Infinity Magazine Issue 3

2017·39.5 MB·English

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40
08: HIPPIES IN SPACE
The making of Dark Star, the student sci-fi movie that
helped launch the career of director John Carpenter.
14: STAR TREK: FIRST ENTERPRISE
We conclude our boldly nostalgic episode guide to
the first series of Star Trek, as screened by the BBC.
20: LUC WHO’S TALKING
We chat with Fifth Element and Lucy director Luc
Besson about Valerian, his biggest sci-fi movie yet!
24: BOND ON THE SMALL SCREEN
Denis Meikle looks at The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and
specifically the movies that sprang from the show.
24
40: SPY-FI
In the wake of 007, 1960s TV was packed with
44 46 gadget-happy spy capers, as Jon Abbott reports…
44: NIGHTMARES AND GEEZENSTACKS
The Ed checks out Mrs Murphy’s Underpants as he
enters the weird world of author Fredric Brown!
46: CRISIS ON MOONBASE ALPHA
The story behind Space 1999, the most expensive
series ever produced for British TV in its day.
54: LUST IN SPACE
Enjoy some close encounters of the saucy kind with
hot-looking space babes of the 1950s!
54 60 62
60: REMEMBERING BATMAN
The Ed pays tribute to the late Adam West with an
interview he did with him almost 30 years ago!
62: A CARPENTER’S TALE
Whatever happened to the career of John Carpenter,
director of The Thing and Escape From New York?
05: INFINITY NEWS ROUND-UP
12: YOUR LETTERS AND EMAILS
HG Editor: Allan Bryce Web Master: [email protected] 18: TAKE THE HELM - THE BLACK HOLE
SN Design & Production: Kevin Coward Website: ww.infinitymagazine.co.uk 29: REVIEWS
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[email protected] ISSN 2514-3654 INFINITY 3
“THEY HAVEN’T GOT
THE COLOUR RIGHT!”
H
ello and welcome to the third issue of Infinity, to “Book ‘em, Danno!”, Danny had to ask, “What’s the
and I hope you are enjoying our out-of-this- charge Steve?” Come on lad, wake up, it was always
world mix of retro and modern day sci-fi, “Murder One!”
liberally spiced with a healthy dose of cult TV. Another great colour show from the 1960s was
This time round we take a fond look back at Gerry Batman, the bombastic ‘camp’ parody of the comic
Anderson’s Space 1999 and remember the 60s craze book hero’s exploits. I loved the DC comics when I was
for ‘Spy-Fi’ sparked by the success of The Man From a kid and don’t really like the way that the modern
U.N.C.L.E. I used to love that show as a kid, especially movies have sucked all the fun and colour out of them
the opening credits with Jerry Goldsmith’s punchy by presenting a dark universe. Having Superman battle
main theme. What disappointed me was they never Batman in the recent movie was ridiculous - Supie
made any feature films from it, preferring to would have just grabbed him and flown him into
cobble together the TV episodes and put space and that would have been the end of
them out at cinemas in the UK. The same things. I had the good fortune of meeting
happened with Mission: Impossible, my the late Batman actor Adam West in the
other favourite spy show. There was a 1980s and by way of tribute I’ve included
movie out at cinemas in 1969 called that interview here. Did you know that he
Mission: Impossible vs The Mob, which was offered the role of James Bond in
again turned out to be two of the TV On Her Majesty’s Secret Service?
shows stitched together and I was most He turned it down because he felt it should
disappointed because they weren’t exactly go to an English actor, and it went to an
the best episodes in the first place. I preferred Aussie one instead!
the early Steven Hill episodes to the ones starring Peter You may remember that we promised you a feature
Graves, and Old Man Out was the best two-parter ever, this issue on Patrick Troughton’s Doctor Who, but sadly
would have loved to have seen that on a big screen. our good friend Richard Holliss, who was due to be
Mind you, back in the late 1960s it was a treat to see writing it, has had personal issues to deal with that
any TV show in colour. BBC first broadcast in colour in have demanded he take some time away from the
1967 - starting in June with the Wimbledon tennis - but keyboard. We wish he and his amazing wife Chris all
It wasn’t until 1969 that all of the main channels - ITV, the very best during what has been a difficult time for
BBC 1 and BBC2 were in colour. Nobody I knew had a them. All our love, mate and we hope things get back to
colour telly back then, and we would comfort ourselves normal very soon.
