The Eagle Obsession
September 29, 2024 9:28 AM Subscribe
This 12-minute short is a taste of the full 80-minute documentary that will premiere in the summer of 2025, just in time for the 50th anniversary of Space: 1999.
Jeffrey Morris’ YouTube channel has more videos on this project. The most comprehensive is the panel with Morris and Space: 1999 actor Nick Tate from WonderFest 2024 in Kentucky (which starts with the same short as above; click here to skip past it.)
Note that earlier videos refer to The Eagle has Landed, which was the title before it was split into The Eagle Obsession and Return to Tomorrow (slated for 2026.)
Jeffrey Morris’ YouTube channel has more videos on this project. The most comprehensive is the panel with Morris and Space: 1999 actor Nick Tate from WonderFest 2024 in Kentucky (which starts with the same short as above; click here to skip past it.)
Note that earlier videos refer to The Eagle has Landed, which was the title before it was split into The Eagle Obsession and Return to Tomorrow (slated for 2026.)
A fun show with, yes, terrific design but a truly stupid premise and frequently terrible stories.
I always preferred the Anderson's earlier, and completely unhinged, UFO (which was the basis for the XCOM video games).
posted by thatwhichfalls at 10:12 AM on September 29 [7 favorites]
I always preferred the Anderson's earlier, and completely unhinged, UFO (which was the basis for the XCOM video games).
posted by thatwhichfalls at 10:12 AM on September 29 [7 favorites]
We didn't have TV in the 70s but I did get an Mattel Eagle toy to play with. I was aging out of playing with toys at that point so it was my capstone xmas toy LOL.
Still want my own personal real-life Eagle sigh. Coolest craft ever...
posted by torokunai at 10:34 AM on September 29 [2 favorites]
Still want my own personal real-life Eagle sigh. Coolest craft ever...
posted by torokunai at 10:34 AM on September 29 [2 favorites]
Momentary spasm of “oh no wait what” fear that 1999 was fifty years ago.
posted by mhoye at 10:35 AM on September 29 [2 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 10:35 AM on September 29 [2 favorites]
I had the book and record. Watching the TV version as an adult didn’t quite hit the same.
posted by funkaspuck at 11:25 AM on September 29 [1 favorite]
posted by funkaspuck at 11:25 AM on September 29 [1 favorite]
Raise your hand if Maya woke something in you.
posted by seanmpuckett at 11:30 AM on September 29 [7 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 11:30 AM on September 29 [7 favorites]
Shout!Studio has been running non-stop eps on YouTube for a while. Also: FutureDude seems awesome.
posted by davidmsc at 11:36 AM on September 29 [1 favorite]
posted by davidmsc at 11:36 AM on September 29 [1 favorite]
I always preferred the Anderson's earlier, and completely unhinged, UFO yt (which was the basis for the XCOM video games).
Agreed. And this is the perfect place to again mention the single best secret santa present ever: a UFO lunchbox from MsVader.
posted by googly at 11:38 AM on September 29 [3 favorites]
Agreed. And this is the perfect place to again mention the single best secret santa present ever: a UFO lunchbox from MsVader.
posted by googly at 11:38 AM on September 29 [3 favorites]
Back in 2016 I did a partial watch-through discussion on Fanfare and the general conclusion was that although Space: 1999 has a ridiculous premise and often poor writing the first season in particular is not nearly as bad as we tend to imagine.
I'm definitely looking forward to this. Hopefully, if it gets a release, one of the local arts theatres will pick it up.
posted by Major Clanger at 11:40 AM on September 29 [1 favorite]
I'm definitely looking forward to this. Hopefully, if it gets a release, one of the local arts theatres will pick it up.
posted by Major Clanger at 11:40 AM on September 29 [1 favorite]
Hmm, I think I still have a slightly damaged Eagle toy somewhere.
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:09 PM on September 29
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:09 PM on September 29
Raise your hand if Maya woke something in you.
I was probably too young for that, and I found her eyebrows deeply upsetting.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 12:16 PM on September 29 [2 favorites]
I was probably too young for that, and I found her eyebrows deeply upsetting.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 12:16 PM on September 29 [2 favorites]
Raise your hand if Maya woke something in you.
We all see what you did there, and it really doesn’t matter whether we approve, does it?
posted by jamjam at 12:38 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
We all see what you did there, and it really doesn’t matter whether we approve, does it?
posted by jamjam at 12:38 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
Watching Dragon's Domain at the age of 8 has made me the person I am today.
posted by donio at 1:32 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
posted by donio at 1:32 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
I adored this show as a kid. Like donio, I found "Dragon's Domain" astonishing and think it holds up very well.
Adored it too much, actually. I tried making a comlink out of balsa wood. My father tried to help and accidentally cut open his hand on a saw...
posted by doctornemo at 1:49 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
Adored it too much, actually. I tried making a comlink out of balsa wood. My father tried to help and accidentally cut open his hand on a saw...
posted by doctornemo at 1:49 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
The Eagle is a great design and we should all have access to one.
