Wesley Britton's Blog - Posts Tagged "lost-in-space"

For seven years, Wes Britton was co-host of online radio’s “Dave White Presents” for which he contributed hundreds of audio interviews with musicians, actors, producers, and all manner of entertainment insiders. During its original run, the show was broadcast every other Tuesday night over KSAV.org before being permanently archived at www.audioentertainment.org.

Many of Wes’s interviews were with participants in science fiction films, TV shows, novels, and comics. Below is a list of these interviews which, happily, are not dated because most of the actors, writers, or producers were talking about classic projects they had been involved with decades before. Every one of these shows is still available as a podcast, mp3 download, from itunes and through TEVO, or on the player at www.audioentertainment.org.

I provided direct links to specific shows when I had them in my files. I don’t have specific links here for older broadcast that aired before I started keeping better records. You can use the dates provided to find them in the directory at the website.

Please know, “Dave White Presents” was all about Variety Entertainment, so each interview was only a part of each 90 minute show. There are comedy songs, short comic bits, and other interviews in each broadcast. Most listeners will want to use a slider to move to the specific conversation you want to hear and ignore everything else. Also know most of these interviews are very in-depth and on the long side, up to 45 minutes in the case of very special guests. We had, as you can see below, many very special guests.

Here we go—

Star Trek

Walter Koenig with Marc Cushman.
http://tinyurl.com/ovyla5x

Marc Cushman on his Star Trek books.
http://tinyurl.com/qeorz83

Writer/producer John D.F. Black
http://tinyurl.com/nlbz847

June 24-July 8, 2009 (two parter): Ron Moore (special effects for Star trek and GHOSTBUSTERS)
www.audioentertainment.org/dwp

Actors from Sci Fi TV and Films

Dee Wallace (E.T., Scream Queen)
www.audioentertainment.org/dwp

June Lockhart (Lost in Space)
http://tinyurl.com/k7z6v4m

Tippi Hedron (The Birds)
http://tinyurl.com/87lxu8o

William B. Davis (“Cigarette Smoking Man” on THE X-FILES)
http://tinyurl.com/6neds9v

Bill Gray (The Day the Earth Stood Still)
http://tinyurl.com/nxsh7jo

Lochlyn Munro (Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island)
http://tinyurl.com/86y58d5

Writers, Producers, and Film Makers

Author Jay Bonansinga on The Walking Dead
http://tinyurl.com/cs2r6jy

Peter Ernest of the International Spy Museum on espionage in Harry Potter books and films.
http://tinyurl.com/po7lbx2

Author Greg Cox on Godzilla novelization.
http://tinyurl.com/mzmvns2

Documentary filmmaker Patrick Meany on his film about X-Men writer Chris Claremont, creator of "Days of Future Passed."
http://tinyurl.com/ontgfat

Producer Paul Davids, the Sci-Fy documentary, The Life After Death Project.
http://tinyurl.com/m6gw9rg

Older Shows still available

March 30, 2011. Singer/producer Philip Margo of The Tokens talks music and his sci fi novel, The Null Quotient.

Sept. 1, 2010. Mark Goddard (Lost in Space)

Sept. 16, 2009. Actor and musician Bill Mumy (LOST IN SPACE, BABYLON 5)

Oct. 28-Nov 11, 2009 (two parter). Author Bruce Scivally (SUPERMAN)

Aug. 19, 2009. Script writer Alan Katz (TALES FROM THE CRYPT)

April 29, 2009. Author Diane Cachmar (THE FLY AT 50)

March 18, 2009. Author Martin Grams (THE TWILIGHT ZONE)

Note: I’ve been touting the work of Marc Cushman for some time now. In 2007, I was happy to help plug his wonderful and long overdue history of I Spy. Anyone who knows anything about the original Star Trek knows his exhaustive three volume series, These are the Voyages, are the penultimate histories of those classic three years.

