tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post2481325753123595828..comments2024-03-28T14:49:36.133-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: Memory Bank: "Dragon's Domain"John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-20963658489883241092018-12-01T15:01:13.210-05:002018-12-01T15:01:13.210-05:00In the 1963 Richard Harrison peplum Perseus Again...In the 1963 Richard Harrison peplum Perseus Against the Monsters aka Medusa vs. the Son of Hercules, the Medusa was a true monster, not a female with snakes embedded in her head. It was created by Carlo Rambaldi (E.T.). This nightmarish thing looked very much like the creature in Dragon's Domain, with long, octopi-like tentacles and a single, glowing white eye in the middle. I had wondered if the design of the alien in Space 1999 was inspired by that movie.Elliot Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17964519903027517480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-80150963316212664862015-11-12T17:01:54.577-05:002015-11-12T17:01:54.577-05:00I was just listening to the Space: 1999 soundtrack...I was just listening to the Space: 1999 soundtrack as I was doing some paperwork, and was reminded of 'Dragon's Domain'. I was in my mid teens when it was broadcast - on Saturday morning as part of children's TV. I already loved the show (It's by Gerry Anderson - what's not to like?), and had already been startled by the 'adult strength' of some earlier episode's body horror; 'Breakaway', 'Death's Other Dominion', and 'Force Of Life' spring to mind, but 'Dragon's Domain' really raised the bar. Now, I used to watch this show with my young brother, who could have been no older than 5 or 6, and I remember watching it with in utter, horrified silence, with my brother holding my arm in a vice-like grip. But here's the thing - we could not stop watching it. It gave both of us many sleepless nights, but we didn't dare tell our parents, as they would stop us watching a show we both loved. And we couldn't have that. 😊Brian Artilleryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01899216893467802910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-72286383527414445082013-01-16T18:37:05.154-05:002013-01-16T18:37:05.154-05:00I had the same experience and feelings maybe some ...I had the same experience and feelings maybe some years after you,here in italy comes a couple of year after..never seen eating a man alive.. so I was signed for my whole life. Regards cool article..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-21184465279620860512013-01-16T18:36:15.550-05:002013-01-16T18:36:15.550-05:00I had the same experience and feelings maybe some ...I had the same experience and feelings maybe some years after you,here in italy comes a couple of year after..never seen eating a man alive.. so I was signed for my whole life. Regards cool article..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-11807067426503088022012-07-12T11:25:56.391-04:002012-07-12T11:25:56.391-04:00Hi Barry,
It's always a pleasure to meet some...Hi Barry,<br /><br />It's always a pleasure to meet someone who knows what they like but also listens to other points of view. I try to emulate that example myself, and I find it very important when discussing film and television. <br /><br />Bottom line is that we don't have to agree on everything, but if we can each listen to each other's arguments and keep an open mind, the conversation is all the more interesting, civil, and illuminating too.<br /><br />I thought it was interesting that you were able to rattle off several Space:1999 titles very quickly, which suggests to me you at least remember the show well, even if it isn't tagged consciously as a favorite. <br /><br />That memory in itself speaks well for 1999. Even the failures, in some sense, are failures of ambitious nature (well, okay, not "Ring Around the Moon..."). <br /><br />I would have loved to see Simmonds as a regular character too. He was a terrific foil for Koenig, and someone outside the command structure who could play gadfly. Characters like that are always helpful on sci-fi programs, I find, assuming they don't take over (like Dr. Smith on LIS.) My understanding is that Simmonds was just a two episode guest star and never under contract for a series role, which is a shame.<br /><br />More excellent thoughts here, my friend.