I must confess that I was never much of a fan of Lost in Space, however, happy birthday to June Lockhart as she turns 100 today.
Here's to you, Mrs Robinson.
Doctor Roo
A fan of a certain age, or a greying geek if you will. I grew up with and still love old-school Sci-Fi and Telefantasy from the 1960s and '70s (some of that newfangled '80s stuff too). I'd rather we were friends than followers.
Sometime blogger, here: https://afanofacertainage.wordpress.com
Infrequent podcaster, here: https://play.acast.com/s/a-fan-of-a-certain-age
What's that, you say?
Halfway to Christmas!
Already?!!
Star Wars vs Battlestar Galactica
Artwork from Fantastic Films Issue 7 – April 1979.
(I like both, by the way.)
Happy Bionic Birthday to Lindsay Wagner.
Here she is in June, 1976, visiting the UK to promote The Bionic Woman.
Many Happy Returns to Derren Nesbitt on his 90th birthday.
Happy Birthday to Carole Ann Ford who turns 85 today.
I've only just heard that Clifton Jones has passed away. He played Moonbase Alpha’s computer specialist, David Kano, in the first season of Space: 1999.
So sorry to lose another Alphan—especially only days after Prentis Hancock passed away. R.I.P.
June 12, 1983: On this day in the distant future/past, sub-orbital passenger flight 612, en route from Los Angeles to London, ran into some very big trouble...
Remembering James Darren, my childhood hero from The Time Tunnel, on what would have been his 89th birthday.
#JamesDarren #TheTimeTunnel #IrwinAllen #RetroSciFi #TimeTunnel
Very sorry to hear of the passing of Space: 1999 star Prentis Hancock, who played Paul Morrow in the show's first (and best) season. He also appeared as a guest star in several classic Doctor Who adventures—playing a reporter in Spearhead from Space, a Thal in Planet of the Daleks, Salamar in Planet of Evil, and the Shrieve Captain in The Ribos Operation.
For my money, though, Hancock's best role was as the troubled Lt. Ian McDonald in Colditz—a great performance from a fine actor.
R.I.P.
A very happy 90th birthday to Lee Meriwether!
Lovely Lee has appeared in many of my favourite TV series and films, including, of course, Star Trek and Batman (as far as I’m concerned, she is still the best movie Catwoman). But it was when Lee played Dr Ann MacGregor on The Time Tunnel that a very young Roo first lost his heart to her.
All my very best wishes to a very special lady.
#LeeMeriwether #TheTimeTunnel #Batman66 #StarTrek #TimeTunnel #RetroSciFi
Meanwhile, at Project Tic-Toc...
The Time Tunnel team might be struggling to retrieve James Darren, but at least they’ve managed to snag some cups and saucers from the Titanic.
#TheTimeTunnel #JamesDarren #IrwinAllen #RetroSciFi #TimeTunnel
Can it really be 35 years since I went to see The Ultimate Adventure at the Manchester Opera House?
Watching the Doctor battle Daleks and Cybermen on television is one thing, but seeing it unfold right in front of you is indescribably wonderful.
The most unforgettable moment for me was when Jon Pertwee walked onto the stage and declared: "I AM THE DOCTOR!" In that moment you knew that, yes, he absolutely was.
I only wish I had a TARDIS of my own so I could relive that magic all over again.
As it happened, I already owned a variation of the same pose on one of my precious Land of the Giants bubble-gum cards.
Land of the Giants listing from TV Times, dated 28th April, 1972.
My nine year-old self was delighted by the publicity picture. Such things were to be treasured back then, and I recall carefully cutting this one out and pasting it into my scrapbook.
Funnily enough, the exact same picture appeared in TV Times the following week. That was fine, though—I could never have too many pictures of Land of the Giants.
Here's another Superman story from the 1970s that has stayed with me.
Faora Hu-Ul escaped from the Phantom Zone, and, as a Kryptonian under a yellow sun, she possessed all the same powers as Superman and Supergirl. That alone made her dangerous. But combine that with her mastery of Horu-Kanu, a deadly Kryptonian martial art, and she becomes a top-tier threat for the Man of Steel.
Faora Hu-Ul is by far my favourite super-baddie—yet, sadly, this was her only major storyline.
Very sorry to hear that Rachel Herbert passed away on 7th March 2025, at the age of 90. She gave a most memorable performance as Number 58 in the 'Free For All' episode of The Prisoner. "Tick... Tick!"
#ThePrisoner #Portmeirion #RetroSciFi #PatrickMcGoohan #RachelHerbert
Nice charity shop find – Batman & Robin Annual No. 1, published by Brown & Watson Ltd in 1972. What's particularly special is that I owned a copy of this annual back in the day, but that one was lost in the house fire that consumed my childhood home. It’s great to have it back again.
The cover is slightly scuffed, and the spine is a little faded, but there are no scribbles or dedications inside. All in all, though, at 99p, it’s a bargain.
I disagree about the fixed timeline removing suspense. Quite the opposite, knowing the outcome and being unable to change it added to the tension in episodes about the Titanic, the Alamo and Custer's last stand. Even Doctor Who, which plays fast and loose with time travel, has its 'fixed points' in history that the Doctor can't change. Doug and Tony still found enough grey areas in history to have adventures that had gone unrecorded or in times the history books were a bit vague about.
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