Some things are truly meant to remain lost and I think if George Lucas had his way this would never be played again anywhere. Actually, I think he'd probably go back in time and tell himself not to have anything to do with this shameless piece of crap televised dribble. In his defence he didn't direct it and has ensured that it has never been shown on television again since its original broadcast in 1978. It has also never been sold in any form...not even on Laserdisc.

This is truly painful to watch, and doubly so if you are actually expecting to be marginally entertained by characters you are familiar with (such as say Bea Arthur....yes, Bea Arthur is in this.)

Anthony Daniels, C3PO, actually refered to this slop as, "The horrible Holiday Special that nobody talks about." Lucas has reportedly stated, "If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it." It has also been called, perhaps accurately, "The worst 2 hours in television history."

But, seeing as how it is almost Christmas, feel free to treat yourself to this 2-hour long slow motion train wreck. It truly needs to be seen to be believed. The positive side? Attack of the Clones is going to look like a masterpiece compared to this.

The video can be viewed via Google Video (above), but is also available for download in mp4 format for the iPod Touch and iPhone on this page:

The Star Wars Holiday Special

Permalink    Labels: Space, Google Video, Science Fiction

Classic, somewhat low budget horror film made in 1967 involving the famous Professor Bernard Quatermass. The IMDB description can be found here.

From IMDB:
"While digging a new subway line in London, a construction crew discovers first: a skeleton, then what they think is an old World War II German missle. Upon closer examination the "missle" appears to be not of this earth! This movie examines the age old question of how we came to be on this planet. It is suprizingly scary."

Actually quite an entertaining film despite the absurd plot.

The video can be viewed via Google Video (to the right), but is also available for download in mp4 format for the iPod Touch and iPhone on this page:

Quatermass and the Pit

Permalink    Labels: Movies, London, Science Fiction, Google Video

This is a comedy drama done for BBC Radio 4 in 2002 and was written by Nick Frost (Spaced, Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz...) and comedian Matt King. To quote Wikipedia, since this is some pretty strange stuff:

"Milford (King) and Parker (Frost) get sacked from their jobs in a soft furnishings factory in Crouch End. As they are clearing out their lockers, they fall into the magical world of Gravy. Frost described Gravy as a 'Tolkien-esque world with supermarkets and banks'."

Pretty much everyone from the TV series Spaced is amongst the cast including Julia Deakin, Peter Serafinowicz, Simon Pegg, Kevin Eldon, Daisy Jones, Joseph Marcell and Mark Heap as Marmite the Dwarf. That in itself makes it amusing to listen to.

The series only ran one season, 6 shows of 30 minutes a piece, and would have garnered a second season but Matt King decided to move back to Australia instead.

I'd give you a plot synopsis but it's all over the board, but it does have a lot of Tolkien elements involved. Let it be said if you like the characters from other shows or movies it's worth a listen and is quite funny at times. You can download all 6 episodes from the Zombie Astronaut (who I am greatly indebted to for offering so much great audio over the years). The post is about half way down here:

The Sofa of Time by Nick Frost and Matt King

Permalink    Labels: Audio Comedy, Audio Drama, Tolkien, Science Fiction, Fantasy

John Wyndham, probably best known for The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos (ie Village of the Damned), wrote a number of lesser known works that are of no less value in the world of speculative/science fiction. One of them, The Kraken Wakes (published in 1953), has been broadcast in a number of different versions through the years as a full cast audio play. This particular one, done by the CBC out of Vancouver, is available in all 5 parts - roughly 150 minutes - on Archive.org.

As like a number of Wyndham's apocalyptic tales you get to follow along and unravel a mystery that brings the world to near destruction. Loaded with the author's great ability to bind science with the impossible it really is an entertaining story. The 40+ year old broadcast does the book justice, and the age of it gives it something that a modern adaptation would lose.

You can download the MP3 files, 131 MB for all 5 in a zip file here:

The Kraken Wakes - Full Cast Audio - CBC 1965

Permalink    Labels: Audio Drama, Science Fiction, Archive.org, The Ocean