Tim Ollive was an animator and model maker for Monty Python movies The Meaning of Life and Life of Brian, and has done visual effects for numerous other Gilliam projects, including Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, Time Bandits, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Now Gilliam is backing Ollive's own film 1884, a collaboration with production designer Dennis De Groot.

The promotional trailer is a proof-of-concept reel, shot entirely on Ollive's kitchen table, to test out the effects for an eventual feature-length film. The clunky feel of the animation and Thunderbirds-style marionettes is deliberate, trying to evoke the sense that it was filmed using the same steam-powered technology it depicts.

[Peculiar Productions via Quiet Earth]

The series Captain Stargood, clearly a naughty tip of the hat to the Andersons' squeaky-clean series for kids, is the brainchild of a group of retro-satirist fans who call themselves the Stargood Players. They've whipped up a couple of episodes of the series, creating all the fantastically cheesy sets themselves. You can even peruse publicity shots for the show (see one above) that are almost authentic enough to be convincing - except for those bizarre breasts.

The whole Captain Stargood concept resembles a goofy cross between Forbidden Planet and the British potty humor mag Viz.

According to the Captain Stargood site, which is packed with fun details and trivia:

Fresh from the success of a popular series of animated commercials, the shows creators, early-1960s wunderkind puppeteers and filmmakers Oswald Larsen and L. B. Laurence, were approached by network television execs anxious to cash in on the growing national fascination with the Space Race. A notorious megalomaniac, Larsen demanded and surprisingly received, total autonomy in the show's production. Apparently satisfied with the limited footage they were shown of the requisite spaceships and puppet derring-do, the team was given carte blanche for their production. The show debuted on time, and by some reports, fared quite well in the ratings.

Then someone actually sat down and watched the show.

Reports are sketchy on the exact chain of events which followed, but horror-stricken executives infamously later described what they witnessed as "unwatchable," "twisted," and "utter sh*t." Perhaps worst of all were the unauthorized commercial sponsorships interspersed throughout the show, for products wildly inappropriate for impressionable youngsters. One account blamed these unfortunate additions on L.B. Laurence's desperate attempts to recoup advance monies, which had disappeared under somewhat cloudy circumstances.

By this time untold thousands had been spent, but the increasingly detached and bizarre Larsen refused to alter what he now claimed was his "unflinching look at the world of tomorrow." Threatened with massive law suits, the two young filmmakers fled with what they could grab and disappeared, never to be heard from again. The networks, fearing massive legal action from concerned parents, promptly destroyed the remaining prints and set about attempting to disavow all knowledge of the show.

Over 40 years later, prints of some of these lost episodes began appearing under mysterious circumstances on the doorstep of N.Y.-based designer and illustrator Laird Ogden. He and fellow sci-fi buff Larry Basinait, along with the Stargood Players, are pleased to make them available again here after all these years…

Nicely done. Can't wait to see the continuing adventures of Captain Stargood, especially if he manages to work those Blackhole Condoms into the plot.

via Captain Stargood Official Site

Pigs In Space

The Muppet Show had a built-in showcase for their sci-fi parodies, in "Pigs In Space." Their ship was called the Swine Trek, and they had the eccentric science officer, the heartthrob captain, and Miss Piggy as a snarky officer. The segment featured pirates (John Cleese), a character called Darth Nadir (Gonzo), an alien made of chopped liver, and many more strange sci-fi themed adventures. In this clip, as usual, Captain Link Hogthrob does something stupid.

Invincibility Made Easy

During Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter's visit to the show, the whole cast is inspired to try out the super hero gig themselves. Backstage during the show, each Muppet cast member is seen using the "Invincibility Made Easy" guide to try to become heroes. Even Miss Piggy, as Wonder Pig, tries to defeat a giant chicken. This segment features Lynda Carter singing "Orange Colored Sky" as the various Muppet heroes fall slightly short of "hero" status.

The Star Wars Episode

In season 4 of the Muppet Show, Mark Hamill was billed as the guest star, but the show also gets his "cousin," Luke Skywalker. Luke invades all of the sketches of the latter half of the show. In this final sketch, R2-D2, C-3PO and Chewbacca show up for a medley of songs about stars. C-3PO even does a little tap dancing!

Muppet Labs

Those famous Muppet inventors, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, had their own segment for demonstrating their newest inventions. The inventions ranged from small things like magnetic carrots or very strong glue, to very large and strange things, like a teleporter, a luggage compressor, or a copy machine. That last one produces countless copies of Beaker, which slowly invade the show.

The Jekyll and Hyde Potion

When Alan Arkin visited the show, he was the center of one of the classic sci-fi premises: a Jekyll and Hyde story. Throughout the show, he and other various Muppets are all unfortunately transformed by the Honeydew-invented potion. Here, Alan, in monster form, invades an overly-cutesy rendition of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah."

