student film, and while it lacks the polish and production value of a big studio motion picture, it's easy to see why Carpenter and the late O'Bannon were able to go on to forge such impressive movie careers.

There have been rumors of an improved special edition being in the works for several years, but no official announcement has been made. If you haven't seen Dark Star and are a science fiction fan or interested in Carpenter's work, you should at least try to find a copy to rent. The DVD's technical quality's not the greatest, but the film is definitely worth seeing.

SPACEHUNTER; ADVENTURES IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE (1983) Theatrical Posters

I've been contemplating the chronological cut-off point for inclusion of films and TV shows here at Space: 1970, and although it's not set in stone, I think I'm going to arbitrarily state that this blog "officially" covers the sci-fi era from Planet of the Apes in 1968 to Return of the Jedi in 1983.

That means I can legitimately include here Spacehunter: Adventures In the Forbidden Zone, which came out in the summer of '83, while Jedi was still in theaters. Although not generally well-regarded, I happen to like the movie, and sometimes wish that it had done well enough to merit sequels - I would have enjoyed seeing more adventures of Peter Strauss' Wolff.

I remember going to see it with my girlfriend at the time (in 3-D, 'natch), and both of us agreeing that it was more fun than Jedi!

Coming Attractions: THE BLACK HOLE (1979) Theatrical Trailer

Space Babe: Ornelia Muti

Exotic Ornella Muti as Princess Aura in the 1980 film, Flash Gordon. In a movie loaded with gorgeous, glamorous space babes, it's Ming the Merciless' sexy scion that stands out - sultry, sly, scheming, and stunningly sexual.

The lovely Ms. Muti is a huge star in her native Italy, having appeared in over a hundred films and television shows. In 1994, readers of the magazine Class, voted her the "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World." Of course, they didn't specify which world - I'd say she's definitely the title holder on Mongo... and possibly the sexiest space princess ever!