Midnight Movies

Sid and Marty Krofft are the brothers and producing partners behind several of the most beloved (and, let’s face it, trippy) children’s television shows of the 1970s. The Kroffts produced “H.R. Pufnstuf,” “The Bugaloos,” “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters” and “Land of the Lost,” among others.

Join both of them for an online discussion on Tuesday, June 2 at 2 p.m. ET to discuss their careers in television as well as the upcoming movie adaptation of “Land of the Lost,” on which the Kroffts also serve as producers.

“Land of the Lost” opens in theaters on Friday.

A transcript follows.

____________________

Arlington, Va.: Hi guys,

I loved the show y’all produced with Ruth Buzzi and that semi-alive dune buggy (which probably dates me right there). What was it called again?

What were your creative influences? How did you get started in show business?

Sid Krofft: This is my 68th year in show business and I started as a puppeteer and our career has been like a huge snowball. We were the opening act for Judy Garland, I toured all over Europe with my act, I was at the Lido in Paris for two years and I am going back and forth. When I was 16 I was with the Ringling Bros Circus in the side show as the world’s youngest puppeteer.

The reason we got into television is because we were the creative heads of all the Six Flag parks. We were approached by Hanna Barbera to create and manufacture the suits for the Banana Split characters because we were the only ones doing anything like that. Because of the Banana Splits, NBC approached to do our own show and that became HR Pufnstuf.

The Ruth Buzzi show was called “Lost Saucer.” That was probably our 8th or 9th or 10th show, I don’t know.

Marty Krofft: Ruth Buzzi also starred with Jim Nabors in “Lost Saucer.”

_______________________

Colorado: Dear Sid and Marty,

We just caught a re-run of the original “Land of the Lost” on TV, and my 6-year-old son loved it. So we’ve rented the whole series, and he’s slowly watching a little every day. What has struck me now that I’m seeing it as an adult (I’m 42 now, and suppose I was probably 8 or 9 when it was out), is both the imaginative quality of the writing and the character-building emphasis with the father explaining what is right and wrong to the kids. I’d much rather have my kids watch this than “iCarly” or Disney Channel. God forbid a kid’s show be creative these days.

I’m curious what you think has changed in TV and kids shows since the 70s? (My feeling is that kids shows now all seem to be based on teenage or pre-teen social interactions, and there’s little imagination left.)

Marty Krofft: There are little budgets left to do show likes ours. We got very little money in those days and we funded the rest. Networks will not pay to do these kinds of shows again.

Sid Krofft: When we produced our shows, we wanted Mom and Dad to watch it with the kids. We did not want to do a show that was just a babysitter. We also know that kids went to school five days a week and Saturday was their day.

We wanted to put a message in there but we were very careful on how we did it. It was done with a little sense of humor. And the shows were always written up, not down for the children. For instance, in “H.R. Pufnstuf,” Dr. Blinky’s house had a fireplace that smoked too much and the whole house had a terrible cough and ended up on crutches. The chimney stack had a headache from the smoke.

That was how we approached teaching children a lesson.

Marty Krofft: In “Land of the Lost,” the series and the movie, the Pakunis had their own language. We went to a professor, Gloria Ronkin at UCLA who created a dictionary of Pakuny language. In the movie, we upgraded the Pakuni language, so we don’t know what to call that. But it works.

You have to know that the difference between the series and the movie. The show we had was dramatic and there were dinosaurs. And in the movie there is major comedy and jeopardy so Chaka is funny in the movie but wasn’t in the series. Very funny.

Sid Krofft: “Land of the Lost” was our fifth show for Saturday morning television. Our first shoe qas Pufnstuff, then came Bugaloos and Lidsville and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.

When we were ready to come up with our fifth show, all those kids that watched our first four shows were teenagers so we wanted to do a show for them and all the other kids. The idea that we had was dinosaurs because every kid and every adult on the planet has a fascination and love for dinosaurs. And we gave it a Swiss Family Robinson background, and oddly enough the first title we gave this show was “Lost.” When we looked at that one word, we said “What does that mean? It needs a place.” So we ended up calling it “Land of the Lost.”

