Billy Mumy And Marta Kristen: On Lost In Space Pilot No Place To Hide

"I think the pilot is arguably the best of what we ever did on that series. And Irwin directed all of that himself. It holds up very well."

-Billy Mumy, Lost In Space Vol.1: The Authorized Biography Of A Classic Sci-Fi Series (p.213)-

"It was a beautiful, beautiful show. That pilot to me looked very Fritz Lang. It was dark, with, you know, the shadows, the black and white, the way we were lit, and the way the shots were all done."

-Marta Kristen (p.213)-



This writer is returning to the world of the original Lost In Space and the science fiction classic that it remains and looks back at the series with the proper lens on the series that was missing my first time out. In truth, I really didn't give it the respect it deserved first time out.

Fully restored, remastered and on Blu-Ray, Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic gets a second chance and will look back properly at one of television's science fiction greats. Our first rendering of the series was on DVD and too much contrast was paid to the television of today.



Lost In Space will be given a proper reassessed treatment as we begin by looking at Season One in its entirety.

I've come to realize some of the values on display in many of the earlier TV series from the 1960s and 1970s upon revisiting them have proven rather elusive in today's TV world and culture in general. That's unfortunate. So much of our culture is filled with ham-fisted messaging when many of the shows from yesterday had a grace to their efforts when exploring our world. Little House On The Prairie (1974-1983), Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969), Space:1999 (1975-1977) and yes Lost In Space (1965-1968) are just some examples and all offer qualities missing and elusive in today's television say what you will of their shortcomings. They stand the test of time.



The values and qualities of these series have forever remained with me and TV may have left these shows behind, but for those of us raised and reared on them these remain as impressive and perhaps even more powerful in their quality today.

For those inclined join us aboard the Jupiter 2 and into the great unknown in gorgeous black and white as we explore with the Robinsons lost in space.

Jane Espenson: On Moore's Battlestar Galactica

"I love stories that have a lens, so that you can look at our world through a lens---like a metaphorical lens...
And sci-fi allows you to do that.

...BSG had a lot to say about modern warfare and America.

...through the lens of the Cylon War."
 

-Jane Espenson, SciFiNow#76, p.38-

Writer Jane Espenson would know and appreciate these mirrors to our own world affairs. She wrote for some of the best of them including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1995; Accession S4 E17), Firefly (2002; Shindig E4), Game Of Thrones (2011; A Golden Crown S1 E6), Caprica (2010; 2 episodes), Torchwood (2011; 5 episodes), Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1998-2003; 23 episodes) as well as five episodes of Battlestar Galactica (The Passage, Dirty Hands, Escape Velocity, The Hub, Deadlock) and the Battlestar film The Plan (2009).



Espensen had a lot to say on the state of humanity and did so thoughtfully through the power of the pen and some impressive contributions to science fiction. 

 

Christopher Penfold: On Space:1999

"...as fresh ideas were tossed around, we realized more and more that there are mysteries in outer space that are beyond man's understanding and that we could dramatize these.
Time, as we know it, means nothing. Distance, as we know it, is incomprehensible.
We assume there is life on other planets, with civilizations and mental developments millions of years older than on Earth.
The possibilities are as limitless as space itself."

-Christopher Penfold, Destination: Moonbase Alpha The Unofficial And Unauthorized Guide To Space:1999 (p.35)-



It's FAB FRIDAY and all things immensely creative from the world of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.

Space:1999 (1975-1977) has its problems (Regina Kesslann's two brains in Another Time, Another Place), but it's also a science fiction series that got a lot of things right or we certainly wouldn't still be talking about it and attempting interpretation of it all these years later. Ideas, concepts, productions design, spacecraft design, music, cast. There's a lot to love and adore about the series even when it doesn't always hit those character notes quite as deeply as we would have enjoyed or assemble those story messages with articulated perfection. Perhaps being a little messy is the way I prefer it.



Space:1999 offered the kind of intangible, metaphysical, science fiction concepts that spar with the human mind and ask us to question our own earthbound thinking. It's one of the things we loved about Space:1999. It took us to other worlds, strange places and forced us to think outside the box of normal understanding.



Some of the things this writer loved about the series was that the human race was downright trouble. Sometimes it seemed we did more harm than good. Our man-made computers didn't always serve us well either.

Like Stargate Universe (2009-2011), we were thrust into space more ill-equipped than not to handle these new discoveries.