by saying, “Well they haven’t got the colour right Finally, a busy letters section is always the sign of a
yet.” The first programme I saw in colour was Hawaii thriving magazine, and while Infinity is still a new mag
Five-O and I was very impressed. That was another of I am delighted that so many of you have already taken
my favourites, with possibly the greatest theme ever the time and trouble to write in with your thoughts on
written, though I could never understand why at the it - and I’m even more delighted that they are mostly
end of seemingly every episode when Jack Lord’s Steve favourable so far. Keep them coming!
McGarrett instructed his subordinate Danny Williams Allan Bryce, Editor
HELP US KEEP UP TO DATE WITH WHAT YOU WANT
We value every single reader and they value us, which is why we are flourishing
at a time when print magazines everywhere are having a tough time. We want to
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4 INFINITY
THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME Name of feature
The Infinity team bring you the latest news on your favourite TV shows and movie franchises,
including the ‘Hannibal Lecter’ of Time Lords and a remake of Big Trouble in Little China…
INVADERS FROM THE ABYSS a fan club and no one is taking a salary. Saturday-only or Sunday-only tickets
Lancashire-based toy industry do not include the Saturday evening meal or any other refreshments that are
photographer Richard Dixon has come included in the weekend ticket. And remember, if you do go, expect
up with a new science-fiction concept the unexpected.
- and he sent us some great pictures
to illustrate it as well. The history of WHO’S BIG FINISH?
our world is known to us all, but what ‘Peoples of the universe,
if a secret history existed beneath our please attend carefully – Sir
feet, one that for thousands of years Derek Jacobi is reprising his
we have known nothing about? What if iconic role as the Master in
unknown intelligent life is to be found new Doctor Who adventures
in the oceans, in underworld caverns… from Big Finish Productions.
creatures that have existed alongside Following his first
us since the dawn of time began? unforgettable performance
That’s the story behind Seastar 5 in the Doctor Who episode,
Invaders From The Abyss and its first Utopia, crafting an iconic role
sequel Seastar 5 Ocean Wars. that thrilled viewers ten years
Made in a an exciting model ago, Sir Derek is once again
animation style, the first four episodes taking on the mantle of the
are now available to view on the Master. His return will bring
Studio’s website at www.richard-dix- joy to fans, but disaster for
on-tpd-studios.co.uk. the Doctor Who universe!
The first episodes cover Matthew The ruthless renegade
Adams meeting with a Princess from Time Lord returns in four
the underwater Empire of Tyrannia brand new adventures made by arrangement with BBC Worldwide.
on an island near Hawaii. This leads “His incarnation is very much the ‘Hannibal Lecter’ of Time Lords - intelligent,
him to a secret navy base under the charming, but thoroughly ruthless - we had a lot of fun in studio bringing the War
atoll of Kwajalein Island and an offer Master back to life,” explains producer and director Scott Handcock. “It’s been a
to command the advanced submarine known as the Seastar 5. This five hundred gift of a project, and we can’t wait for listeners to hear it!”
foot undersea carrier battle cruiser is capable of supersonic speed and stands “I didn’t expect to come back to it all these years later,” says Sir Derek, “but
ready to fight a secret war on Earth’s last frontier in the oceans of the 21st I was thrilled to be remembered. The plots in all these episodes have been very
Century. The Dragon Lords of Lemuria, an alien race, have returned to claim their good indeed, very interesting, very dramatic, and beautifully written. The whole
ocean kingdom, and only the fleet of twelve Seastar submarines can protect our process has been a delight!”
world from the enemy from the abyss. Writer James Goss explains what makes this Master unique, “What was
Seastar 5 is go, and the spirit of Gerry Anderson lives on! exciting about this was that normally the Master loses. He puts in the hours, he
works through all these elaborate plans and yet it all goes wrong. It’s not fair!