When I was 11 years old, our dad took me to see the very first movie done with moving dinosaurs. It was called “One Million B.C.” with Victor Mature, and not only did it scare the hell out of me, it just gave me a lasting impressions. That’s why dinosaurs was our fifth show, I guess.

_______________________

Los Angeles, CA.: Did you get to work with Will Ferrell? If you did, what it like to work with him? Does he ever suddenly go into character as George Bush or anyone else?

Sid Krofft: Will Ferrell is probably the nicest guy on the planet. He came to work totally prepared. We had a five month shoot on this movie and there was never, ever one problem, not only with the actors but we never had a problem with the whole movie.

Will Ferrell yesterday said to Marty and myself, “You guys are so cool, and this has been the coolest project I have ever been on.” And I said, “It’s great that you say that because we have always been accused of being hip and trippy. So now we can say we’re cool, hip and trippy.” And when you go to see the movie, all those three things are definitely in it. “Land of the Lost” is very Krofft.

_______________________

Bring back Lidsville!!: I miss it!

Marty Krofft: We have a deal at Sony for a “H.R. Pufnstuf” movie, and we have the director who directed “Shrek” and “Monsters vs. Aliens,” Conrad Vernon. We’ve got Dennis McNichols, who wrote “Land of the Lost,” writing “Pufnstuf.”

We’re developing “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters” as a movie for Universal. And we have Dana Gould, from “The Simpsons,” writing the script for the movie.

Yes, it is in the back of our minds to develop “Lidsville,” one of our favorite shows. And we think Jim Carrey would make a great Hoodoo.

_______________________

Brooklyn, NY: What is Chaka doing now? And was Chaka a boy or a girl?

Sid Krofft: In the series, Chaka was 10 years old. He was a black belt and a great little actor. When he came in to audition, immediately that was Chaka. His name was Philip Paley.

Marty Krofft: In the movie Chaka is played by an actor from “Saturday Night Light,” and he’s a home run, Jorna Taccone.

_______________________

Washington: I used to live in England where I heard about HR Pufnstuff. But everyone there is convinced it was an entirely drug-enduced production. Can you lay the rumors to rest?

Sid Krofft: If we did the drugs that we’ve been accused of doing all these years, we wouldn’t be here answering your questions. I just want to make one thing really, really clear. When we created these shows it was all through the ’70s, and those were the psychedelic years.

Sid and Marty Krofft have always moved with the times, and when you go to see “Land of the Lost” the movie, you will see that we brought it up to the year 2009. Because that show alone was done 35 years ago. And the reason the shows were so bright and colored is because in the ‘40 and ’50s we had movies in Technicolor. Bright colors make you smile and make you happy. So that’s why all of our shows were really bright. We wanted you to have a good time watching them.

_______________________

Denver, Colo.: I happened upon the Memorial Day LOTL marathon on the SciFi Channel and got sucked in. I watched these as a kid when they originally ran (10-13 year old boy… right in the target demo).

I had vague memories of it. I remembered Chaka and the Sleestaks and the goofy (I mean that in the best way) dinosaurs, but that was about it.

What really impressed me upon revisiting LOTL was the writing (especially Seasons 1 & 2). You brought in some established heavy-hitters in science fiction: Larry Niven, Theodore Sturgeon, David Gerrold, Ben Bova, D.C. Fontana. What was that like? Did they help inform the sensibilities of the show, or was the nature of the “closed universe” already established in your minds?

Marty Krofft: These guys you mention were from “Star Trek.” We weren’t stupid.

Creation, creating something isn’t like an artist in a closet painting. We start the thing, we initiate it, and there are people working all around us to get things. It was collaborative. You can create something and other people come in and add so much to it.

Sid Krofft: If you look at the credits of all of our shows, you will discover the most famous people in our business because they always wanted to get involved with our shows because they were so different and creative.

