LOST IN SPACE ( Season 3 )

For those that enjoyed the first series of Lost in Space, by the time of the third season, things had taken on a very different tone indeed, and became much more childish and predictable with stock situations being repeated over and over again. As many have qouted as sayng, the Space campiness had irrevocably crept in, and Smith had become an increasingly irritatingly cowardly persona, which was far from the scheming and darker smith as portrayed in the first season, which is by far the most enjoyable especially if you like your science fiction on the more serious side. 

It's sad really , but it's true of most of Irwin Allens shows that they started off very promising, but gradually went down hill, untill the plug was eventually pulled.

The Third season though did have some redeeming factors in that it was a little better than the second series which to my mind contained some of the worst episodes. The third season even did on occasion harken back to the first.

At best most of the acting in lost in space was forgettable except for Jonathan Harris, but there's something very nostalgic about the whole series and somehow demands repeated viewings ,which given it's age, is much more entertaining than many Sci Fi series made today, which although containing  much more expensive special  effects are mostly totally devoid of atmosphere and characters. Lost in Space certainly still has a lot more going for it.

SERIES 1    GOOD EGG

SERIES 2    PAR BOILED

SERIES 3    PAR BOILED

TARANTULA ( 1955)

Another splendid science fiction come horror film by film director Jack Arnold.My prevoius review of ' THEM ' was released a year earlier and has a similar beginning , being part of the popular 'Giant Insect ' cycle of the period. Rather than having the little girl fleeing from the unseen THEM Arnold has a strangely distorted man with head and hands twisted into bestiality, jump out into the desertr and collapse as the title credits appear.

Performances are much better than average in TARANTULA. Leo G Carroll ( remember him in ' The Man From U.N.C.L.E ) plays a biochemist experimenting with artificial nutrients which consequently have devastating abnormal effects not only on man but also a huge TARANTULA which escapes from the laboratory.

John Agar and Mara Corday, are also smoothly effective with some touches of humor.Look out near the end for a fleeting glimpse of a young and uncredited Clint Eastwood as the fighter pilot who drops some napalm.

Universals desert town standing set is used to great advantage as it did in THE MONOLITH MONSTERS. Used here as a focus of action and a bridge to the rather more threatening world which lurks just beyond the lamplight. Arnolds feel for the desert is once again perfectly realised.

Obviously the special effects are not up to todays standards but what we have here is all atmosphere throughout and not like todays CGI perfectly rendered mostly lifeless FX. Travelling mattes and giant sets were mainly used making the spider appear enormous. I think we can forgive tha fact that the spiders legs don't seem to touch the ground.

GOOD EGG

28 Days Later ( 2002 )

Directed by Danny Boyle 28 Days later is a post - apocalyptic sci fi come horror film.

As such this is a pretty good film and compares rather favoroubly to the more famous horror films made by George A. Romero. Emphasis here however seems to be much more focused on the small group of people escaping from the diseased ridden zombies as they travel across country to find refuge with like minded survivors and eventually wind up at an army blockade led by none other than Christopher Eccleston. Yes folks this is a british film and starts out being centered around London when Jim ( Cillian Murphy ) awakens from a coma and finds himself alone in a deserted hospital where he is recovering from some accident.One scene i found a complete rip off though from George A Romeros Dawn of the Dead was the very similar supermarket sequence, but much less effectively done here where they raid a store picking up items willy nilly from the shelves.

Definitely worth a look see this one although it doesn't come across as scarey when compared to similar more greater films. Another odd thing is that unlike the slow moving zombies in the classic Romero films , these are extremely agile and fast moving.

GOOD EGG

QUATERMASS 2 ( 1957 )

Brian Donlevy reprises his role in this Nigel Kneale TV adaption sequel.

Somewhat ponderous and less effective than the earlier film Quatermass 2 is nevertheless a splendid slice of british SF cinema. It is also much darker than the other two.

Director Val Guest maintains and conveys a nice sense of mystery and threat throughout as we find out just exactly what is being manufactured at the secret plant and about it's monstrous occupants.

Best scenes are the ones at the plant ,especially where one of the touring crew, a minister, accidentally falls into one of the domes and stumbles screaming down the steel steps covered in a corrosive black sludge. A very impressive scene.

Only minor complaint, performance wise is Sid James in a cameo role as the drunken press reporter Jimmy. Definitely the worst performance in the film!