(Fully Automated Luxury Space Communism in style)
posted by doctornemo at 1:49 PM on September 29 [2 favorites]
(Fully Automated Luxury Space Communism in style)
posted by doctornemo at 1:49 PM on September 29 [2 favorites]
fun fact, Barbara Bain and Martin landau were married to another and appeared in two television shows together..
posted by clavdivs at 1:56 PM on September 29 [3 favorites]
posted by clavdivs at 1:56 PM on September 29 [3 favorites]
I always preferred the Anderson's earlier, and completely unhinged, UFO
As originally conceived, UFO was to be the precursor to S:1999. Uniform fashion appears to have taken a more practical turn in the meantime.
Raise your hand if Maya woke something in you.
You misspelled Sandra.
Adored it too much, actually. I tried making a comlink out of balsa wood.
The props get overlooked. The comlink was an amazing practical design.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:04 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
As originally conceived, UFO was to be the precursor to S:1999. Uniform fashion appears to have taken a more practical turn in the meantime.
Raise your hand if Maya woke something in you.
You misspelled Sandra.
Adored it too much, actually. I tried making a comlink out of balsa wood.
The props get overlooked. The comlink was an amazing practical design.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:04 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
Never watched this show (so can't be sure), but don't y'all mean commlock?
posted by Rash at 3:18 PM on September 29 [2 favorites]
posted by Rash at 3:18 PM on September 29 [2 favorites]
I also dug UFO much more than Space 1999. UFO had some truly classic episodes (Timelash, Mindbender). Space 1999 was just so dull, and IMO the ship designs were dull. In UFO the ship designs were insane: check out their space shuttle. Space 1999 had, IMO, a couple of classic episodes: Another Place, Another Time, and Guardian of Piri, which both had a tremendously dreamlike, dolorous atmosphere. But the rest were a great sleep aid.
AFAIK they never showed UFO, Space 1999, or even fucking Star Trek in my town in the Ozarks when they originally aired. My dad had to buy a special antenna to pick up Star Trek from Joplin MO, as the local affiliate instead played reruns of the Beverly Hillbillies. Same for PBS Doctor Who and NBC SCTV—wouldn't show them.
posted by jabah at 3:34 PM on September 29
AFAIK they never showed UFO, Space 1999, or even fucking Star Trek in my town in the Ozarks when they originally aired. My dad had to buy a special antenna to pick up Star Trek from Joplin MO, as the local affiliate instead played reruns of the Beverly Hillbillies. Same for PBS Doctor Who and NBC SCTV—wouldn't show them.
posted by jabah at 3:34 PM on September 29
I always preferred the Anderson's earlier, and completely unhinged, UFO
I always [SHADO] preferred the Anderson's [1980] earlier, and completely [UFO] unhinged, UFO [1980]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 3:50 PM on September 29 [2 favorites]
I always [SHADO] preferred the Anderson's [1980] earlier, and completely [UFO] unhinged, UFO [1980]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 3:50 PM on September 29 [2 favorites]
Hardware was always the star of Gerry Anderson productions. The humans (or marionettes) were just a necessary evil to showcase the cool models in action.
posted by 2N2222 at 4:27 PM on September 29 [2 favorites]
posted by 2N2222 at 4:27 PM on September 29 [2 favorites]
Space 1999 was the game we played in the school playground. There was a lot of running around and yelling, but that was about all. The episode Brian the Brain scared the shit out of me: not because the robot was scary, but it was voiced by can't-be-the-bad-guy Bernard Cribbins
posted by scruss at 5:00 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
posted by scruss at 5:00 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
omg, I still watch Thunderbirds.
I got to ask an off mark, derail question because I think I've seen this book in one or two movies but did anybody ever have the book called spacecraft 2000 to 2100 a.d. I'm quite positive I saw it on bookshelf from the movie interstellar.
oh and look at this.
posted by clavdivs at 5:10 PM on September 29 [4 favorites]
I got to ask an off mark, derail question because I think I've seen this book in one or two movies but did anybody ever have the book called spacecraft 2000 to 2100 a.d. I'm quite positive I saw it on bookshelf from the movie interstellar.
oh and look at this.
posted by clavdivs at 5:10 PM on September 29 [4 favorites]
don't y'all mean commlock?
Indeed. I blame doctornemo.
did anybody ever have the book called spacecraft 2000 to 2100 a.d.
OMG, not only did I have it as a kid, I was trying to find it recently but thought it was a Chris Foss book.
That catacombs.space1999.net site is great. I found the water stun-gun I had. (Pretty poor as a serious water gun; the water tended to collect in the front away from the siphon.)
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 5:39 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
Indeed. I blame doctornemo.
did anybody ever have the book called spacecraft 2000 to 2100 a.d.
OMG, not only did I have it as a kid, I was trying to find it recently but thought it was a Chris Foss book.
That catacombs.space1999.net site is great. I found the water stun-gun I had. (Pretty poor as a serious water gun; the water tended to collect in the front away from the siphon.)
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 5:39 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
I also wish to register as a being of culture and sophistication who had copies of _Spacecraft_ and one of its sequels _Great Space Battles_.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:00 PM on September 29 [2 favorites]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:00 PM on September 29 [2 favorites]
did anybody ever have the book called spacecraft 2000 to 2100 a.d.
