Space Oddities

1972 saw the release of a beautiful yet little-seen science fiction film called "Silent Running". In 2022, celebrating 50 years, it is one of the most influential genre films ever made. Why is it so influential? I offer some possible answers on my piece over at NeoText.
https://neotextreview.com/culture/quiet-influences-the-vast-reach-of-douglas-trumbulls-silent-running/

So, I have just finished watching the 1979 Quatermass serial, which means that I have watched every single Quatermass TV production (I skipped the films except for the movie version of Quatermass and the Pit). I understand why critics and fans weren't crazy about the 1979 serial - the final two episodes drag and sometimes go nowhere - but I liked it. It had some powerful, scary moments, and while critics complained that Quatermass is now weak and helpless - well, that was the whole point! He's a man out of his time.
And, of course, the serial is another example of the whole Quatermass franchise is probably the most influential science fiction TV production ever made, providing inspiration for Babylon 5, The X-Files and Dr. Who, among others.
I ordered the script for the original 1953 serial "The Quatermass Experiment" - only the two episodes of the original serial are available for viewing, the 2005 version didn't impress me, and I have no interest in the 1955 film). After reading it, my Quatermass experience will be truly complete.

I think it's been over 20 years since I last saw the Babylon 5 pilot film "The Gathering", and recently I found the time to dig in my DVD collection and give it another go. As it happens, the disc is from a German edition which contains the original 1993 version of the pilot, rather than the 1998 remastered version, and it's a surprisingly neat piece of history. Not perfect - the script tends to drag a bit - but an interesting viewing experience especially from historical perspective. In particular:

* The show's digital effects were the subject of much ridicule even at the time the show was on air, but some of the pilot's CGI hold up surprisingly well, especially the opening shots and the climatic scenes , with the arrival of the Vorlon fleet. The rest does, unfortunately, look quite blocky and dated - but it must be remembered that CGI was hardly standard when the pilot aired and armed with what was back then less-than-advanced equipment (Amiga computers), the special effects team did an impressive job, paving the way for many future productions.
* The Star Wars influence on the pilot is HUGE. All the bazzar/casino scenes are strongly reminicent of the alien cantina in Episode IV, which in itself owed a huge debt (as did the whole Star Wars franchise) to the French comics "Valerian and Laureline". I heard many speculations about "Valerian" influencing "Babylon 5" as well, but I never actually saw it until I re-watched the pilot. If "Valerian" really was an influence, I guess it was the late comic book artist Peter Ledger (who drew the original sketches for Babylon 5) who brought it over.
* "Alien" and "Aliens" were another important influence - one revolution that "The Gathering" really brought up was was the dimly lit corridors of the station, so different from the bright neon lights of the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (and the later "Deep Space Nine") are a clear and cool legacy from Ridley Scott and James Cameron. To the best of my recollection, this didn't last, and the show went for a more colorful approach in its standard run. Perhaps this darkness just made things hard to watch (certainly on early 90s TV sets).
* Another potential revolution that went nowhere: the orignal score by former "Police" member Steward Copeland offers an extremely cool mix of pop and rock. During the show's run (and in the 1998 re-edit) this approach was abandoned in favor of the more traditional symphonic "Space Opera" score by Christopher Franke. Maybe Copeland was just too expansive for the show's budget?
* Speaking of budget, one element in the pilot that obviously suffered from poor funding is the wardrobe department. You just can't get away with people wearing early-90s jackets in a futuristic space station.
* Many changes took place between the time the pilot aired and the time the show went on air, notably in the cast - and although the ditching of Johnny Sekka had to do with health problems and that of Tamlyn Tomita had to do with contract issues, both actors feel like don't really "belong" with the rest of the cast or their surroundings. A pity for Tomita's character Takashima, though - because her character obivously had its own interesting arc to follow (the character of Ivanova, who replaced her, was a more complex person, but one with a simpler narrative).
* Jerry Doyle and Peter Jurasik, on the other hand, not only feel right in their element but also share a great chemistry, given the pilot script's best lines of dialogue. "The Gathering" also provides important historical context (easy to miss in first viewing) about what drives Londo's character and the Centauri race in general.

I am glad to report that one of the major projects I have been working on for the past year has finally gone live - a bibliography of sources about Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki at the Oxford Bibliographies database. All major academic institutes should have full access.

Hayao Miyazaki "Hayao Miyazaki" published on by null.

Undersea Super Train: Marine Express - seeing the supergroup of Osamu Tezuka's Star System in action is always fun and there are some cool animated segments and a catchy 70s theme song. Alas, Tezuka couldn't help but surrendering to his worst storytelling instincts, throwing everything into the mix and hoping something would stick, resulting in a story that wasn't very logical to begin with, and ended up unbelievably stupid. Pity, especially since influence on subsequent productions is strongly felt all throughout the film.

My review of the Israeli spy thriller "Tehran" is now up in Tablet Magazine.
https://tinyurl.com/yyj92rnv