I have some fond childhood memories of TV shows that lasted awhile. Obviously, no TV series survived longer than "Gunsmoke" which ran from 1955 to 1975 (20 years), but some didn't last long enough to make a lasting impression. UFO barely made a blip on the radar of my memories. Of course, I was only 9 and 10-years old when I watched it the first time.

Another science fiction series which lasted longer, but wasn't as good as this one, was "Space 1999". I remember it being very similar in appearance to this series. A little research told me that they used the same resources. I think it lasted longer because the main actors were already familiar to audiences (coming from "Mission: Impossible" of the 1960s and 1970s).

I was recently sent a DVD set of the entire UFO series. 24 episodes were made from 1970 to 1971 and two final episodes were made in 1973 for this British-based science fiction series. I don't know what the last two episodes were about because I found it hard to sit through the first one. The series had special effects that predated "Star Wars" and weren't as good as the special effects of "Star Trek" from the 1960s. Don't get me started on the background music!

Watching the first episode again led me to the conclusion that the creators and writers of this series had high expectations of the advancement in technology. They speculated that by 1980 we would have a moon-base, satellites controlled by super computers, and spacecraft more advanced than we have now. Perhaps they were optimistic due to the success of the moon missions of the 1960s. The cars they used for the series, even the ones that looked futuristic, further displayed their optimism. They were huge!

Anyway, I dug up a video of the opening sequence of the first episode (probably the same as the first 24 episodes) so that you can see what I'm talking about:

Mr. Roboto was released as a single in 1983, from the album "Kilroy Was Here". It's a rock opera that inspired later songs, by many other bands. It was written by Dennis DeYoung and performed by Styx, with Dennis as the lead singer. I'll be featuring more from Styx later on.

Mr. Roboto made a significant cultural impact on the American public. The song's been used in commercial advertisements and the title's been used in other places, including movie comedies.

Here's the YouTube music video that was put online by Universal Music Group, so it shouldn't get removed like many of the other videos that mysteriously vanish:

This is the Volkswagen commercial advertisement which used the song:

This is a clip from the movie, "Austin Powers: Goldmember" (the second sequel and 3rd movie in the series), that featured another fictional Mr. Roboto:

This is one of the scariest films from the 1970s that I ever watched. It has a cult-like following and it inspired 3 sequels.

Angus Scrimm plays a tall funeral parlor director who also happens to be an alien from an alternate dimension. His mission is to take dead people from our dimension and reincarnate them in his own dimension (in a happy meal version as opposed to super-sized). He's discovered by a teenager, with nothing better to do than spy on people, who witnesses him carting off a casket with his bare hands.

The movie is a bit disjointed as it moves from scene to scene and some of what happens seems to be out of place. The end of the movie, turning it into a dream sequence, kind of lets you down, at least until you realize that it was only partly a dream.

It stars A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister, Angus Scrimm and others. Here's a trailer:

Now here's a comedy you can really sink your teeth into. Michael J. Fox played a teenager entering puberty (hence starting to change to a werewolf on a regular basis), even though he was 22 or 23 when it was filmed. I wish I could have looked that way.

The story starts with Scott Howard wondering what was going on with his body and afraid of the changes he was going through. The shiitake really hit the fan when he starts changing into a werewolf for the very first time. That's when he finds out that he comes from a whole line of werewolves, including his father. After he finds out that no one's afraid of the wolf, he uses it to gain popularity at his high school.

Scott has a crush on one of the popular girls at the school and it's his aim to make her his girlfriend. All the while, he ignores another girl that's been his friend for years. The last scene of the movie has Scott not using his wolf-power to take advantage of his final shot in a basketball game, and he makes it as plain old ordinary Scott. When the popular girl goes to meet him after the game, he ignores her while going to his lifelong friend, who he suddenly realizes is the girl for him in the first place.

Starring Michael J. Fox, James Hampton, Susan Ursitti, Jerry Levine and others. Here's a trailer:

This is an underrated film from my childhood. I recently received a new copy on DVD and the pleasure of watching it again was almost overwhelming. My son, Jon, was able to see it for the first time. He'll be 22 in a few days and it was made long before he was born. He loved it!

Sidney Poitier portrays a black man from British New Guinea who takes a position as a teacher at a "last chance" kind of high school in London. During the course of the movie, he develops his talent while awaiting news of other jobs he applied for. The students, who were unruly at the beginning, developed respect for "Sir" and he consequently tore up a job acceptance letter that he received.

It should be noted that this movie was made before the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (U.S.) was passed. Sidney Poitier did more for the movement as an actor than most of the politicians of the era. He's one of my favorite actors of all time.

Lulu, who sang the title song, also had a role in the movie. This is the same Lulu that sang "Diamonds Are Forever" for the James Bond movie of the same name. Both were radio hits during the late 60s and early 70s.

Starring Sidney Poitier, Lulu, Christian Roberts, Judy Geeson and more. This is a movie I highly recommend for all ages. Here's a clip from a tear-jerking scene near the end of the movie: