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Pop culture (1) - a different Moonraker
and now... a little alternate pop culture
(I'm no Bainbrin, but that was fun to imagine, and write. Hope you'll enjoy that part. There will be a related part II. I have taken a lot of fun writting ATL pop culture entries.)
… in 1969 show-runners Gerry and Sylvia Anderson began production of a new TV series, UFO, Century 21's first full live-action television series. This sci-fi action-adventure series starred American-born actor Ed Bishop (who had also provided the voice of Captain Blue in Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons) as Commander Edward Straker, head of the secret defence organisation SHADO, set up to counter an alien invasion.
UFO was more adult in tone than any of Anderson's puppet series, and mixed Century 21's signature futuristic action-adventure and special effects with serious dramatic elements. UFO was the last series made under the Century 21 Productions banner.
During production of UFO, Gerry Anderson was approached directly by Harry Saltzman (at the time co-producer of the James Bond film series with Albert "Cubby" Broccoli), and was invited to write and produce the next film in the series, which was to be Moonraker.
Collaborating with Tony Barwick to provide the characterisation, whilst he himself focused on the action sequences, Anderson wrote and delivered a treatment to Saltzman, which liked it. After Diamonds are forever release in December 1971 Moonraker become the next James Bond – and the first to feature Roger Moore after Sean Connery refused the role.
Moonraker was released on June 27, 1973.
Below is an excerpt from Gerry Anderson 1970 script
"James, you certainly heard that Hugo Drax made a fortune selling hundreds of its Moonraker rockets in many roles. Moonrakers regularly ferry NASA astronauts to the space station. Other Moonrakers stand as RAF and USAF nuclear-tipped missiles in underground and flying silos."
"Hell; yes, the flying silos. That eight engine 747 remind me of an adventure I had, at a casino, how was it called ?"
A nervous Q interrupted him
"No time for remembrance, 007."
"What did happened ?"
"We lost contact with an air launched Moonraker."
"How can they launch big rockets like that from aircrafts ?" Bond asked.
"Oh, that's not as difficult as it may seem at first glance. They just open the aircraft rear cargo door, then the rocket sprout a parachute that bite the air, and pull the booster out of the aircraft. After that it fell downward engine first, before another parachute straight it. After that they light the engines, and go into orbit !"
"How astute."
Q showed 007 a crappy reconstitution of what happened over the Atlantic ocean.
"We had these information from the CIA; they rapidly recovered the aircraft flight registers. They have a special tracking system that immediately warn them of any hijacking attempt. You can imagine the mess if a nuclear tipped rocket fell into bad hands..."
"well, that what happened isn't it"
"We think the Air Force was infiltrated. Someone evidently hide the hijackers into the Gemini capsule... The massive Boeing you see represents a new breed of 747s, heavily modified for military purposes. That aircraft is essentially a flying missile silo; its flanks house a powerful Moonraker rocket. The idea is apparently that flying the missiles make them less vulnerable than burying them on the ground at a fixed location.
"Last week test, however, was different. The Moonraker in the cargo section was not nuclear-tipped; instead it carried a manned military spacecraft that consisted, fore to aft, of a small Gemini capsule bolted to a pressurised cylinder, a small space station that featured a powerful camera. Manoeuvre by the crew of three in the Gemini, that camera was to take very high resolution photos. The craft was to spend a month in orbit and snap pictures of the Soviet Union or China. That made these two countries evidently nervous, and what happened won't help."
Q took a deep breath.
"The 747 crew reported they prepared to launch, talking with the ground and the Gemini crew. After the section was depressurised the cargo doors opened at the 747 end. And then, suddenly, the Gemini crew went silent." The screen showed the cockpit and the 747 crew evident amazement and terror.
"We have evidence that the Moonraker parachute unexpectedly sprouted out of the cargo bay, biting the thin air and moving the missile out of the aircraft." Shouting in the radio had no result, and suddenly the 747 jolted in the air, evidently alleviated of the rocket 200 tons mass.
"Where is the fucking rocket ?" the pilot shouted. He eyed its terrified copilot
"It came right toward our nose !" the copilot screamed. And indeed a dart suddenly pierced the clouds slightly ahead of the Boeing.
A dart that trailed a huge pillar of flames.
Right on the 747 path.
"Nooooooooooo...." was the last thing heard on the ground as the rocket engines burned through the airliner cockpit, incinerating its crew and sending the 747 into a deadly spin.
Bond face showed no reaction at the awful conclusion of the movie. He just said with a tired look "Here we go again. Nasty villains hijacking rockets, capsules and the poor astronauts flying them. Why does this remind me of another villain ten years ago ?"
Q nodded "You mean Dr No ?" Bond nodded "Himself. Or perhaps Ernst Stavro Blofeld - or both. Imagine a Drax - Blofeld - Dr No axis plotting against civilian spaceflight - Apollo or Soyuz."
Q shivered "An alliance of evil. Well, so far we have no proof that Drax ever met them... James, I want you to investigate Drax Industries, in California..."