Yes! There is something new in town and that is TV! Once a month we will be talking about TV shows and since I have not seen many new ones, I will be going to older ones and doing my best not to pick fantasy or super heroes. This means I am choosing something more ..out there:) I thought of many shows but the ones below are close to my heart. If you wish to know what the other gals and guys chose, head on over to the brain child of this series, Wandering Through The Shelves, and check it out.
1. STAR TREK-THE ORIGINAL 1966-1969
I mean, come on! How can anyone not chose this great, great series whether it is the original or The Next Generation which I love, even more, I think. It has spawned Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise never mind all the movies. Talk about a series that made it into the stratosphere. Gene Roddenberry had a tough time selling it to the executroids until he sold it as a wagon train in the Stars (Westerns were all the rage back then). You have Kirk, the bad ass captain who always breaks the prime directive and kisses all the girls. Spock, the wannabe unemotional Vulcan who is the science officer and Kirk's right hand man and Bones, Dr. McCoy, who never trusts the transporter, or Spock but is right beside Kirk as well. You have Sulu, Uhura and Chekhov all very surprising for the day since one is Japanese, one is African American and Chekhov is Russian! This is during the Cold War, equal rights and general chaos of the 1960's. I love the episodes, City on the Edge of Forever, Balance of Terror and, of course, The Trouble with Tribbles but there are many others that are great from this first series. Which episode is your favourite?
2. LOST IN SPACE-1965-1968
We go from great to hokey but I love this show from its wobbly sets to that fun robot. This family with the space pilot, a stowaway and a robot all board a spaceship but something happens and they become lost. Now they must find their way home. Dr. Smith, the stowaway, is actually someone who sabotaged the ship creating the events that follow. He is befriended by the boy, played by Billy Mumy. His sister is played by Angela Cartwright who played one the daughters in The Sound of Music and the oldest is the love interest to Pilot. It's schlocky but so much fun and after an hour spent on the school bus, I would come in the door, put my stuff down and turn on the tv to watch this(and Gilligan's Island).
3. SPACE 1999-1975-1977
Oh, this was a show I would watch on the weekend on the old channel 29 when you had to have an extra knob on the tv to switch it to the UTV...if I remember correctly... if I don't, please correct me. Anyway this starred Martin Landau and Barbara Bain who, with fellow scientists, live on the moon when the moon is knocked off its orbit, due to nuclear waste gathered on the other side of the moon that blows up, and goes hurtling into space. Now they are trying to get back to earth somehow. During their adventures, they can go to different planets and meet different life forms including a vixen who can change into animals or anything else she decides to be. This was my foray into British TV since I never cared for Dr. Who( sorry to all their fans). It was fun to watch and had many guest stars from Joan Collins to many who ended up in Star Wars. I almost picked Blake 7 and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
What Sci-Fi TV shows can you think of that you like or liked when you were a kid?
I won't correct you.
ReplyDeleteWatched those for sure. Star Trek fan since the first time I saw it. (On syndication - I was too young to see its original run.) I was also a big fan of Wild, Wild West.
UHF!! I correct myself. I was too young as well. I have never seen Wild Wild West but I could have gone with Broncho Billy...I wonder how many did see this fun TV show
DeleteI am correcting myself again...The Adventures of Brisco County, Jnr! Love that show!!
DeleteHi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to see this series expanding to include television series. I like science fiction a lot more than musicals but, for some reason, I never got into Star Trek or Space: 1999. I enjoyed that Star Trek clip with Patty Duke's dad William Schallert appearing in the 1967 episode The Trouble with Tribbles. As you probably know, Schallert died last May.
I watched Lost In Space every week first run and recently watched it again on Netflix. It is one of my all time favorite shows. The series went from good to great when Dr. Smith emerged as the scene stealing breakout star.
The Twilight Zone was my favorite sci-fi series and I would also include My Favorite Martian, Outer Limits, Way Out hosted by writer Roald Dahl, and the recent Jami Gertz series The Neighbors which was way too good to be given the ax so early.
Thank you, dear friend BB!
Dr. Smith was so great and they softened him up because the actor made it his own. William Schallert was such an under rated actor but appeared in so many shows and he is so recognizable. I thought of the Twilight Zone which is one of my all time favourite shows but it dealt with science fiction and fantasy so I wasn't sure which way to put it in. In the end I thought it was more fantasy despite many shows that deal with aliens from the famous one with Agnes Moorehead to the alien who is only befriended by a boy while the townsfolk become more and more paranoid.
DeleteMy parents were huge Star Trek fans so I remember them watching that. I never started enjoying Star Trek until the reboots came out (I know) lol.
ReplyDeleteI almost went with an older space show myself too - Earth 2. It got cancelled right away but I remember watching it. lol
Hahahaaa... I figured you were not too much into Star Trek...did you ever see The Next generation? I don't even know Earth 2:)
DeleteI've recently seen some episodes of Star Trek but they were the new ones, there was that stupid golden droid in them.