If you enjoyed either of the other Quatermass films you will most certainly enjoy this one. I know i did!

GOOD EGG

THEM! [1954]


Giant mutant creatures featured prominently in many science fiction films of the 50's and 60's , especially ones involving atomic explosions. Films such as "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" This time around we have giant ants. "THEM" is a classic of the sub genre and is without equal, especially as it's the only giant mutation movie of any coherance and genuine dramatic tension.

Right from the introduction of the giant ants to the final showdown in the storm drains beneath Los Angeles " THEM " comes across as genuine and really scary of what we could unleash if we carry on testing atomic bombs.

Over 50 years on and "THEM" is as powerful today as it was then.The images portrayed still frighten and the sense of mystery and then threat still pack a punch. In less capable hands "THEM" would have been a failure but Director Gordon Douglas turns this into a classic.

No really notable actors, except Edmund Gwenn who plays the part of the old and wise entomologist ; as always he's excellent as is James Whitmore who is among the first to discover the ants. Much lesser known actor James Arness plays the lead who first appeared disguised as the carrot creature in "THE THING ".

"THEM" in some respects recalls " IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE " with it's desert locations and atmosphere. A girl stumbles out of the desert and is only able to utter "THEM" "THEM" which makes for a very powerful introduction. From then on we discover smashed buildings and twisted cars which in each case has a trail of sugar leading from the site.Eventually when the nest is found poison gas is pumped in and a party with flamethrowers try to wipe out any of the survivors. It's soon discovered that two of the queen ants have flown from the nest and as so the search continues.This time leading to the storm drains of LA and finally James Whitmores final battle as he tries to save not only his own life but also that of some children which become trapped.

So many remarkable scenes in "THEM" which are played excellently throughout and for me it's all the better for being in black and white. " THEM " is definitely a film you should see.

GOOD EGG

TWENTY MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957)


Various creature and insect films thrived during the latter 1950's as did dinosaur pictures. One of the most impressive of the latter is Nathan Juran's Twenty Million Miles to Earth where an earth to venus space expedition crashes into the sea off Italy and loses it's specimen of Venusian life. A jelly like rubbery egg which apparently contains some sort of weird embryonic creature which eventually hatches.

Looking like some alien Tyrannosaurus Rex ( one of Ray Harryhausens liveliest and memorable creations ) the baby begins to grow rapidly and although seems harmless enough at first soon goes on the rampage and is eventually shot down.

Best scenes here are the early ones where the rescue party board the crashed ship and struggle through the wreck to reach the injured crew. Smoke and angled shots are used to very good effect as are the sound effects. All cleverly done to disguise the fact that the sets were those left over from ' The Caine Mutiny '.Another is where the US military helicopters chase the beast across the Sicilian (though actually mainly Californian) countryside. Here the animated Ymir ( as it is called ) appears in a variety of surroundings including, sulphur pits and rocky outcrops, with detailed miniatures almost seamlessly with front and rear projections of real locations. The scene ends with the Venusian covered in an electrically charged net dropped from a helicopter.

What really lets the film down badly though is the acting which is laughable at times as is the script. It will probably be more enjoyed by children, especially these days, and for fans of Harryhausens work , which is without doubt splendid here and is enough of a reason to view it in my opinion. Nice film but badly flawed!


Alternate Titles: TWENTY MILLION MILES TO EARTH; THE GIANT YMIR; THE BEAST FROM SPACE.

HARD BOILED

THEY LIVE ( 1988)

John Carpenter is back with a very cool concept here based on a pulp fiction sci-fi story.

A tough loner ( Roddy Piper ) loses his job and takes to the road. Becoming involved with a bunch of squatters he stumbles upon the terrifying discovery of ghoulish aliens masquerading as humans.Only seen it seems through a certain type of dark glasses which he unwittingly comes across in one of the buildings.

The film certainly recalls the likes of his 'Assault on Precint 13' , again with his own dark menacing electro score bringing out nicely the underlying terror and violence which is about to ensue. A very cool tongue in cheek attitude permeates too which works well. I can't help but think of Kurt Russel in the place of hunky lead Roddy Prior .....although he's not bad at all. It all moves along nicely and there's plenty of action along the way. Keith David makes an excellent sidekick as they eventually penetrate the nerve centre of the aliens and ultmately cause chaos in their plans to take over.

