Summary

A bit about me, and the influences leading to Star Drek...

1960's Media Influence

The sixties was a golden era for media fans. I saw my first James Bond film (Thunderball) in 1966, and I remember leaving the Majestic Cinema on a high, trying to figure out how they did the jump-cuts and trying to think of a way to "acquire" the lobby cards and posters as a memento without being caught (I eventually did a deal with the Majestic in 1974 to buy some of their archive promo material)

On the TV front, Man From UNCLE, Mission Impossible, and of course the classic shows from Lew Grade's ITC stable (The Saint, Man in a Suitcase, Department S, Randall & Hopkirk, The Persuaders, etc ) kept the spy genre alive and kicking.

Science Fiction favourites were Star Trek (didn't take long to figure out the unknown guy in the red shirt was going to get "offed" every week). The philosophy behind the series was interesting too, future society being driven by exploration and self enlightenment rather than the accumulation of wealth. Irwin Allen gave us Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Lost in Space. Well, I liked them anyway...

Gerry Anderson had a string of hits with Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, etc. It was the detailed miniature work of Derek Meddings (who went on to design effects for James Bond, Superman, etc) that got me interested in filming stuff and blowing things up. I'd get plastic models, stuff them full of fireworks, and blow them up from a variety of imaginary camera angles, thinking one day a video camera will be invented so I can film this stuff and keep it...

(more to follow, when I can be arsed...)

1970's's Media Influence

The 70's brought, along with a complete abrogation of fashion sense, the advent of the video recorder

Getting my first job meant I could afford to binge on my hobbies. Video technology was still pretty non-existant in the early 70's, but then comic collecting became a thing. I built my collection from various sources, including back-issue dealers in the US. The comic business was in it's infancy during the mid 70's, gradings were pretty flexible and prices were relatively low. Relative is the key word here, I could have bought Fantastic Four No.1 for $30 at the time, but that was several day's wages. That comic in a reasonable grade is of course now worth thousands..

The late 70's brought home video recording into the mainstream. My first recorder (pre-VHS} was a Phillips NC1700, with no remote control and no pause facility. But what would you expect for a measly $3000... At last i could record and retain my favourite TV shows - the next step obviously was to get hold of a video camera and unleash Kaynecomms to the world...

(more to follow, when I can be arsed...)

1980's - Mega stardom

Star Drek begins... (more to follow, when I can be arsed...)