ALL SCI-FI

Pow · Posted: Sat May 15, 2021 12:38 am Post subject:

Bruce, you have paid me numerous compliments in the past, so it is only fair that we praise your efforts.

I know what you mean in regards to not always having an insightful response to another member's post, even if it has been a wonderful post.

At times I will read your post or someone else's post and find it quite interesting, even if I can not add any p.o.v. or trivia to it. So I don't.

But that doesn't mean I should not salute you or another member on your post.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat May 15, 2021 1:03 pm Post subject:

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Qatlho, wIj jup!

(That's "Thank you, my friend" . . . in Klingon. Seriously.) Cool

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

Pow · Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 2:20 pm Post subject:

Watching the March 21, 1963 episode "Uncle Billy's Visit," on Leave It To Beaver, we see the Beav pull a fast one.

His buddy Gilbert (Steven Talbot) doesn't have enough money to see a movie with Beav and another pal.

They concoct a scheme where Beav & their other friend will pay for their movie tickets and then get seated. Gilbert will be waiting outside one of the theater's fire exits located where Beav is sitting. Gilbert will give a prearranged signal from outside, at that point Beav will calmly act like he needed some fresh air and open the fire door and covertly let in Gilbert to the theater.

The usher catches 'em and takes Beav and Gilbert to the theater owner's office.

The owner, Mr. Gaines, then calls the Cleaver house to report the incident. Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver are away on a trip; so visiting Uncle Billy (Edgar Buchanan) who is staying with Wally & Beav comes down to the movie office to discuss things with Mr. Gaines.

So as I'm listening to Gaines & Uncle Billy talk about the incident something seems awfully familiar to me about Gaines very impressive and resonant voice.

It turns out he is played by William Woodson (July 16, 1917~ February 22, 2017).

Otherwise known as the narrator for The Invaders.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 3:15 pm Post subject:

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Great story, Mike.

I have a good ear for distinctive voices, and I delight in spotting known voice talents while watching classic movies and TV shows. Even when an actor is much older or much younger than he-or-she was in the roles I'm familiar with, I'll quickly realize that I've heard them before, and then I'll wrestle with my memory to figure out who they are.

Thanks for sharing your own experience in spotting a famous voice actor from a sci-fi series. Very Happy

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

Pow · Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 5:55 pm Post subject:

I'm like you Bruce in that I get a kick of spotting actors that turn up on a TV series that I can connect to other TV shows they appeared in.

Right now I'm watching an episode of the TV western series Cheyenne titled "Renegades" from February 11, 1958.

I recognized guest star Peter Brown right away. He played Texas Ranger Chad Cooper on the NBC western Laredo (1965~1967) that I like so much.

Tougher was catching on to one of the Indians under all his war paint, but his voice is what I picked up on. It's Michael Forest who played Apollo on the ST:TOS episode "Who Mourns For Adonais?"

As you write, a distinctive voice can set off your radar regarding actors.

Anyways, I sure hope that the Beav and Gilbert learned their lessons.

Pow · Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2023 5:10 pm Post subject:

"The Life Seekers," March 5, 1968.

A pair of aliens (Barry Morse & Diana Muldaur) offer to stop the invasion if David will help them avoid capture by two groups that want to kill them: their superiors and Earth authorities.

Keith (Barry Morse) to David Vincent: "With ten million planets to choose from, it would be crazy to continue our fight against this world.

As soon as I realized this, I planned to return to my planet to stop the impending massacre. That's when they decided to kill me.

The human brain is a subtle, complex and highly effective organ. It would be a crime against creation to destroy it. I have many powerful friends on my planet, leaders. I have this briefcase here, it's a memory accumulator. It contains a million facts, about mankind, his philosophy, his science, his civilization and with it that would convince many."

So Keith's statements open up a host of questions about the Invaders.

Does Keith literally mean that his race has 10,000,000 planets that they could inhabit? Seems astonishing that they have located that many worlds to settle.

Why was our Earth chosen in the first place then?

I would assume that there might have been some uninhabited planets that the aliens could much more easily occupy, without having to launch an infiltration & potential war with an established society.

Were there any such worlds where the inhabitants were vastly behind Earth technologically? They'd also be easier to invade if the inhabitants were all living in caves. Not that that is fair to them, but the aliens would certainly take that in to account.

There was an episode where it was established that the Invaders were going to have to alter the Earth's atmosphere in order to exist upon it. Were they unable to locate among these millions of other planets none that had an atmosphere similar as their own?

Could this alien brief case that holds the "memory accumulator" actually sway the aliens? Could it show them that humanity is its own worse enemy, erasing them would only be doing what they themselves are hellbent on doing to one another. Humans are killing one another and their own planet.

In any event, the dialogue written for Keith in that scene sure raises tons of questions.

Pow · Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 7:37 am Post subject:

The January 19, 1967 Invaders premiere/pilot episode, "Beachhead," had 11-minutes edited out of it.

Extended Version: David Vincent (Roy Thinnes) sketches the alien space ship he saw at his friend & business partner Alan Landers place (James Daly). The two of them discuss David's strange experience with the flying saucer. David remarks, "They're here, maybe just to look us over. I hope that's all."