We were launched into circumstances we could hardly imagine. We had difficulty wrapping the human mind around problems, but there was no shortage of effort in trying.

This writer remembers most of all that Space:1999 was one of those rare science fictions that made outer space mysterious, unnerving and generally a scary place. Whatever their shortcomings each episode resonated on some level in mood, atmosphere or visuals and the stress faced by humanity felt undeniably real and stayed with you long after viewing it.



A boy in feet pajamas remembers indelible images from that series that remain with him.

Those open-ended examinations still have me revisiting the series today and discovering new angles and examining and considering concepts of our human understanding that remain as timely and applicable today as they did in the 1970s.

 

James S.A. Corey: On Character In Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse)

"Holden and Miller have got two different views on the ethical use of information. That's very much a current argument.

Holden's my holy fool.

He's an idealist, a man who faces things with this very optimistic view of humanity.

He believes that if you give people all of the information, they'll do the right thing with it, because people are naturally good.

Miller is a cynic and a nihilist.

He looks at dissemination of information as a game you play.

He doesn't have faith in anyone else's moral judgment.

Control of information is how you get people to do what you want, and he doesn't trust anyone else to make that call.

I picked those two characters because they're both right, and they're both wrong."

-James S.A. Corey, Leviathan Wakes, p.570-

That little quote is telling and a lot can be gleaned from it regarding the back and forth chapter and verse throughout the book with each respective chapter labeled Miller or Holden. These character creations have been adapted faithfully and are properly reflected throughout this first season of The Expanse.



As an individual I can't help but find Holden positively infuriating at times, but also admirable. Miller, on the other hand, speaks for me on so many levels and I found personally Miller to be the most relatable character. To each their own as they read this story. The dynamic will be relative depending on the reader.



And still, despite there stark differences there's a little bit of each of them that influences the other. Holden undergoes his own changes throughout Season Two.

There is indeed a character arc for them both in the book and in The Expanse TV series.



For me, Miller is appreciated most. His change and where he arrives at by the end of the book and ultimately in Season 2, Episode 5, Home is a fascinating and sweet journey. To see Miller's concern grow and ultimately see some of his faith restored is nothing short of an odyssey worth discovering for readers and viewers of the series.

Ronald D. Moore & David Eick: On Battlestar Galactica Reimagined

"Our goal is nothing less than the reinvention of the science fiction television series.

We take as a given the idea that the traditional space opera---with its stock characters, techno double-talk, bumpy-headed aliens, thespian histrionics and empty heroics---has run its course and a new approach is required.

That approach is to introduce realism into what has heretofore been an aggressively unrealistic genre..."

-Ronald D. Moore, the Battlestar Galactica series Bible, Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion, p.8-

"My first thought was that we had to do something that was as different from the original show, the various Star Trek shows and all the other contemporary science fiction series as we could possibly make it.

I felt we somehow had to use the extraordinary mythos of Battlestar Galactica and its timeless themes in a completely original way."

-David Eick, Battlestar Galactica The Official Companion, p.8-

 

 

SciFiNow: On The Incredible Hulk And The Lonely Man

"The Lonely Man, The Incredible Hulk's most memorable theme was a melancholy piano tune that played at the end of each episode as David Banner hitchhiked to the next town. With this simple image and quiet, contemplative music, the show was able to suggest themes of regret, responsibility, guilt and isolation in the character of Banner without ever uttering a single word."

-SciFiNow #5 on the remarkable end theme, The Lonely Man, by Joe Harnell-



As a child either I was gifted with an innate sense of empathy and compassion or moments like the ones that concluded the end of each episode of The Incredible Hulk aided me in the development of those important qualities.

Was it nature or nurture? Was it both? That age old debate was in play for me each week.



Ultimately The Incredible Hulk taught us lessons about men and women regarding struggle, compassion, empathy and the idea of just what it might be like for someone to feel isolated and alone in this world. Each entry presenting the lonely man, David Banner, trying to find his place in the world, a symbol for us all.

The series always ended on this pensive and reflective note. The show was all the more beautiful for it by closing on a pensive dramatic and musical note.

Robert E. Wood: On Space:1999

"Space:1999 presented stories of people like us, alone against the unknown and often in awe of the infinite complexities and mysteries of the universe. At times abstract, esoteric and metaphysical, Space:1999 was anything but a standard by-the-books televised adventure series."

-Robert E. Wood, Destination: Moonbase Alpha The Unofficial And Unauthorized Guide To Space:1999 (p.45)-

Next week for FAB FRIDAY we look at Space:1999, Year One, Episode 14, Death's Other Dominion.

