Did You Love Other Vintage Sci-Fi Shows?

[RandyS]

ZapBrannigan wrote:

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How do TOS fans rate the other vintage sci-fi shows? I seemed to like everything I got my hands on:

- LOST IN SPACE, even at its worst, was good for the hardware, the music, and likeable cast. And as an adult, I finally get Dr Smith. Now he's hilarious instead of infuriating.

But I've seen many references over the years to the idea that a lot of STAR TREK fans hate LIS, and vice versa.

- VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, LAND OF THE GIANTS, TIME TUNNEL: I never really got to see these for some reason. I think I would have liked GIANTS the best; that seems like my kind of show.

- Classic GALACTICA and BUCK ROGERS: loved them both as a kid; now I find BSG to have a more timeless quality and more texture, detail, etc.

- MAN FROM ATLANTIS: loved it at the time, now find it less thrilling but still a neat concept, a cool submarine, some good music scores.

- LOGAN'S RUN: I watched it once in first run on CBS, circa 1977, but it didn't make any lasting impressions. I think I liked the android REM, who was a lot like Mr Data would later be.

So how would you as a TOS fan rate these and other vintage shows?

The Man From Atlantis and Logan's Run are the only two from this list I haven't seen. The rest are classics of both Sci-fi AND television.

[Warped9]

The Night Stalker started well, but it became hit-and-miss as it progressed. It's mostly decent, but the very end is disappointing.

[ToddPence]

ssosmcin wrote:

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THE IMMORTAL (Chris George): a blatant retread of The Fugitive, but holy crap, did I love this short lived series. Amazing Dominic Frontiere music and excellent, tough performances by Christopher George. It didn't deserve a second season because the producers didn't even TRY to make it new, but it sure had great fights and chases.

You're not kidding about THE IMMORTAL, a series I viewed last year, being a FUGITIVE retread. No less than three IMMORTAL episodes completely rip off FUGITIVE episodes, lifting entire plotlines. Jack Turley recylced his FUGITIVE script "Nicest Fella You'd Ever Want to Meet" as "The Rainbow Butcher", basically just changing the names of the characters. "Man on a Punched Carrd" uses the exact same premise as the FUGITIVE episode "The 2130", about a supercomputer being employed to predict the movements of the running man. The beginning of THE FUGITIVE's "The End is But the Beginning" and THE IMMORTAL's "Dead Man, Dead Man" are practically identical, although the two stories do take divergent paths from then on.

Here's the most puzzling question about THE IMMORTAL. Unlinke Richard Kimble or David Banner, Ben Richards isn't on the run from the law. Why the hell doesn't he contact the FBI and report his pursuers for attempted kidnapping??

[E-DUB]

To answer your question ToddPence, I always figured that since Richard's pursuers were all rich men, they had greased whatever palms needed greasing to allow them to operate with impunity. Or Richards was afraid that the government people would find out why he was running, in which case he'd only be trading one set of problems for another.

[xortex]

Buck Rogers is still my favorite. I don't know why. Central casting, like ms. Peel in tight hot pants with great guest star character actors, especially all the evil ones we love. Space 1999 only after the show loosened up with the hot shape shifter. The powers of Mathew Star. Shazam!. One Step Beyond, The Outer Limits. Tales from the Dark Side. don't know if that's vintage yet.

[Anji]

So many good shows...

Lost In Space - A guilty pleasure. Not good sci-fi at all, but a lot of fun. Dr. Smith and The Robot? Can it get any better than that.

Space:1999 - I was struck by the overall design of the series. Clean, yet colorful. Maya was cool. So was Tony. Season 1 was good and I struggled with the series until the end.

Battlestar Galactica (1978 series) - Still my all time favorite. What a great group of people to be marooned with. Nothing but fun from beginning to end. Lorne Greene will always be Adama and Starbuck will ALWAYS BE Dirk Benedict!!!! The series inspired me to become a designer.

Doctor Who (Jon Pertwee) - The guy was a force of nature. He was a true hero who always knew what to do and it was always the right thing. His messages on the environment and how people need to be more considerate of each other opened my mind. And never forget Roger Delgado who took the meaning of the word "Villain" into a whole nother realm.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - While I watched it as a kid, I am only now beginning to appreciate it. One of the best, most intelligent science fiction shows ever made. Especially Season 1.

