Following on from my nostalgia trip into Star Fleet-ville I decided to order a 4 DVD set of the entire Star Fleet series.
Now Star Fleet has never been officially available on DVD and VHS copies were rare (apparently only a few episodes were were released in the UK).
However RareTV.com came up trumps and I order the set. It arrived yesterday and I spent Sunday afternoon - well that’s when Star Fleet used to be on - watching the first chapters.
OMG. How good was this series? I remember the general plot (afterall it was first aired in Japan in 1980-81 and I think I caught the second time it was shown on ITV probably in about 1984). Yes it’s a rip-off of everything Sci-Fi that went before, but the mix of characters [the crew meet Lamia for the first time and all marvel at her beauty. Doctor Ben explains she's the radar operator on Moon Base and Barry Hercules retorts 'She can use her radar on me any time'] and the simple brilliance of the puppetry is fantastic. Jin Productions who put this series together were, frankly, the bees knees.
And when the final credits rolled and I heard the lyric “Send a message out across the sky…” I must admit I was a bit choked. As much as Star Wars meant to me as a kid, Star Fleet is definitely up there with its wonderful direct translation from Japanese (not quite ‘all your base..’ but nearly) and memorable characters.
….always daring and courageous… oooh oooh only they can save us…..