Just another episode of Gerry Anderson's UFO with its lovely often recycled space suits. Here they are looking all yellow and freshly painted from being in Journey to the Far Side of the Sun.
You can even see both types of helmet and all the usual space-tech gubbins a chap might need in space
No oxygen tanks on the back though, not in this show. Its all in the shoulder unit
Hang on a minutes! What's all this about then
Wow! Is that what I think it is?
Blimey Crickey! And Kubrick was adamant that everything should be destroyed after filming, lest it all get recycled and cheapen his original.
Not sure? Think its a copy?
Well, firstly, every other type of spacesuit's chest and back unit from
2001 turned up in
Doctor Who and other shows through the 70's so why not this one. And secondly picture 4 shows this...
which looks a lot like this....
...from picture 7.
My best guess is when they picked it out the skip at Shepperton Studios it needed a bit of repair work and the top seems far more likely a place to stick it back on than where it appears on the original.
All that remains is to say thanks to Mr Nowak for leading me to this. You are a star.
Steve
You're welcome, and thanks!
ReplyDeleteI recall reading an interview with Michael Billington where he said they used a "rocket pack" from 2001 in a space walking scene, and since they only had one they had to swap it between two actors. Annoyingly, I can't find that interview any more.
Billington was slightly wrong; the "rocket pack" was the Discovery backpack, which we already knew survived and was re-used in other productions, as documented on this site.
So of course, while I was watching UFO, I was looking for the Discovery backpack, and it didn't click until I rewatched 2001 recently.
Its the 6 degrees of separation effect for spacesuits,it never ceases to amaze me how often some of the older suits have been not only reused but even combined as in this case,well spotted.
ReplyDeleteIt's my favourite bit about doing this blog.
Delete