|
Hello and greetings from cold Germany. I want to introduce you to a little show called "Raumpatrouille - Die phantastischen Abenteuer des Raumschiffes Orion" or "Space Patrol: The fantastic adventures of spaceship Orion". You probably don't know that this show even existed and you are not to blame because no one ever pushed for a big release. A little history first, then I will post a few links and after that we can discuss the show. The first episode was broadcasted on 9.17.1966, only eight days after the first episode of Stark Trek on NBC. Stark Trek and Space Patrol have some striking similarities. Their Captains both tend to ignore authorities and the crews European and Asian or what people thought was Asian in 1966. It is also important to know that this show was produces on a very, very low budget. The controls of the Orion are clearly only irons and pencil sharpeners. This is the point where I have to say I'm sorry, I don't know how to compose a big and comprehensive post that includes everything that is relevant to the subject. There are so many important things going on at this time (the building of the Berlin Wall just as an example) that obviously influenced the creation of this show. Please feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them! The crew of the Orion:  (from Wikipedia, in order from the picture) Hasso: Lt. Hasso Sigbjörnson (Claus Holm) is the Orion's engineer, a character reminiscent of Star Trek's Mr. Scott. He likes to drink and is the only crewmember who is married (his wife is named Ingrid and he always promises her to retire from active duty). He is an old friend of Commander McLane who usually helps him to explain to Ingrid why he can't retire after all. McLane: Major Cliff Allister McLane (Dietmar Schönherr) is the commander of the Orion and a friend to most of its crewmen. He is a daredevil and hero who does not fight for money or glory, but for peace. He has been a member of Earth's space fleet for 15 years and was a soldier in at least one previous large-scale war (in the novels, these adventures of Cliff and his crew were described, too). As a running gag, McLane often has to destroy the spaceship Orion to save Earth, afterwards being awarded command of a better vessel (also named "Orion"). In the TV series it was shown only with the destruction of the Orion VII, though in the novels it went as far as to the Orion X-C. Helga: Lt. Helga Legrelle (Ursula Lillig) is the female surveillance and communication officer of the Orion. Like the other members of the crew, she dislikes Tamara Jagellosvk and feels monitored by her. Like Jagellovsk, Legrelle has a secret crush on Commander McLane and reacts very jealously whenever she notices Jagellovsk paying too much attention to him. Mario: Lt. Mario de Monti (Wolfgang Völz) is the computer specialist and gunner ("armament officer") of the Orion and a good friend of Commander McLane. He is often shown drinking with his friends and he is a womanizer who likes to flirt with young, attractive women (not even Tamara is safe from him, but she turned him down pretty heavily). Tamara: Lt. Tamara Jagellovsk (Eva Pflug) is a female member of the GSD ("Galaktischer Sicherheitsdienst", German for "Galactic Security Service", the military intelligence service) who has been given the task of keeping McLane under control. Tamara likes McLane, however, and is very amused by his sense of humour. The Crew at first strongly dislike her, but with time they develop a feeling of mutual respect. Tamara can issue "Alpha Orders" which are orders of highest priority that have to be obeyed by McLane at all cost. Please, ask me any questions and I will answer them, but I really do not know how to write an OP that already answers most of the questions. Now: Links! Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raumpa...mschiffes_Orion Episode 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKePj2A6yWA Subtitles for all episodes: http://www.abc.se/~m1019/spacepatrol/ I will add more links to subbed episodes later when I find them. Please help me with this, Youtube is a mess! I did some googling and the getting the other episodes with subtitles is a pain in the rear end. Your best bet seems to be to find the German episodes and use the subtitles I linked above.
|
| # ? Dec 4, 2012 00:54 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2013 03:43 |
|
|
From your youtube link. Wow that was a LOT of space bureaucracy! I think that was a total of three (?) meetings in a row!? I think I was informed about the particulars of the Orion's assignment three times in a row. Each one escalating the importance of McLane's inability to adhear to the rules. He's a maverick! (or so I'm told during several conversations) who's three year mission is too...follow orders while being flippant? It's somewhat unclear. Well, unclear except that he is to follow orders while obeying Tamara...assuming she isn't taken in by his charms!? This is a really interesting example of the idealized conception of what post-war Germans might find realistic in their speculative fiction. The tension really seems to come from flirting with disobeying the rule that McLane has to follow. Which is an interesting counterpoint to the American Star Trek that focused more on individual morality than in obedience to a defined structure. Though of course I have only seen the first episode (?) provided and the show might be very different from what I have seen.
|
| # ? Dec 4, 2012 07:12 |
|
|
I never saw the series, but the soundtrack is pretty dope, picked up the cd in a used record shop while visiting Toronto one year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-p5A_GislM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrb75DO7H4c
|
| # ? Dec 4, 2012 18:22 |
|
|
Indeed, comparisons with Star Trek seem unavoidable. How much of it is justified, though? Was SPO a direct, deliberate answer to ST? I guess it is possible to create a new TV show in a week, after having watched the original Star Trek first episode, but it also feel far-fetched.