<br /><br />best,<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-39757215351801583232012-07-11T20:01:42.258-04:002012-07-11T20:01:42.258-04:00Good points, John. And thanks about the fairness p...Good points, John. And thanks about the fairness part. Yes, there is room for everything. I know what I like, and I will explain my reasoning somewhat passionately, even if I at times project a "don't <i>beep</i> with me" energy, but I get a kick out of someone who explains why they love something even when I "don't get it". That's the case with a <b>Firefly</b> fan friend of mine.<br /><br />Your point about me being able to come up with a few "best of" episodes was a good one; I noticed that myself. It took a minute, but the fact is I was able to compile the list. Now I'll try that with <b>Star Trek: The Next Generation</b>. Ahh... forget it. I don't have all bleedin' night. Besides, I'm not that familiar with the series after the first three seasons.<br /><br />Recently I was speaking with a good friend about <b>Space: 1999</b> and we both agreed that it would have made so much sense to keep Commissioner Simmonds "on staff". Great character. That moment at the beginning of "Earthbound" when he vents, with no little sarcasm, at Koenig and co., after the general meeting, is priceless. I laughed out loud last time I watched it, late last year.<br /><br />I'll take those great character moments any day over the toys.<br /><br />I wish I had met Johnny Byrne. If I ever meet Gerry Anderson, I would definitely ask why Simmonds was expired. The contract with Roy Dotrice?Barry Smighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02464450751543573690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-38277281289953406772012-07-11T19:35:32.126-04:002012-07-11T19:35:32.126-04:00Hi Barry,
I'll take hooked! :)
I can't d...Hi Barry,<br /><br />I'll take hooked! :)<br /><br />I can't disagree with your assessment of "Ring Around the Moon." <br /><br />That is a terrible episode and a betrayal, in some sense, of the premise Space:1999 assiduously sets up. (Since when does 20th century technological man possess maps of "the universe?") We concur on this one. It's a painful, dreadful show and a real low point. But "And The Children Shall Lead" also stinks, as you say too.<br /><br />I agree that "Dragon's Domain" is great, and yet you were also able to compile a list of other outstanding episodes from the first season, including "Earthbound," "End of Eternity," "Mission of the Darians" and "Death's Other Dominion." <br /><br />I would submit that going by that list alone, this is not a bad average of excellent episodes for a sci-fi show's first season. If the series had achieved that many great episodes across three or four seasons, it might be viewed very differently, as your comment rightly indicates. <br /><br />For me, a full twelve or so episodes from the first season I think were great, and several more I felt were good. Certainly, looking back, Space:1999 had a higher "good to bad" ratio than the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and yet that show is widely and often held up as exemplary. <br /><br />This is because -- again as your comment sort of notes -- it lasted a long time...100 plus episodes. It had time to grow and improve. If Space:1999 had been given that opportunity, without the format change...who knows?<br /><br />I enjoy reading your comments on this subject so much because I feel that you are looking at Space:1999 fairly. That's a bfd, to quote Vice President Biden, as many folks won't even do that. Everyone has their own tastes, of course, but I really appreciate that you have given the series a fair shake. <br /><br />Even if our final assessments differ, I can't find reason to quibble with you. I appreciate your willingness to look at something and evaluate honestly, what you see as flaws and merits.<br /><br />Great comment!<br /><br />best,<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-20135670736518254522012-07-11T18:23:47.650-04:002012-07-11T18:23:47.650-04:00Hi John,
It's always a pleasure to meet anoth...Hi John,<br /><br />It's always a pleasure to meet another soul who was taken -- and obsessed -- with "Dragon's Domain." I agree wholly with your assessment of the program, and I don't blame you a bit for protesting when your local station dropped the ball and forgot to air it.<br /><br />My Dad is not a big science fiction fan (though he is extremely indulgent of me...) and to this day, he remembers "Dragon's Domain" and raves about it, about how shocking it was to see on TV at the time, and how the imagery has stayed with him. That's another testament to the fact this episode of 1999 really, REALLY works.<br /><br />Great comment!<br /><br />best,<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-75555807301061613042012-07-11T18:21:59.828-04:002012-07-11T18:21:59.828-04:00Hi SGB:
