| Welcome
to Darkside:
I think that everyone can remember their first real exposure to science fiction--science fiction that they could appreciate and that they allowed to make an impact. That then becomes the standard against which all other science fiction is judged. I was in the generation too late for Star Trek, and too early for Star Wars. So even though I had seen reruns of Star Trek before being exposed to Space: 1999, it was Space: 1999 that was the first to make the impact. I still remember watching for the first time Breakaway on the local CBC station, and knowing that I had seen something special. After all, the moon leaving earth orbit was a pretty big concept. But what really made the impact were the special effects, which were front and centre throughout the show. Every episode brought new ways of showing the audience the adventures faced by the 300-odd survivors of Breakaway. It was a series that set the standards for shows that followed in terms of its production values, stories, and effects. It was also the series that really kicked off a golden age in film and television science fiction, being followed by series like Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, and films like Star Wars, Alien, and the first of the Star Trek films. Recently, the science-fiction community got the great news that Battlestar Galactica has been revived and is slated for production in 2002. Darkside, in a way, is my own revival of Space: 1999. What is Darkside all about? Darkside is a collection of stories and animations which takes the universe created by Space: 1999 and brings in a new perspective. Darkside begins just before the events of Breakaway and continues throughout the next several years. At the risk of offending Space: 1999 purists, the best way to think of Darkside is the alternate history of Space: 1999. Some of the premises will be different, and some of the events and people will be different. Darkside is intended as a fun, long-term project that is supposed to push skills in filmmaking, 3D animation, and storytelling. I've chosen an alternate history format for the Darkside stories because this offers the most play for creativity and new ideas as opposed to staying close to the original storyline. You're invited to come along for the ride. It's going to be interesting. Coming Up in the next updates:
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