Mentioned on the "obscure SF TV series" thread, this series is also known as RAUMPATROUILLE ORION and RAUMPATROUILLE - Die phantastischen Abenteuer des Raumschiffes Orion, which latter more or less encapsulates the concept.
A tie with STAR TREK--first broadcast in the Fall 1966 season, which with German TV switching to color the next year meant an entirely b&w series as the series was not renewed. 7 one hour episodes in all.
I read a rumor that scenes in the underwater public mall in some episodes were shot in color to accommodate blue screen addition of giant fish seen outside the generous "sky"-light windows.
Some somewhat cliche sci-fi elements included the makes-his-own-rules ship commander and his loyal crew, an outsider sent by central control to counter the rule-breaking, time-consuming launch sequences, red-tape (and curmudgeonly but respected) remote officials, cocktail lounge recreation time and co-ordinated choreographed mass dancing of the future.
It lacks the engineering-derived ships and machinery of STAR TREK or NASA. The Googie-like designs might have been a hold-over from postwar industrial design in Europe generally but the Streamline Moderne is missing. Their shuttles had great bubble-windows and many of them, just shy of bubble wrap density. The pilot chairs and other personnel chairs are somewhat comfy looking but lack seatbelts so guess what happens when a ship is jostled.
Even without English dubs the characterizations of the scant handful of crew members comes through and you quickly develop a like for the group dynamic and also know what to expect from the soon-to-be-cherished individuals. The women wear pants like the men so objectification of them is held down on that score, but traditional leering is allowed the men between space emergencies.
A tie with STAR TREK--first broadcast in the Fall 1966 season, which with German TV switching to color the next year meant an entirely b&w series as the series was not renewed. 7 one hour episodes in all.
I read a rumor that scenes in the underwater public mall in some episodes were shot in color to accommodate blue screen addition of giant fish seen outside the generous "sky"-light windows.
Some somewhat cliche sci-fi elements included the makes-his-own-rules ship commander and his loyal crew, an outsider sent by central control to counter the rule-breaking, time-consuming launch sequences, red-tape (and curmudgeonly but respected) remote officials, cocktail lounge recreation time and co-ordinated choreographed mass dancing of the future.
It lacks the engineering-derived ships and machinery of STAR TREK or NASA. The Googie-like designs might have been a hold-over from postwar industrial design in Europe generally but the Streamline Moderne is missing. Their shuttles had great bubble-windows and many of them, just shy of bubble wrap density. The pilot chairs and other personnel chairs are somewhat comfy looking but lack seatbelts so guess what happens when a ship is jostled.
Even without English dubs the characterizations of the scant handful of crew members comes through and you quickly develop a like for the group dynamic and also know what to expect from the soon-to-be-cherished individuals. The women wear pants like the men so objectification of them is held down on that score, but traditional leering is allowed the men between space emergencies.
statistics: Posted by kcor — 11:39 PM - 1 day ago — Replies 6 — Views 278