Space Academy/Jason of Star Command

[Mysterion]

Any fans of these mid-to-late 70's live-action Saturday morning series here?

I really enjoyed these back when they were new, and they still hold a fond spot in my memory. Recently found them on DVD (along with Ark II - also a good series).

Would love to see these brought back for a new generation. I've got some ideas on how Academy/Jason could be be rebooted (and may post them soon over in the Fan Fiction area), I think that, done right, it could be done in a way that is entertaining for a whole new generation of fans.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

Any fans of these mid-to-late 70's live-action Saturday morning series here?

I really enjoyed these back when they were new, and they still hold a fond spot in my memory. Recently found them on DVD (along with Ark II - also a good series).

Would love to see these brought back for a new generation. I've got some ideas on how Academy/Jason could be be rebooted (and may post them soon over in the Fan Fiction area), I think that, done right, it could be done in a way that is entertaining for a whole new generation of fans.

I'll settle for a reboot of Space Academy first (Jason of Star Command can wait until later) and I have some requirements (well, maybe just one): keep the characters as they are. No changes to their sex or race is needed; most of the cadet characters (and their commander) were the right mix of races and sexes (two girls, four boys-two white, one Afro-American, and one Asian) for the main characters. Keep the same story focus as the original (with some concessions to the 2010's), but remember that this was basically a variation on Star Trek about the peaceful exploration of space (and this show's young characters were a lot like Starfleet Academy cadets of Star Trek, albeit with a cute younger kid [Loki] and a robot [Peepo] who would never be allowed to join an academy like this at his age.) Make sure that the 'E/I' quotient is stressed in this one as it was on the original show (this might mean it would have to be shown on Discovery Kids, Noggin, PBS, PBS Kids, TVO Kids, Kids's CBC, etc. and not Disney Channel, Disney XD, Cartoon Network, or Nickelodeon), with not a lot of violence in it.

Other than that, I've got nothing else.

 

[Mysterion]

^^^^
Good points. I agree that emphasizing the E/I aspect would be important. Getting younger viewers interested in science would be a very good thing, At the same time would like to see something that a broader audience would enjoy at the same time.

Have been thinking that it'd be fun to bring as much as much of the original cast back as instructors for the new cadets to be featured. Maybe Chris Gentry has stepped into Gampu's position as leader of the Academy for example. Perhaps his sister now works with alien animal life (in real life Pamlyn Ferdin has been an activist for animal care).

 

[Galileo7]

I have always enjoyed the Filmation live-action series ARK II(1976-1977), SPACE ACADEMY(1977-1978) and , not so much, the radically revised Space Academy sequel series JASON OF STAR COMMAND(1978-1980).

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Season 1 with James Doohan:

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Season 2:

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[Christopher]

I was a big fan of both these shows as a kid, I own the DVDs, and I'd love the chance to develop a reboot. I mean, Space Academy's universe has a lot of potential. It's really far in the future, for one thing. People make the mistake of assuming it's set in the year 3732 AD, but it's the star year 3732, which implies it's 37 centuries after the founding of a spacegoing civilization (and there's no telling what year length they're using if it's star years rather than Earth years), and it's only the year when the Academy was founded, not when the show is set. One episode features a 1000-year-old spaceship that looks exactly like the Academy (since they couldn't afford to build new sets), so maybe it's actually set in the 4700s in the star-year system. Anyway, quite far in the future -- and a future where humans preferentially live in space habitats of various sorts instead of planets, and where it's routine for humans to be enhanced with transhuman abilities. That's just the kind of SF universe I'd be interested in exploring, with shades of Iain M. Banks's Culture.

Jason was interesting because it was an homage to the same kind of classic movie serials that inspired Star Wars, right down to the first season being a single serialized adventure with 15-minute cliffhanger chapters. It was definitely going for that Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers flavor, although Jason himself was basically Han Solo as a wholesome sitcom dad.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

^^^^
Good points. I agree that emphasizing the E/I aspect would be important. Getting younger viewers interested in science would be a very good thing, At the same time would like to see something that a broader audience would enjoy at the same time.

