Monday, 28 November 2016
1996: THE 5 TIMES ISSUE 7 (THE UK BABYLON FIVE FAN CLUB)
From New Year 1996: the 7th issue of the fanzine THE 5 TIMES, published by THE BABYLON FIVE UK FAN CLUB.
1988: SOMETHING IS OUT THERE UK VHS COVER
From 1988, the UK VHS rental release of US SF mini-series SOMETHING IS OUT THERE.
This two-nighter was a curious - and not always terribly logical - combination of MOONLIGHTING, ALIEN, THE HIDDEN and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS and - in truth - plays like any number of straight-to-tape SF thrillers of the period despite some a-list talents behind the camera.
Filming - in an arrangement that could only make sense to a studio accountant - was split between LA and Australia despite the fact that the whole thing is based in Los Angeles with only a brief excursion off-world.
Aired as two nights of feature-length programming, this tape combines the two parts into one extended movie. Fortunately no-one considered a shorter cut to squeeze onto a shorter tape. There was no sell-through release and this - and the series that followed - has never troubled DVD. It was also shown on SKY ONE in the UK.
NBC, having apparently failed to grasp the lessons of V's failure, promptly concluded that America was desperate for a weekly series. In an industry ruled my market research, it never ceases to amaze me how often network executives get it so wrong. They assumed that audiences would rush back for the romantic adventures of the leading duo (one a tough cop... the other a pretty alien with a lot to learn about Earth) but punters really wanted more monsters. Something the telly types had neglected to supply.
The weekly series mustered a mere eight episodes, of which the network aired only six, before the plug was pulled and the show axed. All the episodes, with new introductions from cast and crew, eventually surfaced of the SCI FI CHANNEL.
This two-nighter was a curious - and not always terribly logical - combination of MOONLIGHTING, ALIEN, THE HIDDEN and INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS and - in truth - plays like any number of straight-to-tape SF thrillers of the period despite some a-list talents behind the camera.
Filming - in an arrangement that could only make sense to a studio accountant - was split between LA and Australia despite the fact that the whole thing is based in Los Angeles with only a brief excursion off-world.
Aired as two nights of feature-length programming, this tape combines the two parts into one extended movie. Fortunately no-one considered a shorter cut to squeeze onto a shorter tape. There was no sell-through release and this - and the series that followed - has never troubled DVD. It was also shown on SKY ONE in the UK.
NBC, having apparently failed to grasp the lessons of V's failure, promptly concluded that America was desperate for a weekly series. In an industry ruled my market research, it never ceases to amaze me how often network executives get it so wrong. They assumed that audiences would rush back for the romantic adventures of the leading duo (one a tough cop... the other a pretty alien with a lot to learn about Earth) but punters really wanted more monsters. Something the telly types had neglected to supply.
The weekly series mustered a mere eight episodes, of which the network aired only six, before the plug was pulled and the show axed. All the episodes, with new introductions from cast and crew, eventually surfaced of the SCI FI CHANNEL.
1989: FANTAZIA ISSUE 1
From 1989: Turtle Power! The first issue of British mainstream media & comics mag FANTAZIA (Disney lawyers take note: no relation).
This rode the wave of the post-BATMAN super boom with a mix of superhero fare covering film, TV, comics and - unusually - RPG. And even - as this cover shows - theatre.
This always seemed like a "lets do anything we fancy" type mag with a diverse range of contents which didn't seem to adhere to the original mission statement. Horror and SF movies also started to sneak in as the remit flexed. Even the animatronic sitcom DINOSAURS managed to snag a cover.
One of the highlights was the Hollywood Heroes feature filed monthly by Andy Mangels. This was the same piece he filled for US fanzine AMAZING HEROES but with better presentation.
Launched in 1990 and published monthly by Pegasus, this clocked-up 18 issues before folding into the pages of ACADEMY (22 issues between 1990 and 1992). The latter part of the run enjoyed better production standards including squarebound printing. Distribution was predictably patchy and I used to have to go to one newsagent in a neighbouring village to find a copy.
This rode the wave of the post-BATMAN super boom with a mix of superhero fare covering film, TV, comics and - unusually - RPG. And even - as this cover shows - theatre.
This always seemed like a "lets do anything we fancy" type mag with a diverse range of contents which didn't seem to adhere to the original mission statement. Horror and SF movies also started to sneak in as the remit flexed. Even the animatronic sitcom DINOSAURS managed to snag a cover.
One of the highlights was the Hollywood Heroes feature filed monthly by Andy Mangels. This was the same piece he filled for US fanzine AMAZING HEROES but with better presentation.
Launched in 1990 and published monthly by Pegasus, this clocked-up 18 issues before folding into the pages of ACADEMY (22 issues between 1990 and 1992). The latter part of the run enjoyed better production standards including squarebound printing. Distribution was predictably patchy and I used to have to go to one newsagent in a neighbouring village to find a copy.
1994: THERMAL LANCE ISSUE 16
From April 1994: the 16th issue of British DOCTOR WHO fanzine THERMAL LANCE.
1992: DOCTOR WHO YEARBOOK #2 (MARVEL UK)
From 1992: the second DOCTOR WHO YEARBOOK, published by Marvel UK and (as per tradition) dated for the year ahead.
Tuesday, 22 November 2016
1991: PERSONALITY PRESENTS STAR TREK: WILLIAM SHATNER
From June 1991: PERSONALITY PRESENTS THE ORIGINAL CREW: WILLIAM SHATNER, the first of a long run of unlicensed biographical STAR TREK tie-ins published during the 1990s boom by PERSONALITY COMICS.
