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Discussion about Space:1999.

Who is #2?

What's your second favorite sci-fi show?

Author	Post
Validus 22 Jan 2003 21:59:27	I know that for me it's a close contest, but in the end I have to say LEXX. I love the humor, the grandure, and the characters are so different and original from other shows I've seen. Fans who agree might wish to visit Lexx.com and check out the site (including a forum). I'd love to have seen a Lexx:1999 cross-over......(sigh) oh well.
Borg Duck 22 Jan 2003 23:36:28	Now I KNOW they are rigged!!
DX-SFX 23 Jan 2003 01:17:36	What? No other Anderson shows listed?
Validus 23 Jan 2003 02:42:05	At the risk of offending the entire forum. . . .I didn't think any of the other shows by Gerry Anderson really "rated". I always felt that shows like Thunderbirds and TerraHawks were ultimately for kids. That's why I left out shows like Lost in Space, The Six Million Dollar Man, and all animated shows (although I confess a weakness for Starblazers). . . . .sorry if I left out anyone's favorite
Martin 23 Jan 2003 08:05:59	A few more vintage shows omitted... UFO Dr Who Blakes 7
DX-SFX 23 Jan 2003 10:52:14	UFO should be in there. It preceeded Close Encounters and X-Files in concept and was definitely adult. I must confess that Thunderbirds is also a favourite. It may have evolved from the earlier Anderson shows which were somewhat naive and juvenile but Thunderbirds left all that behind. The least said about Terrahawks however the better.
moonbasealpha_s1 23 Jan 2003 13:31:48	I always felt that shows like Thunderbirds and TerraHawks were ultimately for kids. That's why I left out shows like Lost in Space, The Six Million Dollar Man, and all animated shows (although I confess a weakness for Starblazers). But Vallidus! Season 2 of Space:1999 is on the same caliper as Lost in Space, $6 Million Dollar Man (though I did like it til FF came onboard and ruined it into cancellation) and the rest of the Saturday morning genre (remember Land of the Lost, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters and The Bugaboos?) S99 Season 2 is a kid's show so why not include other kids shows as comparison...
Validus 23 Jan 2003 18:53:13	I'm not entirely convinced that Season 2 of SPACE:1999 really is a kids show. Admitedly the shows of Season 2 lack the sophistication in Season one, but I'm not convinced that something is automatically for a juvenal audience just because it's poorly written. As for UFO, well, I must be honest and admit that I have never seen it. . . .so I can't speak with any real authority about it one way or another. I specifically left a "None of the Above" because I realized that no list of 10 shows would be difinitive. I also left out shows like Ultraman which I must confess I also loved as a boy.
Borg Duck 23 Jan 2003 20:46:56	This may offend but I'm a Doctor Who fan FIRST & as for you Valideus if you've never seen UFO then you are missing out on Gabrielle Drake!!
RBAdams 23 Jan 2003 21:56:04	Gabrielle Drake . . . sigh. Little known fact about Gabrielle Drake is that her brother was the tragic folk genius Nick Drake, who only recorded four albums' worth of material before his tragic death of an antidepressant overdose. You probably heard his song "Pink Moon" on a Volkswagen ad a couple years back.
Cindy 26 Jan 2003 11:30:19	I like X-files, with David Duchovny of course. I like Martin Landau in the movy "fight the future". I think he's really a good actor!!!
Validus 27 Jan 2003 06:50:48	Cindy- Ever seen the movie "Ed Wood"? Martin Landau played classic horror film star Bela Lugosi in it and won a well deserved Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. If you've not see this indearing comedy I highly recommend it- it also stars Johnney Depp.
tombrock 28 Jan 2003 20:29:27	Validus: You really MUST see UFO. Yes, there are some real clinkers--although admittedly few and far between. Unlike Space:1999, UFO really requires that you see quite a handful of episodes to really get the flavor of it. Some say it hasn't necessarily aged well--but I feel it has that weird, "timeless" atmosphere that many Anderson productions have. You look at it and you know it wasn't made recently--but it doesn't neatly fit into a specific period and it really doesn't look "dated" either. It has a "feel" very, very similar to Space: 1999--but a little slower, a little darker, a little more measured. UFO, in many ways, would succeed astonishly well if remade today; it has a very X-Files tone to it and a strange, dark feel. ITC Entertainment, the company that backed much of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's stuff, was rather a mixed blessing for them. I supposed you could say that without them, much of what Anderson fans have come to love over the years might never have been. But by the same token, they NEVER gave the Anderson team the time to really hit their stride with anything attempted. UFO clearly shows the signs of the team evolving and perfecting their craft--and the show--as the season wears on...the same is true of Space: 1999's first season...but they were never given the chance to come into their own, so to speak. With UFO they pulled the plug, and with Space: 1999 they might just as well have. Had UFO been given another season I think it would have gone right through the roof in terms of popularity and critical acclaim--simply because it was [and still is] so unlike anything else out there. And, of course, the same could be said of Space:1999--if it hadn't been bastardized for its second year.
RBAdams 29 Jan 2003 07:04:23	Nice analysis of the ITC situation, Tombrock. They really do come across as the villains of the Anderson story once you have all the pieces put together. Creative decisions made by accountants = bad.
Validus 29 Jan 2003 09:45:05	The odds are I won't be able to see UFO unless they decide to aire it on the Sci-Fi channel, which seems highly unlikely considering that their current programming trend seems to be trying to avoid old shows other then Twilight Zone and Star Trek. I've seen the UFO DVD boxed set, but I can't see paying that much for something I'm not that invested in.....if I find it at Half.com maybe I'll get it then. As it is I just recently got the Space:1999 boxed set as well as Andromeda 1.1 to 1.3, so $$$ wise I'm tapped out for awhile on DVDs!
JackTheFool 29 Jan 2003 21:34:06	Probably either the original Star Trek or the original Outer Limits...tough call. Jack
Validus 31 Jan 2003 08:17:05	That does make deciding hard. Outer Limits is really the only example of Film Noir science fiction that I know of, and Star Trek set a high watermark for the genre that wasn't surpassed until Space:1999 hit the airwaves.
JackTheFool 31 Jan 2003 16:23:51	Yes it was...plus, the writing was usually great. They had some really outstanding photographers on that series...Conrad Hall and others. TV today all looks nearly the same...too bad. 1999's first season had some great photography and lighting too. I'd like just ONCE this decade to see a series that attempts to do something different...not only with writing, but with photography as well. Jack
Validus 31 Jan 2003 18:20:46	Have you seen LEXX before? I think LEXX is easily the best science fiction tv show of the 90's. You can buy the very first LEXX film from videofliks.com titled "I worship his Shadow" for only $15.00. I highly recommend it for its quality and because it isn't avalable in the United States- Videofliks is based in Canada but all DVD's are Region 1 coding so they'll play on US DVD players.
JackTheFool 31 Jan 2003 18:57:48	Cool...I'll check it out! Thanks... Is there a difference in quality between the first one and those shown here on the sci-fi channel? I haven't really watched it, but some of the commercials for it looked interesting. Jack

