Five Things - 11.02.15 - I'm a Bear Called Jeremy

1. The Solarnauts – Here’s the UK’s almost-answer to Star Trek, the 1967 pilot for The Solarnauts. While Star Trek‘s a pretty good title, I think I actually prefer Solarnauts.

While both shows are very of-the-era and there are a lot of similarities between the two, the jazzy and brassy soundtrack of Solarnauts really sets it apart and traps it in the sixties. Star Trek didn’t really suffer the same fate; for all its camp and dance scenes and female alien fashions, it’s a pretty timeless show in comparison. The set design is great. There are a few neat “what-if”s, like this egg-cushioned pilot’s chair:

For the most part, though, it’s a broadly inspired design that comes up a little bland on details. Still, beautiful stuff.

It’s a flat tie with Star Trek on the planet sets, though. Solarnauts wins in the costume department, but comparing their outfits to Star Trek‘s uniforms seems like an unfair fight. These helmets!

It’s easy to see why this show wasn’t picked up – there’s not much to like about the characters, the action’s kind of iffy, and the whole thing just kind of falls stylishly flat. Still, it’s charming, and it would have been interesting to see what the series grew into if it had been picked up. Alas, this is all we have. This brassy intro song is serious business.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o4aiYOLqtk

2. Jeremy – Here’s an adorable stop-motion children’s show from TV Ontario featuring a bear called Jeremy. This show aired in the 1970s and 1980s, and it’s beautiful and impressively light on dialogue.

3. Baby Boomer – This unlicensed NES game has you manning the Zapper to shoot down threats to a baby that is crawling through heaven and hell to find….something? I guess he’s just exploring. Anyway, awful.