h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've got a freebie treat for you scifi buffs, particularly if you like vintage stuff and a good laugh.

Back in 1977 - BEFORE 'Red Dwarf' and other (deliberately) churckle-worthy space romps, there was an unfortunately short-lived US TV series called 'Quark'.

Adam Quark and his team of misfits - the Bettys (clones), the Transmute (he veers from one gender cliche to another), and the Vegeton (Mr Ficus Panderata, and yes, he sounds just like Spock) - scour the galaxy. Literally. They are on garbage pick-up detail.

In between retrieving huge plastic bags of space trash, a la Stanley Kubrick, the team save the universe in their copious free time.

Yes, there's a Big Giant Head on a screen. Yes, the exchange operator has four arms. Yes, the robot is cowardly and depressive. But think about it: all they had to make fun of were Classic Star Trek, Flash Gordon, and the first 'Star Wars' episode. Give them a break.

It's pretty entertaining, and you can watch all eight episodes on Youtube.

Here's the first link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM4YJ-jNteY&list=RDLM4YJ-jNteY#t=11

Have fun, I say. And may the Source NOT be with you, because it's really useless.

My personal favourite: Ficus and Libida, the daughter of the evil Zorgon, doing it Vegeeton style. You cannot beat the line, 'And now, we wait for the bee...' There is such as thing as classic space opera humour, and it's here.

Thanks to the kind person who managed to dredge up this old show.

Thanks for that Dmitri - just watched the first few minutes - looks good I'm sure it must have influenced Red Dwarf.

I wonder if that's the reason why Quark (the Ferengi) got that name. Collecting space garbage sounds just like the thing he would do.

Possibly.
Or it's just the space version of 'Smith'.

The special effects remind me a bit of Raumpatrullie Orion, although that was about a decade earlier of course.

Like the spaceships that look like they're on strings?

Yes, and the space station at the start reminded me of something but I'm not sure what. A part of some household appliance maybe. Some kind of filter or fan or something.

Me, too.

bookmarkedit looks my type of humour