And yes, the familiar-looking "Martian" in the right rear seat was Leonard Nimoy, in makeup that looked very much like that he would wear for forty-plus years as Mr. Spock. He was just shy of his twenty-first birthday at the time.
ZOTS was one of the last serials made, and actually one of the better ones in terms of plot. The basic idea of using one or more nuclear/thermonuclear devices to change a planet's orbit would resurface a decade later in "The Day The Earth Caught Fire".
But for me, one source of innocent amusement has always been the chest-mounted control panel on the Rocketman jetpack unit. I always wondered what would happen if, in a fight, one of Martin's adversaries had hit "ON", "DOWN", and "FAST" all at once.
"We can't tell everybody, it would start a panic!"
Words heard in practically every serial like this at some point (usually the Chapter Eight Or So Recap Episode).
Of course, if people aren't already panicked by the usual serial litany of dams bursting, trains derailing, refineries and power plants blowing up, etc., in rapid succession, with no known cause, it's hard to believe that just telling them "it's a bunch of Martians with big ideas and next to no concept of strategy or tactics" is going to send them into the streets screaming incoherently.
More likely, they'll ask Uncle Sam, "You are going to do something about this, right?"
4 comments:
And yes, the familiar-looking "Martian" in the right rear seat was Leonard Nimoy, in makeup that looked very much like that he would wear for forty-plus years as Mr. Spock. He was just shy of his twenty-first birthday at the time.
ZOTS was one of the last serials made, and actually one of the better ones in terms of plot. The basic idea of using one or more nuclear/thermonuclear devices to change a planet's orbit would resurface a decade later in "The Day The Earth Caught Fire".
But for me, one source of innocent amusement has always been the chest-mounted control panel on the Rocketman jetpack unit. I always wondered what would happen if, in a fight, one of Martin's adversaries had hit "ON", "DOWN", and "FAST" all at once.
cheers
eon
UP 50% = Hover?
What happens if you try to hover fast?
By the way....
Just like the series UFO years later:
The earth is under attack!
We'll need a dozen or so people to deal with it!
jayessell;
"We can't tell everybody, it would start a panic!"
Words heard in practically every serial like this at some point (usually the Chapter Eight Or So Recap Episode).
Of course, if people aren't already panicked by the usual serial litany of dams bursting, trains derailing, refineries and power plants blowing up, etc., in rapid succession, with no known cause, it's hard to believe that just telling them "it's a bunch of Martians with big ideas and next to no concept of strategy or tactics" is going to send them into the streets screaming incoherently.
More likely, they'll ask Uncle Sam, "You are going to do something about this, right?"
cheers
eon
It is a weather balloon, eon. Or swamp gas, refracting the planet Venus. Nottin' te see here, folks, moovealong.
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