Date: 96-03-12 15:26:06 EST From: Gareth Randall Subject: The incredible shrinking launch pad I was watching Space Warp the other night when something struck me - what on earth happens to the Eagle launch pad as it descends? When it's fully retracted, it's no longer a cross-shape; two of the arms of the cross have been severely truncated. I can only assume that this was another Freiberger-esque "No-one will notice", even though Brian Johnson and his team normally worked bloody hard to retain consistency. Gareth
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 13:29:33 -0800 From: Sfcafeguy@aol4tag.com Subject: Re: The incredible shrinking launch pad Hi Gareth: I noticed it too and justify it by saying that the Eagle is offloaded from the red cross-shaped launchpad (actually "T" shaped, since the side under the connecting tube doesn't lower) by an overhead crane and then pulled horizontally to be stored, or, in this case, pulled horizontally to ANOTHER elevator and taken down another level. Not a perfect solution but what are you going to do? What I can't justify is when we see the view from down in the bay looking up, and the cross-shaped platform (which is effectively the door as well) is already lowered, and then we see those four doors close over the bay. It looks great, but where do they retract too? I think retracting items (like those Eagle connecting tubes) were something Brian Johnson had a problem with. Robert
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 15:31:35 -0800 From: Ronald Dudley (dudleyrd@expert.cc.purdue4tag.edu) Subject: [Re: The incredible shrinking launch pad] The launch pad lift is not acutally a "T". The part under the connecting is very short, but really there, at least it was in season1, at least it was as the lift went down. You guys are right about the lift changing size and shape, when it gets to the bottom in "Space Warp". The shrinking launch pad lift is an incredible blooper. Invoking an intermediate crane is as unjustified as saying that the Eagle hanger exists in another universe. The shapeshifting lift is as bad as the dissappeance of the connecting section between the Eagle command module and passenger module between season1 and season2. >What I can't justify is when we see the view from down in the bay looking up, >and the cross-shaped platform (which is effectively the door as well) is >already lowered, and then we see those four doors close over the bay. It >looks great, but where do they retract too? Another blooper. They might as well retract into another universe. Perhaps Fred was visiting Bray studios that day, and nobody was brave enough to tell him how lousy his spontaneous ideas were. If they did, Fred gave the old standby: "Nobody will notice". Ronald Dudley
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 17:11:57 -0800 From: gwr@easy44net.co.uk (Gareth Randall) Subject: More on Space Warp >>if you get to see spacewarp, make it a point, it was one of the best >>episodes in both seasons!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gary > >Sure, if you like *LOTS* of rubber monsters! :) :) :) Actually, I > did like the way they went aboard the alien ship and figured out a way > to find the anomaly. That was very original and un-Freddy-like. What makes me laugh (apart from the crap rubber monsters) is the perpetuation of the old science fiction idea that all computers can talk to each other! That whole scene of Koenig and Tony deciding to connect the alien ship's computer to the Eagle's... oh well, I suppose it made sense to someone like Freiberger in 1976. Gareth
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 17:48:51 -0800 From: Michael & Shannon Campbell (mcampbell@ram44link.net) Subject: RE: More on Space Warp Lucky for Koenig & Verdeschi that the Eagle didn't have the Mac OS and = the alien craft didn't have Win 95 OS! They'd have never communicated. Mike
Date: 96-03-12 20:48:46 EST From: Mike Campbell (mcampbell@ram44link.net) Subject: Re: Yet more Space Warp! I doubt Freiberger delved that deep into the special effects. No doubt = Brian Johnson was a master of his craft, but isn't it more likely that = the launch pad and hangar bloopers were his? Do you think *Freiberger* = noticed? Mike
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 16:09:02 -0800 From: gwr@easy44net.co.uk (Gareth Randall) Subject: RE: Yet more Space Warp! I wasn't trying to suggest that FF was involved in the special effects to any great degree - I was simply indicating that under his control, even FX masters like Brian Johnson ended up rushing things and producing work that they probably cringed at in parts. Gareth
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 18:38:11 -0800 From: Sfcafeguy@aol4tag.com Subject: Re: Yet more Space Warp! Probably one of the scripts called for this and then they told Brian Johnson to just do it. He probably cared a lot more in the beginning and after a while got fed up and just said, "Whatever!" ("Whatevuh!") It would be easier to accept if they had shown one or two levels of launch pad above where the doors close, so we could at least say they retracted under the level of the lunar surface, but they didn't, and we can all see that there's no place for them to go. It also bugs me that in so many shots, including the opening to every Season 2 episode, they show a launch pad without the tapered piece that the tube retracts in and out of. More justification: It blew up the previous week and is under repair. Robert
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 02:58:20 -0800 From: kamurphy@ix.net44com.com Subject: RE: Yet more Space Warp! Occasionally we have this discussion on FAB-L and FAB-UFO about obvious bloopers like this and chalk them up to the F/X team not having time to get it exactly right all the time. In the puppet series, you often see human hands for split seconds in scenes. In UFO, stock footage turns up at the most embarrassing times. Kimberly Murphy-Smith (kamurphy@ix.netcom.com) Managing Editor, POWER STAR Magazine http://home.aol.com/kimmurphy