Marty Krofft: When we did it when our career began in television, everybody that were kids that were watching have all grown up. Now they’re the heads of studios, they’re art directors, they’re directors, they’re actors. That’s how we pull them in now. Everyone that worked on “Land of the Lost” the movie was a fan of our shows. They all grew up on it so it’s a lot easier now to get great talent.

Not only that but the head of Universal — he was our agent and we were his first clients.

_______________________

Marty Krofft: We made all the kids happy in the ’70s. We gave them great Saturday mornings. And now they’re over 30 and we want them all to come see the “Land of the Lost” movie, Friday the 5th, for payback. And I’m not kidding.

Thanks for all the questions and for checking in with us all these years. You were very loyal to us and we will remain loyal to you.

Sid Krofft: And the best is yet to come.

Source  - www.washingtonpost.com

As spring draws to a close and the summer movie season boils up to full steam, DVD distributors are working diligently to give you a reason to stay home and watch TV with a gamut-running slew of new, nerd-friendly titles. Wired.com selected a few of the must-haves of the season:

The Transformers: The Complete First Season: When Shout Factory signed a deal with Hasbro, it quickly announced the release of the first season of Transformers to coincide with the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. This 25th-anniversary DVD (right, top) hits June 16 and features all Season 1 episodes, remastered audio, a collectible Autobots magnet and bonus content.

Top Gear, Season 10: You wouldn’t think a car show would earn accolades, but Top Gear is consistently one of the most entertaining and irreverent shows on television. Including legitimate tests of supercars and more affordable vehicles, the show also hangs its hat on amusing stunts like a 250-plus MPH Bugatti Veyron racing a British fighter jet.

Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy and American Dad, Volume 4: Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane serves up a double feature with two very different styles. The fourth season of American Dad departed from wholesale mockery of conservatives and the Bush administration to build more compelling comedic stories around the show’s established and supporting characters.

Meanwhile, the Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy was originally a series of shorts produced in conjunction with a Burger King promotion. The DVD collects all 50 short animated sketches and assembles in a simple succession. Imagine Family Guy’s asides without any plot to surround them. While some fall flat, this reporter is ashamed to have laughed himself silly watching Fred Flintstone go to the bathroom.

Doctor Who: “Attack of the Cyberman“, “The Rescue/The Romans“, “The E-Space Trilogy“, “Battlefield“: Spring’s Doctor Who releases span four eras of the show’s 45-plus year history.

Combining two episodes from the First Doctor (William Hartnell) era, “The Rescue/The Romans” shows the series’ early efforts to mix straight-up sci-fi stories with historical adventures. “The E-Space Trilogy” features the beginning of the end for Tom Baker’s seven years as The Fourth Doctor. The three alternate universe stories also offer the introduction of Adric (one of The Doctor’s less popular companions).

“Attack of the Cyberman” (right, middle) marked a return to the history of Doctor Who with a revisiting of two classic episodes, Hartnell’s “The Unearthly Child” and Patrick Troughton’s “Tomb of the Cybermen.” Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor goes to war against an archnemesis in a story that’s a little all over the place, but still entertaining.

Finally, Battlefield is one of Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy’s most enjoyable yarns, featuring a sci-fi retelling of the Arthurian legend and the return of the beloved Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

Venture Brothers Season 3: This ingenious and inspired Adult Swim show doesn’t get enough press and deserves far more accolades than it’s pulling down. One of the best-written shows on all of television, it’s taken what was a safe concept of spoofing Jonny Quest and escalated into a richly nuanced world full of distinct characters. This DVD volume of its third season features completely uncensored episodes.

The Invisibles, Season 1: This little-known BBC comedy/drama is just making its way overseas and features Anthony Head (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who) as an aging thief who retires to a small English village only to find his old habits irresistible.

24, Season 7: This frantic go-around just wrapped up recently on Fox, but it’s already in stores. Delayed a year by star Kiefer Sutherland’s legal troubles, the seventh season (the first in the Obama era) kept to its central themes and maintained strong audience numbers.