We share a deep and abiding love of Space...Hi SGB:<br /><br />We share a deep and abiding love of Space:1999, SGB, to be sure.<br /><br />I do feel that Alien was sort of the next evolution of Space: 1999 (and "Dragon's Domain" and "End of Eternity," specifically). <br /><br />It seemed we were moving in the culture -- perhaps because of the political issues of the 1970s like the Energy Crisis -- into a realm of less optimistic views about space, and more realistic ones involving limited resources and unknown terrors. <br /><br />Personally, I prefer the Alien and 1999 approach, though I am also a Star Trek fan. I love both, I just find myself more tantalized by the Alien and 1999 universes, where all crises are not resolvable. The paradigm for Star Trek is cooperation and cosmic friendship, and gosh it's beautiful. But as a result, the stories are more cut and dry and less risky, in some sense.<br /><br />I love 1999 and Trek. Apples and oranges I guess. But I sure do groove on that time in the 1970s (UFO to Space:1999 to Alien) when space adventure took a dark, gloomy turn...<br /><br />Great comment!<br /><br />best.<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-22655434119828764502012-07-11T17:17:05.400-04:002012-07-11T17:17:05.400-04:00Hi John,
"Dragon's Domain" is argua...Hi John,<br /><br />"Dragon's Domain" is arguably the best of the <b>Space: 1999</b> best. I remember the first time I saw it: 6pm, Sunday, on CHCH Channel 11, in first run. (CKVR in Barrie ran them at 10:30am on Saturdays. As you can imagine, there was no running order for those episodes; each of those stations ran a different order.)<br /><br />"Dragon's Domain" did not scare me for the simple reason I was getting old (14). But, I was impressed, very much. Brian Johnson and Nicky Alder, & Co, at their "in-camera" best. Charles Chrichton's direction displayed his decades of experience. The flash-back scenes were super.<br /><br />I know you would disagree with this, but some of my friends and I feel that if this quality had been a more regular thing, <b>Space: 1999</b> would be held in higher regard, and remembered more by others and not just its fans. (Admittedly, that's partly or mainly because 48 episodes is not enough to effectively "strip" a show... very crucial in entering the public's consciousness.)<br /><br />For every "Dragon's Domain" there were how many at the level of "Ring Around the Moon"? Just kidding, that episode was the worst of the worst. (<b>Trek</b>'s "And the Children Shall Lead" has nothing on that one. I can't believe I'm saying that.) I find it funny that I almost never refer to <b>Space</b>'s second season, when I actually prefer it to the first year in some critical ways... like "characterization" and a sense of humour.<br /><br />Years had passed, and in 1988 I saw "Dragon's Domain" again when CKVR played it late-night. I watched it with a friend and we thought it was still good.<br /><br />Great stuff, John. I'm hooked, if not in "love".Barry Smighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02464450751543573690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-82848335039422485092012-07-11T15:24:40.874-04:002012-07-11T15:24:40.874-04:00This is one of the best episodes of the series! If...This is one of the best episodes of the series! If not the best! It really was frightening for me back in 1975 even as a twelve year old! I remember I was gutted when LWT missed it out of their 1982 repeat run and I continually rang them until they relented and screened it in the October months after the show had finished!John Harleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-61956252638651796852012-07-11T14:43:23.857-04:002012-07-11T14:43:23.857-04:00John I was a boy too when I first saw this episode...John I was a boy too when I first saw this episode in the winter of 1975 and the cold short daylight days with longer dark nights added to the atmosphere of my viewing. I like your analysis of this episode that defines what made Space:1999 stand apart from other science-fiction series of the '70s.<br />"Dragon's Domain" must have unintentionally inspired the movies Alien(1979) and Aliens(1986)together, but just substituted Lt. Ripley for Tony Cellini. After escaping the Ultra Probe(creature onboard), Cellini survives in Ultra Probe Command Module until he is recovered..then returns to confront the monster and prove it existed. In Alien(1979), after destructing the Nostromo, Ripley survives in Narcissus Shuttle until she is recovered....then returns to confront the same race of monster and prove it existed in Aliens(1986).<br /><br />SGBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com