A back on form JC !

GOOD EGG

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN ( 1957 )

Scott Carey ( Grant Williams ) falls victim to a cloud of radioactive gas which causes him to gradually shrink in size.

Although the acting is unfortanately wooden this is a fine blend of science fiction and horror which one will for sure remember after the first viewing.

What begins as a figure of academic medical interest in Scotts predicament soon gives way to ridicule as he becomes more of an object of fascination , which cuts all the more deeper as Scott is just an ordinary Joe and doesn't understand at all what's happening him as he becomes smaller and smaller. Objects and pets such as his friendly cat soon become things of terror as he becomes no more to the cat than a mouse to be played with. More frightening still is the spider in the cellar as he becomes trapped there . Searching for food he finds a piece of cheese and winds up prey of the spider as he tries to attain a meal.

Director Jack Arnold made many fine films in this genre and this is one of his best.Excellent special effects throughout and the giant sets are really good. Incidentally the spider which is supposedly a trained one also appeared in Arnolds ' Tarantula '

Some may find the ending i a little cornball but all in all TISM a very highly recommended movie. Arachnophobes beware!!

CRYSTAL EGG

THE THING (1951)

Produced by Howard Hawks and directed by ( in all but name ) Christian Nyby 'The Thing From Another World ' ( which it is also known as ) still remains a classic film,whose imagary has stood the test of time extremely well. OK No big special effects here by todays standards but this film
more than makes up for that with it's rich atmosphere.

Based on J W Cambells story 'Who Goes There ' TTFAW deviates somewhat from the original concept, with the monster resembling more of a kind of ' Intellectual Carrot' ; whereas John Carpenters remake is much closer with it's shape changing monster and its ability to take on human form, however this is far more gory and gruesome horror fare compared to Hawks's version.

Considering TTFAW was made on a budget the arctic wastes and mounting paranoia are beautifully realised. With a cast of B actors headed by ' Kenneth Toby ' TTFAW has most definitely an 'Hawksian' stamp to it with his use of typically overlapping dialogue and characters. Not your usual Sci fi/ horror fare at all here.

Favourite scenes has to be when the group set out by plane to track down what is apparently thought to be a meteorite and come across a spaceship frozen under the ice which has seemingly crashlanded. It's more of what one doesn't see here, which make these scenes so powerfull. In fact all that's glimpsed is a tail fin of the craft protruding from the ice and the vague shadowy figure of it's occupant.

The 8 foot tall monster, which somehow lost it's ability to mimic others along the way is played by ' James Arness , he of ' Gunsmoke ' fame, although you would never recognize him here! In fact he supposedly was so embarassed by the role he refused to eat with the rest of the cast.


The climax in which the creature becomes trapped on the wire and electrocuted where he gradually decreases in size was by all accounts achieved by using different proportioned actors ( height ) until in the final scene a midget in costume was used. However ridiculous this all may sound it is very effectively done and in my opinion adds more realism.

Definitely worth a watch then this one if you havn't seen it! Even if you have, another screening is highly recommended. One of those films i guess which just seems to get better each time it's viewed!

CRYSTAL EGG

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

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I've never actually read Jules Verne's original story but this film has always been a favourite of mine. It was made when Disney, in the 50's, were branching out into more live - action films rather than animation.The combination of adventure and science fiction are splendidly realised here and James Mason makes for an excellent Captain Nemo.Production costs were very high for the time and no expense spared to give the tale a very lavish cinematic treatment.Disney hired Richard Fliescher as director, who has made several excellent films such as ' The Armoured Car Robbery ' and ' The Narrow Margin ' etc. Under his reins Fleischer mounts ' 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea ' as a really spectacular film. Cinemascope and the Technicolor process with beautiful underwater photography are a sight to behold and the special effects stand up very well by todays standards.As i mentioned earlier ' James Mason ' makes for an excellent brooding ' Captain Nemo ' and ' Kirk Douglas ' too as just an ordinary seaman who is full of charm and charisma, bringing some wonderfully entertaining humor and even one or two
songs.....that IS him singing by the way! Whereas ' Paul Lukas ' as Professor Aronax and Peter Lorre as his apprentice seem just a little miscast.Minor quibbles here though! One blooper to look out for by the way is in the scene near the end when water is filling up the submarine, Kirk Douglas begins fighting with a member of the crew to escape. As Douglas hits him his false sideburn falls off and flies across the screen.