Depending on the creative team, these unauthorised retrospectives either took the form of traditional cimic strips or - like this Shat-tastic starter - illustrations with accompanying text. I picked a career highlight, below, by way of an example.
I steered well clear of these when they were published but recently stumbled upon a pretty good run of copies which I picked up as interesting oddities in the Trek publishing pantheon.
Depending on the creative team, these unauthorised retrospectives either took the form of traditional cimic strips or - like this Shat-tastic starter - illustrations with accompanying text. I picked a career highlight, below, by way of an example.
I steered well clear of these when they were published but recently stumbled upon a pretty good run of copies which I picked up as interesting oddities in the Trek publishing pantheon.
Monday, 21 November 2016
1995: THE SECRETS OF THE X-FILES VHS COVER
From 1995: More X-FILES. More VHS tape goodness.
From memory (it's a long time since I watched this) this was a compilation of clips from the show which was released (possibly only as a rental tape or store exclusive) to accompany the tape releases of selected two-parters (tarted-up as feature length installments) prior to their UK TV premiere. A nice little money spinner for Fox when the show was at its pop culture peak.
I have a hunch I might have picked this up from the HMV flagship store in London... but I can't be sure.
From memory (it's a long time since I watched this) this was a compilation of clips from the show which was released (possibly only as a rental tape or store exclusive) to accompany the tape releases of selected two-parters (tarted-up as feature length installments) prior to their UK TV premiere. A nice little money spinner for Fox when the show was at its pop culture peak.
I have a hunch I might have picked this up from the HMV flagship store in London... but I can't be sure.
1995: STARLOG PRESENTS THE X-FILES AND OTHER EERIE TV
From December 1995: the lawyer-dodging STARLOG spin-off THE X-FILES & OTHER EERIE TV, a one-shot mag notable for apparently using every XF publicity still in the Starlog archive ... more than once in many cases. There's only so many times you can see Scully propping up a filling cabinet before it starts getting very dull very fast.
1987: AIRWOLF II: THE STAVOGRAD INCIDENT VHS COVER
From 1987: AIRWOLF II: THE STAVOGRAD INCIDENT on UK VHS.
Not ringing any bells? That's not entirely surprising.
This 'sequel' to the original straight-to-tape (although it may have had a theatrical release in some overseas markets) AIRWOLF movie (actually a spiced-up version of the TV movie starter peppered with additional material to qualify it for an '18' certificate... an unusual release plan for a TV show with strong playground appeal) is actually a spliced together two-parter from the show's woeful fourth season.
CBS pulled the plug on the expensive show after three seasons (actually 2.5 as it debuted as a mid-season replacement, pitched against BLUE THUNDER in the chopper wars) leaving Universal in a pickle. They needed to bulk up the episode count so they could reap the rewards of reruns in syndication. They needed another season of episodes to make the package substantial enough to tempt local stations.
Enter cable outfit, and fellow MCA business, USA NETWORK to bankroll another season. Hurrah. But the economics of cable demanded costs stripped to the bone. The original cast and production team were all let go, cheaper replacements hired and production shifted to Canada. Other economies included raiding the stock footage library, editing the show on tape (giving it a cheap sheen) and skimping on sets and costumes.
The new writers jettisoned the continuity of the first run by bringing in Hawke's hitherto lost in Vietnam brother as the 'Wolf's new pilot. Enter Barry Van Dyke, apparently Universal's go-to guy for cheap shot-on-the-fly follow ups (hello GALACTICA 1980).
I'm not sure if the new episodes ever made it to ITV but I did see a few when the show went unto reruns on BRAVO in the early noughties. The whole final season is on DVD but, presubably on quality grounds (the picture and optical effects look pretty poor throughout and presumably don't exist in anything approaching HD), doesn't appear as part of the UK BR set. This 'film' never made it onto a digital format.
Not ringing any bells? That's not entirely surprising.
This 'sequel' to the original straight-to-tape (although it may have had a theatrical release in some overseas markets) AIRWOLF movie (actually a spiced-up version of the TV movie starter peppered with additional material to qualify it for an '18' certificate... an unusual release plan for a TV show with strong playground appeal) is actually a spliced together two-parter from the show's woeful fourth season.
CBS pulled the plug on the expensive show after three seasons (actually 2.5 as it debuted as a mid-season replacement, pitched against BLUE THUNDER in the chopper wars) leaving Universal in a pickle. They needed to bulk up the episode count so they could reap the rewards of reruns in syndication. They needed another season of episodes to make the package substantial enough to tempt local stations.
Enter cable outfit, and fellow MCA business, USA NETWORK to bankroll another season. Hurrah. But the economics of cable demanded costs stripped to the bone. The original cast and production team were all let go, cheaper replacements hired and production shifted to Canada. Other economies included raiding the stock footage library, editing the show on tape (giving it a cheap sheen) and skimping on sets and costumes.
The new writers jettisoned the continuity of the first run by bringing in Hawke's hitherto lost in Vietnam brother as the 'Wolf's new pilot. Enter Barry Van Dyke, apparently Universal's go-to guy for cheap shot-on-the-fly follow ups (hello GALACTICA 1980).
I'm not sure if the new episodes ever made it to ITV but I did see a few when the show went unto reruns on BRAVO in the early noughties. The whole final season is on DVD but, presubably on quality grounds (the picture and optical effects look pretty poor throughout and presumably don't exist in anything approaching HD), doesn't appear as part of the UK BR set. This 'film' never made it onto a digital format.
Tuesday, 15 November 2016
FANTASY EMPIRE COLLECTOR'S SPECIAL 6
From the random scans folder: FANTASY EMPIRE COLLECTOR'S SPECIAL issue 6, published in the States but devoted to British fantasy telly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