Author

Post

Validus
22 Jan 2003 21:59:27

I know that for me it's a close contest, but in the end I have to say LEXX. I love the humor, the grandure, and the characters are so different and original from other shows I've seen. Fans who agree might wish to visit Lexx.com and check out the site (including a forum). I'd love to have seen a Lexx:1999 cross-over......(sigh) oh well.

Borg Duck
22 Jan 2003 23:36:28

Now I KNOW they are rigged!!

DX-SFX
23 Jan 2003 01:17:36

What? No other Anderson shows listed?

Validus
23 Jan 2003 02:42:05

At the risk of offending the entire forum. . . .I didn't think any of the other shows by Gerry Anderson really "rated". I always felt that shows like Thunderbirds and TerraHawks were ultimately for kids. That's why I left out shows like Lost in Space, The Six Million Dollar Man, and all animated shows (although I confess a weakness for Starblazers).

. . . .sorry if I left out anyone's favorite

Martin
23 Jan 2003 08:05:59

A few more vintage shows omitted...
UFO
Dr Who
Blakes 7

DX-SFX
23 Jan 2003 10:52:14

UFO should be in there. It preceeded Close Encounters and X-Files in concept and was definitely adult. I must confess that Thunderbirds is also a favourite. It may have evolved from the earlier Anderson shows which were somewhat naive and juvenile but Thunderbirds left all that behind.

The least said about Terrahawks however the better.

moonbasealpha_s1
23 Jan 2003 13:31:48

I always felt that shows like Thunderbirds and TerraHawks were ultimately for kids. That's why I left out shows like Lost in Space, The Six Million Dollar Man, and all animated shows (although I confess a weakness for Starblazers).

But Vallidus! Season 2 of Space:1999 is on the same caliper as Lost in Space, $6 Million Dollar Man (though I did like it til FF came onboard and ruined it into cancellation) and the rest of the Saturday morning genre (remember Land of the Lost, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters and The Bugaboos?) S99 Season 2 is a kid's show so why not include other kids shows as comparison...

Validus
23 Jan 2003 18:53:13

I'm not entirely convinced that Season 2 of SPACE:1999 really is a kids show. Admitedly the shows of Season 2 lack the sophistication in Season one, but I'm not convinced that something is automatically for a juvenal audience just because it's poorly written. As for UFO, well, I must be honest and admit that I have never seen it. . . .so I can't speak with any real authority about it one way or another. I specifically left a "None of the Above" because I realized that no list of 10 shows would be difinitive. I also left out shows like Ultraman which I must confess I also loved as a boy.

