ALPHAVILLE - 1965
Une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution
(A strange adventure of Lemmy Caution)

Pictured above: Stunning Czech ALPHAVILLE poster.

To understand the importance and power of ALPHAVILLE, one must first understand the recipe from which it was made.

1950’s Paris: Los Angeles-born actor Eddie Constantine lands the role of hard-nosed American Spy, Lemmy Caution. Caution is built in the molded tradition of Bogart but with a brash & effusive style all his own - extremely popular with European audiences. The character, derived from the novels of Peter Cheyney, was ideal for Constantine whose rough countenance was more suited to a gaelic conception of masculinity than an American one. And so in a post-war France still enamored with American idealism, Constantine’s career and the Lemmy Caution legend both soared. [Read more]

Futurist thought, art and fashion come together in one of the few science fiction programs of the 70’s worth talking about. Terry Nation, famous for his work on Doctor Who (particularly his invention of the Daleks) created this series as his personal offering to the space-opera genre. Don’t expect fancy special effects or big budgets. This is BBC television after all. Still, there is something so much more believable about Blake’s 7 than of the many incarnations of Star Trek or most contemporary sci-fi programs (with the exception of the recent BSG remake).

Although the props, costumes and general set design were ahead of their time, it was Terry Nation’s brilliant plotting, story and character development that made the show what it was. A real shame that BBC execs refused to allow the introduction of the Daleks into the series. A further shame that Nation was not involved in the final season which is watchable but should not really be counted as part of the original vision for the series.

Blake’s 7 takes place in a dystopic future where free-thinking men are being destroyed by an all-powerful, decadent and utterly fascistic Space-Federation. [Read more]