Discussion
Watched it in the 70s and thought it was great at the time, Watching it now I can't believe how bad it is. Everything about it is terrible, the acting, the sets, the special effects, even the costumes. Must have been a surplus of leather in the costume department. Fine for Jenna and Cally but not the blokes 😉
Obviously done on the cheap sharing stuff with Dr Who. Whoever owned that quarry they film in must have made a fortune renting it to the BBC.
It's amazing to think that something so badly made came 10 years after the original Star Trek and after Star Wars. Good lord we put up with a lot of total dross on TV in the 70s.
Obviously done on the cheap sharing stuff with Dr Who. Whoever owned that quarry they film in must have made a fortune renting it to the BBC.
It's amazing to think that something so badly made came 10 years after the original Star Trek and after Star Wars. Good lord we put up with a lot of total dross on TV in the 70s.
I watched it back when it was first on and really enjoyed it, but it's true to say that the poor image quality makes it very difficult to watch now. I bought all the VHS videos when they came out, but only got around to watching a small number of them, and then I bought them all on DVD, with at least one series still sealed on the "when I get time" basis. And, of course, I've set the machine to record them all on Forces TV.
I think the quality is just what was acceptable at the time. I remember enjoying the original "Survivors" (another BBC / Terry Nation series, I think) originally, but when they launched the remake a few years back they showed one or two of the old ones and they were just unwatchable, seemingly shot in almost total darkness. Around the same time they also re-showed the BBC series of "Day of the Triffids" and that was much, much better - presumably not on early video.
I was chatting to a work contact in the USA in the late eighties who mentioned that it had been shown on a channel over there, got a good audience and when it finished, it was popular enough that they showed it all again.
It would have been interesting to see what the proposed "remake / continuation" might have come out like, with modern filming and effects, but from what I can gather Paul Darrow fell out with the production company and it went by the wayside.
I think the quality is just what was acceptable at the time. I remember enjoying the original "Survivors" (another BBC / Terry Nation series, I think) originally, but when they launched the remake a few years back they showed one or two of the old ones and they were just unwatchable, seemingly shot in almost total darkness. Around the same time they also re-showed the BBC series of "Day of the Triffids" and that was much, much better - presumably not on early video.
I was chatting to a work contact in the USA in the late eighties who mentioned that it had been shown on a channel over there, got a good audience and when it finished, it was popular enough that they showed it all again.
It would have been interesting to see what the proposed "remake / continuation" might have come out like, with modern filming and effects, but from what I can gather Paul Darrow fell out with the production company and it went by the wayside.
It's definitely dated but I'm still enjoying it, it's a pity the budget available at the time wasn't bigger but like so many shows of the period it has its charms. I do chuckle a bit though when they teleport down to a planet millions of light years from Earth and find themselves in a large Nissen hut with end walls made from Bedfordshire brick! Compared with the production values of 'UFO' which was made eight years before it should have been much better, but I'm still looking forward to watching the rest of it.
Edited to add - did anyone spot a young Glynis Barber playing one of the mutoids in the first series, before she became Soolin?
Edited to add - did anyone spot a young Glynis Barber playing one of the mutoids in the first series, before she became Soolin?
Edited by P5BNij on Monday 1st November 12:21
BBC had very little budget for such programmes back then so they tended to shoot everything using video/TV cameras rather than film cameras. Film cameras were reserved for "on location shooting" i.e. that infamous quarry). All the comedies of that era (Dad's Army etc) were shot in a similar fashion.
The model work on Dr Who and Blake's Seven was pretty good. It was the actual shooting of the models i.e. the cameras, editing and special effects, that let it down.
I've seen tone of the original Liberator models and it was very big.
The model work on Dr Who and Blake's Seven was pretty good. It was the actual shooting of the models i.e. the cameras, editing and special effects, that let it down.
I've seen tone of the original Liberator models and it was very big.
I'm rewatching too on Britbox. As mentioned, it's really shoddy by today's standards but very watchable. The fight scenes where the merest tap renders some one unconscious are hilarious. Most of the set seems to be made with sticky-back plastics with loads of air bubbles. I don't know why they can't leave Orac plugged in all of the time as he has the answer to everything and can operate the teleport - would save all of that shouting for a quick return to the ship when the person manning the desk has buggered off, which seems to happen all the time. Also, Mark 1 Travis was a much better baddie than Mark 2!
808 Estate said:
I remember the blasters which appear to be made from hair curling tongs.
And looks remarkably like something that might be featured getting a work out on an only fans video
I remember Blue Peter did a “how to” make the teleportation bracelet out of a plastic bottle, silver tape, and orange eraser and lots of brown paint. It looked remarkably effective! I made my gun out of Lego, naturally.And looks remarkably like something that might be featured getting a work out on an only fans video
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