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT What did Sir Derek do in the Time War? It’s thrilling to have helped find out.”
Speaking of the great Gerry Anderson, Doctor Who: The War Master Volume One follows the exploits of the Doctor’s
we were delighted to hear from Nick arch-enemy during the course of the devastating Time War, featuring stories
Williams, chairman of the Fanderson from acclaimed Doctor Who writers James Goss, Guy Adams and Nicholas Briggs
fan club, to say how much he and his – as well as new writing talent from Janine H Jones.
members enjoyed our Gerry coverage Doctor Who: The War Master volume one will be conquering the universe from
in issue 2. Created way back in 1981, December 2017 in four hour-long episodes: Beneath the Viscoid by Nicholas
Fanderson cover all of the Anderson television series Briggs, The Good Master by Janine H Jones, The Sky Man by James Goss and The
and films, from the Supermarionation productions Heavenly Paradigm by Guy Adams.
Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, The War Master Volume One is available for pre-order from bigfinish.com on CD
Thunderbirds Are Go, Captain Scarlet And The (box set) £23 and download £20. It is also available for pre-order in a bundle with
Mysterons, Thunderbird 6, Joe 90 and The Secret Service, upcoming releases Gallifrey: Time War and Tales of New Earth on CDs £63 and
through to the live-action productions Doppelgänger, download £54.
UFO, The Protectors, Space:1999 and The Day After Tomorrow, as well Terrahawks,
Dick Spanner, Space Precinct, Lavender Castle and New Captain Scarlet. RIDLEYGRAMS
Fanderson hold many regular events and they are excited to reveal that Before he started making iconic
Terrahawks modelmaker John Lee has agreed to attend a ‘Special Assignment’ at sci-fi movies like Alien and Blade
the end of September. Runner, Ridley Scott trained at
Working under Special Effects Director Steven Begg, John designed and built London’s Royal College of Art.
many of the weird and wonderful space craft that appeared in the series. He has He also had a background in
been a staunch supporter of recent Fanderson events, coming to both their 30th advertising, which again called
anniversary birthday celebration of Terrahawks, and The Future is Fantastic!, their for a keen visual eye and he’s
last full-weekend convention in 2015. always expressed this by using
John will be joined at ‘Special Assignment’ by fellow Terrahawks crew member quickfire sketches to explore shot
and puppeteer Judy Preece, as part of a packed guest list of stars from across the design. Check out any behind-
Anderson universe. Tickets to ‘Special Assignment’ start at just £65 per person for the-scenes article on his films, including the Blade Runner one we ran in our first
one day, or £110 for the whole weekend. They have managed to keep the ticket issue and you will see some of his storyboard sketches, now commonly known
price the same as The Future Is Fantastic! convention in 2015 because they are as “Ridleygrams”. During Alien’s pre-production, Scott drew up a storyboard
INFINITY 5
Name of feature INFINITY NEWS
Headline guests at the
event include the legendary
William Russell, one of the
original quartet of stars
in the William Hartnell
days, when he played
heroic science teacher Ian
Chesterton, a role to which
he has returned in recent years for Big Finish Productions.
William’s career in film and television goes right back to the 1940s and
he has appeared in a number of classic films, including The Man Who Never
Was and The Great Escape. On TV he was the star of The Adventures of Sir
Lancelot and appeared in any number of shows such as Armchair Theatre, Dr
Finlay’s Casebook, Father Brown, Crown Court, Van der Valk, Shoestring, The
Professionals, The Black Adder, Robin of Sherwood, Boon, Coronation Street,
Casualty, Poirot etc, etc. His most recent TV appearance was in the the Doctor
presentation for 20th Century Fox. Impressed with what Ridley had presented Who 50th Anniversary Docu-Drama, An Adventure in Space and Time.
they doubled the budget from $4.5 million to $8.5 million. In The Book of Alien he Also in attendance will be Carole Ford, who played the Doctor’s Granddaughter
is quoted as saying: “Well, It’s time to turn back to the old roots and art direct or Susan back in 1963. Her long and diverse career includes an appearance in The
draw a sequence very specifically for myself. It helps me think; once the pictures Day of the Triffids (1962) as the blind French girl Bettina, and in The Great St
are right, everything else starts to occur from them.” Trinian’s Train Robbery (1966).