Have been thinking that it'd be fun to bring as much as much of the original cast back as instructors for the new cadets to be featured. Maybe Chris Gentry has stepped into Gampu's position as leader of the Academy for example. Perhaps his sister now works with alien animal life (in real life Pamlyn Ferdin has been an activist for animal care).

I'm not too sure that the original actors can come back, or are willing to even come back (or if any of them are still acting.) But it does sound like an interesting idea.

 

[Marc]

I'm not too sure that the original actors can come back, or are willing to even come back (or if any of them are still acting.) But it does sound like an interesting idea.

Had a quick run though IMDB and most of the main cast from the two series are either in deceased or in their 60 at least (the lead form Jason of Star Command is 77) and their acting careers for the most part wound up before the turn of the millennium.

 

[mos6507]

I think the charm of these shows rests in the style and naively idealistic attitudes of the 70s. There's no way to modernize it and be left with something that can stand on its own.

As far as all of the live-action saturday morning stuff, I'd say Land of the Lost could be done over (as it was done in the 90s kinda meh and then wrecked by the movie). That concept is evergreen even without stop-motion FX and shooting on old analog video with chroma-key.

I also liked the format used by Shazam and Isis. I don't know if it's possible to replicate a live-action superhero show aimed specifically for kids. What you get in that segment these days is nonsense like Teen Titans Go.

There was really a "didactic" approach to all of these shows. Heavy on moralizing to the point of sermonizing. I don't see a lot of interest in doing that with kid fare anymore. It's just junk-food amusement.

 

[Christopher]

I don't know if it's possible to replicate a live-action superhero show aimed specifically for kids. What you get in that segment these days is nonsense like Teen Titans Go.

The Power Rangers franchise is a live-action kid-oriented superhero show that's been running almost continuously for a quarter-century, although it's a lot less wholesome and more combat-driven than Shazam and Isis. There's also Henry Danger, a superhero sitcom for kids on Nickelodeon, though I've only ever seen commercials for it.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

I think the charm of these shows rests in the style and naively idealistic attitudes of the '70's. There's no way to modernize it and be left with something that can stand on its own.

There are similar live-action shows shows now on PBS Kids, Discovery Kids, Qubo and Amazon (this one in particular) that are just as 'earnest' as the ones in the 1970's, and also on Disney Channel, Cartoon Network (before the recent volte-face that saw the live action ones reduced on CN) as well as Nickelodeon.

As far as all of the live-action Saturday morning stuff, I'd say Land of the Lost could be done over (as it was done in the '90's kinda meh and then wrecked by the movie). That concept is evergreen even without stop-motion FX and shooting on old analog video with chroma-key.

Land Of The Lost has been remade twice; I myself don't know if it would ever be revived again by the Krofft brothers.

I also liked the format used by Shazam and Isis. I don't know if it's possible to replicate a live-action superhero show aimed specifically for kids. What you get in that segment these days is nonsense like Teen Titans Go.

There are shows from this franchise that have been on Saturday mornings for a quite a while since the 1990's, plus a few similar others; there are also current animated cartoons (some on Netflix, like this one, this one, and this one) that are serious in tone. And even if they aren't...so what?

There was really a "didactic" approach to all of these shows. Heavy on moralizing to the point of sermonizing. I don't see a lot of interest in doing that with kid fare anymore. It's just junk-food amusement.

See what I said above.

 

[mos6507]

There are similar live-action shows shows now on PBS Kids, Discovery Kids, Qubo and Amazon (this one in particular) that are just as 'earnest' as the ones in the 1970's, and also on Disney Channel, Cartoon Network (before the recent volte-face that saw the live action ones reduced on CN) as well as Nickelodeon.

Maybe you're right. I just have a hard time imaging it in a way that would have any appeal to me, but I wouldn't be this show's prime demographic. So if they're not walking around in bell bottoms and the ships aren't just models on wires none of the kids watching are gonna care.