Yes, it and these books all occupy the same space in my head.
posted by jabah at 6:45 PM on September 29
Yes, it and these books all occupy the same space in my head.
posted by jabah at 6:45 PM on September 29
I was never a Space: 1999 fan (though Maya...yeah). I tried really hard to reconcile my admiration of the Eagle with my intense dislike of the show, and never could. The Eagle is just cool. The show is just bleah.
But yes, UFO is among the best, and I treasure my DVD set. Something was certainly woken in me by silver lame' and purple hair on moonbase! It was so much fun!
Gerry and Sylvia Anderson have always fascinated me. I'm dating myself, I'm sure, but the first science fiction I was ever exposed to was Fireball XL-5. I missed Thunderbirds somehow, but I still pull out Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun (or Doppelganger, if you prefer), which directly preceded UFO and has one of the most insane finale's ever.
posted by lhauser at 6:56 PM on September 29
But yes, UFO is among the best, and I treasure my DVD set. Something was certainly woken in me by silver lame' and purple hair on moonbase! It was so much fun!
Gerry and Sylvia Anderson have always fascinated me. I'm dating myself, I'm sure, but the first science fiction I was ever exposed to was Fireball XL-5. I missed Thunderbirds somehow, but I still pull out Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun (or Doppelganger, if you prefer), which directly preceded UFO and has one of the most insane finale's ever.
posted by lhauser at 6:56 PM on September 29
A reminder that there was an RPG entitled Space: 1889.
posted by SPrintF at 7:37 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
posted by SPrintF at 7:37 PM on September 29 [1 favorite]
did anybody ever have the book called spacecraft 2000 to 2100 a.d.
Previously on MetaFilter (links to a fantastic CGI animation of the ships from the book, followed by a lot of enthusiastic discussion.)
posted by Major Clanger at 1:18 AM on September 30 [1 favorite]
Previously on MetaFilter (links to a fantastic CGI animation of the ships from the book, followed by a lot of enthusiastic discussion.)
posted by Major Clanger at 1:18 AM on September 30 [1 favorite]
For those missing their Eagles:
https://shop.gerryanderson.com/en-us/products/eagle-1976
posted by ejrb at 4:35 AM on September 30 [1 favorite]
https://shop.gerryanderson.com/en-us/products/eagle-1976
posted by ejrb at 4:35 AM on September 30 [1 favorite]
While I think "Thunderbirds" is Peak Gerry Anderson, I was crazy about "Space:1999" when it debuted. I was 12 and was already a hardcore Trekkie, but coming as it did in the wilderness years for Trek, it was new and fresh and very, very cool. The Eagle was a lot more believable as a near-future spaceship than other franchises had, though it was never as awesome as a full-fledged starship, or even as cool as Thunderbird 2. I wish the premise of the show hadn't been quite as far-fetched. It would have worked just as well to be. say, a space station flung into deep space with no means of return.
posted by briank at 5:34 AM on September 30
posted by briank at 5:34 AM on September 30
I concur with everyone: The models were awesome but the concept was too dumb, even for it's 11-year old target audience.
(I'll differ from everyone and say that I liked The Starlost and felt that it was under-rated.)
posted by ovvl at 5:49 AM on September 30
(I'll differ from everyone and say that I liked The Starlost and felt that it was under-rated.)
posted by ovvl at 5:49 AM on September 30
I loved this show so much. I love Martin Landau in everything he did, but Maya could transform, so she was the coolest. Of course.
posted by ceejaytee at 6:33 AM on September 30
posted by ceejaytee at 6:33 AM on September 30
We didn't have TV in the 70s but I did get an Mattel Eagle toy to play with.
I still have mine, the one with the green cockpit, sitting on a coffee table about five feet behind me, right next to the Macross Valkyrie toy (don't you dare call it a Transformer).
I always [SHADO] preferred the Anderson's [1980] earlier, and completely [UFO] unhinged, UFO [1980]
UFO had its [this episode] charms, but Space: 1999 [this episode] felt like an action-adventure sequel [September] [13th] [1999] to 2001.
posted by The Tensor at 10:15 AM on September 30
I still have mine, the one with the green cockpit, sitting on a coffee table about five feet behind me, right next to the Macross Valkyrie toy (don't you dare call it a Transformer).
I always [SHADO] preferred the Anderson's [1980] earlier, and completely [UFO] unhinged, UFO [1980]
UFO had its [this episode] charms, but Space: 1999 [this episode] felt like an action-adventure sequel [September] [13th] [1999] to 2001.
posted by The Tensor at 10:15 AM on September 30
did anybody ever have the book called spacecraft 2000 to 2100 a.d.
_Spacecraft_ and one of its sequels _Great Space Battles_
Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun (or Doppelganger)
Space: 1889
You all are stalking me, aren't you?
posted by doctornemo at 7:45 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]
_Spacecraft_ and one of its sequels _Great Space Battles_
Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun (or Doppelganger)
Space: 1889
You all are stalking me, aren't you?
posted by doctornemo at 7:45 AM on October 1 [1 favorite]
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posted by davidmsc at 9:47 AM on September 29 [1 favorite]