Although never fully compiled or written about, these obscure renditions form Carole Ann mostly stopped acting in 1977 and has since taught voice and
the basis of an Instagram account called Ridleygrams, whose sole purpose is to presentation skills and dialogue coaching to politicians, businesspeople,
collect and preserve the sci-fi art of Sir Ridley Scott. Check it out and you will see after-dinner speakers and actors. However, she reprised the character of Susan
he has a style similar to artists like Moebius (The Incal) and Mike Mignola (Hellboy). for both the series’ 20th anniversary TV special, The Five Doctors (1983), and 30th
anniversary charity special, Dimensions in Time (1993). In recent years, she has
HAN NOW HAS SOLO DIRECTOR again taken on the role of Susan for Big Finish in Companion Chronicles,
The shocking news of the firing of Phil Lord and Chris Lost Stories, Early Adventures and in full cast adventures opposite the
Miller from the forthcoming Star Wars spin-off Han Eighth Doctor, played by Paul McGann.
Solo movie makes you realise how much money For the show’s 50th Anniversary in 2013, Carole Ann played
that Lucasfilm and Disney have to basically the cameo role of Joyce in An Adventure in Space and Time,
chuck away. The as-yet-untitled Han Solo film and appeared in the anniversary comedy homage The Five(ish)
is the upcoming second film in the Star Wars Doctors Reboot.
Anthology Series. It’s centred around a young Many other guests will also be attending the event, including
Han Solo, portrayed by Alden Ehrenreich, as Nicola Bryant, Frazer Hines, Jessica Martin and Dicken
he becomes the smuggler audiences first met Ashworth. For more information you can send a message or
in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. It also contact organiser Steve Hatcher by post at ‘Kenfield’, Mappleton,
features Chewbacca in what has been described Ashbourne, Derbyshire. By telephone on 01335 350397 or by
as an “origin story” for the two characters. email at [email protected].
According to reports, concerns over Lord and
Miller’s loose and renegade directing style was raised STELLA BY
by lead actor Alden Ehrenreich who reportedly felt that the STARLIGHT
comedic tone of the movie was echoing Jim Carrey’s Ace Ventura and If you enjoyed our
raised concerns to producer Kathleen Kennedy and long-term Star Wars writer feature on sexy Italian
Lawrence Kasdan, who had also reportedly clashed with the young directing duo sci fi then you won’t
during the movie’s production. be able to smile wide
Now the film will be directed by Oscar-winning Richie Cunningham, aka Ron enough when you
Howard, who is hardly a surprising choice since he is a mate of George Lucas’s hear that Starcrash is
and appeared in American Graffiti as well as directing Willow for him. coming to UK home
Howard has been given a lot of extra shooting time to finish the movie in video at the end of
line with Lucasfilms vision while adding his own elements and trademarks to it, August on a new
possibly a guest appearance by the Fonze. It is still scheduled to be released on label called Stratx.
May 25, 2018. The movie that Star
Wars could have been
stars the impossibly
gorgeous Caroline
Munro as sexy space
pirate Stella Star, who’s
kinda like Han Solo’s
super-hot sister. She
and her loyal co-pilot Akton (Marjoe Gortner) are arrested by the Imperial Police,
but the Emperor of the Universe (Christopher Plummer) offers them a reprieve.
The Evil Count Zarth Arn has a secret weapon of immense power, hidden away on
a planet somewhere, with which he plans to take over the galaxy. The Emperor’s
If you are a serious Doctor Who fan then no doubt you have already pencilled in only son, Prince Simon (David Hasselhoff!) has disappeared on an earlier mission
a trip to Derby on the 2nd of September to visit ‘Whooverville’, the East Midlands’ to tackle the Count. The Emperor charges Stella and her trusty crew with locating
biggest annual get-together for fans of the BBC TV series. the Count’s weapon, finding the lost Prince and saving the Galaxy..