Extended Version: After Landers leaves David in the hospital visitors' room, an old lady (Ellen Corby) approaches David and tells him, "You are not alone," adding that she has had contact with aliens from an early age. She then shows David the local newspaper which has as its headline in bold letters, ARCHITECT CLAIMS INVASION FROM OUTER SPACE. She goes on to tell David that the aliens are "friendly little creatures." After he leaves her we see her hands have the extended pinky fingers.

There are a few more scenes not seen in the original broadcast that I didn't list here, but I thought these were the most pertinent ones.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 4:08 pm Post subject:

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This great series is far better than some which succeeded in the 1960s, like Lost in Space for example.

And the producers of this series had plans for a third season that would have allowed the story to evolve from its The Fugitive aspects, when David Vincent (Roy Thines) finally manages to join a growing resistance who opposed the aliens.

The frustration that viewers feel while poor David Vincent struggles to warn the world about the aliens shouldn't be prolonged, and season three could offer the change the series needed.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Pow · Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2024 10:06 pm Post subject:

Bud & I just watched the Invaders episode "The Spores" yesterday with guest star Gene Hackman. Found this mention of that episode in Quin Martin, Producer: A Behind-the-Scenes-History of QM Productions and Its Founder, by Jonathan Etter.

"For the climax of the Gene Hackman guest shot, "The Spores," the special effects people planned on blowing out a couple of panes of glass in a greenhouse. Instead they blew up the greenhouse. For some reason or other, filming of the sequence had been delayed. When it finally came time to shoot, the special effects people forgot that they'd filled the containers with gasoline. They added more gas. The greenhouse was right near Interstate 5. When they blew up that thing, it blew up like Hiroshima. Traffic on the freeway came to a screeching halt, cars bumped into each other, a major ambulance accident resulted. Hackman watching this all unfold yelled out 'Holy shit.' "

Bud Brewster · Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2024 4:25 pm Post subject:

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Pow and I have been doing synchro-cinema chat sessions with this series on Wednesday afternoons at 4:00 for the last few months.

We're are up to season 2 episode 14, the one called The Believers, and we agree that the series made it's audience wait quite a long time for David Vincent to finally join up with a significant number of humans who knew about the aliens.

Pow and I have talked about the possibility that this decision might have put off some viewers who were frustrated week-after-week by the fact that David Vincent repeatedly failed to convince other people about the invasion, or that the few folks who did become convinced were killed off by the end of each episode. Rolling Eyes

Pow has told me that part of the reason for this was the fact that producer Quinn Martin was deliberately making this series similar to the his big hit, The Fugitive.

I actually think this was a good idea, but with The Invaders it was a mistake to drag out the "one man alone and one the run" aspect through season one and well into season two.

Watching poor David Vincent strike out week-after-week as he tried warn mankind about the invaders eventually began to make humanity look like a bunch of morons! Confused

Pow owns several reference books about the show, and he's told me that there were plans for the unmade season three which would expand mankind' awareness of the alien invasion.

It's a shame that we'll never get to see that happen.

And just for the record, I STILL think my modified saucer looks a hell of lot better than the clunky original! Confused

It's like a Jaguar compared to a VW Bug! Rolling Eyes

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

Bud Brewster · Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2024 5:17 pm Post subject:

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I love this series because of all the great ideas and wonderful stories it tells. Cool

However, any intelligent science fiction enthusiast who watches the show will frequently roll his eyes at some of the illogical moments that occur in even the best episodes. Rolling Eyes

Long-time ASF member Pow and I have been doing regular synchro-cinemas in All Sci-Fi's Chatzy Room (< — LINK) every Wednesday, and we're about 3/4 of the way through the whole series! Very Happy

I've been enduring these flaws and still enjoying the episodes. Frankly, Pow has spotted errors in the stories that I didn't even catch! Shocked

However, one of the errors in the show that Pow and I agree on is the fact that David Vincent rarely carries a gun . . . even though he knows damn well that he can simply shoot any alien and cause him to burn up instantly! No legal repercussions. because there's never a body! Very Happy

But the poor guy rarely carries a gun — and when he does, it's just a puny little snub-nosed 38! Why isn't David Vincent packing a high caliber automatic in a shoulder holster, with a few extra clips! Rolling Eyes

Folks, the defender of Earth against an alien invasion doesn't seem to very well armed! Shocked

However, the flaws I mentioned above don't spoil the viewers' enjoyment of these great episodes. They're sort of like the pimples on the face of a pretty girl you took out on a date. She's pretty . . . but she's not exactly perfect. Confused

So, my advice to all you science fiction fans out there is to forgive the pimples on this lovely show and fall in love with it because her virtues simply outweigh her flaws. Cool

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

mach7 · Quantum Engineer Joined: 23 Apr 2015 Posts: 379

I always thought of Vincent not carrying a gun as a choice.

Plus a gun limits the plot situations.

Anyway, I love this show. Plot holes and all.

scotpens · Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2024 9:39 pm Post subject:

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2024 7:27 pm Post subject:

Pow · Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2024 10:03 pm Post subject:

It just occurred to me that the saucer from Forbidden Planet and the saucer from Earth vs The Flying Saucers share a similar design detail. Both starships have a massive tube-like structure on the bottom center of their vessels that extend & retract.

In the case of the FP craft, it serves as a landing support. For the Harryhausen movie, the tube serves the same function, while also being the way that the aliens exit and enter their ship.

These saucers, along with Klaatu's ship were all marvelous looking crafts. They all shared the basic flying saucer design, yet, they all had their own uniqueness to them.