Thursday, April 8th, 2010
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Horrorthon Posts
No, it’s not actually Angelina Jolie starring in Space: 1999 as Dr. Helena Russell (below); it’s the one and only Barbara Bain, Martin Landau’s then-wife, whom I described in my “Bringers of Wonder” review as “the most dreadful actress ever to step before the cameras or audience in any medium ever including industrial training films and voice-overs for technical school television ads.”
What’s especially interesting (as I’ve realized in my most recent viewings) is that the part of Dr. Russell on paper is actually very well written. The character has a coherent point of view and an intriguing, competent approach to the situations she confronts on the show. Dr. Helena Russell is a legitimate sci-fi character; it’s just that Bain is so God-awful you can’t tell. (She can’t even memorize the medical jargon; she’s conspicuously reading cue cards whenever she’s got to deliver a prognosis). At a certain point I started imaging what it would be like if, you know, somebody talented and charismatic had been given the role. Hence, Ms. Jolie.
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
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Horrorthon Posts
Recently JPX mentioned that he’d rented the first DVD of the 1975 British sci-fi television series Space: 1999, starring Martin Landau and Angelina Jolie, which is one of my favorite television shows (and one of Octopunk’s, too). You may recall my review of the Season Two Space: 1999 episode “The Bringers of Wonder” for Horrorthon 2006.
Despite my contempt for the disastrous second season of the program (a contempt not entirely shared by Octopunk), I still think that Space: 1999 is one of the pinnacles of filmed/televised science fiction. The show’s far-fetched premise—the Earth’s moon, blasted out of orbit by a nuclear explosion in the near future, travels through the universe encountering strange alien planets and life forms—can be hard to get your mind around, but once you accept it you’re in for some great sci-fi (and some groundbreaking special effects).
The largely British cast excelled in their portrayal of a near-future moon community, led by Commander John Koening (Landau), professor Victor Bergman (Barry Morse) and Dr. Helena Russell (Jolie), and the overall vibe of the show was a fantastic example of post-Kubrick, post-moon-landing, pre-Star Wars sensibilites about earth, space and the universe. (The aforementioned nuclear explosion that begins the series is supposed to be caused by improperly-disposed-of nuclear waste—a thinly-veiled commentary on 1970s concerns about energy and pollution.)
Anyway, JPX, how are you liking it so far?
Friday, April 2nd, 2010
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Horrorthon Posts
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0pPfyYtiBc&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
This is pretty amazing!
