General / Off-Topic You're first dalliance with ScFi?

EISENHORN01

EISENHORN01
So I was seven years old when Star Wars burst into the cinema and literally changed my life. From that point on I wasn't riding my bike I was in an X-wing or a tie fighter (with each new movie came new vehicles to thrash around the back streets of my home town). At first anything could be a light sabre my army guns were blasters the world had changed to a galaxy, the advent of merchandise just brought it home. This inevitably led to the "what do you want for your birthday/Xmas" the reply being "Star Wars figures" which then led to the typical adult reply of "you can't have just Star Wars figures". Now to an adult that makes sense to a 7 year old kid it's the DUMBEST STATEMENT EVER of course you can have JUST STAR WARS FIGURES you asked me I answered.

Star Wars was the door to literally a whole new universe as I got older Blake seven and space 1999 filled the weekly void, Star Trek and others that followed helped me develop my love for ScFi on screen and in books.

Gaming wise ive played dozens of space games over the years but ELITE had a similar effect in 1984 as Star Wars had in 1977, it was new it didn't give you a task it just said this is your ship GO HAVE FUN and boy did I go have fun, it reaffirmed my love for all things space and 33 years later that love still looms large. The only thing I can think of that could possibly beat it would be for ED to be in a galaxy far far away and to be able to visit those planets of my youthful dreams.

well a boy can dream can't he? [smile]

How did the rest of you join the space dreamers club?
 

Yaffle

Volunteer Moderator
Yaffle
For me it was UFO (Gerry Anderson). For some reason I was given a UFO annual in about 1975. It may have been a 1975 annual, but why there would be one I don't know as the series was shown in 1970.

On TV it was Space 1999, Fireball XL-5, Dr Who, Joe 90 and Thuderbirds.

Star Wars was the big thing though. That opening, with the huge Star Destroyer flying overhead was unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

I think that gave a bit of freedom to the TV channels to do more as well. So Blakes 7 followed, more Dr Who, Battle of the Planets (7 Zark 7 was a clear R2D2 ripoff), Captain Zepp, Luna...
 

EISENHORN01

EISENHORN01
Arry said:
At about 7 years old; my nan introduced me to the works of her uncle, Herbert George Wells.
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Nice way to get into reading and sci-fi. My big turn on to reading was Tolkien that opened up the world of gaming and miniatures which took a huge chunk of my life before Elite and computers really took off. Reading is still a great passion though, il devour anything, but I do love my 40K stuff as well as Raymond e feist, D gemmel and the other major fantasy writers. (I still have my gaming miniatures boxed and in the attic).
 

PigKiller

PigKiller
The original Star Trek when I was six. And one of the first anime (even before there was the word anime) 'Eighth Man', that would have been '64-65? Before I started school anyway.
 

Frank

Frank
Buster Crabbe's Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers during the Saturday morning cinema matinees for kids. And Victor Appelton's Tom Swift books from outta the library
 

Robin of Spiritwood

Robin of Spiritwood
It was original Star Trek in black & white back in 66-67. Then the Moon Landing in 69.
Those things happened on Sundays, and I know because we were at my grandfather's place with a TV.
I'd fall asleep in the car, looking up at the stars.

After that, I found and read a yellowed copy of The Stars Like Dust at his house, when I was about 7.

We eventually got a TV, and then it was on to Gerry & Sylvia Anderson's series and Astro-Boy. I started my own book collection with Tom Swifts, and Asimovs. It was the New Wave of Sci Fi, and we drowned in books!

In 2 years it's going to be the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing. I'm planning to go back to the site of the old house then.
 

AJW

AJW
Dr Who. Not sure how old I was, but it was the William Hartnell incarnation.

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Steve50

Steve50
I think my first was Fireball XL5 which was really good but the one that utterly blew my mind was UFO, I still watch it to this day and it's still damn amazing. In this time of cg graphics, Derek Meddings creations STILL hold up to this day and look as amazing as they did in the 70's.

Stuff CG, give us proper skilled model making!

..oh and UFO also was responsible for opening my eyes to women, thanks to Lt Ellis. haha
 
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Iskariot

Iskariot
EISENHORN01 said:
You're first dalliance with ScFi?
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I don't really remember.
It might have been a German puppet show about a boy and a robot who traveled to Scotland in a futuristic helicopter. I can't remember what it was called.
I remember building lego robots and helicopters and reenacting that tv show.

But there was also the original Star Trek series and a black&white german scifi series with flying saucers. It was very advanced for the time.
It was called Raumpatrouille and featured some very cool aliens from another dimension.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJI4J92Btis

I am dutch and live near the german border and german tv was vastly superior to anything the dutch broadcasters had to offer.

Space1999 played a big part too.
I loved the Eagles in Space 1999 and had plastic model kits of them.

Also the first War of the Worlds movie (1953) made a huge impression: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9T9f3UbGuo
And of course I should mention the first The Day the Earth Stood Still movie (1951)

I also have strong memories of Tom Baker as Doctor Who. I must have been about 10 years old.

The first books that got me hooked as a kid were John Christopher's Tripod series (4 books).
I recently reread them and they were even better than I remembered.
 
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Yaffle

Volunteer Moderator
Yaffle
Iskariot said:
I don't really remember.
It might have been a German puppet show about a boy and a robot who traveled to Scotland in a futuristic helicopter. I can't remember what it was called.
I remember building lego robots and helicopters and reenacting that tv show.
Click to expand...

Not German, but Supercar, an early Gerry Anderson series sort of fits that, only it was a monkey not a robot.
 

lokvette

lokvette
Same as the OP, was seven and went to see a film called Star Wars, never been the same since, that and reading 2001 AD around the same time, my older brother used to get it I got the Beano Read Dune was I was in my teens and that got me into reading more and more sci fi, oh and the RTS game of dune...

Just noticed above Gerry Anderson, Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet, Space 1999, and there was another one in the 80's or 90's the one with the cubes and a manky old witch looking thing...zoirds or something think it was him
 
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lysan

lysan
It's difficult to say, my first love for the unnatural was the twilight zone, the star trek series and then it all became one big blur of series and movies.
However Close Encounters of the Third Kind was probably the one that really sparked my interest
 
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