Now, Marc takes his skills in research and investigation to explore Lost in Space. Volume One digs into the creation of the series, reviews its background, and, well, I’ll let Marc speak for himself:

Irwin Allen's Lost in Space: The Authorized Biography of a Classic Sci-Fi Series, Volume One documents the early career of Irwin Allen. It is a true rags-to-riches story, as Allen ventures from a humble beginning in the Bronx to his later incarnations in Hollywood as an entertainment journalist, radio and television host, a literary agent – all before becoming a successful motion picture producer and director. After winning an Academy Award in 1954, Allen entered the fantasy genre with films such as The Lost World and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. He then rolled the dice again with a move into television, creating and producing Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and, one year later, Lost in Space.

Lost in Space was the first primetime weekly series to take viewers into outer space’s strange new alien worlds – something the networks believed impossible on a TV budget and schedule. In this book you’ll be whisked back in time to the production offices, writers’ conferences, and soundstages for the making of this iconic series. Included are hundreds of memos between Allen and his staff; production schedules; budgets; fan letters; more than 300 rare behind-the-scene images; and the TV ratings for every episode.

And that’s just what you’ll find in Volume One!

Marc Cushman is a WGA screenwriter, a TV and film director/producer, and author. As a screenwriter he has written for Star Trek: the Next Generation; Star Trek Continues; Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction and Diagnosis Murder, as well as such feature films as In the Eyes of a Killer and the award-winning Desperately Seeking Paul McCartney. Marc co-authored the book I Spy: A History and Episode Guide to the Groundbreaking Television Series. In 2014, Marc received a Special Achievement Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films for his three-book set These are the Voyages, Star Trek: TOS, which comprises one book for each original Star Trek season.


Ordering info at:

https://www.amazon.com/Irwin-Allens-L...

Irwin Allen's Lost in Space: The Authorized Biography of a Classic Sci-Fi Series, Volume 1
Marc Cushman

Irwin Allen's Lost in Space: The Authorized Biography of a Classic Sci-Fi Series, Volume 1
Marc Cushman
Publisher: Jacob Brown Media Group; 1 edition (August 1, 2016)
ISBN-10: 0692750185
ISBN-13: 978-0692750186
https://www.amazon.com/Irwin-Allens-L...


This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on July 19, 2017:
goo.gl/ywuyvA

Once again, media historian Marc Cushman pulls out his magnifying glass to explore a television classic just like he did with I Spy and his definitive three volume These Are the Voyages tomes on the original Star Trek.

Once again, Cushman doesn’t leave the smallest of stones unturned. He begins his exhaustive book by fleshing out the pre-Lost in Space career of producer/ director Irwin Allen, most notably his films released throughout the 1950s. One spotlighted film, naturally, is Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea which Allen re-imagined into his first sci fi television series. Of course, Cushman gives each of the main stars of Lost in Space the same in-depth treatment, as when he offers a detailed history of June Lockhart’s years on Lassie and an even more detailed review of Guy Williams tenure as Zorro, including the ratings numbers for the show’s run, comparing it to its competition on other networks.

Cushman demonstrates how workaholic Allen saw himself as a P.T. Barnum figure who offered escapist sci fi full of action and spectacle without the more cerebral tones of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, or Star Trek. Still, many of Lost in Space’s better episodes bordered on being morality tales or fables. When Cushman dives into his title subject, the minutia continues when he provides a day-by-day history of the show’s pre-production, filming, and post-production. He provides the contributions of each director, writer, and many of the guest stars. He shares the cost for each episode, including the overruns. He presents the often bizarre notes from network censors. It’s hard to believe that, in those days, the thought of two adults, even a married couple, showing more than casual affection on television could arouse fears in the CBS Standards and Practices office that children could be disturbed by any such displays. In fact, the Standards censors seemed preoccupied with anything and everything that might disturb a child.

Cushman provides no shortage of announcements and commentary culled from trade periodicals, especially Variety, and a wealth of reviews from national newspapers. Week by week, we see how Lost in Space fared against its competition during its first year, which was ABC’s The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and The Patty Duke Show and NBC’s The Virginian. That was until a little hit called Batman took over the Nelson family’s ABC time slot at 7:30 on Wednesdays.

But the book is far more than a compilation and synthesis of documents and figures. We also get insights into the creative process, as in showing how actor Jonathan Harris, who played evil Doctor Zachary Smith, helped altar and shape his dialogue in the show as well as adding a needed comic dimension to his character.

