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THE SOLARNAUTS (1967)

 
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 1:06 am    Post subject: THE SOLARNAUTS (1967) Reply with quote

THE SOLARNAUTS (1967) –
A British attempt for STAR TREK!



It’s kind of a shame that this pilot for a science fiction series didn’t get picked up. The Solarnauts combined some of the best (and worst) elements of Star Trek and Doctor Who plus Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s countless “Supermarionation” programs like Thunderbirds, Supercar, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, etc.

This program featured a Star Fleet type organization of the future and its light, fluffy adventures – adventures that wouldn’t have been out of place on 1950’s television so the show had a nice “retro” feel. I’m sure that’s why it wasn’t picked up as a series since televised sci-fi was going for a much more self-consciously serious tone by then.

The two Solarnauts who served as the show’s protagonists bore the strange names Power (John Garfield) and Tempo (Derek Fowlds). They piloted a small craft on their missions throughout the solar system, in which (in what WOULD have been the show’s canon) each planet was either colonized or had native inhabitants.



Power and Tempo, took their orders from a guy called Tri-S. Martine Beswick, (A Bond girl!) always sporting that undefinable sex appeal of hers, guest-stars as a female Solarnaut who helps Power and Tempo against the story’s bad guys.





Those bad guys are led by a tall, bald, green-skinned alien named Logik (pronounced “low-jick”, bizarrely enough), a cross between Ming the Merciless, Fu Manchu and a James Bond villain.



Logik and his race were going to be the Klingons of the show but in this episode they mostly serve as easy foils for our heroic Solarnauts. Logik’s terrorist-style plot to extort concessions from the government by unleashing deadly storms on populated planets falls apart thanks to Power, Tempo and Beswick (even fully-clothed that woman just drives a man crazy).





It’s never fair to judge a show’s potential based solely on one episode (think of how Star Trek: The Next Generation might get trashed if the first episode was all viewers had to go by) so despite the obvious shortcomings of The Solarnauts I would have loved to see what the creative team – especially Roberta Leigh – did with the series if they had had at least a six or thirteen episode window to wow us with.



“The Solarnauts” was shot in 1967 and was directed by John Llewellyn Moxey. It is a pilot for a British science fiction show that was never sold. At only 25 minutes long it’s tough to get excited about the premise of the show.

In addition to Garfield and Fowlds the show features Martine Beswick as Kandia. She works for Meteor Control and got stuck on the asteroid when Logik blew up the observatory. I don’t know if Beswick was intended to be a reoccurring character or not.

The clothing styles are a combination of shiny polyester tunics for the guys and silver lame and purple body stockings for the girls. The evil alien, Logik, sports a black open knit sweater with duct tape decorations over his shiny boiler suit. Logik himself is also shiny. The guy’s spacesuits are slightly padded polyester with helmets. Beswick’s spacesuit is silver lame. Her helmet looks like a silver rain-bonnet.

The pilot was done while “Star Trek” was in its second season. Unlike Roddenberry’s legacy, this has the look and feel of a Saturday morning children’s program. The show’s appeal seems to be limited to kids and adults who like lots of camp, slick looking miniatures and 60’s style futuristic jazz music. It reminded me a little of “Thunderbirds” but with people instead of puppets. The pilot was interesting, but I couldn’t see myself watching an actual reoccurring show on a regular basis.

Power (John Garfield) and Tempo (Derek Fowlds) belong to an interstellar space force known as the Solarnauts. The Solarnauts are dedicated to defending the Solar System from alien threats. They are part of a larger organization called the Solar System Security, SSS or Tri-S. Power and Tempo take their orders from a Tri-S representative (John Ringham).

Power and Tempo are on patrol when they see an unusual cloud heading for a planet in their sector. The cloud hovers over Colony Research Base 4. The two pilots are unable to communicate with the research base. Suddenly they are pulled into the cloud. They watch helpless as Research Base 4 is destroyed.

Tri-S receives a message from Logik (Alex Scott), an evil alien. Logik demands that Tri-S hand over the mining rights to Mars or he will destroy the planet’s capital using a poisonous cloud. The lives of 50,000 people are at stake. Logik gives Tri-S twelve hours to comply, or he will release the poison cloud.

Logik’s base is on asteroid 137 in the asteroid belt. The Space Force will not be able to arrive in time to stop Logik’s plan. The only ship close enough to reach Logik’s base in time is 2511. The pilots of 2511 are Power and Tempo. When Power and Tempo come under attack by Logik’s missiles they need to come up with a plan to avoid Logik while destroying his base before he can launch his deadly cloud.

https://www.thesilverscream.com/index.php/reviews/1975-solarnauts-the-1967

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Bud Brewster
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013
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Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 11:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Somehow this just doesn't seem to measure up to Star Trek . . . Rolling Eyes


___________________ The Solarnauts (1967)


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I watched the opening of the video above, and I was thinking exactly the same thing you said below, Gord — even though I hadn't read it yet! Laughing

Gord Green wrote:
Unlike Roddenberry’s legacy, this has the look and feel of a Saturday morning children’s program. The show’s appeal seems to be limited to kids and adults who like lots of camp, slick looking miniatures and 60’s style futuristic jazz music. It reminded me a little of “Thunderbirds” but with people instead of puppets. The pilot was interesting, but I couldn’t see myself watching an actual reoccurring show on a regular basis.

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