Koozebane

Koozebane is a planet that stands in for any strange new world on the show. It's home to such odd creatures as the Phoob, the Merdildops, and the Spooble, a sentient liquid. In this clip, during his visit to the Muppet Show, Dom DeLuise also visited the surface of the planet Koozebane, interacting with one of the planet's more annoying residents.

Shields & Yarnell Robot Sketch

In addition to its more regular sci-fi segments, the Muppet Show also used sci-fi premises as a jumping off point for much more absurd sketches. The show invited mime duo Shields & Yarnell to perform, and the result was one of their stranger sketches. In this wordless clip, the duo performs as two robots apparently having breakfast together.

This list doesn't even include Jim Henson Productions' involvement in other sci-fi projects like Farscape, and the various Muppet moments in The Middleman and Angel. As is evident from some of these clips, the whole Muppet crew had some sci-fi connections.

Puppet-master Brian, of Ask Puppet Palpatine fame, is hard at work on a for BSG's slinky Cylon Six. See the creepy foam body come to life in his video diary and detailed flickr account, where he poses the poor thing in alluring angles. Still this means we're one step closer to a puppet recreation of FAT LEE. Forge ahead puppet man.

[Building Puppets via Geekologie]

Granted, Hardwicke's work wasn't praised as anything revolutionary. But the low budget picture made Summit a massive sum of money and opened the doors for more. It should be interesting to see how this all plays out in the media, as Finke suggested it could lead to a bit of a scandal if they hired a man to replace one of Hollywood's few up-and-coming female directors.

And as for the "irrational" comments, I think that's a little misleading. Clearly this person has not worked with most of big time directors out there.

In other Twilight news, hooray for puppets! SpookyDan from Bloody Disgusting created a Twilight puppet saga, a pretty cute remix of the movie complete with a Rudolph the red nosed reindeer massacre. Check it out but be warned: it has a few movie spoilers.

Sorry Twilight fans, but the puppets are infinitely cooler than actual Robert-vampire-ate-my-hair. SpookyDan, this was loads of fun — please spill some more puppet blood soon.

[Deadline Hollywood]

Obviously all my cries for a bigger role for Lacey were rewarded, and the loss of Tyler for an episode was an acceptable sacrifice. Tyler's back for the last two episodes of the season, and I'm worried Lacey will be shuffled back to the backdrop once again. In an ideal universe, we'd see some further development of the Lacey/MM romance — and after last night, I believe I can call it that — before the season ends.

So on the off chance that you've somehow failed to see "The Vampiric Puppet Lamentation" yet, there were two Lacey-related shocks. First, that she's been having some very impressively lit sex dreams starring Pip, the evil plagiarist son of the building owner whose property Wendy, Lacey and the others rent illegally. Actually, Pip is quite cute, despite being evil and idiotic. I was just thinking the other day that I was sad we hadn't seen much of him lately. And then the Middleman's reaction to hearing about Lacey's Pip-sex dreams was the best part.

And then, just when I'd finally recovered from the crazed Pip sex fantasies (is this show really on ABC Family?) there was the second shock: The Middleman and Lacey are in love.

Oh, and there was a third Lacey surprise, which wasn't a surprise to me because show-creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach mentioned it in our interview: the emergence of the super-skeptic ultra-rationalist side of Lacey. The Carl Sagan-reading, spiritualism-doubting daughter of Dr. Barbara Thornfield MD PhD. I like that side of Lacey, just because it makes her seem less of an airhead, and it'll be interesting to see how she deals with the inevitable revelation of the truth about Wendy's job.

Okay, so this episode wasn't all about Lacey. As I mentioned, the "A" plot was another one, like the tuba one and the boy-band one, that felt a bit like something to do in between all the cool character stuff. As the show acknowledged by mentioning Buffy The Vampire Slayer early on, the vampire puppet thing has been done before, and it's a tough comparison to invite. I don't think this episode's puppet-Vlad-The-Impaler storyline was quite up to the comparison with "Smile Time," one of the best two or three Angel episodes ever, I'm afraid. It had a few funny moments, especially the great old TV footage of the ventriloquist putting on Vladdy and going on a killing rampage.

But mostly the vampire puppet storyline seemed like an excuse to get the Middleman and Lacey to admit to their aforementioned mutual love... which I'm fine with. And that wedding scene was both creepy and touching. I liked the glimpse of a puppet MM too. I wonder if Lacey really doesn't remember anything about it. I'm assuming we'll learn more about the other woman the Middleman loves in the next two episodes. (As long as it's not Wendy. In that case, I'd rather not know.)

I'm still not that crazy about Noser as a character, but at least he's no longer just a one-joke guy. He has a thuggish roommate, Anvil, and a very silly secret past. And a hidden talent. But it's funny that, in an episode which focused on him, he still wasn't that much of a presence, since he was missing most of the time.

So pretty much everybody, except maybe Wendy, got some development and revealed some new facets this week. Even Pip — although I really hope he doesn't get redeemed or anything. Pip should really stay Pip. It's why we love him, or at least want to have embarrassing sex dreams about him.