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The Eagle Obsession – Space: 1999 documentary
- cylinder714 3y ago"Join the exploration of a fascinating cultural phenomenon. The legacy of the Eagle Transporter from Space:1999 reflects the dreams of a generation. It also embodies a nostalgia for a future that never occurred, yet still resonates today. "THE EAGLE OBSESSION is a visually stunning feature-length documentary that follows sci-fi creator Jeffrey Morris as he investigates the origins of the iconic vessel and the ongoing global impact of a unique moment in human history—when people walked on the Moon." The documentary will include interviews with Barbara Bain, Nick Tate (Captain Alan Carter) and special effects supervisor Brian Johnson.
- sgt101 3y agoI, for one, am glad that a nuclear waste dump on the moon didn't detonate and drive it out of orbit. I don't think Space 1999 ever spared a thought about what happened to the Earth after the disaster.
- funnybeam 3y agoIt’s fairly strongly implied that humans wiped themselves out on earth - the last transmissions Alpha receives as it moves away are not promising and encounters with various god-like aliens suggest that the moon base humans are the last of them
- irongeek 3y agoThere was a period of time where I thought I was the only one who remembered this show. I had the toy spacecraft as a kid and loved it.
- zimpenfish 3y agoOne of the best TV themes ever. Had an Airfix Eagle that had pride of place on my childhood shelves.
- scandox 3y agoFantastic theme. The theme really made me like the show against my will because it often didn't make any sense.
- jfhufl 3y agoDinky Toys!!! I had Eagles, ships from UFO, a Klingon ship...loved them!
- pohl 3y agoI had an Eagle, too, along with models from other shows like Star Trek, Star Wars, etc. As I grew older, I realized how unrealistic they all are, as spaceships go. The Eagle still feels like it could be real, though. (Yeah, I know a modern pedantic internet space nerd could rip it to shreds, but you know what I mean.)
- doctor_eval 3y agoMy Eagle used to work alongside Thunderbird 2 and 4. We rescued so many people!
- nonrandomstring 3y agoRemember? Barbara Bain!! Who cared about 'Eagles"?
- janfoeh 3y agoSpace: 1999! I had forgotten about that. I just ordered the box set of the predecessor, UFO [1]. Loved it as a child; I'm curious to see how it held up. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_(British_TV_series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_(British_TV_series)
- mikeegg1 3y agoI prefer UFO with Ed Bishop.
- sandworm101 3y agoWhich was the direct influence for the original X-COM, perhaps the greatest UFO-related games ever.
- pndy 3y agoAh Space: 1999... The British answer to Star Trek that once took its own shape, went thru "redesign" only to end abruptly. Such a shame nobody ever pick this series ever again. A small trivia: there was this educational tv series in Poland created in the early 80s and aired in the end of that decade called "Przybysze z Matplanety" (Visitors from Matplanet). The series explored mathematics for grade and high school. The main characters named Pi and Sigma were traveling in Eagle Transporter - at least that's how their ship look on the outside. A slightly repainted model is seen in the intro and few times in the show: https://youtu.be/CnJcZv9DnAA?t=87 https://youtu.be/CnJcZv9DnAA?t=87
- leptons 3y agoThere should be a remake, I'd watch it (psst.. Netflix, if you're watching). And I'd like to see a spin-off showing what happened on Earth when the moon suddenly got ripped away, I imagine it would be a disaster movie. The tidal waves alone from loss of tidal forces would wipe out all the coastlines of everyplace everywhere.
- arp242 3y ago> The tidal waves alone from loss of tidal forces would wipe out all the coastlines of everyplace everywhere. As I understand it, we have tides because while the moon is fairly small with fairly low gravity, it's comparatively close to us so the moon's gravitational pull between one side of the earth is larger than on the other side, creating a kind of "sloshing effect" that we call tides. The sun also does this, but less because it's further away (inverse square law). Not a scientific analysis, but intuitively, it seems to me that stopping this wouldn't really be a calamity? There would probably be huge effects for ocean currents, climate, wildlife, and all of that, but no Emmerich-type spectacular calamities. Things will just stop "sloshing" and that would be that.
- leptons 3y agoIn the story the moon is suddenly ripped away from the earth. The water that is pulled towards one side of the planet due to the moon would suddenly be released instead of the gradual ebb and flow of the tides, all the tidal water would rush into other parts of the world. Then there's altering the Earth/Moon gravity system which would likely knock Earth off its regular orbit causing all kinds of calamity. I have no idea how any of this would play out. I am not a scientist.
- cpeterso 3y agoYou can watch "Space: 1999" episodes for free (with ads) on the Roku Channel (website or Roku app) or Amazon Prime. https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/36be634b1d4e51098a75faa525fc5e6f https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/36be634b1d4e51098a75...