RiffTrax — “Carnival of Souls,” “House on Haunted Hill,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Missile to the Moon,” “Night of the Living Dead,” “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” “Reefer Madness,” “Swing Parade” and ”Shorts: Vol. 2″: The DVD selection at RiffTrax (right, bottom) exploded recently with the release of a series of cult classics with commentary by Mystery Science Theater 3000’s Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett.

Originally published by Legend Films with comments from Nelson on his own, the entire series is being rereleased with triple-team wisecracks for the first time.

Source - www.wired.com/underwire

Kathy Coleman will play a cameo role in ‘Land of the Lost’ movie slated to release on June 5th. Kathy is a child actress who is known for playing Holly Marshall in the original 1974 TV series on which this movie is based. The film is directed by Brad Silberling and stars Will Ferrell.

The ‘Land of the Lost’ film follows “a disgraced paleontologist, his assistant, and a macho tour guide who find themselves in a strange, alternate world inhabited by dinosaurs, monkey people and reptilian Sleestaks.”

Land of the Lost TV series was created and produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. During its original run, it was broadcast on the NBC television network. It was not, however, a prime-time series. It has since become a cult classic and is now available on DVD. It was shot in Los Angeles, California.

Excel Home Videos has released two scifi films like X-Files - I Want To Believe and Babylon AD on DVD. The films based on science fiction and sci-fi action promises to be a treat for lovers of the genre.Both the DVDs will be available in all leading stores for Rs 399.

Incidentally, The X- Files: I Want To Believe is the second feature film based on Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning American cult television series The X- Files.

The X-Files had become the longest-running science fiction series ever on US broadcast television by its final airing and was rated as one of the greatest cult television show by TV Guide. In 2007, Time magazine included it on a list of the ‘100 best TV shows of all time’.

Directed by series creator Chris Carter from a story he penned with executive producer Frank Spotnitz, The X-Files: I Want To Believe is a standalone story described as a “skillful thriller” (Roger Ebert; Chicago Sun-Times) that picks up six years after the series ended.

Bonus features included in the DVD are: audio commentary by director Chris Carter and producer Frank Spotnitz, deleted scenes, gag reel, featurettes and ‘Dying to live’ by Xzibit.

In Babylon AD Vin Diesel is back at his best on a mission to save the future of mankind. Based on the critically-acclaimed French novel Babylon Babies by Maurice.G.Dantec, Babylon AD is directed by Mathieu Kassovitz (of Gothika and Assassins fame) and stars Vin Diesel (of Saving Private Ryan, The Chronicles of Riddick fame) as Toorop, French actress Mélanie Thierry and martial arts star Michelle Yeoh (of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame).

The DVD is loaded with action packed bonus features that include an extended unrated cut, multiple featurettes and picture-in-picture behind-the-scenes footage.

Bonus features found in the DVD are Babylon Babies, Artic Escape, Featurettes, deleted scenes, prequel to Babylon AD and still gallery.

Source - www.indiantelevision.com

Moviemaker talks about the prequel, memories … and eyebrows.

J.J. Abrams, collector of cult audiences with his creations that include “Lost,” “Heroes,” “Fringe” (and that great misunderstood monster movie “Cloverfield”) has now taken on the mother of all cult audiences: “Star Trek.”

In his new anticipated blockbuster, which opened Thursday, Abrams goes back to the childhoods of Spock and James T. Kirk, creating a prequel that the trekkie and the trek-phobic can both cheer.

The AJC wedged in an interview with the director between television appearances.

Q: This movie is Star Trek 11, but we notice you left off the number. Are you trying to pretend the other movies didn’t happen?

A: “This is its own thing. It’s a re-start. The key thing for me is for people to know that you never have to have seen any ‘Star Trek’ to see this movie.”

Q: What was your first experience with “Star Trek”?

A: “I remember being in elementary school and there was a kid who just loved it. … I watched the show a couple of times.”

Q: Did he smell bad and sit by himself at lunch?

A: “This guy was actually not an uncool guy. He was a regular kid, he played sports. … I remember that I didn’t connect with it.”

Q: Then “Star Wars” came along.