Held at QUAD, Market Place, Cathedral Quarter, Derby. DE1 3AS, the event is Originally released the year after Star Wars, this out-of-this-world slice of cult
organised by Derby’s local Doctor Who group, the ‘Whoovers,’ (not the Dysons) cinema is a sexy space classic and, given the benefit of a John Barry soundtrack,
one of the most popular fan groups in the UK. It’s a day of fun for all ages where it’s a must have for all sci-fi fans.
you can have your photo taken with the TARDIS, catch up on gossip from the On September 11th, Eureka Entertainment release a Blu-ray steelbook of
latest series, purchase new and classic merchandise, take part in a Doctor Who Enemy Mine (1985), an underrated space flick which in essence is a sci-fi remake
podcast, add to the autograph album and meet some of the people from in front of John Boorman’s Hell in the Pacific (1969), only instead of a US pilot and a
of and behind the camera. Japanese naval officer stranded on a Pacific island during WWII, here we have
66 IINNFFIINNIITTYY
Name of feature
Louis Gossett Jr and
Dennis Quaid in
Enemy Mine and right,
details of this year’s
Manchester Festival of
Fantastic Films
a lizard-like Draconian (Louis Gossett Jr.) and his mortal enemy, Earthling Dennis
Quaid, both having crash-landed on a hostile planet during a brutal space battle.
Forced to rely on one another for survival, they overcome their differences and
become fast friends. A good tale, enjoyably told, it’s a movie we will look forward
to seeing again.
DARK STAR
Infinity designer
Kev and myself
can often be seen
flogging our wares
(and a dead horse
or two) at London
film fairs, and we
love it because we
meet such a nice
class of person
there. At a recent
Camden fair we
were delighted MORE BIG TROUBLE
to have a chat Finally, the remakes keep on coming and in an
with the beautiful issue where we celebrate the screen work of John
and talented Carpenter we should also mention the good/bad
Emma Dark, an news that Dwayne Johnson will star in a 2017
increasingly remake of Carpenter’s Big Trouble In Little China, a
popular figure in movie that ironically was a bit of a flop when it was
the horror and first released.
sci-fi world. Johnson will headline as Jack Burton, the role
Along with iconically played by Kurt Russell in the 1986 original.
fellow filmmaker Burton was an American trucker who, after paying a visit
Merlyn Roberts, another great friend of ours, Emma started out in the industry to his friend in San Francisco’s Chinatown, found himself drawn
producing and directed the short film, Island of the Blind Dead. Then in 2015 she into a supernatural showdown with the forces of evil.
took on the challenge of producing, directing and starring in a horror/action movie At least Johnson himself is a fan of the original and knows how important
called Seize the Night. A big success, it saw Emma winning the notable MMBF it is for devotees of the first film to accept him behind the wheel of the ol’
Rising Star award at Ireland’s The Yellow Fever Independent Film Festival. Pork-Chop Express. That’s why he insisted that Carpenter himself be brought on
Emma`s latest movie, Salient Minus Ten, is a sci-fi project that is gathering some board. “My response is: know that I come to the project with nothing but love and
great word of mouth. Described by the delectable Miss Dark as a “cerebral foray respect for the original, which is why we want to bring on John Carpenter,” he said.
into the darker more disturbing side of Science Fiction”, it tells the story of Adam Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz, best known for writing X-Men: First Class, will
Harper, an average man on an average day who suddenly finds himself catapulted develop the script for the new film, which will be produced by Dany Garcia,
into the strangest, reality changing game - a game of time and chance, where Hiram Garcia and Johnson himself. The actor is optimistic that the film will find
the stakes are a matter of life a big audience, but says he will
and death. This image: abandon it if things don’t seem to be
The lovely Emma
The film’s cast includes Dean Dark, and above, working out.
