The Seventies Sci-Fi thread

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Hope you go onto review every episode Inspector. It is a terrific series. Not sure if i don't prefer the more action second series though. The two parter that concludes it all is excellent.

When i was young it was shown in the Granada region on a Sunday lunchtime at 1pm.

I never had an Eagle toy but did have one of the guns, battery operated with four lights on the front which lit up. I used to make Eagles using Sticklebrix at school.

[Inspector Abberline]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Hope you go onto review every episode Inspector. It is a terrific series. Not sure if i don't prefer the more action second series though. The two parter that concludes it all is excellent.

When i was young it was shown in the Granada region on a Sunday lunchtime at 1pm.

I never had an Eagle toy but did have one of the guns, battery operated with four lights on the front which lit up. I used to make Eagles using Sticklebrix at school.

Watching them again now i hardly remember them,its like watching them a new,apparently the 2nd series had a few more horror themed episodes as well,so looking forward to seeing those.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Inspector Abberline

Watching them again now i hardly remember them,its like watching them a new,apparently the 2nd series had a few more horror themed episodes as well,so looking forward to seeing those.

The introduction of Maya (Catherine Schell) gives the series a new dimension i thought.

I only rewatched it again a couple of years ago. I've got the original releases. It looked splendid then so Networks remaster job probably looks feckin' awesome.

[Inspector Abberline]

SSSSSSS (1973)
Them darn mad scientists and doctors,there always meddling with serums and such like.Strother Martin is Dr. Carl Stoner a scientist who specialises in snakes and extracting there venom for research. Dirk Benedict (Battlestar Galactica and The A-Team) is hired from the local college to help oddly eccentric Stoner. Unlike most animal/beasts on the prowl,you very rarely get the impression of any real danger. I mean what's the worst that can happen to you if that giant chicken from Food of the Gods escaped,besides being crushed if she laid an egg on you. But the snakes in SSSSSSS (1973) are all pretty evil looking especially the King Cobra.You see the good doctor has a side line in turning his assistants into snake/people hybrids,although he usually fails to mention this on the job application form. Now im no nervous nelly,but snakes do freak me out,although I have never got close enough to an actual snake to testify my cowardice.In fact the only other film which makes me feel physically ill ( no not another Stephen Sommers B-movie) but Herb Robins The Worm Eaters (1977) a truly nauseating film you should never ever watch while eating. There was a slew of films in the 1970s which were only given a PG rating,and SSSSSSS (1973) was another, while its tame by today's standards it certainly is a bizarre film for the children of the 1970's to be watching, If like me your a fan of films like Freaks and The Mutations,then you may enjoy SSSSSSS,its a bizarre little film that had passed me by until recently.It also sits well with the kind of films mentioned in Stephen Thrower's `Nightmare USA' ,with a good mix of mad doctor and carnival style exploitation.Beware the mongoose.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

I really like Sssssss. Nice write-up, Inspector.

[Inspector Abberline]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

I really like Sssssss. Nice write-up, Inspector.

Thanks,Yes i really enjoyed it,would be nice to see a uk Blu,I know Shout Factory have just released it,although the Universal R1 is still a rather nice copy too.

[Inspector Abberline]

Creatures the World Forgot aka Carry On Follow That Mamouth aka Is that a Saber Tooth Tiger In Your Loin Cloth or are You Just Glad To See Me ? (1971)

I suppose the good thing about the prehistoric era is that no one really knows what happened on a daily basis,I mean for all we know the women all wore furry bikini's and the men tooth necklaces.One thing im sure of no one at Hammer Studios had a clue either.This is your every day story of two bothers ,Tony Bonner as Toomak and Robert John as Rool and there bitter rivalry to lead the tribesmen,The story is of course bollocks, but luckily there is enough grunting and fighting to keep the action flowing.I mean your not watching a Hammer movie about cavemen for its insight into man's evolutionary history,if you are boy you need help. What Creatures lacks in depth makes up for in looks,shot on location in Namibia and South Africa. the film if nothing else looks fantastic,although I would imagine all that sand would chaff around the more intimate areas of the actors loin cloths. Its fair to say that amongst all the men,who all seem to bare a remarkable likeness to Roy Wood from Wizard there is some eye candy in the form of Julie Ege as Nala, alright she in no Raquel Welch granted but you had to get what you were given back then.Written by Michael Carreras,it would be a lie to say that there wasn't a plot and a story,its just that I lost interest and was it more fun coming up with my own diagolue and story ,which got considerably X rated at one point.Which leads me to the certificate given to its dvd release,it has been classified as an 18 cert? In the States it had a GP Rating when released there,not sure what it was given in the UK back in 1971,(anyone know ?) .I assume this is down to some animal cruelty in the film,nothing compared to Cannibal Holocaust of course but there it is never the less.I think you have to be a hardcore Hammer fan to get any enjoyment from this film and you certainly got to like there previous efforts One Million Years B.C. (1966) (also directed by Don Chaffey), Slave Girls (1967) and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) to before attempting to view Creature,UGH UNGAWA.CAAAAAAAAAAAAAVVVVVVEEEE MMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN!

[Inspector Abberline]

According to the booklet in the dvd by Marcus Hearn,Creatures would of got a AA rating with a few cuts,Initially Hammer wanted an A rating,then Columbia asked Carreras to get an X rating with no cuts,which it did.Sex and violence sells i suppose the reasoning behind that decision.

[Dave Boy]

I count myself very lucky to have met Julie Ege. She signed a Hammer Films book for me.
A lovely and beautiful lady.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

World on a Wire (1973)