RE: What was the greatest pre-1980 TV Series ever?

yevaud · Feb 18, 2005

I'v been reading all of the reminiscing about those great, old tv shows - Thunderbirds, Lost in Space, Stingray, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and so on. And also posts about the half-assed remakes done after 1980. Some are pretty obscure, though I remember them all, pretty much. So, I'm curious. Which one's were your favorites? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

yevaud · Feb 18, 2005

Here's one: anyone remember a Japanese kid's show done in the 1960's, called "X-Man?" It was a Japanese kid who could essentially turn himself into a 50 foot-tall, armored hero when needed. Kind of like "Transformers meet Godzilla." <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

wmdragon · Feb 18, 2005

is X-man related to Ultra-Man (aka Ultra-7)? another BIG japanese favorite: the Mazinger cartoons. I still get nostalgically excited listening to the theme song. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> The only laws of matter are those which our minds must fabricate, and the only laws of mind are fabricated for it by matter. --- James Clerk Maxwell </div>

vogon13 · Feb 18, 2005

Stingray was great! Really liked Fireball XL-5 too. Would build replicas of both ships out of Legos and crash them on the hardwood floor for fun. Wa s never allowed to play with Lego Stingray model in bath tub, that would have been so awesome! Kids today don't have near the fun we had when we were young. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!So many people, so few recipes !!Let's clean up this stinkhole !! </div>

yevaud · Feb 18, 2005

Shows you how memory can fail you with age. Yes, it WAS "Ultra Man." I used to sit around watching that show faithfully when I was a kid. Must've been, oh, 1967? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

vogon13 · Feb 18, 2005

Really liked Space Ghost, too. Herculoids not quite as good. Happy to see Space Ghost, Zorak, Brak etc. still around doing talk show. A couple of the Jonny Quest episodes got pretty Sci-Fi-ish, Invisible Monster, Robot Spy, etc. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!So many people, so few recipes !!Let's clean up this stinkhole !! </div>

yevaud · Feb 18, 2005

O.k., here's one that's reallyobscure: It was called "The Starlost," and ran for about 1 season. It was all about a generation ship of refugees from a dead Earth, trying to colonize new worlds. Unfortunately, the crew was now dead, none of the inhabitants of the habitats had a *clue* where they were. And then, a young Amish couple somehow got into the ship proper, realized what was really happening, and that their ship was going to ram into a star in the near future. So they spend the rest of the series trying to find the backup ship's crew. It was written by Harlan Ellison, who disliked so much how Hollywood was altering it that he changed his name in the credits to "Cordwainer Bird." This show ran right around when Dark Shadows was in it's prime. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

Leovinus · Feb 18, 2005

I liked Superman with George Reeves. And of course Star Trek and Twilight Zone. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

CalliArcale · Feb 18, 2005

Excellent choices, Leovinus. I'd also like to add "The Outer Limits". You can't have "Twilight Zone" without "Outer Limits", really. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> I've enjoyed the revivals of those series as well. Anthology series can be quite enjoyable. Of course, my favorite pre-80s series is "Doctor Who". <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /> It wasn't just a pre-80s series, though, as it ran until 1989. An attempted revival aired in 96, and new episodes will again air later this spring. But it's not a remake; the series will be picking up approximately where it left off. In many respects, it's almost an anthology series, but with a few cast members who take an active role in each story, bringing the audience along with them. The basic theme can be summed up by the Doctor's invitation to Ace in one of thelater episodes: "Time for a quick adventure, and then back for tea." Stories took place generally over several episodes, but those serials were pretty self-contained, individual adventures in the life of the Doctor. They were written and directed by a very wide range of talent, and so the styles varied also. There was something for everyone, really, and that probably explains it's wide appeal in Britain. Another excellent pre-80s series: "The Prisoner". This was a surreal British series about a spy who tried to resign from his job and was immediately abducted away to a strange Village inhabited entirely by former spies who evidently knew too much. But who runs the Village? Has he been abducted by his own people or the enemy? All they want to know is one thing: why did he resign? But he can't trust them enough to tell them. Only 17 epsidoes. It's a spy show, but it fits better with science fiction than James Bond. It's prevailing themes were free will and the question of personal identity. "Who are you?" "The new Number Two." "Who is Number One?" "You are Number Six." "I am not a number, I am a free man!" No one has <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff." -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink" </div>

grooble · Feb 18, 2005

Twilight Zone. Just bought the DVD set, digitally remastered. Shame by multi region dvd player broke before the discs arrived from america <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" />

claywoman · Feb 18, 2005

the Mickey Mouse Club....

