Dan Dare animated series

Has anyone in the UK noticed the Dan Dare CGI animated series on Channel 5
on Saturday mornings? It has flaws (such as Dan's ludicrous high-pitched
voice) but many good points, including very pleasing retro designs, many taken
pretty directly from the cartoon strip. The animation style is not unlike the
"Roughnecks Chronicles".

On Fri, 30 Aug 2002 11:46:48 +0100 Robin Paul <Robin.Paul@tesco.net>
wrote:

> Has anyone in the UK noticed the Dan Dare CGI animated series on

Well, that tells me what the RC animation style is like... <g> Yes, I've seen
it, and it's rather fun. I agree with you about Dan's voice, but my biggest
complaint about Dan is the characterisation: the show
has Dan as an irresponsible 1930s-RAF-stereotype-on-crack type -- NOT
what you'd want in a test pilot and not, IIRC, anything like the way he was
presented in the original comics.

I like the Anastasia (but then I always did), except that I wish they'd had
the original bubble canopies rather than the more conventional
bomber-style design that they changed it to; they've made the
swing-wing different, too, but it's actually probably a better design
that way, and fits neatly into the explorer/drive module concept
(something unique to the show, I think).

The ship designs are fun, but some of them scream out that they were done by
Foundation Imaging, the company responsible for the early series of Babylon 5;
the ship used to collect animals from other worlds, for instance, is very
Earth Alliance in design, and an escort of Starfuries would look right at home
alongside it, whereas the comic designs are much more rounded, being, as they
were, streamlined for atmospheric as well as space flight.

Lots of fun; now, if only Channel 5 would give it a better timeslot...

Phil, hoping that Comet Minis will finally get off their duffs and
restart production of their Mini-Metals range, because I want (among
other things) an Anastasia!
----
"If you let a smile be your umbrella... you'll get wet teeth!"