Sills (playing the lead role of Emma’s new movie, “I loved the original when I
Salient Minus Ten
Adam Harper), Chris Hampshire was younger and I loved the main
and Beric Read of ‘Seize the character – all the characters,” he
Night’, and Emma also takes a says. “It felt like if we surrounded
supporting role as the antagonist ourselves with the right group of
of the story. Joining the crew people, the right writers who loved
are more Seize the Night alumni, the movie too and wanted to honour
composer Eric Elick, VFX artist it, bring on John Carpenter in some
Davy Simmons, and assistant capacity, if we did that, then we have
director Merlyn Roberts. It’s a shot at hopefully making something
crowdfunding on Indiegogo, good. Let’s see what feels good, what
and if you’d like to get your we can come up with and then go
hands on some limited edition from there. As we write it, if the whole
merchandise or even film credits thing starts to stink up, then we thank
you can do so by contributing at everybody for their efforts and accept
http://ow.ly/9TUl3038BWN. this just couldn’t make it.” And that’s
the way the fortune cookie crumbles.
IINNFFIINNIITTYY 77
THE BEACH BALL BEAST
HIPPIES IN SPACE
Tristan Thompson charts the troubled origins of
John Carpenter’s Dark Star, a space odyssey of cult oddity…
T
hese days we are used to seeing sci-
ence-fiction movies with vast budgets
and amazing sets and special effects,
but John Carpenter’s 1974 Dark Star was
made for just $60,000, utilising ice cube trays as
buttons on the spacecraft bridge consoles.
Seen either as a biting parody of Stanley
Kubrick’s 1968 applauded masterpiece 2001 A Space
Odyssey or an outer-space tragicomedy recalling
the surrealistic absurdity of Samuel Beckett’s
Waiting for Godot, Dark Star is a bona fide cult
movie that despite its shoestring origins serves up
a smart, cynical look at space travel, treating it as
a blue-collar job and not something to get overly
excited about.
Dark Star was originally conceived by John
Carpenter as The Electric Dutchman to serve as
his Master’s thesis at USC (University of Southern It’s boring
in space, and not
California). Close friend and fellow student Dan worth the effort of
O’Bannon shared Carpenter’s love of science having a shave…
fiction movies and pulp paperbacks, so he joined
him to write the story and screenplay, soon re-
titled Planetfall.
Carpenter took the directing reins and in addition The ship is in a hopeless state of deterioration. a 10-year delay, and the reply is always the same:
to an acting role Dan O’Bannon was in charge of the A self-destructing storage system has destroyed “Request denied, keep up the good work men!”
ambitious production design and special effects. the crew’s entire supply of toilet paper, and they The crew can barely disguise their growing
Their collaborative student film project began in the have to sleep in a food locker because their sleeping disdain for one another under the loose leadership
summer of 1970 and would painstakingly evolve quarters “blew up”. of the nonchalant Lieutenant Doolittle (Brian
over the next 3-4 years into a theatrical feature. With little to alleviate the tedium of intergalactic Narelle), who daydreams of his surfing days at
space travel, the crew members have succumbed Malibu and Zuma.
SENSELESS MISSION to an slothful existence of mind-numbing boredom, Boiler (Carl Kuniholm) is a mass of silently
Dark Star charts the final days of the remaining four exacerbated by the ship’s computer system playing suppressed sadism and mischief, amusing himself
crew members of the titular deep space craft, who elevator lounge music for their ‘listening enjoyment’ with his switchblade by neatly clipping his facial
have roamed the galaxies for 20 years, and aged (James Clarke’s chirpy ‘Spring Bossa’ pilfered here hair or playing Five Finger Fillet… the mirror opposite
only 3 during that time. Their seemingly senseless as ‘When Twilight Falls’ on NGC 891 has become of Sergeant Pinback, whose pedantic eccentricities
mission is to destroy unstable planets before they something of a cult tune). and incessant chatter are as mind-grating as the
go supernova, thus making way for future human Messages of complaint to Earth Control about computer system’s choice of music.
colonisation (a scientific logic that would have the deteriorating state of the ship’s systems have Dan O’Bannon himself plays the irksome Pinback
Professor Brian Cox frowning in disbelief). become another exercise in pointlessness. There is with unrestrained relish, and this seems to have
been a case of art imitating life, as John Carpenter
indicated to Gilles Boulenger in John Carpenter
Prince of Darkness (Silman James Press, 2001).