A: “When ‘Star Wars’ came out, it blew my mind; it was awe-inspiring. It not only did what any great story does, which was introduce relatable characters who are thrust into extraordinary situations, but unlike ‘Star Trek’ it gave you a ground floor entry point into who the people were. And it was funny.”

Q: How do you compete with that?

A: “It’s not about a competition between the two … In my head I felt like I was a little bit paralyzed by the brilliant work of George Lucas and his team. The reason I ended up taking on this movie as a director is that when I read the script the story was so much fun; the characters were so much fun. The comedy of it for me was great. I thought, ‘My gosh, I kind of love these people.’ “

Q: In the early seasons of “Heroes” viewers said Zach Quinto (Sylar) looked like Spock. Did this make you cast him as young Spock?

A: “I did not cast him only because he looked like him, but it did not hurt that when he walked in, I almost gasped at the eerie similarity between him and Nimoy. That had an impact.”

Q: Plus he was willing to shave off his eyebrows.

A: “Right. I told him, ‘They’ll grow back.’ Then I asked [the producer] ‘They will grow back, won’t they?’ “

Source - http://www.ajc.com

The best Reaper for last?

May 27, 2009 - With the chances of renewal for this cult favorite series looking grim, the writers pulled out all the stops for the final episode of the second season and have produced one of the most entertaining and hilarious hours of television this season in the process. For those who have been following Sam’s season-long quest to get out of his deal with the Devil, this is where Sam finally gets his chance to challenge the Devil.

It’s been revealed earlier this season that in order to cancel his contract with the Devil, Sam’s going to have to challenge the Devil to some form of contest and win. The real challenge for Sam is to find something he’s good enough at to challenge the Devil with. There’s an absolutely hilarious scene with a clarinet where Sam actually thinks that playing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” is a significant demonstration of talent that is going to somehow work in defeating the Devil. It didn’t help that both Ben and Sock were cheering him on thinking Sam was doing great. This sense of earnest cluelessness is something that will definitely be missed.

After finally figuring out that he’s really good at bouncing a quarter into a shot glass, Sam (with the help of Steve who comes back as an entry-level angel) Sam figures out the incantation needed to summon the Devil for the challenge. Things don’t turn out so well the first time, as the game of quarters ends in a draw, which isn’t good enough to beat the Devil. With all hope seemingly lost, Andi puts her own soul on the line and gets Sam to challenge the Devil again. With a little help from Gladys, Sam and Andi figure out that the best way to beat the Devil is to distract him with a mirror. The plan almost works, but Steve’s heavenly bone-breaking intervention dashes Sam’s hopes of victory.

Why did Steve break Sam’s hand? Apparently, it’s all part of a bigger plan by the man upstairs, and that having the Devil own both Sam and Andi’s souls is part of the greater good. We see Steve get his angel wings and fly away reassuring Sam that he’s not alone. He’s obviously won favor with God for his actions – but why? Why put Sam through all this suffering – and why drag Andi into this mess as well? Maybe some divine intervention will help get these questions answered via syndication next season.

The other major development in this episode revolves around Ben, Nina and Sock. Ben’s grandmother thinks that if she gets an exorcism performed on Nina, she’ll be cured and be worthy of acceptance in the Gonzalez family. It’s nice to finally see Ben stand up for his girlfriend, when he outright refuses the procedure. When Nina sees that she would be the cause of tearing the family apart – she agrees to the exorcism, despite the fact that she might end up getting sent back to Hell in the process. This leads to Sock opening up a farewell letter she leaves behind for Ben, and jumping into action to try and rescue her. Unfortunately, Sock is high and hallucinating from a toad inadvertently jumping into his drink. It’s hilarious and touching at the same time.

For a series whose future is still up in the air, the writers did a fine job in giving the show some kind of conclusion (Sam and Andi do get back together), but leave the door wide open for future seasons. Lots of unanswered questions remain, and it would be a shame not to find out where things go from here. Nevertheless, this was a very enjoyable ride for the last two seasons. Memorable characters, a very compelling storyline, and some of the funniest moments I’ve seen on television will be ultimately be Reaper’s legacy.