Borg Duck
23 Jan 2003 20:46:56

This may offend but I'm a Doctor Who fan FIRST & as for you Valideus if you've never seen UFO then you are missing out on Gabrielle Drake!!

RBAdams
23 Jan 2003 21:56:04

Gabrielle Drake . . . sigh.

Little known fact about Gabrielle Drake is that her brother was the tragic folk genius Nick Drake, who only recorded four albums' worth of material before his tragic death of an antidepressant overdose. You probably heard his song "Pink Moon" on a Volkswagen ad a couple years back.

Cindy
26 Jan 2003 11:30:19

I like X-files, with David Duchovny of course.
I like Martin Landau in the movy "fight the future". I think he's really a good actor!!!

Validus
27 Jan 2003 06:50:48

Cindy-

Ever seen the movie "Ed Wood"? Martin Landau played classic horror film star Bela Lugosi in it and won a well deserved Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. If you've not see this indearing comedy I highly recommend it- it also stars Johnney Depp.

tombrock
28 Jan 2003 20:29:27

Validus:

You really MUST see UFO. Yes, there are some real clinkers--although admittedly few and far between. Unlike Space:1999, UFO really requires that you see quite a handful of episodes to really get the flavor of it.

Some say it hasn't necessarily aged well--but I feel it has that weird, "timeless" atmosphere that many Anderson productions have. You look at it and you know it wasn't made recently--but it doesn't neatly fit into a specific period and it really doesn't look "dated" either. It has a "feel" very, very similar to Space: 1999--but a little slower, a little darker, a little more measured.

UFO, in many ways, would succeed astonishly well if remade today; it has a very X-Files tone to it and a strange, dark feel.

ITC Entertainment, the company that backed much of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's stuff, was rather a mixed blessing for them. I supposed you could say that without them, much of what Anderson fans have come to love over the years might never have been. But by the same token, they NEVER gave the Anderson team the time to really hit their stride with anything attempted. UFO clearly shows the signs of the team evolving and perfecting their craft--and the show--as the season wears on...the same is true of Space: 1999's first season...but they were never given the chance to come into their own, so to speak. With UFO they pulled the plug, and with Space: 1999 they might just as well have.

Had UFO been given another season I think it would have gone right through the roof in terms of popularity and critical acclaim--simply because it was [and still is] so unlike anything else out there. And, of course, the same could be said of Space:1999--if it hadn't been bastardized for its second year.

RBAdams
29 Jan 2003 07:04:23

Nice analysis of the ITC situation, Tombrock. They really do come across as the villains of the Anderson story once you have all the pieces put together.

Creative decisions made by accountants = bad.

Validus
29 Jan 2003 09:45:05

The odds are I won't be able to see UFO unless they decide to aire it on the Sci-Fi channel, which seems highly unlikely considering that their current programming trend seems to be trying to avoid old shows other then Twilight Zone and Star Trek. I've seen the UFO DVD boxed set, but I can't see paying that much for something I'm not that invested in.....if I find it at Half.com maybe I'll get it then. As it is I just recently got the Space:1999 boxed set as well as Andromeda 1.1 to 1.3, so $$$ wise I'm tapped out for awhile on DVDs!

JackTheFool
29 Jan 2003 21:34:06

Probably either the original Star Trek or the original Outer Limits...tough call.

Jack

Validus
31 Jan 2003 08:17:05

That does make deciding hard. Outer Limits is really the only example of Film Noir science fiction that I know of, and Star Trek set a high watermark for the genre that wasn't surpassed until Space:1999 hit the airwaves.

JackTheFool
31 Jan 2003 16:23:51

Yes it was...plus, the writing was usually great. They had some really outstanding photographers on that series...Conrad Hall and others. TV today all looks nearly the same...too bad. 1999's first season had some great photography and lighting too.

I'd like just ONCE this decade to see a series that attempts to do something different...not only with writing, but with photography as well.

Jack

Validus
31 Jan 2003 18:20:46

Have you seen LEXX before? I think LEXX is easily the best science fiction tv show of the 90's. You can buy the very first LEXX film from videofliks.com titled "I worship his Shadow" for only $15.00. I highly recommend it for its quality and because it isn't avalable in the United States- Videofliks is based in Canada but all DVD's are Region 1 coding so they'll play on US DVD players.

JackTheFool
31 Jan 2003 18:57:48

Cool...I'll check it out! Thanks...
Is there a difference in quality between the first one and those shown here on the sci-fi channel?
I haven't really watched it, but some of the commercials for it looked interesting.

Jack

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