So Climb aboard the Nautilus ... and plunge into a strange undersea world of spellbinding adventure . Join shipwrecked survivors taken captive by the mysterious Captain Nemo ,who wavers between genius and madness, as he launches a deadly crusade across the seven seas while exposing his evil plan to destroy the whole world? Believe me you won't be dissapointed!

GOOD EGG

Lost In Space ( 1965)

Lost In Space was and still is one of my favourite television series of the sixties. I remember coming home from school trying to watch these at tea time on a channel that was never very clear. Having now this DVD collection of the entire first series and with such excellent quality video to disc transfer is a real treat.

Created by Irwin Allen, who's series included 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea', 'The Time Tunnel' and 'Land of the Giants' Lost In Space was very similar in some ways to 'Roddenberrys' 'Star Trek' which incidentally was rejected at the time by CBS in favour of the aforesaid series.

Filmed in black & white the first season was much more serious in tone than the latter ones, which tended to be more camp because of the competition of Batman which was being aired around the same time. The series revolved around the adventures of the space family 'Robinson' and the evil stowaway 'Dr Smith ' ( Jonathan Harris ) who beacame , along with Bill Mummy and the robot the runaway stars of the show. In fact after watching again today Dr Smith comes across as even more evil as i had remembered him and his antics at trying every devious method in the book to return to earth even more entertaining and comical, as are his constant ranting and ravings to the robot.Seems like he spent ages coming up with new phrases such as ' My mechanical Friend' ' Bumbling Bucket of Bolts' 'Bubbleheaded Booby' and ' Bellicose Bumpkin' to name but a few.

Lost In Space can be enjoyed by anyone of any age which is probably it's main appeal.Although predictable and the settings restrictive it was probably Irwin Allens finest series.The 'Jupiter' spaceship looks particularly nice too by the way! Favourite episode probably has to be ' Wish Upon A Star' where the brainless Dr Smith stumbles across a derelict spaceship on the castaways planet and in it finds a helmet which apparently has the power to grant anyones wishes.Conjuring up a wealth of luxuries smith gets more than he bargains for when the owner of the helmet turns out to be a terrifying graoaning alien bent on destruction. An excellent episode this one, as is ' The Keeper ' the only two parter in the series starring 'Michael Rennie 'which unfortunately is somewaht let down by the ridicoulous looking monsters!

Having excellent ratings at the time Lost In Space went on for 3 seasons before being canceled.

A splendid eight disc box set beautifully packaged with a booklet and an added bonus of the unaired pilot episode.

This Island Earth


Universals ' This Island Earth ' is a very good example of Sci Fi in the 50's. Directed by ''Joseph Newman ' it is a very energetic , colourfull film which begins in familiar enough territory but journeys much farther out into interstellar travel and interplanetary war. The star of the film ' Rex Reason ' is unfortunately stolidly innapropriate in the part of the young physicist.Faith Domergue fares little better either......being rather flat. But what makes this film so stand out is the special effects , colourfull photography and the ethereal looking settings , which are all splendidly realised.

Cal Meachams (Rex Reason ) jet is mysteriously encapsulated in green light, after his plane malfunctions and is mysteriously landed for him . Arriving in his laboratory next day an electronics catalogue offers him instructions on how to build an ' Interocitor ' Provided with the necessary parts he finally finishes the project. The result looking dissapointingly like a colour TV set with an inverted triangular screen. The face that appears congratulates him on having passed the test and later asks him to join some strange company called Unit 16. After the machineis destroyed ' Meacham ' is taken aboard a plane ( with no pilot !! ) from where he is taken to his secret destination.Working alongside fellow scientists ( some romantic moments here with colleague Faith Domergue ) they soon discover they are under control by aliens who have specially chosen earths best minds to save them and there planet ' Metaluna ' from being dstroyed in an interplanetary war.Eventually being taken to there homeworld in a flying saucer they arrive to witness the planets final destruction.Escaping just in time the saucer returns to earth and burns up but, not before our heroes are safely lowered in there plane.

