As SF programs, none were presented with much of a serious illusion of even credible plausibility in their speculative nature or what science might back it up, save Voyage until its turn in emphasis that began in the second season. These were all broad entertainment shows, drawn on the basis of colorfully rendered underpinnings of unrealistic, fantastic, or fantasy scenarios.
Allen wasn't concerned with overarching societal or political issues, other that the initial fig leaf behind the significance of the LIS mission and the primarily first season focus of Voyage of intrigue and threats between nations that did have resonances of Cold War themes
Again, where is
YOUR evidence for that conslusion? As i've said before, no experienced producer would make the central conflict with antagonists (LOTG's totalitarian government) for a vague or unintended reason. It is the kind of element that automatically frames plots in a direction, and the episodes illustrate that deliberate development. In other words, the childish nature of another Allen series did not condemn LOTG to the same, childish fate.
Actually, what I said in their connection to LOTG, was not that I considered the latter to be an outlier, but that would be the case if one accepted the case you were making for how different that show was. A rather convenient misstatement or omission to appear to support a false point.
The false point is your hollow argument that LOTG was not fundamentally different in intent and execution. Considering your continued lack of evidence and basic familiarity with the series, it is easy to see why you would wish to paint Allen's work with the same, blanketing brush: it helps easy, fact-free conclusions.
Also, that Kobick's limited appearances did hinder the consistency that the rationale a single integral antagonist would be able to communicate about the government's goals and perhaps interestingly, a personal backstory of his that might have added a greater fullness of detail about the cast of mind that the state embodied.
Nonsense. To repeat a point which renders your misunderstanding of "world building" in a TV series moot, in the giants' world, it was established that the earthlings were hunted for themselves, as well as their technology, even to the point where a bounty was placed on their heads. So, the tension from "on high" was
present before and after the introduction of Kobick.
To the point, Kobick did not
need to appear in every episode in order for the presence or threat posed by the government to be felt. Similarly,
The Fugitive's main antagonist Lt. Phillip Gerard
did not appear in all 120 episodes of the series (
37, to be exact), but that did not stop the threat of Gerard--
or other law enforcers on the lookout for Richard Kimble--to be felt.
Effective writing need not beat audiences over the head.
Of course, this brings this back to another issue with your view on LOTG--
other than guest stars, whose motives for interest varied at times from the regime's? Pretty much nameless functionaries, whose efforts weren't necessarily that impressive
--is an odd comment, since you have not watched the entire series for some time. Failing that,
how would you know how effective (or not) antagonists were?
Again, the issue of fact-free bias rockets to the surface.
The caveat that you have made and I have concurred with is that these conclusions are ones that I hold now, and that study of critical material on the program, as well as a new rewatch, might serve to sway this opinion.
Then, all of the negativity you present simply falls flat because--in the many times this must be repeated--without evidence, which favors the historical assessment, all you are offering is fact-free bias leaning toward emotionalism and agenda.
I don't know the accuracy of the statement that their technology was of prime interest to the aliens, as they had many devices and mechanisms that were fantastically beyond Earth's capabilities, if one assumes that a dozen years advance on Earth wouldn't have brought innovations that were out of line with the development of a ship like the Spindrift.
Capturing the earth people was not limited to them being "alien." As early as
"The Weird World"--the second episode produced (but aired out of order) Major Kagan's ship was captured by giants, taken to their so-named Science Center and dismantled. It should be no mystery why.
Other episodes featured giants seeing the earth technology as an advantage, while others were trying to develop their own means of flight in order to reach earth for exploitation purposes.
I don't think making a parallel to a vastly superior program like the Fugitive, even as it was similar in projecting a like sense of paranoia coincident with an individual being on the run..
You completely missed the point of the reference.
I'm not sure what other basis you would judge the aliens being successful antagonists for the crew otherwise, but perhaps you're drawing a picture of the forces of the state's depredations against the society generally in making the assertion.
Was Lt. Gerard as successful antagonist? Most TV historians believe so, despite the fact he lost Kimble more than he ever had him in custody. From the pilot's train wreck, to chasing Kimble from one end of America to the other, he captured him a few times, but Kimble manage to escape. Only the series coming to its end had Gerard actually keep Kimble in custody as seen in
"The Judgement, Part One." As noted earlier, the threat to Kimble did not need the central antagonist playing a constant part, since his assumed guilt made him a wanted man to anyone--just as the increasing perception that the "little people" were a threat existed with and without direct involvement of the SID.
I still maintain that the development of its authoritarian model was more developed in revealing the layers of its organization, its methods, which were shown in their application to forge a pliant subject population, as well as more than just very slight references to what had been before, all done more assuredly and with greater gravitas than exhibited in LOTG,
...an argument you cannot make, since you repeatedly admit your lack of current familiarity with LOTG.
I find it interesting that the book doesn't include a mention of the rating or share when it describes this singular mark of success. The specific information should be able to be gleaned from a source like Variety or the Nielsen site itself.
Then for you--a person who is determined to downgrade LOTG on page after page--searching Variety and other period data should be your paramount concern....
Yes, I did use the word drek, to characterize LOTG in one of my first comments in the thread, but I think it's disingenuous to maintain that subsequently, I haven't pointed to elements in the production that merit some positive acclimation.
Your opening frames and drives all that follows. Words have meaning, so if you open with such a damning judgement as "
drek," logically, one can conclude you have an incredibly low opinion of LOTG.
Among the word's meanings:
worthless trash or
junk.
You have--by choice--condemned LOTG as
worthless trash from the start. Such a strong view does not leave the door open for (what would be) an about-face to offer positive analysis, or trusting your view from that point forward. There's nothing positive in
junk.
What would be considered the third great science-fiction franchise?