ReplyDeleteA golden droid?? I don't recall any golden droid in the Star Trek series. I know there was a stupid droid in Buck Rogers which I wanted to kick over a goal post. Which Star Trek are you thinking of??
DeleteHi Birgit....Blake seven and Star Trek.....don't like dr who either.....not really a sci-fi fan I much prefer something that will make me laugh....that said the old Star Trek do that for me......xxxxxx
ReplyDeleteYes...Tribbles is a good one for fun and I enjoyed the one with Gary Seven. The Next generation was often quite funny when Q came on board especially when he made them Robin Hood and his band of merry men.
DeleteNice picks. I'm not an ardent Trekkie but have probably seen all the episodes of the original series, how could you miss them they played all the time somewhere. My two fav episodes are City on the Edge of Forever and Trouble with Tribbles.
ReplyDeleteI've seen both Lost in Space and Space-1999 though neither regularly. Lost in Space was goofy rather cheesy fun but I only have vague memories of the other. I do remember Bain and Landau from their time on Mission Impossible though. Oh and I do remember that separate changer for the UHF channels!
Two of mine are older two series as well:
Firefly (2002)-A ragtag group of astronauts tour the galaxy in their rust bucket ship Serenity lead by cheeky leader Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion). Often not functioning as a harmonious whole due to squabbles between the opinionated crew they pull together when the going gets tough and manage to emerge from their scraps banged up but unbowed. Serio-comic sci-fi series with a strong cast was regrettably brief but did lead to a big screen sequel “Serenity”.
My Favorite Martian (1963-1966)-Somewhat zany comedy of a stranded Martian (Ray Walston) taken in by young reporter Tim O’Hara (Bill Bixby) who uses the cover of being his Uncle Martin as he tries to repair his spaceship in an attempt to return home. While he works away the pair are confronted with many situations where Martin is constantly at risk of exposure. What could be idiotic is kept from being so by the skillful playing of Walston & Bixby as well as Pamela Britton who is simply aces as their charmingly addle-brained landlady Lorelei Brown. Adapted into a wretched decades too late feature in the 90’s.
The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)-Trend setting anthology series created, hosted and largely written by Rod Serling. Generally but not always with either a science fiction or supernatural theme this weekly series was consistently eerie with a cavalcade of future stars, including Robert Redford, Elizabeth Montgomery, Charles Bronson and Robert Duvall, and top flight character actors-Agnes Moorehead, Gladys Cooper, Burgess Meredith etc.- in strong stories. For the length of time it ran the series stayed uniformly high in quality but has some episodes that have remained justly more famous than others…Eye of the Beholder, The Invaders, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, Time Enough at Last, Nothing in the Dark, and my personal favorite The Hitch-Hiker among them.
A small addendum: A moderately successful reboot of the series was done in the 80’s with varying results but there were some excellent episodes produced especially in the first season. Two directed by Wes Craven: the series’ first “Shatterday” starring Bruce Willis and “Her Pilgrim Soul” with Kristoffer Tabori and Anne Twomey are exceptional.
UHF!! Thank you! I only saw a couple of episodes of Firefly before the network started moving it around on us and I couldn't find it. It was quite good. I never saw My Favourite Martian although I know about it. For some reason this show was never aired much in reruns in my neck of the woods. LOVE the Twilight Zone...Love it!!! I do think of it more as fantasy than sci-fi which is why I did not pick it but I was teetering. Serling did do many episodes with aliens and space, one with Agnes Moorehead comes to mind and another is about 3 astronauts on a planet but they start seeing their home town. I also watched the updated one as well and remember it was one of the last times you saw Danny Kaye in an episode where he could control time.
DeleteThis is the first time I can say I watched all of these.
ReplyDeleteYeah!!!! They were fun eh?
DeleteI haven't seen any of these! My Dad is a huge Star Trek fan and has tried for years to get me to watch them with him. I don't know whether he was relieved or annoyed when I fell in love with the re-boot movies!
ReplyDeletehahahaaa-The series is what it is all about.
DeleteFirefly and Stargate win for me. Star Trek I never got into much, all I've watched is the 3 latest movies.
ReplyDeleteI watched a few episodes of Firefly before the network started to move it around and I couldn't find it. I never got into Stargate.
DeleteOh yes, Star Trek is a classic and so amazing it hit the bigs after it was canceled.
ReplyDeleteYOU have a great one, Birgit.