Although a year later the film was completely overshadowed by ' Fobidden Planet ' this is still a very enjoyable film.......dated yes ..but nicely so. This is much more than just a variation of the monster movie.....yes there is a bug eyed one.....Cleverly presented and produced by ' William Alland' he knew what the accent should be on and that was special effects.Alland who also worked on films with the great ' Jack Arnold ' definitely brought a lot of his unique imagination to bear.Seen from space the Shattered surface of ' Metaluma ' is splendid , as is the planet itself, wrapped in a shroud of gases as meteors collide and explode.The interior of the saucer too is nicely designed. This Island Earth also has it's fair share of gadgetry. All of this rather compensates for the laclustre characters. Even with it's shortcomings though' This Island Earth ' is most definitely worth a watch.......personally i would much rather see this than a lot of todays Sci Fi films.

Credits :
Director : Joseph Newman
Screenplay : Franklin Coen
Edward O'Callaghan
Novel by : Raymond F. Jones
Photography : Clifford Stine
Designers Alexander Golitzen
R. H Riedel
Producer : William Alland

GOOD EGG

Robinson Crusoe On Mars
( 1964 )



Robinson Crusoe on mars is a very sadly underrated Sci Fi film gem which takes Daniel Defoes island castaway story out into outer space.Unbelievably the whole thing works splendidly ( don't let the title put you off! ) thanks to director Byron Haskin keeping true to the original story while improving the script and making everything scientifically plausable.The death Valley locations are substituted for Mars and makefor an excellent backdrop to the whole film.

Mars Gravity Probe One is diverted en mission to orbit Mars when they are forced to change course due to a massive meteor obstructing their flight path. Manned by Naval Commander Kit Draper ( Paul Mantee ) ; Colonel Dan Macready ( Adam West of Batman fame! ) and Mona the ( experimental) Monkey, both men eject in separate pods to land on Mars. Draper and Mona survive but unfortunately Macready is found dead in his pod.

Much like the Defoe story Draper has to find shelter , water, food and most importantly in this case, oxygen to stay alive. After almost dying of suffocation in a cave Draper stumbles across the secret of the rocks which when burned like coal, emit bursts of oxygen. With some ingenuity Draper manages to replenish his oxygen tanks, find water and food.He continues to survive. Eventually loneliness takes a hold of Draper and almost drives him crazy,until one day he discovers some footprints and a skeletal hand with a strange bracelet attached.Panic stricken Draper retires to his cave until one night a strange interplanetary vehicle is spotted. Apparently on some sort of mining expedition the ship lands with a bunch of alien man like slaves being kept hostage by other, even more stranger looking aliens.One of the slaves escapes and is found by Draper who takes him back to his cave and eventually names him Friday ( played by Vic Ludin ) who incidentally overcomes the oxygen problem by taking pills. In time their realtionship begins to grow. Detected by the alien ship which is intent on their destruction they are forced to flee. The bracelet which Friday wears on his wrist being some sort of homing device which is eventually removed. What ensues is a perilous trek to avoid the aliens, crawling through subterranean passages and lava filled precipices and back to the surface, finally arriving at the polar ice cap where they are eventually lfted by a rescue ship!

Robinson Crusoe On Mars is a Wonderfull Sci Fi film and definitely one of my favourites of all time. A decidedly intelligent film for the sixties with very appealing and believable performances.Some of the content may seem a little dated today and the monkey scenes a tad silly but on the whole this is a very fine and sadly neglected Sci Fi film. Worth checking out if you get the chance but is as yet unavailable on DVD i think!

CRYSTAL EGG

Forbidden Planet

This really is one of the best science fiction films from the 50's. Excellent special effects for the day and a precursor of Star Trek.....Leslie Nielsens Commander Adams was almost certainly a forerunner of ' Captain james T Kirk '...' Gene Rodenberry must surely count this film as one of his major influences.....anyway...'Nielsen ' makes a fair starship commander sent to discover the fate of the ' Bellarophon ' spaceship which crashlanded on the planet Altair 5 .Incidentally typical of 50's style everything is given numbers - the year is 2200, the relief spaceshipis C57D and the crew have been sent out to re-establish contact with a colony that dissapeared 25 years ago.

