Star Maidens Online

If you're a fan of THUNDERBIRDS or SPACE:1999 then you might be curious about this obscure TV show made shortly after the Andersons' divorced. Although she is uncredited, the hand of Sylvia Anderson is all over this ambitious but mostly haphazard production: Gogo- booted guards in day-glow crash helmets, delicious sets and props that have more in common with a Pucci gown than technology, romantic innuendos and social situations too advanced for a space-rocket adventure.... Star Maidens isn't just a campy role-reversal. It explores what happens when worlds collide, and the ripple effect each has on the other's culture, albeit played out in a silly melodrama with a handful of characters shot on as low- budget as possible.... Adam escapes Medusa thinking Earth will be a male-dominant paradise. Instead he finds earthlings attempting to balance the roles of men and women, and Adam realizes what he wants: Equality. Meanwhile, hostage Liz Becker basks in her predicament as a closet-subservient to fellow prisoner Rudi Schmidt, but she must pretend to be his master as the planet Medusa offers her every opportunity except admitting her need for a man. Perhaps most complex is Fulvia who uses her political status to shield a taboo relationship with her domestic servant, which she condescendingly dismisses as the love of a pet until they become curious about the ways of Earth. Can Fulvia and Adam find common ground before their relationship creates an interplanetary conflict? Clearly there is more here than ray guns and space battles, but in 30-minute episodes nothing gets very deep and the directing is so clumsy from episode to episode that the show is barely pinned together like the Medusans' elaborate hairstyles! Scenes are awkward, characters inconsistent, and plot-holes abound, but a groovy future lounge soundtrack keeps things rolling along and each episode is only a half hour. Feminists attempt to seize power on Earth with stolen Medusa weapons, Fulvia and Adam roleplay a trial suburban marriage, while Liz and Rudi unravel the ecological collapse of planet Medusa. Where is all this going? Is it satire or space opera? Who cares! Sit back and indulge in this strange artifact from a time when the sexual revolution threatened to go too far.

All 13 episodes are available from AmazonUK on 2 region-free dvds.

Star Maidens is a curio amongst the crowded halls of science fiction television. An Anglo-German production featuring a mixture of both English and German actors, Star Maidens was produced by Portman Productions and distributed by German and Scottish companies. Filmed at Bray Studios (famous for being the original home of Hammer Horror) in Berkshire, the show was made by a number of personnel who had been involved with 'Space: 1999' the big budget science fiction drama that premiered in September 1975, most notably special effects designer Brian Johnson who worked in the same capacity on 'Space: 1999' who, here creates a similar look and tone, just on a massively reduced budget. Gareth Thomas who would later appear in the excellent 'Children of the Stones' and play the lead character Roj Blake in 'Blake's 7' plays Shem the reluctant male escapee from Medusa in this programme, with Derek Farr playing Professor Evans (he would later guest appear in 'Blake's 7). Two of the show's female leads Judy Geeson (Fulvia) and Lisa Harrow (Liz Becker) had also guest starred in 'Space: 1999' before they appeared in Star Maidens. All in all its links with other science fiction greats makes it of great interest. Created and often written by Eric Paice (who had previously written for 'The Avengers') the show is a sex comedy which follows the exploits of two male domestics Adam (played by French actor Pierre Brice) and Shem as they escape from the dominant rule of their home planet Medusa by women. The programme explores the theme of role reversal in great depth, the initial episodes setting up the story of Adam and Shem as they arrive on earth after stealing a Medusan spacecraft, the later episodes dealing with the predicament of Rudi Schmidt (Christian Quadflieg) and Liz Becker (two scientists from earth) as they are taken hostage and live out their lives in the peculiar society of Medusa. This thirteen episode mini series, each episode running to 25 minutes in length is often a little light on story, the second episode 'Nemesis' is essentially a runaround as the earth's police force fail to catch Adam and Shem and notably features the hilarious line "There are two funny men stealing our apples" as Adam and Shem raid a local farm for food, but the whole thing has a certain charm and is overall very enjoyable. Despite the low budget, the production values aren't too bad, the Medusa set for example is quite expansive and visually interesting and there is plenty of earthbound location footage. The Medusan women are gorgeous and Judy Geeson is excellent as Fulvia (long before Inseminoid!) but the curious blond streaks in the male domestics hair takes some getting used to, particularly if your used to seeing Gareth Thomas (a particular victim of the hair dye) in his Roj Blake persona. It's a pity that the series was shot on cheap 16mm colour film as the results are a bit jumpy when viewed today, but this series all in all is very good fun. Sit back, relax and don't take it too seriously, this is well worth purchasing on DVD!