Source - http://tv.ign.com

A TV cult classic is reborn and multiplied online

When the Sci Fi Channel canceled Mystery Science Theater 3000 in 1999, a strange yet wonderful era came to a close. The long-running series had built a cult audience by applying a fresh twist on a time-honored TV convention: Instead of having a quirky host merely introduce various B movies, Mystery Science Theater had its host —along with two puppet robots— mock the movies while they ran.

The trio worked best with solidly bad material, from the Godzilla and Gamera pictures to films, such as Monster A-Go Go, that could only aspire to the production values of cheesy 1950s Japanese science fiction. Besides riffing on the inept writing, directing, and acting, the host and his puppet friends liberally sprinkled non sequiturs and cultural references ranging from the high (Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”) to the notso- high (the Starland Vocal Band’s “Afternoon Delight”).

The series was born on a Minneapolis UHF channel in 1988, then enjoyed a seven-year run on Comedy Central (or, as it was initially known, the Comedy Channel) before moving to Sci Fi. A dedicated fan base soon spread the word, first by forwarding VHS tapes of the episodes—a practice encouraged in the closing credits— and then through the nascent World Wide Web.

After the program was canceled, its fans had to content themselves with reruns and DVDs. But that has all changed, thanks to the Internet. No, no one’s making new episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 itself. But Joel Hodgson, the creator and original host of the show, hooked up with four other writer/performers from the old series in December 2007 to launch Cinematic Titanic. For fans of the original program, Cinematic Titanic has a familiar look and feel: silhouetted figures making wisecracks while watching bad movies. The movies are occasionally interrupted by a brief comedic skit, which is also performed in silhouette.

But no TV network carries Cinematic Titanic. The episodes—seven so far—are available in DVD form at cinematictitanic.com and as digital downloads from eztakes.com. Instead of the usual FBI warning at the beginning of a commercially released DVD, each episode begins with this message: “CINEMATIC TITANIC is an artist-owned and operated venture. While we want you to share the experience with your friends and family, we sincerely ask that you don’t engage in unauthorized copying or uploading of this content. With your help, we can continue to make CINEMATIC TITANIC an ongoing adventure for us all.”

The episodes released so far fit perfectly into the Mystery Science Theater template, mocking poorly made genre movies from the 1950s, ’60s, and early ’70s. The debut feature film, Oozing Skull, has an absurd premise involving a brain transplant, a mad scientist with a pint-sized assistant, a hideously deformed freak, and vicious hillbillies. All it lacks is competent craftsmanship.

This isn’t the only new iteration of Mystery Science Theater. When Hodgson left the show in 1993, the head writer, Michael J. Nelson, replaced him as host. In 2006 Nelson created Rifftrax, his own variation on the old program’s premise. Rifftrax takes advantage of new audio distribution technologies—the iPod and similar digital media players—that weren’t available when the original series aired.

There’s a reason why so many TV series have been built around the concept of a host introducing lowbudget B movies: Those were the only pictures the producers could afford to acquire the rights to. Mystery Science Theater—like other camp classics, such as Elvira: Mistress of the Dark— recognized that there was great comedy to be had in poor production values and cheesy tales of bikers, aliens, and juvenile delinquents.

But the underlying issue of movie rights isn’t a problem for Rifftrax, because the operation doesn’t technically broadcast movies. Instead Rifftrax creates stand-alone audio commentaries that are synchronized perfectly to the running time of a given film. That approach has allowed Nelson and his colleagues to cut into such big-budget pictures as The Dark Knight, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, and the first three installments of the Harry Potter franchise. Nelson is usually joined by Mystery Science veterans Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy, but his commentary tracks have featured prominent guests as well, including comedian Fred Willard, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and Minneapolis Star-Tribune columnist James Lileks.

Rifftrax also encourages audience participation through a feature called iRiff, which allows people to post their own film commentaries, then split revenues 50/50 with the house. The iRiffers aren’t limited to comedic commentary, as the FAQ makes clear: “iRiffs is a place where you can share your critique or scholarly commentary on any video content as well. But it should be something other people will actually want to pay to hear.” The website includes YouTube clips of more than a dozen iRiffs. For the most part they demonstrate, via contrast, just how comedically talented Nelson and his professional riffers are.

