Friday, May 04, 2007

Space:1999 as Architectural Design

There are certain times in your life when something happens. It's a surprise and you are touched and maybe affected deeply. Maybe it's a piece of music, a novel, a movie -- whatever it is, you are moved by the experience.

Who knew that someone would be so moved by a 1970s British TV space show as to recreate the sets and then live in them.

A while ago, I posted about a fellow who lived in a STAR TREK apartment.

And now ... there's a woman who took the set designers of SPACE:1999 to heart. Catherine Bujold Sorellarium 13 is going to live in Moonbase Alpha, gang. Go, look. She's lost her mind, bless her heart. But she seems to have found her joy, which is more than most.

I remember the reviews for the show. One was titled "Space:1999, Marked Down from 2001." It was not a mass-audience hit, but now there is a kitsch factor going for it. The title sequence is still a lot of fun. The theme, by Barry Gray, is full of cool guitar licks. You'll see that in the middle of the titles there's a placard that says THIS EPISODE and you get quick cuts of all sorts of action/explosions/running/explosions/ray guns zapping/explosions previewing the adventure, a practice that the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA show has borrowed in its own titles, Ron Moore, the BSG producer, has openly credited 1999.

Hat tip to Eye of the Goof blog.

2 comments:

Johnny C said...

I recently spent a few months watching the whole series. It struck me how modern the furniture was, how very, very Ikea.

Brian Fies said...

I thought Space: 1999 was pretty good for what it was, but was disappointed it never became as great as it could have. The potential was there. Interesting premise, good characters, and fantastic effects for the era. I still think the Eagle is one of the best fictional spaceship designs ever. I was sad when they slipped into nonsensical rubber monster territory.

And I can understand the appeal of its architecture and production design: clean lines, muted colors...kind of the same late-70s futuristic aesthetic they applied to Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Unlike the Star Trek apartment, I could enjoy living in the Space: 1999 house.