Post by Dorothy J HeydtPost by QuadiblocPost by QuadiblocPost by Lynn McGuirePost by QuadiblocPost by Lynn McGuireI don't remember hearing of a frog extinction event ?
Only one I've heard of is the one we're living through.
You are kidding, right ? I see at least a dozen frogs every night when
I go walk a mile. Lily the five month old puppy wants to play with
every single one.
There were quite a few news stories a few years ago about how frogs
were dying
Post by Quadiblocoff because of a mysterious cause;
Must have been Commander McLane.
And no, I don't expect anybody outside of Germany to get the reference.
Well, drop the other shoe! Who's Commander McLane?
He's a main character from "Raumpatrouille", a German TV series
from 1966. He is known for being extremely capable, for saving
the Earth on several occasions (often losing his ship "Orion" in
the process, he's up to number 7 by the time the series starts)
and for his insubordination.
At the beginning of the series, he is re-assigned from the fast
battle groups to the space patrol for disciplinary reasons,
ending up with all sorts of unglorous jobs. Also, to control his
insubordination tendencies, a secret serivce agent is put on bord
of his ship. How that works out is a major story arc of the series.
"Raumpatrouille" has developed a quite a cult following in Germany.
One reason for that are the special effects. These were quite
expensive for the time, but, looking back, quite comical.
For exapmle, a clothes iron features prominently in the engine
room controls, and ice cream scoops are also featured prominently
in the spacecraft controls. It is also known for its iconic
"space dance".
It also manages to be both suspenseful and funny (if you like
military-style humor, that is).
Also interesting is the treatment of women in the series, for 1966.
Two of seven crew members of the Orion are women, as is McLane's
former commanding officer, and admiral in charge of the fast battle
groups. I think it took Star Trek until the 1980s to have a female
admiral, On the other hand, one of the seven episodes deals with
a planet where women rule and men are relegated to inferior roles
such as that of scientist, which the hero quite fails to understand.
Definitely worth watching.