'Space: 2099 (1999)' to Be Revived for Television!

[FALLINGSTAR]

Originally Posted by Conrad Turner

I'd say the other way around IF you had to have 2 designs. Use the original design as attack and capture craft, with a possible different design as a mothercraft within the solar system somewhere as a carrier craft for them.

That's what I think too.

[RocKiteman]

Sorry, I should have clarified my Eagle 'aeroshell' comment. I was talking about protecting the spacecraft from the heat of atmospheric reentry.

I understand that the Eagles had 'lift engines' on their 'bellies' that were used for takeoff & landings.

Thanks for the info on the failed UFO remake....

[B.P. Taylor]

The UFO Motherships were built in 2008 and were simply my attempt to create a carrier-type ship for a hypothetical 're-imagining' of UFO- -which we all know is quite the rage these days! I was just trying to have a little fun. There were some allusions to UFO in the projecting panels near the bridge and the green lighting. Conrad Turner- -I'm not sure 'clear spinny bits' would work on something the supposed size of a mothership- -it certainly has the potential to look a bit daft, but I would be interested in seeing what you come up with. Had I not applied detailing to the surfaces, I don't think it would have conveyed the sense of scale the details were intended to impart. I suppose I could have done it in a more 'alien' style, but for the most part was pretty happy with the way it turned out, though I can quite understand the criticisms regarding the design. BTW, I did an article on this project for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Modeller where all is explained, and it also received a gold award at Wonderfest.

BP

[Stratosphere]

Originally Posted by skiffy

Oh, no. No, no. No no no nononononono.

Yiiiiiikes...... What is THAT ???? A Sci-Fi version of a Rambo movie ???

Typical exemple of what happens when you give the conceptual design of what was initially a fairly serious sci-fi show, Space 1999, to a post-teenage who's seen too many video games with giant mechas (and too many like-inspired designs from James Cameron military hardware 'toys' shown in his movies).

[FALLINGSTAR]

Originally Posted by Stratosphere

Yiiiiiikes...... What is THAT ???? A Sci-Fi version of a Rambo movie ???

Typical exemple of what happens when you give the conceptual design of what was initially a fairly serious sci-fi show, Space 1999, to a post-teenage who's seen too many video games with giant mechas (and too many like-inspired designs from James Cameron military hardware 'toys' shown in his movies).

Indeed. As long as it has a few whacking great guns.....and there's a slight resemblance. Who cares about the distinctive skeletal framework as long as it looks like something from Avatar or Aliens.

[FALLINGSTAR]

Originally Posted by B.P. Taylor

The UFO Motherships were built in 2008 and were simply my attempt to create a carrier-type ship for a hypothetical 're-imagining' of UFO- -which we all know is quite the rage these days! I was just trying to have a little fun. There were some allusions to UFO in the projecting panels near the bridge and the green lighting. Conrad Turner- -I'm not sure 'clear spinny bits' would work on something the supposed size of a mothership- -it certainly has the potential to look a bit daft, but I would be interested in seeing what you come up with. Had I not applied detailing to the surfaces, I don't think it would have conveyed the sense of scale the details were intended to impart. I suppose I could have done it in a more 'alien' style, but for the most part was pretty happy with the way it turned out, though I can quite understand the criticisms regarding the design. BTW, I did an article on this project for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Modeller where all is explained, and it also received a gold award at Wonderfest.

BP

I see what you mean about the sense of scale and clear dome. Maybe the clear dome wouldn't look good on the mothership as you say but I think there should definitely be more of a resemblance to the original saucers - and I'd agree with you that the design should look more alien.

They're a nice design but they look too human designed - whereas the UFO saucers look quite alien and unusual.

I still can't believe that 1 or 2 people wanted to ditch those saucers for the defunct remake. Maybe it's best it didn't go ahead if that's the way they wanted to approach the film.

[cmdrkoenig67]

Originally Posted by Stratosphere

Yiiiiiikes...... What is THAT ???? A Sci-Fi version of a Rambo movie ???