|
| # ? Dec 4, 2012 23:54 |
|
|
Aww, I'm terribly sorry for not contributing more, some stuff came up that took up all of my time. I figured out a solution for the subtitle problem! You can use VLC to stream Youtube videos and you can then open the subtitle file with VLC! How to use VLC to watch Youtube videos: http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39...-videos-in-vlc/ Get the subtitles from here: http://www.abc.se/~m1019/spacepatrol/ Get the episodes here: Episode 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftDXbIDfce8 Episode 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWv2cqL4pB8 Episode 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdFON6jQyyc Episode 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6esKgdcf0oc Episode 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZN1ClJiI4o Episode 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOfv9yRQdok Episode 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_rSbPf6b9E Then just open up VLC -> Video -> Subtitles -> select your file. Geared Hub posted:I never saw the series, but the soundtrack is pretty dope, picked up the cd in a used record shop while visiting Toronto one year. Yes! The soundtrack is amazing! I especially love the song from your first link. QuelquePeu posted:Indeed, comparisons with Star Trek seem unavoidable. I did some research and apparently the show was first pitched in the early 60's as an alternative to the omnipresent crime shows on German television but it was too expensive. Apparently it was planned as a co-production with American producers but apparently there were some creative differences. This site is full of information but it's in German. I will translate some of the more interesting stuff later on. http://www.wikihost.org/w/raumpatro...ein_fachartikel I also just saw that the German Wiki article some descriptions of how the special effects were done. Anyone interested in that?
|
| # ? Dec 5, 2012 15:49 |
|
|
Does it say anywhere what the 'creative differences' were?
|
| # ? Dec 9, 2012 22:59 |
|
|
Popelmon posted:I also just saw that the German Wiki article some descriptions of how the special effects were done. Anyone interested in that? Very much so. Few years ago I spent months trying to track down this show, I'm glad it's on hand so readily, because it really is a very cool time capsule.
|
| # ? Dec 9, 2012 23:58 |
|
|
Color me intrigued. I'm gonna give this a shot. McClane has a helluva swagger. The sfx don't scare me, as I can suspend disbelief pretty well after watching stuff like TOS and early Doctor Who. I love the fact that it has a lot of Star Trek tropes presented in a different way, and similarities like the crew getting new ships with the same name, and a series of (145!) novels. I just hope the subtitles improve. They take me out more than anything else.
|
| # ? Dec 10, 2012 04:45 |
|
|
I loved Raumpatrolie Orion as kid. While I first saw it long after Star Trek TOS, the books to the series were the only thing resembling Science Fiction in our small village Catholic parish library, which meant I've read them at least 10 times each. They were of course written by Perry Rhodan alumni (Hans Kneifel I think), which later brought be over to this Space Opera-series, which of course sealed the deal of my love for SF...
|
| # ? Dec 10, 2012 06:08 |
|
|
Ah yeah, Perry Rhodan. We still get reissues of the whole run every few years over here. In french.
|
| # ? Dec 10, 2012 16:49 |
|
|
I figured it would have something to do with Perry Rhodan, which is the only Sci-Fi I have heard of from Germany other than Metropolis. Would Perry Rhodan be worth reading as a way to practice my German reading? Also, I love it that the American's name is McClane. It's like they presaged Die Hard by 20 years.
|
| # ? Dec 10, 2012 21:46 |
|
|
Apollodorus posted:I figured it would have something to do with Perry Rhodan, which is the only Sci-Fi I have heard of from Germany other than Metropolis. Would Perry Rhodan be worth reading as a way to practice my German reading? If you don't mind it being extra-pulpy 60s stuff and want to read Perry Rhodan from the beginning, start with the Heftroman "Perry Rhodan 1: Unternehmen Stardust" by K.H. Scheer. The original magazine issues (called "Heftromane" or simply "Hefte") should be available as eBooks from various sources, including Amazon/Kindle. If want to track down paper copies, it's probably cheaper/easier to look for the Silberbände. The "Silberbände" (named for their metallic covers) each collect half a dozen or so of the Heftromane in chronological order. The title of the first Silberband is "Die Dritte Macht". If you'd rather jump in somewhere in the middle, here's a German Perry Rhodan Wiki with an overview and synopses of all the different story arcs and series. The whole thing is ongoing since 1961, so there are a lot of them.
|
| # ? Feb 8, 2013 23:52 |
|
|
Sorry for the double post, but I dug out some Orion GIFs I originally made for one of the Star Trek threads a year or two ago. Thought you folks might enjoy them.   The show is full of SFX that looks rather dated by today's standards, but was actually pretty elaborate for a small-budget 60s European TV production.   The relatively small budget forced the set designers to be somewhat... pragmatic in their use of props. The bridge set of the Orion is legendary for using lots of bathroom fittings and household items for controls, including an electric iron which pretty much has cult status today.   Orion made some serious effort to depict a future human society that was noticeably different from what people knew back then, sometimes with hilarious results, like the infamous "dances" going on in the backgrounds of bar scenes:   Also: Space suits!  Robots!  Ridiculous haircuts!  And somewhat contrary to Star Trek TOS, the series would also routinely depict starships landing and starting from planet surfaces, most notably this often-reused gorgeous sequence of the Orion launching from its underwater base on Earth:  
|
| # ? Feb 9, 2013 00:26 |
|
|
How representative of the actual show would you say is the compilation movie that came out in 2003?
|
| # ? Feb 16, 2013 12:48 |
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2013 03:43 |
|
|
Orion was brought up in a previous thread somewhere on here and I tracked it down after people had more than a few positive things to say about it. It's a really interesting show. A lot of the prop and effects work is eye-catching in a way that most stuff isn't and I always thought the 'Alpha Order' dynamic was very unique for it's time.
|
| # ? Feb 16, 2013 13:40 |
|