- deskamess 3y agoYT too: S1 E1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6BXaGEuqxo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6BXaGEuqxo
- Animats 3y ago"UFO", the predecessor, had better costumes and fewer explosions.[1] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qDy4OMAkgY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qDy4OMAkgY
- euroderf 3y agoThe Moonbase wigs were really OTT. I saw an interview with Sylvia Anderson, who apparently sincerely believed that wigs were in the future of women's fashion.
- andrewstuart 3y agoI watched some UFO recently. It was……. Errr…… interesting. Extremely sexist and misogynistic. That sort of stuff doesn’t worry me much usually but this was hard to watch. Some good sci-fi though.
- TheOtherHobbes 3y agoIt's of its time in some ways. But far, far ahead of its time in others. I rewatched it a few years ago and was surprised how dark and adult it was.
- funnybeam 3y agoRecently watched it. There are about 2 instances of incredible sexism throughout the whole series but the rest of the time it’s extremely egalitarian. The first episode in particular was so badly sexist that I nearly didn’t watch the rest of the series but was glad I did because the awful misogynist character in the first episode seems to have a complete change of personality and never behaves like that again - the actor playing him seemed visibly uncomfortable at times so I don’t know if he influenced that or whether they got feedback from others to change things. Get past the first episode and it’s great, like a sci-fi version of The Prisoner. Very much of its time but in a good way - filmed in 1970 but set in the eighties it’s like a vision of the future (past now) that never happened but could have - something very bad clearly happened in our timeline during the seventies to result in everything being so grim when just ten years earlier we were full of optimism.
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- narag 3y agoThe money quote: so many remember the ship because it made sense, as a follow-up of the real LEM. I was thinking about it yesterday, waiting for news about the IM probe. Why do they make the landers tall? Wouldn't it be better something like this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveyor_program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveyor_program Tangential: the background music of the video is really nice.
- doctor_eval 3y agoI think it's because the engines are really heavy, so the centre of gravity is very low, despite their height. It's deceptive!
- narag 3y agoStill, the japanese mission had that problem. If the surface is guaranteed to be flat, low centre of gravity could be enough, but knowing there could be rocks or other kind of irregularities, I'd consider a fail safe shape.
- doctor_eval 3y agoI think the Japanese mission was much more complicated than that. It was supposed to fall on its side; but as I understand it, it fell on the wrong side. Whatever they build also has to fit in the launch cowling. Surveyor was tiny.
- narag 3y agoIt was supposed to fall on its side; but as I understand it, it fell on the wrong side. My point stands (unlike the probe, heh). If it call roll, a different shape could have helped. Whatever they build also has to fit in the launch cowling. Folding telescopic arms? I understand that this stuff is expensive and weight is limited, but the worst result is a failed landing.
- JKCalhoun 3y agoI watched the trailer and couldn't help but thinking this guy has some amazing talent. I'm curious where he goes after getting his "Space 1999" documentary in the can. I have mixed feelings about the show. As with pretty much all Gerry Anderson efforts the hardware and effects were top-notch. But the premise is too far fetched for adult me to allow for.... Obviously Brian Johnson and his work were a huge inspiration to the Star Wars model shop and concept artists (and then Brian joining them later, of course). That the Millennium Falcon and Blockade Runner from Star Wars have radar dishes shows the degree to which everyone involved still had one foot in the "2001" and "Space 1999" modality. (And never mind that Eagle-esque engine cluster in the rear of the Blockade Runner).
- WarOnPrivacy 3y ago> But the premise is too far fetched for adult me to allow for.... This is all 1970s SciFi viewing. Silent Running was closer. Logan's Run wasn't. And then there's Ark III...
- cancerhacker 3y agoOh, seek ye "The Starlost", starring former "Dave Bowman" Keir Dullea - with a special guest star of Walter Koenig!
- perilunar 3y agoYeah, the initial premise, and then meeting a new bunch of aliens each episode was very silly. I would have loved a show with no aliens, just stories about how they built the base and survived on the moon.
- john-tells-all 3y agoAbsolutely Note the first season was not about new aliens per episode. It was all about atmosphere and character development and relationships. For money/political reasons, Season 2 turned into monster-of-the-week.
- andrewstuart 3y agoI really loved the atmosphere of the first series of Space 1999. It had the fantastic true sci fi sense of strange mystery and wonder. The core premise of the show was clunky which takes off some immersion but the stories were good. Something really strange happened after the first season where they changed the music and it really threw the whole thing out… it’s hard to appreciate how much the music counts in establishing atmosphere until it’s wrong, and the later music in Space 1999 was really wrong.
- lazyant 3y agoWhole series is in YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUA9kG1DciUwY2VSvIGk3WZI_TqJMynxG https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUA9kG1DciUwY2VSvIGk3...