Fantastic Television Cloth 312

Before the release of Star Wars in 1977, the books available on science fiction on television were but a scant few. This book, fortunately, was one of them. Although dated somewhat, Fantastic Television is a terrific resource for those of us who can recall all the popular sci-fi television of the 50's and 60's. Replete with episode guides to the originals including Superman, Boris Karloff's Thriller, One Step Beyond, Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, The Prisoner, Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" (yes!) and a rather critical, no-holds barred review and episode guide to Space 1999, Gerani's book is an exploration into the popular television of yesteryear with an interesting foray into many made-for-tv shows as well. Aside from a chapter on "British Telefantasy," showcasing programs like "The Champions," "A is for Andromeda" and Gerry Anderson's "UFO" as well as the BBC's obscure "Moonbase 3," the book also looks at popular made-for-tv programs of the 70's that are fondly remembered: "Trilogy of Terror" with Karen Black, Gene Roddenberry's "The Questor Tapes," and Roy Thinnes, in "Satan's School for Girls". Another chapter delves into Saturday morning kidfare including "Captain Scarlett," Gerry Anderson's supermarination masterpiece from the UK and the ever-popular Saturday morning "Sid and Marty Kroft Supershow" featuring the likes of "Electra-Woman and DynaGirl" and many other popular features and cartoons including the often discussed but rarely seen "Star Trek: The Animated Series" now, thankfully, available on DVD. Strongly recommended and a most enjoyable read with an engaging style that takes a look back to television before the days of cable when TV was actually fun to watch!

For anybody who loved reading about science fiction TV series way back in the 1970s, this book is a great memory. I found a copy at a now-defunct flea market when I was a teenager, and was thrilled to find episode guides to series such as "One Step Beyond," "Night Gallery" "Star Trek" and all the Irwin Allen TV shows too ("Lost in Space," "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" and so on). I didn't care for the author's obvious disrespect and dislike for "Space: 1999," always one of my favorites (and then a new show!) but it was still clear that so much research and work went into the book. If you can find a copy of this today, it's very much worth getting. There's information on everything from Made-For-TV Movies of the age ("Gargoyles!" "Ritual of Evil!" "Baffled!"), to British programming, and Saturday-morning genre efforts too.

Though something of a relic and an antique from my days as a television-loving teenager, this book has proven indispensable to me. Originally written and published in 1977, to my knowledge it has never been revised, updated or reprinted. I have owned my copy of 'Fantastic Television' since 1983, purchasing it off the out-of-print bookshelf at a bookseller here in the Twin Cities. The copy I had read and referred to thousands of times as a teenager belonged to my brother who received it as a birthday gift. Coveting it fiercely I finally came across a copy years later and snagged it immediately. To be honest the book isn't really among the best of its type available and that is largely due to it's age. It does however hold a special interest to those of us who were hooked on science fiction or horror TV programming while coming of age during the 70's.Included in the first part of the book is an introduction to and brief history of such long forgotten but classic shows like John Newland's 'One Step Beyond' and the Boris Karloff hosted 'Thriller', both rarely seen today; other more popularly known programs like 'Batman' and 'Superman', 'Star Trek' and 'The Invaders', 'The Twilight Zone' and 'The Outer Limits' can be found here as well. Cult TV classics like Patrick McGoohan's 'The Prisoner' and Darren McGavin's 'Kolchak: The Night Stalker' are also here. In all there are 16 separate television shows covered within which includes the classic Irwin Allen shows. Each episode of the series is listed with a short one or two sentence descriptive plot summary. The second part of the book has a paragraph length synopsis of many other shows which space did not allow the authors to list each episode of.Does anyone remember either of the excellent TV movies 'Gargoyles' or 'The Questor Tapes'? They're Here! Because also included is a decent collection of classic sci-fi and horror oriented made-for-television movies with a very concise and compact description of each. A special section of the book deals with Saturday morning fantasy classics - both live action and animated, and a short section on British fantasy television including some real rarities.Also containing many photographs and even some rare stills, the book is a real curio and definitely a collectible for any avid TV fan. There are bigger and better (and up-to-date) books available on the subject but don't overlook this gem. The authors genuinely love their subject and really awaken the fanatic in you; it is virtually impossible to put down once you pick it up.