Star Fleet: The Thalian Space Wars
Trailer
Synopsis
In the year 2999, after the end of Space War 3, Earth's peace is shattered by the arrival of a gigantic alien battle cruiser from the Thalian Zone. Led by Commander Makara, the Imperial Alliance demands the handover of the mysterious F-01 or the destruction of Earth. Star Fleet's last hope rests with the experimental X-Bomber spacecraft and its young crew, who must defend the Solar System and uncover the nature of the F-01.
Context & Trivia
«Star Fleet: The Thalian Space Wars» is a 1983 compilation film that re-edited six episodes of the Japanese marionette series «X Bomber» (known as «Star Fleet» in the UK). The original series, «X Bomber», was created by manga artist Go Nagai and produced by Cosmo Productions and Jin Productions, airing on Fuji TV from 1980 to 1981. The puppeteering technique used in «X Bomber» was "Sūpāmariorama," a process similar to Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation, but utilizing rod puppets controlled from below the set, meaning they were generally only seen from the waist up. The puppets, approximately two and a half feet tall, featured beautifully sculpted anime-style heads with remote control mechanisms for lip and eyelid movement. The Imperial Alliance character designs, such as Bloody Mary (Makara), Lt. Kozlo (Orion), Professor Gedora (Caliban), and the termoid soldiers, were particularly well-designed with intricate detail and costumes. The series was Japan's answer to the popular Gerry Anderson shows, combining the space opera approach of Star Wars with marionette techniques.
Puppeteers
Go Nagai (Creator), Cosmo Productions (Puppetry Production), Jin Productions (Puppetry Production)
Voices
Jay Benedict, Constantine Gregory, Mark Rolston, Peter Marinker, Liza Ross, John Baddeley, Kevin Brennan, Denise Bryer, Sean Barrett, Jacob Witkin, Garrick Hagon
Puppet companies
Cosmo Productions · Jin Productions
Created by
Go Nagai
Direction
Michio Mikami, Akira Takahashi, Kiyotaka Matsumoto, Noriyasu Ogami
Writing
Go Nagai, Keisuke Fujikawa, Michael Sloan
Cast
Jay Benedict, Constantine Gregory, Mark Rolston, Peter Marinker, Liza Ross, John Baddeley, Kevin Brennan, Denise Bryer, Sean Barrett, Jacob Witkin
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