Typical exemple of what happens when you give the conceptual design of what was initially a fairly serious sci-fi show, Space 1999, to a post-teenage who's seen too many video games with giant mechas (and too many like-inspired designs from James Cameron military hardware 'toys' shown in his movies).

Would you please try and pay attention...It's fan artwork, not related to the new series (see page 2 and 3 of this thread).

Dana

[Stratosphere]

Originally Posted by cmdrkoenig67

Would you please try and pay attention...It's fan artwork, not related to the new series (see page 2 and 3 of this thread).

Dana

Ya, i just noticed 2 days ago, previous project. Still, the comment totally apply to it as well, if it had been made, i would still feel the same. And i still feel the same about what i have seen in the two official posters, about with the 'Eagle' that looks like a Millenium Falcon with an Eagle beak and glowing blue VTOL 'engines'. Thus my comments and request about making this factual (don't give the Eagles 'warp drives' and such, keep things realistic for what technology could do in 2099 (i.e.: give it nuclear Vasmir engines, or basically roughly the same thing that they had in the first show).

And by the way, it was not fan artwork, it's pre-production designs, several of the images came from a previous attempt at a revival of the Space 1999 series or movie.

Stephane

[Stratosphere]

double post, sorry.

[Jan Semenoff]

As long as the Eagle design is not changed (at least, not too much). I'm hoping this is a re-boot AKA Battlestar.

[Ham Salad]

Originally Posted by B.P. Taylor

The UFO Motherships were built in 2008 and were simply my attempt to create a carrier-type ship for a hypothetical 're-imagining' of UFO- -which we all know is quite the rage these days! I was just trying to have a little fun. There were some allusions to UFO in the projecting panels near the bridge and the green lighting. Conrad Turner- -I'm not sure 'clear spinny bits' would work on something the supposed size of a mothership-

Well, it seems clear that the spinning armature was necessary to the UFO version propulsion system...so I would have suggested making part of the upper section clear with the appropriately scaled armature to imply the same technology in use for the mother ship....

Or you could add a dome to the underside and do the same....

[Ham Salad]

Originally Posted by RocKiteman

[b]Sorry, I should have clarified my Eagle 'aeroshell' comment. I was talking about protecting the spacecraft from the heat of atmospheric reentry.

There is only excessive heat from atmospheric friction if passage through same is at excessive speed...if the flight is more controlled and delta vee is not an issue (both true with eagles) it wouldn't happen...further, if the eagles force field can cause artificial gravity and protect it from cosmic rays, radiation, etc. then protecting it from friction should not be an issue, either.
Remember that the eagle is a SPACECRAFT, not an aircraft. It looks the way it does because that's what is appropriate for what it's supposed to do.
Wings/lifting body would be useless size and mass for most of it's operation...and a waste of materials, too.

In effect, you're asking why a jet plane doesn't have gas bags like a dirigible.

[Red Spar]

A few years ago I came up with this concept for an "aeroshell" on a Eagle.. It was a quick digital sketch and probably needs more work but you get the idea. It would re-enter pitched up and the underbelly would absorb the heat. Curved wings give it a bit of lifting body effect.

[dougkeenan]

^ That's sweet! Not meaning to mosh genres, what about chitty-chitty-bang-banging the wings and fins from tuckaway compartments in the passenger module?

[Conrad Turner]

Actually, Red Spar, I could totally see that as an atmosphere restricted executive jet.

B.P. Sorry I have not been able to put anything up, but health and restricted access have held me back. won't be able to post anything until after Easter now, but to give you an idea of what I was thinking of.

Take the original UFO saucer shape and design. Scale it up so that 5 standard UFO's would sit underneath each arm holding a paddle at the end. Squash it to half height. Then extend the clear domes top and bottom so they can meet in the middle of the height of the arms.

The closed domes protect the fighters in transit, but open up to deploy them. The arms extend out so that the smaller craft are clear of the domes for launch, retracting when empty, with the domes closing again after.

