Well, well, well. You’ve just been subjected to the first ever episode of Star Fleet. Whadja think? Is your head spinning from all the puppet driven action? Are you overawed by the super large miniatures (or bigatures as Weta would eventually dub them)? Are you completely overwhelmed?
“Phew,” you might say, “Surely it can’t get better.”
Wrong again.
Paul Bliss was an impoverished songwriter and musician in the early 80s. The Birmingham native had been playing in bands since he was a teen and had even formed a few of his own groups and written songs for others.
Nevertheless, when he first saw an Oberheim synthesizer setup at a friend’s house in California, he knew he could never afford one. Yet, he had to have one.
This complete production setup featured the OB-Xa. “[A]n 8-voice synth,” Bliss recalled in the liner notes of the Star Fleet soundtrack CD, “the DSX sequencer, and the DMX drum machine. I had no money but [my friend] bought us both one.”
Paul’s friend could afford to be generous. He’d just penned a hit for Olivia Newton-John called ‘Physical.’ Paul would follow in his footsteps when he wrote another hit single for the same artist– a tune called ‘Heart Attack.’ It rocketed to #2 on the US charts.
But Paul wasn’t satisfied yet. He had a burning desire on his bucket list. “Writing for film and television was something I’d dreamed of and harassed my publisher about,” he confessed, “but as the saying goes ‘be careful what you wish for…’”
Shortly after his work on “Heart Attack”, Paul was contacted by Producer Louis Elman. Louis was on a tight budget and schedule, but this had it’s benefits. It meant he was free from network interference, a rarity in the 1980s and even more rare today.
One result of that freedom was that Louis could take a chance on Paul. “We didn’t quite know what to expect,” Louis remembered.
One thing he was definitely not expecting was a soundtrack so incredible it would draw the attention of some of the best musicians in the world of rock ‘n’ roll.
Beginning with a shot of X-Bomber’s mighty engines firing and followed closely by the wide show of the same vehicle launching from Moon Base, the end credits open with a wailing guitar solo. Bliss had dubbed in occasional parts from this instrument as well as a grand piano.
As scenes from the episode play, the credits appear over freeze frames from the action. This footage would remain unchanged throughout the series. The lyrics begin, sung by Andy Brown, a bass player for Dragonfly, vocalist, and friend of Bliss.
Send a message out across the sky
Alien raiders just past Gemini
Who will come and save us now?
Who can defend us from the power?
As Brown belts out his interstellar distress, the synth riffs bounce along in a catchy, syncopated rhythm. When he wonders who will come and save us now, a new feature of X Bomber is revealed for the first time. A small snub fighter launches from the underbelly of X Bomber!
Another fighter launch! This one much bigger! If you recall the opening credits, you may know where this is going. It’s a red spaceship with two long jets and a blocky, rectangular shape.
As we head into the chorus we see a third fighter. All of these presumably detaching from the X Bomber itself. Not only is it a powerful battlecrusier, it’s an aircraft carrier of it’s own type!
Star Fleet, Star Fleet
Star Fleet, Star Fleet
The chorus is the title of the show in true 80s fashion. The catchy chord progression seems perfect for roller skating. Paul Bliss gets his credit over a shot of the three fighters flying into the night in formation.
Then, in a twist worthy of O’Henry, the red starfighters physically begin to link themselves together. WHAT?!
Tell the people back at Earth control
Send Starfleet legions to save our souls
Always daring and courageous
Ooh Only they can save us
I remember I showed Star Fleet to a friend at Uni who was studying theology. When we reached this point in the proceedings he made much of the fact that star fleet legions “save our souls.” Spiritual implications aside, it’s probably a reference to the SOS “save our souls” distress call used by sailors since the dawn of morse code and telegraphy and not anything much deeper than that.
As usual, the credits are a gold mine of information on the making of the show. This is the first port of call for people like myself who want to know more about the personnel who made Star Fleet possible.
Incredibly, the three fighters have joined together to form– GASP! A giant robot. Who could have guessed? This concept was extremely novel to Western audiences in the early 80s and is fairly rarely seen even today. In Japan of the early 80s, such concepts had become so popular that they were already beginning to lose their sheen.
We’ll see a lot more of this robot in future episodes!
Star Fleet, Star Fleet
Star Fleet, Star Fleet
Star Fleet
As the final chorus draws to a close, the chant of the title fades away and so does the image of Dai-X, the big red robot, standing triumphant among the pantheon of the heavens.
Although the entire soundtrack is a success, the end title is something of the jewel in the crown. It’s memorable, but not obnoxious. It’s short and doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. There’s a kind of nostalgic longing in the lyrics and in the tune. It’s a simple matter of people lost among the galaxies and in need of rescue. As the series goes on, the tune becomes more and more ingratiated into the listener’s brain without becoming the sort of earworm that would cause parents to tear at their own scalps.
One parent who was not bothered by the tune was Queen guitarist Brian May (not to be confused with Australian film composer Brian May of Mad Max fame) who watched Star Fleet regularly with his son. May was intrigued by the tune, and covered it during a jam session that would later be released as his solo EP debut. Eddie Van Halen joined May on guitar and other notable musicians filled out the sound.
There’s enough here to unpack to merit an entire article just on this cover alone. May’s prominent role in Queen lent him enough celebrity to make his cover the most well known and enduring part of Star Fleet’s legacy for many in England and the USA. A lot of people who never saw the show never the less listened to the song and watched the remarkable music video, which featured a lot of footage from the series intercut with shots of Brian’s head:
Without diving in too deep, it is interesting to note that Brian’s son, Jimmy or James, was born in 1978. Star Fleet originally ran in 1981 which would seem to make Jimmy too young to have watched it on original transmission. Although kid friendly, it seems a bit advanced for a two or three year old to my inexperienced mind. This means that either Jimmy caught it on repeats or that Brian himself turned the series on out of an interest in sci-fi or a desire to have some cartoons for his son to watch. Readers who are parents, feel free to correct me where I am wrong about the age appropriateness of the series!
For now, suffice it to say that the end titles, rather than being a perfunctory part of the process, are a great addition to the Star Fleet adventure and the perfect endcap to this week’s episode.