Fabulous Films, out now

After anomalous readings are found, a spaceship is sent to the far side of the sun…

There’s no way that you’ll mistake the feel of Journey to the Far Side of the Sun for the work of anyone other than Gerry and Sylvia Anderson – the model work harkens back to the heydays of Supermarionation (we’ve got buildings sinking into the earth a la Stingray, towers that could have come from Thunderbirds or Captain Scarlet) and it’s coupled with one of Barry Gray’s best scores. There’s bits of technology that look as if they’ve been brought forward in time from UFO (along with a couple of its lead actors) and some terrific explosions.

There’s also some live action acting. Or, in the case of at least two of the cast, slurring. The Invaders’ Roy Thinnes does what he can to carry the piece, but Ian Hendry is at times embarrassing, as is Patrick Wymark – which, to be fair, doesn’t stop either from also presenting some strong moments. The direction by Robert Parrish isn’t particularly inspired – and the audience is way ahead of Thinnes’ character for the twist. (Which if you saw it under its other title, Doppelgänger, isn’t that much of a twist.) There are attempts to make it adult – a close up of a blister strip of contraceptive pills is about the sum of that, though – and to emulate the feel of some of the worthy SF of the time.

All that means that the pace is lethargic, to put it mildly – it feels as if there’s an hour’s worth of story in the 100 minutes it takes to tell – but the final twenty or so minutes make up for a lot of the rest.

The only extra is a trailer for the theatrical release.

Verdict: Best seen as a stepping stone for the Andersons between the Supermarionation shows and the live-action fare of the 1970s. 6/10

Paul Simpson

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