That's the sort of thing I was thinking of, and it looks like your ability at drawing is better than mine anyway.

I wasn't entirely criticising your design, just trying to say that it didn't look cohesive enough to the original saucer designs to fit in with them. As a unique and original design I like it, but it just doen's seem to fit in with the aesthetics of the alien race, which seems to be smooth lines, single piece construction, etc. Yours, if anything U.F.O. related, seems to me to be a human/alien hybrid used by S.H.A.D.O. to take the fight to the aliens.

[Howard]

This is a great 'what if?' scenario. But let us not forget, the aliens were from a dying planet - coming to Earth to harvest bodies / organs to save their race.
I doubt they would have applied resources into building a mother ship of this kind.
After all, in the series, the UFO's speed was measured in SOLs (Speed Of Light) so, building an object of such a scale would have been better suited to a full on invasion, deployment and subjugation craft, rather than a vessel simply to piggy back UFOs closer to Earth.

[Ham Salad]

Originally Posted by Howard

This is a great 'what if?' scenario. But let us not forget, the aliens were from a dying planet - coming to Earth to harvest bodies / organs to save their race.
I doubt they would have applied resources into building a mother ship of this kind.
After all, in the series, the UFO's speed was measured in SOLs (Speed Of Light) so, building an object of such a scale would have been better suited to a full on invasion, deployment and subjugation craft, rather than a vessel simply to piggy back UFOs closer to Earth.

I wonder about that myself: why did the aliens send such small ships...and why didn't they just make a deal for transplantable organs? Was their disintegration in earths atmosphere intentional? If I were writing a sequel to UFO I'd address these issue... I think the mothership idea has merit: it makes more sense that the small UFO's were expendable fighters rather than their only type of craft....

[Howard]

I know what you're saying. But I see the opposite. I see the aliens as really desperate - if a deal had not been met, then force would be their only option. If they exposed themselves in a deal, then perhaps their homeworld would become known, so instead of risking a 'no' they simply take by force.
The UFOs themselves? Interesting, but I see a state of the art craft - a pioneering vehicle designed just to reach earth and return, almost akin to our first flights across the Atlantic the aliens are flying on the seat of their pants, desperation again forcing them to focus all their energies into the manufacture of these things.
Some perhaps disintegrate because they're not perfected, or at least have faults developed during the long and very fast journey - perhaps they self destruct as their navigation / guidance systems could be used to locate their homeworld, or perhaps they scuttle their own ships to prevent their tech falling into our hands.
I agree these aspects would need to be addressed if a sequel or remake ever was undertaken.
I always loved the mystery of the aliens when I was a kid, and now my interest in their mystery hasn't dwindled - I guess to a degree it has changed, as their desperation and determination to survive have become a dominating characteristic of their mystery, amid their reluctance to (for the most part) communicate.

[Darren Robertson]

I have just been looking at the early release art for Space 2099, and those shots of the Eagle have Howard's Kestrel stamped all over them from what little I can see....Wouldn't that be cool, if they used your model as inspiration...! Am I right in thinking that it was you, Howard, that designed and built the Kestrel? It's the only ever Eagle variation I have ever seen that really works for me, whomever built it..

[Howard]

Hi Darren - yes it was me that built the Kestrel. Thanks for your kind words.
Yeah - it would be great if they used the design as inspiration - and I received a credit for it!

Regards the production art for 2099, I think the artist / web designer / poster artist was asked to simply whet our appetites, and at the same time get us (the existing fanbase) to create a buzz around the net - it wouldn't matter if it were either praise or condemnation regards the art, as long as the buzz increased awareness of the project and fuelled individuals desire to voice their opinions about it, in every aspect.
So, I don't think the Eagle seen in their publicity pictures are representative of their new design - I think they're keeping that closely under wraps, for now.
As the hits on their site and elsewhere drop off, I expect we'll either see or hear a little bit more about the show, to fan the embers of the various discussions and get them warmed up a little more, or perhaps create new discussions...
Interesting times ahead!