Carpenter revealed there that Pinback’s character
was a playfully exaggerated version of O’Bannon’s
real-life personality.
And then there’s Talby, the dreamer, totally
dislocated from the rest of crew, who has confined
himself to the observational dome located above the
ship (quite appropriately a bubble within a bubble)
to gaze upon the passing stars and galaxies. Talby
was portrayed (probably more than played) by
Dre Pahich, as there would be several stand-ins for
additional scenes over the years of production and
the character’s dialogue would ultimately be dubbed
by John Carpenter himself.
This student film was very much a product of
the hipster age it was made in and Carpenter and
O’Bannon had no desire to present a polished
future of faultless technology. It’s the marijuana
generation’s rejection of a dystopian future
portrayed in Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey
(‘Bombed Out in Space with a Spaced-Out
8 INFINITY
INFINITY 9
NTRaImSeTA oNf fTeHaOtuMrePSON
Doolittle concludes that the Dark Star’s only
hope is in contacting the dead for a solution
- that being the 5th ‘silent’ crew member
Commander Powell, long since deceased and
cryogenically frozen in suspended animation,
which gives him the fading ability to confer with
the living.
The Commander’s (eventual) recommendation
is to teach Bomb Number 20 the philosophy of
phenomenology. This has a desperate Doolittle
departing the ship in a space suit to converse
directly with the narcissistic Bomb Number 20
about the theory of consciousness and direct
experience of consequence.
TESTING JOURNEY
A 45-50 minute version Dark Star was completed
in 1972, and the testing journey of its voyage
from an ambitious student film to a 1974
Bomb’ would be an appropriate and memorable theatrical feature is entertainingly charted in the
shout-line). Daniel Griffith documentary Let There Be Light:
But it isn’t the breakdown of defective The Odyssey of Dark Star (2010).
systems or the neglectful nature of the Securing an investment for additional filming
bored and hapless crew that spells eventual to extend the film to a more rounded 90-minute
destruction for the Dark Star. It’s the very running time, Carpenter and O’Bannon
nature of technology itself. While 2001: A Space subsequently sold the rights for a pittance, to
Odyssey chillingly presented the nefarious HAL independent film producer Jack Henry Harris.
9000 computer system, Dark Star has a ‘talking’ Harris, who died in 2017 at the grand old age
thermonuclear bomb with a neurotic artificial of 98, was predominantly known as the producer
intelligence trait. of 1958’s The Blob. An astute businessman he
The big problem is Bomb Number 20 in their had a penchant for buying up, as cheaply as
cargo of articulated-lorry-sized thermonuclear possible, incomplete, lost or unwanted movies
interactive bombs. Having been armed and and prepping them for theatrical distribution.
lowered from the bomb bay to be dropped upon Harris had already made a decent profit
an unstable planet, the bomb malfunctions picking up the low budget stop-motion monster
and doesn’t detach. Then it refuses to disarm movie Equinox and releasing it as a 1970 feature
itself, instead beginning a ticking countdown to after some major revisions. He saw the same
self-explode. kind of opportunity with Dark Star and paid for
In a visionary foretelling of SMART it to be blown up from 16mm to 35mm, at the
technology (Self Monitoring and Reporting same time insisting on extensive reshoots and
Technology… supposedly), the soft sultry female additional scenes to expand the running time to
voice of the ship’s computer system (an element feature length.
Dan O’Bannon would later integrate into his This required months of new filming and
Alien screenplay) soothingly announces the post-production work from Carpenter and
life threatening situation, reports upon their O’Bannon who’d now been living and breathing
impending doom and basically wishes them Dark Star for nearly three years.
good luck. But Harris’ additional funding resulted in one
It is not without irony that Lieutenant of the movie’s most memorable and innovatively
10 INFINITY