Harpers Bazaar (1965)

Paul McCartney and Jean Shrimpton in Harpers Bazaar April 1965
Photos by Richard Avedon Mercury suit by NASA

Doctor Who - The Ambassadors of Death (1970) Behind the scenes

Behind the scenes images from the 7 part 1970 Doctor Who story:The Ambassadors of Death. 

These seem to be the actors gathered in the makeup room prior to filming and of course features a reuse of the Moon Zero Two space helmets.  The suits I believe are original BBC made costumes for this show

Steve

Man on the Moon - A Daily Mail Special (1969)

Took myself on a little day trip to London today and stumbled across this down Brick Lane for a bargain £5.  And, given that we are very nearly the same age as each other, its actually in amazing condition!

This is a souvenirs magazine to celebrate the, as was then, impending moon landing.  I've only read a fraction of it so far but its fascinating to read about it before it had actually happened and also of note is the fact that it very nearly all paintings and drawing inside because obviously at this point there were no  photographs of the event.

Its also a bit of a double win for me because I'm a big fan of Neil Ardley from his children's futurology book series, World of Tomorrow.  If I haven't yet blogged the Out into Space edition  then I'll correct that as soon as is possible because that also has some very nice art inside

Steve

Lost In Space - Propstore Auction 2022

Want to buy a second hand spacesuit?

Or any number of other items from the Lost In Space remake series. If so then head on over to the Propstore before the 16th of February 2022 

Lost in Space Auction (propstoreauction.com)

By way of a taste of whats on offer, here are some of the best images we will ever get of Will Robinson's spacesuit, courtesy of the above site.  Enjoy the skills of the costume designers and fabricators.

I've still got the final few episodes of series 3 left to watch so will be back round this way, looking at the show again, once that's done.

 

Steve

Another Life (2019)

An unknown object shaped like a large Möbius strip lands on Earth and grows a crystalline tower above it. Erik Wallace, a scientist employed by the United States Interstellar Command,  attempts to communicate with the alien structure.  Wallace's wife, astronaut Niko Breckenridge, and her crew embark on a high-risk mission to explore the genesis of an alien artifact.... and then dramatic stuff happens I imagine.

And that's about as much as I know.  The trailer looks good though.  I've watched it a couple of times and saved the series to the planner but I haven't actually pressed play yet because I'm still working through Lost In Space S3, to be followed by The Expanse. S6... if I don't get side tracked by other shows.  There's so much genre TV about now. Its hard to imagine I used to trawl the new weeks listings in The Radio Time and TV Times, looking for anything remotely sci-fi to watch and quite often coming back with nothing at all.  We live in bountiful times.

I'll maybe revisit with another post once I've watched it.

Steve

Lucy in the Sky (2019)

Lucy in the Sky is a 2019 film .  It stars Natalie Portman as Lucy Cola, an astronaut, who returns to Earth from her first space mission and then begins to feel disconnected from normal life.

I saw this flash up while flipping between platforms tonight and immediately pulled a face at the title because it always strikes me as cynical to name a film after a well known song.  Then I read the write up and thought, well they cover this sort of stuff in For All Mankind but having watched the trailer for it, I'm thinking I might give it a go. Reviews seem very mixed but that can sometimes indicate a movie that's a little challenging, not necessarily one that's bad.  We will see but feel free to drop your thoughts in the comments.

Steve

For All Mankind - season 2 (2021)

Season two of For All Mankind is every bit as brilliant a continuation of the ongoing alternative reality TV show where the space race just kept on going.

Here are some more lovely images of the spacesuits and tech as seen on the lunar landscape but there are also some wonderful human stories told throughout the 10 episodes as characters struggle to make it to the moon against all sorts of issues and prejudices.  Masterful storytelling.

Steve

For All Mankind - Season 1 (2019)

For All Mankind is an Apple TV original series that sets up the premise of an alternate reality from the point where the Soviet Union are the first to land a man on the Moon.  Rather than faltering at this unexpected setback,  NASA double down and the Space-race picks up a notch or two as the two superpowers compete for dominance.

Its a brilliantly written show and very well made.   Its also amazingly tense and when you think you have the measure of it, it will throw in a curve ball that will catch you off guard.  Its also very respectful of the true history of NASA and the very many real life people that feature in the progression of the story.  In a single word, it's: Quality.

If you are the kind of person that hangs about on blogs about Spacesuits, its probably very much your cup of tea. So h

ere are some images from the first season to get a quick feel for it  but I suspect I will be revisiting this show a number of times through the coming year.

Steve

...sitting here impatiently waiting for season 3.

Kate Bush - The Dreaming (1982) A gallery

Back here again for which I make absolutely no apologies as the pretty pictures more than justify another look

These are a set of publicity images of Kate Bush and her dancers in the costumes they wore for The Dreaming video back in 1982.  You can follow the Ventilation Suit label below to get a pretty good history of where else these "Fairy Suits" have appeared and also their origins in the real world of aviation.

These are perhaps some of the best views of the suit's detailing that I've managed to find but really its OK if you just want to ignore all of that and spend your time admiring the goddess inside them... just so long as you absolve your sinful thoughts by going and listening to some of her beautiful back catalogue of music - you wont be sorry.

Steve