Borrowing some plot and characters from Shakespeares The Tempest ,' Walter Pidgeon plays ' Dr morbius ' the sole survivor of the ship Bellaraphon ' who discovers a fantastic alien race ,the 'Krell ' ...... creatures which ruled the planet and eventuallly destoyed themselves by there own intellect.....lots of Wonderfull scenes here of the underground ' Krell ' laboratories with marvellous imagery!!! Smacking a little of some Dr Frankenstein.
'Altaira' the daughter of ' Mobious ' is played by the beautifull ' Anne Francis ' ......who could forget her!!!!Nicely adding some spice and romance into the proceedings.
Adams gradually falls in love with her.
After there camp is almost destroyed, and several men killed by some unseen monster Adams and his companion get Morbius to show them the entire underground Krell laboratories.Terrific sets and imagery here once again as Morbius finally comes to accept it is his own ID which is responsible for all the death and destruction which has somehow reactivated the Krells laboratories.

NOTES OF INTEREST
Robby the Robot went on later to appear in ' Lost in space ( TV series ) and The Invisible Boy '. He became one of the screens most lovable metal men.

The music was i believe the first all electronic soundtrack.

Director ' Fred Mcleod wilcox ' was only known really as making ' Lassie ' films.

This really is an eye popper of a film and certainly comes very highly recommended!!!!

CRYSTAL EGG

The Time Machine {1960}

The original and widely cosidered the best adaption of ' H G Wells ' short story. Although the film does not stay true to ' Wells's ' story this is nevertheless a very entertaining and well made film with some very nice special effects, which in there day were quite innovative and unlike todays CGI ( Computer Animated Images ) do not have that horribly digitized and lifeless look . The painstaking stop motion photography being used here to great effect. Rod Taylor plays the part of our time traveller. Opening with a wonderfull section, which by the way is the only part that stays true to the story. Returning from the distant future back to his mid victorian house he tells his friends , who have been waiting impatiently for him , of his fantastic journeys into the future, much to their almost total disbelief .Even though days earlier he demonstrated a working scaled down model of the time machine which upon being activated by one of his friends, dissapeared before there very eyes and was instantly sent into the future......which rather obviously they thought was a mere conjurers trick or something. The only remnant he brings back from the future is a flower which he gives to his friend 'Filby' . 'I bet you won't find that species anywhere' , he says , offering some small proof of his story. Travelling in time through three world wars , the third one inexplicably in 1966 , the time traveller moves on to the year 802701. Here he meets the ' Eloi ' . A gentle peacefull people who rather oddly still remember the wars some 326 years earlier. He saves ' Weena ' from drowning upon his arrival and forms a very close relationship with her. Astonished at the ' Eloi's ' lack of compassion to there fellow man and almost complete unfruitfull existence, he soon discovers the ' Moorlocks '. A subhuman race with glowing eyes , green skin and a mop of white hair who live underground beneath a giant sphinx like structure who cannot bear the sight of bright light. This is the darker side of man turned cannibal who feed on the Eloi . Stealing his time machine and 'Weena' from him our hero finally confronts the 'Moorlocks ' in there underground chambers. Setting everything ablaze and freeing ' Weena ' and her people , he escapes there clutches only to find himself seperated behind the large iron door of the Sphinx. At this point which he returns to his home and friends to tell them his tale. I won't give the end away here! In ' Wells's ' story the time traveller travels to the very distant future and witnesses some very strange creatures , giant cockroaches and strange landscapes. He also travels to the past.......all this though is missing in this adaptation as are other sections. But it's still a most entertaining film though as i say and far far superior to the recent remake. Of particular note are the special FX especially when moving forward in time in his laboratory. We see a mannequin in a shop window change her style of clothes over the passing years as fashions come and go. A candle burn down and flowers open in seconds and the sun and moon race dizzyingly across the night sky with the passing of time. Also the time machine itself which is a wonderfully realized piece of victoriana , very plushly and intricately designed. Very high quality widescreen DVD transfer here. Beautifully detailed colors and photography. The extras one gets are nice too. A 48 minute documentary entitled ' The Journey Back ' is absolutely fascinating which tells of the story behind the actual ' Time Machine ' prop which was used in the film. How it was created and ended up in an ' Acme ' store with several parts missing until it was spotted and eventually lovingly restored to it's former glory . Hosted by ' Rod Taylor ' this is an excellent extra and we even get a little dramatic episode where he meets up with his old friend 'Filby'. It also has some very interesting information on the special effects by Gene Warren and Paul Barr .Other usual extras are story boards and a trailer . Definitely worth buying this DVD if your a fan of this film........even if your not! Thoroughly recommended!

CRYSTAL EGG