[ssosmcin]

Anji wrote:

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Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - While I watched it as a kid, I am only now beginning to appreciate it. One of the best, most intelligent science fiction shows ever made. Especially Season 1.

OMG it is so nice to meet you!

[xortex]

Like cannibals finding each other on line.

I found Lost in space unwatchable because of the incidental music. It was horrid and the antithesis of Trek even though I think some of the same composers wrote for it, it was just way off and too dissonant and jarring and not right. I couldn't relax and get into the story of giant alien vegetables needing condensation with that music.

[ssosmcin]

I agree about some of the later scores for the color seasons, but the early episodes score by John Williams, etc. were fantastic. Iconic music and some of the best TV scoring, like, ever.

[ZapBrannigan]

ssosmcin wrote:

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I agree about some of the later scores for the color seasons, but the early episodes score by John Williams, etc. were fantastic. Iconic music and some of the best TV scoring, like, ever.

Agreed. The first seven episodes of LOST IN SPACE had stunning scores that left an indelible mark and nudged me toward of lifetime interest in film music. Even the worst later episodes can hold my attention when they're tracked with the early music.

On the other hand, later episodes with original scores had music not so good. Just compare Gerald Fried's STAR TREK scores to what he did for LOST IN SPACE. His LIS material contains extremely faint echoes of the ST music, weaved into a lot of meandering and mush. The later LIS stories just did not inspire composers to greatness.

[TREK_GOD_1]

E-DUB wrote:

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Or Richards was afraid that the government people would find out why he was running, in which case he'd only be trading one set of problems for another.

That's the logical answer. Considering the nature of agencies such as the FBI (and any other you can name) in the early 1970s, who in their right mind would trust them with a secret as amazing / important as immortality? Ben Richards would have placed a noose around his neck.

While The Immortal TV series borrowed The Fugitive template, the original TV movie was a very different animal, using pathos to rip away the assumed thrill of learning that Richards will live forever, with the chase element only occuring in the last act of the film.

The TV movie was not a page-for-page adaptation of the James Gunn novel which inspired it, but the changes worked for the format.

Unlike characters before (Richard Kimble) and after (David Banner), pilot movie Richards also has a relationship he elects to end because of his situation, adding self-inflicted pressure his TV counterparts did not experience; in the pilot of The Incredible Hulk, Banner's colleague/love interest died in the pilot, while we know what happened to Kimble's wife.

[ssosmcin]

I loved the Immortal pilot movie, but it's hard to imagine how the series would have developed differently - other than having more original scripts instead of refilming Fugitive episodes. I didn't mind the action quotient, but with Howie Horowitz in the driver's seat, it became nothing but fist fights, dune buggy chases and endless running. I will say the series had some of the best fights in TV history, but that's not what people were looking for after the TV movie. It was very much like V in that regard: amazing pilot movie/mini-series gave way to a pretty brainless action series.

[Gojira]

I have been watching Lost in Space on TV lately. I sometimes cannot believe hos cheesy the effects are. I still enjoy the show!

[xortex]

Nowhere man should have a kickstarter too. The one about the amnesiac who knew everything somehow except who he was.

[Galileo7]

Warped9 wrote:

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The Night Stalker started well, but it became hit-and-miss as it progressed. It's mostly decent, but the very end is disappointing.

As a boy in the '70s, I enjoyed both the two television movies and Kolchak:The Night Stalker (1974-1975) television series. It captured my young imagination.

Anji wrote:

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So many good shows...

Lost In Space - A guilty pleasure. Not good sci-fi at all, but a lot of fun. Dr. Smith and The Robot? Can it get any better than that.

Space:1999 - I was struck by the overall design of the series. Clean, yet colorful. Maya was cool. So was Tony. Season 1 was good and I struggled with the series until the end.

Battlestar Galactica (1978 series) - Still my all time favorite. What a great group of people to be marooned with. Nothing but fun from beginning to end. Lorne Greene will always be Adama and Starbuck will ALWAYS BE Dirk Benedict!!!! The series inspired me to become a designer.


Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - While I watched it as a kid, I am only now beginning to appreciate it. One of the best, most intelligent science fiction shows ever made. Especially Season 1.

Agree Anji on your thoughts regarding these series.