James Middleton: On Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

"After Terminator 3 was released, I felt like I really wanted to see Sarah again...an iconic character. What we've done with the television show is create an entirely new timeline. Sarah is always concerned about her mortality from the standpoint that she worries about dying and whether her work will be done. That's always going to inform her character, but in terms of our show, the premise of the Pilot establishes a move away from Terminator 3. We've created a whole new time line, a different future, and a new fate for Sarah."

-James Middleton, SciFiNow #12, p.41-



This is indeed a component of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-2009) series and one that, while not entirely tangible, is evidenced in the mood and the sense of impending doom that hovers over it. The atmosphere is heavy and dripping with it.

This writer identifies with the character aspect of the series.



Most people who enjoy this life; its hopes and dreams can certainly relate to the contemplation of one's own mortality. If you have a brain and you think too much, this can be burdensome. For the Sarah Connor character it's a reality. Sarah Connor indeed shoulders a heavy weight in her knowledge of what the future holds and the potential she has to change it. She considers a plan to prevent the end of the world while staying alive.

Amanda Tapping: On Stargate SG-1

"The beauty of SG-1 was that it was a group of misfits.

The team was commanded by a military colonel who wasn't towing the party line all the time.

You also had the archeologist who didn't understand the military and was thrust into this incredible adventure.

Then there's Teal'c, the alien who didn't fit in, and finally Sam, the awkward female who's also a genius.

You put all of them together and have this misfit band.

It was the perfect combination in a lot of ways because they all felt the same about not fitting in, as well as respected one another, and the beauty of their relationship came out as it matured."

 

-Amanda Tapping, Stargate: The Official Magazine, Jan 2010, p.40-1-

And Tapping almost reaches the most important point in her keen observations regarding the character dynamic of SG-1, and that is together this group of misfits forged a family.

Together they were representative of the modern family dynamic. Most of all, as the series matured and progressed, we identified with that element to the chemistry of these four ingeniously cast characters.

SG-1 was part military operation, part Fantastic Four-like super group, not with power but in their unique and strong personalities while working as a team, and most of all, like the Fantastic Four, they were like family. Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Girl, Johnny Storm and Benjamin Grimm. Here a group of outcasts came together as a unit called SG-1 in the form of Jack O'Neil, Samantha Carter, Daniel Jackson and Teal'c.

 

Andy Mikita: On Stargate Universe

"...liberating the camera, or shooting handheld....
Traditionally, the cameras have always been on tripods or dollies, which is a cinematic way of shooting.
The way it works now, with our handheld documentary style, is that the actors are on screen all the time.... So things are far less choreographed....
...the camera operators...find non-traditional perspectives on the scene.
We were looking for people who had shot in that type of style before, and we ended up hiring Ronn Schmidt, who did many years on The Shield.
We wanted him to bring his level of documentary-style shooting experience to us and incorporate what he had learned over the years into Universe."

-Director Andy Mikita on enlisting Director of Photography Ronn Schmidt, Stargate The Official Magazine #34 (p.30)-

You see the much maligned Stargate Universe (2009-2011) wasn't always about mimicking Ronald D. Moore's Battlestar Galactica (2003-2009).

Kenneth Brown: On Continuum

"With a rash of pretenders to the genre throne rushing to fill the sci-fi power vacuum on American TV -- Revolution, Falling Skies, Touch and plenty more on the way -- how is it that an obscure little Canadian time-stream series with a shoestring budget puts most others to shame?
(The ever-reliable Doctor Who being one of the few exceptions.)

More to the point, is Continuum really one of the next great genre hits? Or are the pickings so slim at the moment that any science fiction startup with a pulse and a premise can whip up a respectable fanbase all too willing to support it for half-a-dozen seasons and a movie?

A bit of this, a bit of that, truth be told. Had Continuum arrived just five years ago on a broadcast or cable network in the States, with Lost, Fringe, Battlestar Galactica and the like duking it out for sci-fi dominance, it's hard to imagine the series lasting more than a season. It isn't that mind-blowing.

That action-packed.

That different.

It is surprisingly good, though, and good goes a long way these days."

 

-Kenneth Brown, Blu-Ray.com, Continuum Season One review-

 

Blu-Ray.com writer Kenneth Brown referred to Continuum as "The Little Canadian Series That Could." He's often a solid analyst and here he gets it right again.