science fiction double feature

[freckles_and_doubt]

In the Department of Severely Retro Cheesy SF, I've just worked out, after about ten minutes of judicious YouTubing, that the sf series I used to watch as a kid was not, in fact, Space 1999. I was misled by the long white spacemobile thing and all the desolate moonscape shots, which were uncannily similar to my memories. The sf series I used to watch was actually Ark II, which has a long white mobile lab thing and lots of desolate post-apocalyptic shots (also, jetpacks!). The toothpaste grins, unnaturally good-looking blondeness and shiny tight white uniforms appear to be common to both shows, however. I also seem to have suppressed all memory of the chimpanzee.

Given the extremely fragmentary nature of my memories, and my extremely intermittent access to any actual television during my childhood (we owned one for all of a year when I was about eleven, so much of these memories are either highly concentrated or come from watching TV at my gran's about once a week), I'm actually amazed at how formative these shows have been. I'm a fantasy/sf geek because my late lamented grandfather introduced me to Tolkien and James Thurber and Asimov and John Wyndham and a metric stonkload of short sf in my formative years. I'm a bad-sf-film/tv geek because I used to watch severely snatched bits of Ark II and The Six Million Dollar Man and Hulk and Isis and Doctor Who and Sapphire and Steel, the last of which I absolutely will acquire on DVD one of these days.

I'm generally OK with being in touch with my cheesy, dated self. Bad sf tv has given me very many very happy hours, and in fact continues to do so. (Have inculcated the jo&stv with True Blood, which they are enjoying as unrepentantly as I am. Hee).

In other news, Monday is Mondayish. Two and half hour meeting to kick off the day. Memo to self, should not do two and a half hour meeting on four cups of tea, twitchiness from caffeine overload and tight bladder is not conducive to extended discussion. I ended up being very decisive and possibly overly opinionated. Or at least more so than usual.

Comments

[schedule5.livejournal.com]

Or perhaps everyone else should also have four cups of tea, thus ensuring that the meeting will be shorter :).

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

Oh, I think I shortened it fairly dramatically on my own :>. I'm actually not very good at all the politically-correct touchy-feely humanities stuff at the best of times, I want to make a definite plan and make sure everyone implements it. Inner jack-booted fascist, etc. A tight bladder and caffeination simply exacerbate this tendency.

[wolverine-nun.livejournal.com]

C'mere you engineer you, give us a kiss

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

Wolverine Nun, are you getting fresh with me on my own blog? Pshaw! Tchah! etc.

Please let me know when you're in your office tomorrow, I have a thingy for you. Well, am courier for a thingy for you. I should be back from the Groote Schuur papa-ferrying thing by about 11 or so.

[mac1235.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, we got it as Alpha 1999. I wasn't always allowed up that late. Fond memories.

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

Was this Space 1999, or Ark II? The random rename seems to make more sense for Space 1999, surely? That was the one with the massive explosion blowing the moon out of its orbit and sending it, and its moonbase occupants, haring off through the galaxy. Ark II is all bringing the wonders of science back to the degenerate fallen humans. While wearing shiny suits.

[tngr-spacecadet.livejournal.com]

Lucky me, I was old enough to stay up for Alpha 1999, and loved it. :D

[mac1235.livejournal.com]

Half the enjoyment was the thrill of staying up late. And it was called Alpha 1999 here, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space:_1999 Mmm, Maya. I remember Ark II too, less interesting for me, with their forcefields they should had a lot less problems than they did.

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

Given that there were only about 12 episodes of Ark II, I'm surprised I remember it as vividly as I do, although the snippets I do cherish are characterised by a certain confusion. I don't think I've ever seen Space: 1999, to my sorrow.