Charlon Heston Talks About Sci-Fi

(Click on images to enlarge.)

From the February 1980 edition of "Fantastic Films" magazine, comes this interview with Heston about his science fiction film roles and the genre in general. I've mined this issue for several other articles on my other blog "My Star Trek Scrapbook" since it partially focused on that movie, and I thought this article would be a treat for readers of "Fantastic Flashbacks."

Planet of the Apes teaching aid booklet

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Back around 1971, I was in the 5th grade and living near Parkersburg WV at the time. The English class of the school I was in (one of over 20 I attended while growing up, thanks to my itenerant construction worked stepdad) had these booklets which they handed out to the class for study, and it was the earliest exposure to the Apes phenomenon I had up to that time. It intrigued me greatly, and I was fan for many years before I ever saw any of the movies.

We weren't allowed to keep the booklet after class; I suppose they re-used them for the other students. Well, I hope they ordered some extra copies, 'cause when I left the class that day, the booklet I had went out the door with me, hidden in my binder notebook. I still have it to this day, in the same condition. I have scanned it in its entirety for your education and enjoyment. Bet you didn't know the Apes could teach you something!

And, to counteract the dry academic tone of this post, a hot image of a young Dr. Zira, posing au naturale during one of her and boyfriend Cornelius' archeological expeditions. Everyone does crazy stuff when they're younger.

"Now, Zira... you're getting that look in your eyes again. Remember, the last time you kissed a human the freakin' planet blew up!"

Superboy TV show

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Above, a full-page ad for "Superboy" in a cable-TV trade magazine.

In 1988, the "Superboy" series premiered, to my enthusiastic welcome. Although low-budget, it was an enjoyable show, which is in my opinion more enjoyable than the current "Smallville" series. John Haymes Newton, who, although a bit wooden, carried himself well in the suit and made a both a good Clark and Superboy. The flying wirework was equal to the movies, but the greenscreen flying effects were less convincing. Still, it was good to see a live-action Super-series of any kind, and was the next best thing to a Superman series.

Below, another cable trade magazine ad for the show.

And lastly, an article from Electronic Media magazine about the movie from the Disney studio to Universal. Sadly, I don't have the rest of the article.

1989 Family Channel Batman ad

(Click on image to view larger.)

This full-page ad, published in a fall 1989 cable trade magazine, is a very nice rendition of Adam West's campy Caped Crusader.

1978 "The Time Machine" TV remake

(Click to enlarge.)

Clipped from the November 4-10 1978 TV Guide. I was always a fan of George Pal's "The Time Machine," so it was with a skeptical eye that I watched this new made-for-tv version that Sunday. I even taped the audio, which I still have in a drawer somewhere with hundreds of old cassettes I can't bring myself to throw away. I shouldn't have bothered taping it, though, because it lived down to my low expectations and more.

These clippings still made it into my scrapbook, however, and they exist as proof that this telefilm did indeed exist. Did you ever see it, and if so, what memories do you have of it? My love for the Pal version probably colored my perception of this movie. For those that saw it when young, not influenced by the earlier film, it could have been something they really liked, I'm sure.

Wiki entry on the 1978 TV movie:
A low-quality TV version was made in 1978, with very unconvincing time-lapse images of building walls being de-constructed, and inexplicable geographic shifting from Los Angeles to Plymouth, Mass., and inland California. John Beck starred as Neil Perry, with Whit Bissell (from the original 1960 movie and also one of the stars of the 1966 television series The Time Tunnel) appearing as one of Perry's superiors. Though only going a few thousand years into the future, Perry finds the world of the Eloi and Morlocks, and learns the world he left will be destroyed by another of his own inventions. The character Weena was played by Priscilla Barnes of Three's Company fame.

Fantastic Films article on Outer Limits

(Click on images to enlarge.)

Scanned from my copy of the 5th issue of "Fantastic Films," published in December of 1978, is an indepth look at one of the most memorable science fiction series to come out of the 60's... which isn't Star Trek. The Outer Limits had a different monster every week, and at my tender age of six, when it first came out, it was too scary for me. Even the commercials would almost make me wet my pants, they were so terrifying! It was a few years later, when it was in rereuns, that I began to appreciate the show, and the delicious chills it brought to my spine. Even today when watching it, it takes me back to when I was 10 years old, watching it at my Grandma's house late at night. It had the best monsters anywhere, even counting the movies. I hope you enjoy this 30-year-old retrospective on this awesome 44-year-old series!

Logan's Run TV show article

Clipped the day before Halloween in 1977, from the Macon Telegraph's local TV guide. Despite having a pretty cool intro theme, and the involvement of veteran Trek writers David Gerrold and D.C. Fontana, the series never got up to running at full speed and was pretty forgettable. Tooling around in an fugly car --one of the worst-designed sci-fi vehicles ever-- and saddled with a boring robot that would have made Data look like the life of the party, they hit too many potholes in a series that really should have been renamed "Logan's Drive" to be accurate.

Basically a retread of Roddenberry's failed "Genesis II" pilot (survivors travelling around a post-apocalyptic U.S. encountering splinter groups), rather than a real sequel to the theatrical movie, the viewer was left asking "are we there yet?"

Their wheels would have made Buck Rogers lower his thumb and let them drive on by.