Star Maidens

If you're a fan of THUNDERBIRDS or SPACE:1999 then you might be curious about this obscure TV show made shortly after the Andersons' divorced. Although she is uncredited, the hand of Sylvia Anderson is all over this ambitious but mostly haphazard production: Gogo- booted guards in day-glow crash helmets, delicious sets and props that have more in common with a Pucci gown than technology, romantic innuendos and social situations too advanced for a space-rocket adventure.... Star Maidens isn't just a campy role-reversal. It explores what happens when worlds collide, and the ripple effect each has on the other's culture, albeit played out in a silly melodrama with a handful of characters shot on as low- budget as possible.... Adam escapes Medusa thinking Earth will be a male-dominant paradise. Instead he finds earthlings attempting to balance the roles of men and women, and Adam realizes what he wants: Equality. Meanwhile, hostage Liz Becker basks in her predicament as a closet-subservient to fellow prisoner Rudi Schmidt, but she must pretend to be his master as the planet Medusa offers her every opportunity except admitting her need for a man. Perhaps most complex is Fulvia who uses her political status to shield a taboo relationship with her domestic servant, which she condescendingly dismisses as the love of a pet until they become curious about the ways of Earth. Can Fulvia and Adam find common ground before their relationship creates an interplanetary conflict? Clearly there is more here than ray guns and space battles, but in 30-minute episodes nothing gets very deep and the directing is so clumsy from episode to episode that the show is barely pinned together like the Medusans' elaborate hairstyles! Scenes are awkward, characters inconsistent, and plot-holes abound, but a groovy future lounge soundtrack keeps things rolling along and each episode is only a half hour. Feminists attempt to seize power on Earth with stolen Medusa weapons, Fulvia and Adam roleplay a trial suburban marriage, while Liz and Rudi unravel the ecological collapse of planet Medusa. Where is all this going? Is it satire or space opera? Who cares! Sit back and indulge in this strange artifact from a time when the sexual revolution threatened to go too far.

All 13 episodes are available from AmazonUK on 2 region-free dvds.

The planet Medusa, home to an advanced underground civilisation where women are the rulers and men are subservient, drifts into Earth's solar system, prompting Adam and Shem (Pierre Brice and Gareth Thomas), a couple of rebellious men to attempt an escape to our planet, on which they have heard men are free to be what they want to be, do what they want to do, etc. The series is an unsubtle, almost tongue-in-cheek, social parody based on gender role-reversal and, although goofily entertaining, has not aged very well (notably episode 8 'The Perfect Couple' which features incompetent 'women's lib' activists). The distaff cast includes Judy Geeson as Fulvia, a Medusan 'Supreme Councillor' and Adam's mistress, Christiane Krüger as Octavia, also a Supreme Councillor' and head of security, and Lisa Harrow as Dr. Liz Becker, an Earth female who gets bumped-up from 'second class' to 'first class' when she changes planets. Rounding out the main cast is Christian Quadflieg, Becker's resourceful 'boss' Dr. Rudi Schmidt, who gets simultaneously demoted and, being 'just a man', is never taken seriously by the Medusan potentates. Episodes toggle back and forth between a 'chase' plot on Earth as Fluvia and Octavia try to catch the two defecting malcontents, and various mysterious happenings and political intrigues on Medusa. Not surprisingly, episodes set on the dominatrixes' world are more interesting than those set on Earth. The acting is generally rudimentary (admittedly the cast is not given much to work with), most of the storylines are insipid and predicable (notably Shem's brief amour with an Earth woman), and the 'fish out of water' and 'role switching' shtick tires out quickly. Although everyone in the Universe seems to speak English, the film is a joint British-German production so there is a hodgepodge of accents amongst the extra-terrestrials. The special effects are surprisingly good with some interesting miniature and design work (the hallways of Medusa are colourful and 'futuristic' although completely impractical and unsafe). The costumes worn by the Medusan women are a highlight, blending the aesthetics of Felliniesque pseudo-classical fluff and cheesy 70's Euro-sci-fi peek-a-boo - the police are a highlight in their brightly coloured hot-pants and tight, midriff baring crop-tops. All in all, the show is dated and campy but will make entertaining, albeit eye-rolling, viewing for people who like that sort of thing. Too bad there is only a single season, as the final episode seemed to be setting up a 'bigger picture' involving a third, aggressive extra-stellar civilisation (as well as demonstrating that women, no matter how sexy their outfits are, just can't cut it when the going gets tough).

Star Maidens is a curio amongst the crowded halls of science fiction television. An Anglo-German production featuring a mixture of both English and German actors, Star Maidens was produced by Portman Productions and distributed by German and Scottish companies. Filmed at Bray Studios (famous for being the original home of Hammer Horror) in Berkshire, the show was made by a number of personnel who had been involved with 'Space: 1999' the big budget science fiction drama that premiered in September 1975, most notably special effects designer Brian Johnson who worked in the same capacity on 'Space: 1999' who, here creates a similar look and tone, just on a massively reduced budget. Gareth Thomas who would later appear in the excellent 'Children of the Stones' and play the lead character Roj Blake in 'Blake's 7' plays Shem the reluctant male escapee from Medusa in this programme, with Derek Farr playing Professor Evans (he would later guest appear in 'Blake's 7). Two of the show's female leads Judy Geeson (Fulvia) and Lisa Harrow (Liz Becker) had also guest starred in 'Space: 1999' before they appeared in Star Maidens. All in all its links with other science fiction greats makes it of great interest. Created and often written by Eric Paice (who had previously written for 'The Avengers') the show is a sex comedy which follows the exploits of two male domestics Adam (played by French actor Pierre Brice) and Shem as they escape from the dominant rule of their home planet Medusa by women. The programme explores the theme of role reversal in great depth, the initial episodes setting up the story of Adam and Shem as they arrive on earth after stealing a Medusan spacecraft, the later episodes dealing with the predicament of Rudi Schmidt (Christian Quadflieg) and Liz Becker (two scientists from earth) as they are taken hostage and live out their lives in the peculiar society of Medusa. This thirteen episode mini series, each episode running to 25 minutes in length is often a little light on story, the second episode 'Nemesis' is essentially a runaround as the earth's police force fail to catch Adam and Shem and notably features the hilarious line "There are two funny men stealing our apples" as Adam and Shem raid a local farm for food, but the whole thing has a certain charm and is overall very enjoyable. Despite the low budget, the production values aren't too bad, the Medusa set for example is quite expansive and visually interesting and there is plenty of earthbound location footage. The Medusan women are gorgeous and Judy Geeson is excellent as Fulvia (long before Inseminoid!) but the curious blond streaks in the male domestics hair takes some getting used to, particularly if your used to seeing Gareth Thomas (a particular victim of the hair dye) in his Roj Blake persona. It's a pity that the series was shot on cheap 16mm colour film as the results are a bit jumpy when viewed today, but this series all in all is very good fun. Sit back, relax and don't take it too seriously, this is well worth purchasing on DVD!