Posted by Michael Pinto on Mar 26, 2013 in Television
If you were a child of the mid-70s chances are that before the dawn of Star Wars that Space:1999 was a beloved favorite. In the United States the show had a decent following and merchandise followed in the form of model kits, action figures and of course toys. My most treasured toy was a wonderful import from England which was a die-cast metal Eagle, but being a mere child without an internet connection I didn’t know about this gem: This is a Japanese “Space Eagle” toy which even includes the box! And of course it’s for sale on eBay: Read more…
Alexandre Dumas is the talented Space:1999 fanboy behind this handmade model of the Swift spacecraft. The Swift was one of the cooler spaceship designs from Space:1999 and was featured in the episode Brian The Brain. In the series the Swift was a support shift which could make an interstellar trip: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 9, 2012 in Television
This is either going to be great or terrible: It looks like there’s a deal in the works to do a reimagined version of Space:1999 which is currently titled Space 2099. It looks like the project is a joint venture between ITV Studios America and HDFILMS which is based out of Hollywood. Above is a promotional poster which looks cool — although we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed that the scripting and the casting are good.
Part of the joy of New York Comic Con is that it’s part party — but it’s also like running through a giant attic that’s filled with various bits of your childhood! I was really happy to come across this origional Mattel Eagle 1 Spaceship on display: the funny thing is that when I was a child it seemed so much larger. This wonderful Space:1999 display was the handy work of Geek box Display Cases who had a booth at the show — they’re based in Hillsborough, North Carolina and you can find their website here and their Facebook page here. Read more…
In hindsight over 40 years later Star Trek is clearly the most successful science fiction television series of all time — but that wasn’t always the case. In the early 70s (before Star Wars) it was looking like Star Trek was pretty much dead. The only sign of life the series was in 1974 when Filmation ran a well done but poorly rated Saturday morning animated series. But then on September 13th, 1975 sci fi fans had a new option, and for this fanboy Space:1999 captured my heart for the next two years that it ran. Here are nine reasons why I think the show deserves some respect in the 21st Century: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 10, 2010 in Fandom, Tech
As both a tech geek and a Space:1999 fanboy I loved this fan made video tribute to Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace. I also found the entire steampunk look of the video quite pleasing: Read more…
The above fan mashed video kit bashes together the Dr. Who spacial The Waters of Mars with classic 70s sci fi series Space:1999. What this video reminds me of is just how well the opening titles of Space:1999 hold up — that powerful combination of the music and editing still hold up today.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 13, 2009 in Television
After years of storing radioactive waste on the the moon massive nuclear explosions tore the moon out of Earth’s orbit on September 13th, 1999 — on this very day ten years ago. Earlier in 1994 previous concerns resulted in the closing Nuclear Disposal Area One on the moon, however with the boom economy that followed after the global war of 1987 all the now obvious warning signs were overlooked. As of today 3,648 days have passed since this event, and numerous attempts have been made to contact the 311 crew members of Moonbase Alpha — whose fate is still unknown at this time.Read more…
As a child of the 70s I loved the Eagles — no not the infamous rock band (although I do like the Twilight Zone plot to Hotel California) but the de-facto spaceship from Space:1999. The focus of the show was Moonbase Alpha of course, but the Eagle was the real workhorse of the show. Unlike Star Trek the poor Alphans didn’t have any transporter technology so the Eagle was vital for everything from visiting planets to moving about radioactive waste material. The industrial design of the craft was nothing short of brilliant a the mid-section could be swapped for modules that transported people or radioactive waste containers. Even better yet the head of the craft could be separated in case of emergencies. Read more…
Found on Ebay is a delicious collection of “freaks, celebrities, conceptual art, and high concept sellers. plus stuff I was too cheap to buy!” curated by digital archivist olga-saglo. This kitsch themed virtual museum has informal focus on femme icons from the 60s and 70s and what’s interesting is that through dolls you can see how the idea of role model changed in just two decades: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 22, 2008 in Science
NASA is starting to make fairly elaborate plans for building a moon base which include creating on site nuclear power plants. This reminds me a great deal of the 70s series Space:1999 which took the concept a step further and made the moon a dumping ground for nuclear waste as well. What’s funny is that except for the possibility of a transportation disaster the idea of storing nuclear waste on the moon may seems like a better long term solution than storing it here on Earth. Also that would give an economic reason to return to the moon. Read more…
In hindsight over 40 years later Star Trek is clearly the most successful science fiction television series of all time — but that wasn’t always the case. In the early 70s (before Star Wars) it was looking like Star Trek was pretty much dead. The only sign of life the series was in 1974 when Filmation ran a well done but poorly rated Saturday morning animated series. But then on September 13th, 1975 sci fi fans had a new option, and for this fanboy Space:1999 captured my heart for the next two years that it ran. Here are nine reasons why I think the show deserves some respect in the 21st Century: 
