ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Here's what our Featured Threads has to offer today.

~ A thread about a failed Roddenberry series which, frankly, never thrilled me.

~ A sincere plea by yours truly for mankind to give us the dumb idea of ever going to that dead and useless planet called Mars. (Seriously . . . what's the point? )

~ And a careful examination of the pros and cons of Abbott and Costello Go to Mars.

Obviously, this is one of the pros . . .



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Earth 2 (1994-1995)



I vaguely remember this show, but I never watched it. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about it.
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Earth 2 is an American science fiction television series which aired on NBC from November 6, 1994 to June 4, 1995. The show was canceled after one season of 22 episodes. It follows the journey and settlement of a small expeditionary group called the Eden Project, with the intent to journey to an Earth-like planet called G889 in an attempt to find a cure to an illness called "the syndrome".

The series was created by Michael Duggan, Carol Flint, Mark Levin, and Billy Ray, produced by Amblin Entertainment and Universal Television, and filmed primarily in northern New Mexico around the Santa Fe area. The series' music was composed by David Bergeaud, and the executive producers were Michael Duggan, Mark Levin, and Carol Flint.

Initially, the show's audience was quite large, reaching eighth place; however, by April 23 of the next year, Nielsen ratings share had dropped from 23% to 9%. During its run, it had been nominated for a Primetime Emmy, Saturn, and other awards. In 2005, the entire series was released on DVD in a 4-disc set.
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Well, dang my hide! Now I want to see this! Here's the trailer on YouTube. It looks great. Netflix has it as a streaming video, so I've added it to my list.


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Why I DON'T want us to go to Mars

Surprisingly enough, I'm sort of against manned missions to Mars.

I mean, what's the point? We spend billions of dollars, we endanger the lives of brave people, and we have to wait a year just for them to call and say. "Hey, folks! Traffic was light and we arrived safe and sound. Wish you were here!"





And if we're real lucky, our astronauts will find . . . bacteria.

Jeez, we're up to our snoz in bacteria, right here on Earth. My kitchen has a couple of million varieties, even after I clean it!

I know, I know. We want Martian bacteria. But again, why?

To prove life can evolve? The only people who don't believe that already are the folks convinced God made it all, both here and everywhere else. We're not going to solve that question with a Petri dish filled Marvin the Martian Microbe.

So far, I still don't get the point.

Okay, so maybe we should go to Mars to learn if we can establish colonies on other planets. It that it?

Again, why? If we want colonies in space, the Moon is much closer and the weather is better. No sandstorms.

Build them at the lunar North and South poles and you'll never even have to wear sun block while your gazing up through the transparent dome at the stars. Meanwhile, the sun will obediently go 'round and 'round the horizon, providing solar power all the time.





And since there's no sandstorms, the solar panels won't blow over the way they would on Mars while they're desperately struggling to squeeze a little power out a sun that's 34 million miles further away.





Is the Moon sounding better to you yet? If not, here's more good news.

Observatories on the Moon don't have any atmosphere to peer through, and since the moon takes 28 days for each rotation, the telescopes will have long attention spans when asked to concentrate on a given star, nebulae, or galaxy.

But on Mars . . . well, not so great for observatories. Worse than Earth, actually.

So, when it comes to celestial real estate, Mars is a bad investment. It's located in the boondocks (like northern Texas, only more so), it's windy and cold (like Minnesota, only worse).

The Moon, however, is 142 times closer to us. Compared to Mars, it's conveniently located to schools, hospitals, and shopping. It's always sunny, and it has a great view of Earth if you buy property on the good side of town.





Ladies and gentlemen, I'm voting for a stylish Howard Johnson on the Moon, instead of a Motel 6 on Mars.

Anybody agree?
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Abbott & Costello go to Mars (1953)




Bud and Lou play maintenance men who accidentally blast off in an experimental rocket. Despite the movie's title, they don't actually go to Mars, they go to Venus — and only during the last twenty-five minutes of the film.

Before they get there they waste thirty minutes of the story by landing in New Orleans — which they think is Mars. Two escaped criminals stowaway aboard ship and try to hi-jack the rocket after a second accidental lift-off, but the boys outwit them and the rocket finally lands on Venus.





Admittedly Venus is worth the wait; all the Venusians are gorgeous contestants from the Miss Universe Pageant, and their queen is Maria Blanchard ("She Devil"). Anita Ekberg (Miss Sweden) is one of the gals, but you'll have to look quick to spot her. Sets, props, and special effects are excellent.





Watch for several props which were also used in other Universal sci-fi films (the death ray device in "It Came from Outer Space" and the bullet-car from "This Island Earth"). Not the funniest A & C comedy, but decidedly enjoyable for sci-fi fans. Don't miss it. Directed by Charles Lamont.

This is not a great movie, but it sure provides us with some nice pictures, eh?








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Model maker Brent Gair's great rendition of the rocket.





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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)