Out Of This World (1987)

Out of This World is a sitcom about a teenage girl who is half alien, which gives her unique superhuman powers. It first aired in syndication from September 17, 1987 and ended on May 25, 1991.  The images and the spacesuit are from the opening titles.

The same helmet is also featured in the 1987 Twilight Zone tv show and the 1994 Fantastic Four film


Steve

The Twilight Zone - Voices in the Earth (1987)

Voices in the Earth is the 19th episode of the second season of the rebooted Twilight Zone anthology sci-fi series.

In the far future an expedition returns to a desolate barren Earth where a scientist begins to see the ghosts of those who died years before.

These are indeed the same suits that can be seen in - (if you were ever unlucky enough to catch it!) - the 1994 Roger Corman version of Marvel's Fantastic Four film from back in a time before people realised that if you were respectful to the source material then you could have a big hit on your hands (Snigger! Yes I'm laughing at you 2015 version)

As a point of interest this episode also features the lovely Jenny Agutter who's semi and completely nude scenes, viewed at an impressionable age, in Walkabout, Logan's Run, Equus and An American Werewolf in London, launched more fantasies than all the spacesuits featured in this blog

...... Just saying.


Steve

Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov (1987) cover art by Michael Whelan

For William, a fellow appreciator of Michael Whelan

Steve

Venus Prime I - Breaking Strain by Paul Preuss (1987) Jim Burns

Venus Prime I - Breaking Strain (1987)

 

Nightflyers (1987)

Nightflyers is film is about a group of scientists who begin a space voyage to find a mysterious alien creature and in the process are victimised by the ship's malevolent computer.  The film is based on the 1980 novella by George R. R. Martin.

 

 

 

Steve

Lunacon (1987)

Another D K Sweet rendered spaceman and another treat for the imagination.

Though a black and white image, there's some lovely close up detail of the spacesuit design on show here.  We've got the usual 2001 look but there's a touch of the real world Mercury program spacesuits in there as well.  Does any one know if this is an original for Lunacon or a section from previously existing work.

 

Steve

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

 

I quite like the occasional comic book and don't mind the odd superhero, however I just can't get on with Superman in any form.

With that said it may come as no surprise that I haven't seen this particular film or am I ever likely to so it's a big thanks to blog-follower Tim for pointing out this small scene of interest.

What makes it especially good is that I've a keen eye for a recycled prop and I think I've spotted a
couple here.

The backpack is an absolute definite reuse of the Outland backpacks, made for that film, as this behind the scenes image will reveal.

 

The second observation is that the helmet may be the same as featured in Unidentified Flying Oddball or whichever of its various titles you care to know it by.

 

It's hard to be certain and its a safe bet that that production had recycled it from somewhere else before but it does have quite a few distinctive features.  As ever with these things feel free to correct me if you know better.

 

Steve

Texas Triumphant (1987) Barclay Shaw

A strangely likable bit of artwork by Barclay Shaw for Texas Triumphant, a novel by Daniel Da Cruz.  I would like to tell you the colours are out on the scan and that the Russian spacesuit is actually a nice deep communist red but I had a copy of this book in my hands about an hour ago and that was girly pink too.  Very; Despicable Me.

Lets have a game of spot the pink spacesuit, anyone?

Steve

Starcom - The Toyline (1987)

I was too old to have been into these when they came out and I don't remember ever being aware that there was a TV series. My younger brother had a couple of the figures and a small vehicle, I think. From what I can gather Starcom never really set the world on fire but I quite like the box art though.

 

 

 

Steve

Star Cops (1987) again

I found these images for BBC 2's Star Cops that gives a better detailed view of the space helmets.  I believe that they were made especially for this series but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't get re-used, showing up again, somewhere else, in some future production. 

Lets keep them peeled!

Steve

Star Cops (1987)

An astronaut surveys the Martian landscape of 2027. This is from the final instalment of the BBC’s Star Cops. An episode entitled; Little Green Men and Other Martians, which aired on 31^st of August 1987

There wasn’t a lot of love around for sci-fi in the late eighties, at least not from the top brass at the BBC. If they made any at all it was for a shoestring budget and then it would most likely be placed somewhere obscure in the schedules so as not to embarrass anyone. Or they would put it up against ITV’s mighty Coronation Street just so they could prove that no one wanted to watch this kind of  stuff anyway.

Star Cops was never going to get a second series regardless of how good the writing of the show may have been. In fact you have to wonder if it only got made in the first place because its initial pitch would have made it seem more like a novelty cop show than anything too fantastical. You weren’t going to see any silver jump-suits on this show. Lynda Woodfield; the costume designer, was told to keep all the clothes looking convincing and to avoid anything that might be considered stock science-fiction. So what we’ve got here is something based on everything that has gone by in the real world, a sort of made by NASA look that does the job but not a whole lot more. In fact, if not for the orangey goodness of the Martian backdrop, I’m not sure we would have even stopped to look.

Steve