Clearly, only a diehard fan base will want to read this Authorized Biography from cover to cover. Other readers, such as TV sci fi fans or those curious about television history or production, would likely enjoy skimming through the sections that focus on discussions of their area of interest. All libraries should absolutely shelve this book. All readers should enjoy the bounty of photographs that, on their own, make the book worth the price of admission. And this is but volume one—the first of three.

Irwin Allen's Lost in Space: The Authorized Biography of a Classic Sci-Fi Series, Volume 2
Marc Cushman
Publisher: Jacob Brown Media Group; 1 edition (November 1, 2016)
ISBN-10: 0692747567
ISBN-13: 978-0692747568
https://www.amazon.com/Irwin-Allens-L...

Reviewed by: Dr. Wesley Britton

I rather expected Volume 2 of Marc Cushman’s exhaustive history of Lost in Space would have to be much thinner and less engaging than Volume 1. After all, Vol. 1 included the pre-LIS careers of Irwin Allen and all the cast members as well as an in-depth look at Allen’s first TV sci fi series, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. For Vol 2, what else could Cushman do other than review all the episodes produced in season 2 of LIS? Well, he could, and does, give us a very decent overview of Allen’s prematurely cancelled Time Tunnel that ran on ABC from fall 1966 to spring 1967.

In many ways, my expectations were spot on. But not completely. This is especially true of the early discussions which focus on the changes that came when the show was now produced in color. Over and over, we’re told how “pop art” the visuals became, perfectly timed to coincide with the psychedelic ‘60s. As Cushman looks at the first episodes of the 1966-1967 season, it doesn’t seem like most of the cast members were all that important, other than the break-out star, Jonathan Harris. As with season 1, he continued to be not only an actor but a major script re-writer as well.

In fact, cast member Marta Kristen, who played Judy Robinson, said the program became the Jonathan Harris show with his evil Dr. Zachery Smith taking up the lion’s share of the time along with Bob May inside the robot and Bill Mumy’s Will Robinson. Guy Williams and June Lockhart, who had been major TV stars in their past series (Zorro, Lassie) had only sporadic lines and duties. In addition, the program became, more and more, a comedic fantasy emphasizing monsters, special effects, outlandish props, and oddball guest stars. With the apparent exception of network president William Paley, whom Cushman says was embarrassed by shows like LIS, CBS liked the changes. Top executives preferred a lighter touch that appealed to younger viewers which made for a winning formula against ABC’s Batman.

I was surprised to see just how much competitiveness Allen felt with the newcomer to network TV sci fi, the more serious Star Trek. For much of that season, in terms of ratings, LIS was often the weekly winner. Writers who worked on both series felt freer when scripting for LIS as there were fewer restrictions on what they could create. I wasn’t aware of how much pioneer work took place in LIS, especially with filming those outer space visuals and creating those weird props.

For a time, I felt like I was reading nothing more than a very, very detailed episode guide, something only diehard fans would enjoy. As Cushman admits, “my books redefine `TMI’." True enough. Nonetheless, there’s a warm tone that runs through the production notes. It’s clear Cushman liked the series when it first aired and he likes it, perhaps even more so, now. There are frequent moments when Cushman takes the time to point to just what made a specific episode special or entertaining. He tells us the better stories had themes, as in the lessons children learned about topics like self-sacrifice, tolerance, lost innocence, or sexual equality. Such thematic material, of course, wasn’t present in many more fantastic episodes.

In the end, it will be the serious fans who’ll want this second volume in the LIS saga. I can well imagine many TV sci fi fans who would also like to skim a book about one of the pioneer series in the genre. Certainly, most libraries should shelve this series, especially if they specialize in popular culture, TV production, or media studies. It’s not a cover-to-cover read, but rather a readable reference work.

This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on July 26, 2017:
http://dpli.ir/hfkMM2

Announcement

Irwin Allen's Lost in Space, Kindle available now.

LOS ANGELES, CA, July 28, 2017 /PR Newsletter - Jacobs Brown Media Group/ Jacobs Brown Press is pleased to announce all three volumes of Irwin Allen's Lost in Space, The Authorized Biography of a Classic Sci-Fi Series, are available in Kindle format now.

