Friday, 30 September 2016

Kids Incorporated - NASA Space Week (1984)

Well that was not nice but in order to get some images, I've just sat through far too many minutes of Kids Incorporated, episode 23 of the first season on the strength of a tip off from a blog follower. (cheers sir!  I would never have found it without your help)
And what we have is another appearance of the Men in Space helmet and suit. looking decidedly rough and aged I might add.
There are also some small, similar suits that look specially made up to me, although the helmets will clearly be from somewhere else because that's the expensive bit and there are 4 of them.
I had to research the show as we never had it over here and it all sounds embarrassing and painful so we probably shouldn't dwell on it any longer than it takes to share the episode's plot and then move along
"It's Space Week at The P*lace, and all the kids are writing to NASA in hopes of becoming the first kid in space. Gloria, however, is too scared."


Steve
at

15 comments:

  1. Tim Armstrong1 October 2016 at 08:54

    Now this is an obscure one and its the latest appearance of the men into space suit which was 25 years old at that point and looking its age too,but you`re right where do the other helmets come from?,another space suit mystery to solve.

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    1. John Nowak12 October 2016 at 17:25

      I would bet a doughnut the "off" helmets were the ones used in the TV series "Lost in Space."

      http://pics-about-space.com/lost-in-space-suit-space?p=4#

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    2. Tim Armstrong13 October 2016 at 08:51

      You`re right they do look a lot like the lost in space helmets,but are they originals or a good copy?,the mystery deepens.

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    3. John Nowak13 October 2016 at 09:13

      I'd say originals. One of the obvious matches is the antennas over the ears, where they added flags for this show. Also, we know that some of the "Lost in Space" helmets survived, because they were auctioned off.

      I'm just surprised that they didn't show up more often in other productions; they don't look as nice as the "Men Into Space" helmets, but they're perfectly decent, as the auction photo shows.

      I'd guess those helmets were not made for Kids Incorporated. I can't imagine anyone spent that much money on this episode. Besides, note that they're scaled wrong for children.

      I haven't seen "Lost in Space" for a long time, and I don't know how many helmets were made for it. But there were seven characters and it wouldn't surprise me if they ordered at least four when they started the series.

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    4. Tim Armstrong14 October 2016 at 02:52

      You know,I`ve had a look at the episode and I think you`re right about these being the lost in space helmets tho it is strange that they didnt pop up previously in the 16 years following the end of LIS,I also agree that a lo-budget sit com like KI wouldnt have the time or money to make helmets tho I think that the Men in Space look a like suit garments that were worn with the LIS helmets could`ve been made for the show.I guess the real question is just how many suits were made for LIS,the show did start out with a big budget so its quite possible that four or more suits were produced but I`d love to know for sure.
      Anyway congratulations on a good bit of detective work.

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    5. John Nowak14 October 2016 at 05:13

      I agree. The suits might be original to "Kids Incorporated", or they had a *lot* of "Men Into Space" suits, possibly made over the years as those helmets were re-used.

      The LIS helmets are a bit mysterious, though. We see two of them sold without visors and repainted (one red, one red, white, and blue) in the early 2000s, and one in very good condition auctioned for $20K in 2011.

      They can't have been sitting idle in storage all those years, and nobody repainted them for fun; they were repainted to be used. But where?

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    6. John Nowak14 October 2016 at 11:12

      Oh, here's another bit:

      http://www.iann.net/lis/behindscenes/costumes/don_helmet/donhelmet_001.htm

      This states that this LIS helmet was painted red for "another production." Not a clue what that might be.

      One of the LIS helmets was painted in a red, white, and blue pattern that looked like a tricolor flag. I was going to suggest there might be a French production, but it turns out that the color order is wrong: from the front, the helmet looks more like the flag signal "T" than a proper French flag. So that's probably a dead end.



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    7. Steve14 October 2016 at 17:42

      John and Tim well done chaps. I go away for a couple of days and come back to find you've done my homework for me! I think you're right they are LIS helmets and I also wonder now why we haven't seen more of them. Good lead on the two coloured ones, somewhere to start the search

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    8. John Nowak14 October 2016 at 18:16

      Also note one small detail: the "Men Into Space" helmet has a ring that connects to one around the neck of the pressure suit. This is visible here:

      http://www.gettyimages.com/event/s-men-into-space-642143745#william-lundigan-poses-for-portrait-session-lundigan-portrays-colonel-picture-id530089712

      but that appears to be missing from the four suits worn by the children in the LIS costumes. Instead, they appear to have a simple black circle which represents this connecting neck ring.

      So Tim is almost certainly right. One of these five jumpsuits is an original "Men Into Space" pressure suit costume, with a neckpiece and ring that attaches to the helmet. The other four (which fit children better) were made to look like the "real" costume.

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  2. Steve1 October 2016 at 15:39

    I will be cooking up a men into space suitography soon as this might well be the most recycled of all spacesuits

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  3. Unknown2 October 2016 at 12:05

    This isn't the most isolated use of the suit though, as it appeared five years earlier in the Salvage 1 episode "Golden Orbit", which until I discovered this series, I believed to be the last appearance of them!

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    1. Steve2 October 2016 at 13:38

      Thank you, sir. I'll take that one as well. Nice work

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    2. John Nowak3 October 2016 at 03:20

      At this point, I really hope those suits made it to a museum.

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    3. Steve3 October 2016 at 16:40

      Agreed. They served their country well !

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    4. John Nowak3 October 2016 at 17:38

      There is a Science Fiction Museum in Seattle, with a lot of film props. Unfortunately, they don't allow photography...

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