It was the first show ready to be cancelled but it got a reprieve from all the letters the network received. Also Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez are the reason it finally got on the air as they owned the network
DeleteIsn't it fantastic, Star Trek is 50 years old and it continues to live on in peoples minds and hearts, I've been hooked since I was a wee lad when I saw the USS Enterprise whizzzzzz across my TV set for real!!! Or I thought she was real!!! In those days all we had was black and white and I could see scratches moving on the TV as Captain Kirk's ship warped across the galaxy but I didn't mind. Thats the camera guy I thought!!! hehe, You see I was young and dumb in those days. If only I could go back in time to my old black and white, I'd swap my laptop and step through the portal in a flash. Lost in Space - heck that robot cracked me up countless times i've forgotten how many. I never got a chance to catch Space:1999 although the title sounds cool, funky Blake 7 has lots of spooky moments with that apologetic computer Slave, so hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI knew you would love my first pick. There are so many episodes I love from this first series. Love the Robot and I still will fling my arms and say, "Danger, Danger". The sad computer always stole the show and so did Servalan
DeleteDanger Will Robinson :)
ReplyDeleteI did watch many of the Star Treks and a lot of Lost in Space. Don't remember the Space one though.
betty
hahaha-I still fling my arms about every once in a while. That is when my hubby looks for the number for the men in white to take me away.
DeleteI was a big fan of Lost in Space! Angela Cartwright is the character I remember probably because I saw her in Sound of Music as well. Someone above mentioned My Favourite Martian which I had totally forgotten about until now.
ReplyDeleteYeah to Lost in Space! I have never seen My Favourite Martian but I know about it.
DeleteI was a kid in the sixties. Didn't watch much Star Trek until they were in reruns. I watched Lost in Space, The Outer Limits, My Favorite Martian... and all the spy shows which bordered on science fiction with robots, gadgets, etc. I'm sure there's a major like of mine which is escaping me at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThe Outer Limits was a good show as well. I almost picked The Prisoner but not sure it is a true science fiction.
DeleteLove Star Trek. Almost picked it myself. It's definitely a giant of the genre. I saw Lost in Space a few times as a kid, but don't remember much, at all. Never heard of Space 1999, though.
ReplyDeleteIt is the giant and I thought either it will be really popular or everyone will avoid it:) I am surprised how many people don't know about Space 1999
DeleteI never watched the original Star Trek. I got into TNG in high school (that's when it was new). I never saw the other two, but I did hear of them.
ReplyDeleteLove TNG and Picard:) I love Q and so many episodes were just great
DeleteBattlestar Gallactica, Doctor Who, and Lost - which I truly was right up to the finale. Ok, so I was far from a kid when I watched these, but nothing from my youth in the mid-1950's compares.
ReplyDeleteI love Lost and watched it all the way through. It is a great show
DeleteWow! They were all classic series! I only watched some incarnations of Star Trek, but I only remember Patrick Steward's squad... I was lost in time machine.
ReplyDeleteTNG is a classic but the original is also great. Have to love Q
DeleteI have nothing to add here, since I generally dislike Science Faketion.
ReplyDeleteUnless Britain's 'THE PRISONER' counts as SciFi.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
NO, WAIT!!
Delete'THE TWILIGHT ZONE' and 'THE OUTER LIMITS' surely qualify, right? No-brainer choices! Also, there is a now little-known 1970s TV series called 'THE SIXTH SENSE'. I'd pick that also.
~ D-FensDogG
Yes to The Prisoner!! I love Patrick McGoohan in this series and Secret Agent. I also love the Outer Limits which I almost picked but I did shy from Twilight Zone because it is half and half for me. There are so many stellar episodes that do involve space and aliens but equally great shows involving death, golems and pig faces:) I just wasn't sure but glad you spoke of it here.
DeleteBirgit, Star Trek and Lost in Space were two childhood TV programs I enjoyed. It's really funny seeing retro shows set in the future which is now the past. lol A new Sci-Fi we started watching a few years ago on Amazon Prime is DEFIANCE and although it's no longer on, I liked the CBS program UNDER THE DOME based on a Stephen King novel, which also reminds me of another Sci-Fi series spawn from King's writing produced by the Syfy network HAVEN and is available on Netflix. This series just concluded, too. :( I'm going to kick myself into gear and add the Thursday Picks to my Daily Blog Hops page. Who knows maybe I'll find a place to add it in my posting routine. Have a good weekend and thanks for stopping by, my friend!
ReplyDeleteOOOhhh Glad you are putting it onto your list:) I have not seen Under The Dome or Haven. There are some good sci fi shows that I just don't see as my ass would never leave the couch:)
DeleteMy sister and I still imitate the Lost in Space robot with his "Danger!" warnings while he wagged his arms. Loved him. :D
ReplyDeleteAnd it's amazing how diverse and ahead of its time Star Trek was.
I wave my arms still and my hubby looks at me as if I am nuts:) Star Trek was way ahead of its time and I love how NASA even visited the set and liked some of the things that were produced
DeleteLost in Space is my favorite sci fi TV series, followed by Star Trek. (I don't care too much for the other Star Trek series.) Quantum Leap is my third favorite.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a Star Trek fan really. The new films are ok. Ah Lost in Space - not seen but saw the film remake. Never heard of Space 1999.
ReplyDeleteI was a Next Gen fan, but never saw the original Star Trek. I've never heard of the other two, so I feel like a fish out of water.
ReplyDeleteHave not seen Lost in Space, but it is getting a Netflix remake I think, so I will be looking forward to it.
ReplyDelete