tap_sa · Feb 18, 2005

"Another excellent pre-80s series: "The Prisoner"." Ah the scary weather balloon sentries...classic! Anyone remember this other british oddity, Sapphire and Steel?

elguapoguano · Feb 18, 2005

I used to enjoy "The Tomorrow People". It was set in the 70's. They had telepathy and could beam from one place to another using their belts, then later a wristwatch. One episode they visited Skylab... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Don't let your sig line incite a gay thread ;>) </div>

jcdenton · Feb 18, 2005

Star Trek: TOS, need I say more? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

Aetius · Feb 18, 2005

I used to love the Japanese cartoon series "Star Blazers" as a kid. The episodes aren't as enjoyable to watch as an adult 25 years later, but I still love the theme music.

yevaud · Feb 18, 2005

Aetius, buddy! How the hell are ya? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

luciusverus · Feb 18, 2005

I reckon Battlestar Galactica was pretty neat............ Those Cylons used to scare the bejeezus outta me! Mind you I was only about 5 years old at the time...............<img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

Aetius · Feb 19, 2005

Hi Yevaud! It's cool to have you back with us. I'm doing great. Thanks for asking. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

yevaud · Feb 19, 2005

Speaking of Battlestar Galactica. Here's a funny scene in a show I stumbled onto. I wasn't even remotely a fan of the "A" Team, but I had a roomie who periodically watched it. Well, the actor who played "Starbuck" also played a character in A-Team. One episode, they happened to have to go to a theme-park. And there at the gate, on display, is a Cylon warrior. The character (Called the "face," if I remember right) and the Cylon kind of move around each other, warily, as if they think they know each other, but trying to ignore each other too. So there's the answer to an original Battlestar Galactica mystery: where *did* Starbuck end up? Why on Earth also, working for the A-Team! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

Aetius · Feb 19, 2005

<img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> I also wonder if we'll see Dirk Benedict on the new BSG before the series runs its course.

flynn · Feb 20, 2005

UFO, I have the Boxset and a major crush on Gabrielle Drake (as she was not how she is) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - Chuck Palahniuk. </div>

SpaceKiwi · Feb 20, 2005

Space 1999 was another of the brilliant Gerry Anderson series. A remake of that would definitely be the bizzo! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Who is this superhero? Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bring Back The Black! </div>

vogon13 · Feb 21, 2005

Would love to see Sci-Fi network run Space 1999, but considering bizarre plot and mediocre ratings, don't expect too much interest in a remake of the series. Maybe if a big name 'reimagined' concepts, and production budget was big enough to make it 'look good' it would have a chance. But with so many cable channels vying for attention, audience size probably not that potentially big to justify throwing enough money at it to make it successful. Some of the original episodes were strong (that cold guy that kept absorbing energy until he turned into a baby star), but as I recall, many episodes were actually painful to watch as Alphans always got there hopes up, every episode, only to have them cruelly dashed, invariably with massive damage to moonbase infrastructure and space assets, and significant human casualties. For students of the Gerry Anderson series of series, it was always fun to recognize a sound effect or visual effect from one series to the next. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!So many people, so few recipes !!Let's clean up this stinkhole !! </div>

SpaceKiwi · Feb 21, 2005

Oh true, the plot was always a bit dodgy, but the same could be said of most every script of most every sci-fi series of the time! Fortunately scriptwriting seems to have moved on a bit, and the basic premise of Moonbase Alpha is solid. The right people could do for Space 1999 what ST:TNG did for that franchise's original concept. But, like you say, it's about the bucks/production values/etc and you'd want it done properly if anyone decided to have a go ... otherwise you end up with another Thunderbirds movie disaster. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Who is this superhero? Henry, the mild-mannered janitor ... could be!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bring Back The Black! </div>

yevaud · Feb 21, 2005

Irwin Allen used to do the same thing... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Differential Diagnosis: "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are." </div>

RE: What was the greatest pre-1980 TV Series ever?

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