• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!

    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

50 years of Star Trek

Well, that was high tech compared to the first SF film in 1902:


The footage of the moon getting the spaceship stuck in its eye is a very famous image. Always wondered where it came from. Now I know. Movie looks to be VERY loosely based on the Jules Verne Book "From Earth to the Moon" and then the second volume "A Trip Around It". Verne suggested a giant cannon could shoot a projectile into orbit. He got his physics right in terms of the energy needed to put an object in orbit, but no human could have survived that kind of acceleration.

And now, we also know where Gerry Anderson got his inspiration for having the aliens being related to cats in the TV series "UFO". Both UFO and the later Space:1999 were really quite ahead of their time in terms of special effects.
 
Saw that when I was a kid when it was shown on our first TV, I think in 1949? Thought it was funny, as no one will ever go to the moon! :highly_amused:
 
Saw that when I was a kid when it was shown on our first TV, I think in 1949? Thought it was funny, as no one will ever go to the moon! :highly_amused:

Speaking of men on the moon, I just watched a very good documentary on Netflix about the last man to walk on the moon, Gene Cernan.
 
I am not sure if any of you remember a Canadian series called The Starlost, it was a great premise, but very hokey FX.....

A well conceived story with good characters, a good (or at least decent) script and cheap FX will beat a big buck FX extravaganza with a lame story and characters every time. It worked for Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Dr. Who, Outer Limits, etc.

The trick to cheap (and/or cheesy) FX is use them sparingly, just enough to support the story. Dwell on them or try to impress anybody and you're sunk.

Yeah, I remember The Starlost. I loved the premise (very much like the Star Trek episode For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky). I enjoyed it when originally aired. I even have the series on DVD. Unfortunately, my family weren't as willing to tolerate its quirks as my adolescent self was. They were done after the first episode.
 


Cool to see a picture of many of the crew in front of the Shuttle Enterprise. Speaking of crew, a strange bit of info I ran across once is that the brother of Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), Thomas, was a member of the Heaven's Gate cult that committed mass suicide in 1997 thinking they were going to some sort of mother ship with the passing of the Hale-Bopp comet.
 
Back
Top