Part 3 of my journey through my childhood scifi TV viewing habits.
I only have vague memories of this show. The thing that stands out in my mind most is the model of the space station/planetoid. That and the very youthful cast. I can’t remember any of the stories and the only character that stuck in my mind is the Commander, played by Jonathan Harris, who I had only ever known as Dr. Smith from Lost in Space. It’s a goofy little show as you can see from the first episode.
In contrast to Space Academy, I remember most of the Logan’s Run stories even 40+ years later. I had seen the film Logan’s Run with Michael York on TV and was excited for a whole series set in that world. Of course the TV show was more about the apocalyptic land outside the dome, but I still loved the idea of a man on the run (Gregory Harrison as Logan) with the beautiful and resourceful Jessica ( Heather Menzies). What fascinated me the most was the android Rem (Donald Moffat). Probably because as a boy I always felt as awkward as Rem appeared on screen. I remember being so annoyed that the show got cancelled. My first experience of the “shows I love always get cancelled” syndrome.
This is another show I have very fond memories of. Firstly because I really liked Bill Bixby. He had such an understated charm and a way of conveying pain and anger barely suppressed. It’s hard for me to ever imagine anyone else in that role. And I must say, being produced long before CGI, there is something refreshing about a real live human playing the Hulk. Just the few snippets in the 1977 intro feel more immediate and more real than any of the CGI Hulk scenes from any of the Marvel movies. Something I doubt they will ever consider changing, which is a shame.
Boy I loved this show as a kid. It was like a weekly dose of space opera poured directly into my brain. I never saw the supposed influences of Star Wars, because even as a boy I had seen reruns of the Flash Gordon serials on the local UHF station. I loved the characters, the stories, the fact that there was a boy with a robot dog/bear thing. And I loved the space ships. Especially the eponymous Battlestar Galactica. I felt that if I was going to be fleeing through the galaxy for my life, running from murderous robots, that the Galactica was the safest place to be. I think I also loved the sense of community the show expressed. Humanity pulling together to fight a common existential threat.
This show was silly scifi fun, and I watched every episode with joy. In part because it had Andy Griffith as junk man with his own rocket. Well, no. Actually that was the whole reason I liked the show. The idea of building my own rocket has always fascinated me. I think shortly after this came on TV I discovered Heinlein’s Rocketship Galileo, which cemented the desire in my scifi brain.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
There was so much I loved about this show as a kid. Gil Gerrard as Buck Rogers for one. Charming and heroic. And the costumes and the sets and the spaceships. And the little robot Twiki and the crazy computer AI around his neck, Dr. Theoplis. And my boyhood crush on Erin Gray as Wilma Deering. And my other boyhood crush on Pamala Hensley as Princess Ardala. And the future adventure stories. It’s no wonder I loved Farsape so much 20 years later. They had a lot on common, at least in that part of my brain devoted to scifi. Which I’m guessing is around 43%.