Lost in Space was the first primetime weekly series to take viewers into outer space’s strange new alien worlds – something the networks believed impossible on a TV budget and schedule. In these books you’ll be whisked back in time to the production offices, writers’ conferences, and sound-stages for the making of this iconic series. Included are hundreds of memos between Allen and his staff; production schedules; budgets; fan letters; more than 300 rare behind-the-scene images in each volume; and the TV ratings for every episode.

https://www.amazon.com/Irwin-Allens-L...
https://www.amazon.com/Irwin-Allens-L...
https://www.amazon.com/Irwin-Allens-L...

The books are available in softcover, autographed by the author when purchased directly through the publisher: (Bundle and Save) http://www.jacobsbrownmediagroup.com

To interview the author, or for additional information,
contact mailto:jacbosbrownpress@gmail.com

Wes Britton’s review of Irwin Allen's Lost in Space:
The Authorized Biography of a Classic Sci-Fi Series, Volume 2 by Marc Cushman was reposted this weekend at the New Book Review blog:
https://thenewbookreview.blogspot.com...

Irwin Allen's Lost in Space, The Authorized Biography of a Classic Sci-Fi Series (Volume 3)
Marc Cushman
Paperback: 542 pages
Publisher: Jacob Brown Media Group; 1 edition (February 1, 2017)
ISBN-10: 0692814264
ISBN-13: 978-0692814260
https://www.amazon.com/Irwin-Allens-L...

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton

Whew, I made it! I finally finished all three volumes of Marc Cushman’s exhaustive history of Irwin Allen’s Lost in Space TV series. I now realize much of what I have to say about volume three is much the same as what I said about volumes one and two.

This time around, the preliminary material is much shorter than before with little to talk about other than the unhappiness of stars Guy Williams and June Lockhart about their diminished roles in season two of LIS. We get two forwards by former cast members, Mark Goddard (Don West) and Marta Kristen (Judy Robinson). We’re told season three was designed to be less comic and feature more action and, allegedly, more of the cast beyond Jonathan Harris, Bill Mumy and the robot than before. Well, not so much, as it turned out.

Then, as usual, Cushman pushes TMI to its utter extreme. For example, he still lists all the script rewrites including noting what color paper they were written on— blue, red, green, yellow. We see how each broadcast’s ratings fared against its competition, which was still The Virginian on NBC and ABC’s replacement for the Batman, Patty Duke pairing, the short-lived Custer. Then in January 1967, Custer was replaced by the first color season of The Avengers.

Cushman still provides many of the strange memos from the network brass, such as the inexplicable request Angela Cartwright’s long hair be hidden in a short hair wig. He still adds his commentary on each episode, including praising “Space Beauty” for its parodying of beauty pageants and his defense of “The great Vegetable Rebellion,” apparently considered by many to be the series’ lowest point. It could have been even lower had plans to add a purple lama as a permanent cast member been fulfilled.

Without question, it takes a strong reader to plow through the blow-by-blow accounts of all the episode analyses and synopses. It’s really the after-LIS section where we get a really good discussion of what happened after CBS didn’t so much cancel the show as much as let it die. The network wanted a lower budget for a fourth season; Allen wasn’t willing to accept any cuts. He had other irons in the fire.

So, after the obligatory mini-biographies of what happened to the major participants after LIS went off the air, we get a very revealing narrative about Allen’s attempts to bring the franchise to the big screen and see how LIS was kept alive in cast reunions, at cons, in syndication and on cable, on video and DVD, and in comic books. And ultimately, of course, the disappointing New Line 1998 big screen incarnation produced after Allen’s death.

Added content includes an odd recap of the relationship between actor Jonathan Harris and his secretive, reclusive wife Gertrude and an overview of the aborted WB TV remake that would have been targeted to adolescents and focused on a romance between a new Judy Robinson and Major Don West. Finally, Cushman offers a few notes on the 2017 Netflix reboot.

As I said in my reviews of Volumes 1 and 2 of these Authorized Biographies, you gotta be a diehard, serious fan of Lost in Space to want these no-stones-unturned tomes. As these are mainly research books, no library with a decent media section should miss them. TV sci fi fans might also like to have access to these books, especially for the color photo fests each volume includes.

This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Fri. Aug. 11 at:
http://dpli.ir/lbTXfP