Nelson, Murphy, and Corbett also briefly riffed as the Film Crew, mocking bad movies in four directto- DVD releases from Shout! Factory. The Film Crew was fictionally tasked with providing commentary tracks for obscure movies by a mysterious millionaire known as Bob Honcho. They respond with mockery of such non-classics as Hollywood After Dark, featuring Rue “Golden Girls” McClanahan as a stripper. The Film Crew releases are still available, but Kevin Murphy indicated last year on the Rifftrax blog that new releases are unlikely.

Speaking at the 2008 San Diego Comic Con, the actor Patton Oswalt aptly compared the early fan efforts on behalf of Mystery Science Theater—sending videotapes to friends in areas where the show was not available—to the ways people use YouTube and MySpace today. Now many of the show’s writers and performers are using the Web to directly reach fans old and new without the middleman of cable TV. Neither Cinematic Titanic nor Rifftrax is a rehash of Mystery Science Theater 3000, but both are recognizable descendants. And both continue to transmute cinematic dross into comedy gold.

Source - www.reason.com

Gerry Anderson’s UFO, one of the seventies’ most secretly awesome shows, is getting a movie adaptation. But is America really ready for the show’s bold mix of grim moral ambiguity and absurd purple wigs?

UFO isn’t as well-known today as some of Gerry Anderson’s other shows, such as the Supermarionation series Thunderbirds (otherwise known as what Trey Parker and Matt Stone were parodying in Team America: Wold Police) or Space: 1999 (which, for all its lofty intentions, might be the one show that can outdo the original Battlestar Galactica when it comes to space opera cheesiness).

But, despite its dated 1970’s style - let’s just say bell-bottoms were heavily featured and leave it at that - UFO was probably the best of the bunch, offering an uncompromising look at a desperately underfunded paramilitary organization as it attempted to defend Earth against an alien threat it barely understood. This organization was SHADO, or Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization, led by Commander Ed Straker. Straker’s cold, calculating character made him an unlikely hero, but it also provided the show with much of its dramatic heft, as his singleminded pursuit of the enemy left him ever more isolated from his friends and family.

The show also had the standard Gerry Anderson assortment of cool vehicles and equipment, including a Moonbase - infamously staffed by sexy young women whose uniforms consisted of sparkly silver catsuits and purple wigs - and a submarine that launched a fighter jet. I’d attempt to explain further, but the opening sequence does a much better job of setting up the premise (it’s also unspeakably groovy):

Though the show admittedly got off to a bumpy start, with some poorly paced, woodenly acted early episodes (considering most of the creative team had spent the previous decade working with puppets, that’s not entirely surprising), UFO quickly developed into an exciting mix of action and drama. Its last nine episodes, made after a forced months-long production break, represent the show in top form and is some of the best science fiction ever made for British television.

So that’s the original show, which I heartily recommend checking out. But what about this new movie? Not much is yet known, although it will retain the original’s near-future setting. The TV show was made in 1970 but was set in 1980, and the movie features a similar decade-long gap, as it will take place in 2020.

Joseph Kanarek and Ryan Gaudet are currently writing the screenplay. UFO will be their first screenwriting credit. The film is being produced by Avi Haas and Henri M. Kessler as well as super-producer Robert Evans, who used to be famous for being behind the likes of Chinatown and The Godfather but is now mostly famous just for being super-producer Robert Evans.

Admittedly, this isn’t quite the dream team I’d want handling a personal favorite like UFO, but I’m going to remain optimistic. The show’s dark tone, uncertain enemy, and complicated characters arguably make it a fit far better with the science fiction of today (like Battlestar Galactica) than it ever did with the lighter shows of the 70s (like, well…Battlestar Galactica). UFO was ahead of its time, but its time might just be right now.

http://io9.com/5263679/british-cult-classic-ufo-is-headed-to-the-big-screen