tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post6117325312410833978..comments2024-03-17T11:05:22.464+00:00Comments on The Life And Opinions of Andrew Rilstone: Pyramids of MarsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-49262253347981589142020-03-28T21:13:08.299+00:002020-03-28T21:13:08.299+00:00I'd forgotten "Who Mourns For Adonais.&qu...I'd forgotten "Who Mourns For Adonais." That was the first episode of Star Trek I ever watched. (Although I enjoyed the idea of the giant hand grabbing the Enterprise more than all the melodrama down on the planet.) <br /><br />Does the aliens/gods connection have an earlier source than Lovecraft, I wonder? <br />Andrew Rilstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05786623930392936889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-45280345704498157302020-03-28T13:29:32.772+00:002020-03-28T13:29:32.772+00:00"... Chariots of the Gods came as recently as...<i>"... Chariots of the Gods came as recently as 1969..."</i><br /><br />I remember the Ancient Astronauts trope being huge in the mid- to late Seventies. Most of "Battlestar Galactica's" appeal, beyond mimicking "Star Wars", came from its Von Däniken vibe: pyramids, cubits, vipers, Egyptian and Graeco-Roman gods... (Mixed in, perhaps confusingly, with a Hebraic exodus of "Twelve Tribes"). One of my beloved Micronauts™ [*] action figures was a "Pharoid With Time Chamber": the Micronauts™ toys came with no canonical back story, but Bill Mantlo's Marvel Comics adaptation established him "Prince Pharoid of Aegyptia", a desert world within the Microverse, and the Time Chamber was basically a sarcophagus.<br /><br />[* Not to be confused with Gordon "Straw Dogs" Williams' Micronauts novels. There must have been a copyright lawsuit over that clash but I can’t find it on Google..]<br /><br />Could also include TOS Trek's "Who Mourns For Adonais [sic]". The last swansong of Von Dänikenism in SF I can think of was "Stargate", starting 1994.<br /><br />A closely related Seventies trend was the zodiac. Not only did this give "BSG" the names of the Twelve Worlds/ twelve tribes (hence an entire spinoff series titled "Caprica"), it also provided the future calendar in "Logan's Run". Plus, "Capricorn One", and I suppose "Scorpio" in "Blake's Seven". But then, star signs were big outside SF too... "Age of Aquarius", "Capricorn Dancer", the Scorpio killer in "Dirty Harry", etc.<br /><br />"Pyramids of Mars" fit wonderfully within this whole trend.Tom Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09153006496653964959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-9007034507389899132020-03-25T20:14:09.571+00:002020-03-25T20:14:09.571+00:00Interviewer: what would you and Ernie have been if...Interviewer: what would you and Ernie have been if you hadn't been comedians<br />Eric: Mike and Bernie Winters<br />One of my favourite comedy moments in this is Liz and Tom doing the Marx Brothers. According to the commentary they were told not to but did it anyway. postodavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18402698812156032820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-85818410956487536302020-03-25T17:15:46.597+00:002020-03-25T17:15:46.597+00:00Well, that is genuinely fascinating!!Well, that is genuinely fascinating!!Mike Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06039663158335543317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-18559355020632657022020-03-25T16:11:39.407+00:002020-03-25T16:11:39.407+00:00Wikipedia agrees with me... Wikipedia agrees with me... Andrew Rilstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05786623930392936889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-49196704192705391252020-03-25T16:10:02.699+00:002020-03-25T16:10:02.699+00:00I have read that it is true. I believe Nicholas Pa...I have read that it is true. I believe Nicholas Parsons said so. (Although that was more "variety" than "music hall"). The straight man was often an employee of the theater, and the comedian was on a one week contract. Andrew Rilstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05786623930392936889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9987513.post-50786843484315540542020-03-25T15:22:49.018+00:002020-03-25T15:22:49.018+00:00"In music hall, the straight man often comman..."In music hall, the straight man often commanded a higher fee than the comedian."<br /><br />Is this really true? Your rationale makes sense, but I don't think that's the way the world works. Isn't it all about recognisable stars?Mike Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06039663158335543317noreply@blogger.com