Movie observers: Space 1999

Friday, January 25, 2013

Powys Media has just re-published my 2003 Space: 1999 novel, The Forsaken, which has been out of print for the better part-of-the-decade, and fetching ridiculous prices on second-hand markets. The book features a great foreword written by Prentis Hancock (Paul Morrow) and is a novel that bridges Year One and Year Two of the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson spectacular.

If you visit the publisher's web page, there is now a working order link to get yourself a copy.

Also, a new novel, Children of the Gods, based on a story by Johnny Byrne and written by William Latham, has been published.

My Year Two opus, The Whispering Sea is also nearing publication, and should hopefully be released in March.

This book bridges "The Metamorph" and "The Exiles," and recounts Maya's (Catherine Schell's) first steps on Moonbase Alpha. The story also develops the ideas I laid out in my post on the blog, The Horror Mythology of Space:1999.

Please support my work in print, especially if you love Space:1999, and visit Powys Media today.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

I first featured the Amsco Cardboard Adventure Sets of the 1970s here on my blog way back on September 29, 2005. But, every now and then -- especially if the toy is Space: 1999 related -- I enjoy hauling out a collectible a second time.

So today, I’m once again featuring the Space: 1999 Cardboard Adventure Playset, with some new photographs I just snapped.

A little background: In the early-to-mid 1970s, Amsco and Milton Bradley cooperated to produce four cardboard play-sets (for Marvel Comics, Planet of the Apes, The Waltonsand Space:1999). These giant Amsco dioramas were packaged in large, attractive and colorful rectangular boxes, were produced from "durable" cardboard, and were advertised as "fun to assemble,"

The kit you see pictured comes from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's outer space epic, Space:1999 (1975 -1977) and is a diorama of the lunar installation, Moonbase Alpha.

As you can see, there's a landing pad, a cross-section of Moonbase Alpha's interior, including Main Mission Tower, a yellow moon-buggy, and plenty of cardboard representations of characters and aliens. Also, the set comes with two Eagle spacecraft and two nuclear charges, the latter for detonating asteroids.

The heroes in the Space:1999 set are made in the likenesses of Martin Landau's Commander John Koenig, Barbara Bain's Helena Russell, Barry Morse's Professor Victor Bergman and even Clifton Jones' David Kano. Unfortunately, the set was produced pre-Maya, so there's no Catherine Schell figure here.

One thing I enjoy about this particular set is that some effort was made towards accuracy in terms of the figure personalities (if not the Moonbase interiors). For instance, three cardboard figures in the Space:1999 set are aliens directly from Year One episodes.

Peter Cushing's Raan, from "Missing Link" is here with his daughter, Vanna. The popular and horrifying octopus-like monster from "Dragon's Domain" is featured as well (with a puddle of drool/goo...). Even the scorched Zoref (Ian McShane) from the episode, "Force of Life" is included in the set.

The Alphan figures can inhabit the base, and even ride a working elevator from one level to the next. One door in the interior leads right out to the docking port, where the docked Eagle is stationed. One figure is a blond astronaut, who I insist is actually Captain Alan Carter (Nick Tate), although his hair isn’t quite right.

When I turn fifty, I plan on selling a large range of my prized collectibles as part of my retirement investment plan (since freelance writers don’t get 401Ks or pensions…), but I don’t know that I can bring myself to sell this Amsco toy -- it was an anniversary gift from my wife -- or the other Space: 1999 collectibles. We shall see...