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SciFi TV Series 'Space Patrol Orion' Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary (wikipedia.org)
In Germany the phrase "Fallback to Earth!" is about as cult as "Engage warp drive," reports Long-time Slashdot reader Qbertino: One of the oldest science fiction TV serials, the famous German "Raumpatrouille Orion" (Space Patrol Orion) turned 50 today. Heise.de has a scoop on the anniversary in German [or roughly translated into English by Google]. The production of Space Patrol Orion predates Star Trek by roughly a year and was a huge hit in Germany, gaining the status of a "street sweeper" (Strabenfeger), referring to the effect it's airing had on public life.
The special effects are pretty good for 1966 -- you can watch episode one on YouTube. (And feel free to share other related videos in the comments.) "In the series, nations no longer exist and Earth is united," according to Wikipedia, which reports that Commander Cliff McLane and his loyal crew fight an alien race called the Frogs, and "He is notoriously defiant towards his superiors."
The special effects are pretty good for 1966 -- you can watch episode one on YouTube. (And feel free to share other related videos in the comments.) "In the series, nations no longer exist and Earth is united," according to Wikipedia, which reports that Commander Cliff McLane and his loyal crew fight an alien race called the Frogs, and "He is notoriously defiant towards his superiors."
So it's a fantasy in which Germans took over the world and are now fighting to wipe out the French???
Only seven episodes? Guess it was like "The Prisoner", where it establishes its premise and then wraps everything up. I wonder if the series ended when the spaceship achieved a victory -- or peace -- with the Frogs. (See Star Trek VI...) Surely it's just a coincidence that "frogs" is also a derogatory slang word for French people...
Actually, it ended because it was too expensive to produce - especially the special effects. They are not great, but then it was 1966, and Orion showed a lot more space action than Star Trek, where the redshirts beam down to whatever stage setting was available from the latest western or mobster movie.
The series used the English term "Frogs" even in German. Neither Frogs not "Frösche" is now or was then a derogative term for the French in German.
Stephan
I love The Prisoner. However nothing was wrapped up. I dare you to explain that last episode with the missile, the lorry, and everyone singing "dem bones".
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
"Foreign race without galactic signature."
Not exactly french, but maybe close enough, depending on your point of view. :-)
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
I prefer "Space Patrol", made in the UK in 1962.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Yeah, it's puppets, but the detail and the attention to science is really good.
No sig today...
Wikipedia puts the blame on the Czechs...
In any case; German's should in no case be allowed to dance. At best, it looks so much like marching, the French surrender.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
nuff said.
If you'd just knew how close you really are to a Nazi.
The great thing about keeping up with English subtitles derived from German dialog is that you get the challenge of keeping up with 500 words per minute. You could make a brain game or some such thing out of it.
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"...I dare you to explain that last episode ..."
Really good Acid.
This has been rumoured for decades, but a much better explanation is simply overwork. Once, I pulled 60 hours straight at the Lab, and on the way home, I saw Giraffes feeding by the Freeway. I didn't consider it particularly unusual at the time...
McGoohan wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the last episode, and he was still working on the Script as filming started. Odd things happen to and around the sleep-deprived. (Remember the Dick van Dyke Show episode where Rob attempts to stay awake for 100 hours as a publicity stunt?)
Captcha: ostrich
(At least it wasn't a Giraffe.....)